A Mermaid’s Wish Read Online Free PDF Page A

Rallo-jak.”
    She blushed and tried to get out of his lap, but he held her fast. “Your Majesties, please excuse my inability to show proper respect.”
    The king grinned. “I believe your current position is keeping my son from embarrassment, so all is forgiven. Call me Rallo.” He extended his hand, and she placed her palm to his.
    “And call me Nori. It is a rare woman that can hold Sardu’s attention. How did you manage it?” Nori held out her hand, and Taem slid her palm across the queen’s hand.
    Taem blinked. “As far as I can tell, it was refusing to do anything that he ordered me to.”
    Sardu rubbed his cheek along hers. “That was definitely part of your charm. The true infatuation came when I watched you bossing Nordal around. I stand in awe of your talents.”
    She blushed furiously.
    Dr. Nordal-jak appeared in his doorway, and he clapped his hands. “I have made reservations for five.”
    Taem looked at him, and he nodded. “You are coming, too, Taem-sah. We need to go over some of the colony details and things will go faster if you are in on the conversation.”
    Rallo and Nori grinned. She said, “It is settled. Come along, Taem-sah. We have a few details to hash out.”
    Their group left the institute, and together, they swam to the restaurant that Nordal had chosen. Elegant wraps awaited them, and Taem kept her head high as she walked in on Sardu’s arm. He kept her at his side throughout the meal.
    The colony details were over in five minutes, and the talk turned to the fight with the Terror and why more women should learn to fight. They were laughing over a story that Nori was telling when a shadow fell over their gathering. Taem turned, and it was Josnal and Rewma.
    Taem got to her feet and made the introductions.
    Rewma first looked dazed and then angry as the queen dismissed her, saying that she had to return to the palace for matters of state. Nori rose, and Rallo went with her. The king kissed Taem’s hand and pronounced her delightful while Rewma fumed.
    Josnal looked to the empty seats. “May we join you? I have something I would like to discuss with you.”
    He was looking at Taem’s breasts under the wrap, and she scowled. “I am not interested in anything you have to say. You have pursued me for years without progress. Give up and go away.”
    Josnal smirked. “I don’t give up.”
    Sardu got to his feet and stood at Taem’s side. “She has dismissed you. Manners dictate that you follow the lady’s will.”
    “Your Highness, you don’t understand the complicated relationship that I have with the lady at your side. She is more than a sister to me, she is a soul mate.”
    Taem wanted to throw up the delightful meal she had just enjoyed. It must have shown on her face, because Sardu broke protocol and curled his arm around her. “It seems that her soul must get around, because this woman is mine by her own admission and her parents’ consent.”
    Josnal turned purple, and Rewma gripped his arm. He shook her off and took a step toward Taem.
    She stiffened her spine and stepped toward him. “Go ahead, Josnal. I want to make a scene. Touch me and I will not only scream the house down, but I will brain you with that chair. Am I clear?”
    He blinked in confusion and backed off. “You are only saying that because you have a man to protect you.”
    “I am saying it because I don’t need to hide what a repulsive blowfish you are. I have broken the secret with my mother and father, and whether they believe me or not, I am not hiding anymore. There is no shame on my side of things, because there is nothing but avoidance in my past. You have a wife. Get her pregnant and find a willing mistress. Stop pursuing the weak and vulnerable. You will not like it when they grow teeth.”
    He drew back his hand to strike, but she ducked and ploughed her fist into his gut, following with a knee to his chin. He dropped like a sack of seaweed. Rewma was standing and flapping her hands, and the