by Lori Foster
Because that sounded too much like a slur, Mallet said, “Unlike her mother?” When Raemay only tightened her mouth and frowned, he let that go. For now. “I like it. It’s quaint.”
“Yes, it is.” Raemay continued to look at the house. “You should understand, Kayli is not limited in her means. But she fell in love with the place.”
“Why?”
A surprised laugh escaped her. “I asked her the very same thing. She told me that she would not get lost inside.”
Mallet knew Kayli hadn’t meant figuratively. Her spaceship was so big, with so many corridors and rooms and subrooms, that a person could feel lost wandering around the interior.
Harking back to Raemay’s earlier comment, Mallet asked, “What makes you think I plan to interfere with Kayli’s duties?”
That had her laughing again. “You’ve created quite the reputation in the short time that you’ve been here.”
Couldn’t deny that. But then, he was from the past, and that was enough to shake up anyone. “Sometimes an outsider sees things you can’t. You get caught in the circle and can’t see your way out of it.”
“You think I’m caught in this circle?”
“Maybe.” Again he looked at the beautiful sky. “I didn’t set out to interfere, Raemay. Mostly I just want to give a new perspective to things.” The same way Kayli had given him a new perspective on just about everything. His body, his health, his life.
Love.
Before Kayli, he’d never really pondered the future because fighters lived fight to fight. If you won, you went forward with more training, more diet, more prestige, and money. If you lost, it was back to the gym, studying tapes, honing moves, refiguring angles and strategies.
Long-term plans were foolish.
Now, without a single sanctioned competition in sight, his future looked more promising than he’d ever imagined. It was a future with Kayli, and it was brighter and more optimistic than that near-perfect sky.
Raemay laced her hands behind her back and paced in front of him. Her slipper-covered feet crushed dewy blades of grass and filled the air with a freshness Mallet had always associated with spring. He had a feeling that here, in this place, spring happened year-round.
“We seem to be conversing in a more general tone now.”
He acknowledged that with a grin. “Beats scrapping, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.” She firmed her mouth again. “For that reason, I hesitate to press you.”
But she wasn’t hesitant enough to let it go, he noticed. “Let’s get it over with then.”
She inclined her head in a show of assent. “The problem, sir, is that many of the ladies here are discouraged. You appeared to make your choice so precipitously, and in such an unorthodox manner.”
God, he was tired of that tune. “But my choice is made, so what is it you want, Raemay?”
“I want us to work together.” She stopped pacing in front of him and put her head back to look into his eyes. “I spent the night thinking on what you’ve said, the decisions you’ve made.”
A fancy butterfly, larger than any he’d ever seen, flitted by. It almost landed on Mallet’s shoulder, then took flight again. “About Kayli, you mean?”
She frowned at his distraction. “Contrary to what you might think, Michael, I adore my daughter. I’m proud of her and her contributions to our colony. Almost as proud as I am of my own contributions.”
She admitted that her own feelings came above her daughter’s? He shouldn’t be surprised. “At least you’re honest about it.”
She flushed. “I’ve worked hard for my colony and for my family. I won’t be ashamed of taking satisfaction in success.”
“Guess not.”
“Yesterday, you won over many of my people.” Puzzled by that, she again paced. “Before your speech, the men had seemed so content to remain secure within our boundaries, protected so that we could ensure the continuation of our people.”
“I’ve thought about that, too.” At a loud chirping, he looked up to see a fat orange bird perched on a limb above his head. It seemed prudent to move. He had no idea what type of droppings futuristic birds might produce. “The way I figure it, men are men, no matter the time period they live in.”
They began walking again, heading down the center of town. Some people waved. Others watched with curiosity. Raemay seemed to know them all and greeted them with kindness.
“I might not be up on the twenty-third century, but I did my history lessons like everyone else in my time. Historically, men are aggressive and protective. Unless you’re putting some sort of passivity chip in their noggins, it goes against basic male instinct to sit back, excluded from risk, while women put their necks on the line. It’s just not natural.”
“Given your … colorful colloquialisms, I sometimes have difficulty following your reasoning. This time, however, I believe I get the gist of it.”
She wanted plain speaking? Fine. “You had your guys brainwashed.”
“Brainwashed?”
Mallet saw some children playing with a floating ball. Out of the ten children, only one was a boy. It was clear that they had some issues with getting more males into the colony. Mallet felt sorry for that kid. The girls were squealing, teasing, sometimes clustered together to whisper. And the boy obviously just wanted to play.
Venus and Mars, he thought with a smile.
At first, he thought the noise came from the cluster of kids, but the farther they walked, the louder it got. It came from somewhere at the outskirts of the colony hub.
Curious, he continued on in that direction. “Yeah, brainwashed. You convinced them to your way of thinking without them even realizing that they’d been swayed. Tell a person something often enough, and they start to think it’s their own idea.”
Which, he figured, was what she did to Kayli. She’d convinced her daughter that she was a warrior, and now Kayli believed it.
Frustration, maybe a hint of irritation, chased away some of Raemay’s congeniality. “I see. Brainwashing.” Her brows lifted with disdain. “You don’t harbor a favorable opinion of us, do you?”
