Page 3 of Kidnapped By the Beast (Beasts of the Kindred #11)
LEXI
“I’m studying cancer—specifically breast cancer and how to treat it,” Dr. Brandt said, once Lexi was seated and he was leaning against his desk once more.
“Oh, well why didn’t you say so? My grandmother died of breast cancer,” Lexi remarked.
He nodded.
“That could be one reason your chemistry is compatible with the bacteria.”
“The what? What bacteria?” Lexi asked, frowning.
“Please—let me explain.” He cleared his throat.
“I am studying a certain beneficial bacteria that lives and thrives on one planet only—Bio-Terius Centra. The Bio-Terians are cancer free because of this bacteria, which is called Bacillus Aurum—or ‘the golden bacteria.’ I wish to run some tests on this bacteria and hopefully to adapt it to live and thrive in other environments so that breast cancer can be completely eradicated.”
“Well, that sounds like a very noble cause,” Lexi admitted.
“It’s very close to my heart—if I could be said to have one,” he admitted and she noticed that his deep voice had grown hoarse. Had he lost someone to the awful disease? She still remembered losing her grandmother, even though she was just a little girl when it happened. It had been awful.
“So where do I come in?” she asked. “Are you wanting to test your experiments on me because I have a family history of breast cancer?”
“No—I wish I was that far advanced in my studies.” He looked regretful. “Right now, what I need is a way to keep the Bacillus Aurum alive so that I can study it more thoroughly. I have imported sample after sample here to the Mother Ship but no matter what I do, it dies within a few hours.”
“That’s too bad,” Lexi said, really meaning it. If he could actually find a cure for breast cancer, it would save so many lives!
“Yes, it is. And extremely frustrating.” His heavy black brows pulled down and a muscle in his jaw tensed.
“Well I’d like to help you, but I don’t see how I can,” Lexi told him.
“Because I haven’t finished explaining.” He frowned. “What I need is a host the Bacillus Aurum can live and thrive in so that I can have an unlimited amount of them to study.”
“A host?” Lexi exclaimed. “I don’t want to be a host to anything!” This interview had changed from being a heart-warming fight against a dreaded disease to a science-fiction horror story in a hot minute!
“No, you don’t understand!” Dr. Brandt protested.
“Every man, woman, and child on Bio-Terius Centra has the Bacillus Aurum living within them—it’s part of their biome!
It’s the reason they don’t get any form of cancer.
It won’t do you any harm—in fact, it might even save your life one day if the Bacillus Aurum you get infected with thrives and grows within you. ”
“Well…I mean, that sounds good,” Lexi said cautiously. “But if the, uh, Bio-Terians have all got it in them, why not just bring one of them up here to the Mother Ship?”
“Because they’ll die if their Bacillus Aurum dies and so far it simply cannot live outside the atmosphere of Bio-Terius Centra.
Bringing them here would be a death sentence,” he said earnestly.
“Which is why I need a human to host it—one who is uniquely compatible with the bacteria and can keep it alive within her body.”
“Okay…so you need a human host that’s compatible with the, uh, golden bacteria to keep it alive so you can study it and create a cure for cancer.” Lexi nodded. “I still don’t understand why you wanted to see my breasts, though.”
“To ascertain if you are able to produce the golden nectar the Bacillus Aurum thrives in.” He crossed his arms over his broad chest and his deep voice took on a lecturing tone.
“You see, the bacteria lives mainly in the breast tissue—especially the mammary glands. They cause their female hosts to produce what we call ‘golden nectar’ which is filled with the Bacillus Aurum. If you are able to keep the Bacillus Aurum alive and produce the nectar, I’ll have an unlimited supply of them to study and experiment on until I can perfect a cure that can be given to everyone with breast cancer.
I might even be able to develop a vaccine to keep it from occurring at all!
” he added, his golden eyes brightening.
“Oh…so you just need to examine my, uh, breasts to see if they’re the right kind?” Lexi asked, frowning. “But how can you tell that?”
“By giving you an injection that will cause your breasts to form a close approximation of the golden nectar—though of course this version won’t have the Bacillus Aurum in it,” Dr. Brandt explained.
“Wait…you want to give me a shot that will cause my breasts to make ‘nectar’?” Lexi asked, not liking the idea.
“Yes and then I’ll need to hook you up to a milking pump and record the volume you produce over an hour-long period,” he explained.
