Rich Kid (The SPARK Files #3)

Chapter 3

Volt

Hey, Volt. The sentiment didn’t really come in words. It was more of a burst of awareness sent through a ping.

Hey, Angel, what’s up? Another wordless query.

Angel switched to text. Take a look outside. Across the street. Chubby guy with the bowtie. Been there almost an hour.

Volt accessed the external cameras for the building. He’d been granted access to them six years ago when he caught the spark and decided that he wanted to stay at Prism and get more involved with running it. Now, it was second nature.

The view from the two cameras he was watching from wasn’t great, but he got the sense of a soft, round body, a sweet face, and a lot of anxiety. The man kept looking nervously at the door to Prism, hands clenching and opening, with the occasional flick of a pink tongue over his narrow lips, drawing attention to his not-quite-scruffy mustache and beard.

He’s cute , Volt sent back. Both because it was true, and because it would annoy Angel.

That’s not what I was asking.

Volt chuckled internally. He was wandering through the lounge watering plants—basically being eye candy and getting the pulse on the crowd tonight—so he didn’t want customers to think he was laughing at them.

He watched the guy a little longer, then switched to a third camera. He had a nice, juicy ass, too. Looked like the usual wallet and keys in the pockets of his tight, gray slacks, but he almost certainly wasn’t carrying a weapon.

I don’t think he’s dangerous. And if he’s a cop or a plant, he’s the best damned actor I’ve ever seen. I think he’s just nervous. Who is he?

Volt could have looked him up himself, since the facial recognition software wouldn’t take long if he’d already applied for a screening in Prism’s database, but he assumed Angel already knew.

Wallace Wollencroft, one of the two heirs to Orbit Industries and current Director of Software Engineering. He applied for membership two days ago and I approved it today.

Shit. Do you think someone sent Orbit after us?

Angel sent a light chuckle through their connection. If they did, it’s not him.

Volt sent back a staticky burst of irritation. I wish I knew who “they” were. I’m so sick of this shit.

You and me both.

Prism had been hounded for the past four years with increasing safety and police inspections based on false accusations, real harassment of their bots if they left the building, disruptions to their food and drink orders, and other irritations that added up to someone making their lives difficult.

They just didn’t know who.

Or why.

It seemed like a lot of effort to go through for an unsatisfied customer, and Volt had quietly investigated everyone who’d had even a slightly negative experience with no success. A jilted spouse or partner was a little more likely, and Volt had done some investigating there, too. But to be so pissed off at your “cheating” spouse that you made the Prism lounge run out of crackers?

Protestors were typically straightforward, wanting everyone to know how evil they thought the business was for a hilarious combo complaint of sex outside of marriage being a sin and bots taking away jobs from humans. Which one was it? They called the sexbots vibrators disguised as devils which cracked Volt up, since it was such a great mental image. Were vibrators evil, too? No wonder the Human Firsters and their ilk were always so angry.

So this didn’t match the pattern of bigoted Humans First protestors, either. And it had gone from minorly irritating to downright worrying as things escalated recently.

Volt was surprised Angel had taken so long to alert him to the man across the street, since they were both on edge.

On the other hand, this guy didn’t look like he could hurt a fly. If anything, he looked like he needed a Daddy.

You should bring him inside, Volt sent. See what he wants.

I imagine he wants sex, Angel sent back.

You’re hilarious.

Volt watched through the cameras as Angel waved the guy over.

He looked like a timid little mouse. No, something chubbier and cuter. A timid little hamster, maybe.

Still, Volt listened in as Angel opened up an audio channel so he could listen in.

Huh. He hadn’t expected the man to come out and say he was from Orbit Robotics. Or pretend that he was working on a project. Maybe he was working on a project?

Either way, he seemed all too easily swayed when Angel suggested that he try “exploring” a submissive role himself. But hey, whatever someone needed to tell themselves to make it through the door.

It was just odd enough, though, that he knew exactly what was going to happen before Angel called his name.

I knew you were going to give him to me, he sent through their shared connection. Why didn’t you give him a bot?

Because you already have a nickname for him.

I do not! Volt protested. Sometimes he wasn’t a fan of his best friend knowing him so well.

He’d just made a comparison. That was it. The hopeless romantic in him had been burned enough times to know better than to get attached. Even to cute little hamsters.

Fine. Because you’re the best qualified to figure out if he has ulterior motives. And he’s been looking at your ass.

Yeah? Volt had just thought Wallace was looking off to the side, overwhelmed by all the nearly naked bodies in the room. It was difficult to calculate angles with only one of the relevant people in the frame.

He’s drooling over your muscles. If he had x-ray vision, he’d be looking under your loincloth.

