Fly You To The Moon (5 page)

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment and anger all at once.
“What do
you
know?” she snapped. “Don’t tell me things like that. There’s nothing I can do.”

“Of course there is,” Mrs. Pipps told her in the same tone she used to scold Patty and Tom sometimes.

Ava looked up. “Well, what do you suggest I do?”

“Fight for him,” the housekeeper said matter-of-factly. “
Most men are clueless fools and they need convincing.”

What the hell?
She felt an unexpected laugh bubbling up from deep inside of her. “Are you serious?”

“Serious as a heart attack,” Margaret replied, her face so deadpan that Ava erupted in fits of laughter. It felt liberating
. She couldn’t remember having laughed like this in a long time, and it was as if a weight was being lifted off her shoulders. Margaret was right – if she wanted Nic, she’d have to fight for him, one way or the other.

“I’m going upstairs,” she
said, pushing away her mug. “And I’ll keep in mind what you said.”

“You should.” Margaret smiled up at her. “I think you know that every rule has an exception. You don’t necessarily have to break them.”

Ava was still quietly smiling to herself when she stepped into the hallway. There was no sign of Nicolas and Clea, so they’d probably gone upstairs. Well, she wasn’t going to let it get her down. Mrs. Pipps was right – Nic didn’t care about Clea the way he cared about
her
. And sooner or later, he would realize it too.

9.

After Alen had left for Saturn, Ava was out of a job
for the time being.

“
I’m not letting you work in the gardens,” Nicolas had told her. “Not by yourself, anyway. I’ll hire a new groundskeeper, so don’t worry.”

With Alen’s departure, a certain
sense of peace seemed to have taken hold of the Carter Manor. At first, Ava couldn’t quite put her finger on why that was – in fact, she really missed her Croatian friend – but after some time, she realized it was because Clea was notably absent. The shrill-voiced, voluptuous woman hadn’t been around in days.

“Do you guys know what happened to Clea?” Ava asked one afternoon while she was helping Danny and Margaret with the laundry.
“She hasn’t visited.”

Mrs. Pipps shook her head. “I have no idea. Can’t say I miss her, though.
She’s always bossing me around when she’s here.”

“She’ll be round again,” Danny muttered. “The woman is like pigweed – you tear it out by the root and it
still
comes back.”

Ava giggled. “I hope you’re wrong,” she said.
“I don’t know about you, but I like keeping the garden tidy.”

“Speaking of which…” Danny scratched his head. “Nicolas asked me to clear out the big shed behind the orangery. He’s turning it into a practice room
again.”

“Really?
What does he practice?” Ava wanted to know.

“Swordsmanship,” Margaret replied.

“Get out of here!” Ava gaped at the couple.”He does? My dad and I used to do sword fighting. We had these really cool, old-fashioned laser blades.”

“Well, why don’t you challenge Nicolas to a fight?” Mrs. Pipps winked at her. “He might want to try a new practice partner.
His Elite friends don’t have a lot of time these days.”

In a flash,
Margaret’s words came back to Ava. The housekeeper had told her to fight for Nicolas’s affection. Maybe doing some fighting for sport would bring them closer together. It was worth a try, right?

That evening, she accidentally bumped into Nicolas as he was on his way to the orangery. “Hey,” she greeted him with a hesitant smile. “Long time no see.”

Truth was, they hadn’t really spoken face-to-face ever since their post-Sinatra intimate moment. They’d both been there to say goodbye to Alen – who had made Ava promise to keep him updated about her and Nic – but they hadn’t been around each other since. Nicolas had been skipping dinner for the past few days, staying in Luna Six until late evenings.

“Yeah, I know,” he replied, an apologetic tone in his voice. “I’ve just been busy.
Interviewing some people for Alen’s old job. Shopping for new fertilizer in Luna Six.”

“Do they even sell that stuff
here?” Ava asked.

“Not really. They don’t grow any food elsewhere in Dome Six. I
always have it flown in.”

