Toys - James Patterson [51]
Now she was wearing a slinky black dress with slingback high heels. Her eyes had turned liquid blue… and she’d developed a shock of blond hair. And I mean that—a shock of blond hair.
She could have been Lucy’s twin.
“You like?” she asked.
Chapter 69
“BESIDES, AREN’T YOU getting bored with those silly-billy simulated games?” Anna continued, plopping down beside me on the couch. She smelled terrific too, with the same citrus fragrance Lucy wore sometimes. Like in the cargo unit from Russia.
She’d even adopted an excellent imitation of Lucy’s voice. Now she kicked off her high heels and tucked her small feet under her shapely rear.
“Anna, you might want to consider a different role model,” I suggested.
“If you say so, Hays. But I’m programmed to be very observant. I pride myself on it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, come on. There’s so much tension between you two. You could cut it with… a butter knife. Competitive. Sexual. Gender-bending. Anyone could see it. But enough about you and Lucy.”
I bristled. Just what I needed—an android playing shrink. And being right.
“There is some tension, I guess,” I said. “And plenty of good reasons for it.”
“The main one is that you’re very attracted to her. Admit it—at least to me. You’re hot for Lucy.”
“That’s nonsense, Anna.”
“I don’t mean to argue with you,” she said soothingly. “But how could it hurt to give us a whirl?” Anna changed positions and crossed her legs, the black dress hiking up to reveal a long expanse of absolutely perfect thigh. “This is my purpose in life, Hays. To give pleasure.” She smiled. “Make an honest woman out of me.”
I couldn’t help smiling at that one. “Very cute.”
“Yes, I am.”
Anna glided gently up onto my lap. Her voice took on a silken tone. “I promise you, I’m a lot more fascinating than those simulator toys. I change with your mood, your every wish, your desires. I’ve been told that I’m the best in Europe.”
I didn’t have a problem believing that. Not at all. Anna’s warm body pressing on mine was starting to weaken my defenses.
Almost against my will, my hands began exploring Anna’s new shape, and, along with her breathless gasps of pleasure, they confirmed my guess about her anatomical perfection. Anna was all woman, all over, all the time, all mine—if I wished.
She deftly unbuckled my belt, cupped my vitals, and slid my pants down. Hoo boy!
“I see I finally have your interest—up,” she said. “My, my, Hays. You just might be the best in Europe yourself.”
But sonofabitch if the front door didn’t open just at that second—and in walked, of all people, Lucy.
She folded her arms, eyebrows rising, and leaned back against the wall.
“Well, well, now I know what I’d look like if I were a street whore,” she said.
“It would be an improvement over your current pig-farmer style,” Anna shot back.
Lucy seemed amused rather than angry. “Not bad, roboslut. But playtime’s over. Sir Nigel wants to see your boyfriend. Hays, pull up your trousers!”
Chapter 70
A FEW MINUTES later, thoroughly chastened, I was in a speeding car with Lucy at the wheel. London continued to be a revelation to me, especially the tasteful blending of old and new architectural styles. This was such a refreshing change from monolithic New Lake City with its streamlined, very modern everything.
There was one disturbing similarity with the Elite world that I had known though: toys were all over the place. Both for children and adults.
“Plenty of those creepy little dolls around here. I guess a fad is a fad,” I muttered as Lucy drove us through the outskirts of London. Little Jessicas and Jacobs seemed to be everywhere. One of their tricks was to wave at cars and their passengers. I didn’t wave back.
“Look who’s down on toys all of a sudden,” Lucy said, giving me a sidelong glance and a chuckle. “You were having a pretty good time with one just a few minutes ago.”
“Let’s just look at the scenery, please… Now who, or what, are they?”
A gang of street punks, dressed all in black and carrying long iron crowbars, were hanging out on the