She hefted her tool kit higher and stepped around the elegant merpeople to walk toward the door. Her skin felt grubby, and she needed to bathe before she met Jain and Kesuk for the evening meal.
“You’re right, the silver is the perfect color for you.” Bretton’s hand closed over her elbow, and he steered her to a display just to the left of the door as if she’d walked toward it instead of the exit. She fought the urge to jerk away from his touch. Even the lightest stroke of his fingers was enough to send shivers streaking over her skin. It was madness what he could do to her. And she loved it. She just…wanted him to love it, too.
She sent a longing glance toward the door. All doors and windows on Aquatilis were round. The perfect shape, they said. A circle had no beginning or end. It had achieved the perfect balance. She wondered what the original architect would think of the symbolism the merpeople had afforded his work. He’d probably love it. What man wouldn’t want his work to go down in history as flawless?
Bretton’s hand reached out to slide down the sheer silver saltwater silk cloth. It was embroidered with sparkly matching silk thread in a rounded pattern of scales. “A gown in this fabric would make you look like you had a mermaid’s tail.”
“I’ll never be a mermaid, Bretton. No matter how you might prefer it.” Her voice dropped to a hiss only he could hear.
His jaw clenched. “Do not insult Ebba.”
“It’s not Ebba I would wish to insult.” Her voice went sweeter than sugar.
A booming laugh spilled from his mouth, and she wanted to kick him. “You’ll have to work harder to insult me, Sera. I’ve had a full Turn to become accustomed to the sharp edge of your tongue.”
“Then allow me to remove the irritant.” She pivoted to face Ebba. “This is lovely.”
The woman beamed. “Shall I wrap a length of it for you?”
“No,” Bretton replied. “Send it to the Mermaid’s Purse and tell them it is for Doctor Gibbons. They will know what style to cut it into.”
Sera ground her teeth, baring them into the semblance of a smile. “Thank you, Ebba. Ambassador Hahn.”
“My pleasure,” they chorused.
She spun on her heel and rushed out the door, colliding with Oeric. Bretton caught her from behind before she fell, and Oeric snatched her tool kit midair.
“Thank you.” She ignored Bretton and smiled at the bald merman when he gave her the tools back.
Bretton swallowed past the tightness in his throat and wrapped his arm around Sera’s stomach, pulling her back until the soft curves of her ass pressed against his cock. He fought a tortured groan as his dick swelled in his pants.
Sera stepped away from him, ignoring him as she continued to smile at Oeric. “Tomorrow morning, then.”
“Yes, Doctor.” Oeric looked at Sera with something close to reverence in his gaze. He had no right to look at her that way. Not his Sera.
“You’ve taken Fane as your apprentice.” Bretton should have felt triumphant, jubilant at his success. Instead he favored the younger man with a glare. The tadpole wouldn’t even know Sera without Bretton. Something ugly and painful twisted deep inside him. “I am needed elsewhere.”
She raised her fingers to flick them in a little wave. “Okay. See ya.”
“Good afternoon, Ambassador.” Oeric nodded, but neither of them looked up to see him go. They bent together to discuss some mechanical thing. A feeling of inadequacy flooded Bretton. He wanted to stay and participate, but he could not.
Oeric’s hand settled on Sera’s shoulder, and jealousy sank claws deep into Bretton’s gut. His fists clenched at his sides as he fought the intense urge to pummel the big merman. It was irrational, foolish, imperfect. He whipped around and stomped away.
The other merman could touch her in front of others if he wanted to. His political views were well known to be a little off-color—enough so that he wouldn’t care how imperfect Sera was, wouldn’t care that she didn’t share his path to self-improvement, wouldn’t care what others thought of her potential as a mate.
Mate. Neptune’s blood, the thought of her with another man shredded Bretton.
But Oeric worked with mechanics. Unlike Bretton, who worked in politics, who was constantly in the view of the public…and the Senate.
Bretton tightened the thong that held his hair back. What was he going to do with her? What would he do without her? He didn’t know. He didn’t know anything anymore.
