Chapter 28 Blair
Blair
There are a few conversations going on around the room.
I don’t know why I was worried that I’d have to do all the talking and pick all the topics.
They know each other, which can be good and bad.
Zion’s intentionally made Sterling growl at least once already.
While the chatter has turned to sports and politics, they’ve included me.
Arranging a date—no, an outing—with the Driftwood pod isn’t cheating. That’s what Marlee said. And she’s right. I haven’t promised the Mason pod anything. Have I had some of the best orgasms of my life with them? Yes.
Orgasms. I need to stop thinking about them.
My cheeks are reddening. I can feel it inching up my neck.
See it on the tip of my nose. But thinking about all of them .
. . Could I even do that, it, them? It’s a lot.
They’re a lot, and it’s more than there being seven of them.
They’re all huge; even the shortest of them is half a foot taller than me.
I’ve always thought of myself as tall or at least tall-ish. Could I be smothered to death?
“Are you okay?” Clark asks.
“Yes, sorry, I was just zoning out.”
“It’s a lot of chaos.” Clark leans over. On the other side of the living room, Grayson and Zion are discussing their favorite sports team. “Do you want to see the observation room?”
“Observation room? Like an observatory?”
“No, no stars, though I bet you’ve seen some brilliant ones in your life.”
I smile. That’s been the one thing I’ve missed about home. “Some nights on the farm, they were so bright it was like the sun was still shining.”
“That’s quite a lovely memory. Would you like to make a new one?”
“Yes.” I’m still wondering what the observation room will be. The view out of the window behind me is pretty fantastic. The lights of other domes out in the night, and fish swimming by. It’s much different from the view of the reef that’s outside Annabelle’s window.
He holds out his hand to me, and I stand, taking it. The conversation around the room comes to a standstill.
“Dinner’s soon,” Sterling barks.
“I’m taking Blair to the observation room.” Clark pats Sterling on his back as we pass.
“I’ll come with you,” Sterling says.
“Can’t everyone come?” I don’t know what I’m saying. Because Clark is right, the sheer volume and chaos of things going on around me is overwhelming. I’m more like Marlee than I like to admit. Having a minute or two of peace would be lovely.
“No. There’s not enough room,” Sterling growls. “I’ll come with you.”
“All right, Brave One, let’s go.” Clark pats Sterling on the back as we pass.
“We’ll be right back. Well, maybe.” Clark leads me down a corridor that I didn’t go down the first time I was here.
“These are our offices. Though they were designed for podlets. Over the years, we’ve filled them with work and hobbies.
Grayson has a sculpture studio here.” Clark taps it but doesn’t open it as we walk past. There are a lot of doors, enough I lose track of how many.
“Here we are,” Clark says, stopping in front of an entryway. He presses his hand to a biometric sensor, the mechanism unlocking it with a soft beep. With a firm push and a slow grunt, he shifts it halfway open. Sterling yanks it the rest of the way open.
For a city where everything is pristine and clean, the disrepair gives me pause. “Is it safe?” I want to yank the words back into my mouth. I’m done being the cautious one. I want to be free and wild. “It doesn’t matter,” I say too fast, too harsh.
“It’s okay, Blair. We don’t come up here very often anymore, but it’s safe. It’s a shared space with the penthouse, but they never use it. Forrest had this staircase put in a long time ago.”
The entryway opens into a stairwell. Metal stairs spiral upward.
“Whoa.” I crane my neck but can’t see the top.
“It’s a bit of a climb. We don’t have to go all the way up if you don’t want to.” Clark leans into me.
“No. I want to. This will be . . . fun.”
“Is it too high? I don’t want you to—”
“Lose it? No, stairs don’t scare me. Glass elevators and subway tracks are the two things that set my phobia off. We better get climbing. I don’t want to be late for the feast.” I put my hand on my stomach. The apartment smells amazing. Though that’s gone in the stairwell.
“It’s worth it. Every time I come up here, I’m reminded how lovely it really is.” Clark starts up, then me. Sterling’s close behind. The warmth of his body and his scent of musky sand wraps itself around me. I have no doubt that if I wobbled, he’d catch me before I tumbled a single step.
Round and round we go. “How many floors is this?” I ask, trying not to sound winded. We pass a door on the landing.
“That’s the penthouse. It’s one flight so far. But a tall flight. We’ve got one and a half more flights to go,” Sterling says, his deep tone in my ear. “Are you tired? I could carry you the rest of the way up.”
“Uh, no. No, thank you.” Being carried up a flight of stairs might make me lose it again. But by the time Clark hits the top step, I’m feeling it in my quads and my calves. I’m a good few steps behind him.
“Wait, Blair.” Clark turns around and holds out his hands. “Close your eyes when you take the last few steps up. I’ve got you. And Sterling’s right behind you.”
“Okay,” I say again, putting on my brave voice. I clasp his hands firmly and close my eyes. I take the steps up, my eyes firmly clenched.
“Don’t open them until I say. I’m letting go of your hands to turn off the lights. Sterling’s behind you.”
Sterling steps closer. His front is inches away from my back.
