Her Alpha Lover: A Draken and Charli Boxed Set (18 page)

"You'll come very close, though," he said, and Charli took it as a threat, though his tone said it was a promise.

"W
―
when will I be called?"

"I have no idea. Gordon's handling that."

Damn, damn, damn.

She stared after him after he left, wondering if anybody had seen the attention he'd paid her. A quick scan of the room said they definitely had. People were staring and remarking to each other. She groaned inwardly. She didn't want to be known as Draken Almatto's fuck toy.

As far as watching the screen...it wasn't as bad as Draken had said. It was worse.

As she sat there on the folding chair clutching her arms, Charli could not look away from the image on the screen. Watching the blonde's face change from shocked to passionately aroused freaked her out. The first twenty minutes were the most intense. After that, the blonde seemed to remember her audience and her expression became exaggerated, as her mouth kept opening dramatically and her eyes widened artfully with ecstasy. At that point it did become kind of like a porn video. The people around Charli lost interest. Charli had never been all that into porn, but it seemed as if Draken had reset her voyeuristic buttons or something, because she found she couldn't tear her gaze away until the session was over.

During the break, several people walked up to casually chat with her. Some hinted about her relationship with Draken. Some recognized her because they'd seen her picture on Draken's phone. Matthew came by to ask her if she needed anything. He was being solicitous to all the candidates, but most of all, to Elizabeth―who didn't seem to want to have anything to do with him.

And during the break, Charli drank cream soda and checked her phone, but Draken neither texted her nor came out to visit.

The next woman called was Elizabeth.

As soon as Elizabeth was led out of the auditorium, Charli stared at the screen fixedly, waiting for the redhead's face to appear. The voices came before the visual. Whether because of the noise in the auditorium or the microphone's volume setting, they remained in the background, hard to hear. When Elizabeth's face finally came on the screen, it was frowning.

A male voice from behind Charli said, "Stubborn woman."

Startled, Charli turned to see that Matthew had taken a seat beside her, his attention unswerving from the screen.

"You like her, don't you?" Charli said.

Matthew smiled. "Yes, Ms. Fontina. I like her."

"Even though," Charli recalled, "you live with three women." She had learned this fact last week during her most recent encounter with Draken and his assistant.

"Yes, even though," Matthew agreed, telling Charli nothing. The man was a mystery. Alerted when his eyes narrowed, Charli glanced back at the screen―and caught her breath.

Elizabeth's face had frozen. Her jaw was clenched. The ambient sounds suggested she was being attached to the Robasm.

"She seems stressed," Charli managed. "I guess―I'm guessing she's one of the people who has―uh―who has a hard time―"

"Elizabeth hasn't had an orgasm ever," Matthew said so mildly it took a moment to sink in.

Charli's jaw dropped. "Ever?"

"Mm, no. She refuses to. That girl's the original ice queen. Reaction to having parents at the opposite end of the spectrum. They sleep around indiscriminately and embarrass the hell out of her, so Eliza decided long ago to lock up her pussy and throw away the key."

"Oh." Having Draken's assistant speak so bluntly to her was a bit disconcerting, until she remembered he'd already seen her naked body up close and personal. And as for the things he'd seen her do...no, she had no excuse feeling shy around Matthew.

And now she knew that Elizabeth had never experienced a climax and didn't even want to, there was no way Charli could
not
watch the screen. The Robasm had its work cut out for it if it were going to bring this reluctant woman to an orgasmic state.

For the first few minutes after the Robasm started operating, the young woman's lips were set in a thin line. Her eyelids could be seen twitching. Then, suddenly, a bloom of sweat coated her upper lip. Her eyes shut briefly, then opened again to reveal the beginnings of agitation.

Charli heard a low masculine groan beside her. The sound was so uncharacteristic of the debonair Matthew that she had to look at him.

He was sitting up arrow-straight, his jaw set, his tongue making a bulge in his sculpted cheek. He didn't seem aware that Charli was watching him, and Charli would bet nothing short of an earthquake could tear his attention away from Elizabeth's face right now.

