by Lori Foster
Kamir stepped closer, struggling with what he wanted to say. “I enjoyed our activities today.”
Knowing he’d worked them hard, ramping things up to get them all ready in record time, Mallet grinned. “No complaints, huh?”
“No si … Mallet. I like the way it feels to use my body this way.” He stretched out a leanly muscled arm, flexed it back. “I’m tired, but in a good way.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” Mallet slapped him on the shoulder. He’d often felt the same, enjoying each new muscle he discovered, each new measure of strength. “Keep at it, and you’ll be totally ripped in no time, I promise you.”
“Ripped?”
“Shredded. In shape.” He shook his head. “As good as a body can get.”
“Ah, I see.” Very serious now, Kamir said, “That brings me to my point. I was wondering if there were more activities I could practice at home.”
Mallet loved the enthusiasm. At first, he’d been concerned that the men would be total wimps, since they’d been so willing to hide behind the women.
Now he knew that it had never been by choice, it was a concession made to the women they loved. He couldn’t do it, but then, he hadn’t been born and raised in this atmosphere.
So far, every guy who’d joined him—and just about every able-bodied man had—gave it his all. They got into the fun of it, ribbing each other, competing, and at the same time showing off for the women who trained beside them.
Of course, the women showed off a little, too. He hadn’t lied when he told Kayli she’d done a phenomenal job. The women were not to be dismissed. They’d be a valuable asset in fighting off foes—if Mallet could get beyond the fact they were women putting themselves at risk.
Even now, he wasn’t sure if he could take it once the real conflict began.
“There are things you can do in your spare time, and we can go over them later, after you’ve become accustomed to the ones I’ll cover here, at the arena.” The last thing he needed was some overenthusiastic kid hurting himself. “In the meantime, just stick with the menu and make sure you show up every day.”
“But—”
“I don’t want you to overdo.” As he spoke, Mallet scanned the area for Kayli—and didn’t see her. Damn it. Had she already slipped away on him again? “Understand me, Kamir, if you overdo it and pull a muscle now, you could put us behind. Let’s keep to our pace, and once you’re in general bulked-up shape—”
“Like you?” he asked with optimism.
“Uh, yeah. Sure.” Not. The kid didn’t have the frame to pull it off, but he could definitely add some muscles. “Then you can start expanding the routine on your own.”
A little defeated by that, he still accepted Mallet’s instruction. “I’m sure you know best.”
“That’s why they pay me the big bucks.” Where the hell had Kayli gone?
“Big bucks?”
“A joke.”
“Oh.” Kamir laughed, even though Mallet knew he hadn’t understood. “Very funny, sir.”
“Yeah, I’m a regular comedian.” Blind adoration made him uneasy. “So Kamir, where do you work?”
“I’m an entertainer.”
“No shit?” Surprised, Mallet stopped looking for Kayli and instead focused on Kamir. “What’s your talent?”
Nonplussed by Mallet’s sudden attention, Kamir stammered, and finally managed to say, “I sing.”
“Live singing, or recording in a studio, or what?”
“We, ah, don’t record things anymore. Not in the way you probably mean. We create audio files that can be picked up anywhere within the designated radius. You see—”
Hauk’s voice came out of nowhere. “I beg pardon for interrupting so rudely, but Mallet, you are needed elsewhere.”
At the intrusion of the computer’s voice, Kamir paused. Mallet, going on alert, said to Kamir, “Excuse me. I think that’s my cue to cut out.”
Again confused, Kamir said, “Yes, of course,” to Mallet’s back as he strode away.
After a few feet, Mallet stopped. “Hauk?”
“Yes?”
“Just where exactly am I needed?”
“The lake.” Hauk hummed a little, then added, “Kayli is there.”
Needing no more prompt than that, Mallet took off in an easy jog. To any onlookers, they’d think he was only continuing his stamina training: He jogged almost every night. Of course, he did that to burn off sexual energy. Being celibate sucked.
Once he was a safe enough distance away from the group to ensure privacy, he asked Hauk, “What’s wrong with Kayli? Is she in trouble? Is she all right?”
