Wereplanets

by Crystal Jordan

  She glanced down at Jain’s belly, unease rippling through her again at how life-threatening this pregnancy could be for someone as delicately built as Jain. “You came for the medics to give you a cesarean section.”

  “Yes. I will not risk my mate.” Kesuk’s deep voice rumbled behind them. Jain stopped walking to reach for him, and he wrapped her hand in his big one. Quiet terror shone in the werebear’s gaze, and Sera didn’t even want to imagine the kind of hell it would be for a strong man to know his child might kill his wife. What a nightmare for them both.

  Jain lifted her palm to Kesuk’s jaw. “I’ll be all right. This was a standard procedure on Earth.”

  Naked adoration flashed across their faces, and Sera looked away, feeling as though she’d interrupted a private moment. She cleared her throat. “Um, you’ll be staying in the Undine sector.”

  Jain nodded. “The western leg of Atlantis, if I recall correctly.”

  “How did you remember that?” Cuthbert puffed up beside them, Bretton trailing behind.

  “You forget Aquatilis was my original destination, Counselor.” Jain smiled. “I studied the layout before I left Earth.”

  His thick black eyebrows arched. “But that was five hundred Turns ago.”

  Sera shook her head at Cuthbert. She started walking again, and the group moved forward. “Not for us. It’s been only a year. Remember, we were in stasis the entire time.” They’d awoken one day and found the whole universe had changed and passed them by.

  “Is that where you live?” Jain pressed a hand to the small of her back, and Sera checked her stride so the other woman wouldn’t have to struggle to keep up.

  “No, Bretton lives there. I’m in the Titan sector.”

  “With the laboratories and the medical facilities.” Jain pushed her hair out of her eyes. The dark locks had grown to the middle of her back in the past year. Sera didn’t remember a time when Jain hadn’t worn her hair short.

  Sera shrugged. “You know me, I can’t be separated from my passions for too long.”

  A quiet smile curled the smaller woman’s mouth. “I remember you used to get up in the middle of the night to tinker with my father’s inventions when you stayed with us.”

  “I miss him.” Sera closed her eyes as a pang hit her chest.

  Jain tucked her hand into Sera’s. “I’m sorry.”

  “He was an ass to you.” Sera barked out a laugh. Doctor Roberts had been more of a father to her than her own ever had, but she wasn’t ignorant of his flaws.

  The other woman blinked and squinted up at her. “I never thought anyone noticed. I was the only non-scientist of the family.”

  “I knew what it was like.” Sera tilted her chin down. “My parents would have killed for someone normal like you. Not a freak of nature like me.”

  “Fate’s a bitch, isn’t it? My parents always hoped you’d marry my brother so they could have a genius daughter.”

  Sera wrinkled her nose. “Never would have happened. He was kind of a priggish ass.”

  A giggle burst forth. “He was.”

  “But he was brilliant and a good friend.” Sera angled a glance at Jain. “I miss him, too.”

  Her slim hand squeezed Sera’s tight. “Me, too.”

  A rush of noise filtered down the corridor from the entry to the main dome of Aquatilis. It held many shops and restaurants, the botanical gardens, and the Senate chambers. Sera glanced at Kesuk in time to see his eyes goggle at the sight before a mask of indifference slid over his face. The man wasn’t about to allow himself to be impressed by a culture he disliked so much, but as far as Sera knew, this was the werebear’s first trip off Alysius. She wished it were for a happier reason than dangers to Jain’s health. Her stomach twisted at the thought. “Would you like to see the hospital or your quarters first?”

  “The hospital,” they chorused.

  Trying to ignore Cuthbert’s grating personality and the lightning strike of attraction every time Bretton leaned in to make a comment, she showed them the birthing pool merpeople used and the surgical ward where Jain would have her C-section. They all ignored how Kesuk’s face paled when he saw the operating-room laser. An hour later, Sera left an exhausted Jain in her temporary home and sought refuge in her lab.

