Fathom (Mermaids of Montana #3) - Elsa Jade Page 0,14
and just in case she was abducted by a certain alien…
Not that she would just let him, of course. Over her undies, she pulled on a flowing caftan. The slide of the glossy fabric on her skin gave her another shiver, so she added fleece-lined leggings for more coverage. Since she was going to be tromping—and maybe forcing a predatory merman to do anything—she should probably wear the closest thing she had to pants. She only had the rubber clogs for shoes, but she added her heaviest ragg wool socks.
This look was even more eclectic than her usual hippie fashion statement. Just as well Sting was an alien with no sense of style and barely any clothes. Speaking of which…
She grabbed a few more things along with her messenger bag and went back downstairs. Before heading to the library, she sidetracked to the office where Thomas spent most of his business hours when he wasn’t taking care of her or the estate.
She peeked in to make sure he wasn’t still on his call, but he was working at the desk and glanced up at her with his usual open smile. “Come in, Miss Lana.”
She shook her head. “I won’t. You don’t want me to zap your computer.”
He chuckled. “Yes, now that we know the reason our signal was so poor was because of the Intergalactic Dating Agency outpost in Sunset Falls, I’ve become quite enamored with high-speed internet enhanced with alien technology. Wouldn’t want to lose it now.”
She smiled back at him. At least Maelstrom breaking closed-world protocols had a sort of silver lining. And of course Marisol and Ridley had gotten their lives back. Her smile slipped.
Thomas strode from the big desk and came around swiftly to her side. “Miss Lana?”
She reversed by a few careful steps, not wanting to hurt him. She was the last person who should have this sort of power. “Sorry. I was drifting again.” If the zaps got worse in her brain, she feared it would mean a stroke from which she might never recover. Or maybe that was the best-case scenario. “I need to borrow the car,” she told him. “I’m going to take Sting to the Diatom. He thinks he can repair it and get home.”
Thomas gazed at her. “Are you thinking of going with him?”
She shook her head, hair flying every which way with her vehemence. “As I already reminded him, they don’t want me back.”
He pursed his lips but didn’t comment. “I shall accompany you to the lake.”
“No, this is going to be the worst road trip ever, but there’s nothing you can do about it. As much as I hope Marisol and Ridley can save Tritona, Earth matters too, and your work here is important. You keep doing that, and I’ll get Sting out of here.”
He nodded, though his expression was dubious. Whether he doubted she could get rid of Sting or if she should get rid of the Tritonan male, she wasn’t quite sure. But Thomas rose with another smile. “I’ll at least pack you a snack.”
“We just had a huge breakfast,” she protested. “We won’t be gone long. At least I won’t.”
His lips twitched. “I think it might be worth having something to bribe Mr. Sting.”
She rolled her eyes. “What, you think I can teach him to jump through hoops like a trained poodle?”
“More like a luring a shark. But you might need it.”
After a moment she nodded. She returned to the library where Sting stood in front of the aquarium with that unnatural stillness that made the little hairs on the back of her neck quiver. It was the stillness that hid unknown depths, and the part of her that was still a creeping Earther mammal was wary of a fall.
Only his white-shielded gaze shifted toward her. “We go,” he rumbled in that rough voice.
“Just one thing,” she said. “You can’t wander around Earth looking like…that.” She waved one hand vaguely up and down.
He turned to face her full on, and she had to glance away. Too bad there was no way to deflect the heat rising in her cheeks.
He ran his hands down the straps of his battle skin. “What is wrong with me?”
There was an edge to his voice she hadn’t heard before—and his usual voice was plenty edgy. Had she accidentally touched a sore spot despite the thick muscles and heavy flesh?
He was much larger than the other Tritonyri, who were already very big, and she had a sense from some comments that