She frowned. "On the road to Quanta is not the place I had in mind for our history lesson."

I looked at her slyly. "I take it this town is called Quanta?" I continued on once I saw her confirming nod. "Then give me a tidbit to think about while we walk and I promise to leave it alone."

"Yes, we are a lot like you. When we first got the portal to open up in your world, it was young, very young, and not much survived that early proto-Earth. It was one of the reasons we adapted to whatever we found on your world. The reef where we built the current rendition of the away station is only a few million years old on the geologic time scale. Now the place is so advanced, the only way we can visit is to come back as myth and legend. One of the ways we show ourselves to people is by being merpeople. After all, your species is so distrusting of each other when one says they see something only found in myth, others ridicule that person."

I shook my head. "Okay, that does give me something to think about. It was Atlanteans who I saw before my lack of oxygen kicked in. What happened to Jonas?"

"Jonas went on ahead. He'll be at home when we get there. But first, that shopping spree for us. We definitely need to get you some suitable clothes."

I looked down at my outfit. "This is suitable clothing for what I do at home. Whatever am I going to do here?" My heart momentarily clenched as I thought of months without anything to stimulate my mind. G.o.d knew Jonas could stimulate my body. "I don't want to sit around doing nothing."

"Don't worry, you won't be bored. Let's hurry." She rushed me toward the city with the journey only lasting about a half an hour.

And it was a fairly pleasant time spent with Maleka talking up a storm about what clothes she planned to get me. There were all sorts of sarong type items, but very few pants or swimsuits. She informed me they were not needed here. If one wanted to swim, one just did it nude. Pants were only used in the s.p.a.ceport and for missions, because sarongs and dresses could put one in a dangerous situation while doing those tasks. They only allowed walking for much the same reasons-safety, pollution control and to keep everyone fit and healthy. She also discussed the home I would be a part of, and just what the familial structure of Atlantis was. "So you're telling me all relationships in Atlantis are polygamous?"

She slowed down even though we had reached the edge of town. "Yes, they are and there are good reasons for this."

I arched my brow. "And those reasons would be?"

"Children need a good stable family. With a multi-partnered family, the adults can rotate as to just who stays home with the kids. Many of our jobs keep us away from home for long periods of time. Also, with those various types of jobs people have, there is never a chance of a child being alone. Every child has two parents with them at all times."

"Just what do you all do?"

"Lots of things. s.p.a.ce exploration is high on the list. You'll get there someday if everything goes according to our plan. Some people do explore your world and help when they can do so without getting exposed. Like I said, people on Earth are a peculiar lot."

I laughed, my first of the day. "You could say that. You know, in some ways this place reminds me of what I imagine old Rome would look like. I mean, there are no real skysc.r.a.pers or anything."

"Not on the surface. Most of those types of structures are in s.p.a.ce orbit. We try to keep our planet as beautiful, clean, and safe as possible for all our inhabitants."

"Okay. That does explain some things." I nodded.

"Good, we're here."

Without paying attention, we had arrived at the edge of what appeared to be a small village. I looked up and saw we were still a distance away from what Maleka had called Quanta. At first, I had thought Roman, but now I was here it seemed to be a combination of that and an old English village. Shops lined the rows off the main road. She pulled me off into the second one on the left and soon we stood before a small shop. Its window was filled with bright colored cloth in a variety of what appeared to be clothing unlike any I had ever seen before "This is it. Don't you just love it?"

I actually didn't know if this place was good or not. I just knew it had more color than I had ever seen in my life. Blues, fuchsias and greens dominated the window with various decorations attached to them. Some of the cloth reminded me of what I had seen once in Hawaii while other pieces looked as if they had come from Latin America. Some of it definitely clashed in my mind while others seemed to flow seamlessly from one to another. "Is it expensive?"

Smiling broadly, she said, "That's another thing. Money is a thing of the past. We use credits here."

Frowning, I knew we had finally come to an impa.s.se. "Well, I don't have any credits at all. How am I going to afford this? How am I going to afford to live?"

"Since you're going to be part of our family unit, Jonas, Bruin and I will pay this first time. All of us chip in on the food and general household items as most of our credits are pooled into one account. Each of us is responsible for our own clothes, and the house was given to me by my maternal grandmother, so we don't have any worries there."

I swallowed hard, realizing if I allowed them to purchase these items for me, I would be bound to them for a long, long time. "I still have a few questions."

A concerned look crossed her face. "Lindsay, we won't hold you to anything you don't want. It isn't in our nature, if that's what you're worried about. Me purchasing these clothes for you in no way obligates you to stay with us. We all have to make sure we're compatible anyway."

I let out a sigh. I wasn't sure just what would be involved in discovering what would make us all compatible. "Okay. I just don't want to promise something I may not be able to give."

