Page 48 of Kidnapped By the Beast
“Never mind,” she said quickly, putting the glasses back before she was tempted to try them on.
At another stall, women’s clothing hung in shimmering rows—garments clearly designed for four breasts. Some resembled bikini tops with double tiers while others were like elegant gowns with strategically placed cutouts. All of them were draped over armless, headless mannequins that had four breasts instead of two.
Lexi grimaced as a realization hit her.
“Well, I guess that explains all the staring. I’m basically defective stock—I only have half the required parts,” she remarked.
“You are not defective,” Brandt said, frowning, his golden eyes locking with hers. “You’re beautiful, just as you are.”
Lexi’s breath caught in her throat. The sincerity in his tone made her chest ache but she tried to push the emotion away.
Stop it, Lexi. Don’t read into it. He’s just being polite—nothing more.
But when Dr. Brandt turned away to look at a rack of embroidered scarves, her cheeks were still burning.
Food stalls beckoned next. One vendor handed her a stick of something that looked like fried chicken but tasted like steak wrapped in crispy blue batter. However, due to the Terians all being vegetarians, Lexi was sure it was some kind of fungus. It was delicious, though. Another merchant pressed candied fruit slices into her palm that fizzed and popped like Pop Rocks on her tongue.
“Oh my God.” Lexi fanned her mouth. “This is like eating soda and Skittles at the same time!”
T’linga, who was strolling along beside Lexi on Dr. TOo-loo’s arm, laughed.
“It is good, isn’t it?”
At yet another stall, they sampled crunchy nuts coated in salt and finished in a sweet, crispy glaze. Lexi closed her eyes, savoring the flavor.
“Okay, these are dangerous. I’d demolish a whole bag if I wasn’t careful.”
Dr. Brandt frowned.
“Why would you need to be careful? And how can nuts be dangerous—unless you have an allergy, of course.”
“Well because—they’re fattening,” Lexi said, frowning. “Which means if I eat too many I’ll get huge!”
Dr. Brandt gave her a serious look.
“You need to eat to feed your curves, Alexandra,” he lectured. “Don’t deprive yourself for foolish reasons. Didn’t I tell you that you’re beautiful just as you are?”
“Oh, well…” Lexi wasn’t sure what to say to that. She just blushed and looked away, her heart pounding. What did he mean saying things like that? Was it possible he was having feelings for her?
Luckily, she had the market to distract her from her foolish thoughts. There were many more food stalls to look at and samples to try…but not all the alien foods were pleasant. At one stall, a vendor proudly presented a slimy, wriggling creature in a bowl of thick gel.
“Wait—are these the things that clean out your digestive tract?” Lexi asked. They did look remarkably like the see-through creatures Dr. TOo-loo and T’linga had offered them during their first meal here.
“Ah, no, lovely lady—the cleaners you describe are purely medicinal,” the vendor said, shaking his head. “But these…now these colorful worms are for fun. How would you like to expel waste that is all colors of the rainbow when next you relieve yourself?”
“Uh, no thank you.” Lexi shook her head. Pooping a rainbow was not high on her list of fun activities.
“You don’t know what you’re missing!” The vendor insisted, but Dr. Brandt shook his head as well.
“Thank you but we don’t need your wares. Expelling rainbow waste is not appealing to either of us.”
Lexi grinned despite herself as they moved on.
Okay, so at least we’re on the same page about not eating alien tapeworms.
The next stall nearly made her choke.
Spread across velvet pads were unmistakable toys—sexual devices in all shapes and sizes. One looked like a set of nipple clamps with writhing tendrils… another was a double-headed dildo glowing like molten glass, its shifting colors pulsing faintly.
