Page 8 of Tyton: The Spider and the Dragonfly (Tyton #1)

T

he woman demagged her mask, revealing deep mahogany eyes and olive skin.

She towered over Callie and was thin, to the point of being emaciated.

Low rise BulitWeave TacPants with a spiked belt, a spiked leather bracer and bright red spiked hair all giving the unified message of don’t fuck with me.

And all of it was undone by her button nose and the splash of freckles across the bridge.

Callie felt the woman’s finger on her chin, pushing her mouth shut.

“You’re going to catch flies,” she smiled. She didn’t seem shocked at all that Callie had been caught staring, mouth agog. Clearly, she was used to attracting attention.

“You’re very showy.” Callie shifted her stance.

She just laughed. “Does that mean you won’t answer my question?” The way the reflected light caught her dark eyes did things to Callie.

“What’s your name?” Callie deflected.

“Talia.”

Damn her voice was something. Callie wondered if it was DocPod altered. But why would she alter it down? That had never been a trend.

“Callie.” She stuffed her hands in her pockets. Talia’s face lit up. “I was looking at the model,” she confessed, shifting awkwardly.

Talia’s smile widened. “No wonder everyone is after you.”

Callie blushed. Hard. Even in the heat of the dancefloor she could tell her skin had gone up several degrees.

Talia leaned in, as if giving Callie top secret information. “Everyone else in this room wants to be the one holding the rope. They like the control.”

“And you?” Callie felt her voice falter.

Talia gave a half shrug. “I love control. I have to admit that I don’t actually have the patience for rope, though.”

Callie tilted her head. “Why are you here then?”

“Because you’re here.”

Callie rolled her eyes. “Cute, but why really?”

Talia was unfazed by the rebuff. “I just wanted to see. It’s also bad luck not to kiss someone on New Years.”

“You’re not attached to anyone else?”

Talia laughed again, head back and throat bared. Callie’s heart fluttered. “I don’t have the patience for rope, or people. I won’t surprise you with a girlfriend, if that’s what you’re asking. Or a boyfriend.”

“No theyfriends either?” At this point it was teasing.

“None.” Talia’s smile felt bright and easy. The music had started up again. Talia held out her hand. “Do you want to dance for a bit? I think there’s another fifteen minutes left until you must kiss someone.”

Callie took her hand and allowed Talia to lead her away. “Kiss someone , hmm?”

Talia smiled, teeth on display. Her overlarge incisors and lithe tall frame belied that innocent face.

This was a predator – a beautiful one, but a predator, nonetheless.

The way her slender arms darted with the rhythm reminded Callie of the dragonflies that inhabited the swamps that formed around the city every summer.

And she was good. Callie didn’t expect someone so tall and lanky to have that much coordination. It was like watching a violent ballet. Callie sweated in her overalls while Talia spun and stomped and writhed her spine like she moved just to keep warm.

Callie was mesmerised. Despite the heat, they kept touching. A quick brush along an arm. Her knee against her thigh. Callie’s eyes slid like a bead of perspiration across Talia’s abdomen, olive skin somehow taut as a drum and moving like oil.

Talia’s heavy-lidded gaze caught Callie’s grey-blue stare and from there, probable became inevitable. They circled, an unspoken sense of caution keeping them centimetres apart, but they could both feel it dissolving into want .

Callie felt Talia’s arm around her waist, but she had already fallen into Talia’s eyes.

She probably hadn’t blinked in several minutes.

She followed Talia’s arm to her shoulder and slid the other around Talia’s neck.

Callie had a vague awareness of other bodies moving in the periphery, but for them, the dance had already ended.

The muscles in Talia’s neck relaxed under her arms. Her head fell to meet Callie.

She stood on her toes to bridge the distance.

Callie hadn’t kissed anyone in so long that she had forgotten how it felt.

The soft yield of open lips against hers.

A tongue slipping into your space – tentative at first, unsure whether it is an uninvited guest. Then bolder, exploring the house.

Talia’s tongue nearly rearranged the furniture, and the feeling was glorious.

Callie whimpered, eyebrows knitted together, sucking as though it would leave her mouth empty. It had been far, far too long.

Callie fisted Talia’s short spikes, pulling her in. Their mouths still interlocked when the call for the new year went out. They only broke apart, when their teeth clashed against each other. Talia pulled back, laughing.

“So, um…, do you want to maybe go somewhere else?” Talia looked at her with a lopsided smile.

Callie found herself nodding enthusiastically, her breathing still trying to keep up.

