Kahdreg swallowed, following suit and facing her. Their thoughts slowed, their eyes flickering over the flashy outfit Avicia had settled on. A wine red corset, trimmed in black, pushed and cradled her bust, threatening to spill out. It was paired with black panties and a short tiered bustle skirt that barely hit her mid thighs. It covered little more than her ass and, faintly, Kahdreg considered asking her to spin to see the full effect. They drank in the long stretches of bare skin. Though, this wasn't the most scanty thing she'd put on today, it was just as alluring.

"What is with you and simple looks?" Avicia teased, giving Kahdreg an elevator look as she softly smiled. Her eyes seemed to eat them up. Tracing the stretch of the lace down their pecs, their abdomen, lower. Kahdreg burned the longer she stared. Avicia took a step toward them.. "Don't get me wrong. It does suit you, but it's so plain."

"Does it? I can't tell." They knew it suited them. They had plenty of similar underthings at home, some just as plain while others were much more flamboyant. Not that Avicia had grown close enough to know that part of Kahdreg. And they weren't in a mind to dangle that information in front of her. Not when her hand moved, as if to touch them, before halting and pressing tight to her thigh.

Avicia's head listed to the side a little, shooting the orc with a cheeky little smile as she softly laughed. "You don't need to be embarrassed with me, you know."

"I'm not embarrassed," Kahdreg scoffed, rolling their eyes.

"Is that so?" Avicia's eyebrows shot up with curiosity. She planted her hands on her hips and leaned forward, peering up into their face as if to suss out the answer. "What are you, then?"

At that, the orc's eyebrows furrowed. They hadn't stopped to really consider why they weren't mortified. Now that the question was posited, they quickly unraveled it.

"Confused," Kahdreg muttered, a breath later. Discipline trained their eyes on Avicia's gaze, though there was an urge to wander further south, to memorize the moment. They pressed their lips together, refusing to give in. "You made it clear you weren't interested sexually, but it feels like you're trying to tempt me."

To Kahdreg's surprise, instead of quiet contemplation, Avicia laughed and smiled a little ruefully up at them. "Admittedly, that was the point."

Almost imperceptibly, Kahdreg drew back. "What?"

"Don't get me wrong, the free lingerie was a bigger driving force." She held up her hands, as if to physically stop the orc from jumping to a conclusion. "Once we got here, I was curious how far you could take being tempted before testing what I said."

"So you're testing me." They frowned, crossing their arms as they stared down at Avicia. The fabric of the lingerie suddenly chafed against their skin. Again, the bitterness rose in their thoughts.

"I was using a controlled setting to understand your limits," she corrected, her voice taking on a scholarly tone. She ignored Kahdreg's snort as she continued, hiding a small bead of guilt with a casual tone, "You're definitely disciplined and well-mannered. Color me impressed."

Gently, Avicia nudged Kahdreg out of the way as she took stock of herself in the mirror. The orc watched her, contemplation settling over the now muted annoyance.

Narrowing their eyes, they mulled over the term 'controlled setting,' faintly wondering if she felt unsafe around them. Then again, many women were used to playing it safe. It wasn't necessarily a comment on their own actual behavior. More so people, probably men, in the past had made the precedent long ago in Avicia's mind.

Well, that's all they hoped it was, at any rate.

There was another realization grazing over their thoughts. Tilting their head, they considered the possibility as Avicia primped and took stock of her outfit in the mirror. Curious, Kahdreg neared her, refraining from the temptation to graze fingertips along her upper arms from behind. To feel just how soft her skin was beneath their fingertips.

When Kahdreg moved to position themselves behind her, Avicia wasn't prepared to watch their arms raise in her peripheral. Their hands braced against the wall on which the mirror hung, effectively boxing her in. At first, she didn't react, trying to focus on her reflected appearance. Her focus kept drifting to Kahdreg.

Despite her calm act, something inside Avicia jolted as Kahdreg closed in around her. Their body heat licked at her back and her eyes caught their reflection in the mirror. The lace fabric pulled taut against their body. Their nipple piercings glinting under the sheerer parts of the fabric. It had taken a bit of discipline earlier to not run her fingertips along Kahdreg and, now, the urge arose again.

"What do you think you're doing?" Avicia shot Kahdreg's reflection a look, not daring to turn. Her brain didn't need any further fuel to the teasing fire inside her.

"Are you testing me?" Kahdreg's head lowered, their mouth drawing level with Avicia's ear. Shivery heat pulsed through her as their voice dipped soft and low, tickling at her ear. A grin evident in their words. "Or are you testing yourself?"

"Excuse you!" Avicia jerked around, facing Kahdreg in a moment of confusion that was edging toward incredulous irritation. "What are you going on about?"

When Avicia spun around, Kahdreg straightened up a little, just enough to still be in her personal bubble but not close enough to kiss. This close though, her natural scent tickled their nose and they fought the urge to lean closer again, to be buried in her scent. Kahdreg smirked, hiding the embarrassing thoughts behind a wall of smug. "Maybe you're testing to see if you truly have what it takes to tempt me."

