My Man Michael

by Lori Foster

  “No.” She denied him with a raised hand. “My instincts tell me that I should keep a fair distance from you while you’re in this odd confrontational mood. It would be best if we got back to business.”

  “First things first.” He didn’t feel a single ache in that moment. “Come here.”

  She breathed harder, and said in desperation, “I can not. What you do, whatever you plan, it is not proper, not for me.”

  “How so?”

  “I told you,” she said on a high, nearly hysterical note. “I am forbidden involvement with a male. I must focus on my duty alone. I am here to gain your agreement for assistance, nothing else. If I fail at that, I fail at everything that is important to me. I fail my colony. Please, can we not come to terms?”

  Mallet saw her urgency, her near-pleading, and changed his direction. “All right, just calm down.”

  “I can’t!”

  He did his best to look neutral. “Come sit by me and we’ll talk about everything.”

  Caution kept her entrancing hazel eyes glowing gold. “Only talk?”

  He didn’t want to scare her. He knew she believed everything she said. Hell, a tiny part of his mind was beginning to believe, too. “I promise.”

  She inched closer, then drew a breath, summoned up her nerve, and walked bold and brave to sit beside him. “Thank you, sir.”

  “So what exactly would you need me to do if I accepted your proposition?”

  Before she could answer, the door started to open, and right before Mallet’s eyes, she disappeared.

  Again.

  Damn it.

  CHAPTER 3

  “TIME for your bath, Michael.”

  Damn, damn, damn. Alesia, a cute little nurse’s aide who took her time with a sponge, wheeled a cart into the room. Red lips curved in a smile and bright eyes shone with anticipation.

  It didn’t move Mallet at all. “I don’t want a bath.”

  “Now don’t be grumpy. You know it’ll make you feel better.” She glanced at him in sultry invitation. “I promise to be very gentle.”

  Frustration mounted until Mallet thought he might shout. “Leave that shit and get out.”

  She blanched. “But, Michael, I can …”

  “Look, Alesia, I haven’t fucking moved, right? I haven’t sweated or gotten dirty. You spent an hour washing me last night and I’m still clean, I swear. I know my leg is shot, but my arms are fine so I can damn well clean my own face and brush my own teeth, and I don’t need any fucking help to do it.”

  By the time he finished, frustration turned his face an angry red and sent his voice into a shout. With a sad, wounded nod, poor Alesia turned tail and ran out.

  The door hadn’t quite shut behind her before it was shoved open again.

  “You’re fucking kidding me, right?”

  Drew Black! Mallet hadn’t expected to see him.

  Everywhere the SBC president went, he brought loads of presence with him. Muscular and fit, he stood several inches shorter than Mallet, and still the room felt smaller with him in it.

  Brown eyes mocked Mallet, and that perpetual smile flickered over Drew’s face. “You turned down that chick for a fuckin’ sponge bath?”

  Flustered, Mallet said, “Yeah.”

  “What? You went blind in the accident?” He walked into the room. “Did you see the ass and legs on that girl?” Drew clutched his heart. “Are you out of your fuckin’ mind?”

  “No, it’s just—”

  “Did that truck smash your balls as well your leg? Hell man, she was steaming.” Drew laughed. “Call her back. I’ll let her wash my fuckin’ back.”

  Mallet couldn’t help it; he grinned. “I’m sure you could charm her into doing it, too.” Known as the guy with the foulest language in the biz, Drew used one adjective more than any other. Somehow “fuck” found its way into his every sentence.

  Holding out a hand to Mallet, Drew said, “You crazy motherfucker. How the hell are you?”

  “I’m okay.”

  “No fucking way. The Mallet I know would have had that chick in the bed naked already. You made her cry, you heartless bastard.” Being a little heartless himself, Drew grinned as he said it.

  “It’s not easy to get it going when my leg is shot, my ribs are cracked, and they keep filling me with drugs.”

  “Wouldn’t slow me down.”

  No, but then nothing ever slowed down Drew. “I believe that.”

