Page 10 of Accounting for Taste

Wenvari clutched athis desk as breath sawed in and out of his lungs.His wings were flexing and twitching from the burst they had just been treated to.He looked at the roster of the Pleasure Centre, and there was only a species list.Terran.This wasn’t an ordinary member of their species.Others had been through the centre, and none had had this effect on his senses from ten floors away.

Privacy was paramount at the centre, so he opened the exterior cameras and tried to find the person who had just caused his very being to shiver.He prided himself on not involving himself with his colonies, but he had to remain on site in case of emergencies.The centres were the way he was paid for that bit of attention.Whatever had just orgasmed in the centre had enough power to keep him alert and focused for a year.

He saw beings come and go and found six answering to the Terran descriptor.He focused, but they didn’t seem to match the numbers.The black-haired woman went in, but a blue-haired woman exited.Could they be the same?He was so bad at faces.

He followed her progress to the food court and picked her up on a different camera.He was able to get a clear image of her face, and he blinked when the recognition program told him he was looking at the cyborg comptroller that had cost him more than he had been interested in spending.Suddenly, he was very happy to have opened his account a little.

How often did she need to seek pleasure?He wanted to make sure that he was there for every visit.She was exquisite, and he didn’t want to miss a drop.

Chapter Three

Reem’s decisions shapedthe world she was living on for two years, and then one day, she got an invitation.

She stared at her inner display and said, “Display message.”

A familiar face brought surprise to her mind.“Hey, cousin.We thought you were gone, but Ra did a search for our families, and your DNA popped up.If you use this link, you can call back, and we can talk.You have an open invite to Aten when you finish your bond, wherever you are.”

Reem felt her heart pounding.She checked her account and paid her bond.She had accumulated a lot of credits during her regular visits to the centre.She was a preferred flavour.

She checked her schedule and smiled.There was a window that she could widen.She could also remote her decisions for a month.

Reem contacted Jasmine and waited.She wasn’t sure that her interior scaffolding could make the call, but when a connection to Aten was confirmed, Reem exhaled in relief.

“I am calling for Jasmine.”

A golden face filled the screen.“Who are you?”

“Her cousin, Reem.”

“Holy shit.You were recorded as dead.”

Reem nodded and split her hair, turning her head to show the mirror that she used for this sort of thing of the silver band on the side of her head.“My brain was sliced in two, but they got me working again.”

“So, you are a cyborg?”

“I suppose.”

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