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“Why, there’s nothing to get excited about!” he exclaimed. “It’s just that living within the Dome can be hard on females—the light from our artificial star leaches nutrients from the female body that need to be replaced. The Nutrient Crème was developed by our scientists to keep our women healthy!”
“Well…” Mia sniffed the pale purple cream uncertainly. To her surprise, it actually smelled good. Sweet and light with a faint hint of candied violets—it reminded her of the special candy her grandma used to give her when she was little. She wondered if it would taste the same way it smelled.
“You don’t have to drink that if you don’t want to, Mia,” Sev said, still glaring at Brother Jonash.
“Actually, shedoesif the two of you want to live here within the Dome,” Brother Jonash countered. “Otherwise she’ll get terribly depleted and be unable to do her duties!”
“It’s probably just some kind of vitamin drink,” Mia murmured. For some reason, now that she had sniffed the Nutrient Crème, shereallywanted to try it. The scent was calling to her, telling her to take just one tiny sip…
She brought the golden shot glass to her lips and sipped the Crème. It tasted even better than it smelled! The creamy consistency reminded her of high-end eggnog which was something people either loved or hated. As it turned out, Mialovedit and she also liked the sweet, candied violets flavor that spread over her tongue. It had a soothing, slightly alcoholic finish that warmed her throat pleasantly going down. Before she knew it, she had finished the entire glass.
“Mia—you drankallof it?” Sev was giving the empty glass a worried look.
“It was really good,” Mia admitted. In fact, she found herself wanting more of the instantly addictive Nutrient Crème. “So you only get one glass a day?” she asked.
“Actually, you can have as much as you like,” Brother Jonash said, smiling broadly. “Andthistube will respond to your own touch—it’s the only one that doesn’t need to be programmed by your husband. Allow me.”
He took the glass from Mia’s hand and refilled it from the skinny tube before handing it back again. But before she could take a drink, Sev took the full shot glass from her.
“I don’t think so,” he rumbled. “I don’t like the idea of you drinking so much of something we know nothing about.”
“Every husband knows what’s best for his wife,” Brother Jonash said, shrugging his skinny shoulders. “But I warn you, Brother Severith, if your own wife doesn’t get enough Nutrient Crème, she’s going to have a difficult time functioning within the Dome.”
“I’ll be fine, Sev—you don’t have to be so overprotective.” Mia took back the glass and drained it. She liked the second glass even more than the first. The Nutrient Crème might be the only good thing about the PPP, she thought.
She put the glass down on the counter, only to see that Brother Jonash was watching her with a narrow, disapproving look. He looked from her to Sev and back again.
“Do youreallyintend to allow your wife to disrespect you in that fashion?” he asked Sev. “You specifically denied her something and she took what she wanted anyway.”
“Well…” Sev frowned, looking uncomfortable. “You’rethe one who said it was good for her,” he pointed out.
“That doesn’t matter. I am not her husband—youare,” Brother Jonash snapped. He shook his head. “If I had time, we’d go into this further. But it’s getting late—your training will have to wait until tomorrow.”
“Training?” Sev and Mia said together.
“Never mind. Come with me, please, and I’ll show you the rest of your new home.”
Brother Jonash left the kitchen and led them down a short hallway that ended in a single door. He opened this to show a sleek, modern bedroom with a minimalist bed draped in a white coverlet. It was big enough for two—though it was probably going to be a tight squeeze when one of them was Sev’s size, Mia thought.
She felt a little shiver run through her at the idea of sleeping next to her partner and pushed it away. They were onlypretendingto be married—it wasn’t like they had to keep up the pretense once Brother Jonash left. She would probably sleep on the loveseat, which would be plenty big enough for someone her size, and leave the bed for Sev.
“This dresser will dispense your daily and nightly clothing allotments and you can put your dirty clothing down this chute.” Brother Jonash’s voice interrupted her train of thought. “After a trip through our clothing refresher, it will be returned to you.”
Mia looked up to see he was tapping a polished white dresser with a black marble top and drawers. There was another touch screen on its side, where he was tapping away—possibly inputting their sizes. Mia wondered sourly how she was going to like wearing one of the oversized white cotton dresses—it was going to make her hips and ass look positivelyenormous, she was sure.
As for Sev, he would probably look outstanding in the men’s uniform of black trousers and a white shirt. But then, her partner looked outstanding in almost anything—though she would never say so to him out loud. She didn’t want to make things weird between them.
Brother Jonash moved on to show Sev the bathroom, which included a large walk-in shower and a deep soaking tub that Mia fully intended to make use of—if only their “Spiritual Advisor” would ever leave, she thought impatiently. There were big, fluffy towels, too. She could just imagine sinking into a warm bubble bath and letting the stress of the day drift away.
At last, it seemed like Brother Jonash was wrapping up his tour. He led them back to the living area but just as Mia was hoping he would walk out the front door, he stopped and turned around.
“There’s one last thing I need to tell you before I go,” he said, lifting his chin. “All of our houses here in the PPP Dome are under surveillance.”
“Uh…you mean you have security cameras outside all the houses?” Sev asked, frowning.
“No, not exactly…” Brother Jonash cleared his throat nervously, as though he wasn’t sure they were going to like what he had to say. “I mean, there are camerasinsidethe houses,” he said. “For safety purposes—and so that The Prophet and the Council of Elders are able to ascertain that husbands are treating their wives in the proper manner—that the two of them are walking in The Prophet’s Way.”
“What? This place isbugged?”Mia exclaimed.
