Page 49 of Seduced By the Mermen
When we get home, Marlee’s sitting on the sofa, a new notebook on her lap. She jumps to her feet when she sees me. And starts laughing. “Look at you?” She gives me a tight hug. “Well done, Mom.”
“What?”
She cocks her head at me. “Do you remember the day? The day I came home from a date with... Austin?” She moves over to the sofa again, pulling her notebook into her lap.
My stomach flips at the name. Austin was a senior when Marlee was a freshman. He came across way too much like myex. The last thing I wanted was for her to end up like me. I did everything in my power to keep the two of them apart. But in the end, I tried too hard. I knew the day she lost her virginity. It was all over her face. She said she didn’t want to go on birth control. Still, I talked to her about every method I knew. Most of them I had tried myself. I love Marlee, but there was no way I wanted to have another child with my ex.
That crisp fall day, she’d come home from her movie date. I didn’t have to ask what had happened. Luckily, Austin wasn’t a jerk. They dated until Marlee broke it off with him. She never told me why, but she was adamant it was nothing Austin did. That they weren’t a match, so best to end things before they got too serious.
“Yes, I remember the day,” I say.
“Cool. Well, will my new stepdads be willing to wear name tags for me?” She laughs.
“I’m sure the Mason pod males would be willing to change their names if your mother was willing to mate them.” Eros strolls out of the back room.
“You’re not wrong,” Castor says. He’s in the chair by the window. He tugs Annabelle into his lap.
“Well, you could use that tunic for a tent if you ever get lost in the woods,” says Marlee. “Although, there are no woods here. No need to worry about that.”
“It is rather large.” I pull it to my sides to keep it from billowing as I sit.
“How is your hand, Aunt Blair?” Annabelle asks. She’s always been the worrier. Even though everything turned out for the best, I’m going to have residual guilt about leaving her behind on the farm for the rest of my life. I know it was what she wanted. And look at us... who could ever have imagined this life?
I wiggle my fingers. “It’s fine. Grayson treated it. They’re a little stiff.”
“That’s what she said.” Marlee laughs hard enough that she falls off the sofa. And I realize it’s the first time I’ve heard her laugh like that in ages.
“I’m going to change.” I pick up the tunic like it’s a ballgown I might trip on, and Marlee’s laugh echoes through the room.
Chapter 21
Clark
The four of us watch as the elevator doors close. All smiles. Delmar’s full-on waving. Forrest has his head inclined. And Alexei has a smirk on his fucking face. A smirk that I’m going to rip off the second we’re alone.
I count to five in my head. I don’t move because if I do, I’m going to snap Alexei in half. There are many ways to do this. Be cool. Wait until I have him alone. Wait until Forrest and Delmar have vanished into their suites. That’s not going to happen, though. Alone with the pod member you need to talk to never happens. If you want to talk to one of your pod brothers alone, you can be guaranteed that someone else will enter the room.
Fuck it. “You.” I point at Alexei.
“Me?” He acts innocent, his hands going up at his sides.
Forrest shakes his head. “Damn it, Alexei, again?”
“What do you mean? What did he do?” Delmar asks. But then, he wasn’t part of the pod long enough to have truly experienced the two sides of Alexei. “Rotten shrimp shells, Alexei. If you did something to Blair, something that jeopardizes our chance of having her in the pod...”
“I did nothing to risk our relationship with Blair and everything?—”
“Cut it out, Alexei. Did you break her trust?” Forrest asks.
“Trust?” Delmar repeats. His head swivels between Forrest and myself.
“That was once. I was young and didn’t realize she didn’t like it. Come on. I loved Anya just as much as the rest of you,” Alexei says.
I want to pummel him. “I’m not talking about you being domineering. Though it’s interesting that you’re the one who keeps saying we have to take it easy on Blair with all that she’s been through.”
“Yes,” Alexei says, looking down at his feet before his deep blue eyes hold mine. “A side of me that I’ve contained for a long time did come out.”
“And...” For the love of Athena, he better spill it himself.