He didn’t, not so far, but Mallet kept that thought to himself. “When you get the women on board, and they start laying down the rules—and withholding from anyone who doesn’t follow their rules—well hell. Those poor male schmucks didn’t stand a chance.”
“Withholding …” His meaning sank in and Raemay scowled darkly. “I assure you, it was never our intent to manipulate—”
“Yeah, maybe not a universal plan. But that’s been a historically proven method, too. Since the beginning of time, women have used sex to get their way.” He grinned, shrugged with an admission of his own. “And let’s face it, men have let them.”
They turned a bend in the town walkway and Mallet found himself facing a field of battling men and women. Because of Kayli’s bright blond hair, he spotted her right away.
Standing on a platform, back rigid and shoulders straight, she shouted at them all.
And was ignored.
Raemay held out a hand. “You see what your new decree has caused? Families in turmoil. Men and women in dispute. Chaos within a normally peaceful colony.”
“Like hell.” One guy stepped up to the platform to shout at Kayli—and Mallet saw red.
All his training came to the fore. He didn’t get enraged, no, not that. Whenever he fought, he did so with a clear head and the intent to counter any and all moves.
He went cold with deliberation; no one would rage at his woman.
Without even thinking about it, he broke into an agile sprint, heading straight for Kayli.
He didn’t have to plow his way through the crowd; they parted for him as if sensing a tornado ripping through. With every step he took, his instincts gained ground until he was reacting purely on basic male protection mode.
Reaching the offensive guy in less than fifteen seconds, Mallet grabbed the arm he had outstretched toward Kayli—and tossed him.
> The bellowing man landed on his back with a loud thump, causing men and women alike to scatter. Mallet wasn’t breathing hard. He hadn’t strained himself in the least. He stood there, waiting to see what the guy would do, if he’d have the sense to stay down.
All turned to see what had happened; little by little, silence settled over the field.
Standing there, hands on his hips and determination still ripe, Mallet waited until he had their undivided attention. When all stared at him, he joined Kayli on the platform.
One glance at her and he saw her narrowed eyes, the tension in her shoulders.
Uh-oh.
Too late, he remembered Raemay’s warning: Kayli would not appreciate his interference.
Damn. Hoping to remedy things, he looked out at the crowd, raised a hand, and said, “Your Claviger has something to say to you. How about you all shut the hell up and listen?”
CHAPTER 11
KAYLI felt the shock in the crowd as vividly as she felt their awed stares. Some had met Michael already, but many had not. Judging by their expressions, his powerful, take-charge manner had diverted their arguments.
Off to the side of the confusion, she noted her mother’s look of smug displeasure.
Her once-simple world was now so complicated, she could barely keep her thoughts straight. And it was all because of Michael.
When he’d first come charging through the crowd, she’d assumed he would embarrass her by robbing her of credibility, by taking over.
Instead, he calmly tossed the irrational man blasting her with his displeasure, then turned and deferred to her.
She was still flummoxed by his display. In her colony, men did not throw other men.
And yet, Michael had made it look so effortless that she knew she’d made the right choice in him.
“You have their attention, babe, but I don’t know how long it’ll last. If you’ve got something profound to lay on them, I suggest you get to it.” He put his hand to the small of her back, caressed lightly. “Or would you rather I knock a few heads together first?”
Was he … serious? It appeared so.
Forcing a smile for the crowd, Kayli said, “A moment, please.”
She pivoted, giving the assembly her back, and dragged Michael a few feet to the rear of the platform. This was the second time she’d found it necessary to seek privacy with him, in front of an audience.
Ready to set him straight, she looked up at him, and he gifted her with the cheekiest, most endearing smile she’d ever seen.
It made her knees weak and obliterated her resolve.
In a flash, she remembered that heated kiss, the touch of his tongue, his taste. If Idola hadn’t interrupted them, what might she have done?
After Idola had interrupted, what had he done?
When she just stood there, Michael said, “Seeing you in take-charge mode is a turn-on. Confident women are so sexy.”
Sexy? Is that what he truly thought? With his experience, he had to have known many attractive women—not that she wanted to ponder that too much. So far she’d managed to keep most thoughts of him with other women from her mind—but it got more difficult by the day. “I’m sorry, Michael, but you can not just bully your way into our assembly.”
“Assembly?” Raising a brow, he glanced down at the hand she still had clasping his arm, then covered her hand with his own.
Warm, gentle, soothing.
In direct contrast to her inner turmoil, a turmoil he engendered.
“Is that what it was, honey? An assembly? Because it looked more like a riot to me.”
It had looked like a riot to her, too. Too quickly for her to keep up, tempers of the colony members had escalated out of control. And no wonder. Their world was now as confused as her own.
Trying to block his charm so that it wouldn’t scatter her thoughts, she asked, “Why did you throw that man like that?”
“He shouted at you.” Face darkening with grave sincerity, he lifted his head and spoke loud enough for all to hear. “If he shouts at you again, I’ll throw him again. Or worse. You might want to let them all know that.”
