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“Please, Zosime. Calm down.” To her credit, Erin didn’t flinch at my display. Even in my roiling anger, I felt the flicker of pride that I’d chosen well when I’d picked her from the crowd the night of the tsunami. “This is how politics work. Posturing and ceiling-high stacks of legal documents filled with weak arguments are part of it.”
I forced myself to take a deep breath and release some of the tension in my body. I almost longed for the days when emotion wasn’t something I had to deal with.
“Then what is the next step?” Relaxing back into my seat, I drummed my fingers on the table with another glance at the ocean beyond.
“I think we should schedule a meeting. This would allow them to make their points, and then you can state yours. If they can see how serious you are, I think they will back down. I have an attorney friend who is willing to help prepare everything for a meeting if you are open to it.” Erin clicked the end of her pen repeatedly as she waited for my answer.
I had refused face-to-face meetings the last few days. My body had needed time to recover from fighting against an Ancient’s magik, and I’d needed bonding time with my mates. I wasn’t an idiot. There was a strong chance that when I traveled to Iolatara, I wouldn’t be making a return journey, which is why I wanted to savor a few days with my mates. Clearly, that was too much to ask.
Still, I needed to know Atlantis would be safe, which was why this struggle of ownership needed to be taken care of immediately. I couldn’t walk into the other world knowing that the city of my heart was unprotected. Zeno would care for our people if I didn’t make it back, but I didn’t want the mers to constantly be fighting off treasure hunters or dealing with tourists. How would my people survive if noisy humans scared off the large schools of fish?
“How soon can it be arranged?” I would do what had to be done, regardless of how much I despised it.
“Three days. We can have everything ready then.” Erin’s face lit up with excitement.
With a nod, I pushed to my feet.
Erin narrowed her eyes. “Zosime?”
“Yes?”
“You won’t do anything crazy, right?” Her brow wrinkled, concern reflecting in her eyes.
“I have no plans to be ‘crazy.’” Strolling to the door, I called over my shoulder, “But I will do whatever I must in order to win this quarrel.”
Her groan echoed down the hall, and I smiled. We were going to become great friends… if I didn’t die.
* * *
I steppedout of the towering office building and into the blinding sunshine. Breathing deep, I sucked in several lungfuls of salty air, clearing my lungs of the stale metallic-tasting air that filled the humans’ air-conditioned buildings.
The pull was irresistible, and I took off at a run for the sea, knowing that Zeno waited below the surface for me. We hadn’t seen eye to eye on my upcoming trip, and Zeno had been avoiding me. I’d planned to hunt him down that evening if he didn’t find me first.
With a happy yell, I darted down the wooden pier, racing to the end, and took a flying leap off. I dove into the sea without even the tiniest splash. The water closed over my head, folding me in its cool embrace.
Not bothering to shift forms, I allowed myself to sink, simply waiting.
A fin brushed against my leg, followed by a hand sliding up my thigh beneath my filmy skirt that flowed around me in the gentle current. Fighting the urge to shiver, I remained perfectly motionless.
Zeno’s muscular body twisted around mine in a sensual dance. His hands gripped my waist, yanking me hard against his body. The joy that rushed through me at his touch was too much to resist, and I wrapped my legs around his waist and circled his neck with my arms. My lungs had begun to burn, but still, I didn’t shift.
I was a warrior and enjoyed knowing my skill and strength, but there was something I loved about being in my weaker human form while pressed against Zeno’s much larger body. For a brief moment, I could be protected instead of always being the protector.
Zeno’s mouth pressed against mine, his tongue darting out to trace my bottom lip.You need to shift, or we must surface.
I deepened our kiss, opening my mouth to him so his tongue could delve inside. Zeno’s chest rumbled, and his fingers dug into the skin of my thighs as he ground the swell of his erection against me.
Shift. Now,he ordered.
I wanted to keep playing, enjoying the play of his merbody against my human flesh. The gentle scrape of scale against skin. But I was growing light-headed. I closed my eyes and allowed my body to transform.
The moment my body completed its transformation, the siren was pushing for control. Zeno and I had shared intimacy immediately after the fiasco on land with Richard, but then he had claimed to be busy and had avoided me. Sex with my other mates had been incredible, but I’d missed Zeno.
The siren wanted to seduce Zeno and remind him of what he’d been missing. I wanted to feel his love before I had to fight the hardest battle of my life.
Pulling my lips away from his, I slid down his body. I took my time kissing my way down his chest. My webbed fingers trailed down the scales on his hips and thighs, tracing along each scale’s edge. Zeno’s fluke twitched in an imitation of an irritated cat. Although his reaction was from being aroused rather than annoyed.
I wrapped my tail around his fluke, holding myself against him so the current couldn’t pull us apart. Zeno’s fingers threaded through my hair, eliciting a moan from me at his gentle touch.