“My, my, my. Aren’t you the worried one?”
“Hauk,” he warned, in no mood for games. For too long now, Kayli had kept a deliberate distance from him. What really rankled was that he could barely keep his focus on anything but her. Again and again during each training session, his gaze found her in the crowd, lingered, devoured.
Right after training, she found one reason after another to stay well out of his reach.
God, he wanted her. Bad. This business of showing consideration and patience was for the birds. Thanks to being an SBC major contender for the title belt, he’d been chased by more women than he could count. Now the woman he wanted most, more than any other, avoided him like he had the plague.
“Kayli is fine,” Hauk assured him, and in the next second, announced, “but it does appear that she might have an eager suitor—”
“A suitor?” Mallet snarled. He gave up jogging to outright run. Damn it all. He’d made a point of giving her some space, and now some other knucklehead wanted to move in?
Like hell.
He dashed across the landscape, not in the least tired now that anger had given a boost to his adrenaline supply.
“Yes, a young man who appears anxious to answer some of her more—” Hauk simulated a perfect cough. “Intimate questions.”
Mallet almost fell over his own feet. He growled, “Explain that, Hauk, and make it quick without any jokes, or so help me, I’ll yank a wire or two.”
“I don’t have wires, so it’s an idle threat. Not that I consider this a teasing matter. Kayli, as you know, has been raised in a very puritan lifestyle. You and your steamy sexuality have her all atwitter.”
“Atwitter?” A stupid word that didn’t really sound horrible, but not really good either. “Seems to me that she’s put me entirely from her mind.”
“Seems to you.” Hauk laughed. “But she’s been plenty preoccupied thinking about you, and what you want to do with her. That, Mallet, is why she’s been avoiding you.”
“She’s afraid?”
“More like insecure. You have experience and she does not. She doesn’t want to disappoint you or embarrass herself.”
Damn. She’d been thinking of him, worrying? He never should have let her have so much time alone.
“She was asking me about some specifics so she could measure up to your expectations, when Dormius showed up. I believe he might be willing to educate her.”
Mallet saw red. “Dormius is a dead man.”
“It’s quite possible. My Kayli is not a woman to trifle with.”
“Your Kayli?” Mallet paused to scan the area. “Which way is the lake, damn it?”
“Just over the rise yon. Beyond the tree line. It’s a very private area, in fact.”
Private! “Great. Just freaking great.”
“Mallet, please understand. When I left, it was more to keep Kayli from mangling the young man than to have you rush to her rescue.” Hauk waited the perfect beat of time to draw emphasis, then added, “And of course, it’d be best if she learned from you, rather than me.”
“Learned?”
“Yes. As Dormius pointed out, I’m asexual. I could tell her what she needs to know, but it would be rather cold and clinical, not at all what she needs to encourage her in this union.”
“So now I have to encourage her?”
“Well, you hav
en’t been all that charming, have you?”
Hauk’s idea of diplomacy didn’t sit well. “If you don’t have wires,” Mallet asked, “do you have a plug? A chip or circuit I could yank?”
Hauk sniffed. “There’s no reason to threaten me. I want Kayli to be happy. I think, with proper guidance, you can make her happy.”
“Gee, thanks.” Mallet spied the lake and started toward it.
“But please note, I would not allow you to ‘pull my plugs’ as you say. I have defaults in place to stop any such sabotage.”
Damned annoying think box. “Yeah, well, what about water? If I tossed a bucket—”
“She’s just over there,” Hauk quickly assured him, then went silent.
As Mallet jogged over the rise, he saw Kayli below, her knee on the throat of a young man who lay still—the only form of defense left to him. “Well, what do you know.” Dormius wasn’t a big guy, not by any measure, but he was still a man, and from what Mallet remembered, he was in decent shape.
Yet Kayli had him pinned down and as helpless as a child. Mallet smiled with pride. “Damn, she’s something, isn’t she?”
