Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
I smile. She’s so likeable. Already I feel comfortable with these girls.
Clara sighs. “My life wasn’t nearly as interesting. I was an air traffic controller.”
“Cool,” I say. “I’ve never been on an airplane.”
Eden nods. “I certainly haven’t either. I’d never even left my compound until the night I snuck away.”
Clara sits taller. “But we’ve all been on several types of space crafts now. How many people can say that?”
She’s right, and no matter what differences we have, we all have a lot in common now. We’ve all been on three types of spaceships. We’re all mates to overbearing Papis, and once I get my nipples pierced, I’ll fit in with everyone even more.
I draw in a breath and decide to tell them my secrets. “I was homeless.”
Neither of them winces. In fact, they both reach for my hands and give me a gentle, reassuring squeeze.
“I’m sorry,” Eden says.
“Me, too.” Clara wipes a tear from her eye.
“My life was not rosy,” I add. “I went into the club that night to get warm, but I’m so weird—” I glance at Eden and grin at my use of her term, “—that I got overwhelmed by the noise, the crowd, and the lights, and I fainted. I woke up in Papi’s arms in his apartment.”
Eden puts her hand over her heart. “That’s so sweet. Were you freaking out?”
“Not at first. All I knew was that I was warm and no longer hungry. I didn’t realize he’d fed me a bottle, and that’s why my tummy was full. I liked how I felt in his arms. Sure, there’s a lot of weird stuff about this new life, but…” I glance at my Papi. He’s watching me with a smile. Two men have joined him, and it looks like they’re talking, but Papi is watching me. I lick my lips. “I love him,” I say softly.
Clara touches my arm. “Have you told him that?”
“Not yet.” I lower my gaze to look at Clara’s piercings and then blush and lift my head. I’ve been trying not to stare.
“It’s okay to look. We all understand how strange the tradition seems when you first arrive. I’m used to people staring at my chest now.” She thrusts her breasts out.
I take another look. “They’re so pretty. I love the red stones. But I’m super scared.”
Clara clasps my hand again. “We all were. Trust me.”
“I’ve only been here a few weeks longer than you,” Eden says, “I’m still getting used to them.” She lifts her palms as if to cover the blue jewels and then fists her hands and sets them on her lap with a shudder. “And the nudity,” she adds. “I spent my entire life covered from head to toe. The only parts of me anyone saw were my hands and my face. My dresses reached the ground. My sleeves even covered my wrists.”
“And you were married?” That part baffles me.
“My husband was sixty-five when I was married off to him. I was fifteen.”
I gasp.
“Yeah. I was married to him for five years. He had a heart attack and died. We didn’t have good medical care inside the compound. But in those five years I never saw him naked, and he never touched me. He lied to the elders and said I was barren. I just assumed it was true.”
I want to ask her more questions. I hope she doesn’t mind. “I’ve, uh…” I take a deep breath. “I’ve never had sex either. How bad will it hurt?”
Eden reaches over to grab my hand again. She’s so supportive. They both are. “My understanding is that sex with anyone hurts the first time. Even a human. I wouldn’t know the difference, but apparently Eleadian men are proportionately larger—all of their parts.” Her cheeks darken.
I shiver. “That’s scary.”
“It’s true,” Clara adds. “They are bigger. A lot bigger. I’m older than both of you, and I had sex with human men before I was chosen by Kalbrac. No human man I’ve ever seen in real life or even in pictures or porn sites comes close to the size of these Eleadian men. So, I might as well have been a virgin the first time he entered me. It was so tight. I thought I might split in half. But I didn’t, of course. No one does. Your body will quickly accommodate your Papi, and then it will feel so good.” Her expression turns dreamy as she finishes.
This conversation is so foreign to me. It should be embarrassing. And it is, but I feel like I can talk to them. They will tell me the truth. I’d rather have this information so I’ll know.
“You’ve been here almost a month?” Clara asks.
“Yeah.”
“And you haven’t lost your mind wanting him to fuck you?” She covers her mouth and glances in the direction of my Papi. I assume one of the other men is her Papi. Considering the number of times Eden has looked that way, the other one must be hers.