"Uh, Matthew?" she blurted. "Why aren't you in there with her? I'm sure Draken would let you watch if you asked."

Matthew didn't answer at first. Then he blew out a gust of air. "Eliza would leave."

She looked back at the screen. Now Elizabeth's nostrils were flaring and her teeth were delicately biting down on her inner lip―subtle signs Charli might not have noticed if the screen weren't broadcasting an extreme close-up of her face.

Matthew clearly noticed. He shifted and swiped at his brow.

Charli wondered what was happening in that room. What could the Robasm be doing to Elizabeth to elicit those small but distinct reactions? Charli's lack of experience made it hard for her to imagine. One thing she was sure of, though―it wasn't simply penetrating and vibrating, like most sex toys.

Whatever the stimulation, Elizabeth managed to school her expression for a while. But when a couple of minutes later she suddenly and audibly gasped, Matthew softly cursed.

On screen, Elizabeth started to say something, then abruptly jerked her chin down, checking out her own body. Quickly she looked back up, but now her pale face was flushed and her eyes had a desperate look to them.

Beside Charli, Matthew shrugged out of his suit jacket, meeting her gaze wryly. "Much more of this, and I'm going to have to find Sally."

Sally, Charli recalled, was a willing and beautiful coworker at Almatto Tech Sport. Charli managed not to blush. "I don't understand," she said. "Is she―what's happening to her?"

Matthew cleared his throat. "We can't see what the Robasm is doing to her, but you see that expression on her face?"

Charli nodded. "She looks like she's trying not to cry."

"She's trying not to respond. She doesn't like to lose control. The machine's sensors sense that she is responding, though, and they're doing more of what she's responding to."

Which is what? Why won't anyone reveal what exactly the thing does?

"Why doesn't she just get off the machine for a minute to give herself a break?"

"She's trying. See how her chin jerks up and she starts to say something? She's trying to give the voice command to halt the program, but then an attachment that wasn't in play before does something surprising." Matthew's voice was steady. "Draken hired some of the best psych people in the world. The robot doesn't just stimulate; it uses a number of hypnotic techniques. It distracts and soothes. Sometimes using soft touches, sometimes using massage. Its AI is top-of-the-line."

"But how does it know?"

"It senses perspiration, body temperature, pressure changes...it even has some ability to interpret odors. Certain hormonal emissions leave a chemical imprint."

"It's like out of a science fiction movie," Charli breathed.

She noticed that unlike with the blonde before her, almost everyone in the room was attentive to Elizabeth's audition. She was very different from the blonde who had gone before. Though her facial expressions were not overly dramatic, their very subtlety was compelling. It was obvious to everyone that Elizabeth did not like to get aroused, but also obvious that she couldn't help herself. Observing all this, Charli realized two things.

One―as a product demonstrator, Elizabeth could sell a lot of Robasms. People could identify with her.

And two―the Robasm must be some lover.

Charli wished Draken were here. She wanted his arms around her. Because just watching the screen, just listening to Matthew describe what the machine was capable of, she was getting so turned on she couldn't sit still.

"
No
!"

The one-word exclamation was wrenched from Elizabeth. It drew the attention of the last few stragglers who hadn't been watching before.

"Oh,
no
." Now it was more of a moan. And then Charli got to watch, for the very first time, what a woman looked like while climaxing when she didn't want to.

Elizabeth's pretty face was screwed up painfully. Her bow-tie mouth was jerking open again and again. Little gurgling gasps were coming from her.

The poor woman started to shake her head emphatically, as if to deny what was happening. But then her head flopped back and rose at the same time, as if the body beneath were heaving, and she gave another moan.

After that, the moans came quickly, one after another. Then more gasps.

And then her face went slack.

For a full minute.

No sooner had it begun to tense up then Elizabeth exhaled sharply and said clearly, "No, not
again
."

But apparently she couldn't bring herself to stop things, because for the next twenty minutes, the woman on the screen experienced one orgasm after another. Each time, she was clearly reluctant. Each time, the Robasm coaxed her into another. The last time, she screamed.

