Steampunk Harlots Ch. 23

Then he stumbled back a few steps to fall into his chair that had been pushed aside. As he worked to catch his own breath, Hannah grabbed a kerchief to clean off her face before adjusting her underwear and fixing her skirt. She looked in the safe to see it had been almost emptied, contemplating taking the rest of it while he was distracted. Resisting the temptation, she picked up her bra and shirt instead before simply leaving the office in a brisk but stealthy step. As she replaced her bra back on her chest, she thought she might have heard him ask after her but she was already in the hallway.

****

The tall marble pillars struck a sense of awe into Hope as she and Astra escorted the prisoners into the cathedral. The whole hall was filled with them leading to the altar, where priests readied themselves for mass. She had no idea the church had been doing so well as to be able to construct such a place inside the capital city. Marvelling at the beautiful stained-glass windows and the mosaics on the floor, Hope waved over some men-at-arms to take the prisoners off her hands. That was when the priests noticed her and beckoned her to the altar.

"I suppose there is good reason for this. Mass will be starting soon," the shortest of the priests spoke.

"Indeed, that would be this." Hope handed over the warded container she had been holding.

"You recovered a relic?" another asked in an incredulous tone.

"No, sadly not. I just needed the container to keep the crime of these men in check."

"And that would be?" the short priest asked as he snatched the container.

"A necroform," Hope stated with an almost cheerful casualness.

The word caused the priests to startle and jump, almost dropping the container. Hope had made sure it was secure enough to handle a drop, but hid her smile at their reaction with a gasp of panic.

"Please!" she shouted. "If you cannot be trusted to guard this properly, I will have the cardinal remove you all."

Whatever pretension the men may have had was gone, and now Hope could begin to explain exactly what happened.

****

"Down that hall to the end," the clerk behind the desk directed, without looking up at Easy.

She shrugged and walked down the hall, followed by Vile, whose heavy hooves finally got the man to look up. Emma smiled as she looked at the shocked expression on his face.

"Is there a problem?" Emma asked.

"She's not here to usher in the end times is she?" he asked, slowly breaking eye contact with Vile to look at Emma.

"Nope, just another Emberborn, like me."

"Oh, well I suppose that's a good thing," he paused to look back at Vile again. "Though if she is a demon here to bring the apocalypse, then could you give me a bit of notice? There are some staff members I would love to throttle before the end."

Emma giggled. "Sure thing. Always happy to satisfy the desires of a man."

After the moment needed for his brain to process her words, his vision snapped back to Emma, who flashed a smile before skipping down the hall to catch up with Vile and Easy.

****

Whatever the man was thinking when Inky handed him the list of munitions she wanted to buy, his assumptions were gone once he saw the list.

"That's... a lot..." he mumbled as his eyes scanned down the list.

"We do a surprising amount of fighting. I like to be prepared," she replied.

"Well, I see that. When do you need this by?" he asked as he looked up from the list.

Inky let him take a moment to admire her chest, leaning forward a bit to help, before answering. "As soon as possible."

"Well, with the lockdown, I have my boys shipping orders all over the city to paranoid aristocrats. They won't be free for a few days at least."

"Far too long, I would very much appreciate a higher priority. My girls can help. They enjoy taking heavy loads."

"Hey, boss," a brawny man came in from the back room called.

"Yes?"

The man eyed all the women quickly before answering, "You asked me to point out to you when a woman was getting suggestive."

"Yes, so?"

"Well, she's doing that right now."

The man seemed genuinely surprised, looking at Inky in the face this time before looking back to his worker, who just nodded enthusiastically to convince him. He looked back at the list, a natural reflex of his when he needed time to think but look like he was doing something. The big man rolled his eyes at his boss' ineptitude while waving over two of his friends who had been shifting crates in the back.

"Really?" the boss finally asked, still unsure.

"Yes," Inky answered, giving up on the subtle approach. "The way you have been eying my breasts would suggest you want to do more than that."

Inky unclasped her bra to reveal the tanned breasts it had been hiding. The man reached forward to touch them with his hands as if he wasn't quite sure any of it was really happening. She then turned to the three men excitedly looking around the room. Inky waved them into the back room and signalled Conna to lock the door before she joined Foxy, Tara, and Laurel in the back room.