  He turned a chair closer to the bed and sat down. “So seriously, man, how the hell are you doing? When can I expect you back?”

  Mallet felt sick. “Maybe no one told you, but I’m done.”

  Drew made a rude sound. “Fighting, maybe. But hell, man, we need you, and fighting is only one facet of this game. You know that.”

  “I’m a fighter.”

  “Fuck yeah, you are. One of the best. So teach it, talk it, explain it, but don’t fucking give up on me.” Drew grabbed his forearm. “That’s not like you, man. It’s not like the SBC. We’re here for you. You do what the fucking doctors say, no arguments, and whatever you need to get going again, you tell me. You got that?”

  “Yeah.” He didn’t, not really, but Mallet nodded his appreciation. “Thanks, Drew.”

  “Fuck that. I don’t need any thanks. I need you back with us, doing what most people can’t.” At Mach speed, the only speed Drew knew, he started wheeling and dealing with Mallet. “The sooner, the better. So let’s work this shit out. Tell me what I have to do and what you need from me so I can get you under contract again.”

  Mallet was struggling for a reply when Kayli reappeared behind Drew. “Hello.”

  Drew jerked around. It wasn’t often that anyone or anything got by him. That Kayli would take him by surprise amused Mallet.

  Drew looked at her, then looked at Mallet.

  Mallet groaned.

  With his gaze hot on Kayli, Drew said, “Knock off the dying cow sounds, you crazy fuck, and introduce me.”

  KAYLI wasn’t about to let this crude, pushy man convince Michael to commit to anything when she’d approached him first, and needed him more. Somehow she had to thwart the man’s plans.

  Killing him was out.

  Though Michael seemed less than thrilled to see him, she felt his appreciation and loyalty.

  She held out a hand. “I’m Kayli Raine, a friend to Michael.”

  “Just a friend?”

  Kayli started to say yes, but Michael said, “Off limits, Drew.”

  “The hell you say.” Enjoying the situation, he held on to Kayli’s hand. “Drew Black. Now tell me, sweetheart, is he yanking my chain? Has he spoken for you?”

  Drew Black had the oddest way of speaking. “Michael and I are working out an agreement.”

  Drew’s brows shot up. “An agreement, huh?” He turned to Michael. “You want to explain that?”

  “No. And let go of her hand.”

  Grinning, Drew released her. “So that’s why you sent the little nurse running, huh? Had a sure thing already lined up?”

  Kayli bristled at his assumptions. “Michael would never take advantage of a woman in the manner that you’re suggesting.”

  Both men went mute in surprise, Drew to cough down a laugh, Michael to roll his eyes.

  While she had the opportunity, she explained further. “Michael is not interested in your offer, kind as it is. He is a warrior, nothing less.”

  “A warrior? What the fuck’s up with that shit, Mallet? Is she from some upstart organization? You know no one else will treat you as good as the SBC.”

  “I will,” Kayli promised.

  Drew sat back in his chair, deceptively bored, feigning a lack of concern, but Kayli felt the keen tension emanating from him. “So she speaks for you, Mallet, is that it?”

  “I do,” Kayli said.

  “No one speaks for me,” Michael said at the same time. He glared at Kayli, then addressed Drew. “I’ll think about it, okay? That’s all I can promise right now.”

&nb
sp; “I can take a promise. So promise me, too, that whatever her offer is, you fucking will give me a chance to counter it.”

  “Will do.”

  Kayli stood aside while the men tried to ignore her. Though they discussed logistics of various opportunities and the overall tone of the SBC organization, she felt each of them taking turns watching her.

  Her piercing sagacity paired with primal instincts had saved her many times in the past. With Michael, she felt she lost some of her advantage, but not so much that she’d fail her colony.

  She couldn’t.

  Too many people, men and women alike, depended on her.

  Finally, after she’d waited in silence for an extended period, Drew Black decided to take his leave. He stood, clasped Mallet’s hand. “She’s a strange broad, isn’t she?”

  Mallet flicked a glance her way. “That’s putting it mildly.”

