But now that I was inside his files, I knew one thing for certain: the man trusted no one.
I let the water continue to run a little longer—more to buy myself time than for any physical reason. My body didn’t need this much cleaning. But there was still...this.
I looked down.
Sothiswas a penis.
It wasn’tbad,exactly. Just . . . excessive.
An awkward extrusion, not obviously ergonomic. Poorly shielded. Just one dual-purpose outflow channel.
It was fragile. Swingy. Overexposed.
I could see its evolutionary appeal—multipurpose, sensitive, capable of triggering bonding responses—but it was a deeply strange interface to be granted by default. Especially given what I now knew it could do to her.
Sirena hadwantedthis. Had asked for it. Had delighted in it.
That information clanged against my internal logic like a loose bolt.
There were entire sectors of my neural map still red-flagged from the night before—flooded with sensory overload I hadn’t finished cataloguing.
Her breath. Her skin. Her mouth.
Thesoundshe made when she came.
I didn’t know what to do with any of it.
Except to want it again.
Soon.
I shut off the water before the thought could escalate and distract me, not because I was ashamed of her hearing the depth of my desire.
40 /SIRENA
I set my shoulders,then snapped the woman back into herself with a whisper of command.
Her eyes blinked once—twice—then focused on me like I was any other client. “Follow me,” she said with a bright, brittle smile, as if nothing had happened. As if she hadn’t nearly screamed her head off sixty seconds ago.
The Hollows flanked us in silence.
I schooled my features into mildness, letting myself be led through the ship like I was tame. She led me onto an elevator, and we got out into a corridor that was pristine—glass, chrome, hushed carpeting—and it sickened me, the way it pretended to be a hotel, with torture chambers just below.
Two more real scientists passed us as we walked. One raised a brow. The other smirked. I made sure to keep the doors between their thoughts and mine closed.
The only person on board I currently wanted to read was Nex.
And he?
Was taking a shower.
Just like I’d told him.
And thinking about how odd it was to have a penis.
Luckily, I schooled my face in a heartbeat—but all I wanted to do was laugh.
I didn’t think I could love him any harder, but in that goofy moment, my heart stuttered, somehow finding more space.
