Page 51 of Skinwalker's Bane
Chapter Thirteen
It took Devin four evenings to ready Liya Cassel’s dress file for printing. Printing would use up a vast number of credits, even though she did get the file for free. She could only afford to print it once and therefore had to get it right.
It didn’t help that for most of those four evenings, Adam sat watching her, his gaze hawk-like, as he impatiently waited for her to be finished.
Only once did he interrupt her, lifting her hair from behind and sliding his lips over her nape, making her shiver and completely forget what she was doing. Generally, though, he merely simmered with impatience until she was too edgy to do any more work and would shut down the terminal with a slap of her hand. Then he would growl his satisfaction and gather her up in his arms.
Most of her evenings ended that way now.
They never went anywhere together. Adam would just arrive at her house after his shift, sometimes creeping into the bedroom where she was already sleeping, to nuzzle her awake, his body heated against hers and his hands everywhere, rousing her more thoroughly than any house alarm ever managed.
The night of the soiree, though, Adam did not arrive at the house, as they had discussed. His crew were on night shift and he needed his sleep, anyway. Devin left her office at noon and hurried home to prepare. The entire morning, her heart had been pumping harder than usual. Nervousness made her edgy and easily startled. It didn’t help that Bishan kept up a steady stream of messages, reminding her of all the things she should and should not do at the soiree. He added lists of people she had to speak to at least once, others she should turn into best friends by the end of the night and still others she needed to impress.
Her mind reeling, her thoughts chaotic, Devin went home and turned off messages for a few hours. She desperately wanted to be able to think without someone railing at her.
The heat on the Table was good, eating into her bones and warming her, making her body relax and her mind and heart slow. She started getting ready long before she really needed to, taking her time and avoiding any stress that might come from rushing.
When she finally slid into the dress and let the fastener seal, she took a deep breath and asked the AI for a three-sixty view.
The scan spun on the screen and she stared at it, her heart thudding—in a good way.
The dress looked wonderful—even if her face in repose looking grumpy. The dark green silk velvet the file said the dress would be printed indidmake her eyes glow. The velvet felt wonderful against her skin and it hugged her body, so alotof her skin was touching it. The long sleeves clung just as much. The dress didn’t scoop down to reveal her breasts, as so many evening gowns did. It had a high neck. It was thebackof the dress that scooped…all the way down to just above her rear. The skirt hung straight to the floor. There was extra length in the hem behind her, that spread out as she walked.
The three-sixty view gave her the impression of a woman who reallyhadbeen having the most wicked and pleasurable sex of her life for the last two weeks, had enjoyed it and believed she was entitled to far more of it.
Nervously, she stared at the dress, wondering if Bishan would approve. It was elegant—no argument there, yet the sub-text statement it made had nothing to do with professionalism.
It was too late to change her mind, now. The dress was printed, she was wearing it and she would be late if she didn’t leave right away.
She slapped the terminal closed and picked up the white faux fur stole that went with it, wrapped it around her shoulders, so the long end hung down her back. Then she made herself leave the house.
* * * * *
Bishan was lingering in the area where everyone was required to show their soiree passes before being allowed into the central roped off area outside the tankball arena. There were bordering bushes marking off the big area and that was all. Non-attendees could stand on the other side of the bushes and watch the people dancing and eating. Devin had done that more than once over the years. There was always gossip about the dresses the next day—especially the year that Captain Owens had worn a startling design by an actual dress designer. Liya Cassel’s reputation had been made that year. That had only been four years ago. Now, a designer dress was the bare minimum acceptable level of dress at the soiree each year.
Devin sailed into the soiree, her head up. She feltwonderful. She walked right up to Bishan. “Are you lingering to give me last minute instructions?”
He blinked. “Wow,” he said flatly. “What’s under the fur?”
“You’ll see,” she said, just as flatly, although inside, she was smiling just a little at his reaction. To get a “wow” from brittle, seen-everything Bishan was a compliment…as close to one as he could get, at least.
From behind the bordering bushes, shouting could be heard. Bishan frowned. “What’s that?” he wondered.
Devin had just come from the outside of the perimeter. “It’s Sauber,” she said. “He pulled one of the speaker’s stands over from the markets and he’s holding forth to anyone who will listen. There’s quite a line up out there, so he has a captive audience.”
“Is he still yammering about the shard?” Bishan wondered.
“And how the Captain failed us,” Devin confirmed.
Bishan rolled his eyes. “The man needs to learn how to let go and move on.” He took Devin’s arm, then looked down at his fingers with comically wide eyes. “How…soft!”
She did smile, this time.
Then he shook himself, turned her around and pointed. “The Chairman is there. See? Mina Rask is with him, so you can go right up to them. The other two candidates are not here yet.”
Bishan never used Dirks’ and Vinci’s names. He always referred to them as the other candidates, as if that somehow diminished them and made them less of a threat.
Devin thanked him and headed for the hard knot of people who were trying to steal the Chairman’s time and attention. As she went, she unwound the stole and hung it over her arm. When she had a seat at the dining table, she would be able to put it aside.
