Errant leaves, sticks, and dust scattered as the personal transport descended to land in the spacious courtyard of Del's home. Vivian, having been with Del for several months now, had become familiar with the location, but now she was seeing it in a new light. It was no longer just Del's home. It was theirs. With Vivian's new outlook on the setting, she walked around the courtyard to the eastern edge where she took in the breathtaking view.
She could not see the horizon proper as it was obscured by the private Spire-top forest that stretched out for acres before falling off to meet the sky. Rising up from the mini-horizon, the bright violet sky was unbroken by clouds. The vibrant color gradually turned to a deep, dark lavender pocked with the brightest stars in the Milky Way Galaxy above. Vivian rested her hands against the polished black walnut railing as she took in the quiet, serene image.
"I wish I could say I never get tired of the view, but if I'm being honest, I often miss seeing the clouds," Del said as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.
"I'm sure you could get an app that does that," Vivian said.
"I could, and I have, but at a certain point, when you have a BSI, you inevitably wonder whether it would be any different living in a featureless box and just simulating your entire environment."
"There are millions of people below your feet that do just that."
"That's true." Del grinned. "You make a great point, but try not to forget that they're beneath your feet too." As he continued, he pulled himself close against her. "This is your choice, nobody has a gun to your head."
Vivian didn't feel particularly comforted by the expression, but she smiled nonetheless. She understood the man's intentions. While they quietly took a moment to bask in the picturesque scene, machines and companions bustled away shuttling the rest of her belongings into her new home.
"I'm going to go get some work done. Feel free to settle in a bit. I've already had my companions hook up your consoles. I know you've always wanted to try gaming on a quantum connection." Del gave Vivian a gentle, yet impassioned kiss. Vivian smiled and blushed. "Welcome home, Vee." The man parted, leaving Vivian in the courtyard.
The decision to move in had already been made, but Vivian still felt hesitant. It had been months since she had considered Del a client. He was so much more now, but Vivian couldn't help feeling like it was a mistake.
The artificial air was heavy with uncertainty for the future. Generally, she knew what she was going to do, but the longer she was with him, the more she wondered whether she was going to have the courage and strength to commit. All she could do in the moment was enjoy her new, ultra-high class home.
As beautiful as the open architectural style was, the amount of open space on the property seemed excessive when so many people below them lived in dwellings that were smaller than most of the rooms here. Her discomfort never seemed to go away completely, but not being able to see any decay and suffering went a long way. There was nothing but violet skies.
After wandering around contemplating her new situation, Vivian sat down to take in one of her favorite classic online videogames, a battle royale style game called Warzone. The game was over half a century old, but still carried hundreds of thousands of daily active users on Nexus alone. She was excited to see that her new quantum connection gave her access to millions more from across populated space. The novelty of playing across hundreds, sometimes thousands of light years with almost zero lag started to wear off quickly. Her thoughts regarding Del were beginning to surface again.
Hours passed as she tried to fill her mind with digital distraction. Eventually, Del drifted in after concluding his work for the day. He slipped in next to Vivian on the couch and she leaned back against him. He enjoyed watching her tactic of total stealth, stalking her prey, and only striking when her opponent was recovering from another battle. She won the match with little difficulty, then set the controller down and pressed herself into Del's warm chest.
"How's the connection?" Del asked.
"Interesting, I suppose," Vivian said. "Not really all that different."
"Yeah, to be honest, it's much more noticeable in AR, particularly with high-profile meetings and such. I could hook you up with a pretty good VR set. You'd probably notice the improvement playing something with a little more fidelity."
"Sure... that sounds interesting. Haven't done much VR." Vivian displayed little excitement over the prospect. Del noticed.
"Hey," Del said, gently pushing her chin up to look her in the eyes. "You doing alright? You're usually not one to shy away from conversations about videogames."
"Yeah... I know." Vivian pressed her cheek against his chest. "There's something else on my mind."
"You've never been very shy about that either."
"It's not about sex," Vivian said, rolling her eyes. "Well, I suppose it is, in part. It's about my job." She shifted on the couch to face Del more directly. He gave her his full attention. "Well... what is your opinion on escorting?"
