I watched him pull her out of the water and across the beach, both of them glittering in the firelight, water-specked. So beautifully human. Normal.
“I’m not going to dance with you,” Tuba said, walking towards the shore.
“Good. I’m a terrible dancer.”
“I know. The worst.” He gave me another smile. “Still, you can sing okay.”
“Okay? I have perfect pitch or something.”
He nodded. “I know. You’ve told me enough times. I’ve never really heard this perfect pitch you talk of, but whatever.”
“Are you egging me on? Tuba, that’s downright dangerous.”
Leslie kicked her leg over her partner’s head and dropped splashless into the knee-deep water. “That’s right. I heard that you’re a singer. Hopefully you don’t humiliate yourself when you perform as badly as you just barely did.”
I crossed my arms and gave her an icy cold Vashni glare. “One can hope. It’s nice to know that you’ll be watching me and cheering me on.”
She snorted. “I’ll be watching. Everyone will be watching.” She turned and marched off, all strong and powerful. The guy lingered a little bit, studying me, particularly the neckline of my swimsuit before he nodded and followed Leslie back to shore, leaving me with Tuba.
“That was weird.”
I smacked his stomach. “Yeah, but whose idea was it?”
“Not the chicken, that whole standoff. Do they know what you are?”
I turned and gripped his hands. “No. Absolutely not. Please, please, please don’t talk about it.”
He widened his eyes and nodded. “Okay. Sorry. Let’s get something to eat.”
Chapter 5
So, Terramore. I didn’t pack much. Sean assured me that my rooms would be stocked with the finest Soremni clothing. I really needed to meet his buyer.
“Will it all be red?”
“Blue. My colors. Do you mind?”
I shrugged. “Go Ta-ke-o. So when I’m a Soremni I’m blue to match you and when I’m Vashni you’re red to match me?”
He frowned at the screw he was tightening. He kept the engine thing on his lap instead of on the hideous floral couch bed that was so me. “If you’re still on your weird matching thing, I have no problem with that. Are you sure you want to do the internship? It would be simpler if you did the Vashni thing without trying to nail a Soremni woman persona. They’re extremely mysterious.”
“Really? How so?”
He shot me a look with those icy blue eyes that made my heart pound. “If I knew, they wouldn’t be mysterious. Hand me the pliers.”
After a few minutes watching Sean’s incredibly capable hands, I headed upstairs to get ready to leave my beautiful computer and spend my summer in Terramore underwater, living with working class Soremni, as a not working class pretend Vashni who was trying to learn all those mysterious Soremni ways. I was sitting at my computer, staring at a line of notes that were too chaotic and didn’t go anywhere when my dad came in.
He sat on my bed and put his hand on my shoulder. “Genevieve, are you ready?”
I took a deep breath before smiling at him brightly. “Sure.”
“You’ve never been away from home for a long time before. If you’re homesick, don’t hesitate to call. Here’s a phone. It works with signals underwater. It’s untraceable. You can call me any time you get stressed, okay? If anything gets to be too much, you can come home. No matter what anyone says, no matter the kind of pressure they put on you, you can always come home.” He pulled me into a tight hug. For a long time, I stayed there until I had to pull away and be an adult. That’s what I was. Eighteen, graduated, all of that.
“And if you get bored or tired of not having five hundred people in your house, you call or visit. Sean’s arranged a standing transportation pod for you. Okay?”
He squeezed my shoulder. He smelled like pine and popcorn. “Yeah. You’re coming home before Cierdeep for a few days, right?”
I nodded. “And Thanksgiving.”
“And then in January? Will you stay in Cierdeep or come back home to work and go to college for the semester? You’ll need to apply.”
I ran a hand through my hair. My tentacles needed clipping again. It’s like the more I clipped them, the faster they grew. “I guess I should apply in case. Dad, do you think I can do it?”
He frowned at me, solid, steady, like Sean. Family. “What, honey?”
“Fit into Sean’s life?”
