Chapter 3

Sexual frustration still hummed through Sera’s body days later. Bretton hadn’t come back to finish what he’d started. Not the argument and not the sex. She tried to push thoughts of him out of her mind so she could concentrate on her work. Just the thought of him and what his clever hands could do to her made her body temperature rise, made goose bumps break out over her flesh, made her skin feel too hot and too tight to bear. She bit her lip to stop a whimper.

She shoved a hand through her hair and bent closer to her current invention. Focus, Sera. There was nothing she could do about the lust coursing through her body, so she tried to focus her energy on frustrations she could have some effect on—those of her new project. It would help filter the seawater to make it drinkable. The desalinization system they had was serviceable, but Sera didn’t care for the taste. This new gadget would strip out all the excess salt and make it taste like clear spring water from Earth.

Thank God. If she had to swallow more chemical-flavored saltwater, she might vomit.

She cauterized a miniscule tube that held the nanobots in a gelatinous solution. When she was done, the seawater would pass through the nanobots for filtration. The tubing was proving difficult. It was either too porous and water flooded in at a rate the nanobots couldn’t process, or was not porous enough so she’d be old and gray before a single glass of water processed.

“Damn it.” She tossed aside her sproket and sat back in her chair. Her muscles screamed as she straightened. She’d been hunched over for too long. The hum of arousal that hounded her came roaring back with indecent fury. She closed her eyes. She’d never wanted a man the way she wanted Bretton. A year, and she still burned for him as much as she had the first moment she’d seen him.

Pushing to her feet, she wandered around her lab, picking up wires and tools and putting them down again. Each step brushed her thighs together, increasing the agony of desire that flooded her sex. She walked through the door to her room and looked out the huge round window. The lights from Atlantis illuminated the octopus shape of the city. One large glass dome made up the city proper, and long tentacle-like corridors wound out to smaller domes. In the distance, she could see a few mermaids swimming toward one of the shifting chambers in the main dome. She pressed her forehead to the cool window, hoping the sharp bite of chill would break the fever inside her.

No such luck.

She could only feel the cold press of Bretton’s flesh against hers when he’d come in after a swim in the ocean. He’d stripped her bare and slid his cock deep inside her, his wet skin sticking to hers as they moved together. She moaned.

This had to stop. She had to do something. Anything to make it stop.

Giving in to the need that rode her, she jerked at the tabs that sealed her jumpsuit closed. She slipped her hands inside, palmed her breasts, and tweaked the tight nipples. Her gasp echoed in the empty room, reminding her how alone she was. Pain and pleasure twisted through her. She focused on the pleasure. Her fingers drifted down her ribs, over the swell of her stomach, and into the soft hair between her legs.

Juices slipped over her hand as she pressed into the slick depths of her pussy. She choked at how good it felt. Her breath panted out, and she leaned against the cool glass. It contrasted with the fire building high and hot within her body. She flicked her fingertips over her swollen clit.

Her thighs jerked, and her knees went weak. Stumbling back, she kicked off her jumpsuit before she sat on her mattress. Her breath shuddered out, and passion wound tight through her. With shaking hands, she punched in the code to open the compartment over her bed. She pulled out her vibrating dildo. It was a smooth metal tube that flexed to conform to the walls of her pussy in ways most alloys couldn’t. Lying back in her bed, she spread her legs and flicked on the controls. The vibrator hummed to life, and she teased her clit and lips with it.

Her pussy clenched hard, and moisture slipped from her core. She needed to come so badly her body screamed with it. Goose bumps broke out down her arms and legs. She drew the long shaft of the dildo up and down her wet sex. The vibrations only increased the want she couldn’t contain. Sweat beaded on her upper lip and between her breasts.

Instead of pushing the dildo into her pussy, she laid it flush against her clit and let the hum of it shove her fast and hard to the very edge of orgasm. Her heels pressed to the mattress, and her hips lifted into the vibrations.

“Oh, my God.”

She whimpered, and her eyes drifted shut as she focused on the sweetness that spun deep inside her. More. Just a little more. God, she was so close.

Look at me, Bretton’s voice demanded in her mind.

Her eyes snapped open to see Bretton in merman form floating outside her window with his palms pressed to the glass. She gasped, her body arching. “Bretton.”

She froze, and silence fell over her room. Only the sound of the buzzing sex toy broke through. Her breath stopped, and the moment stretched to a fine breaking point. Juices gushed between her thighs as the thought of him watching her masturbate registered in her mind. Yes.

Stroke yourself, Sera. Show me what you like. His deep, sensuous voice filled her thoughts, and his pure turquoise eyes burned with the same suppressed need that had built inside her unrequited since before the trade ship had landed.

A moan dragged from her throat. The muscles in her stomach and legs shook as she moved the dildo over her flesh again. She shivered, met Bretton’s gaze, and let a slow, wicked smile cross her face.

