Private Pleasures

Private Pleasures

Vanessa Devereaux

Edited by Marisa Chenery

Cover design by April Martinez

Copyright 2015 Vanessa Devereaux. Published by Forever More Publishing, 31 Wycliffe Place, Kitchener, Ontario, N2M 5J6, Canada. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-92785-977-3

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

Earth was hit by an asteroid, and nothing’s been the same. For Natasha MacKenzie things got a whole lot worse after her husband, Joel, died on a mission to try to salvage valuable resources. Since then she immersed herself in work, thinking her husband would be proud of her doing something that would also insure the future of civilization.

However, Joel’s best friend gives her a letter written by Joel that he’d decided to keep until he felt she was up to reading it.

In it Joel reminds her of his love for her, and has included a gift disk to a virtual reality company called Private Pleasures. They’d often joked about being rich enough to use their services, and now Joel’s insurance money enables her to do just that. He wants her to live out her wildest sexual fantasy, and at the end of the journey, there’s a special surprise awaiting her.

Chapter One

Seattle, Washington—2045

A gentle tap, tap, tap on the window urged me to turn in its direction. It was as I’d hoped, the rain splashing against the pane. It hit, and then at a snail’s pace, cascaded down the glass. I reached out and traced it with my finger, still not believing it was actually happening. We hadn’t seen a significant downfall for almost a year. I took some pride in knowing Joel had been responsible for it. I wanted to go outside and feel the drops of water hit my face and body, but I was on duty and would be for another hour. Hopefully, by the time I was dismissed, it’d still be falling and I could enjoy its softness as I went home.

To no one, now that Joel was gone. I bit my lip, trying to hold back tears, but they fell very much like the rain on the pane. I think he would have been proud of me, how strong I’d been, and how I had to work for the Agency and train for the sort of mission that took his life. I wiped the wetness away with the back of my hand as a crack of thunder broke the silence and heavier rain beat against the window.

 “Natasha, we’re ready for you?” I looked up to see the director’s assistant in the doorway, holding it open for me. I stood and walked toward her.

Inside the room Jonny sat at a desk. He’d been Joel’s best friend at school. The best man at our wedding, and now he directed the Agency that had been formed to help restore Earth and save mankind.

“Come in and sit down,” he said. His assistant left us, and I pulled up a chair in front of his desk. He opened the folder with my name written across the front. “I’m sure you’ve seen the rain?” he asked.

“Yes. Do you think it will be enough?”

“The lab said it should rain for at least a day, so it’s a beginning. I’m going to sign off on your dismissal. You did a wonderful job on your first assignment. I think Joel would be really proud that you signed up with us.”

“I think I’d really like to go on the sort of mission he was on when he…”

My voice trailed off. I wanted to see where he’d taken his last breath. I don’t know why, but I didn’t think I’d get closure until I did.

Jonny looked at me before putting his glasses down on my folder. “Natasha, there are so many other things you could be doing with your life. For example, you’re a wonderful gardener. You could work in the food preservation section.”

He was right, but since Joel had left my life I didn’t think too much about my future.

“I think I need to do it,” I said.

“I understand that, but you know the risks?”

Joel’s death had taught me all about them.

“How about we compromise? Take some time off for yourself. In fact, I insist you take a week off. And during that time I want you to think about what you’d like to do. I need to give you this. Joel left it with me before his mission. I intended to give it to you after the funeral, but something told me to save it for later when your mind was clearer.” Jonny pulled out an envelope from the desk drawer. My name was written on it. It was Joel’s penmanship. He handed it to me. “Wait until you get home to open it.”

A last letter from Joel, perhaps? Money?

Jonny looked at his watch. “As of now you’re off duty, and I don’t want to see you back here for at least another seven days or I’ll have you arrested.”

It was the first time I’d seen him smile since Joel’s passing, and I realized he probably missed him as much as I did. A gap in life that could never be filled again. Someone only ever got one best friend and one perfect love.

I stood, slipping the envelope into my jacket pocket, said my goodbyes and left his office.

Once I reached the street, the rain was still falling. I put my face up to the sky. Before the asteroid had hit Earth five years ago, rain had been frequent in this part of the country. It’d also been cool when it hit the ground. Now it was man made, and felt hot as it kissed the skin. It also lacked its once fresh scent, now being replaced with something that reminded me of the pool I learned to swim in.

I walked to the transit hub and then huddled under the canopy with the rest of the crowd.

“Can I shake your hand?” asked an older man. He looked at me and smiled. “I remember seeing your photo on the news report. Your husband was a hero.” He sandwiched my hand between his own.

The Ones They Leave Behind
, the headlines had read. Joel hadn’t died alone. Two other men had perished with him. My photo had appeared next to another widow’s and the soon-to-be bride’s of one of the other crew members who’d given up their lives.

The transporter train pulled up and the old man swiftly pulled out two tokens. “This one’s on me,” he said.

“No, really I couldn’t.”