He laughed, a nice rumble from his chest and he rubbed my head. He winced when my tentacles shocked him. “It’s not his life. You’re building it together. Custom made always fits. Are you sure about him?”
“Sean? Of course. It’s me I have doubts about. I’m obsessed with the Soremni prince. I might accidentally break Sean’s ears or rip him apart. Do you think it’s idiotic for me to live underwater?”
He put his hands on my shoulders and gazed at me intently. “What you are is beautiful. Sean can handle chaos, and while it’s true that you’re a little bit out of control right now, growing into who you are, it won’t last forever. Living underwater will be challenging, but you’re Morganagh’s daughter. You are the most adaptable species in existence. You are the bridge between human and mer, mer and monster.” He straightened up and the moment of weird honesty passed.
Good thing because we didn’t really do that. “Thanks, dad. Cool. You know what? I’ve got to get to work. It’s my last shift before I take off.”
I gave him another quick hug and then we headed down the stairs.
I was going to ride my bike, but Sean was on the porch, keys in his hand, waiting for me.
“Are you playing chauffeur?” I asked, leaning up to kiss his cheek.
He raised an eyebrow, lips twitching. “If you need a job working part-time at an inconsequential retail shop, maybe I should consider my options.”
I poked his stomach, hard, rippling abs beneath the thin t-shirt. Mmm. What was I thinking about? “You could work for me any time. You could be my personal plumber.”
We stared at each other for a long time while I reconsidered my words and his eyes twinkled.
“I mean because you’re always fixing my broken water pipes. You know, water disaster stuff, nothing skanky.”
He tilted my face up and slowly kissed me. Mm. Salt, popcorn and Sean. I pulled away.
“Did you have popcorn with my dad without me?”
He snort-laughed and took my hand. “Is that against the law?”
“Of course. Law-breakers will be severely punished.”
“You lack the attention span to be an effective law enforcer.”
“You’d make such a hot cop. I mean, effective law enforcer. You could be a cop stripper.”
He swung me to face him and shook his head. “If you want a plumber or a cop, I’m afraid you’re looking at the wrong half-breed mutt. Now a mechanic on the other hand, I could probably manage.”
I studied him for a minute, perfectly sculpted with a pouty mouth made for kissing. “I’m so glad I can kiss you. It’s incredibly convenient that the only boy I want to kiss has the most beautiful mouth in the world, and I can kiss it without losing my mind.”
He smiled and tugged me closer to him. “Is that a slur? I thinking that kissing me should make you lose at least your mind. Maybe also your proclivity to find odd jobs that pay terribly wherever you go.”
“Odd jobs? You mean as fake Vashni wife? The pay is amazing. Sucking on your neck? The best payment plan in the history of the world.”
He pulled me closer until we were bumping knees. “You have no appreciation for money.”
“Money doesn’t do you any good if what you want is priceless.”
His nose brushed mine. “Really? What do you want?”
“A mechanic gladiator couch addict fake husband.”
“I’ll miss the couch.”
“Really?”
He nodded and slid his hands over my lower back, pulling me against him. “
It’s a good couch. I didn’t get to sleep on it with you nearly often enough. Come on. Why are you going so slow? It’s almost like you don’t want to go to work.”
When he told me to stop going slow, he’d stopped moving and secured me in his arms so I couldn’t go anywhere.
“Did you eat popcorn with my dad?”
He brushed my lips with his. “We watched sports and snacked. Also chatted.”
“What did you talk about?”
“It will make you blush.”
I ducked out of his arms and gripped his hands. “Tell me fast, like ripping off a band aid.”
He shook his head slightly. “I’ll tell you later when you have time to really marinate in the humiliation.”
I sighed and turned to walk purposefully towards the car. I had time since I’d been planning on biking, but still, we had to get going.
I gave him a bunch of furtive glances he pretended not to notice on the drive, but he didn’t say what kind of humiliating topic he’d covered with my dad. Probably something about Siren maturation. I didn’t want to know. Except that I did.