"I totally understand. Men, now men just go rushing in without ever taking into account our emotions while we will make sure this is right for us."

She smiled, reaching out to give my hand a squeeze. "I'll have to agree with that." I remembered just how Jonas and I came to become lovers. While I was the one who initially wanted the relationship, I was given very little consideration in the decision whether we would continue or not. And once he started his a.s.sault on my senses, I could hardly refuse him anything. I worried the others had noticed, but now I would never know for sure.

"Lindsay?"

"Let's do this." I followed her into the shop and was pleasantly surprised it was larger than it first seemed. All manner of different textured materials hung from the ceiling. "So how do we do this?"

"Well, there are just a few readymade items. The rest, we'll pick materials, have them made and delivered."

It surprised me that things were custom made. I would never be able to afford anything custom made at home. "Is everything custom made?"

"Actually, yes. We try only to make what we need immediately. It's easier to do things this way since we don't have the major manufacturing centers like your world does. We discovered long ago they created more chaos than solved problems."

I nodded my head. I could understand their solution. "Just how many Atlanteans are there?"

Maleka frowned for a moment, scrunching her eyes in concentration. "I think there are a little over a million of us."

I blinked in surprise. "That few?"

Her rich laughter rang through the small confines of the boutique. "That's an incredible number. We were a small tribe on our home world. We are fortunate we've been able double in size in about a hundred of your years."

I was about to ask more questions when a small man came out of the back room. "Princess Maleka! Welcome, welcome! Do you need some more of those fancy dresses we made last month?"

Smiling broadly, she did a quick bob toward the man. "No, Kareem, I have no need for more clothes."

"Will you be needing the new required s.p.a.cesuit?"

Frowning, she glanced at me before returning her attention to the proprietor. "I think we need to discuss this at another time. Right now, I need some clothes for our new mate, Lindsay."

Turning his head toward me, he looked me up and down. "Is this the topsider everyone has been talking about?"

"Everyone has been talking about me?" I stood a little taller. "And what have they been saying about me?"

He looked at me, nonplussed about the sudden change in demeanor. "Not much. Except that Jonas had finally managed to bring home a beautiful woman, and a smart one, too."

I rolled my eyes and sighed. Some things never changed. "Some day I'll want to know exactly just what was said about me. Right now, I'd like some new clothes and to sleep for a week." I smiled weakly. "Do you think that would be possible to do? And do it quickly?"

"You heard the woman, Kareem. Just what do you have in stock in her size and how soon could you have her outfitted in every outfit she might ever need?"

I spent the next couple of hours being measured and trying on a variety of outfits. When we were all done, I owned two casual dresses, two casual pairs of pants and coordinating shirts as well as one of what I would call an evening gown. I also had something very close to a wet suit and I wasn't surprised to find this suit I could use for ocean exploration or put under a s.p.a.ce suit for the inevitable s.p.a.ce exploration.

We arranged to have everything, which was already complete, delivered later this evening with the balance to be delivered as the items were completed. And it surprised me just how many outfits Maleka insisted I have. I seemed to have something for every possible scenario she thought I might be involved in and those were many.

But the newest thing I would have to get used to was the very thing, which bugged me most as we continued down the road toward Quanta. This world had no underclothing of any kind. With every step, my legs brushed together making me very aware of my crotch. With each movement, body parts rubbed together in a slow sensual dance. By the time we got home, I would be so h.o.r.n.y I would be jumping Jonas as soon as I could.

I eyed Maleka as we moved ever closer toward the city. Maybe this would explain just why the Atlanteans seemed to be more sensual as every movement brought them a greater awareness of their own body. How aware someone became before they popped, made me wonder. Maybe that was one of the reasons the mate units consisted of a minimum of three members. Someone always sat out, allowing one person to recharge before going another round. "I'd like to thank you for the clothes. You were far more generous than you needed to be."

She waved me off. "Nonsense. You'll need those clothes, no matter where you end up. I just did what I thought the right thing."

I nodded. This woman, even though she didn't want to act like it, was a very caring person. "You want to tell me just what I can expect when we reach the house?"

"I'm not sure what you are asking."

"Okay, then tell me about Bruin."

"Ah. Are you nervous?"

I frowned. That was an understatement. "Maybe a little."

She chuckled. "Just a little?"

"All right, a lot then."

"Bruin is dark where Jonas is light. He is bigger than Jonas and it takes him a little longer to get to know someone."

"How did you meet these two?"

"Besides growing up with them you mean?" She waited to get a nod before she continued. "We had a few cla.s.ses together in school, both here and topside. I liked both of them and, at first, I wondered if I would ever fit in since they seemed so into each other. Still, they were always fighting."