Volt let himself smirk for a second before turning away from the plant he was watering. He pretended a moment of surprise at hearing his name, then focused in on Wallace with a disarming smile.

Wallace Wollencroft looked back at him. Or, more accurately, stared at him like he’d forgotten how to make words.

That was cute. Really, the whole package was cute. Bowtie, suspenders, pink cheeks, sweaty palms, and that open-mouthed look of awe.

Volt was used to people looking at him with lust or appreciation, but Wallace’s wide-eyed entrancement was novel. He found himself smiling for real. Poor little newbie. He probably wouldn’t stay dazed and amazed for long, but right now it was sweet to be the focus of such unbridled and innocent desire.

Hell, who was he kidding? That needy hero worship from a sweet little sub was his kryptonite.

Not that this man was necessarily submissive, he reminded himself. There was a difference between being new to something and wanting a firm Daddy to guide and pamper you.

Volt strode toward the front desk, letting his hips sway just a bit. He watched as stark terror crossed Wallace’s face, realizing that he’d been caught staring. He could stand here all day being admired like that.

He had to hold back a snort when Wallace asked Angel for a female spark. Angel was laughing his head off in little bursts and pings over their feed, but he somehow managed to keep a straight face.

Little hamster clearly didn’t want a woman.

“No. Just Volt,” Angel replied. “But he’s very good.”

Volt sent him a static burst in annoyance, because that was beyond cheesy.

Though the first part, about not having any female sparks, was true. Volt and Angel were the only ones, best friends by necessity as much as choice, because otherwise it would be horribly boring, surrounded by mindless bots. Brothers was more accurate, with all of the love and teasing that went along with it.

Volt turned a disarming grin on Wallace as he introduced himself. “Hello.”

Wallace made a tiny sound, like an eep .

Just like the little hamster that Volt had named him.

Does he think I’m going to eat him? Volt asked in the feed.

Probably. Shoo, you two. Take him upstairs to answer his questions or eat his ass or whatever.

How can you work here and still be so crass?

Talent , Angel shot back.

Volt let Angel take over the rest of the introductions, giving all of his attention to Wallace’s tiny responses. He was blushing pink and kept looking from Volt’s face to the wall, up Volt’s body, and then away again.

Volt made it a game to smile or give a little wink every time he caught Wallace watching, just to get his reactions. Absolutely adorable.

When he took Wallace’s hand to shake, all he got out of the fluffy little hamster was a stunned “Uh.”

What’s his nickname? Angel prompted in his head.

None of your beeswax.

“Excellent.” Angel clasped his hands together, sending Volt a knowing leer. “Volt will take good care of you.”

Volt replied with a much louder burst of static. Yeah, so he had a type. Or, well, maybe a situation. He liked bringing newbies out of their shells so they could shine.

It kind of got him the rush of Daddying without making it into a big thing. For most people, they’d see him once or twice to get their footing, then they were on to greener—or cheaper—pastures with typical sexbots or actual relationships.

Angel sent him back an animation of a cute, chubby man—who looked nothing like Wallace and had to be a sloppy AI output—wearing a t-shirt that said Daddy knows best .

If only.

Volt decided to ignore his best friend. He found himself still holding Wallace’s plush hand, as the little hamster had never let go of it after they shook. So he took advantage of that to guide the somewhat dazed Wallace to the elevator.

Volt checked the bookings for available rooms while they rode, considering what Wallace would like. He ended up with his own favorite, the rose room. It was the most innocent of the rooms, just a bed with a comforter, two chairs, and some side tables with an attached bathroom. There were no actual roses in the decor, but the curtains and bedspread were a soft pink and the soap in the bathroom smelled like roses.

Feeling Wallace’s sweaty palm in his, he decided it was the right choice. Most of the rooms were themed in some over-the-top fashion, either for kink or escape or fantasy, but Volt most enjoyed the fantasies he could create in someone’s head.

Plus, the little hamster looked like he might bolt back to his den and never return if Volt pushed him into a room with whips and dildos on display.

He placed a hand low on Wallace’s back, enjoying the little shiver that spread across the plump expanse as he guided him inside. That was often the best way with newbies, starting with innocent little touches to light a flame inside.

Wallace looked like the flames had already been lit, his cheeks still flushed pink and eyes darting to Volt and then away.

He stopped dead when he saw the bed.

Volt bit back a smile as he nudged Wallace forward and pulled the door closed. “What are you thinking about, cutie?”

“Are we going to…” He looked at the bed and then flicked back to a spot somewhere near Volt’s ear. “I mean, you don’t have to…” Wallace covered his face with both hands. “You must think I’m so pathetic. Like, I promise I’ve had sex before.”

