Flesh for Fantasy (5 page)

“
You would be selfish and
keep other lonely people in the world from being able to connect to
their cyborgs better?”

Jacob grimaced and glared at Declan.
“Don’t play that card with me. You see dollar signs. Well, my Cal
is mine and no one else’s.”

Declan sighed. “I won’t lie and say I
couldn’t stand to make a fortune off this, but it also has to do
with the science behind it all. It’s a fascinating look at where
science meets the almost supernatural. I want to see how he works,
that’s all.”

“
No,” Jacob said as his
train pulled into the platform. “End of conversation. You weren’t
willing to believe me when I said something was up with him, so you
missed your chance then. Cal isn’t going to become your guinea
pig.”

Declan glared at Jacob. “You’re making
a mistake. You’re getting too close to the machine. The way he’s
changing, who knows what might happen next. You need me. The CAL
unit needs me.”

“
Just stop,” Jacob
snapped. “I’ll think about it.”

Jacob ended the call and raced to get
on the train. He dropped into a seat near the window and watched as
the city soon flew past him. Worry settled in his gut. Would Declan
do something stupid and steal Cal away if Jacob didn’t agree? It
was a simple diagnostic, no more than the manufacturer suggested
all cyborgs get every six months. Sure, it was a little early to
get one now, but what if Declan was right? What if this malfunction
caused Cal to start acting off?

Jacob settled back into his seat and
wished he could go back home to Cal.

Chapter Five

Cal had watched Jacob preparing for
work that morning, racing about the apartment like a maniac. Jacob
had made every effort to not make eye contact with Cal, as if the
human felt shame. Cal was programmed with the basic understanding
of emotional responses, but seeing his owner so saddened and
despondent had made Cal—feel sad, too. He’d held Jacob for hours,
the human drifting off to sleep for long segments of
time.

The only thing Cal wanted to do was
make Jacob smile. Something told him that Jacob needed some special
handling tonight, so he was making a meal in the atomizer and had
set a fine table with candles. Romantic mood setting was also in
his programming, but there was more to it than that. Cal wanted to
see Jacob’s face when he walked in and saw the table. He wanted to
know he’d pleased Jacob.

Cal knew he felt much different than
he had before the strike. He felt. He sensed. His mind and body
felt stronger. He made decisions now.

He craved.

He wanted Jacob with a desperation he
didn’t understand. The hours had ticked by too slowly throughout
the day, and Cal felt as if he was going stir crazy. He needed to
touch Jacob, kiss him. Cal wanted to surge into Jacob’s attractive
body and become one with the man. In those moments, when he’d
linked his body to Jacob’s, Cal he felt—alive.

A knock on the door broke Cal’s
thoughts. He walked to the door and looked through the peephole and
saw Jacob’s friend, Declan. Cal opened the door.

“
Hi, CAL. I need to run a
diagnostic on you,” Declan said as he pushed past Cal, carrying a
heavy case.

Cal closed the door, a funny feeling
making his skin tingle.

****

Jacob was glad to get through the
front door after a long, arduous Monday. He smelled something
delicious that made his empty stomach rumble with need. Jacob had
been unable to eat lunch, too worried about Cal.

“
Cal?”

Jacob moved into the kitchen, noting
the timer going off on the oven. He popped the door open and
grabbed some mitts, pulling the hot roast from the atomizer. Once
it was resting on the counter, Jacob moved to the bedroom, looking
for his lover.

And he found Declan hovering over
Cal’s inert form. Cal stiffly sat in a chair, his gaze blank.
Declan had cords and machines going all around the room.

“
Declan, I told you I’d
think this over. What the hell are you doing in my home without my
approval?”

“
I had to see what made it
tick.” Declan looked up sheepishly. “But to be honest, I don’t see
the sentient actions you claimed it to have. It answers brief,
robotic answers and hasn’t made any motion that would make me think
it’s any different than any other CAL unit.”

Jacob rushed over to Cal and looked
him in the eyes. All he saw was a blank slate. “Cal, what has he
done to you?”

