Planet Athion: The Complete Series by Angel Lawson
52
Mercy
I can tellthe boys need a minute to decompress with their old friend and I need a minute to gather my wits. All of them here at once—so suddenly—has rattled me. Not in a bad way, I’ve just got to organize my thoughts and feelings.
I find Cassidy in the hallway.
“Hey, can you help me prep the sleeping quarters for the Custo?”
She gives me an odd look, maybe because I called them Custo and not “my men.” Rattled. I’m rattled. “Sure. They’ll be with you on your hall. There are four bedrooms—so one for each of you.” She gives me a side glance. “Unless you want one to share your room.”
“No,” I say, unsure of how much she knows about my relationship with them. “They look a little worn out. They could use some space from one another.”
“They do seem a little haggard.” She leads me down the hall to the laundry where she opens a cabinet of linens. “Handsome, but haggard.”
I can’t argue that. Seeing the three of them almost made my heart explode. Our relationship developed fast on Athion but our time apart has made it mean something else altogether.
We make the beds quickly. The rooms are all small like my own; with a bed and a bath. We’re prepping the final one when I speak up. “Can I ask you a question? A personal one?”
“You can ask—not sure I’ll answer.”
I fluff the pillow, trying to busy my hands. “What was it like the first time with Amias—you know, since he’s…different?”
We’ve never talked about the day I walked in on them. I know for certain Amias saw me in the doorway, but Cassidy was in the throes of passion. I’d seen him in his true form. I had to suspect that those changes applied elsewhere, too.
She raises an eyebrow and says, “Which one are you talking about? Because the Athions tend to have the same equipment as humans.”
“Dimka,” I reveal. “He’s from the Southern Tip. They’re not the same and although I haven’t seen it, I’ve felt it. Them. I’ve felt them.”
The second eyebrow meets the other on her forehead. “Two?”
I nod. “They feel, uh, bigger too.”
“Wow. Okay well, with me and Amias it was different because he wasn’t the first Trad I’d had sex with.” Right. The brothels. My heart aches for her. “But when we decided to be together, he took it slow and gave me a chance to adjust to him.”
“Slow feels impossible right now. Everything between us is so charged and heated.” I had a hard time not jumping them when they walked off that ship.
“Just talk to him about your concerns—a kind, giving lover will take all that into consideration.” She gives me a tight smile. “And I don’t know him or the others but they literally traveled across the universe to find you. I think they’ll be patient.”
They’ll. She knows.
“You don’t think it’s awful that I’m in a relationship with all of them?”
“Do you really care what I think?” Her lips quirk in a grin.
I laugh. “No, not really.”
“Good. Do what feels right, Mercy. The life we’ve chosen is an adventure—the good and bad parts. There’s no reason to have hang-ups from our life on Earth.”
“Thank you. For talking to me. I’ve needed someone to confide in.”
Cassidy smiles in return and we finish up our task. When we’re done, I feel ready to face my fears and enjoy a little adventure.