Page 41 of Free for Adventure
Kayak muttered to them, “I have to use puppets to make sure I understand.”
She chuckled and then observed. “Oh, dear. People are staring.”
She glanced at the guys, and her mind overlaid their beasts on them. “You are in male-pack attack mode.”
Skaay grunted. “We are agitated. We had a mate for an hour, and we broke her.”
“That’s funny, but I am not a doll.”
“No, you are a member of our pod. A smaller and more vulnerable member that we need to take care with.”
“We can try flips again but only in open water.”
Kayak murmured, “Not for a while.”
They walked up the hill toward the town where the locals live, and on the ocean side, they turned to the right and went down a pathway.
A large roof was visible from the pathway, and they carried her down the hill and to the house that was in between the land and sea. They kicked off their sandals and walked into the house.
Skaay murmured, “No shoes in the house; there is enough sand we can’t shift. There are foot-washing stations by the doors and one next to the steps from the water. We don’t mess up the place when we get home.”
“Good. I am used to hotel rooms, so housekeeping is not my thing.”
“It isn’t ours either, so we set up things to keep it under control. Sand gets everywhere.”
Kayak laughed. “We know. This is the guestroom. Orc is bringing your stuff from the hotel. Just tell us where you want the camera sent, and it will be on its way.”
“Just the underwater one. The other stuff is mine.”
“Okay. Now, you are going to curl up with Skaay, and he’s going to fix you.”
Kayak darted away and came back with a T-shirt. “The suit you have on probably isn’t comfortable.”
She chuckled. “Right. Thanks.”
Skaay said, “I will help her change.” He pushed Kayak out with one hand and closed the door.
He put her good hand against the dresser and knelt to remove her clothing with surprising efficiency. She was naked in a few minutes, but he had to cut her shirt off around the sling. The top unclasped behind her neck, and it dropped.
Skaay sighed. “Do you want a shower?”
“Can you take the brace and sling off?”
“Of course.”
“Then, yup.”
He carefully released the fasteners and set them aside. He walked with her to the walk-in shower. She sighed as the warm water moved over her.
“You can handle pain well.”
“Yeah, well, when alphas yank you out of the water by your wrists, it happens more often than you would think.”
“How long were you on the water?”
“Since I was two. Travelling from research project to research project. I started with a distance-learning kindergarten and went through all my schooling by the time I was fourteen. Then, I was just his assistant, but he didn’t want me taking classes on land.” As she spoke, Skaay sprayed the water on her, soaped her up, and rinsed her off.
He reached behind her, and she felt her hair tumble down.