PENTHOUSE AFFAIR
PENTHOUSE AFFAIR
Luca Barlone stepped forward, pushed his dark auburn
hair out of the way and allowed the piercing red light to travel
through his bright blue lens and scan his cornea. What an
intrusive, barbaric system, he thought to himself, annoyed that
such a credible establishment as The Oasis Hotel and Casino
Resort could still be so old fashioned. All the scanners in The
Three Cities were quick and efficient full-body scans, without
any margin of error.
Ever since the Affliction the citizens of The Three
Cities had grown more and more paranoid with the fear of
infection. The possibility that even a close friend could be a
carrier and concealing it to avoid quarantine, had created a
form of mass hysteria. Of course this had spurred the Scientists
on as only the desperate need for progress can, and new security
advancements had poured into the market like precious jewels.
Luca had seen anything from home security systems which took a
drop of blood from those entering or exiting the home, to
personal scanners which claimed they could detect an Afflicted
if they came within twenty yards of the person wearing it. Most
of it was folly, in Luca's opinion, as no definitive way to test
for Genders had been discovered. Other than the obvious, of
course.
The Oasis, however, had been built in a much simpler time
and was in fact, celebrating its one hundredth birthday that
very week. A hundred years ago there had been no great threat,
no disease eating at the heart of The Colony, no distinction
between the healthy and The Afflicted. Due to the Hotel's age,
"certain allowances must be made for more antiquated systems",
or so the Head Concierge kept repeating like an obnoxious
parrot.
Luca noticed his hands were shaking as the retinal
scanner completed its function, and the weapon-proof doors to
the penthouse suite of the Oasis slid open with a soft whoosh.
Luca and his team had been there for a few hours, but he was
still not used to the sight. He had stayed in the hotel on
business trips before, but never in the Penthouse. It was
breathtaking. Enormous enough to house a small hotel on its own,
the Penthouse was comprised of a stadium-like, circular lobby,
which consisted of several conference areas, brown leather
fauteuils circled around a gargantuan fireplace, and even a
small bar and restaurant off to the side that catered
exclusively to the Penthouse guests. The lobby was lined with
tiers of luxury suites on the north and south wing. The main
suite, the one which Luca's parent would be occupying the
following morning, took up the entire west wing. Of course the
names: East, West, South, North, were arbitrary, as the entire
penthouse was built on top of a massive gear which allowed it to
rotate. The "East wing" was an enormous balcony with a glass
wall separating the outdoor pool area from the Lobby. The guest
had the option of pointing the "east wing" in any direction,
with the window pointing at sunset and sunrise respectively by
default.
The most intimidating feature of the Penthouse was the
massive waterfall that raged alongside it. The Penthouse was
built out of the top edge of the cliffside which housed the
Hotel. To its right, facing the gargantuan man made lake, was a
violent and roaring waterfall through which the river fed down
into the lake. It had been entirely manufactured as had the
river which flowed sparkling bright with tremendous force
through the desert. The entire span of the waterfall was encased
in an enormous green house to manage the carefully landscaped
foliage planted around it, and it comprised the entire left wall
of the Hotel from top floor to bottom. The guest of the
Penthouse had a private balcony and a terrace with a top view of
the waterfall.
At the moment the entire Penthouse was deserted, with the
exception of Luca who was performing one last security sweep
before his Parent's arrival in the morning. I need a drink. The
thought of the warm elixir swirling down his throat gave Luca a
hard on. It had been two hours since his last drink and his
hands had started trembling an hour ago. He made for the bar at
the opposite end of the lobby and helped himself to a bottle.
The taste was never as good as in his mind, but the drink did
it's job. A warmth spread through him starting in his throat and
working its way down to his groin. He went to take a second swig
but something stopped him.
Tio Barlone would not be pleased if something went
wrong while staying at the Oasis, and Luca would most certainly
catch all the grief for it. To hell with it, he thought. He
deserved a drink. He had spent the last three hours searching
every room that bordered the large Atrium. It would have been a
simple, one hour job for his team, but since this initial sweep
had to be top secret, most of the Hotel staff was not privy to
their early arrival. Luca only trusted one person to do this
alongside him, Tag.