Conna flipped the sign as she locked the door and dashed off past Inky, who was now almost regretting being the one to take care of the boss. In the back, she could already see one of the men feeling up Foxy as she leant back against his chest. Tara was on her knees, unfastening the heavy trousers while Laurel was enjoying a much more competent fondling of her breasts. Trying to decide where to involve herself, Conna started to strip out of her uniform and simply enjoy the sights until she was tagged in.

Foxy was thrilled that her fur hadn't turned any of the men away, though she already knew men were much more tolerant of anything if it got them laid. The man behind her nuzzled her neck as he gripped her breasts. She fumbled with his trousers with her own hands behind her and was soon rewarded with his hardness between her legs, pressing against her underwear. Her tail swept between his legs and wrapped around one of them as best as she could.

Tara loved the feeling of her breathing controlled by the presence of a man in her throat. Holding her breath as long as she could, until finally pulling away to gasp for breath. She didn't need his hands on her head or holding her hair but it added to the thrill. With her owns hands free, she had stripped herself, knowing he wouldn't be able to last for long before wanting to penetrate another part of her. Until then though, she enjoyed being naked on her knees, unable to breathe.

Laurel didn't waste any time while being held up against the wall, her breasts in the face of the man, she moaned for more. He yanked her underwear off, the clasps separating so they wouldn't tear, then lowered her and pinned her to the wall as he slid inside her. She could see Foxy next to her, facing the wall with her hands trying to grip it as she was accommodating the forceful penetrations of a man. Reaching out to touch the furry hand, Laurel got a smile from the fox as she held her by the hand tightly.

Meanwhile, Inky, who had finally seemed to have made it clear to the man she was willing to have sex, laid on the floor as he fumbled to thrust his way inside her. Leaning down to kiss, he felt her legs wrap around him as she was determined to enjoy the experience despite his lack of skill. Then, rolling him over, she pinned him to the floor and made it clear he was to stay there. He laid there watching the dark-skinned beauty work her body back and forth on top of him, as she moaned in pleasure at finally having him where she wanted. She slapped his hands down when he tried to grip her hips or breasts and simply made him watch as she bounced her hips up and down on him.

Tara was happy to see Conna sit on the face of the man she had just begun to straddle. With him inside her, she reached out to touch her friend, who leant back to let her breasts be massaged. Their man laid on the floor, watching the woman moving her hips over his face being touched by the woman grinding her hips to get him deeper inside her. It was like a dream come true for him, and as he saw Conna turn to kiss the woman whose lips had been wrapped around his shaft, he couldn't last any longer and groaned. However, the girls were not finished, and Tara kept her hips moving even as she felt his seed flowing inside her body.

As the man had finished filling Laurel as he climaxed, he pulled out and saw Foxy move herself over to lick her clean while still being rammed from behind. The sight was too much for him to handle, and the Fox felt her partner finish as well, yanking on her tail as he did so. She howled as suddenly her own climax was brought about and collapsed to the floor, unable to finish cleaning Laurel.

Inky, more from listening to her girls being satisfied than from the man inside her, felt a small shudder of pleasure in her own body. Of course, she couldn't just leave the man unsatisfied, so she picked up the pace to quickly finish him off. He was almost surprised when it happened, as if he hadn't known what to expect. That's when Inky realised the man, who was old enough to have started balding, had been a virgin without any experience at all.

****

Emma was annoyed that most of the books she wanted to look at were all on shelves too high for her. Vile was in an entirely different aisle, and Easy had flirted up a clerk to do the looking for her. Mid-climb on the shelves she thought about finding someone to flirt with herself when she felt a hand moving between her legs. She was startled but kept a grip on the shelf she was hanging on while she looked behind her. Nobody was there as she felt the hand massaging her womanhood.

