Page 13 of Olivia

“It is the responsibility of the prospective parent to treat the surrogate with respect,” the woman said sternly. “Abuse of any kind will not be tolerated. Renewed consent is required for each act of physical intimacy.”

Physical intimacy?

That wasn’t right.

She stole a glance up at Dr. Oppyx, but the doctor was simply watching the holo-film, nodding along.

What have I gotten myself into?Olivia wondered to herself.

“Maltaffian spermatozoa cannot survive outside a living host,” Stark whispered to her, again as if he had read her mind. “And we require a certain degree of intimacy to initiate transfer.”

This was why the center had to be romantic.

This was why they needed the greatest AI ever known.

This was why she was being paid so handsomely.

Willing her heartbeat to slow, Olivia weighed her options.

If she showed weakness, fear, or anger right now, it would all be over.

Am I willing to sleep with someone to gain access to Oberon?

No, she wouldn’t do that. She knew that much about herself. No matter how much she wanted access to thefamed AI, she wouldn’t have agreed to this up front if she had properly understood the situation. There would be another way to get to Oberon.

Am I willing to sleep with someone so that I can have a baby of my own one day?

She wanted the answer to be no, but she found herself hesitating.

Had they told her this up front, along with letting her know that the other person also desperately wanted a baby and that this might help both of them become parents…

But Stark Rawling wasn’t just anyone. She had already known he was a billionaire businessman who thought he was too good for feedback. Now she knew he was annoyingly superior in person too. Confidence rolled off of him in waves.

She hated that she was attracted to him. Hated that her body panted like a puppy on a leash trying to get to him, even now.

The physical pull she felt was frightening and like nothing she had ever experienced before. Olivia wasn’t exactly experienced, but she understood what her body was craving.

I don’t want to do that for the first time with someone who doesn’t love me and only wants a baby…

But the very thought of a baby had her heart aching.

She knew what her decision was going to be. She could beat herself up about it and question her morals later.

For now, she knew she was willing to do whatever it took if it meant becoming a mother.

5

STARK

Stark was unable to concentrate on the last part of the presentation.

It was bad enough that he was practically shaking with lust after five minutes with the tiny Terran girl beside him.

But she had gone still at the mention of physical intimacy. And when he whispered the scientific mating criteria for his species, she had frozen up completely for a few minutes. Which could only mean one thing.

She didn’t know…

But that was impossible. The center vetted their surrogates thoroughly and had them sign off on everything up front. That was central to their discreet word-of-mouth marketing.