Dryly, she rolled her eyes. “I imagine they all just heard you.”
Unapologetic, he nodded. “Good.”
Her teeth clenched. “Fine. No shouting. Anything else?”
“No shouting at you. I don’t give a damn if they want to chew each other to bits. Unless you’re trying to get their attention. Then they damn well better show some respect.”
She pulled her hand free from his and crossed her arms. “Respect. Check. Anything more?”
Michael grinned. “Yeah.” He leaned closer until she felt the warmth off his body and saw the striations in his intense blue eyes. “You’re even more adorable now that you’re all hot under the collar. A man can only take so much, Kayli.”
Her eyes widened.
“Do you think they’d start rioting again if I kissed you?”
Alarm took her fast away from him and back to face the crowd. She held up her hands—and noticed they shook.
“Henceforth,” she announced to one and all, “if you’re here at the arena, it is to join our ranks. That means that when I speak, you will show appropriate respect by listening. I do not expect to have to raise my voice again. Is that understood by all?”
Heads bobbed, but then one woman stepped forward. “I have a question.”
Kayli gave her leave to speak.
“What if we don’t want our men joining? Do we have any say in—”
Michael spoke before the woman had finished her questions. “You do not, not here.”
They all turned to him, and Kayli wanted to throw up her hands in exasperation. Instead, trying to maintain a façade of control, she gestured Michael forward.
The women went mute with lusty greed.
The men slumped from comparisons.
It was quite the odd reaction for both.
Shaking off that observation, Kayli looked over her people. “As many of you already know, Michael Manchester has come here to share his expertise in hand-to-hand combat methods, and to assist in defeating the invaders. You will show him the same respect that you show me.”
No one said a word.
Kayli cleared her throat. “Michael, do you have anything to add?”
“Yeah. Those of you in unions, if you disagree about who’s to join and who isn’t, stay at home until you get things settled. For now, the only people here should be people willing to fight for their colony. And the sooner we get started, the better. So I want men over there, and women over here.”
He was taking control. But before she could show him her frustration, he said, “Your Claviger has done a remarkable job training the women, and I’d like her to continue with that while I go through the ranks of men to see what potential we have.”
A murmur of excitement rose from the crowd, then died when Mallet raised his hand.
“Plan to sweat, people, because from here on, it’s all hard work. We’re not going to stop until we’re able to defend this colony, men, women, and children, from all invaders. You have my word.”
The silence stretched out, stretched, and then—the enthusiastic cheers erupted.
Again.
Kayli was still staring at her people when Michael tipped up her chin. “Okay?”
Once again, her heart softened. He was simply the most amazing man she’d ever encountered. “Listen to them.” She smiled at him in gratitude for what he’d brought to her people—hope. “What do you think?”
“I think you’ve done a great job of heading the defense, that’s what I think.” He bent and kissed her hard and fast, shattering the cheers into silence once again. “Go ahead and take them through your routine training. I’ll keep an eye out while I sort through the men.” He cupped her cheek. “And then tonight, you and I have some unfinished business.”
Unfinished business.
Did he mean of the sensual sort? Because God knew, she hadn’t a clue in that dep
artment.
And again, thoughts of Michael with other women, women who basked in their femininity, women comfortable and even practiced in sexual activity, nearly drowned her in her own misery.
How could she ever compare?
How could he ever be happy with her?
“Kayli? I’m not sending you to the gallows, babe, so don’t look so glum. You’ll damage my ego.”
Given the size of his ego, he grinned as he made that outrageous comment.
Kayli shook off her worries. “I’m fine.”
Regardless of her jumbled personal feelings, they had to prepare for the return of the invaders. The sooner they got the defense organized, the better their odds of success.
She’d have to worry about her lack of sexual knowledge and hands-on practice at a more convenient time. For now, she’d do well to impress Michael with the skills of the defense women. When he saw their abilities and knew that she had taught them, he’d know that she was capable.
And then, if he wanted her, it would be maybe because he cared, not because he felt some associated sense of obligation to protect her.
Keeping that plan in the forefront of her mind, Kayli strode into the ranks, issuing instructions and directing her people to get the most out of them.
But even as her troops put on a remarkable exhibit of strength, speed, and agility, her mother stood there, watching with what appeared to be a mix of worry and resignation.
Once Kayli had everyone busy with differing facets of routine training—some exercising, some sparring, some studying new formations of defense—she approached her mother.
“Kayli,” she said, and her strained smile put Kayli on edge.
“Mother.” Even though Michael often took her off-guard with his ways so different from hers, she realized that nothing made her tense like facing her own parent did. “You seldom visit the training yard. Is everything all right?”
Raemay shook her head, but said, “Yes, of course.” She turned to walk and Kayli naturally followed, not far, just to … move. “Michael and I had a talk.”
A fresh wave of unease crept up Kayli’s spine. Just as she knew it’d be disastrous for Michael to alienate her mother, she could not afford to have her mother chase Michael away. The colony couldn’t lose him. Watching him, seeing how everyone reacted to him, brought home that they needed a change even more than they needed Michael’s instruction on hand-to-hand combat.
