Page 21 of Battery Operated

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“Hell, yeah,” Lila said. “Shall I reiterate what I said on the day of the ambush? Real men don’t know what they’re doing half the time—or more. But fortunately, we live in the modern world, so women have technology that will give them what men can’t.”

“If I recall, we proved you wrong on the day of the ambush, as you call it,” Gideon said. He was rewarded with a flying bullet vibe. Somehow, he dodged it and kept the camera relatively steady. “How much of that crap did you bring?”

“Lots,” Brady answered for her, holding up another toy. This one was phallic as well, but there was a little extra part at the base that stuck out and then curved upward. “What’s this thing for?”

“You’d be amazed how many men ask that,” Lila said dryly. “But okay, fine, take my stuff. Just stop handling it.”

Her tone was perfect. As if she was resigned to losing this battle, but still had hope of winning the war. Her followers probably loved that kind of thing.

But then she was back in high form, hamming it up for the camera. “I knew I’d be bored to tears this week, but if you want me to live like a nun as well, bring it on. I’ll survive—somehow.”

“Did we miss anything?” Brady asked, rifling through the clothes and makeup in another one of her suitcases.

“Not that I can think of, but by all means, keep manhandling my lingerie. I’m sure you gents don’t get many cheap thrills this far out in the middle of nowhere.”

“You’d be surprised,” Gideon said. “Are we done here?”

Lila rolled her eyes as she faced the camera and gave a quick sign-off directly to her audience. Then she gave Gideon a nod, and he stopped recording and tossed her phone on the bed.

“Are we done here?” Lila imitated Gideon in a mocking voice. “I thought you were supposed to be a professional.” Her tone indicated that she thought no such thing.

“We pre-record our videos,” I said, trying to keep things calm. “And edit all the extraneous stuff out.”

“So I’ve seen. I think your video on watching paint dry was nominated for an Emmy, wasn’t it?”

“It’s one of our most popular ones,” Brady said, unaffected by her sarcasm. He moved behind the bed where we’d stashed a basket out of sight of the camera. He put Lila’s eReader, electric toothbrush, and shaver in it and then gathered up the toys.

“Wait, you’re really taking all my stuff?” Lila asked, sounding surprised.

He paused, looking absurdly casual while holding a fake pink penis. “Didn’t we just go through this?”

“I thought that was just for the camera.”

“Livestreaming is your reason for being, Princess, not ours.” Gideon was leaning against the dresser, his arms crossed.

“I thought that was the whole purpose of your insane plan—to somehow drum up some interest for this dump.”

“This was my grandparents’ house,” I said quietly but firmly.

My tone gave Lila pause, but then she soldiered on. “As a house, it’s fine. Full of character. And memories. And… sticks. But you have to admit that as a tourist destination, it leaves a lot to be desired. You said you closed up shop for this week, but were there even any reservations to cancel?”

“Yes,” Brady said. Luckily, he didn’t mention that it had just been a two-night stay by a couple on a road trip up to the Great Lakes.

“Okay, fine, whatever. Look, I’ll be good on camera, but when it’s not on, there’s no reason for me to live like a cavewoman all week.”

“That was the deal,” Gideon said.

“I need my stuff.”

Gideon scoffed, but for just a second, I caught a glimpse of something in Lila’s eyes. Something hopeless. Something that made me think this wasn’t just about personal care items and sex toys. But no one else seemed to notice.

“You can last a week,” Gideon said, and Lila’s gaze hardened and the emotion I’d caught before was gone. “And if you can’t,” Gideon continued, “that’s a win for us as well. Everyone will book a room to see the place that finally conquered Lila James.”

“Not going to happen,” she said. The air between them seemed to solidify as they stared each other down. I exchanged a quick glance with Brady. We both knew we weren’t part of this.

They might’ve glared at each other forever, if a sound hadn’t intruded. It was faint at first, but then it grew louder. And more dissonant.

“What the hell is that?” Gideon said, finally breaking eye contact with our guest.


Tags: Stephanie Brother Erotic