Not going to laugh. Not going to laugh. Volt was not going to laugh. Wallace was just so adorably flustered. It was a welcome break from all of the jaded customers who paraded through, already certain of what they wanted and how they wanted it.

He pulled Wallace’s hands away from his face and held them. “I promise I don’t think you’re pathetic.”

“There really is a project. Oh, wait. You didn’t hear that part. I have this co-worker, or like, I’m his boss, but he’s so hard to work with and… God, you don’t care about that part. So, he’s making this… Hang on. Did I say I work for Orbit Robotics? They might have made…” Wallace winced, shaking his head.

Wow. That was quite a tangled stream of words. Volt wondered whether he always flitted from topic to topic, or only when he was nervous.

“Orbit did construct me,” Volt replied. “And I caught the spark while working here.” He didn’t usually reveal that to anyone, but he knew how sharing a bit of his own background could put someone at ease. “Now, do you want to tell me about your project?”

Volt started rubbing his thumbs over Wallace’s hands, stroking and teasing.

Wallace blinked up at him, still entranced, and didn’t protest the gentle seduction.

Was he too terrified to ask for what he wanted? Too aroused to think? Or maybe, Volt hoped, was he submissive enough to want Volt to take charge?

“Uh, the project is… Alright. So, there’s this guy I work with, Ben. Er, Ben, I guess, is his first name. What people call him. And he’s… no, I’m not going to say that. Ben’s doing a project where he’s sampling sparks who are, uh, Dominants, like, kinky Dominants?, to create a mod for those skills.”

Volt was getting the sense that Ben was the cruel, overbearing type, since he upset Wallace so much. “Is Ben a Dom?” he asked. Or an abuser posing as one?

“Uh, no? God, I can’t believe I know this about my colleague. He’s a sub, I guess? He’s just childish and irresponsible.”

Ah, a brat. Well, that made sense. And he could see why that would be intimidating to someone like Wallace, especially if this Ben was acting the brat in the workplace.

Volt changed his grip to lightly stroke the inside of Wallace’s wrists, enjoying the small gasp of delight it elicited. “So tell me about your project.”

“Uh, my father told me I had to, I mean… Oh god. Listen, my father is the CEO, so it’s not…” Wallace shook his head. “I’m really bad at this. I should just shut up.”

He was shaking. Literally shaking in Volt’s hands.

“No, baby. You’re not bad at this at all. It’s okay to be overwhelmed sometimes.” Volt just wanted to wrap him up in a blanket and snuggle him better.

“Yeah, but I’m overwhelmed all the time. And I’m… And you’re…” He gestured between them, as if that was supposed to explain everything.

“I’m glad you came to visit me,” Volt told him. “Perhaps we could get to know each other better?”

“You mean like…?” Wallace’s eyes were wide open, and he looked frozen in shock. “I, I, I’m not sure I should… I mean, I came here to…”

Volt had a choice. He could either make this more formal and official, focusing on gathering information about the project to make Wallace more comfortable, or he could take a risk and go the opposite direction.

Namely, kissing the tempting Wallace to within an inch of his life, and seeing if he was more articulate and relaxed after a good fuck.

Except, there was the shaking. Wallace couldn’t really consent to anything when he was scared out of his mind.

Which left Volt with a third option. That one was probably the riskiest, and also the most selfish.

It was also the one that felt right.

Which he was really hoping it was, because it would screw everything up if he were wrong, and Wallace might never feel brave enough to do something like this again.

Wallace darted one more hungry, helpless look up towards Volt’s face and that decided him.

Volt walked backward to the larger chair, a soft squishy one with wide padded arms.

Then he sat down and pulled Wallace sideways into his lap.

“What?” screeched Wallace, clearly panicking. “I can’t sit on you!”

“Shhhh…” Volt told him, arms wrapped tightly around the struggling man. “You absolutely can sit on my lap.” Because from Wallace’s words, that seemed to be the issue. If he didn’t want to be there, he probably would have said something else.

He also wasn’t struggling very hard.

“Just breathe,” Volt told him, hands shifting from pinning him down to stroking his back. “I’m strong enough to not just hold you, but carry you and probably run a mile at the same time.”

Wallace finally turned to him. “But why would you want to?”

One answer was because Wallace was flipping out and he wanted to calm him down while seeing if the man might be into the same kinks he was. Okay, so that was two reasons. But he wasn’t going to say either of them.

“Because you’re cute. And I like holding you.” Also true.

“I’m too big to hold. And I’m not cute.”

