“And yet…?” he trails off, giving me a knowing smirk.

“And yet, I want to punch your fucking face at the very idea of preparing her.”

Doing his best to stifle a chuckle, he shakes his head as he walks over to the door and jabs at the keypad. “There. No one will interrupt us. It’s not protocol, but I guess I can look the other way if you want to assist me.”

“Isn’t that illegal?”

“Technically, no. Since this is a special pickup, we’re running light. I usually have another in here to assist me, but all the other medical personnel are with the other cows. Guess it’s just you and me.” He looks back over at her with a critical eye. “Though, to be honest, I’m not sure what you see in her. She doesn’t look all that different from the other humans. Older than the Collector usually grabs, but not so far past the age of ripeness to be useful.”

Gritting my teeth, I take the identification card from his hand. Jessica. What a pretty name for a human. It rolls around in my head, feeling right somehow. I scan a bit lower, looking at her age. Thirty-five.

Perhaps age is what I’ve been missing. All the other cows I purchased were in their early twenties. Young, vivacious, and with a full life ahead of them. Granted, thirty-five is not old, even in human terms, but perhaps she’ll be less flighty and more willing to settle down?

Nagán is right, though. My fascination is sure to be the end of me. But there’s just something about this one that doesn’t let go. It’s seared into my brain and onto my soul. We Icorians don’t believe in soulmates, and yet, part of me wants to believe, to hope.

It would be right to settle down with someone like me, but that’s not what I crave. True, pleasures of the flesh can be found with another Icorian, but the females aren’t the same. They’re not as soft or pliant as a well-trained cow.

It’s stupid. Foolish. I know this, and yet, all I want to do is make this cow mine. I want her milk to feed me, to nourish me, to drown me. I want our combined pleasure to be talked about as if it were a myth.

“Are we doing this, or what?”

I blink over at my brother as he hovers over her with a syringe. Seems as if it’s time to wake my sleeping cow.

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 4

OceanofPDF.com

JESSICA

Odd sounds hover about my head, buzzing like annoying insects. Heat climbs over my body like thousands of ants stinging and biting me. Though I long to scratch at my limbs, I find I still cannot move.

God, the nightmare continues. Off in the distance, a loud chime sounds, but I cannot tell if it’s from the movie or the grandfather clock sitting in the hall. Each bong slams into my skull, reminding me of how much I must have had to drink.

The groan ripped from my lips sounds soft, even to my own ears, and yet, the agony reverberates across the synapses of my brain. That’s it. I’m never drinking again. Ever. Can’t do it.

I long to tip over onto the floor so I can crawl my way to the bathroom, but any minute movement seems like too much effort. Maybe I should continue to lie here and contemplate the consequences of my actions. Too much alcohol, plus probably bad lasagna, times grief, minus sappy Christmas movies seems to equal abject misery that refuses to go away.

Somehow none of the actions of last night managed to cancel out the other. And so I lie here, my stomach in knots and my head feeling as if it’s going to explode. Another moan slips past my lips as I turn my head to the side.

Whispers float across my skin, the words harsh and raspy to my ears. What the hell is on the television now? Nothing about it sounds like Christmas. Too bad the remote is probably on the floor or buried in these mountains of blankets.

“Jessica?” The question hovers above me, still soft, yet insistent.

It’s deep and masculine, causing goosebumps to explode over my skin.

“God?” I ask back, my insides quivering as a laugh bubbles up to the surface.

Of all the ridiculous things. It would be far more likely to be one of the Christmas ghosts coming to take me away.

“Jessica.” This time, the voice sounds far firmer, commanding even.

I can’t deny the effect it has on me. My pussy spasms with each drawn-out syllable. The crisp, harsh tone of his words only makes me that much wetter.

“Am I in trouble?” I shouldn’t tease, but if my psyche is finally breaking, I should have some fun first.

“You’re about to be,” the mysterious voice grumbles. “Open your eyes.”

“Can’t make me.” A laugh slips out unbidden as the hilarity washes over me.

“What the fuck is wrong with her? What did you do?”

A different male answers, his voice a touch more strident. “I didn’t do anything. You know humans can become odd and potentially incoherent when coming out of forced sleep.”

“This isn’t incoherency,” the voice snaps back, drawing a frown across my face.

He sounds angry. But underneath that, part of me somehow seems to know he’s also worried. Granted, I don’t know how I know. I just do. But why is he worried? Should I be worried?

“You’re not usually here for this. I am. Now do you want me to kick you out so I can deal with her myself?”

No! I scream out in my mind. I have no idea what’s going on, but internally, I know I want the man with the concerned voice to stay. I don’t want him to leave. My fingers tremble as I reach out, desperate to touch the phantom.

Sensations wash over my skin as sounds become clearer. It’s as if I’m waking from a strange dream. I’m groggy but slowly able to move different parts of myself.

First, I wiggle my fingers, then my toes. When those work, I move on to bigger limbs like my arms. When they don’t move, I try my legs. Terror infuses me as déjà vu slams in so hard my head spins.

I’ve been here before. Just like this. I couldn’t move, couldn’t understand anything. The hospital. Hysteria builds as I look about, my gaze landing on two blue men. They’re still blue.

What the fuck? This has to be a dream. Right? I tug at the restraints with all my might, desperate to be free. They don’t budge. Not even an inch. A scream claws at my throat but refuses to go past my lips.

“Do something,” the presumably kinder male barks out.

The other turns to him, his eyes slanting. “She’s your cow. Maybe you should do something.”

Cow?

That one word stops everything.

“I’m not a fucking cow,” I manage to screech, bucking against the straps. “How dare you comment about my size when I’m obviously injured?”

Both men stop and look over at me, their eyes narrowing as they glance over my very naked body. After a moment, the one with the nice voice eases over. He pauses, his hand hovering over the top of my head as if he wants to pat it.

“My brother made no mention of your size. As I see it, you’re perfectly agreeable to me.”

“Agreeable?” I snap out. “Yeah. Because every woman wants to hear they look agreeable.” Though the last part is mumbled, he seems to hear every word clearly.

Bending low, he runs his thumb over my lip, sending shards of lust blazing through my body. “There are other words I could use, but you would not understand them.”

“Try me.” Despite the fear threatening to swamp me, I bait this blue demon.

What the hell is wrong with me? Perhaps it has to do with why I’m in the hospital. But if he’s a hallucination, then I might as well work through whatever issues rise to the surface. I never thought my size was one of them, but apparently, there’s a tender nerve there under everything else.

Granted, there’s enough emotional pain to mask recurring problems, if there are any. Narrowing my eyes, I watch as he leans in even closer, my breath catching in my throat. I already knew he was big, but having him this close reminds me just how large he is.