Keld wrinkled his nose. “How cheap do you think I am? There’s a really goodUsoi’e-Japanese and Korean fusion place on the way back to Sandpiper Park. Have you been?”
Grayson shook his head. “Jenna keeps trying to convince me to go, but I’ve never been much of an adventurous eater.”
“Ah, you’ll love it.”
Grayson averted his eyes when Keld stood and stretched, but nothing could stop his periphery from noting the way the Mer’sabs pulled taut. Keld dug a loose pair of shorts and t-shirt from his bag, discarded in a corner of the room.
Grayson watched the Mer’s tail retract, pulling into his elongated spine. He probably ought to have been used to the sight, but it never ceased to throw him off. It looked so uncomfortable.
“Ready?” Keld asked, oblivious to the eyes on him. He tugged the shorts on and covered his torso with the thin, white t-shirt. It draped in a way that flawlessly hinted at the broad muscles and narrowed waist underneath.
Grayson sighed. “Yeah, let’s go.”
A familiar burn crept up Grayson’s neck as they slipped out into the main room of Siren. Kir winked at Keld from the bar, and Grayson grimaced.
“Still embarrassed to be seen with me?” Keld’s tone was light but something edged his usual nonchalance.
“Not everything is about you,” Grayson said, the joke falling flat. “I don’t like all these people looking at me and knowing what we’ve been doing.”
Keld laughed. “They’re all here for the exact same thing, you know.”
“I know thatrationally.”
The midsummer sun was drifting toward the horizon, bathing Miami in golden light. It glittered off Keld’s scales and refracted off his burning eyes. A pang shot through Grayson’s chest.
“You okay?”
Grayson jumped, immediately dropping his gaze to the car door—the same color as the Alpha’s scales. “Yep. Let’s eat.”
The restaurant was a ten minute drive from Siren’s Rest—a drive spent in a more uncomfortable silence than usual.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Keld asked eventually. “Was that scene too much? Did I hurt you?”
Grayson shook his head. “No, no, nothing like that. I’m good, seriously. Just tired.”
Keld shot him a look that clearly called bullshit, but the Alpha didn’t press him.
By the time the car pulled into the restaurant, Grayson had never been more relieved to get out of a vehicle.
The building’s interior was an explosion of opalescent abalone shell and black lacquer. Each table was inlaid with artwork depicting coral reefs, fish, crabs, and creatures Grayson had never seen before. He barely heard the server as she took them to their seats.
Even the chairs featured spiraling fish and fins, glinting with rainbows in the cool light of the restaurant. Grayson perched in the chair, unwilling to park his sinful ass upon something so beautiful.
“Pretty, isn’t it?” Keld had been watching him.
“It’s amazing,” Grayson admitted. “I get why Jenna was so hellbent on hauling me over here.”
One of Keld’s bronze fingers traced a shell-wrought creature at the center of their table. “Do you know what this is?”
The animal had a long, ribbon-like body and a wide mouth filled with long, needle-sharp teeth. His first instinct was to say “eel,” but then he noticed the tendrils emanating from either side of its jaw. A pair of fins appears to be pressed flat to its sides, ending in claws—or were they arms?
Keld smirked at the look on Grayson’s face. “It’s anirgox. They’re a kind of stealth predator on Usoi. They live in the deepest parts of the ocean, so most Mer never saw them, but if you did happen to come across one, you were already dead.”
Grayson shuddered. “That’s terrifying, why would you tell me that?”
“I like the face you make when you’re horrified.”
Grayson glared up at him, but Keld’s grin didn’t waver. “I like that face, too.”