Tag was both efficient and quick, and the only person
he could trust to pull the trigger without asking any questions.
Luca and Tag had spent the last three hours meticulously and
very quietly scouring the rooms for bugs, explosives, and hidden
dangers. There were over fifty luxury suites and it would take
up every single one of those rooms to house the elite security
team Tio was bringing. Since childhood, Luca had hated the idea
of traveling everywhere with a small army, but after all the
years in his Parent's service, he learned it was a necessary
precaution.
Thankfully, Luca had just finished the last perimeter check
and everything was quiet. He took another long swig, swirling
the bitter fluid in his mouth. He could not be sure if Tio meant
to keep the peace during the weeklong stay, but in Luca's
experience being prepared around his Parent was always smart.
One could never know where the Barlone enemies could come from.
Luca felt the familiar sense of apprehension, a tightening
in his gut which was always calling him to do just one more
sweep, to open the doors just once more, to check in those
shadows around the corner one last time. He drank a quarter of
the bottle down and tried to convince himself it was merely his
general state of anxiety. Attempting to dispel the unease, he
headed for the open edge of the Penthouse and its magnificent
view.
The liquor should have dulled his senses by now, but
not so for Luca Barlone. His mind, which had been swimming in a
fog, now felt sharp and clear, and his blood was hot. A strength
had spread through his sapped muscles and he felt more alive as
he took in the view behind the enormous glass window.
The canyon had been blasted and dug, and the Hotel
emerged from it, as a strange contrast against the harsh desert
rock. The canyon was transformed into a vivid green-blue lake,
which shimmered in the moonlight like a million lights. The
desert sky was still painted with the last strokes of sunset,
but the stars had already begun peeking through. The North moon
was already high and the South moon was rising.
During the infernally hot days the impenetrable glass
window of the Penthouse was closed to keep out the heat, but in
the evenings, the desert outside cooled and the guest had the
option of sliding the wall into the ground and opening the
entire atrium to the cool night breeze.
Intending to do just that, Luca headed for the wall
mechanism and allowed it to once again scan his retina. After
the machine had recognized him as the correct guest, Luca felt a
slight rumble beneath his feet and the pulley somewhere above
his head gave a heavy groan. The great wall shuddered at first
and then began to softly slide into the large slot in the ground
as though it was melting before his eyes. At least a hundred
square feet of three-foot thick glass disappeared in a matter of
seconds, unleashing the roaring of the violent desert wind. At
these kinds of heights the wind could be rather unpleasant, and
Luca could hear the large fans beneath the floor of the
overhanging balcony, perfectly calibrated and positioned to tame
the wild wind into a soft, comfortable breeze. Even as
antiquated as the Oasis was, it still had some very impressive
gadgets.
As he stepped out onto the wide patio, his blood
froze. He didn't have a moment to appreciate the cool-red desert
horizon, or the wide cliffside panoramic, dominated by the
enormous lake, sprinkled with green and glittering blue. His
eyes were immediately drawn to the heated pool on the wide
balcony, it's surface steaming with fragrant vapors in the
cooling night air. Winding through the swirling mist, was what
looked like a river nymph with long sandy hair and pale skin
that glowed in the moonlight.
Luca drew in a sharp breath and held it. In spite of
all the time he had just spent securing the Penthouse, the
little pool spright had somehow escaped his notice. He cursed
the liquor that had dulled him, and shook his head to try and
clear it. Perhaps she had not been there long, but that was
irrelevant. She was a breach in security, and she could possibly
be very dangerous. Luca slid and blended into the shadows to
observe her from afar with caution.
The moment she turned around he could tell she was
Afflicted from the first glance. She had none of the familiar
distortion in the features that developed over years of
shifting. His initial reaction was to step back, an animal
instinct compelling him to avoid the infection. Scientists had
not yet discovered how the disease was spread, and the theories
ranged from fluid exchange to a mere cough or handshake.
Rationally, he knew the Afflicted were inoculated before being
allowed back into society, but one had to chose whether or not
to believe in the vaccine as the source of the disease had yet
to be discovered.