Work was really nice. They got me a cake, carrot, not chocolate, and my manager gave me a little bonus in an envelope, to maybe help me decide to come back there someday.
Our flight was at one in the morning. My dad drove us. I sat in the passenger’s seat while Sean sprawled in the back.
“Do you have the phone?” my dad asked for the fourth time.
I nodded and patted my bag. I wasn’t supposed to take much, but a toothbrush and my favorite toothpaste, human stuff couldn’t be wrong, right?
“Mr. Castle, you have the number in case you need to contact Gen or me. Don’t worry. We’ll call as soon as we reach Terramore.”
My dad nodded. “Yeah, we talked about all of that, but I’m still going to worry. Gen, don’t smile at men. Also, stay close to Sean. If you need me, call. If you ever see anything suspicious, anything that bothers you, tell Sean right away. There isn’t anything stupid about being paranoid.”
I exhaled heavily. Okay then. “Sure. I’ll try to be super paranoid until I die from ulcers.” I grabbed his arm. “It’s going to be okay.”
I sounded confident. I turned to glance at Sean. Yeah, I kind of was. With him, I could do anything.
It was only later as I stood on the tarmac staring at the sleek silver plane, that I felt like I was going to throw up.
Sean took my bag, slung it over his shoulder and gripped my hand. “Don’t worry. There are extra parachutes. Are you okay?”
I swallowed hard and looked at him. “Not really. The last time I was here didn’t go so well. What if your mother put a bomb on the plane?”
He laughed and squeezed my hand. “Then we would die quickly and feel no pain.” He turned to face me and edged closer to me until his chest brushed mine. “I like you worried, thinking twice. I’ll tell you how paranoid I am. The plane has been searched three times with enough equipment to track the smallest piece of explosive or chemical agent. After that, I personally went over it. No one else has been inside until the pilot entered five minutes ago. Five men who are watching each other as well as the plane have been guarding it since earlier today. Besides that, we have three layers of guards around the perimeter to make certain nothing comes in or out. We will have an escort of three jets which are already in the air circling. It would take a full-out war to get to us. The Soremni would step in before it got to that point. There is no force on this earth that can overwhelm the Fielding assets as well as the Prince’s. Now I need to kiss you.”
Oliver. The prince. Oliver… Sean slid his hand around the base of my spine and pulled me into his arms, his lips lowering on mine while his eyes closed. I sighed and closed my eyes, falling into his massive presence, the strength that could crush any fear or obsession.
Although there were at least five guys watching us. I shrugged and gripped the lapels of his jacket, pulling him against me. I felt his lips curve before he pulled away. His blue eyes sparkled as he brushed my cheek with the back of his fingers.
“Better?”
I nodded and pressed my lips together, trying to hold onto the feel and taste of him. “Your kisses are magic.”
“That’s what they tell me. Come on.”
He pulled me onto the plane, his broad shoulders filling out the navy jacket beautifully. My sheath dress was the color of his eyes. I could have worn a pants suit, but I felt so weird in a suit, like a professional or something. I felt weird in the dress and pumps, but whatever. A small price to pay to be with Captain Hotness. Also intern with Gerveeg.
The plane was smaller than Oliver’s plane, but twice as cushy. I stared at the champagne colored interior, everything all blush and cream, a couch on one side bigger than our couch bed, and then chairs on the other side, recliners, cushy ones. With cup holders. There were screens everywhere, and the carpet underfoot was thick and soft. I kicked off my heels and yep, super soft.
Sean shrugged out of his jacket, tossed it over one of the creamy chairs and caught me around the waist before crashing onto the couch. I sprawled on top of him, banging my nose on his shoulder. His neck was so close. I turned my head and found his throat, skimming the tattoos of Vashni ownership with my lips.
He shifted me so I had my back to his chest. “You’re going to learn how to be a Soremni. No marking me like a crazed Vashni female, and no kissing my lips like a crazed human.”