“Ah. Okay.” Ava
bit her lip in the silence that followed, making a mental note to herself that fertilizer wasn’t the best topic to keep a conversation going. “Anyway – I heard you’re into laser blades.”

Nicolas
stared at her in surprise. “I am! Your dad taught me how to do sword fighting, actually.”

“He taught me too.” Ava smiled when Nicolas shot her an even more astonished look.
“He always said it was good practice for the body and the mind. You know how
zen
he could get sometimes.”

Nicolas chuckled. “Yeah,
that’s true. I always thought he might have been a Jedi master in an alternative movie universe. When I was a kid, Colin was my hero. Of course, the fact that my dad hated my half-brother made it even more exciting to hang out with him.”

“
Ooh. You little rebel, you,” Ava ribbed him cheekily. She’d had a glass of wine during dinner, and it made her strangely relaxed and even a bit flirtatious around him. “Well, why don’t we put your new practice room to use so I can show you how it’s done?”

Nicolas started grinning. “Excuse me? If anything, I’ll show
you
how it’s done, my dear, sweet Ava.”

“Challenge accepted,” she shot back, blushing a bit because of his words. He’
d never called her that before. “Prepare to meet your equal on the battlefield, Mister Carter.”

With a large smirk on his face, he led the way to the practice room. Suddenly, Ava couldn’t wait to start moving around, lunging, parrying – her muscles had been dormant for way too long. Engaging Nicolas in battle would wake them up again.

When Nicolas showed her his collection of blades and switched some of them on, Ava couldn’t believe her eyes. “These swords are one of a kind,” she mumbled. “You had them made?”

“I did.
Used to be a big hobby of mine.” He took out a smaller blade from the rack. At the push of a button, it flashed green, buzzing with energy. “Here, use my old blade. It’s just about right for your height.”

“The color of rebellion,” Ava whispered in awe. Somehow, she couldn’t imagine Alistair Carter giving a blade like this to his son. “Did your parents agree with you having this as a child?”

“Never showed it to them,” Nic mumbled, a defiant light in his eyes. “It was Colin’s gift to me. I was eleven at the time.” He paused for a few seconds. “A few months later, he married your mother, and my mother officially disowned him.”

“It’s beautiful,” she gasped.
“A fitting parting gift.”

Nicolas looked down at her, his emerald eyes flashing in the light of the green laser blade in her hands. “It’s yours if you want it,” he said. “Colin would have loved to see you wield it.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Yes, I’m sure.”

“Then I’ll gladly accept.” Ava smiled up at him. “Now let’s fight.”

“Can’t wait to get your ass kicked, can you?” he teased her.
Turning around, Nicolas got a laser blade with a black grip from the rack. It lit up in a menacing, deep-blue color when he pressed the button.

They took their positions
. A pleasant shiver ran through Ava as she and Nicolas started circling each other. In her mind, she could hear her dad’s voice.
Always keep your feet shoulder- wide. Keep the blade close to you when you parry
. Somehow, remembering his instructions made her feel grounded.

When Nicolas lunged forward and swung at her from the left, she countered and kept her chest forward. This was familiar territory – he wanted to trick her into turning sideways, so she’d be vulnerable to an attack from the other side.
It was a good thing they’d both had the same teacher, so she saw through his ruse. Obviously, she was no match for Nicolas. He was taller, stronger and far more experienced. Compared to him, she was a novice. Still, Ava was quickly able to assess Nicolas as an opponent – he was tall, so he sometimes left his legs exposed. When he swung at her again, she ducked and lashed out at his right knee. Startled, Nicolas stumbled backward and pivoted away from her. When she righted herself again, he suddenly ran toward her, though, raising his sword to hit her shoulder. Ava cried out when the electric current of the laser beam zapped through her bones. Gritting her teeth, she sidestepped his next blow and retreated a few steps to catch her breath.

“That’s quite a lethal setting you have on that thing,” she panted. “Are you trying to stun me or something?”

“Sorry.” He grinned roguishly. “I’ve never fought a girl before.”

“No?” She cocked an eyebrow at him. “I thought you and Clea were sparring partners.”