His feet carried him in the direction of peace—the botanical gardens that made up the innermost section of the city.
Many of the plants had been brought to Aquatilis from Earth and had grown in wild abandon under the carefully maintained conditions of Atlantis. He pulled in a deep breath of lush air, willing the tension from his muscles. He had meetings with both Elia and the full Senate today, and they would all notice if he showed signs of distraction. The spiral paths through the gardens were meant to inspire meditative introspection as they wound to a central pool filled with freshwater fish.
Forcing himself to slow his stride, he folded his hands behind his back and attempted to focus on the problem at hand, the same problem he’d had for the past Turn: Sera Gibbons. The mere thought of her was enough to send lust coiling through his belly and to swell his cock to the point of pain. He rubbed a hand over his forehead.
What was he going to do about her? The Senate had left handling her up to him. He’d tried to make it clear in public that she meant nothing to him, and he doubted many knew they were lovers—his father being an unfortunate exception.
As far as Bretton could tell, the woman had only two passions. Technology…and him. He almost tripped over his own feet as the thought shot longing straight to his groin. He’d been inclined to ignore the intense attraction between them when they’d first met. She had not. At first he’d thought her pursuit of him flattering, but when she’d shown up in his chambers nude, his control had snapped, and he’d taken her with a wild abandon he’d never allowed himself with his own kind. Sera had delighted in it. He knew the less control he had in bed, the more she enjoyed it. She was so unlike anyone he had ever met before and so completely unsuitable for anything except a physical relationship. He closed his eyes as a sharp pain stabbed his chest. He didn’t want more than the carnal relations they shared. He could not want more. Sighing, he opened his eyes to continue down the path.
Something had changed recently. Sera seemed…restless. Discontent. His fists clenched. He didn’t want her to be unhappy, but there was little he could do to help her. He disliked the conflicting emotions that whipped through him whenever she crossed his mind. He wanted to pull her close, he needed to push her away.
He’d already decided the best course of action was to cut off any personal contact with her, but he hadn’t been able to make himself do so.
“You look upset, Ambassador.” The soft, feminine voice sounded from a bench hidden beneath the hanging branches of a willow tree.
He stepped off the path and pushed the branches out of the way. “Lady Jain.”
A chuckle bubbled out of her while she pressed both hands to her burgeoning belly. “Just Jain, please. I don’t feel like much of a lady today.”
“Then you must call me Bretton.” He knew just what she meant. He never felt like a politician after an encounter with Sera. “Are you in need of assistance, Jain?”
“Oh, I imagine Kesuk will be along soon.”
“He doesn’t know you’re gone?” He winced at the picture of a marauding werebear bellowing for his errant mate as he barreled along the thoroughfares. Sera would enjoy the spectacle, and Bretton would have to fight a laugh as he often did when she was around to make observations about anything.
“I’m sure he does by now.” Her green eyes twinkled as she gestured to the bench. “I didn’t get very far before I had to sit down, but I needed to escape the coddling for a while. He’ll be annoyed and scold me, but he’ll understand.”
What would it be like to be so comfortable with a
nother? To know that differences were surmountable, no matter how you disagreed? His parents had never had that sort of relationship. For the first time, Bretton wondered if his father had stifled his mother the way he tried to stifle Sera. It had been so many years since he’d seen his mother that he barely remembered her face—she’d died over a decade ago while living on his aunt and uncle’s ranch.
Jain put her hand on the back of the bench and pushed herself to a standing position, one palm pressed to the small of her back. His fingers shot out to grasp her elbow and steady her. She sighed. “I’ve been sitting too long. I need to walk again.”
Shifting his grip on her elbow, he wondered how someone so fragile in build could carry a werebear child. Jain was a much smaller woman than Sera. “Would you like me to carry you?”
“I think Kesuk would rip you limb from limb if he saw you holding me.” She spoke in such a mild voice he blinked down at her as the sentence processed through his mind.
