by Lori Foster
“Don’t call me sir.”
“Don’t press me for more information.”
Grinning, Mallet gave up. “Fair enough.” He pushed the door open, looked inside, and found an empty room. He didn’t see a bed or a chair. He didn’t see anything.
Was he expected to crash on the floor? God knew that he’d done worse in his lifetime, but somehow he’d gotten the impression they were going to pamper him a little.
With a mental shrug, he asked Hauk, “I guess this means our chat is over?”
“Where it concerns Kayli, yes. But I must accompany you inside. You’ll need instructions for your new quarters.” Lights preceded Mallet, as if to show him the way.
“I’m not a dunce. I can find my own way into an empty room.”
“Ah, but the room is not empty, Mallet. It only appears so.”
So they’d given him … what? Invisible furnishings?
“Whatever you require can be added,” Hauk said after Mallet’s extended silence.
“Yeah … a bed?”
“Far right wall.” As Mallet looked at the wall, guiding lights blinked across the floor and up to a small square notch.
The wall opened and a bed folded down, spacious, and luxurious with fluffy pillows and a generous down-like coverlet.
“I opened the bed remotely,” Hauk explained, “but whenever you want to rest, touch the circuit—it resembles a small etched square in the wall.”
“Huh.” Neat trick. “What else?”
“The bed tidies itself when you touch the square again to fold it away.”
“That cuts back on housework.”
“On the side of the bed is a pen-like container. Do you see it?”
Again, tiny lights in the floor blinked on. Mallet followed the lights to the pen and picked it up. “Yeah. Am I supposed to start a diary?”
“At the base of the pen you’ll find a small circle.”
“Another circuit?”
“Microchip, yes. You touch it to stabilize the pen. A magnetic field will keep it from tipping over. Set it wherever is comfortable for you.”
Mallet chose to hold it.
“Two buttons on the pen will give you distinct projections. Touch the button at the top of the pen for your control panel.”
Mallet lightly grazed the button, and a blue light beam ejected from the pen, displaying a panel across his midsection. He had no idea what to do with it. “It’s just light, that’s all.”
“The buttons all work. Try one.”
Right above his navel was a button labeled “On/Off.” He touched it and a much larger projection of a man and woman filled the air in the opposite direction. Though the couple didn’t move, they looked as real as if the two people had poofed into his room.
Very cool. “A hologram?”
“Not quite. This would be the equivalent of your television. What you see there is a local program that welcomes you to our colony, but you have hundreds of entertainment choices. The pen has a protective coating, so you can watch in the shower if you like.”
“Don’t see a shower.” He touched the button and the projection disappeared.
“We’re getting there. Let’s take it one thing at a time, please.”
Fascinated, Mallet put the pen back at the side of his bed. It would take some time to get used to all the gadgets in this new world.
For the next twenty minutes or so, Hauk walked Mallet through the functions in the beige, square room.
With Hauk’s help and the light path to guide him, he learned of the touch control window blinds and the self-heating blankets on the bed. He found more clothing in his size hanging in a large hidden closet. Again, with just a touch, the wall closed to conceal the space.
“Okay, so now how about that shower?”
Lights outlined a slim opening. “Step inside, give the command, and you will be showered.”
Mallet stuck his head in and saw nothing. “Where does the water come from?”
“It mists from tiny pores in the tiles.”
“Mists? I don’t want to be misted. I want to soak. I want to scrub. I’ve had nothing but sponge baths for too damn long.”
“You are so barbaric.” Hauk tsked. “I can arrange more water flow for you, but if you really enjoy water play, you should do as Kayli does.”
“And that is?”
“Go swimming. She does so every night.”
Mallet’s attention sparked. He pictured her in a bikini, under the setting sun, her skin and hair wet … “Tonight?”
“She has completed her water play and is returning to her sleeping quarters.” Hauk paused, then said, “And she’s still thinking of you.”
Mallet grinned. Somehow he had to get a leash on his libido. He had a hell of a lot to learn, and it’d be easier to do it without an obsession for Kayli. He figured the quickest way to gain her favor would be to rescue her colony from the asses causing her trouble.
One thing at a time. “So how does the shower work if there isn’t much water?”
“Stand on the white square. Your body will first be misted with an enzyme that breaks down all undesirable pollutants. After that, water will be misted over you to remove the enzymes. Lastly, a brush of warm air will dry your hair and skin.”
Freaking amazing. Misty showers. That was one invention he didn’t really care for. Soon as he could arrange it, he’d go swimming with Kayli. “Hauk?”
“Yes?”
“Not to be a bother, but I could use a toothbrush, too.”
“It’s no bother. Unlike you, I can be everywhere, doing everything, all at once.”
Mallet rolled his eyes. “Within your network … is that right?”
“Yes.” Lights blinked near a small plastic tube protruding from the shower. “This room has been sanitized for your use. You close your mouth over the cylinder, and it will clean your teeth.”
“No toothbrush?”
“No.”
“So how long does it take—”
“Mere seconds, if you’d only stop talking and do it. I assure you, it’s painless.”
“I’m not worried about pain. I just don’t like it.” Mallet stripped off the robe and stepped naked into the shower. “The command is?”
