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My brows knit together, not liking the idea of the male complaining to my female but also confused as to why. “It was the full moon,” I explain. “I had to return to the sea for a day.”
Her cheeks turn a brighter red at the reminder, and she glances away from me. I am surprised with how annoyed I am with this gesture. It is likely a wholly human one born of her embarrassment, but I don’t like that my female turns from me, regardless.
“I completely forgot about that,” she groans. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine why he was complaining. I’m sure that I would have written it on your paperwork.” I nod to affirm that I saw her writing, and she sighs heavily. “Figures. When did you get back?”
“At sunrise I was allowed to leave the sea again.”
She looks over at the clock on the wall and her mouth twists with sympathy. “Damn, did you have a chance to get any sleep?”
I shrug because sleep is inconsequential compared to having the opportunity to be near my female. “Enough.”
Keri gives me a disbelieving look. “You must require a lot less sleep than me.” Her eyes skim over me and she grimaces. “And obviously less outerwear.”
“I require but a few hours,” I admit as I glance down at my bare chest and arms and then back up at her. “Am I not dressed appropriately? My sheath and rear orifice are covered as I gather is socially expected among your people.”
“Aren’t you the least bit cold?” She blinks. “Wait. Sheath?”
My lips curve. “No, I’m not cold. I’m acclimated to much cool temperatures and find this much more pleasant than the heat of the summer. And yes, my sheath. It contains my phallus. There is not much to see, but I would be happy to show you how it works.”
“Nice try. Sorry to say I’m not quitethateasy. Save it for the lab techs,” she replies with another blush.
“I find that to be a profound relief,” I state truthfully. I want a female I can win and keep with me for the rest of my long life, not one easily swayed from one nest to another.
Now she looks surprised for a moment before burying it beneath a polite façade. She tilts her head to the side and regards me like I am an intriguing thing that has suddenly caught her attention. I just barely resist the urge to preen for her.
“Adiele probably wouldn’t appreciate the fact that you’re offering for me to touch your dick,” she says slowly, “but I was under the impression that merfolk, I mean, Aquana, are all about frolicking in waves, singing enchantments, sex with random humans, and drowning humans. And you should know that Adiele will seriously object to two out of those four.”
I stare at her, appalled. This is what humans think of us? I knew that there were some who were suspicious of us for our ability to draw humans to us, but I never thought it was this… this… ghastly. According to her description we might as well be seagulls fluttering around the rocks, but with a taste for destroying ships, indulging in our pleasures, and eating humans. The comparison, although unintentional from my female, is insulting and stings. But even more so that she would think that I would attempt to lure a female if I were mated to another.
“That is absurd,” I reply in a tight voice. “It is clear that humans know nothing about Aquana culture.” Such as the fact that we aren’t even homogenous. There are at least twenty subgroupings of Aquanas that I am aware of, but that is not the subject of discussion at present. “I would never betray a female I have claimed as my mate, much less try to entice another.”
Her brow furrows. “Are you trying to tell me that Adiele—”
“Will make a wonderful mate for some other male. For me, she is a friend,” I growl.
She clears her throat and nods uncomfortably, and immediately I feel guilty for snapping at her. It’s not her fault that humans are ignorant of my kind. Even when we have the rare instances of contact with humans, we do not overshare, as humans call it.
“Well, that’s why you’re here and what we’ll both be working toward trying to correct, isn’t it?” she replies quickly as she pulls on a loose garment around her already clothed upper torso. She digs out a set of keys that she immediately puts in her pocket before looking at me with another of her frustratingly polite smiles. “Let me just call Lynn from the back to cover me and we can get going.”
I nod in acknowledgment, even more ashamed of myself since I clearly destroyed the fragile comradery that I felt between us for a moment there. Uncertain how to repair the damage, I wait as the other human, Lynn, comes up to the front. The two females talk together in a low voice for a couple of minutes and then we leave. I remain silent as I follow behind Keri. Somehow I must fix this.
Keri
I don’t knowwhat to make of Ro. At the moment he’s obviously an easygoing male, and flirtatious to the point that I’m feeling a little playful, too. He may not mean anything by it. Flirting likely comes second nature to his kind.
It’s also a good reminder that my flirting skills suck. All I managed to do was insult him, and now he’s retreated into himself and follows behind me as if he is a condemned man walking to his execution. He isn’t even speaking to me. I had hoped he would have forgiven my ignorance in that incredibly embarrassing moment.
I’m not even entirely sure why I care so much. I can’t readily dismiss what I learned from the merfolk book. After meeting Ro, I read the rest of the book, wanting to know exactly what I’m dealing with. There wasn’t a lot left to it beyond basic anatomy, and it went directly into what looked like a collection of lore from across the world, which was neutral to ambivalent at best.
Even if it’s missing information, it’s still informative in a way that lets me know whoever wrote knew something of what they were talking about, and everything printed within its pages makes my stomach turn. I should be glad of Ro’s sudden distance because that means I’m safe from succumbing to him and being dragged beneath the waves as his mate. Really, I should be ecstatic.
Instead, I feel something hard and heavy settle deep within my chest like an unappealing, miserable lump of cold, wet noodles.
I bite my lip as I glance over at him, and his pale blue eyes turn toward me. Their color is so icy that that a shiver runs through me. With his flat expression, his gaze feels cold and predatory. I’m starting to rethink our agreement. Not that Mr. Clarence gave me room to decline. I understand why too. This is a rare opportunity to collect a thorough database on Aquanas.
And we aren’t going to get anywhere at all if we aren’t talking to each other.
I lick my lips and give him a timid smile. “They’ve set up the lab to accommodate working with an aquatic person.” I almost said “being,” and I’m glad I corrected myself—I don’t want him to think even for a moment as we go into this that I don’t consider him a person. “We might start with some basics. I understand that they have a tank that should be more than long enough to accommodate you, but if it’s cramped at all or you don’t like it, we can see about changing stuff around. I want you to be comfortable while we do this.”
