Page 46 of Treasure of the Abyss

“Yes.” She lifted a hand, pointed her index finger down, and twirled it in acircle.

Though his expression clearly indicated his confusion, Jax turned away. She waited a moment longer — to make sure he didn’t peek — before she faced the hologram and quickly removed her dress andundergarments.

She felt exposed. She’d never been naked in the open before, and with Jax immediately behind her, able to turn around at anymoment…

It thrilledher.

“Sam, I am ready toproceed.”

“Please hold your PDS like so—” he held his by the shoulders in front of him and moved one hand to the circle on its chest “—and move your fingers counter-clockwise around the field generatorunit.”

When Macy did so, a seam opened down the back of the suit, running from the lower back up to the neck, where it split the hood inhalf.

“Now, step into the legs and pull the PDS on. Don’t worry! It will stretch to accommodate your height and bodyshape.”

Macy slipped one foot into the legging, followed by the other, and sure enough, the fabric stretched to cover the length of her legs. She tugged it up over her hips and slipped her arms through the sleeves, spreading and flexing her fingers to get the gloves onsnugly.

“Once you have it on comfortably, move your fingers clockwise around the field generator unit, likeso.”

Raising a hand, Macy did as it said. She felt the suit close along her back, breaking her bare skin’s contact with the open air. The suit molded to her body, but she felt no discomfort; it fitperfectly.

“Now that your suit is sealed, please reach behind your head and find the hood. You’ll need to have it up if you want your mask to properly seal and integrate with your PDS’s internal systems. If you have long, hair, you’ll want to pull it back out of the way for this part. Let me know when you are ready toproceed.”

“You can turn back now, Jax,” Macy said, gathering herhair.

Jax heldhis breath as he turned; it had been surprisingly difficult to keep from looking at her as she undressed. Kraken wore no clothing, and nakedness was simply a natural state. He could no more understand her aversion to it than understand his attraction to her. It shouldn’t have affected him at all, but the mystery of what lay beneath her clothes had only been strengthened by the hologram — if male humans were so different from kraken, what were female humanslike?

Macy was pulling her hair back. The suit — thepee dee ess— fit her perfectly. His blood heated at the sight; it had sculpted to her body, covering her curves with a thin layer of fabric, teasing him by barely hiding the secrets he’d yet to discover. It took no small amount of concentration to keep himself fromextruding.

Holding her hair in a bundle, she took hold of the excess fabric around her neck and pulled it over her head, covering her hair and ears completely. It was as close as she’d looked to a kraken in the time he’d knownher.

He didn’t care forit.

Jax shifted his gaze to the hologram. It was now covered, as well, wearing a suit just like Macy’s. There was a bulge in the fabric between itslegs.

Macy didn’t have a bulge. He’d expected, after seeing the protruding shaft of a male human, that female humans would be similar — alwaysout, alwaysopen— but Macy’s suit gave no hint of the unfurled petals of a femalekraken.

“Jax?”

Jarred from his thoughts, he met her eyes. “Yes?”

Macy was silent for a moment. “Um…nothing.”

She turned back to the hologram. Jax couldn’t keep his gaze from dipping. The suit hugged the curves of her backside; the anatomy of her lower body was strange, buttantalizing.

“Sam, I am ready to proceed,” Macysaid.

“Great! It’s time to get your mask on. Please place your hands on the sides of the mask and lift it toward your face. Remember, the bottom of the mask is the part with the small vents — that’s how you’ll receive your air! Make sure your fingers are away from the edges and move the mask into place around your face. Your PDS will do therest!”

Macy picked up one of the masks and held it between her hands, uncertainty creeping into her expression. “Okay. Here’s hoping itworks…”

She lifted the mask near her face, aligned it, and pulled itclose.

Jax clenched his teeth; the suit seemed tomove— the fabric around her head shimmer, and the seam between the mask and hood vanished. Macy’s face was pale, her eyeswide.

The hologram flickered anddisappeared.

Muscles tense, Jax moved closer, ready to tear the mask off Macy’s face, to rip the suit from herbody.

---