Luca swallowed the unnatural fear and silently made
his way towards the intruder. Fuck, she was gorgeous, and so
young. Luca had always been fascinated by their features,
especially those who had been born with the disease. Their sharp
angular faces, the muscles and curves of the body which were
allowed time to develop and grow identity, not constantly
mutated from one form to another, watered down and drawn out.
Her presence bothered Luca a great deal. A Gender? A
servant, in the penthouse pool? This didn't seem right, and
considering his Parent's harsh views on the "Gender Problem" he
felt overly cautious. Luca drew the weapon silently from his
coat and released the safety. After watching her swirl through
the water in complete silence he finally approached her tucking
the gun behind his back. She seemed to think herself completely
alone, and as far as he could tell it was merely an impoverished
girl sneaking in to have a luxury swim, but in Luca's experience
nothing was ever as it seemed.
"The Penthouse pool is for authorized Hotel guests
only," he barked, watching the girl's body twitch in shock. Luca
was pleasantly surprised to see that the girl was completely
naked, leaving her no room to hide any weapons. Her body,
however, was very distracting. She had long shapely legs, slim
hips, and a heaping bosom which made Luca's pants feel a little
tight. Her sandy hair cascaded down her back almost to her
waist, and in her eyes was a look unlike any he had seen on an
Afflicted- self assurance.
“I have the authorization to be here," she spat back,
"who are you?” She was shaking slightly, even though both the
air and the water had been calibrated perfectly for the most
ambient temperature. She stepped out of the warm water without
fear or modesty, and Luca took it all in with one appreciative
look. Then his mind snapped to, and he tightened his grip on the
weapon as she approached. She would not be the first Gender
Assassin to try and kill a Barlone.
“Authorization?" he retorted, still scanning her naked
beauty up and down. By now his cock was fully erect and begging.
"And who exactly gave you this authorization?" He tried to refocus,
reminding his booze-addled brain that this could possibly
be a dangerous woman.
Luca had always been a sucker for the Afflicted women.
Since eyh had been a small child, fascinated by their sharp
features and fragile naivety. The Afflicted were allowed so
little in this world, cursed by the disease to be ostracized
from society, that most of them shared a certain blank-pleading
look which gave them the appearance of innocence. He had fallen
prey many times to that look and many had lost their lives
because Tio had discovered them in Luca's bed.
While he had been staring the woman up and down, she
had, in turn been examining him. Her eyes were narrow, and her
pretty face scrunched into a frown as she tried to discern where
she knew him from. It didn't take long for her to recognize him,
and her demeanor to change entirely. Instinctively she stepped
back from him, her hands looking for a way to cover her naked
body.
Good, he wanted her to know who he was. As far as the
world was concerned, Barlone was a name to be feared and
respected. Whereas most of The Colony saw Tio Barlone as a
strict and severe politician with a very clear agenda, the dark
rumors had spread. Shady deals, and Gender prostitution rings
were the least of the things being said about the family. Luca
knew Tio had been cultivating this image, feeding the wild
rumors, until the name Barlone became synonymous with Power. It
was this reputation he saw reflected in the girl's eyes, and for
a fraction of a second Luca felt remorseful.
“I'm—“ she faltered, almost like she didn’t want to tell
him who she was. That was even stranger. What could she be
hiding?
“Yes?” he coaxed, moving a step toward her and drawing
his weapon. She backed away from the muzzle in fear, but the way
she moved seemed so stiff, almost masculine. Luca suddenly began
to hear the soft murmur of the female side in the back of his
mind. She wanted out, that bitch.
The girl was staring at him, unsure of her next move.
Luca felt tense all over, uncertain how she had managed to get
past all the heavy security into the heart of his sanctuary.
"Tell me who you are right now," he pressed, concerned
with giving her too much time to react. Keep 'em off guard and
confused, Tio Barlone would always tell him, keep the control.
Luca moved forward, closing the distance between the gun in his
hand and the young woman's naked body.
That moment, as if someone had flipped a switch, her
entire demeanor changed. She dropped her hands, and no longer
made any attempt to cover her most vital parts. Her hand reached
up, to absentmindedly brush through her thick hair, as her eyes
remained on the gun pointed directly at her large, firm breasts.