Emma let go of the shelf and dropped down to the floor, and the hand seemed to have stopped. She looked around for any sign of who or what may have been touching her. Again, she felt a hand touching her, this time her breasts felt like they were being gripped. She could see her breasts moving as an invisible hand squeezed them. Far from being aroused, Emma was furious. She reached down to try and pull the hand off her. As she touched it, she could barely feel it but its semi-tangible nature was enough. A simple thing to make someone cough, though doing it through a spectral hand was new. A sudden cough from above was all she needed to know it worked. The hand disappeared from her chest as she looked up to see a man ducking away from the edge of the stone bookcase.

She didn't wait for her tall friend or the one with wings, Emma climbed the stonework shelves to get atop, where she found a man lying prone and trying to put himself back down his pants. While she didn't have much weight on herself, neither did he. Emma grabbed him by the tunic and pulled hard to bring him over the edge. While Emma landed on her feet and recovered quickly, the man she dragged down with her landed with a heavy thump on the stone tile floor. As he groaned, he looked around in time to see a tiny foot drive into his face. He let out a pitiful yelp and curled up into a fetal position as he begun to weep and whimper.

Emma reached down to grab him by the neck and make him look at her. Through the blood coming from his nose, he started to stammer.

"No, I didn't do..." He was cut off as Emma made him uncurl and lay flat.

As she kept her hand on his throat to keep him quiet, she struck her fist down into his groin. He tried to wail in pain, but Emma wouldn't let him. She leant in close to hiss a venomous whisper.

"Don't you dare try and deny anything. I know what you did and I am not going to let you go. You worthless, piece of shit. Do you even know what you did wrong?"

"Please," he gasped as Emma finally let him make noise. "Take it, just don't hurt me anymore..."

He reached under his shirt to pull out a necklace with a ring on it. The brass metal had the image of a hand in it made from pearl. She yanked it off his neck.

"I don't care about this," she continued to whisper. "You think that if you just give me something that I will go away? That somehow what you did was so trivial that I could just forget it if you gave me some magical trinket?"

"I'm sorry! I should have found someone el..." His excuse cut off by another strike to his genitals.

"No." Emma hissed, exasperated. "You shouldn't have done it at all, to anyone, ever! I don't care what sad, pathetic reasons you think justify this. You haven't the right to lay hands, real or spectral, on anyone unless they knowingly give it to you."

Vile suddenly stopped as she noticed the altercation while walking between the aisles. She stomped up to where Emma was and exchanged glances with Emma.

"Okay, fine, I'm sorry. I won't ever..."

"Damn right you won't ever," Emma hissed with finality.

She made him clasp his hands together and hold them to the side on the floor. Emma nodded to Vile, who lifted her mighty hoof and brought it down hard on the hands, shattering the bones within.

"Now you won't ever be touching someone like that again. Anything else to say?"

"No, please stop! Take my spotter stone but please stop hurting me," he croaked as he tilted his head to show off an earring that looked like an eye.

Emma yanked it out of his ear and instantly knew she had the eyes of Vile on her. Then two more sets behind her were watching, and she turned to see Easy with her new friend, both frozen in surprise. His hand remained on Easy's breast until she rushed over to speak with Emma.

"What happened?" Easy asked.

"Filth with a magic hand thought I was an easy mark. Probably still doesn't know what he did wrong."

Emma could feel the eyes of the other man leave her a moment before coming back. He hushed them and urged them to get up. He directed them through the stacks to a door marked for staff, and nodded at the broken man Vile was holding. They tossed him in and shut the door as he was finally able to scream in pain. The door shut out the sound the moment it was closed.

"Thanks," Emma said, still trying to contain her anger.

"Sure, we soundproofed it for other reasons," he said, while looking at Easy. "But I think now really isn't the time for that. We always wondered what the twerp was doing here so often. I will report him when I 'find' him after closing. You girls really don't want to be around to deal with that headache."

"Thanks," Easy said this time.

****

As Mari watched her friend go up the stairs to be 'interviewed', she went off towards the bar. A little disappointed that she wasn't invited to join them, but separating a girl from her backup was a classic way of making them easier to manipulate. As a result, she didn't want to get too deep into the club in case she had to make an exit when Hannah was finished. So she sat on a stool where she could still see the door and stairs and waved for a drink. The bar seemed to be full of men who hadn't quite mustered the courage to get themselves deeper in the club so she stood out. The beautiful woman behind the bar came over to take her order.

