Howard's secretary called a couple of days after their not-so-casual encounter. They ended up scheduling a dinner for the following week. In the meantime Rin focused herself fully on her work.

She was aware that Saber wasn't home as much as she used to, but Rin didn't even consider inquiring about it since she didn't want to be asked unfortunate questions in return. Besides this was Saber she was talking about. There was no way she was up to something that was even remotely no good.

And Rin had more important things to worry about anyway. She had dozens of deadlines, some more important than others but she couldn't afford to fail even the smallest one. Her work was under scrutiny like never before. Everyone expected her to fail but in spite of every hurdle thus far she succeeded beyond every expectation.

When she wasn't working on her Magecraft she was either resting or helping Gerard with his. Going to dinner with Howard fell into the first category. That's why when the date came she removed all stops. She scheduled an appointment at a hairdresser and invested a couple hundred pounds into a new dress.

Red was always a good color for her, all the more so when it came with a evening dress with a slit from ankles to hips and a pair of killer heels. When she stepped out of the limo Howard sent to take her to the restaurant all the stares were for her. Even the driver had kept glancing at her legs from the rear-view mirror for the entire trip and Rin refrained from telling him off because, well, that was the effect she had been hoping for in the first place.

That, and the fact that there was a sick pleasure in being so... desired. She was a woman and she was vain, even if she was a pragmatic Magus first and foremost. She stepped into the establishment and acknowledged that the waiter was very professional because he barely took a fleeting glance before escorting her to the table where Howard was waiting.

The fat man's expression when he saw her left little to the imagination as to what he thought of her. She had seen those eyes on a lot of people. People like Shinji, for instance.

Ugh, she couldn't believe she had to put up with him, but he was her entry ticket to the world of jewel trade. No matter how much she disliked him, she'd smile and make pleasant as much as the situation required.

"Howard, good evening,"she greeted.

"Rin, my dear," he greeted back, bowing to kiss her hand politely. "You look absolutely stunning."

Rin's face stretched into a smile that was only skin-deep. She took her seat and ordered her meal. The entrees alone cost enough to cover a month of rent, damn it. They chatted and Rin was surprised that while they conversed, Howard seemed to be completely oblivious to her appearance. She supposed he knew how to be professional... except they weren't doing business right there and then.

Or weren't they? She was there because she wanted his connections, but she didn't really have anything of the same value to give him in return.

Except the obvious, of course, but that wasn't something Rin was willing to part with& even further.

They ate and they talked during the meal. Rin gave proof that she wasn't just eye candy by discussing some of the more obscure details of jewel cutting and she was satisfied to see Howard's eyebrows rise further and further as the conversation continued.

"I'm impressed," he said putting down his glass. "That kind of expertise is infrequent, to say the least."

"Ah, my family has been in the trade for generations back in Japan. Small scale, of course, but we have been at it for so long that it has sort of become a tradition."

"Truly impressive. You have a bright future in the field ahead of you. You are currently attending college, correct? Mineralogy?"

"Indeed."

"Magnificent. Did you ever consider an undertaking an apprenticeship?"

Rin almost felt like laughing.

"I did, but I'm far too busy. I'm already in charge of... a research team. Cutting edge... technology and all that."

"Ah, then perhaps I should be the apprentice instead. Say, I have a sample of uncut jewels from a new mine in south Africa coming in a couple of days. What do you think of coming over to my place and giving me your estimate of their value? Consider it an... exercise for your future endeavors."

"Hmm...," Rin pondered, swirling the wine in her glass. "I suppose I could spare some time." She didn't really want to spend more time than necessary with this guy but she needed to be in his good graces and besides she was getting at the heart of the matter: his jewels!

... Thank God she didn't not say that out loud.

"It's a date then," he said enthusiastically. "The day after tomorrow? I'll send the car." Thus Rin was left with an ambivalent feeling of dread and expectation. She wondered why things couldn't be simple for once in her life.