"It doesn't bother me, generally."
"'Generally?'"
"Yeah. My opinions haven't changed much since we first talked about it. I don't object to any person's choice to do it, but I'm also aware that sex work is often rife with abuse. According to my research, The Courtesan Consortium seems to be pretty upstanding and supportive of its employees." Del raised an eyebrow. "... Why?" He asked. "Did they do something?"
"No... It's not that," Vivian said. "The company is actually pretty great, at least as far as companies go. I'm just not sure how comfortable I am with making this a career."
"Where I am concerned, you don't have to worry, but if you are uncomfortable nonetheless, I will support whatever decision you make."
"Even if it means losing my source of income?"
"I'm not sure if you were aware of this, but I happen to be one of the wealthiest people in human history. I can, and do, financially support millions of people. I'm sure I can work in one more." Del reached out and grabbed Vivian's hand, weaving his fingers in between hers. "My question is whether courtesanship is something that you really want to do."
"While the work hasn't been terrible to me, I suppose it's not quite where I wanted to be."
"What did you want to be when you were little? I assume it wasn't a sex worker," Del said with a laugh.
"I don't know, really." Vivian paused to ponder. "I just wanted to escape, I guess."
By now, they had been together long enough for Del to get a sense that Vivian's childhood was a sore subject. Even when he did press her for details, she was an expert at steering the conversation toward other subjects. Del decided not to press on this occasion.
"Well, what about gaming?" He said, motioning toward the display that was idling on the Warzone menu.
"What about it?"
"Are you interested in being a game tester, or a designer? Or maybe you want to compete professionally, or just play them for an audience?" Del's suggestions were certainly interesting to Vivian. He could tell by the way she bit her lip in contemplation. "I can hook you up with people that can help!"
"Hmmm..." Vivian hummed to herself. "Those aren't bad ideas..."
"When have I ever had a bad idea?"
"What about when you lost Stellar Cartography?"
"SCS was never going to allow an acquisition like that." Del brushed off the accusation with a wave of his hand.
"That's not what you were saying in the leading weeks." Vivian shrugged her shoulders and began speaking in an exaggeratedly low and monotonous voice. "When this acquisition comes true, it will be the biggest deal in 30 years!"
"Oh, is that what I sound like?" Del said with a smile.
"Are you sure the deal didn't fall through because you spilled coffee all over the CEO's blouse?"
"That may have had something to do with it. I'll admit that much. Though, I'm still not totally convinced that it wasn't a hit-job by Walsh-Perez."
"Whatever, man," Vivian said, playfully pushing his face away. "I'm pretty sure making you spill your coffee is not the kind of hit-job Stellar Dynamics tends to do. Haven't they burned entire planets for getting in their way?"
"Allegedly."
"What do you mean, 'allegedly?'" Vivian turned toward him with shock. "Aren't those guys your direct competitor?"
"Well, them and Bell-Westbrook, sure. But I'm not above a little healthy competition."
"Healthy?" Vivian rolled her eyes with a scoff. "There's nothing healthy about competition between trillion-dollar corporations."
Del's expression dropped from the generally jovial one he had been carrying. Vivian was right, as she often was. He did what he could to prevent losing perspective about his lot in life, but it was a very easy thing to do.
Del reached out to weave his fingers into Vivian's. The woman was wise beyond her years. She reminded him of himself when he was younger, though he was really only a few years older than she was. Still, by the time he was in his early twenties, he had already started losing his animosity toward the ultra-rich. He knew he had been given a head start by being born into his wealth, and try as he could to escape it, there was no doing so. Once he realized that, he made the decision to use his status to help as many people as he could.
The room they were in, and every room in the home shared the primary feature of spaciousness. After creating initial designs for free housing for his project, he couldn't help but consider the fact that just the room around him was large enough to comfortably house 4 families.
Del knew Vivian was absolutely right. People at his level of wealth don't play such childish pranks as making someone spill their coffee when they had the power to level cities with a thought. If someone wanted the deal off, they would have just killed him, or the CEO of the Cartography Society, or more likely, both of them. The only reason Del was still alive is that he was useful to people.
