the corners. 'I already look a bit Japanese, don't I?'
'No, not yet. Now, please sit still for the skin dye.'
'Oh. Wait a minute.' Leeth unpinned the sheet from around her neck, refastening it around her waist.
'What-' Emma stopped as the girl stripped off her top, smiling, bare breasts now jauntily exposed. Emma swallowed. 'What on earth did you do that for?'
Leeth flashed a grin. 'I've a special dress to wear for James, tonight. So don't stop at the neckline!'
Taking a deep breath, Emma gloved up and dipped the soft sponge into the solution. Leeth, eyes shut, shivered as the first cool touch slid up her neck, her lips parting at the contact.
Emma glanced down despite her resolve not to. Yes, both nipples had hardened and now stood erect. She ignored them with a wry smile. She was supposed to be teaching Leeth.
'It's important to apply the solution quickly and evenly. If you leave it too long it can streak.'
'Mmm,' Leeth purred.
'You have to apply the dye before sculpting on the pseudoflesh, so the colorizing agents properly seed.'
'Mmm.'
Emma did Leeth's face, ears, and neck, then her back. Once more between her and the mirror, she began working her way down the subtly-muscled shoulders. 'This will last about two weeks, if untreated. But you'll be using a bleaching agent before then.' Emma frowned at the breasts before her. 'You're getting to see more of James than I am, these days.' She imagined his hands, stroking those firm breasts. She wasn't jealous. James was just… a convenient friend. Not really a lover.
Leeth opened her eyes, scowling. 'Opera! Why does he always take me to the opera ? I hate it!
'Plus, he starves me!' Leeth recalled the first night, and the wonderful steak. She'd planned to order it again the second time, but James had stopped her. And last night, too, he'd let her eat only a tiny amount of food. Sure, she was practicing her disguises and acting, but who'd recognize someone by their healthy appetite?
'Two different women with the same enormous appetite, especially if they order the same food, cooked the same way? Derek would realize at once they were the same person.'
'Then I'll order something different!'
'Certainly. And only a small portion, too.'
'But I'm hungry!'
He shook his head in disbelief. 'If you're really still hungry later, eat something when we return home. You don't eat that amount normally, do you?'
'Well, sure. You think I'd eat more just because the food is tastier?'
He looked at her doubtfully, which only intensified her annoyed expression. He shook his head. 'If that's true, I really don't know where it all goes.'
She preened, then shrugged. 'It just does go, that's all. If I don't eat enough, my stomach starts to hurt. And I get all sluggish.'
He shook his head again. 'Then in future, eat before we leave. So you only pick at your meal here.'
'But the food here's better!' At James's expression she'd turned, to see Derek listening: looking intrigued. She lowered her voice. 'Plus, that's wasteful.'
'Leeth…. Never mind. The Department can afford it. Consider it part of the expenses for your training.'
Emma wondered what Leeth was thinking. Probably food . She looked miffed, and Emma decided to direct her mind back to her training. This wasn't a game. 'You really don't like the opera?'
Leeth scowled. 'No. I really do hate it. I don't know why he has to take me there all the time!'
Emma shrugged, taking a faintly malicious pleasure in her reply. 'You know very well why: we're teaching you how to appear to be different people. We have to test each disguise, and the Maitre'd at the opera's restaurant is a trained observer, good at remembering faces. By making a bet with him, James focuses attention on his companion while providing a plausible explanation should anyone realize you're in disguise. Besides, it's hardly "always." You've only been
'No, not yet. Now, please sit still for the skin dye.'
'Oh. Wait a minute.' Leeth unpinned the sheet from around her neck, refastening it around her waist.
'What-' Emma stopped as the girl stripped off her top, smiling, bare breasts now jauntily exposed. Emma swallowed. 'What on earth did you do that for?'
Leeth flashed a grin. 'I've a special dress to wear for James, tonight. So don't stop at the neckline!'
Taking a deep breath, Emma gloved up and dipped the soft sponge into the solution. Leeth, eyes shut, shivered as the first cool touch slid up her neck, her lips parting at the contact.
Emma glanced down despite her resolve not to. Yes, both nipples had hardened and now stood erect. She ignored them with a wry smile. She was supposed to be teaching Leeth.
'It's important to apply the solution quickly and evenly. If you leave it too long it can streak.'
'Mmm,' Leeth purred.
'You have to apply the dye before sculpting on the pseudoflesh, so the colorizing agents properly seed.'
'Mmm.'
Emma did Leeth's face, ears, and neck, then her back. Once more between her and the mirror, she began working her way down the subtly-muscled shoulders. 'This will last about two weeks, if untreated. But you'll be using a bleaching agent before then.' Emma frowned at the breasts before her. 'You're getting to see more of James than I am, these days.' She imagined his hands, stroking those firm breasts. She wasn't jealous. James was just… a convenient friend. Not really a lover.
Leeth opened her eyes, scowling. 'Opera! Why does he always take me to the opera ? I hate it!
'Plus, he starves me!' Leeth recalled the first night, and the wonderful steak. She'd planned to order it again the second time, but James had stopped her. And last night, too, he'd let her eat only a tiny amount of food. Sure, she was practicing her disguises and acting, but who'd recognize someone by their healthy appetite?
'Two different women with the same enormous appetite, especially if they order the same food, cooked the same way? Derek would realize at once they were the same person.'
'Then I'll order something different!'
'Certainly. And only a small portion, too.'
'But I'm hungry!'
He shook his head in disbelief. 'If you're really still hungry later, eat something when we return home. You don't eat that amount normally, do you?'
'Well, sure. You think I'd eat more just because the food is tastier?'
He looked at her doubtfully, which only intensified her annoyed expression. He shook his head. 'If that's true, I really don't know where it all goes.'
She preened, then shrugged. 'It just does go, that's all. If I don't eat enough, my stomach starts to hurt. And I get all sluggish.'
He shook his head again. 'Then in future, eat before we leave. So you only pick at your meal here.'
'But the food here's better!' At James's expression she'd turned, to see Derek listening: looking intrigued. She lowered her voice. 'Plus, that's wasteful.'
'Leeth…. Never mind. The Department can afford it. Consider it part of the expenses for your training.'
Emma wondered what Leeth was thinking. Probably food . She looked miffed, and Emma decided to direct her mind back to her training. This wasn't a game. 'You really don't like the opera?'
Leeth scowled. 'No. I really do hate it. I don't know why he has to take me there all the time!'
Emma shrugged, taking a faintly malicious pleasure in her reply. 'You know very well why: we're teaching you how to appear to be different people. We have to test each disguise, and the Maitre'd at the opera's restaurant is a trained observer, good at remembering faces. By making a bet with him, James focuses attention on his companion while providing a plausible explanation should anyone realize you're in disguise. Besides, it's hardly "always." You've only been
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