The urge to lean back into him is overwhelming, but he’s not giving me any signals.
That’s not true. With the scowling and growling, the signals he’s given me are firmly not interested.
With a topping of get the heck out of my city so I can do more important things than follow a human woman around all day.
Clark’s shoes echo on the metal floor, and through my eyelids I see the light turn off. “Not yet, Blair. Give your eyes a minute to adjust to the darkness.”
“She’s human. She’ll need more than a minute,” Sterling says.
“Sterling!” Clark reprimands.
“It’s okay, Clark, it’s true. I studied aboard the Omicron, in the doctro centusia pods. I know that your vision, healing, and reflexes are all better than mine.”
Clark takes my hand again. “That might be true, but you’re a guest and he doesn’t need to be rude.”
“I don’t think he’s being rude. Just telling it like it is. I don’t mind people being blunt. Actually, I kind of prefer it. Sure, sometimes it stings a little, but in the end, it can be quite refreshing.”
“That’s Sterling. Refreshing. Like a pile of rancid seaweed.”
Sterling laughs. “Open your eyes, Blair.”
I blink them open. It’s dark, and I wobble back onto my heels.
Sterling grabs me, his large hand splayed wide on my stomach.
My breath hitches, and I crane my neck, my chin tilting up.
There’s jellyfish and fish glowing around us.
Swarms of bioluminescent color. A whirlwind of vivid green and blue-green glowing light.
I’m silent. It’s breathtaking. My head hits the middle of Sterling’s chest. The inky dark backdrop of the water above with the bioluminescent krill floating around takes all of my nerves and my thoughts with it and floats them away.
Small and large jellyfish bob and float all around us.
Calm fills me like I’ve done a long meditation or slept a good night’s sleep.
My breathing synchs with Sterling’s. In and out.
His warmth secures me to the spot. It’s the only thing keeping my soul from floating out to be with the glowing fish.
I don’t know how long it’s been, but I’m still holding on to Clark with my right hand, and my left one has settled on Sterling’s, holding it there against me. The longer I watch the bioluminescence, the more I can feel calmness on my skin. Like I’m swimming through it myself.
“Do you ever swim with it?”
“Here? No. This is just for show. But there are lots of places to do that. Though you would need a fluke,” Clark whispers.
“And some bioluminescence is toxic even to us. Though there are a few types that aren’t, and there are at least a few areas within the Veiled City where you can swim through it. ”
We fall silent again. Tears run down my cheeks, but I don’t want to lose contact with either Clark or Sterling.
There are moments in my life I’d freeze if I could.
The day before Marlee was born. When I thought Russell and I would be okay—when I could barely fit in the booth at the diner.
That was the best grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever eaten.
The moment my mother opened her Christmas present the year I’d tracked down the missing key to her antique dining room hutch.
Driving down Route 66 after we’d left the farm, knowing we were finally on our own.
And now this moment. Somehow this is what’s made being in the Veiled City more real.
I’m alive. I’m more alive than I’ve ever been.
Sparks of happiness prick at my toes, working their way up my body, until I’m just vibrating with the happiness of being here. Present in the moment.
“Unreal. But how?” I can’t form a sentence.
“The Stele dome does it for festivals and holidays. It’s rather impressive.
A force field is created around the area above the top of the dome.
There are six towers like this one, all of them protruding into the force field.
It’s quite a display from outside. But here it’s .
. . it reminds me of how beautiful the ocean truly is. How otherworldly it is,” Clark says.
“Otherworldly? You’re not used to this?”
“No. If you hadn’t noticed, we’re rather domesticated. At least, most of us are.”
Domesticated. I hold in my laugh, because I don’t think of the mermen as domesticated. Domesticated animals, to me, are cows. And they’re nothing like cows. Laugher bursts from my chest.
“What’s so funny, Little One?” Sterling holds me close to him, like I might vibrate down the stairs if he lets go.
I’m not pulling away. If anything, I find myself wiggling more against his groin.
When his cock jumps against my ass, it silences me.
But I like the friction. This place . . .
I’m safe. And maybe I like poking the bear.
It’s not safe. Then again, I think that Sterling’s bark could be a whole lot worse than his bite. Though his bite might be more fun.
I clench my butt cheeks against him.
And a low growl vibrates through my chest.
Clark steps in front of me. “Blair, what are you doing? And how do I get you to do the same to me?” His finger tips my chin up to his face, and then his lips are on mine. Slow and calculated. He pushes me deeper against Sterling. Sterling lifts his hand from my stomach, but I guide it to my hip.
Both his hands grip my hips. Clark steps between my legs. If either of them moved, I’d collapse into a pile on the floor. His tongue swipes slowly over mine, and I’m squirming with need.
It’s only a moment before Clark pulls back. “Brave One, the things I’d like to do to you here . . .”
“Clark? Blair?” a voice calls.
“We’re up here, Rodgers.” Clark inches away, letting me regain my balance.
“Dinner is served.”
“We’re coming,” Sterling shouts down the stairs. Then he spins me in his arms. In the ghostly glow of the bioluminescence, I can see his pupils shine back at me for a brief moment before his scowl returns.