When those eyes finally lifted to meet Luca's, he felt
a shudder go through him. The moon cast its light on her
features and she looked so beautiful he almost dropped his gun
hand. She stepped towards him, lithe and graceful, without even
the slightest sway to her hips.
"I am here for you, Barlone" she whispered, using his
formal name.
"For me?" His hand tightened around the trigger as she
moved in closer until the barrel was touching her stomach. She
was so close he could smell her scent, rising from the junction
between her thighs, overwhelming him, and taking his sanity.
"I've been sent for your pleasure," she purred, and
lifted her soft pale hand to brush tentatively against the
barrel.
Fire! his mind screamed. Keep the control!
Unfortunately, Luca's interest in the young nymph could not be
more obvious from the way his pants were bulging. He shifted
uncomfortably, trying to remain focused.
"No one knows I'm here," he growled, his hand reaching
up to wrap around the girl's small neck and gave one firm
squeeze. Her eyes flashed in panic, but she regained her
composure in an instant and pulled closer to him. If she was a
whore, she was a good one.
"Except, for Ephraim Lamb." She smiled a coy, lazy grin
and boldly reached out her hand to cup him through his pants.
The bottle was still in his hand and she took it from him. The
brush of her skin sent a shiver through his body and his gun
hand faltered. Keep the control! She took a deep drink, closing
long lashes over the flush that crept into her cheeks. She
gagged a little, clearly not used to the taste. Her eyes opened
again and he could see the glisten of the drink still on her
lips.
Something roared inside him, and he drew in a sharp
breath. She worked her hand over him, and his own mouth betrayed
him letting out a groan. A rumbling began in his core and he
felt the female side of his mind stir and squirm. His gun
forgotten, dropped to the floor, as the girl stepped forward and
brought her wet mouth to his. He could taste the liquor on her
breath. The arousal fed the female side of eyhm and she pushed
to the surface, begging for control. He shoved at the Gender
kissing him, and looked into the girl's green eyes once more.
The female form bubbled below the surface and the male side of
Luca was lost in a fog of booze and lust.
He let her come forward from him slowly, feeling her
warmth, surrendering to her strength. Right in front of the
Gender, in the reflective shimmer of the moon bouncing across
their faces, Luca performed the ultimate taboo and shifted.
He shifted in full sight of another person, a Gender
at that. The process was uncomfortable to say the least, almost
as if being rushed back in time at lighting speed, to the moment
of conception, starting the same life in sickening fast forward
with a different face, and a different experience of the things
around her. Luca heard her own voice, finally inside her mouth
and felt free and alive.
“Oh my stars!” The Gender's shout bounced out toward
the canyon. The girl was shaken at the sight of what she had
seen. She may have never shifted in her life by the look of her,
and she seemed overwhelmed.
Good, Luca had wanted to catch her off guard. Luca ran
her hands across the body, becoming accustomed to it again, it
had been a while since she had shifted. It felt good, like
putting on an expensive dress you haven’t worn in a while. She
did not want to put on any more clothes now, in fact quite the
opposite.
“My name is Luca.” She smiled sweetly, the poor Gender
girl looked like she might faint. "But I gather you already know
that." The Gender looked like she wanted to bolt. Without a
second thought Luca gave a wiggle, dropping the pants that were
already hanging too loose on her narrow hips, and removed the
tie her male form had put on that morning. Was it the booze
that made him choose such terrible ties? Next she dropped the
crisp white button down shirt.
“What are you doing?” the girl asked, somehow less
fearfully.
“Can't you tell, little Gender?"
“Don’t call me that.”
She had some fight in her, the little morsel. Luca
dropped her boxers, and ran a hand on the inside of her thigh
feeling herself. She had forgotten how sensitive she could be,
it had been so long since she had touched that side of herself.
Shit, sometimes a girl just needed to get off. She moaned in her
throat, when her fingers found the small mound of concentrated
nerves.