“Shower on.”
Seconds later, as Hauk had promised, Mallet felt as clean as if he’d soaked in a hot tub for an hour. He followed instructions for cleaning his teeth and, forgoing the clothing, sprawled out in the cozy bed. It plumped, firmed, and softened in all the right places.
With a sigh, he stacked his arms behind his head and settled in. “Hey, Hauk? I don’t suppose you can be my alarm clock?”
“What time would you like to arise?”
“Early enough to spend some time in the media room and then meet with Kayli before I have to pay a visit to her mother.”
“I will awaken you.”
The room dimmed, the air adjusted, the bed morphed yet again to accommodate his relaxed posture—and Mallet fell off into a deep slumber … only to dream of Kayli.
LOST in deep thought, Kayli pulled her tunic on over her head and flipped her hair loose from the collar. She was just reaching for her pants when Michael appeared in her room.
No one other than her mother had ever dared to transport in on her unannounced, and it so surprised her that she screeched and automatically kicked out at him.
The blow, aimed at his sternum, was hard enough to do serious damage.
That is, if it had connected.
Michael caught her foot and held on. He grinned at her. “Whoa. Deadly kick, babe. Good girl.”
Praise? He offered her praise for trying to maim him? “Are you insane?” She hopped on one leg to keep her balance. “You can’t just—”
“Hauk did it, not me.” Using the press of his elbow, Michael tucked against his body as he looked her over from her freshly brushed hair to her state of undress.
Standing there on one leg, Kayli struggled to keep from falling. “Hauk sent you here?”<
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“Yeah, I told him I was ready to see you and—poof. Here I am.”
Spellbound by the warmth of Michael’s smile, not to mention his touch, Kayli remained mute for several seconds. Then indignation kicked into overdrive. “Hauk!”
“You rang?”
“I did not ring,” she snapped. “I bellowed.”
With a shrug in his tone, Hauk said, “The result is the same. You have my attention.”
“Make a note, Hauk. You are not to transport anyone into my private quarters ever again.”
“Now hold up a minute.” Michael stroked behind her knee. “What if it’s an emergency? What if I’m dying and need your help? What if it’s your mother, the all-mighty Arbiter?” Driving the point home, he added, “Should you really make a blanket statement like that when you know Hauk will enforce it?”
Hauk said, “He has a valid point. Shall I use my own discretion, then?”
With the way they ganged up on her, Kayli couldn’t think of an appropriate rejoinder.
“Hey Hauk, I’ve got a question,” Michael said. “Do futuristic chicks wear panties?”
“Some do, and some do not.”
“No kidding?” His look heated, Michael bent a little to see for himself, causing Kayli to screech in very real alarm.
He was far too outrageous, and she had to get a handle on the situation.
While slapping at him she shoved her tunic down low between her thighs. “Michael,” she said as reasonably as she could. “Let go of my foot. Right now!”
He straightened again with a teasing grin. “No more kicking?”
“Not right now, no.” She’d make no promises if he continued to behave so scandalously.
Stepping forward, he brought his hand up her leg until he cupped behind her knee. Taking one more step and guiding her leg alongside his hip, he stepped up flush to her body, sort of … between her legs.
She was practically wrapped around him, and oddly enough, it felt scintillating.
“Good morning,” he whispered low. And then he pressed his mouth to hers in a firm but gentle kiss of greeting.
She would have fallen if he wasn’t so quick to wrap his free arm around her waist.
She didn’t pull away. She couldn’t. And then both his arms were around her, holding her tight but allowing her to put both feet on the floor, where they belonged.
When he lifted his head and smiled at her, Kayli stared dazedly for several moments before she mustered her decorum.
“I’m sorry, Michael, but you must understand a few rules, the first being that you are not to kiss me.”
“Hmmm.” He touched his mouth to her chin, the corner of her lips, the tip of her nose. “I hate to start off by breaking rules, but … I’m going to kiss you, Kayli. Lots. All over.” He stroked her cheek. “You may as well get used to it.”
His open disobedience made her mouth fall open.
Before she could get too outraged, he asked, “Have you eaten?”
“Yes!”
“Good. Me, too.”
Oh, she hadn’t expected that.
He took her hand and led her toward her bed. As her heart punched into overtime, he sat down and patted the spot beside him, urging her to sit down, too. “That means we can get right into solving some problems.”
Solving problems? So he didn’t intend to … He hadn’t come to … A little deflated, though she wouldn’t admit it to anyone, Kayli accepted that she’d jumped to a wrong conclusion.
Michael studied her face, then asked, “What is it?” with convincing innocence.
No, obviously his purpose was not to seduce her. She felt foolish, but covered it with a question of her own. “Do you have a plan for us to discuss?”
“I do.” He eyed her. “Will you sit down?”
She didn’t want to. Not there.
On a bed.
But … “As you wish.” Kayli seated herself beside him. Their hips touched. The mattress adapted, conforming to their individual weights and levels of comfort.
What he said first surprised her: “Your room is smaller than mine.”
Her room was cozy—something not easily accomplished on a vessel of such size. She enjoyed the soft yellow walls and cream-colored floors. Rather than go into her simple preferences, she said, “You’re an esteemed guest soon to be part of the hierarchy.”
