Page 101 of Seduced By the Mermen
I dock and get out of the solo. Hunter raises his chin at me. And as much as I want to let the podlet do it on his own, I can’t. “Move.” My tone rings through the docking dome, and the crowd parts for me. I stride toward the spectacle.
“Did you really buy this?” is shouted at me from more than a few people I barely know.
I grit my molars together. I didn’t buy anything, but that’s not what a pod does. A united front is always the way to present yourself. That was drilled into me over and over again by my mother and fathers.
My sister Celeste and one of her mates who was born into the Stele Dome, even though he’s been a Seolfor ever since he mated my sister, stand next to the dock.
“Brother,” she says as I reach the side hatch.
“Celeste.” My shoulders droop.
“This is?—”
“Indeed.” I’m not going to go on about this here, now. I’m not going to go on about it anywhere.
“Are you going to invite us in?” Her perfect eyebrows rise.
I glare at her, giving her the best can-you-cut-me-a-break look I can. Which she counters with a raised eyebrow and pursed lips. Which I’m taking as “no, and if you don’t, I’m telling Mother.” Celeste isn’t normally a pain in my ass. But she knows how to be, and she does it better than anyone on the planet. And she’s got secrets I don’t want out there—and she knows it.
“Wait here.” I yank on the handle, but the damn door doesn’t budge. Fuck. I knock.
There’s a shadow at the tinted porthole, and the hatch opens. Zion’s eyes flick up and down me. He’s none too happy to see me. But then, we’ve been messaging one another all morning. Ever since I was informed about this foolish plan. “Zion.”
“Get in here.” He yanks my wrist, and I enter in with a jerk. It’s more massive on the inside than it appears on the outside.
Honestly, I was still hoping it wasn’t going to work out. That they wouldn’t be able to deliver this kraken-sized monstrosity. Though it does have nice woodworking on the panel across from me. With burnished brown leather seats.
“See, even Sterling is taken aback by the beauty of the ship.” Delmar laughs.
“Ship,” I scoff. “This is no ship. It’s a floating waste of gold.”
Zion scowls at me now. “I’ve worked hard for years. Saved every kilogram of gold I could. I don’t gamble or smoke, and I’m not going out to eat when there’s good food at home. I did themath. This outrageous purchase cost me less than one percent of the money I’ve earned. And that’s just me. The way Delmar lives, he could have afforded one of these on his teacher’s salary.” Zion points at Delmar, who turns away, disappearing into the back of the voyager. My stomach flips. “And fuck you, Sterling.”
“I don’t care what you buy. I care that you’re being reckless.” I’m chest to chest with him. There’s no one else in the space with us.
“How, how is it reckless? The longer we stay docked here, perhaps.”
“How fast can this thing go? There are any number of ships that could catch her. And then what? What are you going to do with a human woman in the middle of the ocean if someone decides to put a hole in the side of this slow behemoth?”
“Keep your voice down. And for the love of Athena, don’t go putting worry in Blair’s head. Right now she’s excited.” Zion nods to the back of the voyager.
There’s a knock on the door.
“We’re not giving tours,” Zion yells.
“That’s my sister, and if I don’t let her in, she’s going to go to my mother?—”
“Open the damn door then,” Zion says. He knows the deal with my mother. “I don’t want her showing up at our apartment any more then you do.”
“Celeste.” I open the door for her and her mate. “A quick tour.”
“Thank you, brother. And is Blair here?”
I look over to Zion. He motions to the back. “She’s in the bedroom setting up her clothes.”
“Oh, does it have a big pod bed?” Celeste takes off for the hallway that leads away from the front of the voyager.
And I step in front of her. “We have to be going soon.”