“Told you so,” Hauk said. “Now please do not allow her to hurt him. It would start rumors that she doesn’t need.”
Now that he saw Kayli had it under control, Mallet welcomed Hauk’s advice. “Such as?”
“Such as the impression that being raised a warrior, she’s incapable of being as womanly as a woman needs be for a union. Can you imagine how she’d be injured to know such denigrating rumors circulated, affecting not only her, but you as well?”
Damn. He knew exactly how she’d react, and it bothered him. “Yeah.” Mallet gave himself a single moment to catch his breath, then shouted, “Kayli! What the hell are you doing?”
Hauk groaned.
Kayli looked up with a dark scowl.
Jogging forward the rest of the way, Mallet stopped beside her. “I know that being free to explore is new to you, but you’ll be doing all your exploring with me, babe, not any other bozo.”
She released the young man to stand toe to toe with Mallet. “Explore?”
Mallet cupped her cheek. “You are one beautiful, vibrant, sexy woman. But you agreed to be mine, and even though we’ve both been busy with training and other responsibilities, I’m not about to share you.” As he spoke, he accidentally stepped on the fellow still sprawled on the ground, earning a groan from him that both he and Kayli ignored.
Stupid putz.
“He,” Kayli said, pointing a finger to the ground without drawing her gaze from Mallet’s, “insinuated that I’m easy.”
Son of a bitch. Hauk hadn’t told him that.
“I didn’t!” the young man protested. “I would never! I only wanted …”
Though it wasn’t easy, Mallet kept his tone mellow, without a hint of the real threat involved. “Want me to kill him?”
“No!”
The boy yelled, “No! Really. I wasn’t—”
“I wouldn’t mind,” Mallet assured her. “Any asshole who insults you that way deserves nothing less than a sound thumping.”
Her eyes widened at his language. In a choked whisper, she said, “Asshole?”
Mallet shrugged. “It seems appropriate for a jerk that’d make such an assumption about your character.” He smiled at her. “You’re the most honorable, moral, good person I know. If he’s too stupid to know it, he’s useless to the colony.”
“She’s great,” the guy whined. “Perfect. A real paragon.”
Mallet looked down at him. He had a bloody nose and a fat lip, prompting Mallet to cock a brow. “Given your bludgeoned face, buddy, ‘paragon’ is a little overkill, don’t you think?”
Finally Kayli realized that Mallet’s foot was on Dormius’s shoulder.
“Michael!” She pushed him to the side, freeing the knucklehead on the ground, who immediately rolled to his knees and tried to scoot out of range.
“What?” As usual, her defense of everyone amused Mallet. She’d obviously popped the little weasel, but she didn’t want anyone else to abuse him.
Through her teeth, Kayli said, “I can handle this myself.”
“ ’Course you can. Never had a doubt. But you’re mine, so allow me the right to defend you just for the fun of it, okay?” He reached out a hand to Dormius.
When the fellow warily accepted the offer, Mallet hauled him to his feet—and held on to him. “She is mine, and you should understand up front that I don’t share. Kayli can kick your ass from here to Sunday, and I imagine she probably will if you offer another insult.”
“No insult was intended, I swear!”
Mallet paid no mind to his protests. “But know this—when she’s done, you’re mine. And I’m not nearly as nice as she is.”
“Understood,” Dormius said in a rush, and the second Mallet released him, he apologized to Kayli. “I swear, Kayli, insulting you was never my intent. I had only hoped to inquire about the differences in the colony now.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Fine. Be gone, then.”
“And to compliment your daring in forging new ground for all of us—”
Kayli sighed. “Go, Dormius.”
But he appeared to be on a roll, determined to get his piece voiced. “—and to tell you how much most of us appreciate the new freedom now afforded, because we, too, have romantic interests—”
“Go!”
At her raised voice, Dormius jumped. “Right. Sorry.” He dashed away, limping a little, wiping at his bloody nose. At the last, he called back, “Say hello to your sister for me.”
Watching him, Mallet said, “That’s just plain pathetic.”