"You're a very beautiful woman."

"So? Beautiful women have problems, you know. Life isn't perfect because one is beautiful. Sometimes it's harder on a beautiful person as opposed to an ugly person."

I had hit a nerve. I had always known just how I affected men, but I didn't delude myself by thinking I was really beautiful. Yes, I was attractive in a healthy sort of way, but I probably didn't hold a candle to a super model. "I can understand that. I've always known what men think of me, but I have no delusions. I am not, nor will I ever hold a candle to you."

"Why do you think that? You are smart and attractive. You have a great personality."

I reached out to grab her arm. "So are you, and if you think otherwise, then you aren't as smart as I thought."

We had finally reached the edge of Quanta and she stopped to sit on a bench at the side of the road. She sat there for a moment before looking up. "I know."

I sat beside her. "Then what's the problem?"

She looked out over the road we had just come along. "I've always wondered if they really like me for me, or for what they think I can bring them."

"You think they only love you for what you have?"

"It's not that simple. Atlantean society and royalty have almost a strict type of hierarchy on how things go. I am many more tiers above them both. Neither of them were born royal, although they are both very close, being a cousin many, many times removed."

I moved closer to her and took her hand. "I know Jonas loves you very much. I could tell by the way he looked at you in the hospital."

"I have no doubt they love me. I just don't want to be jealous of you."

"Me?" I leaned back in surprise. "Why would you be jealous of me?"

She sighed once again as if not trusting her voice. "We always talked about getting another woman in our family unit. They never even told me they were looking." Maleka lowered her head.

If I wanted to make this whole relationship thing work for us all, it was now or never. "Maleka," I said and reached for her hand, gently rubbing at the tension I noticed there. "I've only been Jonas's lover for about six months. Do you know how we met?" When she looked at me, I could see unshed tears in her eyes.

"No." Her voice quivered.

"Well, he showed up on my doorstep about two years ago and said he wanted to meet the woman who had made it a career looking for Atlantis."

Wiping her eyes, she shook her head in disbelief. "He said that?"

"Yeah, he said that. I just couldn't believe it. The press had been having a heyday because of some little artifact I had found. I published a scientific paper on it and somehow the press got hold of the news before the paper was ever published."

Turning to fully look at me, I continued to caress her hand. "It was horrible. I was beside myself. I didn't know what to do at all. Jonas showed up and played right into my ego. Told me he knew everything I had said and found were true."

"What did you do?"

"At first I was suspicious, but he continued to grow on me and eventually, I did everything in my power to seduce him. It was never the other way around. And I would have never gone after him if I had known he had already had a mate." I squeezed her hand again. "I truly would never do that to another woman, just like I said in the hospital."

"Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for? I'm just telling you what happened." I looked around realizing no one had pa.s.sed us by in quite a few minutes. "Hey, where is everybody?"

Maleka looked around. "Oh...that. The moment we sat down on the bench, a privacy screen went up. They can't see us and we can't see them. When both of us get up to leave, the screen goes down. It's just one of the many technologies we have developed or acquired over the years."

"Oh." I still looked around cautiously. It would take me a while before I could actually accept all the new things I would encounter. "What was Jonas talking about when he said he got council approval?"

"I think that was the thing which threw me most. See, both he and Bruin would have had to approve an application to add another member of our mate and family unit. Only a majority can go to the council. The final application will need to be signed by me also."

"I'm sorry."

"Now it's my turn to let you know it wasn't your fault. It's the first time I've even seen those two work on something like this together. I'm just not sure why."

I frowned. "Maybe I have the answer to that. Jonas had been after me to not look at the site where the submersible got buried. He seemed suddenly very concerned about my safety recently telling me I needed to be careful. It was like he knew something would happen."

She nodded. "That area has always been unstable. You wouldn't have been the only one lost there. Did he ever say he loved you?" Maleka questioned quietly.

I blushed furiously. "Well, he said he loved loving me. That's the only declaration I've received in six months."

She licked her lips. "That's probably as close as you'll ever get. He has a hard time stating the obvious it seems."

"He might have a hard time saying it, but his feelings are plain on his face. He might just be the type of man who thinks you should know."

"A woman needs to hear it."

I patted her hand. "No kidding."

"So..."

"So...where do we go from here?"

She smiled. "I think we should go home, have dinner, talk about everything that's happened and see what happens. You aren't obligated to stay with us, even though they sponsored your application. You could find another unit or even pet.i.tion the council in your own behalf. It's only the last resort that everything is rejected, and the only choice would be to go back where the merpeople found the person in question."

"How many topsiders do you have living here?" Curiosity filled my mind as I wondered just what it took be approved by the Atlantean council.