I sighed and shifted, trying to get comfortable in the dress. “But I’m so crazed. How could I possibly not attack you?”
He tightened his hold on me. “I have a present for you. It’s your graduation present. You’re welcome. I think that now is the perfect time to tell you about what your dad and I discussed.”
I squinched up my face. “Present first or after? Which would be more humiliating? What kind of present? It’s something I’ll love, isn’t it? You’d better do the dad thing first.”
He rumbled a laugh deep in his chest that didn’t reach snort level, but still made my toes curl from happiness. “He asked me to watch basketball with him and make some popcorn. You may not know this, but Soremni customs are quite clear about the place of sports and snacks as far as one’s girlfriend’s father are concerned.”
“I’m not your girlfriend. I’m your fake Vashni wife.”
He nudged my head with his nose. “And I have your father’s consent if I want to marry you.”
All the air was sucked out of my body and my toes fell off and my hair stuck straight into the air while the airplane exploded. Seriously, that would have been less shocking.
I elbowed him sharp so he oomphed and let go of me. I sat up and frowned at him. “You asked my dad for permission to marry me? Don’t you think you should ask my permission first?”
He rubbed his ribs. “Ow. You have really sharp elbows. You shouldn’t hurt me just because your dad cornered me.”
“So, he’s pressuring you to marry me?” I rubbed his ribs. “Sorry about that. You know, I’ve been working with some seriously crazy fighters who don’t know how to…”
His pout melted into a smirk and I rolled my eyes.
“Shut up, gladiator.” Like my elbow could hurt him. “What did you tell him?”
“What do you mean?”
“Evasion. You have to give me a whole rundown of the conversation word for word.”
“Word for word?”
I nodded and crossed my arms so he’d know that I was serious.
“Well, I said it looked like the Bulls were going to continue their winning streak and then your dad asked for the popcorn, and then commented on how salty it was, not salty enough, or do you need exact quotes? I’m afraid my recall isn’t quite that good.”
I groaned. “Sean, you’re trying to torture me. Like this sheath dress isn’t enough. It’s almost like you don’t want me to come to Cierdeep with you.”
He pulled me into his lap, brushing my lips with his before he pulled away, eyes narrowed. “Cierdeep isn’t
the problem. You’ve shown that you’re perfectly capable of carrying yourself like a Vashni princess.”
“Spyguy thinks the internship is a stupid idea.”
“It introduces a lot of extra excitement into our lives.”
His frown was so serious. I immediately slid off him and sat up straight. He had taken on the ignoble job of cleaning up my messes. That meant I had to not be an idiot because it would eventually wreck him if I kept doing destructive stuff impulsively.
“You think that it’s dangerous for me to try and be a Soremni intern?”
He tilted his head, eyes studying me, emotionless, calculating. “I think it is. Becoming Soremni isn’t the problem. The problem is the music.”
Music. My Achilles heel. The thing that turned a nice quiet swim into a hundred foot water tower in the San Francisco Bay.
He brushed my cheek. “You love Gerveeg’s music. Live it’s even more powerful, and being part of it, more compelling still. I know that music is essential to your life, but I would be more comfortable if that part of your life were conducted in front of me so I can prevent anything too exciting.”
“Oh. That makes sense. So, this whole trip is to condition me to those experiences so I don’t do anything where you can’t intervene.”
He leaned closer and kissed me, so soft, before he pulled away. “And learn Soremni. You have no idea what you’re getting involved in. When you’re living like a Soremni, you’re going to adapt to that world, become one of them. That’s the whole point of this, not for you to learn to act, but for you to lose yourself in the part. That’s the only way you’ll be safe in your internship. The trouble is that you’ll rely on me completely for your happiness. Your father would feel better about leaving you at my mercy if we were married, legally in a human court of law.”
I smoothed out my sheath dress. He made it sound like I didn’t already need him for my sanity not to mention my happiness. “Married for real?”
Water Games Page 4