  Bretton found Sera bent over one of her enormous machines the next morning. He paused for a moment inside the door to her lab to enjoy the tantalizing wriggle of her backside. His cock stiffened in his pants, reminding him that it had been over a day since he’d sunk himself into the hot, wet depths of her pussy. He choked on a groan, and her head popped up and whipped around to look at him. A streak of grease smudged the creamy skin over her high cheekbone. “I wanted to thank you for escorting our Alysian guests around.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “You’ll have to show them the more cultured areas of the city. I’m afraid my specialty is more scientific.”

  As he groped for a gentle way to discuss why he’d come, he executed a slight bow. “Again, my thanks, Doctor.”

  The use of her title was deliberate whether she realized it or not. His body ached for wanting her, and he needed the reminder that she was a duty and nothing more. She shouldn’t mean any more than, say, Elia Iden. His hands fisted at his sides to keep himself from reaching for her.

  Her shoulder hunched in an uncomfortable shrug as she turned around and pulled herself up to sit on her machine. “It’s good to have Jain around again.”

  The wistful note in her voice made his gut clench. What must it be like to be separated from everything and everyone she’d ever known? The questions he’d never allowed himself to ask her bubbled out, and then he kicked himself for giving voice to his curiosity. “Why did you come with me last Turn? Why didn’t you stay with Jain? Or go with Varad?”

  Wariness and vulnerability flashed in the pretty gray depths of her eyes before a mask settled over her features. He missed the open expression. She looked down at her hands and spoke softly. “When I saw you, I felt less…alone. Not so lost.”

  “Why?” And why was he asking her this? It would only encourage familiarity. But he always craved more with her than he could allow himself to have.

  A low chuckle escaped her, irony glinting in her gaze. “Because I knew you were mine. And I was yours.”

  His eyebrow arched, surprise sparking in his chest. “So you believe in destiny? How very unscientific, Doctor.”

  “Not destiny exactly. But I believe in the logic of the universe.” Absolute certainty sounded in her tone. “Everything is in its place for a reason, and there’s a logic to it even if we can’t see it. It’s a puzzle we haven’t figured out yet. So when I saw you I knew this is where I was meant to be.”

  “I don’t understand you.” But he wanted to, and he shouldn’t. He propped a forearm against the doorframe, cocked a hip, and sighed.

  “Me neither.” She giggled.

  He laughed with her, reluctant affection twisting inside him. If only it were just desire, but as much as she drove him mad, she was also good company.

  Pure wickedness twinkled in her eyes. It was his only warning before she hopped down from her perch and approached him. He tensed, fighting the urge to run from a woman half his size. Sweet Neptune, she made him want. His cock throbbed, and sweat made his shirt stick to his back. Her hand slid down the front of his pants, cupping his dick through the fabric. His breath hissed between his teeth, and he forced himself not to grab her, push her up against the wall, and rip that ugly jumpsuit away from the lush curves of her body. “You should not—”

  She flashed a siren’s grin. “Do you want to say no?”

  Yes. No. Damn her for bringing him to this confusing place where nothing was as it should be.

  “Do you want me to beg?” Her breath brushed over his ear, and he suppressed a shudder. Heat rolled like molten fire through his body. He wanted her. He shouldn’t touch her. He couldn’t make himself stop her from touching him. She tugged at the seal on his pants and slipped her hand inside.r />
  Closing his eyes, he groaned. Her palm slid up and down the length of his cock, and then she rolled his balls between her fingers.

  His control snapped along with the last vestiges of his sanity. He stepped forward, wrapped his hands around her shoulders, and spun her up against her workbench. He ripped open the tabs on her jumpsuit and shoved it down her arms. Dipping forward, he sucked one of her sweet nipples into his mouth. She mewed and arched her back to press closer. Her fingers still worked up and down his hard dick, and he damn near came in her hand.

  A man cleared his throat from just outside the open door. Bretton froze. The Fane boy. Oeric. The real reason for his visit flooded his mind. Bretton pinched his eyes closed and eased away from Sera. His muscles locked in protest, his cock burning for surcease. Both of them straightened and resealed their clothing.

