Page 108 of Seduced By the Mermen
“It was my idea. I believed that if Sterling had no option but to be close to you, he would understand his true feelings.”
“He knows his feelings?”
“I . . . He’s complicated.” I wince. “That’s not an excuse.”
“No, it’s not. It’s not excusable.” Her fingers pull at the fringe on the edge of the blanket.
It knocks the wind out of me. “No, it's not. And that is why I’m sorry. A relationship can’t be forced.”
Her shoulders slump. “No, it can’t.”
“I’m afraid I’ve ruined everything. I would take it all back if I could.”
She gives a fraction of a nod. “Thank you. Your apology does mean a lot to me.”
There are footsteps from behind the sofa—Delmar. The engines on the voyager are quiet, but I’m confident Blair doesn’t know he’s here.
She reaches over and grabs my hand.
“May I give you a hug?” I ask, and I’ve never been so nervous before.
Her thin arms surround me, and when she crawls over my leg to settle her head on my chest, I’m resolute—I will fix the mess I’ve made.
“Your abs are harder than normal,” she says, then laughs when she pulls out the tablet sandwiched between us. I take it from her and place it on the sofa table in front of us. Her hand lands on my stomach. “Actually, there’s not much difference. Still hard.” She tilts her head up from my chest, and her blue eyes sparkle. It might be my hopeful imagination, but I think there’s a little less pain in them.
I lift her chin up with my thumb and kiss her. My tongue slides along the seam of her lips, and she opens for me. Warm and savory. My cock hardens.
There’s a thud across the room. “The currents are shifting and we’ll be there sooner than expected,” Sterling says.
We break the kiss and stare at him.
Sterling glares at me.
And I shake it off. I’ve made arrangements to be able to bring the voyager close enough to shore that Blair won’t have to don scuba equipment to exit the voyager. “I’ll message them and let them know we’re coming in early.”
“Ninety minutes.”
I nod at Sterling.
When Sterling disappears into the helm, Delmar plops down next to me. “Are you excited?”
“I am. Are you?” She takes his hand.
“Yes, I'm excited and a little nervous. But I can’t wait to tell my students all about it.”
“You’re going to create a generation of wanderers,” Blair says.
“Maybe. But don’t say that back in the Veiled City. Being a wanderer isn’t considered a good thing,” Delmar says before I can.
“Oh, I didn’t mean . . . Should you not have come?”
“I don’t give a damn about should’s or even have to’s. I’m becoming a male of want to do’s.” Delmar tugs Blair off my lap and onto his own, then takes her lips in his. The three of us melt together as we have numerous times throughout the trip.
Too soon, Sterling’s clearing his throat from the other side of the room. “We’re at the rendezvous point. The male you arranged to meet us is above us.” He nods to me. "Can you get the bags ready for anything you want to take to London? You help Delmar.”
I step into the hallway, out of view. I incline my head to Delmar to head on back to the pod room. Sterling has a tone in his voice that says he's got words he wants to tell Blair. I shouldn't listen in, but I'm going to.
There's a long pause, and then Sterling says, “You need to keep your wits about you, Blair. Back on land, you're liable to believe that you're safe, but you're not. I'll be joining you shortly. If I believed that Delmar could anchor the voyager and not have it float away, I would have him do it. But I want a vehicle available to keep you safe and rescue you from here if need be.”