"What can I get for you, m'lady?" she asked.

Mari checked her out. Rainbow-coloured hair with a side shaved, just like her own head. Covered in almost as much ink as she was, and clearly had her share of piercings on her face and breasts.

"I can think of something I'd love to taste, that's for sure," Mari replied, not trying to hide how impressed she was with the woman.

"I've heard that line hundreds of times, but I think I actually appreciate it this time."

"Yeah, sorry, I'm usually more original, but you kinda caught me off guard. You must be expensive."

"Actually, my father has forbidden me from serving clients anything more than drinks. Doesn't want to 'spoil' me before he can auction me off."

"That why you have so much ink and metal?"

"Yeah, started out just doing it where he couldn't see, and then just didn't stop. He's not a fan of inked girls now, because they all remind him of me."

"Probably why he took my friend and not me up for an interview."

"Ah, that's how he ended up with me in the first place. Maybe I will get a sibling."

"Nah, she's got a stone, plus she's not gonna work here."

"So sure are you? He has a way of making women work here. Then acts all moral when he tells me not to see clients. Like he doesn't know I know he wants to sell me."

"So don't get paid for it. Just find a guy and fuck him."

"Followed all the time. Not likely to get a man alone."

"What about a woman?" Mari cocked an eyebrow.

It was her turn to show a shocked expression, "You mean you? No payment?"

"Nope. At least unless you really wanted to piss him off by paying me for sex," Mari suggested, trying to make it sound like a joke.

"He tells me to have fun with the girls here, so it prolly won't bother him that much."

"That's because they work for him. Paying someone else, though, well, maybe not, I guess..."

The woman thought about it a moment while Mari eyed the overflowing tip jar stuffed with bills. That's when her hand was taken, and she was brought into the storeroom behind the bar and pushed past the crates into a small bathroom. She hit the switch that ignited the lights and locked the door. It was small, dingy, and smelled of cleaning chemicals, but it wasn't the worst place Mari had used.

"You and your friend ever do this?" the woman asked as she eyed up Mari.

"Never," she replied honestly.

Mistakenly assuming her answer meant she had never been with a woman, the barmaid took a gentle hold of her cheek and leant in for a kiss. Mari picked up on this quickly and played along, knowing better than to spoil the tantalising illusion for her playmate. Slowly she opened her mouth wider to accept the penetration of her tongue. As unsure as she could manage, she gripped the woman by the hips, pulling her closer. Their breasts pressed against each other, separated only by clothing, what part of their breasts were actually covered at any rate. Soon, Mari had her tongue wrestling with the barmaid's with enthusiasm as they took turns exploring the other's mouth.

Under her skirt, Mari felt the pressure of a hand pushing against her, surprised to find it bare and exposed. She felt the penetration of a single digit and stifled a request for more. Instead, she simply returned the favour and felt up between the barmaid's legs while gripping her breast with the other hand. The woman lifted her leg onto the sink to afford Mari easier access while she started to push down on her head. Taking the hint, Mari put her knees to the floor and her head under the short dress to nuzzle and lick the wet womanhood she found. Pulling the underwear out of the way, she let her tongue inexpertly explore while a pair of hands pushed on her head.

It was fun for Mari to tease the woman for a short while before putting her talents in play. She slid a pair of fingers inside while expertly flicking her tongue over the exposed clit before taking long and slow licks to change the pace. Switching gears with her tongue to keep the woman off balance, Mari found the spot inside her that turned her hard moans into high-pitched wails. Suddenly her fingers were trapped in a clench as she screamed in tears with her climax.

"How was that? Are you alright?" Mari asked, knowing the answer.

The barmaid didn't really reply except to strip herself out of her clothing. Mari did the same, and found herself pinned under the naked woman once she had finished. Again they kissed while their breasts crushed against each other, this time without clothing. Mari felt more vigorous attention paid between her legs as she was penetrated by three fingers working roughly inside her. Although not quite hitting the spot, it was rough enough for her tastes. Mari wrapped her legs around the thighs of the woman on top of her, and used both hands to tightly grip the breasts pressing into hers.