-xXx-

The day after tomorrow, as it turned out, was double-booked for Rin. She had a session with Gerard that afternoon, which meant she'd have to get to Howard's place straight after leaving his workshop. For that reason, she was dressed in a black business suit when she boarded the tube. A very professional outfit with a knee-long skirt and a white blouse with a feminine tie. With her hair let down on her shoulders and glasses on her nose, she almost looked like a teacher herself.

"Granted, this is work," Gerard said with a smirk upon seeing her dressed like that, "but don't you think you're a bit overdressed?"

Rin glared good-humoredly, but her frown melted into a smile. "Aren't I always overdressed to you?" She loosened her tie and unbuttoned her shirt, exposing the cleavage.

Gerard looked rightly surprised but then smiled right back. "I'm sure we can solve that one easily enough."

He stepped closer to her and she pulled him into a deep kiss, moaning lightly as his tongue danced along with hers.

'When,' Rin wondered, 'did I become comfortable with this? With him?'

But no matter the cause, she was indeed very comfortable with him. More than comfortable, in fact. In recent memory she couldn't think of him without the memories of what they did together surfacing as well, and anything he was close to her she just felt so... hopelessly hot.

She didn't want to think what it meant for her and to be honest it wasn't that hard. When he wasn't there she focused on her work with all the determination of a first rate Magus, and when he was there, thinking wasn't exactly something she could do very well, if at all.

While they kissed, Gerard had finished unbuttoning her shirt which flew off with a gesture of his arm on the back of a chair. Not that Rin paid it any mind, busy as she was stroking his erection through his pants. Feeling it throbbing because of her was an enthralling sensation. Wrong perhaps, but enthralling nonetheless and so long as no one was being hurt because of it, because of her, she could indulge herself in it as much as she wanted. She did deserve it for all the things she went through every day, didn't she?

'I do,' she absolved herself, popping it out of its restraint and dropping to her knees in front of it, heart hammering and mouth salivating. Wetting her lips, she brought it to her mouth. She kissed the tip with what could only be called affection and looked squarely into Gerard's eyes. The lust she saw in there made her core melt even further and she slid the meat rod into her mouth.

Merely sucking on it gave her thrills she didn't think possible. To think that oral sex could give pleasure to the one performing it... she wouldn't have ever found out if not for Gerard. Her mind was getting blanker by the minute and with it all her concerns and worries melted into the background.

She should have accepted his propositions much sooner, even when Shi- Shi- that guy was still around.

Yeah, because there was nothing wrong with that. Sucking COCK was perfectly fine with her.

'Oooh,' thinking was becoming such an effort. She didn't want to do it anymore. She frantically rubbed her pussy through her clothes, growing increasingly frustrated by their interference. She pulled up her skirt to her hips and ripped the panties away, baring her glistening pussy and the piercing on her clit, which she immediately teased.

"I see you liked my gift," Gerard said with a growl.

"Hm-hm," Rin confirmed, mouth still full. Normally she wouldn't have admitted something like that, but she was in no condition to think straight. The woman inside her had awoken and she was an honest creature at heart.

Otherwise Rin would not gobble his cock with so much abandon, while she alternated between fingering her dripping cunt and toying with his gift. She was coming along better than expected, but there was still a hurdle to overcome and this was a perfect opportunity.

"So Rin, did you think about my proposal for more advanced experimentation?" he asked, pulling out his cock of her mouth.

"Ah, what? What did you say?"

"I asked if you thought about my proposal. Deeper experiments, you know?" he waved his cock in front of her face and she followed it left and right. "You really need to decide if you want to continue with our sessions."

"Ah... well," she stuttered, eyes glazed but still firmly locked on his dick. "Fine, whatever."

"Good girl," and he let her grab his cock between her lips again, much to her satisfaction. "I think I'm going to fuck your mouth now."

Rin in response relaxed her head and Gerard grabbed it roughly, pumping in and out of her with his hips. Rin's eyes rolled up, but with him taking charge she could now use both hands on herself.

She caressed both her legs before spreading them apart. She shot Gerard a glance with half-lidded eyes, as if to say 'Look at me'. Which he did. He took in every detail of her lewd self while he pushed his cock in and out of her throat, while she fingered her cunt with unyielding desire. He came into her mouth without so much as a warning and all that Rin did was swallow every drop of his cum while she came around her own fingers with a moan suppressed by the thick meat that blocked her throat.