  “Come in, Oeric,” Bretton called out, and the big merman poked his head in the door. His expression bore its usual impassivity.

  Sera’s brows arched nearly to her hairline, and she pinned Bretton with a look. “What’s going on?”

  “I came here today to tell you I found you an assistant.”

  Her face flushed a dark red, and anger flashed in her eyes. She gave Oeric a sweet smile, and it sent a chill down Bretton’s spine. “I’m sorry, Oeric. I don’t know what the ambassador told you, but I’m not looking for a lab assistant. Would you excuse us, please?”

  The young man nodded and withdrew. Sera waited for his footsteps to fade before she rounded on Bretton. Her voice went deadly soft. “You came to force an assistant on me?”

  He couldn’t contain a wince at the hurt in her voice. His weakness at touching her had caused this. He could not allow it to happen again. “You need one.”

  “We’ve had this discussion before.” She pulled in a breath, and her expression flattened. “I don’t like having people in my lab. They touch things and ask annoying questions and get in my way.”

  “That’s part of learning, Sera.” Exasperation filled him. Yes, they’d had this argument before. Many times.

  She turned away, plucking up one of her tools.

  He rubbed a hand down his hair, reaching for calm. What was it about this woman that always ignited his temper? She ignited all his passions, and he shoved them aside to try to convince her he was correct. The Senate was putting pressure on him to force her to take an apprentice. It wouldn’t be long before they called her before their assembly to make demands…and he needed to prevent the explosion that would ensue from both parties. Oeric was perfect for this. He was intelligent and, despite his size, managed to be unobtrusive. “Why can’t you just show him how to do what you do?”

  “I’m not a teacher, Bretton. If you wanted one of those, you should have begged Jain to come here. That’s her specialty, not mine.” She flicked him an angry glance.

  Throwing up his hands, he resisted the urge to pace. “She can’t do what you do. And when you’re gone, we’ll still need to know how to repair things, create things the way you do.”

  “Already ready for me to die, are we?” Her lip lifted in a sneer.

  He growled back at her, his patience slipping again. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

  “Fine.” She folded her arms over her breasts, and he forced his eyes away from them. She smirked.

  A sigh escaped his lips. “There are dozens of people of any age who are willing to learn, Sera. Just pick one.”

  “No.” Her jaw took on a stubborn tilt.

  “Sera—”

  “I can’t teach them what I don’t know, Bretton. I don’t know how I do most of these things.” She waved a hand around at all the wires and cables and half-assembled gadgets on her workbenches.

  “Because you’re a genius.” He pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “Yes. What I can do with electronics, nanotechnology, and fiber optics…and, well, pretty much anything mechanical borders on a savant skill. It’s always been this way. I passed the tests without reading the books. It just comes to me that this is the way things are supposed to be.” She sighed and looked away. “I’m trying to help as much as I can, but don’t ask me to teach people, because that’s something I can’t do.”

  “I understand.” But he wished he didn’t. “And you are helping. Damn it.” He shoved a hand through his hair and dislodged the thong that held it back, turned on his heel, and walked out.

  Frustration bubbled up in his chest, and there was no one to be angry with. It wasn’t her fault, it wasn’t anyone’s fault, but the fact was that without the knowledge she had locked in her head his people would eventually lose the technology they had. Slowly, over several more centuries, but it would happen. And when it did, Aquatilis would be lost. The water had the same chemical compound as that of Earth, but the air above the water wasn’t breathable for humans, so they couldn’t live on the surface. No technology meant no merpeople society. In time, Atlantis’s systems would fail, and they wouldn’t know how to fix them.

  Because Sera couldn’t teach them.

  And the Senate was desperate to prevent it. Despite their dogmatic political stance, for once he wholeheartedly agreed with them. Jerking off his clothes as he went, he stalked into a small shifting chamber—others like it were located at the end of each sector in the city. He stuffed his garments into a small locker and keyed it to his personal identification code. It would shoot through a system of high-pressure tubes until it reached his apartments, which were keyed to the same code. Another system Sera had improved. She’d left her mark on the whole city. He growled low in his throat at the thought of her. Stubborn woman. Tempting, beautiful woman.