“Bretton, I—” She stopped when she realized he couldn’t hear her. She licked her lips, and played the toy over her pussy. Teasing them both. His groan echoed in her mind. It made her burn hotter, and moisture gathered thick in her sex. She didn’t think she’d ever been so wet in her life. It was shocking how intimate it was to have him watch her pleasure herself.

Plunging the dildo deep inside her, she twisted on the covers as the deep hum rippled through her body.

Yes, fire fin. Move for me.

Her hips arched, and she worked the toy deep inside her. Angling the metal, she stroked it inside herself just as he’d demanded.

His fingers slipped down the glass as if to slide over her naked skin. She shuddered. Yes. She loved his hands on her flesh. She craved it. Him. Always. Every moment of every day. She couldn’t get enough.

She felt his gaze almost as if it were a physical touch as it swept over her naked form. He smiled when he met her eyes again. You know what I would do if I was there? I’d fill my hands with your pretty breasts and suck your nipples until you screamed.

“Oh, God,” she breathed. One hand cupped her breast, and she pinched her nipple hard, twisted the tight tip. Her other hand still pushed the dildo into her pussy. Her sex clenched hard, throbbing with need.

Good, fire fin. I love it. His voice was a low rumble in her mind, a rough silken caress that enflamed her as much as the touch of her own fingers. Now place your hand between your legs and play with your clit. You’re hot for me, aren’t you? Hot and wet.

At the first stroke of her finger over her pulsing clitoris, she cried out. Without even touching her, he controlled her pleasure. She loved it. Flicking a nail against her clit, the muscles in her legs jerked. She moaned, the sound loud in the small room.

His hands bunched into fists against the glass, the turquoise filling his eyes from corner to corner. His long hair formed an inky cloud that flowed around his broad shoulders as he flicked his tail to keep the currents from pulling him away from her window.

Her breath bellowed out, and she couldn’t look away. Heat boiled through her like molten lava, and she hovered right at the edge of orgasm. A few more moments, and she’d fly. Desperation swamped her, and her hips rotated on the saltwater silk bedcovers. The slick feel of it against her skin was one more sensation that spurred her on.

His wicked chuckle filled her mind. Come for me.

“Yes!” As with everything, she couldn’t deny him. She screamed, her body bowing hard off the mattress as her pussy fisted around the vibrator again and again. Too many feelings ripped through her, overwhelmed her, and she sobbed out a breath before she went limp. Tingles raced over her skin as she shuddered in the hot aftermath of orgasm.

“Sera? Are you all right? We heard you yelling.” Kesuk’s voice sounded loud through the door. “Hurry up and open it, dragon.”

Her door snapped wide, and three men filled the space. Nadir froze, and Kesuk and Varad plowed into his back, shoving him forward into her room. She gasped and rolled into a ball, shut off the vibrator that still hummed deep inside her pussy, and dragged her blankets up to shield her body from view. Blood pounded into her face, and she knew her cheeks were fluorescent red.

Glancing at the window, she saw Bretton had disappeared in a cloud of bubbles. Tears smarted her eyes, and she couldn’t force herself to meet the gazes of her visitors. “Um…could you wait for me in my lab?”

“Ah…of course.” Varad grabbed the back of the other men’s shirts and hauled them toward the doorway on the opposite side of the room.

Dumping the vibrator into a small sterilizer she kept by her bed for just that purpose, she scrambled for her jumpsuit and stuffed herself into it.

Her hands shook so it took twice as long as normal to seal the front of her suit. Patting down her hair, she stepped into her lab where the three big men seemed to crowd the space. She only hoped they all had the diplomacy not to mention what they’d walked in on.

“What was that…thing? That buzzed?” Kesuk made a buzzing noise to demonstrate his point.

Sera closed her eyes and tried not to blush harder, humiliation crawling through her. “It’s called a vibrator.”

“Where can one of these vi-bra-tors be purchased? Is there a shop in Atlantis?” Nadir propped his elbow on her worktable and leaned forward, avid curiosity shining in his dark eyes. She didn’t even want to think about which of his two mates he intended to purchase the vibrator for.

“Uh…no.” The idea of proper merpeople having a sex-toy shop was enough to make her want to giggle hysterically.

Varad forked a hand through his tiger-striped hair. “It is an invention of yours?”

“Yes. No. They were quite common on Earth, but that particular vibrator was my invention.” She closed her eyes, disbelief coursing through her that she was having this conversation. God help her.

“Ingenious.” The weretiger smiled.

Kesuk smacked a hand down on the table. “I want one.”

“Two for me. Always.” Nadir’s eyebrow arched as he shared a wicked glance with the other men.

Varad chuckled. “I foresee a very interesting trade agreement coming of this. Tigers are very sensuous creatures.”

