The Breeding Experiment - Laurann Dohner Page 0,16
finally lowered down her body. She put in long hours and working in a greenhouse wasn’t easy. Becky had excess weight to give her curves, since Darla had always volunteered to do the harder chores that were more strenuous. She hoped Gnaw was tempted by what he saw.
He spun away a second later, giving her his back.
It hurt her feelings. Didn’t he understand how much courage and determination it took for her to remove all her clothes?
It also made her mad. “Dang it, Gnaw. Get your big body over here!”
“I can’t do this.”
“You will. Turn around, come over here, and take off your pants.” She paused. “Why are you making this harder on me, huh? Dang you, you big jerk!”
He turned, frowning.
She got to her knees. “Am I that bad to look at? I’m naked. Do you know how difficult this is for me? The last time someone saw this much of me, I wore diapers and my mom gave me baths.” Tears filled her eyes. “Do you think I’m ugly?”
His eyes widened, and he took a step closer. “No. You’re not ugly.” He frowned then. “You said you’ve experienced copulation before.”
“Copulation?” She licked her lips. “That’s the word you use for sex? Yes, I have had sex. I just didn’t get fully naked. Anthony was fine with me wearing a dress and just shoving it up my body to get it out of his way. I haven’t seen a man naked before, either. I refused to look at that part of him when he opened the front of his pants.”
His mouth hung open.
“I realize that sounds pathetic. Trust me, I do. It wasn’t like I was dating him or we were in a relationship,” she said defensively. She stood on the bed, her anger building. “Do you think I wanted it to be that way? I did not. And once I made that deal with Anthony, I knew no one could ever marry me. It’s the culture on my planet. I wasn’t a virgin anymore. That would have been a real problem on my wedding night. My new husband would have grounds to divorce me instantly, and the law keepers would have arrested me. Some women are put to death for that kind of thing! It meant never marrying to keep myself safe from that fate. I was considered tainted. I was destined to become an old maid.”
“Old maid?”
“A woman who never marries or has children. That was the best outcome, but at least I would have stayed with my family.”
He came closer. “What about the females forced to work in brothels? Do they become old maids?”
She felt uncomfortable now, standing on the bed and staring down at him. The bed was high enough that she was way taller than him. She sank to her knees and covered her breasts with her hands, the cold room making her nipple peak. “They send them to the prison mines when they grow too old or aren’t appealing to customers anymore. Anyone who breaks the laws too often or commits an ultimate sin, like murder, is sent there for the rest of their lives. It’s our version of hell on Radison. No one ever leaves there alive.”
He moved closer still, his gaze locked with hers. “They put your females there, too? Why?”
“Anthony said all women sent to the brothels are sterilized, so it doesn’t matter if they force those poor women to live with criminals who will abuse them in the worst ways. Those mines are a place where they send our people to die. Not for new life to be born. He said it also keeps the males imprisoned there from killing fewer guards. All brothel workers and prisoners lose the privilege of making contact with family or friends. Our leaders fear it might cause a revolt if any of them are able to share stories of the abuse they’ve suffered. Do you understand why I made that deal with Anthony now? I couldn’t live knowing that’s the future my sister would face.”
He stopped next to the bed, and she released her breasts, inching closer to him by walking on her knees. He didn’t retreat, at least. That encouraged her.
“Did you ever have young with the human?”
She shook her head. “Any male who fathers at least six children can be sterilized if they ask. Anthony’s wife had difficult pregnancies, since she was sickly. He was sterilized to protect her, but she never recovered after the last birth. She died within months.