by Nora Roberts
“I understood what you’ve told me, and what I knew in my head, but not my heart. When the bird that wasn’t a bird flew at Sasha, and I destroyed it. I would have done the same had it been a man. I would have done the same.”
When she leaned into him, he put an arm around her, held her as Bran held Sasha as they rode the water back to land.
Once they reached the dock, Riley pulled out her phone. “Give me five,” she said and walked away.
“Sasha should have gelato. A reward,” Annika insisted.
“Gelato’s hard to turn down, but— That was fast,” Sasha said as Riley walked straight back.
“Fast and good. Got your list, Sawyer. I can pick it up in about an hour.”
“I’ve got me a project.”
“An hour. That’s perfect. It’ll give Annika, Riley, and me an hour to shop.”
“Shopping!” Beaming, Annika pressed her palms together.
“Shopping?” On a frown, Riley tipped down her sunglasses, blew at her bangs. “For what?”
“Shopping needs no what.” All light and cheer, Sasha took Riley’s hand, gave a warning squeeze. “The three of us will do some shopping, pick up Sawyer’s parts, and . . . bring home pizza for dinner.”
“You’ve had a long day, and an experience,” Bran began. “And as Nerezza’s made this first move, we should all stay together.”
“She won’t try for me again today, and I think I’ve proved I can handle myself. You’re not going to try to tell us the three of us can’t handle ourselves because we’re women.”
“Don’t go there, dude,” Sawyer warned. “No way to win it. But we can hang while you—”
“Go.” Sasha pointed. “All of you. If I get a reward it’s a little girl-shopping time without men hovering.” To seal it, Sasha rose to her toes, kissed Bran lightly. “We’ll be home in two hours.”
“If you’re not—”
“We will be.”
“Stay together.”
“Of course.” Sasha waved them off, waited until they were out of sight. “All right.”
“I could shop for new earrings!”
“We’re not going shopping.”
Annika’s jaw dropped. “But, you said—”
“Do you want to talk about sex?”
“Yes!” Annika grabbed Sasha’s hand. “It was a ploy!”
“That’s right.”
“If we’re going to talk about sex when I’m not having any, I want alcohol.” Riley scanned the marina. “Let’s find a place with a view and Bellinis.”
Within ten minutes—Riley moved fast—they sat on a shady terrace looking out at water and boats. Riley ordered in Italian, flirting with the waiter, who flirted right back.
Then she sighed, sat back. “Just proving I could have sex if I opted for the one-nighter. So.” She gestured at Annika. “The doctors are in. Proceed.”
“Are you a doctor, too?”
“She means we’re here to listen,” Sasha explained.
“Oh. It’s so nice to have friends who are female.”
“Truer words,” Sasha agreed.
“Sawyer says there are complicated rules about sex. If it’s so hard and strict, how do people have sex?”
“Good question. I used to think there were so many complications it was better to just forget about sex. I really believed that was the right thing for me, until Bran.”
“Because you’re mates.”
“Yes.” And wasn’t that a wonder? “I didn’t know that he felt that way, the way I did. But the other part is, he accepted me, what I am, what I have. No one had before Bran. Before all of you.”
“And I didn’t want to have sex with her.” Riley beamed at the waiter when he brought the Bellinis.
“But she’s very beautiful, and kind and wise. You’d have pretty sex together.”
Intrigued, Riley angled her head. “Are there gay merpeople?”
“Oh, yes. We’re very happy.”
“No, I mean— Are you, or some of you, attracted to the same sex? Can you mate with someone of the same sex?”
“Of course—differently because of the body, and there will be no young created, but you want who you want, yes? Love who you love?”
“Cheers to that.” Riley picked up her Bellini.
“Is one of the rules you cannot?”
“We’re eliminating that rule. Slower in some places, but we’re working on it.”
Annika huffed out a breath, frowned at her drink. “Are all the rules stupid?”
“Maybe some are, and the rules depend.”
Now Annika lifted a hand in frustration. “How can rules depend if they are rules?”
“We’re going to need more Bellinis,” Riley decided. “And pastries.”
“I can get behind that. But the rules, Anni, depend on the people involved, the situation. For instance, if Bran had been married or promised to someone else.”
“That’s the availability rule,” Riley added.
“I understand, and agree. I understand the willing. There must never be force. Clean—I’m not sure why this is important, at every sex.”
“It’s not that kind of clean. It’s more . . . letting your partner know if you’re healthy—sexually, that is.” Sasha shook her head. “I don’t see that as an issue for you or Sawyer, so we can table that complicated explanation for now. Other rules, the ones that depend? Some would come from the code or beliefs of who’s involved.”
“I know code. Sawyer’s honorable. Maybe too much honor. I tried to explain to him that when the painting happens, I can get away. He can take all of you—because he’s wounded, and leave me so—”
“Bullshit. That’s never happening.”
