Page 40 of Hot & Heavy

"I don't think we have a bra that would fit you, Maddie. You've got to be at least a 34C, maybe even 34D," Amber said, once they were out of the bathing chamber and in the sleeping chamber known as a bare-racks. Other women in the room or passing by gazed at her with interest, but they did not intrude.

"What is a bra?" Madrene asked. She had a large, plush towel wrapped around her body, covering her from chest to thighs.

Amber and Dough-lore-ass looked at each other, then at her.

At the same time, Amber lifted her shirt, revealing the oddest garment. Made of an almost transparent lace fabric, it covered the breasts and had straps over the shoulders and a band around the chest.

"Well, hell fires, what is the purpose of that attire?"

"To hold up the breasts," said Amber, who had no breasts to speak of.

"Like a harness?"

The two women laughed.

"You could say that," Dough-lore-ass replied. "Plus, they make a woman feel sexy. And they turn men on." She raised her eyes meaningfully.

"If by 'turning on,' you mean what I think you do, well, I doubt me that the men in my country would turn lustsome over that skimpy attire. If given a choice, methinks they would prefer the udders bare and hanging in the wind, though I am no expert on the subject."

Amber helped pull a green, collarless, short-sleeved shirt over Madrene's head. The letters U.S. Navy were on the front. Like most women in her country, Madrene had never been taught to read, but she was able to make out some words and letters.

"Going bare-chested in public is not an option, Maddie, especially here on a military base,"

Dough-lore-ass pointed out with a smile.

"I know that. Bloody hell, didst think I would ever consider such scandalous behavior?" Madrene shook her head at their foolishness. "I referred to your remark about men liking… what did you call them?…

bras. Besides, judging by my brothers' past conduct, men's staffs rise at the least provocation. And if they have been imbibing too much mead, they need no provocation at all. Their dangly parts have a mind of their own. Leastways, that is what Ragnor used to say."

Both women were staring at her, slack-jawed with amazement. She affected people like that on occasion.

"I talk too much betimes," she admitted with a shrug. "And I tend to be blunt of tongue. I do not mean to offend, though often that is the case."

Amber patted her on the shoulder. "No, no, that's all right. You just surprised us."

"And you talk oddly," Dough-lore-ass added. She was still guarding Madrene but did not seem to consider her a real threat.

"Hah! Why does everyone say that my speech is strange? It is all of you who talk in an odd fashion."

"What country are you from?" Amber asked as she pulled out a flesh-colored bra from a chest. She held it up in front of Madrene and nodded her opinion that it would fit.

Madrene considered telling them the truth, but decided that caution was the better path. After all, she had been taken from her homeland and forced to stay in the Arab land for two long years. And she was still in the Arab lands, for all she knew. Best to be careful of how much she revealed, she decided. "North of here," she said.

"Syria? Turkey?" Dough-lore-ass inquired with seeming shock. She and Amber exchanged looks again.

What was it about this land that everything has something to do with animals? Seals, birds and now turkeys. I am certainly not a turkey, last time I checked. She was about to tell them just that, but another woman soldier came up and told them, "General Adams wants to see the prisoner as soon as possible."

"Which prisoner?" Madrene asked. Then realized that the woman was referring to her. "I am not a prisoner," she started to say, then realized that perchance she was.

Quickly, Amber found her braies made of the woodland fabric that the "seals" had worn, dark calf-length hose, and heavy boots. But first, they showed her how to put on an undergarment called panties. They were flesh-colored, like the bra, and barely covered her belly, buttocks and nether hair.

She giggled at the feel of the garment on her body.

Soon, flanked by the two women soldiers, she was walking toward the general's chamber. She could not wait to get this meeting over with so she could eat, her stomach being nigh empty.

"Those SEALs from Force Squad are going to get a rude awakening when they get a look at this babe,"

Amber remarked to Dough-lore-ass.