Numbers (New Species #14-15)(45)

“Careful,” he rasped.
“What am I doing wrong?”
“Nothing. Don’t push against me that way.”
She lifted her head and he jerked his back. They peered at each other. “Why not?”
He glanced down between them at her breasts and growled softly. “You’ve gotten bigger in one place.”
“My breasts grew.”
She felt no embarrassment. It was 927. He’d been there the first time she’d gotten her period. He’d actually known it before she had…
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
927 sniffed at her and flipped her onto her back on their mat. Candi thought he’d lost his mind when he suddenly bent forward. He grabbed her legs, parted them, and shoved his face right against her private area. He sniffed, and then jerked back. He looked confused, but stood and turned to stare up at the camera.“She’s hurt. Send in someone. There’s blood.”
Evelyn took her out of the cell and explained a woman’s cycle. She gave Candi pads and sent her back to 927. She repeated everything to him that she’d been told. 927 helped her figure out how they were to be worn since they had loops and a belt to go around her waist.
Christopher came in later that evening. He was angry and demanded that she be taken to another cell. The order traumatized Candi. She fought him. She just wanted to lie down with 927 on their mat. Her tummy hurt and 927 had been distracting her by playing with her hair.
Every month after that, she had to leave the cell while she bled. Christopher wouldn’t allow 927 to be around her during that time. She hated being alone in the room next to him, but they learned to tap the walls, to reassure each other that they were okay.
In time 927 had started reacting strangely to her cycle. He’d tell her she was about to start, and then stay far away from her.
“Come here. I’m cold. Hold me,” she pleaded.
He shook his head, twisted his body against the corner and growled.
“What is wrong?”
“They need to take you away now.”
“Shush. I don’t want to go.”
“You need to.”
“Why?”
He looked infuriated and turned. “This is why.”
She looked at the front of his pants, stunned. He sometimes got hard in that area in the morning, the bulge noticeable, but it usually went away after he peed. It was afternoon now, and they hadn’t just woken.
“It happens when you start to smell of blood. Your scent changes and I react. It hurts.”
Evelyn had another discussion with her. She repeated it to 927. It changed everything. They wouldn’t allow Candi to return to the cell she shared with 927 except during what they called visiting hours. She cried buckets at having to sleep without him. He was enraged. Christopher didn’t want to risk having 927 and her sharing sex. He said they were too young, and he wouldn’t allow it. The technicians would watch them and they were rarely allowed to touch.
Three years passed that way until that fateful day when Evelyn approached her about the breeding experiment. Her body had changed during that time. She’d grown breasts and gotten body hair. She told 927 about it, but hadn’t been able to show him since the technicians would have rushed in to take her away if she’d attempted to bare her body…
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Candi pulled her mind away from the memories and stared into 927’s eyes. They were alone finally and no one could stop them from doing whatever they wanted.
He was still looking at her breasts. She lowered her arms, letting him go, and gripped the top of the shirt, pulling it away from her body. She tugged it down, exposing her breasts to him. She leaned back just a bit on his lap so he could get a better view. She even arched her spine and pushed her shoulders back. 
His eyes widened and a low growl rumbled from him. He looked up. “What are you doing?”
“You were staring. Now the shirt isn’t hiding them. You can touch them. They are soft.”
He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, twisting his head to the side. “Cover them.”
She felt something under her ass where it rested on his lap. “You’re hard.”
“Cover them,” he snarled.
She eased the material up over her breasts and gripped his shoulders. “I didn’t mean to anger you.”
He breathed through his nose, his nostrils flaring.
“I shaved off the hair at Medical. I’d show you that too but Doc Trisha said it was good grooming to remove the hair on my legs, under my arms and on my private area. I didn’t remove all of that though. She showed me a picture of how most humans keep that area trimmed. I kept a little bit of it on my mound. I didn’t cut myself with the razor.”
He opened his eyes and turned his head, holding her gaze. He still looked upset, but it wasn’t quite anger. She couldn’t identify the emotion.
“Why would she make you do that?”