Those people were a mystery to Del, though he knew he could work it out if he tried. At the moment, he was content with being useful, but his awareness to being used was useful in itself, and it was Vivian that continued to keep him aware. He held her against him, and looked into her deep blue eyes.
"I love you, Vivian," Del said. "I don't know if I say it enough."
"You do say it enough, just not with words."
"Well... would you like me to say it another way?"
"I wouldn't mind..." Vivian said with a smile.
The two came together in a deep kiss. Vivian began leaning further into their embrace until she felt the game controller shift against her legs. She broke away to make sure that the controller was placed securely on the coffee table. She was a little more reckless at her own home, but after breaking a few of her own controllers, she opted to provide more respect to Del's things.
Del, however, had little concern for his controllers. He pulled Vivian back against him, nearly causing her to drop it anyway. She giggled and playfully fought back, using a forceful kiss to press him over to laying on the couch.
As she placed herself on top of him, Vivian freed the buttons on his shirt and Del went to work releasing the fasteners on the back of her dress. Their hands were quickly against the bare skin of the other as they pushed the fabrics aside, until a companion passed through the room with some moving boxes.
Consciously, they both knew that the companions didn't mind, and on occasion, had even included them in their play, but Del wanted to make sure there were no distractions. He pushed himself off of the couch, taking Vivian into his arms as he did. Vivian continued playing with his chest and tasting his neck and ear as he walked them to the bedroom.
Del threw Vivian onto the bed with enough force to cause her to bounce. Vivian laughed. As their relationship had continued, she was noticing that he was becoming more rough and forceful. She certainly didn't mind. It was scratching an itch that she had always struggled with, but as the itch grew larger, she did have a worry that she might not be able to contain herself.
The button down shirt was tossed aside, along with Del's belt and Vivian's shoes, followed closely by his undershirt and pants, and her dress. Before long, they were completely nude save for the stockings that Vivian tended to wear when they were together. Del had no objections. He stood at the foot of the bed, looking over his conquest presenting herself, and she doing the same.
It was a staring contest of sorts, observing each other's readiness and building the tension between them until it would inevitably break and they would come together in an intense rush of desire for one another. On this occasion, it was Del that broke first, as it often was.
He could see her arousal as clear as day, with help from the daylight shining directly on her through the clerestory windows. He took in her scent, inhaling deeply before getting a taste. Vivian moaned and weaved her fingers into his hair as she gripped his jaw with her thighs.
Del had to make sure not to get carried away. He could spend hours in his current spot. He'd done it before. He relegated himself to only a few minutes before he moved his way up her body, feeling her warm, incredibly soft skin against his face and lips. When he met her face to face, Vivian didn't hesitate to lock lips with him. She enjoyed her flavor on his tongue.
He pulled away and positioned himself before her. There were no words spoken. Vivian and Del were synced emotionally in such a way that they could read each other's intentions. Almost imperceptible micro expressions were magnified by orders of magnitude. Vivian indicated she was ready with a twitch at the edge of her mouth and Del pressed forward and deep into her.
As they came together in overwhelming love and ecstasy for each other, they rolled around on the bed in attempts to get even closer. The two became one. Almost. As Vivian pushed herself up to ride her stallion as hard as she could, she found that she needed to moderate herself.
Del wasn't weak by any means. He was able to handle everything that Vivian was dishing out, but more and more, what she wanted to do was open the man's chest. She wanted to cut his smooth, dark skin away, destroy his sternum, and pull his ribs away. She wanted her pale body bathed in his crimson warmth. She wanted it soaking her white hair, and dripping down her arms. It was something that was always there, but she had learned to suppress it through years of temperance.
In the flurry of passion between them, every climax was a rush of undiluted pleasure. Vivian had been with Del in this place, and on this very bed on many occasions, but now that she had officially moved in, her connection to him had grown even more powerful, and so was the red that she saw when they came together. It was starting to worry her. Luckily, she did have an outlet.
After the thick thud of the lock disengaging, the front door of the warehouse creaked open and Vivian stepped inside. She locked the door behind her and moved into the main area of the warehouse floor, approaching the table in the center.
