“A threesome?” The words rolled off his tongue without an ounce of shame. “Of course. After five years as one of the few Alpha members, I believe I have tried just about everything.”
A rich, unidentifiable scent moved through the air. Lemony, woody, maybe something like juniper. Reiz’s scent, Grayson realized. It wasn’t an exact match to anything, but brought to mind a well-cultivated garden on mansion grounds.
To his surprise, his body reacted—just a bit.
Reiz breathed in. “You have a pleasant scent. It is like flowers, but still sweet.”
“Thanks.” Now he knew his face was red. It probably matched Reiz’s scales. “Violet candy is what my friends tell me.”
Keld returned, carefully balancing a tray in his hands. “I managed to sweet-talk the barista into adding the lavender syrup to your americano, Reiz.”
“I am certain it was an arduous struggle.” Reiz accepted his glass with a smirk.
“Very. There were bribes involved.” Keld handed Grayson a tall glass with three distinct layers of white, brown, and purple, and a sprig of real lavender sticking out of the top. “She said to stir it after you get a good photo.”
Grayson scoffed, but snapped a picture anyway. Tara and Jenna would love it.
“So, I take it things are going well,” Keld said, settling back in next to Grayson. “If the pheromones are anything to go by.”
“Keld.”The flush was creeping down his neck now, but Reiz just laughed.
“Okay, okay.” Keld chuckled. “So, Reiz, want to tell us about yourself? I think this is the first time I’ve seen you outside of Siren.”
“Yes,” Reiz agreed. “I live on the northern side of the island. It is best for me to keep my personal life separate.”
“You don’t have to talk about your personal life,” Grayson said quickly. “If you don’t want to.”
Reiz shrugged. “It is not a huge secret. I simply prefer my family does not find out what I do in my spare time.”
Grayson glanced over at Keld. Did his family know? He never talked about his parents. Grayson didn’t even know if he had siblings. Then again, Keld didn’t know anything about Grayson’s family either.
“I am thirty-four years old,” Reiz went on. “I work in a government role, though I am not at liberty to give the specifics. I have a larger extended family than most. Both my maternal and paternal grandparents are mixed-gender couples, and were quite fortunate to have many children. My parents have many siblings, and I have many cousins.”
That caught Grayson’s attention. “What does your grandparents being mixed-gender couples have to do with the number of children?”
“It’s not officially confirmed,” Keld said, “ but there’s strong evidence that mixed-gender couples have higher fertility rates and their offspring have stronger genetics. They’re more likely to actually hatch their nymphs out.”
Reiz nodded. “My grandparents are living proof. They were immediately approved for the voyage to Earth for their high fertility.”
Grayson’s mind attempted to arrange an image of the Mer’s final days on Usoi—desperate families waiting for genetic testing, their leadership choosing who lived and who died, a race looking back at their home planet one last time.
“You’re not mated, right?” Keld’s voice snapped Grayson out of his reverie. Clearly the information wasn’t nearly as intriguing to Keld as it was to him.
“I am not mated. Though my parents are certainly beginning to nag me about it.” Reiz laughed. “Unfortunately, I am having too much fun as an unmated Alpha to consider it right now.”
Keld grinned back. “I know exactly what you mean.”
There it was again—that bizarre, leaden feeling in Grayson’s gut. And it lasted all the way until Keld dropped him off at his apartment door.
Chapter 22
Keld
Should I get my fins pierced?Keld couldn’t stop thinking about those golden studs adorning Reiz’s ruffled ear fins. Reiz was an equatorial Mer—they always looked flashy with their vibrant scales and penchant for self-decoration. The other Alpha, specifically, was a subgroup of equatorial Mer that had developed in relative isolation around a cluster of islands far from the main continental islands. The unique fins were a dead giveaway, even if their streaming, v-shaped tails were retracted.
Keld would never admit it aloud, but the cafe meeting had done a number on his self-esteem. The golden scales he was usually so proud of seemed dull in comparison to Reiz’s luster. What if Grayson ended up preferring Reiz? Keld had no claim to him, but losing him entirely…
Get it together.