“I insist,” he said, pushing both tokens into the side of the train. The doors slid open, and he indicated for me to go ahead of him.

“Thank you,” I said, opting to go to the back while he sat at the front, pulled out a tablet and read.

I fingered the envelope in my pocket. It was something that should be opened and read in private, but I was curious as to what Joel had left for me. I reached for it, pulled it out and was about to tear it open, but stopped myself. I needed to be in our home, a place where I had memories of him so I felt his warmth surrounding me when I read the words.

The man who’d bought me the ride stood when the train approached the first stop. He saluted me just before he got off, and I waved to him as it pulled away.

We went into a tunnel, causing the train’s light to snap on. It rocked along. I was ten minutes from home. Ten minutes to knowing what was inside the envelope.

Chapter Two

My hand shook as I placed the envelope on my lap. I glanced at Joel’s photo that sat on the desk. He’d chosen to wear his uniform for it. It was the last one he’d had taken. I looked at the letter again. Had he known he wouldn’t be coming back from that last mission, or was he just being overly cautious when he wrote this for me?

I ripped the paper away from its contents. I now held a letter and a plastic disk had fallen onto my legs.

Private Pleasures LLC was written on it. We’d talked about using their services.

My lovely Natasha,

I gave Jonny this to give to you should anything happen to me. Knowing him probably as well as he knows you, I’m guessing he’ll wait for a bit to give it to you.

I know you’re missing me, and that’s the reason I went ahead and did this. You deserve some fun, some pleasure…yeah, you definitely deserve that.

My insurance bond with the Agency has enabled you to do just that. In here you’ll find a gift disk for Private Pleasures. We should have gone there together and not waited, but have my share of the fun while you’re there.

And I also have a little surprise waiting for you at the end of your adventure. I hope you won’t be angry with me, but it’s something I’d really like you to do.

I love you and always will.

Joel

A tear splashed onto the paper, smudging the bit where he’d said he’d love me always. I quickly wiped it, hoping I wasn’t doing more damage. I’d keep this letter for the rest of my life.

I picked up the disk. Private Pleasures allowed you to be anyone and live out your wildest fantasies. You could be rich, an athlete, you could even pretend you were eating things that hadn’t been available since Earth became a scorched mess. Once plentiful foods like strawberries and applies.

I fingered the raised lettering on the disk. We’d always said we’d live out our sexual fantasy, and like the sexual beings we once were before Joel had been trapped beneath the rubble that had fallen on the day the asteroid fell. His body had mended, but the accident had left him impotent. We hadn’t had sex for three years before his death. He’d encouraged me to go out and find physical release with other men. He’d even brought home a guy from the Agency, but I’d refused to have sex.

Now he offered me a chance to live out my fantasy, to find sexual pleasure in a virtual world.

Chapter Three

I took the B express train to the Private Pleasures headquarters the following day. I didn’t personally know anyone who’d purchased their services, but the general word was their program was so real separating it from reality became impossible once you were inside the software.

“Good morning. How can I help you?” asked a girl sitting at reception.

I pulled out the disk from my raincoat pocket. “I’d like to use this.”

She took it from me and slid it through the scanner by her computer. “Ms. MacKenzie. Welcome to Private Pleasures. If you’d like to step through here, we’ll get you started on your journey.”

Journey
. I liked the sound of that word. I was going on an adventure. I’d always loved those. She stood, and I followed her to a room with just a desk, a computer screen on its top and a swivel chair.

“If you’d like to sit here and fill out the questionnaire. Once you’re done with that, come back out to my desk and then I’ll direct you to one of our counselors for further details. And take all the time you want. Don’t hurry your answers, because the more honest you are and the more thought you give to them, well, let’s just say the better the experience and pleasure.”

“Thank you.”

She touched the screen, putting the program into start mode. I sat and then she left me alone. The lights dimmed and the screen got brighter.

Question one. Had I used their services before?

Question two. What sort of experience was I looking for?

I skimmed through the categories and tapped both sexual and erotic.

Health problems? None.

Heart problems? No.

High blood pressure? No.

Pregnant? No.

Would I be pairing with another person to live out the fantasy? No.

Please tap all of the following categories you wish included in your experience.

I took a deep breath, reminding myself what the receptionist had told me. I leaned back on the chair.

Being a virgin again, light bondage, ménage, anal, spanking…
I didn’t know what categories I really wanted and just tapped some at random, thinking it would all be one big surprise.

The program ended and then I left the room and headed back to the reception desk where the girl helped out a middle-aged man.

“Take this and go to elevator six. There will be a counselor to meet with you,” she told him.

She turned to me and then looked at the screen. She processed another disk before she handed it to me. “Elevator three, and your counselor will be waiting.”

Elevators one through five were to the left. I walked across the marble floor and then pressed the button to call number three. The door buzzed as it opened, and I stepped inside. Everything was glass, including the floor. A TV screen hung on the wall.