He snorted but didn’t doubt she spoke the truth. Matching her tone, he answered, “Lord Kesuk could certainly try.”
Her eyebrows lifted, and a wicked grin spread over her face. “Perhaps it wouldn’t be so easy for him, but I would lay odds on my mate’s victory, of course.”
“Of course.” He offered his arm, and she tucked her fingers into the crook of his elbow. Moving slowly, he guided her back to the main path.
A laugh gurgled out of her. “It might distress Sera to see you killed. And that would upset me. Kesuk would take that into consideration.”
“Good of him.” Ignoring the sting to his pride and the urge to laugh, he kept watch on where Jain placed her feet. His muscles bunched as he waited to see if he needed to catch her if she stumbled.
She nodded. “He’s always good to me.”
“I am glad to hear that.”
“And what about you and Sera?” She angled a piercing glance up at him.
His chest squeezed. How much could she know about him and Sera? What would it mean to his career if people knew? He’d no longer be able to protect her from the Senate. Cold sweat made his shirt cling to his back. “Excuse me?”
“Are you always good to Sera?” A quiet knowing filled Jain’s gaze when she glanced up at him. “That was what sent you running for the gardens, wasn’t it?”
“Did Doctor Gibbons say something to you?” He swallowed.
Shaking her head, she stepped carefully along the path. “Only that when she irritates you, you tend to walk here.”
He cleared his throat. “Yes, well. I came here to think long before I had Sera to plague me.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” She didn’t look up at him.
“That I come here to think? Or that I think at all?” He grinned. “You may have listened to the werebears too much on that count.”
“I meant that you believe Sera is here to plague you. I had hoped the two of you would come to a more…amicable relationship once you left Alysius. Especially considering how taken with you she was—is.”
In love with him, she meant. He froze mid-step as the realization hit him. He’d always known Sera desired him—she’d made no qualms about that—but love? He pulled in a deep, steadying breath.
Jain had paused beside him and scrutinized his face. “The two of you haven’t slept together since we arrived.”
He choked on the breath he’d just taken. “How would you know that?”
“Three reasons.” She lifted three fingers. “One: you both ooze sexual frustration. Two: I’ve heard there was an interesting episode between you that was interrupted. Three: Kesuk can’t smell her on you anymore. He could when we landed. Fresh, too. You naughty man.”
A deep flush burned his neck. His tongue—usually so smooth in offering political platitudes—twisted into slippery knots. “Ah. I do try to impress the natives.”
“Natives, as in primitive, right? Snob.”
He arched a brow in mock condescension. “I am a merman. We do have that reputation among the werebears, do we not?”
She lifted her hand to cough into her fist. Her eyes twinkled as she offered him a smile. “You know, when we first met, I pitied Sera for her attraction to you. I had no idea what she saw in you. But I think I do now.”
He swallowed and continued on as if she hadn’t spoken. Dangerous territory, speaking about Sera’s desire for him. Whatever they felt for each other changed nothing about their circumstances. “Aquatilians and Alysians have long had a mutually poor reputation. They claim to have called for aid, but we did not answer. That much is true, but it is also true that we could not answer.”
“Why? You mentioned something about life-support failing when we met on Alysius, but Atlantis seems to have thrived.” She flicked her fingers to indicate the lovely botanical gardens.
“When Earth’s sun died, anyone who survived came here. There were several spaceships, military cruisers, space yachts, and the like that had the ability to make the jump to light speed and get here. They flooded this city and a smaller one, Pacifica, to the point that our life-support systems could no longer sustain us. Pacifica flooded, and many died.”
“I’m so sorry.” Both of Jain’s hands squeezed his wrist.
“I think the dislike between merpeople and werebears is likely to continue indefinitely.” He huffed a laugh. “We are too different. Merpeople value perfection, and werebears…”
“Do not.” She gave a negligent shrug. “Sera is not perfect.”
“Sera claims perfection is impossible.” Often, and to anyone who wished to speak to her on the matter.
“Yet she’s very accepting of people’s flaws. My family’s, for example.”