“Oh, God.” She clasped her hands to beg. She wasn’t above it at this point. “Please don’t mention this to Bretton.”

“My dear, he has already seen it. And you.” Varad spread his hands and shrugged.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and turned away. This day couldn’t get any worse. What filled her mouth with a bitter taste was how eager these men were to be with their mates, how much the adoration shone on their faces. Had Bretton ever wanted her that way? Ever cared about her at all? Or was she merely a sexual convenience? She had made herself as convenient as possible. She wanted him, she’d made that clear, and she’d always pursued what she wanted with single-minded determination until she got it. That was how science worked. Try, fail, reassess, try again.

“He’s a fool.” The weretiger’s voice sounded quietly behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder to see he’d approached while she wasn’t paying attention. “Excuse me?”

He gestured to her bedroom window. “He’s a fool for not mating with you.”

A bitter little laugh spilled from her lips. “There’s not a merman in his right mind who would. And Bretton is the sanest man I know.”

“Sanity and intelligence apparently do not walk hand in hand.” He arched a dark brow. “I expected better of Bretton.”

Holding her hands up in surrender, she grimaced. “Amir, please.”

He sketched a slight bow. “I will speak of it no more.”

“Thank you.” She thrust a hand through her tangled hair, forced a smile to her face, and sat down at her worktable. “So…what brings you to my sector of the city?”

 

After her little peep show, Sera did her best to avoid Bretton for a few days. She spent every evening with Jain and the other people from the trading party and threw herself into work during the day. Stepping into one of the most exclusive textile shops in Atlantis, she let herself be led to the back room to meet the proprietress and see the equipment that needed repair.

“Oh, can you fix it, Sera? It’s been in my family since settlement.” The tiny shop owner wrung her hands, anxious lines creasing her wizened face.

Sera lifted her eyebrows at the mammoth saltwater silk loom that dominated the store’s workshop. This was going to be such fun. In her time, she would have had a large team of workers to help with something like this. Of course, in her time, she would have been inventing new machines, not serving as a maintenance repairwoman for shopkeepers.

She offered a more confident smile than she felt. “I’ll do my best, Ebba.”

Stooping down, she set her bag of tools on the floor and stepped over to remove one of the service panels that ran along the base of the loom. She dropped to her knees, slid halfway into the opening, and rolled over on her back to work. She immersed herself in it, and time became fluid and slid away.

“Now, where did my sproket go?” She sighed, patting the ground beside her hip.

Cool metal slipped into her fingers. “I believe this is it, Doctor.”

Ducking down, she saw the light outline of a huge bald man. Narrowing her eyes, she tried to bring him into focus. “Oeric, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Bretton sent you.” It wasn’t a question. It was so like the man to avoid her but keep tabs on everything she did.

Oeric nodded. “He thought you might like a hand with the heavy lifting.”

“I can manage.” Her fingers clenched on the metal of her tool as anger swelled in her chest. Why couldn’t Bretton just accept her, accept that she couldn’t do what he wanted?

Again, the large merman’s chin dipped in a nod. “I’m sure you can.”

He didn’t sound sarcastic, but the whole situation set her teeth on edge. “Then why are you still here?”

“I have some experience with repairing this loom.” He shrugged.

Her eyebrows lifted. “Oh?”

“Ebba’s my grandmother.”

Well, that explained why he’d claim to know about this machine. “Oh.”

A flash of white teeth in his tanned face made him look less like a statue. “It’s a status symbol that she can afford to pay you to fix this for her.”

Sera snorted, turning her attention back to her work. “I feel so beloved and glamorous.”

His chuckle sounded like a rumble of thunder. Her spanner slid into her hand just as she needed it.

“That blue wire in the back burns out a lot.”

“I noticed.” It had been one of the first things she’d replaced when she arrived, but it hadn’t fixed the problem.

He persisted. “I found that it helped to have someone in the next panel to hold the wires and tubes out of the way.”

She rolled her eyes. The kid was right, but she didn’t have to give in graciously. “Fine. You can help, but this doesn’t mean you’re my apprentice. And don’t mention this to Bretton.”

“Of course.” There was no gloating in his voice, so her shoulders relaxed a little. A small metallic pop sounded as he opened the panel next to her, and she could see him through the tubing as he wriggled in on his back. It had to be uncomfortable for him. It was a tight fit for her, and she was a third his size.

Well, he was determined but not annoying about it. And he hadn’t been exaggerating his knowledge of mechanics. He anticipated problems before they happened, moved wires into her reach just when she needed them, and didn’t natter on at her like most merpeople. In fact, most of the next few hours were spent in a companionable silence.

She squinted at the tubing over her head. “I have a theory.”

“Oh?” She heard him shift to look at her through the wires.

Using her sproket, she removed a tiny panel. “One sec.”

“Sec?”