Frustrated, Annika turned to Riley. “But I can—”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what you can. And if Sawyer had said different, I’d think less of him—and that’s after I’d flattened him.”
“It’s insulting, Annika,” Sasha said, more gently. “It insults us for you to suggest that.”
“I don’t mean to insult. I love you, all of you. I hurt his feelings?” Distress squeezed her heart, clouded her mind. “Oh, I’m so apology. I will sorry to him.”
“Just put it away,” Riley advised. “And remember, this is all for one, one for all.”
“All for one, one for all,” Annika repeated. “This is a code. I won’t forget it. I hurt his feelings, so he doesn’t want to have sex with me.”
“I don’t think that’s it. Definitely more Bellinis.”
With a nod, Riley signaled the waiter, engaged in a long, flirty conversation.
Interested, Annika watched the waiter glance back at Riley. “He would have sex with you.”
“Read that signal loud and clear. Sex with a stranger can be exciting, and the danger’s part of the excitement. But I have enough excitement and danger going on right now. Plus, this is about you and Sawyer. I can promise you he’s had sex with you a few hundred times in his head.”
“But I want him to have sex with his body.”
“Can’t blame you.”
With a nod to Riley, Annika leaned in. “He’s brave and strong and kind, and very handsome. But you don’t have sex with him.”
“Huh. Okay, yeah, he’s a cutie—a hot cutie, and nobody’s wimp, but . . . you want who you want, right?”
“Yes.” Pleased, Annika sat back. “It’s a mystery of the heart. I want Sawyer, and he wants me. His—your name for it—I can’t remember.” She patted her lap.
“Lots of names for that.”
“We’ll stick with penis.” On a laugh, Sasha poked Riley’s arm.
“His penis gets hard—this is for sex—when we kiss, when he touches me. That’s desire, and I see the desire in his eyes. But he doesn’t put his penis inside me.”
“Is it just that simple in your world?” Sasha wondered.
“There can be a mating ritual—this is more serious. Or it can be for fun. For the needs.”
“Not so diff
erent. Look, this is a good balance here, I think. I’m probably looser about sex than Sasha.”
“Hey.”
“Before Bran,” Riley added.
“All right. Your point.”
“I’m saying Sawyer’s code makes his rules—about you—complicated. He doesn’t want to take advantage of you, or the situation. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to bang you, or imagine banging you.”
“Bang. Oh! Because the bodies . . .” Amused, Annika banged her hands together. “I like it. It’s a fun word. How do I make him, without force, stop imagining and start banging me?”
“Jump him.”
Riley blinked. “Wow. You surprise me, Sash.”
“Called me a tight-ass.”
“Didn’t, could have. Yeah, I’d go with jumping him.”
“As in combat?”
“No. You make the moves. You go to him, initiate the . . . banging,” Sasha decided. “You close the door, and you take off your clothes. Then, if necessary, you take off his.”
“Go, Sash.”
“Tight-ass no more,” Sasha said with a smirk. “I wouldn’t suggest this if I hadn’t felt how much he wants you, Anni. It was so strong, I couldn’t not feel it. I don’t intrude, I promise.”
“It’s a code, I know. But you felt his desire for me?”
“Yes. And his struggle to control it.”
“So I make it so he can stop the struggle.” Because her heart started to beat harder, Annika pressed a hand to it. “This is allowed?”
“Even encouraged.” When the waiter came back, Riley sent him that hey-baby smile.
He showered flirtation on all three as he set down the next round, along with a little plate and a small platter heaped with cakes and pastries.
“Belle donne.” He kissed his fingertips. “It is my pleasure to give you service.”
Riley watched him walk away. “Maybe I should rethink—”
“No,” Sasha said definitely.
“Easy for you to say; hate that you’re right. But there’s always pastries.”
“Can I help Sawyer with his struggle, jump him, so he bangs me tonight?”
“Your choice.” After a quick scan, Riley snagged a zeppole from the platter. “But we need him to make the bugs.”
After some hard thought, Annika nodded. “This is more important than banging. But if he finishes the bugs?”
“Jump away. What’s that one?” Sasha pointed.
“If it looks good, what do you care what it’s called? Bombolone. Think of it as a world-class donut. Here.” She picked up a pastry, a little frosted cake, set them on Annika’s plate. “You’ll like them. Now it’s a party.”
“I love parties. Thank you for helping me understand the rules and the codes of banging.”
“I don’t think you’ll need it, but—” Sasha took Annika’s hand. “Good luck.”
“Now eat and drink up, ladies. We’ve got a meet in about twenty minutes.”
“On the way to that, or to the house, we can shop?”
Before Riley could object, Sasha nodded. “Actually, I think we have to. We can’t go back without some evidence we did what we said we were doing.”
“Crap. But it’s the lightning round of shopping. Fast,” Riley explained.
“Oh, I can be fast.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll believe it when I see it.”
