Page 39 of Accounting for Taste

“Ah, the unit has finished its work.I will assist you out.”

She heard rustling, and he clicked the releases.The unit opened slowly, and she winced in the bright light.Hands reached in and lifted her from the unit, cradling her carefully against a body whose dark grey was streaked in soft lavender lightning.

She whispered softly, “Thank you.”

“It is my pleasure.You have not moved in three weeks; it is likely that you would be weak.Can you really fly anything?”

“Not a Hmrain.”She chuckled.“Not yet.”

“If you wish to experiment, please notify me.I will be there and ready.”

She sighed.“Good to know.”

He set her down at the edge of the bed where the outfit he had shown her was lying.It was a lovely royal blue with grey trim.“Why blue?”

“It is your colour when you are calm.I want you surrounded by calm.I have noticed you found a way to keep working from within the pod.”

“It took a few days, but I managed it.”

“Thank you.Everything is so much better when you are in charge, Reem.”

She smiled.

“Your cousin said your name had meaning.”

“Gazelle.It means gazelle.”

“What is that?”

“A delicate, bounding deer.My mother was petite; my father was not.I took after him, but the name stuck.”

Wenvari smiled and caressed her hair.“You seem delicate to me.The name suits you.”

She got up slowly and wrapped the skirt around her.She fumbled at the catches and fasteners, but Wenvari said, “May I?”

She paused and nodded.His long fingers made short work of it.He picked up the top, slid her arms into place, and did the same job on the front ties that held it snug to her torso before the panels floated loose around her midriff and arms.Technically, she was still fully dressed, if clear clothing was fashion.

Wenvari met her gaze and smiled.“I can see you.The wide look in your eyes, the small nub of your nose, and the tempting curve of your lips that just pulled downward in a scowl.You are the first being not created Hmrain that I have truly seen.”

He knelt and got the vines that held her shoes up on her calves.There were vines that wrapped around her arms, and as he applied them, they flattened to her skin.“There.All protected.”

He looked at her and bent to kiss her.Reem blinked and understood that he meant to pursue the intimate portion of the contract sooner rather than later.

His hands wrapped around her ribs, and he straightened, holding her up for the kiss with her legs dangling off the ground.

She pressed her arms to his shoulders as heat spilled through her, and she missed her pleasure unit.

He leaned back.“What is purple?”

She slowly opened her eyes.“Hmm?”

“What is purple?”

She opened her eyes and stared at him.“I don’t understand.”

He set her on her feet, and he took a lock of her hair and held it where she could see it.“Purple.”

“Oh.Lust, I guess.It’s been a while.”

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