Her arousal splattered on the floor between her legs, while Gerard's excessive cum spilled out from the corner of her lips and down her chin. He pulled out of her and watched with through satisfaction as she scooped the drip with her fingers and tongue.

"Do you want more?"

"... yes."

He continued to fuck her mouth for the rest of the agreed hour but he didn't touch her pussy. He needed her wanting for her appointment later, after all.

-xXx-

An hour later Rin was back on the train, among the crowd of people early afternoon. She was still in a daze. Gerard had not fucked her properly even once. She came to her own fingers several times but ultimately she had to leave feeling unsatisfied. Empty.

Well, she had more mana than she needed and she felt it coursing through her body, tingling... titillating.

It did not help at all. She barely managed to take a shower and make herself decent before leaving Gerard's workshop in haste.

Decent was perhaps too big of a stretch for her current situation. Her panties were in pieces and Gerard had destroyed what was left even though she could have used Magecraft to repair them. She didn't have time to properly convey her displeasure since she had to run and she didn't dare use projection to make a new pair. She wasn't all that good at it and... the practice of it carried memories she'd rather not bring up right there and then.

Again she felt like the people around her knew. She caught complicit gazes, hungry stares and knowing smiles.

It was all in her head, she knew, but she felt exposed... naked. But instead of clearing her mind like it should have it made her feel even more horny.

'Oh God, I'm becoming a pervert. This is all Gerard's fault. I'm going to wring his neck when I see him next.'

It was all good and fine knowing that, but it did not help her circumstances in the least. It didn't help that she would have to spend the whole evening at Howard's place like that. She could only pray that he'd never figure out or he would assume the worst of her.

-xXx-

Howard's mansion was a big as she recalled and just as illuminated. She wouldn't want to be the one to pay his utility bills.

The limo dropped her at the entrance, where one of the maids received her and lead her to the dining hall. A dining hall that in all honesty put to shame the restaurant where they ate the last time. Why did this guy even bother leaving his house?

"Rin, my dear," he greeted boisterously. "Come, come. Thank you for joining me. Take a seat."

She did so and they dined chatting casually. All the while, Rin kept rubbing her legs together under the table. It was only because she was able to keep a straight face in uncomfortable situation that she let nothing slip.

When dinner was over Howard asked her to follow him.

The mansion was huge, Rin already knew that, and the identical corridors were like a maze. However, she had a good sense of direction and while the corridors where all the same she had the distinct feeling she had already been there specifically. The feeling became undeniable when Howard opened a door to a room, a storeroom, to be specific.

The disposition of the crates, the unused chair stacked on the side... It was without a doubt the room where Gerard and her...

Memories of that night flashed through her mind. The excitement of hiding from Saber, the body of Gerard pressed against her, inside her. The heat of her body being filled...

"Is everything alright dear?" Howard asked.

"Wha-? Oh, yes. Sorry, I was just lost in thought. What are we doing here again?"

"This is where I keep that sample of jewels I told you about. The one I wanted you to appraise."

"Here?" she asked, and indeed Howard took a smaller inconspicuous box out of the stack, He opened it and it was full of uncut jewel. "Why in a place like this? Why not in a safe?"

Howard chuckled. "If you were a thief, planning a heist, where would you go looking for jewels? In a random box like many others through hundreds of rooms, or in a safe?"

"Still," she protested, "with no security like this."

"I pick a room at random every time I get a shipment," he continued. "And there is security. Every room and corridor in this mansion is under camera surveillance, twenty-four-seven."

"Ah," she nodded. "Is that how... it... is...?" She trailed off, heart beating wildly in her chest and blood rushing to her face.

"It is," Howard confirmed with a leering smile.

'Oh my God,' she cringed inwardly. 'He knows. He saw what we did in here that night.'

She was ashamed beyond words. Never in her life she had been so mortified. And yet, despite of that, knowing that he knew, that she had been seen and exposed... it made her body shake with excitement.

"Anyway, I wanted your opinion on this," he said, changing the topic abruptly. Rin shook her head and did her best to ignore her body, focusing on the jewels Howard gave her.