They came back loaded. Maybe Annika didn’t hit Riley’s goal of lightning round, but she managed to buy earrings—two pair—sandals—one with five-inch heels she navigated as if born in them—a tiny purse that would hold little more than air, but had a seashell clasp that charmed her, and three new dresses.
Together, they hiked the slope back carting shopping bags, Sawyer’s parts, and three large pizzas.
“Where the hell are you going to wear those heels?” Riley demanded.
“She’s going to wear them when she seduces Sawyer. She’s going to walk in on them, take off her dress, and stand there wearing just the heels.”
“You may be new at this, Sasha, but you’ve got skills, and you’ve got strategies.”
“I had such fun! Your new earrings are so pretty on you, Riley.”
With a shrug, Riley accepted her own weakness. “In a fight, all the opponent has to do is grab one and pull.”
“They look pretty. So do Sasha’s, and Sasha will look beautiful in her new dress and the sandals. You should have bought the new dress I showed you, Riley.”
“I don’t have a man to seduce.”
“You have a very good body. It’s small and strong and agile, and your breasts are lovely.”
“Well, that doesn’t get me laid, but thanks.”
“In my world both male and female would very much wish to bang you.”
So they walked into the house laughing, and drew Bran in from where he’d tried not to worry.
“Successful shopping, it seems.”
“Excellent shopping, and pizza as promised.” Sasha lifted her face for a kiss.
“I’ll take the pizza into the kitchen. Doyle’s in the grove, or was. Sawyer’s outside, working on the plans for whatever you brought for him.”
“Riley can take that out.” Subtly Sasha gave Annika a nudge. “We’ll just go up, put away our shopping extravaganza.”
“This is strategy?” Annika asked as they started up.
“Give him a little time to miss you, to wonder where you are. Don’t wear the heeled sandals yet. Save those for impact.”
“It’s like a game.”
“A little bit, but one where you both get to win.”
At the door to her room, Annika put down her bags to hug Sasha tight. “Thank you. You and Riley are my sisters in this world, and in mine.”
“I’ve learned what family is from you, from all of you. When this is done, I’m going to try to use everything I’ve learned with my own mother. I’ll see you downstairs.”
“You should wear your new dress.”
At the door to her room, Sasha paused, smiled. “You know, you’re right. I’ll put on my new dress.”
Annika understood games, and she understood rituals. She’d watched three of her sisters execute mating rituals. It involved flirtation, pretending disinterest, then flirtation.
Though she knew Sawyer couldn’t be her life mate, she loved, would always love, so the ritual could be allowed on her part.
She changed—not into her new dress because Sasha should shine in hers. But she used the lip color and the brush with color on her lashes as she knew women did to look even prettier.
After she went down, she made—as Sasha had taught her—a pitcher of sparkling fruit juice. On a tray she arranged the pitcher, glasses, and the bowl that held ice if needed.
Sawyer sat at the table under the pergola, with the things Riley found for him, a drawing he’d made, a kind of tool that reminded her a little of a gun.
Since Doyle sat across, watching Sawyer work, she smiled, carried the tray over.
“I made cold drinks because you’ll want beer with the pizza in a little while. Bran will make it hot again for dinner. Is this the bug?” she asked while she poured the drinks.
“It will be. I need to attach this capacitor—”
“Is that a flux capacitor?” Riley called down from her terrace.
“Hah. Just need a DeLorean. Got enough here to build three room transmitters, so we’ll need to figure out where they’ll do the most good.”
“How did you learn to do this?” Doyle wondered.
“Curiosity, I guess. I took apart this old radio, then an old answering machine, one of my broken remote-control cars, stuff like that. Figured out how to work them together to play spy. This’ll be a little more sophisticated. But it’s pretty down and dirty.”
“You need dirt?”
“No, it’s an . . .” Sawyer glanced up at Annika. “Ah, you look good. I mean, you always look good, but—”
“Thank you.” She trailed a finger over his shoulders as she walked
behind him. Then sat on the edge of the table, her back to him as she faced Doyle.
Yes, she knew the ritual.
“You drive the boat very well.”
“Good thing.”
“It’s a very good thing. Maybe you could teach me. I like to learn. And in return, I can teach you to do the handsprings.”
“I do handsprings, I can’t hold a sword.”
“I can teach you to do it with one hand only. You’re strong.” Deliberately, she reached over, tapped his biceps. “You could spring with only one hand, so your sword sweeps at the legs, and your feet kick the face.”
“One hand?”
“Yes, I can teach you. And the running up a wall, both hands free, to flip back? It would be useful to you in combat. Would you like me to show you?”
“Sure. I’m up for something new.”
When he rose to go with her to the strip of lawn, he glanced back at a scowling Sawyer, then up at Riley. She grinned, then leaned on the rail to enjoy the show.
She heard Sawyer curse. “Problem, cowboy?”
“Nothing. Just a little burn.”
She watched Annika, dress billowing down toward her head, gorgeous legs flashing up in the spring.
“I bet,” Riley said, and grinned again.