At that point, Charli's attention was torn between Elizabeth on screen and Matthew, who sat there with his lips stretched out in a thin line, his normally tan face pale. With the scream still ringing in their ears, Matthew said hoarsely, "Excuse me, Ms. Fontina," and got up and strode out of the room.

Going to find Sally and work out some of that frustration, judging by the huge protrusion in the front of his pants.

Charli stared after him wistfully. How she'd love to do the same, only it was Draken she wanted to find. Sweat was trickling down her brow, but that was nothing to the wetness gushing between her legs. This was killing her.

"Ready for your turn?" drawled a familiar deep voice.

Shock made her stiffen; she looked around to see Draken standing in front of her chair, smirking.

"It's quite something, isn't it?" he murmured.

"I
―
i
―
it's remarkable. Are they done with Ms. Armitage-Gauthier? Am I next?"

"Eliza's still got a few minutes to go." Draken dropped into the seat beside her, then draped an arm around the back of her chair. "The Robasm's pretty hot, isn't it?"

"Pretty hot? Pretty
hot
?" Charli stared at him. "Matthew was a basket case. And I―I'm, uh―"

"Just wait till it's your turn," he said, tossing her a grin. "Matthew's a basket case because he's been wanting to get into Eliza's pants since they were teenagers and she's always given him the cold shoulder."

"He says," Charli whispered, "she never had an orgasm before. And then I saw―we saw―it was, um, amazing. I wonder if she likes it, though."

"Eliza's a strange one," he said meditatively, staring at the screen, where the redhead was letting out exhausted pants. "She's fairly effective at this, though I have to admit, I'm impressed Matthew could talk her into auditioning. He calls her Miss Icicle for a reason."

Charli couldn't help glancing at his crotch. His tailored slacks were tented by a very large, very aggressive hard-on. "She turned you on, obviously."

Draken slowly turned his head to face her. "Hate to tell you this, Ms. Fontina, but when you're around, everything turns me on. Don't let it go to your head, though. A few more fucks and I'll be over it."

"Oh, that's reassuring." She snorted to cover up her rather extreme reaction to his confession.
That's how I feel, Draken Almatto. When I'm around you, everything arouses me.

"We're breaking for lunch as soon as Eliza's out of there," he said abruptly. "Have lunch with us."

"Who is us?"

"Me, Matthew, and Eliza."

"Are you sure?" Charli said. "Matthew tore out of here to find, um, Sally I think. And from what he said, Elizabeth might not want to be near him."

"Matthew can fuck Sally spineless and be down at the restaurant holding our booth before we get there." He met her astonished gaze. "Don't underestimate my cousin. As for Eliza, does she look like she'd object to anything right now?"

Charli had to admit Elizabeth looked like she'd been doped up with some powerful drugs. When the screen went blank a few moments later, Charli glared at Draken, fisting her hands. "If we have lunch, Mr. Almatto, you and I will be talking like normal people. Is that really appropriate with your fuck toy?"

***

Appropriate or not, Charli spent the next hour up in the four-star revolving restaurant at the top of Seven Tech Tower. The food was scrumptious, the conversation deliberately bland.

Draken and Matthew talked Almatto Tech Sport business. Charli and Elizabeth too stayed away from the subject of the Robasm and focused on fashion. Charli gladly accepted when Elizabeth volunteered to advise her in her efforts to improve her wardrobe. She learned, somewhat to her surprise, that Elizabeth was a medical bibliographer for a local university library.

"Her father wanted her to be a doctor, her mother wanted her to marry one, so this was how Eliza gave them the finger," Matthew inserted helpfully before returning to his work-related discussion with Draken.

"Is that true?" Charli asked her, blinking.

Elizabeth gave Matthew a cool look. "Don't believe anything he tells you. He loves spreading rumors about me. Matthew's a big practical joker."

"Matthew is?" Charli said, amazed.

Matthew and Draken, overhearing, both looked so innocent that Charli became immediately suspicious. Now she wondered if anything Matthew had told her about Elizabeth was true.

"That's in the past. I'm reformed," Matthew said smoothly. "Well, reforming, anyway."

"You're still not to be trusted."

"And you're still deceiving yourself, princess," Matthew murmured.