Page 28 of Reclaimed

"Oh, like breeders!" Crawford adds, a little too enthusiastically. "Breeders prioritize fertility before vanity."

Bile creeps up the back of my throat. It's one thing to be auctioned like chattel, but to be bought solely to be bred seems like a whole new nightmare.

Are they trying to get the Assets pregnant? Is it one and done? What happens to the Assets after? Or the kids?

I force a swallow, the acrid taste still coating my tongue.

"Precisely," he nods before turning to Platt. "Be sure that is noted. Do we have the results of her blood test yet?"

"Let's see," he hums as he clicks the mouse. "Looks like the blood panel is negative for pregnancy. Fertility is marked for further review. No diseases are evident, though."

"Anything on prophylactics?"

"Uhm, it doesn't say."

Kelton pivots around. "Are you on contraceptives, A311?"

I bite back a scoff. Shouldn't this be something these idiots have in their records?

"She can't comprehend that," Crawford snorts, turning to face me. "Did you pleasure your guardian?"

It wasn't pleasure. It was compliance.

Snide remarks about my body and arbitrary values being assigned to each part are one thing, but having the sheer audacity to suggest I enjoyed what he did to me is fucking despicable. Every vicious response I can think of crowds my tongue, but the last of my restraint keeps them there. I draw in a deep breath and close my eyes, slowly releasing it as I count to eight.

"A311?" he barks.

My eyes crack open, annoyance flaring as my gaze locks onto him. His patronizing smirk lifts the pathetic strip of reddish hair on his upper lip that he's trying to pass off as a mustache.

Crawford chuckles under his breath. "Make note that her hearing is intact. Whether she possesses the intelligence to understand us remains unclear."

Heat blazes beneath my skin, my nails biting into my palms as my fingers clench into fists at my sides.

Keep your mouth shut, Jersey.

"Do you want me to order a remedial evaluation along with the fertility profiling?" Platt asks, glancing at Kelton from around the monitor.

"N–," Kelton starts, Crawford interrupting him with a snort.

"Why waste the resources on either? It's one thing to be stupid, but stupid and unable to–"

"Pleasure?" I spit.

Their heads whip toward me, surprise coloring their features.

"If him coming in whatever hole he forced himself into is pleasure, then yes,” I sneer. “Yes, I pleasured him daily for five years.”

Crawford arches a brow at me before turning towards Platt. "Flag her profile for signs of defiance."

"No, just for an evaluation," Kelton states.

"But she's at risk for rebellion and definitely not suited for auction."

My stomach churns in trepidation. Unfortunately, my stupid fucking temper seems to have the same audacity as these men.

"Easy there," Kelton sighs. "Not every appraisal is a textbook one, boys. The longer you do this, you will learn that female assets tend to be highly emotional. Some are able to manage it better, but they all will have a mood swing sooner or later."

Let's see who's emotional after I kick you in the nuts.