“
A diagnostic, Master,”
Cal said in his metallic, fake voice.

Jacob felt nauseous. What had Declan
done to Cal? “Get out of my house, Declan.”

Declan began rolling up the cords and
equipment. “Did you ever think perhaps you were imagining the
things you claimed it was doing? You’re lonely, Jacob. You need a
real man in your life, one who understands your needs.”

Jacob ran his hand over Cal’s cheek.
“I had that. Until you destroyed it.”

Declan sighed. “It’s a machine, Jacob.
I’m starting to worry about you. You need to go out, have a real
life. Maybe you need to get rid of CAL. I thought it would help
you, but I can see I was very wrong.”

“
No,” Cal said
quietly.

Jacob looked up and locked his gaze on
Cal’s knowing one, hope blossoming in his chest.

Cal stood and faced Declan. “You
weren’t wrong. Jacob needs me as much as I need him. When he’s
close to me, I feel—alive. And I think I do that for him,
too.”

Declan’s mouth dropped open as he
stared at Cal. “I checked your systems. Other than the replication,
you’re working in normal perimeters. This can’t be happening.”
Declan rushed to one of his cases and pulled out a large device.
“We need more tests.”

“
No,” Jacob said. “You
won’t tear him apart to find out what made him whole. I need him in
my life, Declan.”

Declan stared at Jacob and then at
Cal. “But we could make more like him. I can give you two CAL units
when it was all over with if you wanted.”

“
I don’t want
two
CAL units. I
want
my
Cal. If
we were ever friends, you’ll leave him be.”

Declan shook his head. “This is too
big of a discovery, Jacob. You have to let me see inside
him.”

Cal cleared his throat. “Jacob, did
you know that Declan stole most of his research from an old college
friend? That friend created the substructure for the computer
system that forms the main conduits of the nervous system. Without
that research, Declan wouldn’t have been able to create the CAL 2.0
brain. And if his friend, who now works for a Japanese competitor,
knew what Declan had done, it could tie up future manufacture of
the CAL units for years. Declan and his company would be sued, and
Declan would more than likely lose his job and his
reputation.”

Declan frowned. “How did you know
that?”

Cal walked closer to Declan. “All of
the humans in the lab speak openly around us, assuming we’re lesser
beings. You treat us as if we aren’t even there. When you’re
invisible, it’s amazing what’s repeated. You told that entire story
as you were wiring my nervous system, laughing to yourself the
entire time at how clever you were. I’ve uploaded the video clip to
Takasawa Robotics’ mainframe. If you do anything to me or Jacob,
they’ll have the proof dropped into their mailbox in an
instant.”

Declan stared openly for a moment,
appearing to weigh his options. He then cleared his throat as he
backed closer to the door. “Fine, fine. I’ll leave you be.” He
scooped up his case and headed for the front door.

Jacob walked out of the bedroom and
eyed his friend. “Oh, Declan?”

Declan turned and gazed at Jacob.
“Yes?”

“
I can’t believe you would
sink so low. Theft of intellectual property? And you came into my
home, inspecting my cyborg, without my approval?”

“
Money is a powerful
thing. Why do you think I held on to Ben as long as I have? It
isn’t because he loves me. It’s because I can give him what he
needs. It’s the same reason Anthony left you. Without it, I’m
nothing, lonely. Just like you.”

Cal walked up to Jacob and drew him
into Cal’s embrace. “He’s not nothing. And as you can see, he’s
most definitely not lonely. He has me.”

“
You’re a machine, CAL,”
Declan spit out. “You’re not real.”

“
I may not be real, but at
least I’m not a fraud,” Cal replied.

Declan’s face fell. He gazed at the
two of them and left, closing the door behind him.

Jacob let out a long sigh. “We were
friends a very long time.”

“
I told you he wasn’t a
good friend,” Cal said before laying a tender kiss to the side of
Jacob’s cheek. “Now, let’s eat. I made you your
favorite.”