“Come on, I know a place.” Talia laced her fingers through Callie’s hands and pulled her away. Callie quickly messaged Sparx.

Callie silenced her Opti and braced as the chill of outside hit her sweat-soaked skin. The Thermabulle kept her from freezing, but it was still a far cry from the heat of exertion combined with five hundred bodies and their cyberware inside.

Talia clapped her mask back on. Callie thought it odd, but she didn’t want to ruin the moment yet. It was too fragile.

Talia led her through the streets, Hexaline bricks illuminating the haze of filth that hung in the air.

Motorcycles flew past, their fat studded tyres churning a spray of slush, salt and mud.

It was the darkest, coldest part of the year and all Callie could think about was how she hadn’t stopped smiling and how fast her heart was beating.

Talia led her along the side of a building where the Hexaline glow grew much sparser.

A bald, heavyset man leaning against the side of a fire door made eye contact.

Callie thought they were about to be stopped, but he banged on the door twice and it swung open.

Talia brought her inside as though nothing unusual had happened.

The space projected a calm, inviting atmosphere, like if you were here, you were in.

A dark velvet-like cloth along the walls seemed to absorb the sound around them.

Plush synleather couches and rich Hexcel tables made to look like real wood were strewn tastefully around the space.

The music floated softly and unobtrusively around them.

She could see why Talia had brought her here, but she had no idea places like this existed or how Talia could afford it.

Talia demagged her mask and hung it on her belt. “Do you want a drink?”

Callie bit her lip and nodded, letting Talia lead her over to the bar.

“Whiskey?” the mixer asked as she slid onto a stool. Callie hopped up beside her, remembering to keep her pedantry to herself this time.

“And for you?” the mixer eyed Callie.

“Uh, the same?” It didn’t matter since it was all for show.

The mixer gave a small nod and walked away.

“So,” Talia leaned on the bar and turned to face Callie. “What do you do in this town?”

Callie gave a small laugh. “First date questions?”

Talia’s lopsided smile grew larger, and she shrugged. The movement seemed exaggerated on her frame. “We just met. The old-fashioned way. If I’d found you on a dating site, I’d have all this info already.”

“That’s true. Do you want my favourite colour?”

Talia called her bluff. “Mine’s yellow.”

Callie’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? Why?”

“I love the sun.”

“You must hate this time of year!”

Talia breathed a laugh. “I really do. I mean, I know why we’re all huddled around the Arctic circle, but could we at least have the sun not disappear for four months?”

“So, what do you do when the sun is gone?”

Talia drew a finger up Callie’s forearm. “I look for it elsewhere.”

Callie rolled her eyes, but she felt herself blushing again. Talia bit her lip and smiled. She knew she had hit her mark.

Their drinks arrived and the mixer slipped away. The clearest ice cubes Callie had ever seen clinked together as Talia brought the stout square glass to her lips. Callie did the same and was surprised to find flavours beyond just alcohol and dye. She frowned in confusion.

“What is this?”

Talia cocked an eyebrow. “Is this your first whiskey?”

“Isn’t it all just alcohol and dye?”

Talia covered her mouth to suppress a laugh before her eyes turned sympathetic. “I’m so sorry. That was rude.”

“It’s okay.” Talia’s apology made Callie feel guilty that she had caused it. “You seem like the type who likes to sweep a girl off her feet with expensive toys.”

“I do have expensive toys,” Talia was grateful for the opportunity to drop that hint, and she relished watching Callie blush. “But I swear, I just wanted a quieter spot to talk.” Talia held up her hand. “Unless you’d prefer to see my toys.”

Callie pursed her lips thinking it over. “You never told me what you did.”

“To be fair, I asked first.” Talia’s smile was back.

“I’m an AI psych.” Callie wasn’t ashamed of her job. It paid the bills and allowed for a few luxuries, but she wasn’t pulling the same amount of money as Sparx. And Sparx drank at Binge, like she did.

Talia’s eyes lit up. “Me too!”

“That explains the mask and the magstrip on your face, but how do you afford this?” Callie gestured to her drink.

“Just side jobs.” Talia waved it away as though any side job would pay for liquor that could only be made using barrels from nearly extinct trees. “Which Model do you work with?”

“Model 21.” Callie wanted to ask about her side job, but she got the feeling Talia didn’t want to elaborate and things weren’t serious enough to push.

“Nice. I’m right next door with Model 2.” Talia leaned in deeper, eyes rapt.