And Bretton’s. And his father’s. As much as Cuthbert harassed and annoyed her, Sera never expected him to change. She accepted him as he was. It was one of the qualities Bretton treasured in her. One of the many things he missed now that he didn’t spend his nights with her. She didn’t expect the merpeople to change either—she simply disagreed with them, and it meant he could never claim her as a mate. Pain twisted through him at the knowledge. He forced a smile to his lips. “What was she like…on Earth?”
“Different. The same.” Her slim shoulder lifted in a shrug. “She was Sera. Nothing much could alter that—she’s always been sure of who she is, but she’s grown in the past year.”
“Grown?”
They resumed walking. “Softer, I suppose Kesuk would call it. Fewer sharp angles, and yet she doesn’t have the community of scientists to understand her genius as she did on Earth. That has to be difficult for her.”
“Less difficult than it would be for her on Alysius.” His voice came out stiffer than it should have, more defensive.
“True.” Jain let the implied insult slide. “We’re very different that way.”
“Aquatilis is the right place for you at this time as well.” He pointed it out because he’d made certain the Senate asked for nothing in return for helping the werebear lord and his mate.
She smiled, her fingers tightening on his sleeve. “Yes, my daughter will be born soon.”
“The medics haven’t been able to confirm the gender of your child—only that it will be born a werebear like Kesuk.” He blinked down at her bent head.
She tilted her chin, and her dark hair slid forward over her shoulder. “It doesn’t matter. I know I’m having a girl.”
“Then I bow to the greater wisdom of women in this area.” As though he’d be foolish enough to argue with a woman in the advanced stages of pregnancy.
A mischievous grin twitched the sides of her mouth. “My stepson, Nukilik, has requested a new sister. And Kesuk deserves another daughter to coddle.”
“And what of Miki?” Kesuk’s daughter was playful and sweet, if Bretton remembered correctly. “Does she also desire a sister?”
“Miki is so enthusiastic about not being the youngest anymore, she’d be happy if we brought home a merchild.”
He chuckled at the thought of a fish changeling gr
owing up among the rough-and-tumble Arctic Bears. “It is fortunate you carry only one child. I’ve heard Arctics often conceive twins—like Miki and Nukilik.”
She sighed and rubbed a palm across her swollen belly. “If I were having twins, I doubt I would have survived.”
He blinked at the bald statement. It was true, but he hadn’t expected her to be so matter-of-fact about her mortality.
“I’ve surprised you.” She angled a glance up at him.
“Yes.”
Her chin dipped in a nod. “Kesuk and I have spoken to the medics, and they’ll tie my tubes when they go in for the C-section.”
“Tie your—”
“It’s an Earthan saying. It means they’ll ensure I can’t conceive again. Ever.” A wistful note blunted the edge of practicality in her voice. Her fingers danced over her stomach again. “This will be the only child I have, but Kesuk already has an heir, so all will be well.”
“Of course,” Bretton responded, inserting as much quiet enthusiasm into his voice as he could.
She sighed. “The medics also confirmed that Mahlia’s twins don’t suffer from the same genetic defect that killed their first son.”
“I’d heard that.” Varad had told him. The two of them had traveled together the Turn after the weretiger’s son had died. Bretton had seen how that grief had weighed upon his friend. He couldn’t even begin to imagine the kind of toll that would take upon a woman. What would Sera do to cope in such a situation? He hoped she never had to find out. “It is a blessing for them.”
“Yes.” With each step, Jain leaned more heavily on his arm. The color had leeched from her face while they walked until her dark hair shone in stark contrast against her pale skin. Relief flooded him when he glanced up and saw the end of the path that opened into the city proper.
“Little bear, you should not be out here.” Kesuk stepped out of the bushes to their left. His white-blond hair stood in furrows as though he’d run his fingers through it repeatedly. Worry and annoyance warred in his midnight gaze. A muscle in his jaw ticked as he stooped to lift his mate into his arms. He held her as though she was the most precious thing in his life. And she just might be.
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