  Withholding her acrimony wasn’t an easy task, especially when Drew continued with a grin, “Never knew one to be so quiet so long, especially when she’s already made it clear she disagrees with my motives for dropping in.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Mallet’s expression sent a clear warning. “She’s not going to cause any problems.”

  Kayli kept silent, but she knew that she would cause a problem—several problems—if Drew Black got in the way of her mission.

  “She’s a looker,” Drew said. “Go easy on her.” And with that, he took his leave.

  Standing several feet from the bed, her gaze locked with Michael’s, Kayli waited.

  As they stared at each other, a strange tension pulsed in the air, leaving her chest tight, her limbs quivering in a most unfamiliar way. Only during battle did she ever feel so alive.

  “Shall we talk now?”

  “I wish the damn door would lock.”

  “There have been numerous interruptions.”

  He held out a hand. “Come here.”

  Why did such a simple gesture send heat spiraling through her? “Can we not talk as we are?”

  “No, we can’t. I want to hold on to you and I want you to stay put, no matter what.”

  “The more who see me, the more I risk.”

  “Then come here and let’s get things settled.”

  That was as close to an agreement as she’d gotten, so Kayli moved forward, sat beside him, and accepted his hand.

  Again, the dissimilarities astounded her. His hand was easily twice the size of hers. Even in a sickbed, partially drugged, and in pain, she felt the strength in his gentle hold.

  Jerking herself back to her purpose, Kayli brought her gaze to the burning blue of his eyes.

  Looking at him made it more difficult to explain, but she needed every connection to him in order to convince him.

  “I need you to return with me, the sooner the better.”

  His thumb rubbed a slow circle on her palm. “As in—now?”

  She shook her head. “It would be best if you depart with a believable tale. I can assist you with that. It’s possible to make arrangements that will satisfy your people in the next twenty-four hours.”

  “Then we both … poof?” His thumb moved to her wrist and stole a measure of her breath.

  Warmth filled her face, her whole body. It was the oddest sensation, one she’d never quite experienced before.

  She cleared her throat. “I will transport you to my vessel, and from there we will travel forward to my time. This will be done seamlessly. That is, once we leave here, you will next find yourself in my time.”

  He skipped much of what she said to ask, “Your vessel?”

  “It hovers above, unseen and yet there.”

  “Huh.”

  “Transporting has become a much simpler means of travel.”

  “You don’t say.”

  Was he humoring her? “At first there were some mishaps, of course. But over time it has been perfected. You mustn’t worry about lost body parts or rearranged molecules—”

  “Yeah, like in The Fly. That dude’s whole body got tangled with an insect.”

  “Such doesn’t happen, I promise you.” Not anymore.

  “Good to know.” The corners of his mouth tilted up the smallest bit.

  He didn’t believe her, Kayli could tell, but she wouldn’t give up. “You will be apprised of the situation as soon as we’re home, and in very short order you will undergo a ceremony to take your place in the hierarchy.”

  “I hate ceremonies.”

  “Yet it is necessary.” She didn’t want to go into that aspect of the deal with him just yet. She had a feeling that the idea of a union, more than time travel, would put him off. “Afterward, all will defer to you, the same as they do our Arbiter and the Council Mavens.”

  “Your mother and her cronies?”

  Growing used to it, she skipped right past his cynicism. “It is our hope that you will be able to teach us to fight in the manner you deploy so that we are better able to defend ourselves, and so that we can retrieve those of the colony already taken prisoner.”

  Using both hands, Michael explored her fingers, opening each one, smoothing with his thumb. It was as if the size of her hands fascinated him in the same manner that his fascinated her. He lifted her hand to his mouth. “I need to know I can trust you.”

  That was not what she expected to hear. Questions, disbelief, yes, she had anticipated both.

  “How do I—”

  He drew the tip of one finger into his mouth and curled his tongue around it.

  Her heart stopped, then skipped several beats. Her breath caught, straining her lungs. The touch of his tongue felt … indescribable.

  Without conscious thought, her eyes closed, but quickly opened again. “You … you must stop that.”