“I think I’m going to go,” the Gender croaked, and Luca
snapped her head up to look at her. She was fixated on the
junction between Luca’s thighs, staring at it in lustful
admiration. She seemed to tear herself away from the sight with
some difficulty and then turned away to leave.
“Am I not attractive like this to you, little Gender?"
Luca asked. "Do you only do males?”
“Umm,” she answered a little shakily, “no, I-I do
both.”
“Then you're with another of your kind? Some sort of
monogamous thing?”
“N-no.” She seemed frozen, unable to leave, unable to
turn around.
“Then you belong to one of us? Someone paid for you
exclusively?” At that the Gender turned around, anger flashing
in her eyes.
“No one owns me.”
“Perhaps you haven’t been made a big enough offer?”
Luca smiled mischievously, the girl really was beautiful, even
when angry. She could see what he had seen in her, she was very
special, different somehow.
The Gender looked like she was considering it, she
definitely was looking Luca up and down. She turned around
slowly, playfully so the girl could see her body, admire it. The
breeze blew across the lake and brought the sweet scent of
flowers from the green house. The waterfall roared and the two
women glowed like marble in the moonlight.
"Can-" the Gender girl started, clearly afraid to
finish her sentence.
"Go ahead," Luca cooed, stepping closer to her and
running a hand through her sandy hair. It felt like silky
synthetic fiber.
"Can you be-" she swallowed hard "-both?"
Luca laughed, a deep throaty laugh, which she felt all
the way down to her sex. She reached a hand and touched the
girl's firm breasts, whispering "I can be whatever you want."
That seemed to convince her, and the Gender closed the
small distance between them and kissed Luca, hungrily. She
didn't seem to have much experience but she made up for it with
enthusiasm. The girl came up for air only for a moment to
whisper “My name is Lee."
Luca laid on the ground, and drew the girl on top of
herself to feel the heat from their sexes mingle. Lee began to
move on her, uttering small gasps and running her mouth over
Luca's breasts. Beneath the surface she felt the male half, not
too far below, snapping at the bit for chance to try this little
Gender morsel. It had been a long time since they had shared a
girl, and it seemed almost selfish to keep the lusty beauty all
to herself. Wait your turn, Luca smiled, and flipped the girl
easily onto her back.
She kissed Lee down the length her body, taking small
bites out of the fleshier parts, causing the girl to squeal and
moan. When she reached her sex, Luca ate her fill, suppressing
the male a while longer. Luca's female half had so little time
out in the world, unpredictable they called her, so she tried to
enjoy the little time she had. The girl was bucking under her,
and the male did the same inside her head. She felt angry,
frustrated that she only had moments when he had all the time.
She plunged a finger inside the Gender and felt the muscles
contract as she came.
The cry and the warmth that spread over her hand was
Luca's undoing and the male lurched above. She felt the same
sickening feeling of being rushed backwards, and felt the trap
close around her throat. She pulled back inside herself,
seething as he took over in her stead.
The Gender had been so lost in lusty fog that she had
not noticed the shift. Luca's male half had been just below the
surface, watching, feeling, he needed no work to be aroused. He
pulled the girl on top of his lap and she stared hazily into his
eyes.
"What-" she whispered, through passion-swollen lips.
"My turn," he growled, and took her mouth in his.
Oblivious to all else he lifted her by fleshy hips and plunged
her down onto his erection.
It wasn't until he heard the sharp cry and felt the
barrier break that he realized everything she had told him
earlier was a lie. She was no whore. For a moment he wanted to
reach for his gun, shoot her right there. He looked into her
green eyes and felt her tighten around him. She never took her
eyes from his as she began to work herself on him leading them
both to culmination.
Luca cried out her name as he came.
For a second he considered once more reaching for his
gun, but didn't. Instead, he turned back to the Gender and
kissed her stomach, her lips, her breasts, her hair, until they
were both once again panting with need. It took them hours to be
sated, and by then all thoughts of the weapon had fled from
Luca's mind. With Lee's legs still wrapped around his waist and
her scent surrounding him, he fell softly into sleep.
Had Luca reached for the gun he would have found it
resting on the Gender's discarded clothes: a man's black robe,
with a jade pin on the collar.