“So? You’re the Claviger, right?”
Hauk said, “She can have any room she wants, Mallet. She enjoys this one for the simplicity.”
He looked around again, then nodded. “Thank you, Hauk.”
For some reason, Kayli felt insulted that he’d so readily accept Hauk’s explanation. Her eyes narrowed. “Hauk says it and you believe it?”
“You said he can’t lie.”
Oh. She had divulged that quirk of his program, hadn’t she. Blast.
His eyebrow lifted in question. “So you’re not happy with your room?”
She felt more foolish than ever. “Of course I am, but …”
“Even if I could,” Hauk said, “I would not lie about something such as this.”
Kayli let out an exasperated sigh. “Go away, Hauk.”
“Stop picking on Hauk.” Michael touched her chin and brought her face around to his. “He’s been very helpful to me.”
With Michael so close, his touch so warm and his gaze warmer still, her breath hitched. “How so?”
“I wanted to spar this morning, and Hauk suggested some of your AMAs.”
Alarm shot through her. “You didn’t break any of them, did you?”
“I know you care for them, Kayli. I wouldn’t hurt any of them. That is, even if I could have, which isn’t certain. They’re strong and fast. And they don’t get frustrated the way people do.”
Pride eased a modicum of the tension wrought by his close proximity and the intimate way he looked into her eyes. “They’re perfect for sparring because they counter whatever you do. I use them all the time.”
That statement sent a new light into his eyes—one of disgruntlement. “Let’s not talk about you using them, okay? I get weird connotations and I don’t like it.”
Grasping his meaning, her face went hot. “I didn’t mean—”
He dismissed her explanations with a shake of his head. “They match what I do, but Hauk tells me they won’t fight.”
“They’re not programmed for violence of any kind. Not even in sport.”
His grin came, spreading out slowly. “I think we should use them as defense.”
“But …” Kayli had always considered her AMAs above such human conflicts. “I don’t want them damaged.”
“They’re like machines, right? If something breaks, they can be repaired?”
“To a point.”
“So we amp up their strength a bit. It’d be perfect for what I have planned.”
“And that is?”
Hauk spoke just then. “Raemay is waiting for you, Mallet.” And with doom in his tone, he added dramatically, “It is time.”
Michael scowled. “Time for what?”
Kayli groaned. “Time for you to view the virgins.” Distraught by the idea—though she shouldn’t have been—she started to stand. She wanted to be far away when Michael was presented with his many choices.
He caught her hand before she could put any distance between them. “Don’t run off, woman. You’re coming with me.”
She pulled back. “Oh, but I can’t. It’s not proper.”
“Screw proper.” His hand was firm on hers. “I have a few choice things to tell your mother, and it’ll be best if you’re there.”
More alarm. “Michael, you must understand. You can not insult her.”
He stood and pulled her into his embrace. “I’m going to explain to her why we don’t need to sacrifice anyone.”
Well … she did want to hear his plans. The curiosity of it had gnawed on her peace of mind all night.
Kayli caught her bottom lip in her teeth, considered for only a moment th
e indecency of accompanying him to a choosing, and then nodded. “I suppose I can tell Mother it was your wish for me to be there.”
“Won’t be necessary.” Michael slung an arm around her shoulders. “Old Raemay will figure it out real quick. Trust me.” And then he said, “Hauk, I’m ready. Do your thing.”
Kayli didn’t have much choice in the matter when in the next instant Hauk transported them out of the vessel and into the reception hall of the council building.
Her mother waited there.
So did Idola and Mesha.
CHAPTER 7
RAEMAY watched as Michael took in the scene before him. He stood obscenely tall and broad-shouldered, large enough to set the council members gaping. One by one, they began to murmur to each other, no doubt scandalized as much by Kayli’s presence at a choosing as by Michael’s bold and arrogant stance.
He stood with his long legs braced apart, his eyes narrowed, and one thickly muscled arm draped possessively around her daughter.
Raemay struggled to unglue her tongue from the roof of her mouth. She had to take control. “Kayli, what is the meaning of this?”
The second she spoke, Michael squeezed Kayli closer before she could offer up an explanation. His piercing gaze bored into Raemay, giving her pause. “You want me to choose a woman, right? That why you summoned us here?”
“We want you to form a union, yes. It will cement your position in our colony and ease concerns about your priorities.”
“Because if I’m tied to a female member of the colony, everyone will figure I have a vested interest in the colony’s well-being.”
“Yes.” Sensing she couldn’t dictate to this … this Neanderthal as she could with ordinary colony males, Raemay said no more about Kayli. Instead, she gestured toward her two younger offspring. “These are my daughters, Michael. Idola and Mesha Raine.”
He nodded at them without much interest. “I’m pleased to meet Kayli’s sisters.”
For her part, Kayli looked ill.
Idola, unused to the lack of attention, moved toward him, one delicate hand extended. Her long dark hair curled all the way to the small of her back and her big blue eyes, though clouded with a touch of fear, held direct to his.
“It is very nice to meet you, sir. Mother has told me that you’ll save us.”