Dr. Ibarra was exactly where she left him. From a safe distance, Vivian checked each of his bindings to make sure they were still secure, then she checked his vitals. The man was still alive and reasonably healthy, despite the amount of meat that he was missing. He was sleeping in a way that could be considered "peaceful" under the circumstances. This was unacceptable to Vivian, who jabbed him in the healing stump where his forearm had been. The man recoiled in pain and looked directly to her. He immediately donned the same stony gaze that he always had.
"Wakey wakey," Vivian said.
Now that she had an audience, she began to disrobe, though she wasn't wearing much beyond a silk robe. Nonetheless, she placed the robe and her slippers into the garment bag. She made a show of every movement as she slowly walked back to Dr. Ibarra.
Dr. Ibarra was quickly running out of meat. He had one remaining brachium, and once it was gone, the man would be completely limbless. In a technical sense, many wouldn't consider him a man at all any more. Vivian particularly enjoyed preparing that meal.
Before she got started, she checked his vitals. Temperature, blood pressure, pulse, respiration, they were all within a reasonably healthy margin. Now she felt it was time to have some fun.
She walked to the kitchen and collected her cutlery that she cleaned and sanitized after her last session a few days prior. She sanitized them again as she prepared her tray then returned to Dr. Ibarra's side.
She didn't necessarily need to remove his feeding tube until later, but she wanted to offer him the opportunity to scream, curse, or say anything as she went to work, but the man had barely reacted or said a single word since he had been captured. He only displayed a stare that was as red as his blood. Though, sometimes, it waivered. It was never much, but it was enough for Vivian to know that he could feel what she was doing to him.
She removed the bandages to inspect how his most recent wounds were healing, then selected the next spot she would harvest from, a place that was fresh or well-healed with no signs of necrotized flesh or pus. Once she chose a good spot, she attached rigid restraints to Dr. Ibarra. Even when he still had all his limbs, he was a great patient who rarely fought against the delicate, if incredibly painful procedures Vivian performed on him.
Once the restraints were in place. Vivian slowly and gently carved a thin, 10 cm slice of flesh from his triceps. As much as she wanted to amputate the rest of his arm, the man was quickly running out of meat, and before long, she wouldn't have enough to prepare. After setting the meat aside, she continued her ritual by filling her hands with the blood pouring from his new wound and spreading it across her pale skin from her jaw, down her neck, and between her breasts. She was careful not to use too much blood, however. There had been too many close calls, so she made sure to monitor his vitals closely while she played with his blood.
After she had gotten her physical fix, she took the slice of meat to the kitchen. She had learned all manner of cooking styles like frying, roasting, stewing, even poaching and sous vide, but with a limited amount of meat left, she mostly opted for pan-searing.
When she placed the thin strip of flesh in the pan, the sizzling smell hit her, and she couldn't help but inhale deep. Vivian didn't eat meat very much, and she even found the smell of cooking pork, poultry, or beef from once-living animals to be sickening, but the meat from a monster disguised as a human, it smelled delicious, so much so that she could barely resist tasting it herself.
Resist she did. After plating the meat, she did her best to season and present it much like a gourmet restaurant or a cooking competition. She adjusted Dr. Ibarra's position to sitting and pulled a bedside table to his front. She placed the plate on the table.
"Your meal, sir," Vivian said with a smile. "I hope that it's to your liking." She didn't wait for his answer as he never gave one, instead, she slid the meat onto the fork and placed it to his mouth.
Vivian hadn't yet taken his tongue and teeth, giving the man the continuing opportunity to taste and chew his own food. She had little problem feeding him, and before she castrated him, it was easy to tell that he actually enjoyed mealtime. She would rather he hated it, but it didn't seem like there was much that got to him, even as she began the more violent part of her time with him, making superficial cuts and bruises across his body.
Eventually, after Vivian had reached her violent climax, she finished her visit by tending to Dr. Ibarra's wounds, then taking a shower, donning her robe and shoes, and returning home. As she left the front door, she turned to Dr. Ibarra and gave him a flirtatious wave.