  “Hmm-mm.”

  “Is that a no? Oh!” He drew another finger in, treating it to the same damp exploration.

  Deep inside her, something curled in the sweetest way, giving both pleasure and an ache.

  “You are so small-boned, Kayli. So delicate.” His thick lashes lifted and he caught her in his gaze. “And you taste good.”

  “No.” That raspy voice didn’t sound like her own at all. “That is, I am large for a female.”

  “Not the females I know.” He sucked her middle finger into the heat of his mouth.

  The curl of pleasure expanded; the ache deepened. Kayli gulped in air so fast, she almost choked; frowning at herself, she tried to pull away.

  He didn’t let her. His grasp was firm but gentle.

  “Sir, I have seen your females.” It wasn’t easy to speak with him doing that to her fingers. Inside her boots, her toes curled. “The blond one called Dakota was taller than the other, but yet not so tall as me.”

  “Dakota is a big girl.” He kissed his way down to her palm, then the inside of her wrist. “Sexy as hell, but no one would call her frail.”

  Sexy? Did that mean she appealed to him? For some reason, that irritated Kayli. “Perhaps not.”

  “You,” he said while nibbling on her, “are very delicate.”

  Compared to him and his friends, she had to agree. “I’m still fast and strong, and I’m well practiced.”

  “Interesting. If I wasn’t stuck in this bed, I’d let you show me how practiced you are.”

  Kayli scooted closer to him on the bed. “Accept my proposition and I will get you out of this bed. I will make you whole and then we can start sparring immediately. I’m most anxious to learn your moves.”

  Michael smiled lazily. “My best moves are done in a bed.”

  “Really?” That left her bemused. “I observed you in action and it seemed to me that you needed adequate room to maneuver. You were especially good at using your legs to devastating effect.”

  Michael gave a crooked grin. He held her hand to his chest. “I wasn’t talking about moves in fighting.”

  Kayli stared at him. “I was.”

  “I know.”

  Even with all the studies she’d done, he could be so
confusing. “Sir, I’m not convinced that you’re taking this seriously.” Annoyed, she pulled her hand away and stood.

  It was time to give him a nudge. “If you are unwilling, or unable, to meet the duties I require, I must not waste any more time with you. I will go to my next choice of savior. He is not as promising as you, but perhaps—”

  “You’ve been checking out another guy?”

  Ah, now she had his attention. Finally. “Yes, sir, I have. Several in fact.” She hadn’t found anyone else as suitable, but a small exaggeration wouldn’t cause any real harm. “My situation is most dire. I need a commitment from you.”

  He studied her for a long minute. “Okay, lady, let’s get down to it. First, you said you had an idea on how I’d disappear without anyone getting too nosy about it. What’s the plan?”

  “You would tell your friends that you cannot accept being disabled.”

  “I can’t.”

  She softened. “You, sir, would adjust if there were no other alternatives. I have not a single doubt that you’d not only adjust, you would excel in a new venture that would allow you to grow as a man and would assist others in the process.”

  He tucked in his chin. “Got a little hero worship thing going on there, don’t you?”

  “You are a hero. You will be our hero.” Kayli pressed a fist to her heart. “I sense it.”

  “You’re getting nuttier by the second.”

  Knowing it was his discomfort at compliments that caused the insult, Kayli dismissed it. “They will believe you when you say that you’ve heard of a treatment in a faraway place, a procedure that is reputed to bring about miracles. You want to go there to explore the possibilities.”

  “I suppose I heard about this treatment from you?”

  “Yes.”

  “It might work. They’d buy that I wouldn’t give up easily.”

  “No, you wouldn’t.” Already she recognized him as a dedicated, and stubborn, man.

  “Okay, one more thing.” His eyes glinted at her, giving fair warning. “Before I commit, I want something from you.”

  “You can have anything that is within my power to give to you.”

  That vow brought about a toothy grin. “Glad to hear it. So Kayli, come here and give me a kiss.”

  She was certifiable, what with all her talk of vessels and transporting through time. But what would one kiss hurt?