Poseidia (16 page)

I opened my mouth to defend myself and
propose instead I was only human. But—I wasn’t anymore. He was right—I was weak. “No, I… I… I’m sorry, I didn’t remember. In the moment, I forgot about everything but my rage. It was a stupid impulse,” I admitted. “I don’t know why I did it. I… wanted to see his face when he saw me back from the dead.”

“
Didn’t you hear me?”

“
Hear you?” Confused at first, it dawned on me he had tried telepathy. “I sensed you… trying to redirect my emotions. But I can’t hear you… like that. I thought you knew.”

He shook his head in disgust.
“We would have been better off if you had killed him. That’s an easier mess to clean-up. Now we have a witness.”

My shoulders tensed and we rode in silence
. It was about five miles later when Roman said, “I’ll take my knife back now.”

Crrrrap
.
“I thought you had it,” I moaned, deflating.

“You had it, remember?”

I sucked in my breath and held it until I no longer could. “David knocked it out of my hand right before he hit me. In my rush to get out, I forgot about it. I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

“You do understand we can’t leave
it behind, right?”

“
Do you want me to go back?” I asked, slowing the car.

He did a twirling action with his hands
and turned to stare out the window.

I stopped the car
, turned around, and headed back. The tension was so palpable I could barely breathe.

Shit
, he’s furious. Stupid, stupid, Anna.
“He’s not going to let us in to search,” I argued.

“Park
down the street and we’ll wait him out. Do you still have the key?” His voice lowered, as if resigned to fixing the mess I made.

After fumbling awkwardly in my pocket,
I handed it over to Roman.

M
oments later David emerged with his briefcase, dressed for work. He hurriedly got in his car and left.

Cautiously
, we reentered the house to search for the knife. Roman tossed the master bedroom while I rummaged through the spare, but neither of us found the blade.

“Any luck?” I
squeaked, nervously twisting my fingers together as I knew the answer.

“No. Let’s get back to
Poseidia—we’re pushing our luck as it is.” Roman ran his hands through his hair, his face reddening again.

“I’m sorry,” I
mumbled as I followed him out to the car.

Roman
stalked to the driver’s side and silently held out his hand for the keys. Without hesitating, I turned them over and got into the passenger seat.
Yeah, probably a good idea.

C
hapter 16

O
n the ride back to the Mer house, I repeated I was sorry about a hundred times. Roman said nothing, lost in his own thoughts. Between spoken apologies, I scolded myself.

A
fter a painfully long trip—much farther than I remembered—back at the Mer house, Roman reversed the car into the garage.

We
wandered into the kitchen while I stalled, trying to come up with a plan to get the knife back. It was my fault and I needed to fix it—I would figure out a way. I only needed time to think.

“
Let’s change and get back,” Roman said.

“
Am I going to be in trouble with the High Council again? I blew it, didn’t I?” I finally voiced what I had been stewing on the whole ride.

“
I’ll handle it,” he said through tight lips.

“I’m sorry about the knife,” I
repeated as I submissively headed back to the bedroom, which had my clothes. Before I closed the door, I turned, and watched Roman walk into the other room, slamming the door without a glance back.

Guilt washed over me
.

I changed
out of the human clothing and put my dress back on.

For a moment, I contemplated not taking the purse
I’d packed earlier, but I couldn’t come up with any reason not to have some underwear—I was already in trouble. With the wide leather straps slung over my shoulder and the bulging bag tucked behind my back, I returned to the room Roman had entered. As I went to knock on the door, it swung open, and he stood there in his ripped jeans and nothing else. “Yes?” He smiled, his foul mood seeming to have miraculously vanished.

I grinned in reply.
Maybe he’s not mad anymore?

“You’re a slow changer. And here I thought girls
dawdled. Anyway, I’m ready to go whenever you are,” I joked, hoping to maintain his lighter mood.
I’m not going to bring it up if he’s not.

Roman
dragged me into the room, pushed me up against the wall, and kissed me hard—his lips were soft yet demanding. Passion penetrated every cell of my being. His hand pressed hard into my hips as he ground them into my electroreceptors.

“Girl, huh?”
Roman groaned into my ear as he pushed his pelvis into me.

Again,
I lost control, desire taking over. His arms locked around me and guided me to the bed. The edge of the mattress hit my leg as he pushed me onto it, holding my arms above my head.

With
his hand, he gently traced the electroreceptors on my arms, and then down my legs. Every time his fingers touched a receptor, it sent electricity and desire through me. I arched up to him as he pressed his hand into my lower back, and then lowered his head to my neck. Lips brushed my skin, sending shockwaves to my pelvis.

“What do you de
sire?” he whispered, in my ear.

I moaned in response, unable to
form a coherent answer.

He
flicked the clip on his ear. “Shall we?”

“What?” I
stammered, regaining my senses through a clouded haze.

“
Go home.”

Deflated,
I searched his eyes. A cold shower was needed now, but he was right—we should get back. “Uhhh,” I groaned as I covered my eyes, expressing my frustration. I deserved it. “Fine, let’s go.”
I don’t need to be pulled into this kind of entanglement anyway.

Demonstrating a complete lack of modesty,
Roman changed his pants, took my hand, and led me back into the hallway, which held the closet with the portal in it. I adjusted the purse as we walked through the portal door.

Back in my quarters, Roman
closed the portal, and I hugged him tight.

“I have to go,”
Roman yawned.

“Don’t leave me yet,” I
beseeched as I buried my face into his chest. “Thank you for—”

“I get it,” he
assured, smoothing his hand over my hair.

“The knife
. What should we do? I feel so stupid. Not to mention how much trouble I’m going to be in with the High Council and Lily.” My voice echoed against his chest.