  He jabbed at the button to close the hatch to the shifting chamber. It swished shut with a whoosh and a hissing seal. Then the small room began to fill with seawater. The chill of it bit into his overheated flesh, and he shuddered, gooseflesh breaking down his limbs.

  The water soon rose above his head, and he took a deep breath, pulling air in through the gill slits that lined his nasal passages. Then he shifted into his merman form. His legs locked together, and scales rippled down his skin, fusing his thighs and calves. His body vibrated with the force of his bones breaking and reforming into a tail. Turquoise fins tipped in black swirled out from his ankles and feet. When it was done, he palmed the panel to the exterior hatch to let himself out into the sea.

  Arching his body, he kicked his tail and let the tide sweep him away from Atlantis. Escape. He needed to clear his head. Of Sera. Of his father, his duties, his position. Propelling through the cool water, he let the current take him and tried to let go of everything except this in the sea where he was embraced in a cocoon of silence.

  Chapter 3

  Sexual frustration still hummed through Sera’s body days later. Bretton hadn’t come back to finish what he’d started. Not the argument and not the sex. She tried to push thoughts of him out of her mind so she could concentrate on her work. Just the thought of him and what his clever hands could do to her made her body temperature rise, made goose bumps break out over her flesh, made her skin feel too hot and too tight to bear. She bit her lip to stop a whimper.

  She shoved a hand through her hair and bent closer to her current invention. Focus, Sera. There was nothing she could do about the lust coursing through her body, so she tried to focus her energy on frustrations she could have some effect on—those of her new project. It would help filter the seawater to make it drinkable. The desalinization system they had was serviceable, but Sera didn’t care for the taste. This new gadget would strip out all the excess salt and make it taste like clear spring water from Earth.

  Thank God. If she had to swallow more chemical-flavored saltwater, she might vomit.

  She cauterized a miniscule tube that held the nanobots in a gelatinous solution. When she was done, the seawater would pass through the nanobots for filtration. The tubing was proving difficult. It was either too porous and water flooded in at a rate the nanobots couldn’t process, or was not po
rous enough so she’d be old and gray before a single glass of water processed.

  “Damn it.” She tossed aside her sproket and sat back in her chair. Her muscles screamed as she straightened. She’d been hunched over for too long. The hum of arousal that hounded her came roaring back with indecent fury. She closed her eyes. She’d never wanted a man the way she wanted Bretton. A year, and she still burned for him as much as she had the first moment she’d seen him.

  Pushing to her feet, she wandered around her lab, picking up wires and tools and putting them down again. Each step brushed her thighs together, increasing the agony of desire that flooded her sex. She walked through the door to her room and looked out the huge round window. The lights from Atlantis illuminated the octopus shape of the city. One large glass dome made up the city proper, and long tentacle-like corridors wound out to smaller domes. In the distance, she could see a few mermaids swimming toward one of the shifting chambers in the main dome. She pressed her forehead to the cool window, hoping the sharp bite of chill would break the fever inside her.

  No such luck.

  She could only feel the cold press of Bretton’s flesh against hers when he’d come in after a swim in the ocean. He’d stripped her bare and slid his cock deep inside her, his wet skin sticking to hers as they moved together. She moaned.

  This had to stop. She had to do something. Anything to make it stop.

  Giving in to the need that rode her, she jerked at the tabs that sealed her jumpsuit closed. She slipped her hands inside, palmed her breasts, and tweaked the tight nipples. Her gasp echoed in the empty room, reminding her how alone she was. Pain and pleasure twisted through her. She focused on the pleasure. Her fingers drifted down her ribs, over the swell of her stomach, and into the soft hair between her legs.

  Juices slipped over her hand as she pressed into the slick depths of her pussy. She choked at how good it felt. Her breath panted out, and she leaned against the cool glass. It contrasted with the fire building high and hot within her body. She flicked her fingertips over her swollen clit.