“The bathing room is through there.” Oul set her case down on the table, eyeing it inquisitively.
Kat walked over, unzipped her bag and flipped it open to let them look. “These are the only clothes I have. The Jorval trader was at least thoughtful enough to take my bag, when he abducted me.”
“You will need more clothing,” Yuv said in a matter-of-fact way. “Sarrbeem enjoys spending our credits. She will enjoy taking you to the markets, to get you whatever you wish for.”
“And much for herself,” added Oul tightly, glancing at his brother.
It seemed Sarrbeem’s spending was something of an issue, from the irritation she saw flicker in their expression.
“I don’t need much, really. I’m happy with what I have. Your family is being more than generous in adopting me.”
They again looked stunned but quickly hid it. “We insist you have whatever you want. Besides, your quads will cover any expenses.”
She suspected they were waiting for her to start demanding things and being bossy.
“I have no wish to insult you, if that is what you want.”
“What we want is for you to be happy with us. You can have anything you desire.”
Kat shook her head and smiled. It confused her to see how these big, strong, dominant soldiers were so whipped by their women.
“What I want is for you not to pander to my wants. As long as I have what I need, I'm happy. Be men, for goodness sake. I am used to males being demanding, not second-guessing everything. Are you not warriors, formidable on the battlefield?”
“We are.” They stood straighter and prouder.
“I’ll make a deal with you. Treat me with the same respect and courtesy as a male on Galafrax and I will do the same in return.”
The men hesitated. “Let us talk with our brothers first.”
Kat nodded. Riv walked in with a large tray, filled with foods and a large pitcher of liquid.
“We will leave you to settle. One of us is always here to see to your…” Oul paused. “To your needs. Never hesitate to ask for anything.”
“Thank you.” Kat smiled. The brothers gave a freaky, simultaneous nod before turning, following each other out.
For the first time since she was bought by Gol and Hul, she was alone. She had grown so accustomed to one or more of her men being around her, she felt their loss keenly.
Two Galafraxian weeks, which she understood was eight days to the Earth seven, was going to be hell on her body. The brothers had addicted her to having sex several times a day and night. Kat walked to the table, sniffing the delightful smelling food.
Surely, two weeks wouldn’t be that bad. She’d be able to talk to her men, touch them, and fuck them, before the two weeks were up, wouldn’t she?
Chapter Twelve
Two days later, Kat felt the weight of being a pale-skinned alien among a mass of red, when every Demos citizen they passed stopped to stare. Oul and Riv escorted her through the city to the Qyi-building of civil authority. She understood it was similar to the chambers of births, deaths, and marriages. It seemed this council also handled other things, such as adoptions.
At the first office, officials barraged her with questions about her planet and the type of civilization she came from. She watched nervously, as they jotted everything down on glowing, transparent data pads. Once the four council quads were satisfied with her answers, they ordered her over to the medical building, because one of the quads on the council doubted her ability to breed healthy, Demos young, stating she appeared too pale and frail.
In the medical building, the quad team prodded and poked her, running strange laser beams over her body and taking samples of her blood with some needleless contraption.
“Your physiology is unique, only a few genetic differences from our own,” the quad doctors informed her, as they helped her down from the examination table.
“Is that a good thing or bad thing?”
The medical quads smiled. “We’ll send word of our findings after we’ve examined the data more thoroughly.”
In other words, they weren’t going to tell her a thing. Fear gripped her heart; what if they weren’t compatible species? Sure, sex was one thing, but having children was a whole other issue.
If she couldn’t have children, would Hul, Gol, Ric and Div still want her? She was a lone, human woman on a strange, alien world, drowning in strange customs, strange streets and the list went on.
Kat fought back tears and the urge to run, hide and curl into a ball and cry her heart out. She wanted her men. The urge to sob like a child became stronger, as the dreaded thought hit her. If she didn’t pass their medical exam, would they still want her?