She examined them with attention. Her interest in jewelry was such that she could ignore everything else in favor of it. One moment went by, then another. With each passing second Rin's eyebrows went up. Her eyes widened considerably.

"So, how much do you think they are worth?"

"Uncut like this, I would say at least 20.000 pounds," which was the correct estimate. However, the bigger ruby of the lot was highly spiritually infused. If she had to evaluate it on the Clock Tower's standard it was worth at least three times that much. Better yet, if she could get it for herself, she could use it to accelerate her experiments by at least thirty percent.

It was priceless, but she didn't have enough money available to even consider getting it from him.

"Very good Rin. Very good," Howard commented, putting the lid back on the box. "I believe the two of us can do profitable business together in the future."

"About that..."

"Yes, dear?"

"That ruby, I would like to have it. I mean, I can't really afford it right now, but if could have it as down-payment for future endeavors..."

Howard looked at her like she had grown a second head

"You're asking me to part from something of that value for... what? Future consultations? I'm sorry, but that's ludicrous, dear. And forgive me for saying this, Rin, but as an appraiser it would take you at least a year of full-time work to pay it back and you already told me you don't have the time to spare. I can offer... a 10% discount as a sign of goodwill, but you would have to pay the rest."

She sighed. She already knew that much, but it had been worth a shot. She briefly considered stealing it, using hypnosis to make him give it to her, but it wasn't feasible. As much as the Clock Tower excused everything for the sake of Magecraft, they were still an organization that ran on money and its most prominent members were all high-level businessmen. Keeping Magecraft hidden from the world at large required the work of a lot of people, people who needed to be paid. Generally, the wide consensus was that covering for missing valuables was a financial loss. If that loss was tracked to her doing she would have to refund the Clock Tower to the last penny. It was why Magi didn't just go around robbing millionaires to finance their experiments. Money was a power greater than any Magecraft, it appeared.

"But since it's you," he continued, "we could perhaps find a different method."

Rin's heart jumped in her throat. Did he really mean what she thought he meant?

"You are a smart young woman Rin," he said suggestively, caressing her tie, "you have things to offer that are more interesting to me than money."

"Look, Howard," she stepped back, holding up her hands. She did not slap him right there just because she didn't want to alienate him. "I'm flattered that you would think of me that way," not really, "but I have to -"

"Twenty-thousand pounds' worth of jewels," he cut her off, "if you accept to be with me every night for the next month."

"- and... what?" she stopped in her tracks.

"Twenty thousand pounds for thirty nights of your... company."

"It's... it's..." outrageous, insulting and also a chance to gain some ground on her debts. Her protest died in her mouth. "I have to think about it."

"Sorry," he replied unapologetically, seeing her objections begin to crumble. "It's a one-time deal only. You of all people should understand the value of seizing a chance."

She shut her eyes close. 'Damn it, damn it, damn it.'

She wanted to refuse. She wanted to slap him and storm from this damned place, never to return. But she could not afford to pass up that chance. Not considering how distant her goal still was, and not considering what she had already sacrificed to get that far. Besides, hadn't she made a similar agreement with Gerard already? This was by far more remunerative and it took less time

"Fine," she ground out, "but I want half of it in advance."

"One fourth, Rin. And I'm already being fairly generous here."

"... Alright," she agreed resignedly. "When do we-"

"Right here, right now."

"Now?"

Howard merely stared at her.

"If you don't want to-"

"I'll do it," she cut him off, loosening her tie in anger. Howard grabbed her wrist and stopped her. "What?"

"The skirt first, if you please."

She freed her wrist and unzipped her skirt, letting it fall to the floor. In her anger at him she had forgotten what she was missing down there, as well as the state of her body until the piece of clothing was pooled around her heels.

Her glistening pussy was laid bare in front of the fat man's bulging eyes.

"Ah... this isn't... " she tried to explain but there wasn't any decent excuse for her state.

"You minx. You came prepared for this didn't you?" Howard chuckled, stepping forward with a gleaming hunger in his eyes. "You let me think this was all my idea, but this was exactly how you expected the evening to go. I underestimated you."