“
I will take care of it. Trust me. But what you should do is take off your makeup.” He cupped his hand to my face and ran his thumb over my cheek.

“Oh, I forgot about that.”
I raised my hand to my face and touched his hand.
Thank God he’s not mad anymore.

“
You’re forgetting a lot of things lately, you should get that checked out,” he chuckled, gazing down at me while he tilted my head upward with his fingers under my chin.

I laughed and hit him
affectionately on the shoulder.

“I’ll figure something out
to get my knife back, don’t worry,” he mused, patting my head.

No, I’ll d
o it. Only I don’t know how yet.

“I’ll see you later
.” Unexpectedly, his lips were on mine, his tongue exploring my mouth.

My
knees buckled while he held me upright. I melted into him and when I went to wrap my arms around his neck, he pulled away and left.

Frustrated and alone,
I stowed the purse in my closet and went into the bathroom to fill up the tub. I needed a nice hot soak before I started the day. With no sleep, I was afraid I’d become a loud broadcaster again, if I had ever stopped, and Lily would know what an idiot I was—I didn’t know what Roman planned to tell them, but it wasn’t coming from me.

I hate lying, but
it’s not as if she’s the one who helped me. Roman understands.

The a
drenaline from our adventure still coursed through my body, making my senses extra sharp. I poured some essential oils into the bath, stepped into the hot water, and sank down. While I relaxed, I let the drama of the night replay in my head second by second.

S
eeing David again brought up many buried emotions. To me, now, it was a lifetime ago when I’d fallen over the balcony.
Why was I so out of control there?

I cleaned all the blood and makeup off.
My anger got the best of me, controlling me so easily.
Why? Was it simply being away from the Connective?

Exhaustion surfaced as I relaxed in the heat of the bubbling water
and I gave into it, shutting my eyes. When I opened them later, Lily was sitting on the edge of the tub looking at me.

“Did you not sleep well last night?” she asked.

“I, uh, tossed and turned a lot. I have a lot on my mind.” I brought my hand to my cheek in an attempt to hide any swelling. Then I sank down into the water up to my eyes.

“I imagine you do. You should get dressed, and then we’ll get something to eat. I have something to show you.”

Lily got up to leave the bathroom and didn’t seem to notice my face. Refreshed and clean, I got out of the tub, dried off, and dressed. In the mirror, I searched for any signs of bruising, but there were none. Not a mark on my face, but still a tad sore to the touch.

We
strolled to the common area and filled plates with fresh fish, seaweed, two peaches, and cups of steaming hot herbal tea.

“
Did Lucas do something to my nose?” I asked Lily.

“No
, why?”

Soothed by the activity of the fish and sea creatures right outside the dome, a table by the glass wall was becoming my favorite place to sit.

“I can smell things I’ve never noticed before,” I said, biting into my peach. The juice dripped over my hand and I wiped it away.

“All of your senses will evolve, hundreds of times more sensitive than
a human’s. In fact, humans tend to dull their senses,” she said, cutting up her fruit and carefully eating it.

I laughed. “You’re right. They do that, don’t they?”

“It wasn’t a joke.”

“It’s kind of a joke. It’s weird to think I’m no longer human. I wouldn’t fit in the
re anymore. Not that I ever did. There I’m dead—I no longer exist. But here—I’ve never felt more alive.” Simply thinking aloud, it was almost as if I was talking to the fish as I stared out the wall. Seeing David had torn off the scab, revealing emotions I thought I was over.

Assuming my mother’s locket was gone,
I wanted to get Roman’s knife. Especially with integration so soon.
What will I feel after integration?

We finished and left, head
ing to the Healing Center. Passing all the patient rooms, the mudrooms, and the mineral baths, Lily took me down a tunnel I hadn’t explored before, eventually leading me through a hidden doorway in the wall. It went on for a long way, and then went down, seeming to curve back under the facility.

“Where are we?” I asked, look
ing around at the small hallway, opening into a large room, a tad bigger than the patient rooms. In the center of the room was a small built-in heated pool. Rectangular drawers located about waist high, in stacks of two, lined both sides of the walls. An arched opening directly above each pair gave access to the contents. Two women stood on one side of the room, looking down into an open drawer.

“We are in the nursery,” Lily whispered. “The few children we have are kept in another part of the city. It’s more secure and conducive to nurturing.”

Nursery?

“Why are we here?” I asked.

“I don’t know if you remember, but I’m a scientist, and a healer. They call me The Mother. I manage all the procreation.”

“You do what?”
Is she a sex manager? Wait—I’m not sure I want to know.

“Because of all the genetic modifications that have been made to us, more and more of our people are infertile, as am I. We don’t understand why.
However we do have babies born, but many do not live beyond a certain age. I oversee their care.” She led me over to the two women and in the box, which was a built-in crib, was the cutest baby I’d ever seen.

Genetic modifications?

Lavender eyes looked up at me, followed by an ear-piercing cry. The caretaker picked up the baby, and it instantly hushed.

“I’m so sorry. I had no idea,” I said, still unsure of why she brought me here.
While making a mental note to myself to ask later about the genetic modifications, I experienced a pang in my heart, remembering my own loss.

“Our people are in danger of becoming extinct one day if we don’t figure out a way to restore our fertility,” Lily
continued, leading me to the opposite end of the nursery, where she opened a door, and passed into another room.

The room
was darkened, but Lily didn’t move to turn on the lights. Small cylinders full of glowing greenish water lined the far wall, providing the only source of illumination in the room.

Lily
strode over to one of the cylinders and placed her hands on it. The green cloudy haze of the liquid made it hard to see clearly, but I swore something moved.

“What is it?” I asked

“It is your baby, Anna.”