Page 46 of Mated on Live

She smiled. “Great. I’ll finish up this video and go get dressed.”

“Did you not already have this in mind?” He looked at her outfit. “You’re already dressed.”

“No, this was for the video. I’m going to do something a little more subtle for the photo shoot. And it depends on the dress too. What did you get me?”

“I left it in your room. It’s a very simple style so it can be appealing on any world the pictures are put up. And so that it doesn’t distract from us or the logo of the company.”

“Smart,” she nodded. “I’ll just need to wipe this off and change. Just give me like twenty minutes.”

His brow rose. Not saying a word, but doubt written clearly across his face.

“I’ll be quick,” she promised, sashaying away, her loyal little combot following after.

Chapter 18

Serval

Serval had already come to understand that, when it came to dressing herself, his mate had no concept of the passage of time. Minutes were a small unit of time measurement on Earth. A mark was approximately two Earth hours, which meant that thirty minutes would only be a quarter mark. And twenty was less than that. It didn’t even take him the full twenty minutes to get changed and have all his combots set up in his rec room. He had a blank screen set up so that the background could be swapped out as desired. He also had a few props including a chair, a mat, some flowers – edible, synthesized from his food maker – and a pair of mating rings in the human style.

He had all of that set up and ready to go and Sophie still hadn’t returned.

It was a full quarter and a half a mark later when his female finally sauntered in.

But, great ocean spirits, was the wait worth it.

The dress he purchased for her use was simple, in a very pale blue, just a few shades darker than his skin. To match his olules. It wasn’t form fitting, but it still sat perfectly on every curve. The loose, off the shoulder sleeves, seemed to almost tease at pulling down at the deceptively loose bust. Like it would be so incredibly easy for the dress to just fall off of her. It swirled with each step she took, her adorable, tiny human feet completely bare.

She had her bangs swooped over in her signature fashion, but he would swear that the waves to the brown locks were looser, freer, than usual. She had them tucked behind one ear and had chosen to forgo any jewelry.

He approved. There was nothing to distract from her.

“Absolutely beautiful, lov’alel,” he praised, raising a hand for her to take.

She did so, smiling at his required daily adulation. “Thank you. You’re pretty handsome yourself, amor.”

Her eyes traveled appreciatively down his body.

He had chosen to wear brown, to compliment her as she did him. His pants were hung low on his hips, and the tan of his shirt flowed around his torso, fully open at the front. He had only a single bit of adornment, which was a leather necklace with a simple, stone ring around it that sat right in the middle of his chest. His olules weren’t tied back, but he had rubbed some oil into them to make them shine and look better under the lights of the cameras.

Sophie’s appreciative gaze returned to his face, then became thoughtful. “No makeup?”

“No. My people don’t typically wear makeup. Never was a very popular choice on Wav’aii. Probably because my people spend so much time underwater.”

“Yeah, but you’re not underwater now,” she pointed out calmly. “And you’re about to be on camera. You should wear something.”

“I never have before.”

“Yeah, but this isn’t a story you’re reporting from the battlefield or at the big bust of some drug running cartel-”

“You watched that?”

“-this is an ad campaign. We’ve got to look enticing. We need to be two beautiful people deeply in love, so lost in each other, we don’t even realize we have True Match stamped across our foreheads – or wherever they’re putting it. I don’t know. Come here. Sit. I’ll do your makeup for you.”

Serval thought it was a bit foolish – even when he did a formal piece, not on a battlefield or at an active arrest site, he didn’t bother with makeup.

But Sophie wouldn’t hear any disagreements. She demanded that he sit while she ran back to her room to grab her makeup bag. His eyes widened at the enormous thing she rolled in. A suitcase worth of makeup products.

“What is that?” He asked, shocked. Surely, she didn’t wear all of that on her face.

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