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I had a feeling her soured expression was meant to berate me, but the way her nose pinched only made me want to draw her into my arms and smooth it back out with a shower of kisses. Instead, I patted a hand over my stomach and taunted her with a grin.
“I tried to feed you breakfast,” I reminded, though she’d barely eaten enough to sustain a goby, let alone a fully grown mer.
“Finally,” Claira groaned, completely ignoring my taunt. Her head had turned seconds before the car’s approach even reached my ears.
She came up next to me and cursed under her breath. “Poseidon’s balls, I hope Barren brought lunch with him.”
I stared at her with a new appreciation. “Poseidon’s… balls?” I chuckled, unable to hold back my amusement. “Now that’s a new one.”
The car pulled in front of us as she grumbled. “So what? I get hungry when I’m stressed, and I can’t think when I’m hungry, which makes memorestressed.”
Claira wrung her hands out like she was grasping for something unseen, and I laughed even harder. “That does sound like a problem.”
The dark glass on the car’s doors disappeared into thin air, letting the faces behind it come into view. Two faces, to be exact, and—damn it—neither of them was Barren.
“Oh, uh, hey, guys,” Kai rasped, his face straining into the same ridiculous shade as his hair. His fancy walrus-looking creature was crowding the rest of the shotgun seat, her substantial body extending well over his lap in every direction, crushing both air and life out of him.
Thrilled to show off how her master struggled in exchange for the privilege of holding her on his lap, the creature’s throat vocalized a ballad of clicks and purrs, her head bouncing like a buoy tumbling over rough water as she looked from me to Claira to Kai.
Maybe his pet wasn’t all bad after all.
“Geez, are you okay?” Claira gasped, leaning into the door’s opening.Fucking Kai. Why was she always so attentive when he was around?
“How are you even breathing?” she asked before quickly adding, “I bet you didn’t want Kai coming without you, huh, Laverne?”
I opened my mouth, but Barren’s voice carried from across the car, his tone gruff and final. “I couldn’t keep them from coming.”
I found that fucking hard to believe. Barren had forged his body into a weapon more powerful than a sturgeon. There wasn’t a mer alive he couldn’t stop from doinganything, but maybe he didn’t think the little spike-tail was worth the trouble.
“Fine.” Sighing, I went for the back door and motioned for Claira to get in first.
“Don’t forget your car leashes,” Kai said, struggling to turn his neck as I pushed in beside Claira.
Poseidon’s balls, it was cramped back here.
“We’ve got it,” I said sharply and pulled the door shut. I didn’t need his fucking reminders.
“Car leashes?” I mouthed, and Claira covered her lips to conceal her laughter. Her head shook as she pointed to the strap running along her lap and chest.
Oh,fuck.
The way the car leash sank between her breasts was a fine sight. I wouldn’t mind her wearing one all the—
My stomach lurched, my body jerking, as the car pushed forward. Claira’s arm came around me, reaching past my shoulder and extending a leash of my own until it clicked into a spot next to my hip.I’d sat inside cars before, but being leashed was a first. “Thanks.”
An insistent chirping overtook the low sound of music coming from the car’s interior, and I immediately took back my opinion of Kai’s pet.
The weight of a pearly eyed gaze pressed into me with an intensity that could not be mistaken, and a cold sweat broke out across my brow. Shuddering, I purposefully refused to trade glances with Lavaburn’s beady black eyes. Or was it Lavaney? Either way, I wasn’t interested.
I’d been courted by enough pushy females to pick up what this furry sea creature was trying to do, so I put an arm around Claira and pulled her in close, planting a possessive kiss on her forehead. Kai’s furry lap pet’s mouth jerked up with an indignant snort, her jaws wide with fury like I’d practically reached over and slapped the whiskers off her face.
Barren’s throat cleared, and Claira stiffened underneath my grip. “You want to talk about it?” he asked, and even Lavaney’s throat stopped its irritating vibrations.
Claira’s lips quivered open, just slightly, like she thought he’d directed the question at her.
“Let’s wait until after we eat,” I said, feeling my brows crease. “There’s no use trying to think while we’re hungry. Right, Claira?”
Her eyes flickered from the back of Barren’s head to the gray buildings out the window. She took in a long breath, and her shoulders seemed to relax under the weight of my arm. “R-right.”
