Read Online Catching Alicka by Dakota Dawn - Free Book Online

when you get pregnant?”
    “Yes. I realize I’ll live longer, but I can’t remember how many years is a natural lifetime here.”
    “Three hundred years. That means we have plenty of time to enjoy each other and our children.”
    Whoa! In her stressed state when she’d been taken, Alicka had been told too many things to remember them all. That one should have stuck in her brain, but it hadn’t. Looks like my clock isn’t ticking as loudly as I thought . The vision of Keneese so round in her pregnancy had Alicka hoping she would get pregnant sooner rather than later. Their babies getting to play and grow up together was something she longed to see.
    “What are you thinking so hard about?”
    “Us having babies. You wouldn’t mind if it happened soon, would you? I know the pact with Earth is for population growth. I’m just not sure when you’ll be ready for that. I’m not on birth control.” She wondered if they had any kind of birth control.
    A glow brightened his eyes for a moment. “I’d love to have a baby as soon as possible. Seeing Princess Keneese heavy with child is a beautiful sight. I look forward to watching your body change as it nurtures our baby. You are sure to be breathtaking.” He kissed her hand and then started leading them onward. “Before I decide to take you back home and breed you all day long, we best get to the verstos. I’ve got some baby trees we need to mix food for and then feed some adult trees as well. Does that sound good to you?”
    “Yes, I’m excited about learning the grove business. I was an office assistant on Earth. I always longed to be doing something outside, though.”
    They rounded a corner and the path veered to the right. Slanon headed right and a few minutes later, a clear building came into view. So this is what a verstos looks like . Verstos was the equivalent of a greenhouse on Earth.
    Once they were closer, she asked, “Is it made of glass?” She’d been too busy learning normal household things from him to wonder if the windows in his home were made of glass or not. The brief question of how they got clean flitted through her mind. If it wasn’t easy, she wasn’t going to do it often.
    “No, this is a material we make. It’s similar to glass on Earth, except it’s heartier. We use it as often as we can because the two materials it’s made from regenerate, giving us plenty of it.” He slid the clear door open and entered the huge building. Trees in various sizes lined the sides of the space. Workbenches were in several locations, as well as barrels of something.
    “What’s in the barrels?”
    “Plant foods. I mix diverse ingredients for different-aged trees. Come, I’ll show you.” He led her to a workbench and started pulling out different jugs and mixing bowls.
    “Why are you making a small batch?” There had to be hundreds of trees in the building.
    “Because I only have a few babies that need the food. Later, I’ll have you help me mix a big batch and we’ll go feed some of the outdoor trees.”
    She watched him open several of the barrels and scoop out varying amounts of powders and dried herb-looking stuff. With methodical movements, he blended the ingredients with water and then poured it into a jug.
    “We’re ready. The trees are this way.”
    She followed him down the center of the building and then to the right, where another wing was lined with small trees.
    Looking up, Alicka noted that the ceiling was open. It looked like it was closeable. “Why is the ceiling open?”
    “So the night rain can water the plants. I have these young plants inside to keep the wind off of them.” Tilting the jug over the planter of each tree, he fed them with ease. “These little guys are part of a new experiment I’m trying. I want to see if the seeds from my most successful trees are going to produce the same sweetness level as their parents. The parents were fed the same food I just put on them.”
    “Have you put it on some of your