“If you’re capable of producing a sufficient volume for me to study, I’ll know that you can also make enough of the golden nectar to keep me supplied with plenty of Bacillus Aurum to experiment on. ”
Dr. Brandt reached behind him and got a long hypodermic from the top of his desk and showed it to her. It was filled with a liquid that looked like melted gold.
“If you could please just take off your blouse so I can inject you and then hook you up to the milking pump,” he said in a business-like tone.
“Hold on!” Lexi put up a hand to stop him. “I haven’t agreed to let you inject me with anything yet!”
He frowned.
“What more do you want? You know now that I’m not ‘perving’ on you, as you put it—I only want to see your breasts for scientific reasons.”
“Yes, but you also want to inject me with some weird stuff that looks like molten gold that will fill my breasts with weird nectar!” Lexi exclaimed. “I haven’t agreed to that.”
“Fine.” Dr. Brandt raked a hand through his hair in obvious frustration. “What will it take for you to agree to undergo further trials to see if you’d be my ideal test subject?”
“Stop saying ‘test subject’—it’s creepy,” Lexi protested. “Why don’t we say that I’m interviewing to be your assistant—that sounds a lot less Bride-of-Frankenstein, okay?”
“The bride of who?” He frowned. “Didn’t you tell me you were a single female? That’s a very important consideration—I can’t handle the breasts of a female who is already mated.”
Lexi stifled a laugh.
“No, I’m as single as they come,” she assured him. “And never mind—I was making a cultural reference but it’s not surprising you didn’t get it since you come from a whole different planet and culture.”
“I have tried studying the various Earth cultures—it’s a requirement to move to the Mother Ship in the first place,” he assured her. “And my mate was teaching me before…”
“Before what?” Lexi prompted, because he had suddenly fallen silent.
“Before she died,” Dr. Brandt said shortly. His mouth twisted and he looked away.
“From breast cancer?” Lexi guessed softly.
He shook his head.
“Never mind. It was years ago. I prefer not to discuss it.”
“Okay.” Lexi put up her hands in a “don’t shoot” gesture. “Sorry.”
“That’s quite all right.” He cleared his throat. “Listen, back to business. What must I pay you to undergo the trial and see if you would make a good test sub—er, a good assistant for me?”
“To be your human guinea pig? Hmmm….” Lexi frowned. “At least another five thousand dollars,” she said at last.
“Done!” he said at once, which made her think she should have asked for more. But they had already agreed on a price now.
“All right.” She took a deep breath. “So should I just…?”
“Remove your blouse and your undergarment please,” Dr. Brandt said briskly. “I’ll inject you with the serum first and then hook your breasts to the milking pump.”
Feeling suddenly shy, Lexi slowly began unbuttoning her long-sleeved white blouse. It went well with her black pencil skirt—together they were her best interview outfit. But she had never dreamed she’d be taking her blouse off for this particular interview.
She slipped off her blouse at last, but was reluctant to remove her bra.
It was what her friends in high school had called an “over the shoulder boulder holder”—with thick elastic straps that cut into her shoulders.
She had often wished she could get breast reduction because of the low back pain and shoulder pain her large breasts caused her, but her insurance—such as it was—wouldn’t pay for anything like that.
So she was stuck with extra-extra-large ta-tas that were a pain in the ass because they were so heavy.
“All right—just a little pinch.” Dr. Brandt swabbed her arm with something that smelled sharp and antiseptic and then stuck her with the hypodermic.
Lexi watched apprehensively as the melted gold liquid was injected into her arm.
It didn’t hurt very much—not any more than a Flu shot—but her whole body felt tingly after he finished.
“Very good—that should start to work almost immediately,” he said when he was finished. “Now if you’d please just remove your undergarment?”
“Oh, er…” Lexi hesitated. This was why she could never be a stripper or a cam girl—she was way too self-conscious.
“Come now,” Dr. Brandt said sternly, frowning at her hesitation. “I must have access to your breasts for this experiment to work.”
“But how long will my breasts keep producing this, uh, pseudo-golden nectar?” Lexi asked, stalling for time. “I don’t want to go around leaking everywhere!”
“I’ll give you another injection to make your breasts cease production after I’ve gathered my data,” he told her. “Now please remove that undergarment you’ve got on.”
“It’s called a bra,” Lexi informed him.
Taking a deep breath, she reached behind herself and started unclasping the large, white bra. No pretty, lacy bras for her. She always had to get the heavy-duty ones that could support the weight of her massive mammaries. They weren’t so much underwear as infrastructure.