"I didn't -hmmp!"

His lips crashed onto her forcefully, denying her protest. She struggled for a moment, but then she resigned herself and let him do as he wanted. She had already agreed and he would never believe her at this point.

It was just better to get the unpleasant business out of the way. Thinking of having to please this fat bastard made her nauseous. She would just have to use what she had learned with Gerard and squeeze him dry. Five minutes and this fat bastard would be over and done for the night.

-xXx-

An hour later.

"Ooooh!" Rin moaned as the umpteenth orgasm shook both her body and mind. It wasn't supposed to be like that, but there was no denying that she had been gravely mistaken about Howard.

In her disgust for him she had expected the fat businessman, well over his forties, to be some kind of small dicked, premature ejaculator. Nothing was farther from the truth as it became apparent the moment he freed the monster from the constraints of his clothes.

It was biggest COCK she ever had ever seen, horribly crooked and veiny, but when she laid her eyes on it her heart and body begun answering like they had been taught to do. While she licked it to lubricate it (and in no way because she enjoyed the thick COCK on her lips and tongue) she had at least felt reassured of the fact that a self-centered man like him would not really be able to please a woman.

Her misplaced belief was shattered soon after. When he spread her legs apart and returned the favor with his own tongue he had her cumming in a matter of minutes. By the fourth orgasm she was putty in his hands and they hadn't even gotten to the main course, yet.

It was insane.

When he bent her over the crates she didn't resist. When he pushed his COCK at the drenched opening of her womanhood all she could do was not wiggle her ass enticingly. When he pressed into her, stretching her more than ever before, it was all she could do to not pass out.

That had been almost an hour earlier and Rin was now barely aware of herself.

"You are so tight," Howard grunted. "Tightest pussy I ever had."

"Hnnn!" Rin moaned between gritted teeth. Every remnant of her consciousness was focused on not losing herself completely.

Howard slapped her ass and she shrieked. He pussy contracted and that sent even more pleasure up her spine and to her brain.

"That was a compliment, Rin. You are supposed to say thank you."

"T-t-t-thaaan-k yooou."

"You are such a worthless little whore," he muttered. "Aren't you?" Slap. "Aren't you?" Slap.

"Hnnn." Rin shook her head. She wasn't a whore. She wasn't a whore. She wasn't a whore. But when he slapped her butt like that, calling her that way it was as if fireworks went off in her head, one after another turning her mind in a colorful spiral.

"Aren't you?" SLAP!

"I.. am... not," she stuttered. It took all of her effort to form comprehensible words.

"So you, hmrr, didn't come here with the idea of seducing me with your body?"

"No-ooo."

"I see. Then you are just a slut that gets her fix by walking around in a skirt without panties aren't you? Which is it? Are you a slut or a whore?"

To Rin there wasn't much of a difference, but when Howard confronted her with the undeniable fact that she went over at his place like that she couldn't argue for a different definition, not in her current state of mind.

Besides to Howard either one would not matter, just like her protests didn't. So why fight it at all?

"Which are you, Rin?" SLAP!

She picked the one that made her feel better.

"I'm a WHORE!" she cried out. In doing so an overwhelming sensation shook her. Orgasms fell awfully short as a definition. It was as if every fiber of her being was being fucked with burning fury. Her body was no longer a solid thing but a boiling liquid.

"Oooohng!" An unintelligible sound escaped Rin's throat as her eyes rolled in the back of her head and her tongue lolled out of her mouth. Her mind had evaporated into white bliss. Whatever shred of control she had over herself disappeared altogether.

Howard continued fucking her for hours, taunting her with words she heard but no longer understood, filling her womb with his semen over and over again.

Finally, sometime before dawn, he pulled out of her, completely spent. Rin was slumped over the crate with a stupid expression plastered across her face. Had she been able to see herself like that when fully conscious she would have been disgusted of what she had become.

Before she succumbed to exhaustion something similar to a coherent thought went through her mind.

'Being a whore... isn't so bad.'

-XXX-

LAST EDIT: 02/15/2016 Beta: SoulVanguard