Sodom and Detroit

Sodom and Detroit

Virtual Seduction, #1

by

Ann Mayburn

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This book is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s
imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events,
locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Sodom and Detroit

By Ann Mayburn

Copyright © 2013 by Ann Mayburn

Published by Smashwords

All rights reserved. Except for use in any
review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or
in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means
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permission of the publisher.

Maeve Burgundy tried to tune out Trinity’s excited
voice as she chattered away and read from a brochure over the
muffled roar of the 747’s engines. Even in first class, you
couldn’t get away from their rumble. “‘Sodom is the world’s largest
five-star virtual reality resort. Boasting over three hundred
individual VR spas and specializing in erotic fantasy, guests can
fulfill their every desire. We encourage you to embrace your wild
side and challenge us with your dreams that we turn into
reality—virtual reality.’”

Tucking a strand of coal black hair into her bun,
Maeve stole a glance at Trinity before returning to her e-mails.
Trinity’s black spiral curls practically vibrated with excitement,
and a flush painted her dark brown cheeks. Maeve didn’t know why
she was so keyed up; it wasn’t like Trinity needed the VR fantasies
the resort promised.

Built like a runway model with mile-long legs,
Trinity never lacked male admirers falling all over themselves to
win her favor. Maeve, despite knowing how stupid it was, often felt
dowdy compared to her best friend. In her own way she knew she was
cute. At five-one with abundant curves and a round butt, she
usually wore five-inch heels to appear taller and men seemed to
appreciate the view. It wasn’t that she lacked male companionship,
she just liked to keep her relationships strictly sexual. She had
trusted the wrong guy one too many times with her heart and had the
emotional scars to prove it.

Maeve tried to ignore Trinity and finish the e-mail
to her assistant back at Noven Enterprises in New York City. As an
expert in contractual law for Noven, Trinity pretty much worked by
herself, while Maeve ran the entire corporate acquisition section
and reported directly to the president. For Maeve the thought of
being out of touch with the office for a whole week made her
panicky inside, and she typed even faster. At her job, she had
total control and could lose herself in her work, bury herself in a
world where there were few surprises and being cold and ruthless
was encouraged.

Trinity attempted to shut Maeve’s laptop with one
hand while she continued to read the brochure aloud. “‘Would you
like to be Tarzan, swinging through the trees to rescue your
beloved Jane from an army of headhunters? Did you ever wonder what
it would be like to be a botanist working with a plant that induces
sexual euphoria? If you can imagine it, you can do it from the
safety of our virtual reality chambers. Nothing is taboo, and the
only thing holding you back from living the ultimate fantasy is
yourself.’”

Maeve snorted and wondered who would find plants
sexy, but Trinity continued unabashed. “‘For an extra thrill, you
can partner with other resort guests and live out your fantasies
with them in the safety and anonymity of cyberspace.’”

An announcement came over the speakers that the
plane would begin its descent into the Detroit Metro Airport and to
please put away all electronic devices.

Maeve typed as fast as she could in an effort to get
out her last-minute orders. Trinity, the bitch, was taking away her
laptop once they landed. She didn’t believe Maeve would be able to
relax and enjoy her vacation while having access to her office.
While she was right, it still pissed Maeve off.

Grumbling, Maeve added a last set of instructions on
the acquisition of a failing steel mill. It wasn’t like she even
really wanted to be here in the first place. She’d won this
vacation, even though she couldn’t remember actually entering the
contest. When the representative from the Sodom resort had shown up
with two dozen red balloons and a local TV crew, she had been so
astonished she’d babbled through most of the interview. Trinity and
the rest of management had forced her into actually taking the
vacation, and she’d only agreed after her boss threatened to fire
her. He was kidding, of course… She hoped.

Maeve scowled and hunched over her keyboard as she
saw the stewardess approaching them with a frown. The petite blonde
flight attendant stopped at their aisle and said, “Ma’am, could you
please close your laptop?”

Ignoring the stewardess, she clicked Send just
before Trinity smashed her fingers with the screen of the laptop.
The stewardess startled at the aggressive snarl that Maeve gave
Trinity and backed away with wide eyes. Trinity just laughed and
hugged Maeve’s laptop to her chest.

Maeve gave Trinity a dirty look. “We aren’t on the
ground yet.”

“The office is fine. Your underlings live in fear of
you, and they won’t do anything to incur your wrath.” Trinity tried
to tug at the carved ebony wooden sticks holding Maeve’s long hair
back in the tight bun. “Let your hair down, sister! You’re on your
first real vacation in three years. Relax and enjoy the ride.”

Maeve eyed the laptop with longing. “I’ve taken a
vacation,” she said defensively.

“Business conferences don’t count. And when is the
last time you made love?”

The sight of Detroit’s glittering lights suddenly
became very interesting. “I’ve had partners.”

Trinity snorted and slipped the laptop into its bag,
then under her seat. “I said made love, not sex.” She patted
Maeve’s hand. “I worry about you. All work and no play makes Maeve
a very dull girl.”