“She didn’t make me. She looked at me strangely when I stripped naked for her to examine me and I asked why. That’s when she told me about feminine hygiene and good grooming. I didn’t know. Nobody ever said anything at Mercile or at the asylum. They wouldn’t have given me a razor anyway. Doc Trisha wanted me to fit in. Species females don’t have any hair on their bodies. She showed me a picture and taught me how to shave. It was kind of fun. Have you played with shaving cream? It comes in a can and it sprays white foam out. It’s soft and gooey. It smells nice too. I had to spread it all over my skin where I wanted to run the razor over it. You don’t have to shave, do you?”
He shook his head. “How did you reach the back of your legs?”
“I bent down and kind of twisted.”
He reached down and ran his fingers over the back of her thigh. He leaned to the side, studying it. “You missed a few spots. The hair is soft.”
“I did?”
“Stand up.”
She hesitated.
He straightened. “I want to see.”
“I’m afraid you won’t let me close to you again if I get off your lap.”
A muscle jumped just over his jawline when he clenched his teeth but then his mouth relaxed. “I will let you hold me. Stand. I want to see.”
She climbed off his lap regretfully, stood in front of him, and then she turned around. He lifted the shirt she wore a few inches and ran his other palm along the back of her upper thigh. He surprised her when he slid off the bed to his knees and bent a little to study her closer.
“It’s just a few spots.”
She turned her head, watching him. He stopped stroking her skin and released the shirt. He lifted his head, holding her gaze. “Turn to me.”
She faced him. His gaze lowered to her stomach and he sat back on his heels. He gripped his thighs with both hands. She saw his knuckles whiten as if he were squeezing his legs tightly. He cleared his throat.
“I want to see the hair. Show me.”
She fisted the shirt that fell to her mid thighs and slowly pulled it up. She’d stripped bare to put on his shirt so she didn’t have to do anything but bring the hem up to her lower belly. She studied his face, curious what he’d do when he saw it. It was tempting to just pull the shirt entirely off, but the sight of her breasts made him angry. That wasn’t her intention.927’s breathing increased as he visually inspected her. Every muscle in him seemed to tense from his face to his shoulders, and he flexed his arms as if his hold on his legs had increased. He closed his eyes.
“You need to lower your shirt and back away from me,” he ground out.
She released the shirt and retreated a few steps. “Why?”
“Go into the bathroom. Give me a few minutes.”
“No. You’re going to leave.”
His eyes snapped open and she saw anger glistening in them. “Do it or I’ll toss you on my bed and fuck you.”
She lowered her gaze to his lap. The outline of his cock was clear. His jeans weren’t much of a deterrent to the evidence of his state of arousal. He wanted her. He was trying to send her fleeing in fear, but it had the opposite effect. Hope surged. He wanted to mount her.
Candi grabbed the shirt and lifted it, tearing it off and tossing it down on the carpet. “Do it.”
His eyes widened and he snarled. His gaze locked on her naked body though.
She took a step closer. “Take me. I’m yours. I’ve always been yours.”
Raw pain flashed in his eyes as he tore his gaze off her lower body and looked up. “I’ll hurt you.”
She understood those snarled words. “I’d welcome it.” She took another step closer and knelt in front of him. She inched closer, putting her hands on his chest. The muscles under her palms were hard and firm. “Touch me,” she urged. “Please.”
He trembled.
“I want you,” she whispered. “I need you.”
He moved fast, but she didn’t flinch when his hands suddenly gripped her waist. He jerked her up off her knees. She did gasp when he threw her onto her back on the soft mattress. She bounced once and stilled, a bit stunned. A door slammed and she pushed up to her elbow. He was gone. One sweep of her gaze revealed that he really had just left her in his bedroom.
Tears filled her eyes a second later when another door slammed. He hadn’t just left her in his bedroom, he’d left his apartment. She turned on her side, drew her knees up and curled into a tight ball.
Hero had forgotten about the officer who was stationed in the hallway outside his door. He stepped around the male. “I’m going for a walk.”