Kayli simmered for a moment, then socked him in the shoulder. “How dare you charge in here and play the defender?”
With a scowl, Mallet rubbed his shoulder. For a dainty thing, she packed a wallop. “Actually, I wasn’t playing.” Then he pulled off his shirt.
Aghast for new reasons, Kayli rasped, “Michael!”
“Hmmm?” Seating himself on a large rock, Mallet tugged off his shoes and socks. He felt Kayli’s rapt attention on him, heightening with every piece of clothing he removed.
Hands clasped in worry, brows pinching down, she rushed over to him. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m still sweaty from the practice, and I haven’t had a chance to shower.” He glanced at her, caught her wide eyes filled with both indignation and something akin to anticipation. Smiling to himself, he said, “So I’m going to do the next best thing—I’m going to take a swim.”
Mallet heard her gulp, saw her eyes widen even more. But he didn’t hear a protest.
Damn, but she pleased him.
CHAPTER 13
MALLET knew that Kayli was reserved, modest—and still she couldn’t entirely tamp down on her own sensual inclinations. He glanced at her bare feet, knew she’d had the same intention to swim before Dormius had interrupted her, and asked, “Any chance you want to join me?”
Her head snapped back. “Oh no, we can’t.”
“Why not?” In the face of her agitated denial, his calm felt comical. He had a feeling he’d always enjoy the contrasts in their personalities.
“If someone found out—”
“Hauk can tell us if anyone approaches. Can’t you, Hauk?”
“Certainly. I will be most vigilant. I can guarantee your privacy by alerting you well in advance to any visitors.”
“Hauk,” Kayli complained, and then, while visually devouring Mallet’s naked chest, she said, “It is unseemly for us to be alone together at night, especially when only partially clothed—”
“Partially? Honey, I don’t swim in my clothes—partial or otherwise.” So saying, Mallet stood and shucked off his pants.
Kayli went dead silent, even her breathing suspended. When he turned to her, buck naked and a little too wired to look truly calm in any way, she sucked in a quick breath that almost strangled her.
He was hard—so
mething that seemed to happen every time he got in her vicinity. Not much he could do about it, even if he’d wanted to. But he didn’t. He needed her to understand the effect she had on him.
As Kayli’s gaze slid over him like a heated touch, she remained silent. Mallet locked his knees and let her look her fill.
Watching her watch him was a unique turn-on.
He wanted her to be familiar with his body. He wanted her to become comfortable with him so that when he took her, she wouldn’t be too nervous or tense.
But hell, he was so tense that he didn’t know how he’d last through her intense curiosity.
The last crimson rays of the setting sun reflected off the surface of the blue lake. That, combined with the land and dark velvet sky, created a gorgeous setting.
But nothing compared to Kayli’s bright hazel eyes or the way her fair hair lifted from a faint breeze. Yes, she was different from other women here, but to Mallet, she was by far the most beautiful—anywhere in time.
Her concentrated stare tested his resolve in a very big way. He took a step toward her. “You’ve seen me before, Kayli.”
Without blinking, she pointed at him. “Not like that.”
Mallet glanced down at a boner that couldn’t be missed. “Oh yeah.” With her innocence, he doubted Kayli realized he was above average. “Don’t worry about that right now.”
He was about to coax the oh-so-lovely Kayli Raine into the lake, hopefully with few if any clothes on. They were alone, she was sexy in her innocence, and he was so fired up, he thought he might self-combust.
“Not worry?” She looked dubious. “But, um …”
With another shrug, Mallet turned matter-of-fact about things. “I want you, honey. You know that. When a guy wants a woman, he gets hard.”
“And … bigger?”
Mallet took a deep breath through his nose. “Yeah. Bigger, too.”
Kayli’s tongue slicked over her bottom lip and she sought his gaze with a measure of disbelief. “Perhaps … too big?”
“No, never that.” Hell, he’d had women go nuts over his size. Never had he thought his endowment would be a hindrance to lovemaking.
Without deliberate provocation, she licked her small pink tongue over her bottom lip again, twisting Mallet inside out.