Avicia snorted at that. "You already told me I tempt you."

"Yeah," conceded Kahdreg, but an answer - the realization - quickly lined up on their lips, "But you didn't ask what I thought of this outfit. After pestering me to answer the other six."

"So?" Very obviously, Avicia rolled her eyes. Her head dipped to the side as if the force of her eye roll put her balance off-kilter.

"So, I think my confession of temptation was what you were looking for." Kahdreg bent their arms, lowering themselves a little closer to her. Their grin faltered for a breath, another epiphany striking into their head. A sudden delighted and curious smile curled to their lips. "Wait, are you jealous of Kallinaera?"

"Excuse you," Avicia repeated, drawing back so quickly she bumped into the mirror. The chill of the glass cut through the warmth of her overheated body. She leered up at Kahdreg, trying not to focus on the dichotomy of cold and heat she was stuck between. "Why would I be jealous of her? I'm the one 'dating' you."

"I don't know," admitted Kahdreg, giving a one-shouldered shrug. Their grin softened a bit, edging away from friendly taunting and into something more gentle. "She seemed to catalyze something in you, I guess."

"I'm not-" Avicia stopped suddenly, clamping her lips tight. Her gaze darted away from Kahdreg's face, as a slew of thoughts suddenly slammed into her. She wasn't jealous, but she wasn't perfectly settled, either. There was an itch beneath her skin. An annoyance. Disentangling the sensation made her flush. She could feel Kahdreg's intrigued gaze on her, intense but patient.

"To be convincing, I'm acting like I would in a genuine relationship." As she spoke, her words came out stilted, as if she was tentatively grasping them. She couldn't bring her gaze to Kahdreg. Her heart was already thrumming at a quick pace in her chest. If she spotted any more softness in Kahdreg's eyes, if her attention lingered on their lips, if her body ached any harder to lean closer to them, her heart may threaten to burst. "And, in this case, I... think I'd be frustrated you wouldn't put your foot down with her. Even knowing your reasons."

"Oh..." Shame shot through Kahdreg, leaving a sizzling cold in its wake. Uncertainty made their arms stiffen, as if prepared to pull further away, to stand up straight and give her space. It wasn't the first time someone mentioned this problem. Hearing the words come from Avicia's mouth made a lump form in their center.

"But, I was given a chance to cover that up with a shopping trip at her expense, so..." Avicia laughed a little too loud as she waved a flippant hand, trying to dispel the sudden awkwardness nipping in the air. It still crawled along the back of her shoulders, making her feel a fool. This relationship wasn't real, she shouldn't be annoyed.

As amicably as they acted toward one another, the two weren't even friends. They were co-workers. Well, not even that. She was their subordinate.

A slight furrow to her brow made it clear she was still in thought, though she smiled up at Kahdreg. Perhaps that was why, when the orc reached a hand to her cheek, she jumped. Her eyes widened, instantly focused on their face, before glancing to where they touched her.

"You are very enticing, Avicia," Kahdreg chuckled, running their thumb along her lower lip. Avicia's lips parted, attention jumping to their face, ready to issue a retort. The words died on her tongue under their steady gaze. Heat flared inside the orc as a pink tinge darkened on her face and her breath caught as it ghosted over Kahdreg's palm. Every little action seduced Kahdreg, making them long for the freedom to respond. "But you made it clear where the boundaries are in this. If you want something, you'll have to initiate."

A swarm of thoughts and sensations swirled through Avicia. The body heat coming off the orc, teasing into her own. The way their hand, so large and warm, cradled her cheek. How the pad of their thumb left her lips prickling. Memories flashed through her head, of the last day, the last week, her whole time on set. How quickly and how much her understanding of them had changed.

Overwhelmed with the chaos of thoughts and sensations, she remained still. Simply staring up at Kahdreg.

It wasn't until their hand shifted, about to pull away, that Avicia moved. Her own hand came up to the back of Kahdreg's, fingers lacing into the valleys of their digits. The movement made the orc's eyes widen, but they didn't utter a word, too curious to see what she'd do.

The anarchy and weight of introspection made part of Avicia's restraint buckled. Turning her face toward Kahdreg's hand, she brushed her lips against the flesh of their palm. They inhaled sharply. The arm still raised, with hand still braced on the wall, flexed, as if tempted to move, to touch, to retreat.

The small reactions goaded her to do more. Her lips parted against their hand, humid breaths against their flesh, as she trailed up their thumb. Avicia guided Kahdreg's hand a little further in front of her, her eyes watching their face carefully. Their shoulders rose and fell, in even and slow breaths. They stood still, watching her intensely, as if afraid the wrong twitch would break whatever was happening.

Pointedly watching for their reaction, her own gaze on them was no less fierce. Maybe even a little hungry.