Arthur's jaw bulged, as if he had just ground an entire row of molars to pieces.
He did not argue, because Mera was telling the truth. He had heard everything.
From the sound of the first zipper being pulled down to the broken moans and murmurs that later came from deep in her throat, every last sound had been seared into his eardrums. They were still ringing.
It made him want to bang his head against a rock!
And in that final, most chaotic rush of sounds, he had heard Mera's voice change. Her angry rasp had gradually given way to something else.
She had sounded unmistakably delighted. Unmistakably eager!
So who's she putting on this wounded, angry act for now?
Arthur shot Mera a faintly contemptuous look.
"Don't look at me like that."
Mera seemed to read the tangled emotions in his eyes. She jerked her gaze away, her voice lower than before but still edged with anger.
"You've heard what that man can do. Black Widow and the assassin Talia both fell into his hands."
"The moment he touched me, he forced open the channels in my body. I couldn't control my reactions. That was purely physical. It had nothing to do with what I wanted!"
"I refused him the whole time. From beginning to end!"
Arthur opened his mouth. But you were the one clinging to him by the end rose to his throat, but he swallowed it.
He did not want to make things worse now. Besides, he was the pathetic fool who had been pinned helplessly in the sand and forced to listen to it all. He had no right to blame her.
He drew a deep breath, forced down the bitterness lodged in his chest, and turned toward the shore.
"Let's leave it at