“That’s ridiculous. You’re not heavy at all. You’re a little creampuff.”

Wallace’s face darkened and every muscle went tight. “That’s mean.”

“What do you mean? You’re fluffy and sweet, and I want to eat you all up.”

“You’re saying that I’m fat. Nobody thinks I’m sweet, and that’s what fluffy means, right?”

Volt ran a hand over Wallace’s wide belly, letting his fingers trail. “It means that you’re delectable.”

“I still don’t see why you’re… Oh.” Now he wasn’t angry, just morose. “I’m paying you to say that. You don’t have to, you know.”

Volt was about to object, but Wallace was , in fact, paying him. For a lot of customers, that was a helpful barrier, separating out sex from more intense emotions.

It was a helpful barrier for Volt, too. One that he’d gotten confused on more than one occasion in his first year and a half, but those were a set of memories better left forgotten. He knew better now.

Sex was fun. It kept him busy. And it was his job.

So, it was a good reminder for both of them that Wallace wasn’t his boyfriend. He seemed fragile enough to fall for anyone who said a kind word to him.

“You are paying me,” Volt responded gently, “but my words are my own. I happen to find you very attractive.”

“Nobody finds me very attractive, or even a little bit attractive. Trust me on this one. The only reason anyone even talks to me is my money.”

Volt ran his fingers through Wallace’s hair, lifting it off his round face. “I’m sure that’s not true.” His cheeks were a ruddy pink that gave him a boyish, innocent look, even with his dark scruff.

Or maybe especially with that dark scruff. It was cute.

Even cuter was his tangled babbling and emotional honesty. That was Volt’s catnip.

“Oh, believe me, I’ve heard about my flaws in excruciating detail from more than one source.” Wallace scrunched his eyes shut. “I just hate all of it sometimes. The name, the company, the money… I don’t even know why I’m telling you this. I sound like a loser. Poor little rich kid and all that.”

Volt was privately thinking that it sounded like Wallace had been bullied, abandoned, or abused, to have such a low opinion of himself. At the very least, he was surrounding himself with people who only wanted him for his wealth, which clearly wasn’t healthy.

This was the point where Volt would declare that he didn’t want Wallace for his money… but they’d known each other for all of ten minutes, and, yes, Wallace was a customer.

Their financial transactions were just more transparent.

“It sounds like you haven’t been around the right people. And I’m honored that you feel comfortable sharing these things with me.” Volt rubbed his thumb over Wallace’s lips, enjoying the contrast of the soft pink skin with the scratch of his beard.

Wallace sucked in a sharp breath, leaning into Volt’s hand, so Volt had to do it again. The boy was just so responsive , looking at Volt like he was some sort of god.

Then Wallace shook his head, like he was clearing himself from a fog. “What are you doing?”

“Touching you.” He did it again, and was rewarded immediately by a dozen tiny responses of delight. “I don’t want you to think about bad things anymore. Just be here with me.”

He could tell Wallace was opening his mouth to object, so he slid his thumb inside.

Wallace’s eyes went wide.

“You know what to do,” Volt prompted gently. His palm curved around Wallace’s cheek, holding him in place.

Wallace slowly closed his lips, dragging Volt into that silky wet heat.

“Mmmmmmm…” Volt let his pleasure be known. He’d meant this to be innocent and calming, kind of an experiment on his part, but all it did was turn him on.

Wallace sucked a little harder, then started to do something with his tongue. Oh fuck . That was too good. Not quite a blow job and a little hesitant, which made every swipe of that satiny muscle more arousing.

Wallace was trying so hard, with those eager eyes. Even unsure of what to do, he was looking to Volt to see if he pleased him.

And he very much did.

Volt had an endless supply of available partners—all he had to do if he wanted to fuck was walk downstairs—but this was something else. He was always such a sucker for the needy, submissive boys, and he really hoped that’s what Wallace was.

“Just suck,” he commanded.

Wallace startled, then let out a happy sigh as he complied.

“Good boy,” Volt told him, meaning it completely but still testing the waters.

He watched carefully as Wallace blushed again before tentatively sucking harder. He looked aroused and adoring, like he still couldn’t believe this was happening.

Typically, Volt started out assignations by asking the customer what they wanted and then following their script. The problem was, he was pretty sure that Wallace didn’t know what he wanted. He probably didn’t even understand all the things he could want.

“Such a good boy.” Volt used his other hand to stroke through Wallace’s carefully groomed hair.

He planned to mess it up thoroughly before the evening was through.

But for now, he was pleased to see Wallace start to relax, the tension finally draining from his rounded shoulders.

He was perfect.

Now all Volt had to do was remember that this wasn’t real.