Now it was Maeve’s turn to snort. “What about you,
Ms. Trin? You aren’t exactly the poster girl for long-term
relationships.”

Trinity stuck her tongue out. “Well, at least I try.
What are you so afraid of that won’t let you fall in love?”

That remark hit too close to home, and Maeve’s
stomach clenched. She’d fallen in love once, given her whole heart
and soul to a man who didn’t trust her, and it had almost destroyed
her when they broke up. That mistake wasn’t going to happen again.
She quickly changed the subject. “So what fantasies are you going
to try out? We get four, one for each day we’re there.” Maeve
pulled out her phone and looked at the spreadsheet she’d made of
possible fantasies that had caught her eye.

Trinity gave a shocked gasp. “Are you for real? You
made a spreadsheet of your fantasies? Did you also schedule your
orgasms and bathroom breaks?”

Maeve narrowed her eyes at Trinity. “I hope the
batteries on your vibrator run out.”

Trinity laughed. “Oh, low blow!” They pressed back
into their seats as the plane touched down with a thud. Trinity
bounced up and down. “We’re here!”

Maeve looked out the plane’s window and watched the
brand-new airport terminal gleam in the darkness. After the
economic collapse of the late ‘90s, Detroit had reinvented itself
through tax breaks and hard work into the virtual reality capital
of the world. Now it celebrated the fruits of those efforts as not
only a center of enormous wealth, but also as one of the top
tourist destinations in the world. Here, in the safety and comfort
of the Midwest, an adventurous spirit could fulfill their every
desire at one of the nineteen VR resorts.

In the distance, Sodom’s giant illuminated obelisk
soared above its competitors. From small motels to megaresorts,
anything you could possibly want in the VR world was available.
Some of the smaller businesses specialized in themes such as
ancient Rome and adventure sports, while the larger hotels often
had a variety of programs made to appeal to a broad audience.

An excited murmur swept through the cabin of the
airplane as they taxied down the runway. Across the aisle, two
twentysomething men with beards talked excitedly about the sports
VR resort where they were going to climb Mount Everest. Maeve heard
a woman behind them chatting about whether she wanted to be a
lady-in-waiting in Queen Victoria’s court or the queen herself.

The anticipation built and Maeve was helpless to
resist the happy energy sweeping the plane. A small glow of
excitement began to burn inside of her as she opened her mind to
the possibilities of this vacation. All those delicious fantasies
that she pleasured herself to brought to life by the wonders of
technology. She shared a grin with Trinity and for the first time
she started to looked forward to a week of fantasy instead of
resenting it as a meaningless intrusion on her work.

“What do you think?” Angel ran his hand across his
smooth, shaved head and felt a mild shock once again at the loss of
his hair. He strode over to the floor-to-ceiling windows of his
office and looked down on the bright city lights of Detroit. The
view from the top floor of Sodom was fantastic, and he watched the
red dots on planes in the distant night sky circling the
airport.

Was Maeve on one of them?

Luke leaned back in the black leather chair and
kicked his feet up on Angel’s steel and glass desk. A tall man with
a swimmer’s build, he had been Angel’s best friend for the last
eight years and his chief of security and lover for the last five.
He ran a finger over his neatly trimmed dark gold goatee and gave
Angel a teasing grin. “ Don’t worry. I think our lovely Maeve will
be heckled into taking a vacation against her will and is on her
way right now.” His feet twitched on the desk in an impatient
rhythm. “Why do we have to do all this bullshit cloak-and-dagger
stuff again instead of just inviting her here? If she really is the
woman we’ve been looking for, I want to start out on the right foot
with her. Your breakup couldn’t have been that bad.”

Angel shrugged his shoulders and avoided Luke’s gaze
in the reflective glass. “We parted on hard terms our freshman year
of college. Her scholarships took her out to California, while mine
took me to Cambridge.” He turned and gave Luke a rueful grin. “Part
of the reason I got interested in virtual reality at MIT was
because of her. I wanted a way to be with her without having to
sell everything I owned to afford a cross-country plane ride.”

Luke joined him at the window and put his arm around
Angel’s waist, tugging him close. “Did you ever try to apologize?
Lord knows we’ve had our epic fights, but we always manage to kiss
and make up.”

Angel grinned and took in a deep breath of his
lover’s familiar scent. Luke’s hands roamed to his ass and gave a
fleeting caress that made Angel’s dick twitch. He sought out Luke’s
wrist and held on, stroking his thumb lightly over Luke’s
pulse.

Looking out the window again, Angel said, “I sent
her a long and rambling e-mail when I was wasted on Jägermeister
trying to win her back.” He groaned at the memory. “She sent me a
reply five minutes later saying she was dating someone else and to
leave her alone. Then I, full of drunken misery, wrote her back
calling her a whore and a bunch other things I wish I could take
back.”

Luke winced. “Ouch.”

“I know.”

“Did you try calling her?”

“Yeah, she changed her number. So I called her mom,
who told me to piss off.”