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Something was coming.
Something was hunting.
Something was after...me.
Chapter Thirteen
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Nerida
AGE: 19 YRS OLD
*
(Love in Thai: R?k)
TEDDY: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THESE schematics? I took your sketches of the underwater spheres and looked into what material they could be made from. The glass would have to be thick enough to withstand water pressure and the seals reliable enough to stay waterproof. But that doesn’t address how they could be secured to the reef, how they could be linked to other spheres, or even how oxygen could be circulated. This is a lot fucking harder than I thought. We’ve been at this for months and still have no idea how we can make it happen.
I paused chopping capsicum for our spaghetti bolognese and replied.
Me: I recently rewatched my favourite TV show as a kid, Ocean Girl. They have an entire research lab beneath the water attached to a rig on the surface. They have different water locks in case of flooding and different purification systems for waste, water, air, etc. I know it’s fantastical, and the special effects are old school now, but it has merit. You should watch it with Eddie. It’ll probably give you guys some ideas.
I smiled as I added another message.
Me: Plus, the main character is called Neri, and her best friend is a humpback whale called Charlie. My parents swear they didn’t call me after that character, but I always made up that I was an alien like her from a water planet and that I could sing whale songs.
Teddy: You are the biggest dork I’ve ever met. And if you want to be an alien, congratulations, you’re an alien. Never met anyone as odd.
Me: Hey! I’m the coolest person you know.
Teddy: Pfft, says who?
Me: Honey. My soul sister.
Teddy: Hands off my sister. Mine. Not yours. I heard about your past of stealing siblings.
Me: Don’t worry. I’ll just borrow her from you. Besides, pretty sure she loves me more than she loves you at this point. *snicker
“Teddy again?” Aslan asked, padding barefoot into the kitchen, running a hand through his longish, wet hair from a shower. He’d dressed in a pair of track pant shorts that hung off his trim hips, teased with his happy trail, and clung to the mouth-watering bulge between his legs.
“Yep.” I couldn’t take my eyes off him. “He’s still moaning about the lack of suitable building supplies.”
“Tell him he’ll have to design something himself if he truly wants to do this. Nothing in today’s building supplies will work.” He scratched his five o’clock shadow. “Believe me, plywood, Gib board, metal, glass—none of it will be strong or durable enough. Tell him to put his fancy degree to work and design the materials before the structure.”
“God, I find you so sexy when you talk like that.”
He chuckled. “Like what?”
“So assured. So confident.”
“Glad you find me sexy, askim benim. I suffer the same affliction whenever I look at you.” His teeth dug into his bottom lip as he looked me up and down. “Sexiest woman I’ve ever met.”
Liquid heat flushed between my legs.
God, when would I stop falling into a lusty stupor around this man?
When would my heart stop kicking and my stomach stop clenching?
