She frowned, and a small parade of bots moved into the room, each carrying a box.
He smiled and said, “I was not expecting a consort to arrive and certainly didn’t expect one when the air outside could kill, but here you are.”He took the first box and opened it, bringing out a flat collar necklace that would ride along her collarbone.It was platinum with long crystals that she realized were diamonds.
“Oh, boy.”
He grinned and put the collar around her neck.Then there were earrings.“I know you could not leave Bellen without pierced ears.”
She smiled as his deceptively dexterous fingertips put long earrings in her ears.More long diamonds.There were wide cuffs on her wrists, and she was trying to figure out the value of the adornments, and her mind veered away from the amount.
He grinned.“They are not just jewels, but I will explain that later.”
“Oh.Okay.Does the dress fit okay?”
“Definitely.The skirt flares nicely.”
She paused, and mortification spread through her.“Please tell me it didn’t flare that high.”
“It did.Don’t worry.I enjoyed the view in the extreme.”
“Maybe I should use a sash across my hips.”
“Not on my account.”He smiled.“Come on, I will explain the purpose of the stones as we make our way to the table.”
She pointed to the corner of the bubble.“That table?”
Birun smiled and walked her toward it.“This is what is calledtraditional seating.For Hmrain, at least.”
“There is only one chair.”
“Correct.”
“So, we are starting this now?”
He lifted her hand to his lips as he bent.“Correct.”
He settled and eased her onto his lap.He pressed a kiss to her neck; she shivered and scrunched her shoulders.“Now, I get to explain.The jewels that you are wearing are not just shiny; they are all data recordings.Each long stone is a data file with inventions from across the galaxies.Designs of millions of items.You are wearing an invention library on you, and each stone is a different world.”
Trin touched the necklace, earrings, and cuffs.“I can just use them?”
“Use them or be inspired by them.You are wearing inspiration.Use that.”
Bots came in with trays and set them on the table.Boss said,“All of your favourites, Trin.”
She stared at the table.“So, saying you would wait until I was comfortable...”
“I never said that, Trin.I said I would wait for the first contact, and you have contacted me a number of times.You are not afraid of me, and as long as that remains constant, we can move forward.”
“You knocked me off my scooter.”
He chuckled.“And you were going slow and wearing safety gear.Is your backside injured?”
“No, but thank you for asking.”She petted her wrist bands.“How do I get the languages I need?”
“You pick a crystal, and then a learning unit will set itself up, and you can gain the language if you don’t already have it.Now, explain to me what we will be eating.”
When the first lid came off, she inhaled sharply.“Barbeque?”
“You are surprised?”