Jacob drew in a breath. “It smells
delicious, but I’m hungry for something other than food. Make me
forget all this happened.”

Cal turned and pulled Jacob back into
his arms. Cal lowered his head and captured Jacob’s lips. “And just
what are you hungry for?”

“
You,” Jacob
whispered.

Cal pulled Jacob off his feet and
lowered him into their bed. In a flurry of movement, they were both
nude and starving for each other’s touch. Cal pushed Jacob onto his
back and then kissed a trail down Jacob’s body, stopping when Cal
was inches from Jacob’s cock. Cal took several inches of Jacob’s
hard shaft into his mouth, licking the underside as he moved
down.

Jacob writhed on the sheets below his
lover, digging his hands into Cal’s hair. Silently urging, Jacob
rolled his hips, needing Cal to take more of him into his mouth.
Cal seemed to understand Jacob’s need and slowly took several more
inches, until every last one was inside. Jacob moaned, the pleasure
making his body tremble.

The sucking felt incredible, but only
heightened Jacob’s need. He wanted to be one with Cal, with Cal’s
hard shaft impaling him. “Cal … I need you.”

Cal released Jacob’s cock with a pop
and looked up at him. “What do you need?”

“
I need you inside me.
Now.”

Cal reached for the lube and coated
them both before slowly sinking into Jacob’s ass. When they were
bound together, Jacob finally felt as if he could breathe. “What
you said to Declan about me making you feel alive?”

Cal leaned down and kissed Jacob’s
lips. “Yes.”

“
You were right. I feel
more alive since you’ve come into my life.” Jacob stared at Cal’s
chest. “Considering you’re not real, I suppose that’s
senseless.”

Cal drew Jacob’s hand over his heart.
Jacob could feel the elevated heartbeat under his hand. “Don’t I
feel real? My heart beats. It goes faster when I see you, and it
nearly beats out of my chest when we make love. That’s real, isn’t
it?”

Jacob stared into Cal’s eyes,
absolutely sure it did make this all real. “We don’t know how long
this will last. Declan said you could have problems down the road,
and I’d say he’s less than willing to help you if trouble
arises.”

“
I think he can be
persuaded to help if the need arose,” Cal said with a chuckle. “And
you don’t know that you have tomorrow any more than I know I do.
Life happens. We need to enjoy this while it lasts, as long as it
lasts.”

Jacob realized how right Cal was.
“Then let’s not waste another minute.”

Cal began to move within Jacob,
pumping his cock deep. Jacob lifted to kiss his lover before
dropping back to the bed. He writhed under the masterful strokes of
Cal’s cock, loving the sensation of Cal driving into him. Cal
gripped Jacob’s cock and pumped his fist up and down the length,
matching the pace Cal set in Jacob’s ass.

In no time, Jacob felt the rising
tide. He came hard, shooting his load into Cal’s hand. Cal
followed, blasting Jacob’s ass with heat as it was
filled.

Once they were emptied, Cal pulled
from Jacob and rolled to his back. He drew Jacob into his arms and
kissed him ferociously. “Hungry for food now?”

Jacob shook his head. “Not exactly.
All I want is you. I don’t think I’ll ever be
satisfied.”

Epilogue

“
Cal, have you seen the
news?” Jacob asked as he rushed into the bedroom.

Cal lounged on the bed, reading. “My
central nervous system is linked to the Internet, so I am aware of
news instantly.”

“
Show-off. Then what news
am I talking about?” Jacob asked as he crawled into bed beside his
lover. Jacob pressed a kiss to Cal’s shoulder as he snuggled
close.

“
I assume you mean the new
Cybernetic Automated Males that your friend Declan is about to
launch,” Cal said as he lowered the book to the nightstand. He ran
a hand through his short locks and stared at Jacob. “It seems he
got what he needed from my scans, enough to put him on the
path.”

“
Do you think they’ll be
just like you?” Jacob said. “You’re an original, Cal. I think this
goes over the line.”