Page 38 of Seduced By the Mermen
All I can do is nod. Sure, I’m scared, but I’m more tongue-tied by hormones that I thought had dried up and blown away on a dusty day.
Zion moves away from the window, and it’s then I focus on his tail. It’s so dark black it’s purple and I can’t stop staring at it. Alexei’s behind him, and the silver flecks in his tail in the waves distract me.
“Do you see it, Blair? Zion is counting down.”
His fingers go down one at a time. And when he’s holding up two fists, there’s a snap and a low moaning that sounds like a recording of a whale that my fifth-grade science teacher usedto play when he wanted us to calm down. There’s screaming. It’s me. I’m screaming.
Chapter 16
Blair
One of my all-time favorite movies is Overboard. The one with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, not the remake—I mean, the remake is fine. But the original is a million times better.
Remember the scene where she’s completely overwhelmed? He’s convinced her she’s not a socialite but rather the mother of his three wild boys. She’s washed, scrubbed, and polished his wreck of a house, and then she falls onto the sofa. The only noise that comes out of her mouth is "bah, bah, bah." It's hysterical. Love it. I just never thought it was something that could actually happen. But holy shit. I'm making noises I don't recognize. And I can't look at anything but what's in front of me.
"Blair." Grayson flashes a light in front of my face. "Blair." His gray eyes are so interesting, steel blue more than anything, flecks floating around in his irises. I'm entranced.
There's a hand on my arm. I bow my head to look at it and follow the arm up to the face. Zion. His mouth is open, and he looks concerned.
It pulls me out of it, and I blink. "I'm okay?"
"You're okay," Grayson says. "Back up."
I lean back.
"Not you, Blair. I'm talking to the rest of my pod."
That's when I realize the other five of them are standing behind Grayson. "Oh." The tension rolling off them has me wanting to run and hide. It's not something I'm used to. Oh, I've seen guys looking upset before. But not concerned. And not with this intensity.
"Are you sure she's okay? We should take her to a human hospital in Athens," Delmar says.
The room, other than Grayson, turns to scowl at Delmar.
"Out," Grayson says. "Now."
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. When I open them, it's just Grayson and Zion.
Grayson blinks at Zion.
"I'm staying."
"Please." I'm not even sure why I want him to stay, but I do. I almost miss the others. And that's not like me at all.
"I'm going to message your daughter now." Zion has his block on his knee.
"Oh no. Please don't. Give me some time to get my stomach back."
"Your stomach can move?" Zion's eyes are wide.
"No. Her stomach can't move. Now clam up or I'll kick you out too. I'm giving you some medicine." Grayson holds a metal ball on a handle. He rubs it over my forehead before I can say no.
A second later, I'm woozy, then flushed, which moves into hungry and tipsy? I'm not sure. I haven't had anything to drink in a long time. It was too risky when I lived on the farm. I never knew what mood my ex was going to be in. Then, after, I wanted to have my wits about me at all times in case I had to grab Marlee and make a run for it. I'm not against alcohol; it just didn't have any place in my life.
"Grayson?" Zion's tone goes deep.
"I . . . I didn't give her much."
I laugh and stand. Or rather, I try to stand. My legs are like a newborn calf’s. I wobble to the left and then to the right before falling into Zion's lap. "Hello, there." I wrap my arm around Zion's neck, resting my head sideways on his shoulder.
