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The camera dramatically zoomed in on her face.
“It’s the responsibility of this clinic to ensure your safety at all times,” she said. “Say the wordsescape me nowat any time, and Oberon will cancel programming immediately.”
Alexis bit her lip, immediately reminded of something she generally tried to repress.
Back in her younger days with the ballet company, there had been an overly passionate fan who became a stalker. He tried to grab her at the backstage door one night, and had it not been for the brave actions of one of her fellow dancers, he might have been successful.
She kept her eyes on the holo-film, determined not to think about it.
“In addition, for security and training purposes, everything that happens at the Midsummer Center for Fertility will be recorded,” the woman went on. “However, if you say the wordsconfirm privacy mode,Oberon will not display the proceedings to our staff.”
That would be good to remember when she was showering, or if she and Tiago were supposed to get it on.
Did Maltaffians need live matings to stimulate fertility? She tried to remember if she had heard anything about them, but couldn’t.
“It is the responsibility of the surrogate to submit to the necessary procedures to accomplish a pregnancy,” the woman said brightly. “As a side note, according to our exit polls, 95% of participants find the procedure to be highly to extremely enjoyable.”
Hmmm. So… probably yes?
She felt her cheeks heat at the idea, and hoped Tiago was watching the film and not her face.
“Upon successful conception, the surrogate will protect herself and the developing fetus by any means necessary to ensure a healthy birth,” the woman was saying. “We will do all we can to ensure that the surrogate’s experience is a pleasant one, however, the surrogate understands that her experience here is unique to the program. At the end of the gestational period, she will return to her home planet and there will be no further contact with the father or the offspring.”
That idea was so sad that she couldn’t bear to dwell on it. She pressed it down, even as she felt her heart ache at the idea of not being able to watch the child grow.
“It is the responsibility of the prospective parent to treat the surrogate with respect,” the woman said sternly. “Abuse of any kind will not be tolerated. Renewed consent is required for each act of physical intimacy.”
ShefeltTiago turn to glance at her, as if checking on how she felt about what was now obvious - they were going to be making his baby the old-fashioned way.
She kept her eyes on the film and tried to keep her expression neutral. After all, she needed the money, and desperately wanted the increased fertility from this experience if she was ever going to have a child of her own, so how she felt about it didn’t matter.
But she was conflicted.
Her mind was still reeling over the very real possibility that she would be leaving a baby with half her genetic materials behind with this man.
Her traitorous body was surging with eagerness to know what it was like to be wrapped in those big warm arms.
And her heart was touched that in the midst of all of this, he was checking on her, wondering if she was okay.
There was something so sweet about the big, horned man’s concern. It made her feel better about everything at once. He wasn’t going to hurt or abuse her. He didn’t feelentitledto her just because she had signed a contract.
And this was an excellent first sign that he had the capacity to be a compassionate and loving parent.
“You okay?” he whispered to her.
She nodded, daring to glance up at him again.
His emerald eyes were filled with kindness, and something that looked a lot like hunger.
She wondered what he saw in hers.
4
TIAGO
Tiago fought to stay focused through the rest of the Center’s presentation. But his muscles were aching for movement, and it was all he could do not to tap his feet with impatience.
He had known he would need to impregnate his match, and that there would necessarily be mating involved. But he hadn’t been focused on that aspect as he thought about the process.