“One second…one moment…whatever.” Impatience laced her voice. An idea was coming to her, and she stared at the loom interior until it formed.

“I see. Your theory?” he prompted.

“Right.” She jolted from her reverie and shrugged. “If we adjust the setting on the nanoparticles that run the—”

Before she finished the sentence, she heard him fiddling with controls on his side of the loom. The panels around her lit in arrays of lights and flashes. “Excellent theory, Doctor. I hadn’t even thought to touch the nanoparticles.”

“Are you messing with me?”

“Merpeople do not like messes.” The priggish tone in the deep rumble of his voice made her laugh. “However, I truly hadn’t thought of it.”

“Fair enough. Let me check if that worked.” She crawled out to run diagnostic tests on the holodisplay while he stayed squeezed into the panel to bring the systems back online manually. “Everything checks out.”

“We’ve finished?” Quiet disappointment rang in his voice, but he said nothing more as he hauled himself out.

She watched him as he replaced the panels they’d removed and straightened to face her. His mouth opened and then closed again. He gave a sharp nod and stepped past her toward the door.

“Be in my lab at morning bell tomorrow. Don’t touch anything. You only get to watch.”

A smile quivered on the corner of his mouth before he controlled it. “Yes, Doctor.”

He hurried for the door before she could change her mind. She gathered her tools and cleaned them before placing them back in her kit. Bretton was going to be pleased. Smug, even. She clenched her fingers around her spanner, wishing she could whack Bretton over the head with it. She doubted it would make much of a dent in his thick skull.

But she was angrier with herself than him because she wanted to make him happy. She sighed and shoved a hand through her hair. Nothing she did seemed to please him. Not personally and not professionally.

Ebba’s voice came from the workroom doorway. “My grandson said you’d finished.”

“Yes, he’s very helpful.” Sera straightened and hefted her tool kit in one hand. “He has a gift with mechanics.”

“As long as he constantly improves, of course.” The older woman smiled fondly.

Sera fought the urge to roll her eyes at the standard Aquatilian sentiment. “Of course.”

“I’ll have credits transferred to your account, Sera. My thanks for your assistance.” Ebba stepped aside to allow Sera to pass.

A professional smile stretched her lips. “Not a problem.”

Ebba’s grin was more genuine. “And please take something you like from the shop. Without my loom, I would lose my business.”

“Oh, that’s all right. The credits will be fine.” She shook her head and felt her hair fly wild around her shoulders. One saltwater silk dress hung in her quarters. That was enough because she was bound to get it dirty within minutes of wearing it. She backed toward the shop’s entrance.

“Nonsense. I insist.” Ebba’s wrinkled face set into stubborn lines.

“Then it is an offer she cannot refuse. None make such fine saltwater silk as you, Ebba.” The warmth of Bretton’s body surrounded Sera, but he didn’t touch her. Glancing over her shoulder, she sent him the glare he deserved for shoving an assistant on her.

Ebba flushed under his turquoise gaze. “I—I have spent my life improving on my craft.”

“And have done a fine job.” He smiled down at her. A far warmer smile than Sera had ever received from him in public. Sera brushed at her mussed clothing. She was out of place in the display room of Ebba’s shop. Usually she didn’t let it bother her, but it did today.

Perhaps it was seeing how comfortable Jain seemed in her own skin. She should be as much of a misfit as Sera, but she wasn’t. It was obvious from the contentment oozing from the woman’s pores that she loved her new life and the man she’d found to share it with. Sera had the man she wanted, he just…didn’t love her. Pain stabbed at her heart, but she forced herself to see the truth in that statement. He wanted her body and nothing more. And it was obvious he didn’t want to want her.

Jain had always been searching for a place to be needed, and Sera had never questioned who she was or where she was going. Her path had always been straight ahead. But now it twisted and turned in directions she’d never thought she’d go. Was this what love was supposed to be like? She didn’t know. She’d never seen how real love worked. Her parents had sent her away so young. Jain’s family had been closer to her than anyone else. But Jain’s family had worshipped science and logic. Even then, Sera could see how much that isolated someone like Jain. Now Jain had what Sera wanted most. Belonging. Acceptance. Love.

She doubted she would find those things on Aquatilis.

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 another? 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 growing 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.

She curled her arms around his neck. “I needed to—”

“I know, little bear.” Dipping his chin in Bretton’s direction, the Arctic Bear lord turned in the direction of the Undine sector.

“Wait, Kesuk.” She patted his giant shoulder, and he stopped in his tracks. She glanced back at Bretton. “You’ll dine with us this evening, won’t you?”

Bretton’s eyebrows arched that the huge man listened to his woman. Bretton’s experience with werebears was one of primitive, barely evolved humans. Perhaps he should learn some acceptance from Sera. He bowed to the dark-haired woman. “It would be my honor, Lady Jain.”