Earlier, right there next to the police van, as he mouthed over my gland, it sent a blissful shiver through me.
But instead of letting out the breathy, erotic sigh I’m craving to let out, I snap sharply,
"Do you have to keep invading my personal space?"
"I don’t have to, but I keep getting this weird feeling that you want me to touch you," he murmurs softly, tilting his head.
How insolent! And… unfortunately, he’s right.
His mouth drifts toward my gland again. So close… even closer. Yes, yes…
No, no, no. I can’t!
"Wrong!" I lie. "Can you back off a bit? I told you those animal mating games of yours don’t work on me."
"I think they do, but okay," he says with a faintly mocking, arrogant smile and steps back, which I accept with real regret. Then he drops back onto the couch and picks up the laptop again.
"Hey, you didn’t just claim that laptop for yourself, did you?" I mutter without much conviction, trying to calm my racing pulse and fight down a hard-on. "By the way, I am surprised they only gave us one."
"There seems to be a general rule here that we are supposed to share everything," Eliano says with a wide grin. "The laptop, the bathtub, the shower, the bed. Two laptops would probably encourage everyone to sit on their own, and this way we have to juggle time or look at the screen together."
"True. Everything here is designed so we practically stick to each other. It is incredibly annoying," I mutter irritably.
I walk over to the kitchenette. I am actually a pretty good cook. I spent most of my teenage years only with Senu. We had to learn fast how to survive on almost no money, which meant cooking for ourselves. I know meals are shared in the cafeteria here, so I probably will not get much chance to cook properly, but maybe I can throw something together now and then.
I notice some papers lying on the sill of the back window. I glance at them and immediately realize what they are.
"These look like printed copies of the Beta Activation rules and… Sector C regulations!" I say. "Might be worth reading." I pick them up. "Of course there is only one copy," I mutter, and whether I like it or not, I have to step closer to show them to him.
We lean over the pages together.
I read the regulations carefully, for reasons I do not intend to explain. You can find useful details anywhere, information that might help me slip out of here without setting off alarms.
The rules cover basic matters. There is also a section on security and potential fights between alphas.
I notice Eliano studying that part particularly closely.
I pick up the second page, the one devoted to medical examinations.
According to what is written here, couples are required to have regular sex. This is monitored by medical staff who check for the presence of sperm in the mucus blocking the entrance to the uterus.
Reading that, I feel a wave of stress. What if they do not find that in my case?
Another point states that individuals who refrain from sexual activity, or fail to initiate it, will be subjected to additional fertility stimulation methods, which may be imposed without the possibility of refusal, under penalty of termination from the program.
The wording is vague and deeply unsettling. They do not specify what those methods are.
What could it mean? Artificial stimulation, hormone injections, or who knows what else?
With growing horror, I realize that avoiding sex may not actually be an option!
We are sitting very close now. I glance at him discreetly from under my lashes. He is still focused on the section about regulating dynamics and potential disputes between alphas.
I notice his long lashes almost brushing his cheeks as he reads. His lips are full and sensual, like they were made for kissing. What would it feel like to have them on mine?
Clenching my jaw, I pull myself together and look away.
"So what did you find? If alphas get into a fight, do the police come?" I ask.
