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“Ha! Nice try, but no. She’s just as bad as the rest of them. Maybe even worse.”
A pair of pants connected with the side of Kai’s head, and he peeled them off his face without missing a beat. “Thanks, Barren!”
I traced the trajectory of the pants back to Barren, who was already stalking back to the car. “Is he in a mood today?”
“Barren? I don’t think so, why?” One eye peeked at me through scissored fingers. Kai offered me the pants, but I waited for him to turn before I took them, not wanting to let my shirt ride up in front of him.
I pulled the pants on in a flash. “No reason. He just seems so stern, I guess? I don’t think he likes me very much.”
“Hm.” Kai lowered his hand to his chin thoughtfully, like he was carefully considering my words. “I really don’t think he would have bothered to make you breakfast if he didn’t like you.”
“He made me breakfast?” My stomach grumbled. The dinner at the aquatic center felt so long ago.
“Yep! It’s tasty, too.” He patted his stomach, and his voice took on a heavy sort of breathiness. “A flakey bread roll filled with this wavy land meat in its middle. I ate mine on the drive over—sorry. I wanted to wait for you, but I just couldn’t help myself.”
Kai braced a hand on a knee and stood. His smile broadened as he offered me his hand. “You ready to get out of here? The shops will be open soon, and I think it’s better if you pick out clothes for yourself this time. You look like you could use more than just a jacket.”
Accepting his hand, I bunched up the waist of my pants so they wouldn’t fall to my knees when I got to my feet. I didn’t know whose pants Barren had found for me, but whoever they belonged to definitely wasn’t my size. I shot a quick glance over at Aleena, only to find her rocking on the ground, nursing her foot in her hands. She must have felt my eyes on her, because her gaze slithered over to me. I flashed her the sweetest smile I could muster.
“Yeah, let’s get out of here.”
23
Claira
“Oh, come on!” Kai drew a hand over his face in frustration, his other hand relentlessly tugging at the passenger door. Impatient fingers strummed over the steering wheel. Barren released a gruff sigh before moving to flick the unlock button for the hundredth time. As soon as the posts on the doors popped up, Laverne’s snout poked hers right back down.
Outside, the handle jostled wildly. “Be a good girl, Laverne,” Kai’s muffled voice pleaded. Laverne’s nostrils flared with a sharp intake of breath. The doors unlocked again, and down her nose tapped.
A battle of wills. They were an amusing pair to watch, and considering their struggle was eating up the time I would have spent “learning to swim,” I hoped it lasted several more hours.
Kai shifted his strategy. He was putting his entire body weight into it now, desperate to pry open the door. He made a good show of it—complete with exaggerated grunting and straining. That is, until his hands slipped and his back found gravel.
To his credit, he wasn’t down long. Kai sprung to his feet, his cheeks puffing. A sternly pointed index finger wagged at Laverne through the glass. “Bad—bad girl!” Oh, she didn’t like that tone at all. The sea lion shrieked at the affront, the rapid rolling of her tongue sending a barrage of spit across the window.
Okay—now it was getting painful to watch. Even if Kai got the door open, it was obvious Laverne wasn’t moving. Leaning over, I rolled my window down. “I mean, like I said, it really doesn’t bother me if she comes along. You don’t mind either, do you, Barren?”
I cut a glance over to the back of Barren’s neck, but the bulk of his shoulders drew my eyes like a magnet. Man, I really needed to stop that.He’d already caught me looking at his shoulders once, and although I hadn’t meant to hurt him, the pained look he gave me after our first meeting made it clear I had. I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
Barren’s thumb flicked over the button—click—and Laverne continued her game of whack-a-mole. Two more failed clicks later, Barren shrugged. “It’ll be fine.”
Surprise jolted me upright in my seat. The way he spoke fascinated me, his voice thick with an accent I couldn’t quite place. He’d barely let out more than a grunt of affirmation or two all morning, even when I’d praised him for the breakfast he’d made. Honestly, I’d been wondering if he was ever going to acknowledge me at all. Now that he had, I felt strangely eager to hear more.
My arms tightened around the bags in my lap. Shopping for clothes with a couple of mermen had been an experience. Especially with one of them ignoring me the entire time. Barren had remained at the entrance of every storefront, standing around like a bouncer guarding the doorway.
At least Kai had been there. He was the complete opposite of Barren and acted thrilled to take me around, tugging me from shop to shop like looking at ladies’ clothing was the most fun he’d ever had.
I sucked in my bottom lip as I surveyed my haul. Maybe if I hadn’t been originally abducted, I would have worried more about the sum of money I’d let them throw down for me today. But I knew every kindness had an ulterior motive, and they were also looking to use my tail for their gain, so as far as I was concerned, they owed me. Land money would be useless once they went back to their kingdoms anyway.
Price tags poked out of the folds of new shirts, pants, and underwear. I’d even found a swimsuit on clearance that had a wrap that would hopefully keep me from exposing my ass before and after my transformations. Everything I’d chosen was practical, and there wasn’t a single crab or crazy cartoon printed on any of it. I snuggled my hands into the sleeves of my new jacket—bright pink with a woolen lining—and decided it was my favorite purchase of all.
Finally giving up, Kai leaned into my window. “You sure? She’s… spirited.” He panted out a dry laugh while scratching at the back of his neck.
“Yeah, no worries. We’ll take good care of your girl.” I threw him a thumbs-up, and his cheeks pinked. He hesitated before cutting a glance over to Barren.
“Well, if you’re sure.”
Laverne’s chin jerked in triumph, and her throat opened up to the roof of the car to let out a round of celebratory barks.Ah, the beautiful song of her people. I never knew sea lions were so animated. Or stubborn. Kai had done his best, but there was nothing that could have tempted her to leave Barren alone with me.