Nicolas tensed up. The dual sense wasn’t lost on him. “Not like this,” he summarized, warding off the blow she directed at his stomach.

“Well, maybe you should ask her some time,” Ava
grunted, a bitter smile on her lips. “She might like the crap beaten out of her.”

Then, they carefully danced around each other in silence, the only sound being their heavy breathing. When Nicolas moved forward to
swing at her again, he mumbled: “Not gonna happen.”

Ava blocked his attack. “You sure?” she puffed.

Nicolas stepped back. “Yeah. It’s over.”

His words
hit her like a punch to the head – they completely paralyzed her. “W-what’s over?” she stuttered, her voice catching in her throat. Could it be true?

Nic didn’t reply.
His eyes bored into hers, the long, dark lashes around his eyes making him look almost innocent. When he slowly took a step forward, her knees trembled. Suddenly, the sword felt lifeless and blunt in her hand. His hand slipped over hers. “Give me that,” he mumbled with a frown, avoiding her question. “I’ll adjust your setting, too. There’s no way you can beat me like this.”

Ava wouldn’t let go of the grip. “There’s no way I can beat you anyway,” she whispered, refusing to hand over the blade.
“Just let me fight.”

Nicolas
’s gaze softened. “That’s stupid, Ava. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Well. It’s too late for that.” Her voice cracked.

“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely, helplessly.

She closed her eyes for a moment. “Why is it over?” she then blurted out.

“It had to be.” Nicolas looked down on her, still holding her hand. “It wasn’t real.”

She had no idea why he’d decided to break up with Clea
so soon after that night the two of them had danced to Sinatra. She wasn’t sure she wanted to think about it. Somehow, the idea that she had such power over him frightened her a bit – because it meant she really might have a chance with him.

“Let’s just fight.” Ava pulled away from his grasp, raising her sword again to challenge him to another round.

A look of frustration crossed Nic’s face, but he accepted her invitation without saying another word about Clea. For the moment, she was done talking as well. Her muscles were screaming for a good struggle. No matter if her blade was weaker than his, no matter if he would hurt her again – she wouldn’t step down.

The fight continued. Nic’s gaze didn’t leave her as he studied her face. Ava’s heart beat faster when she stared deep into his eyes, drawing him out by taking small steps back
, edging toward the back door of the shed while parrying his blows.

“Where are you going?” he
finally mumbled with a sly smile. “Are you trying for the emergency exit?”

Ava
laughed, slightly out of breath. “There’s no emergency,” she said with a wink.

“Oh, but there is,”
Nicolas taunted her. “You’re about to be beaten by your father’s favorite student.”

“Maybe not,” she replied. “Maybe I have some tricks up my sleeve.”

When she felt the wall in her back, Ava lowered her sword, sucking in her breath when Nic came to a stop right in front of her, the blue of his laser blade illuminating his gorgeous face and dark-brown, shiny hair.

“I think you’ve lost,” he stated smugly, putting her on point with his weapon. “
But feel free to prove me wrong. Now would be a good time to get those tricks
down
your sleeve.”

Ava
switched off her blade and hooked the grip in the waistband of her pants. Slowly, she reached out for his weapon and found the button to turn off his laser too, her eyes never leaving his face. “Seems you’re right,” she agreed meekly, dropping his sword to the floor. “You’ve won. I owe you a prize.”

“You do?”
Nic’s eyes blazed darkly down at her as he took another step closer to her.

“Yeah.”
Ava paused. Her heart skipped a beat when she spoke the next few words. “What would you like?” she whispered.

The
words startled Nicolas, but he didn’t move. His gaze was locked on her face as he visibly swallowed. Ava held her breath, silently praying for him to take that last step and back her up against the wall. Her entire body was tingling, warm and willing. She would open up to him and make him hotter and harder than Clea had ever managed to do. She knew she could.

“You
tell me,” he replied at last, sounding desperate and eager and fearful all at the same time.

Ava
took a deep breath before putting both of her hands on the small of his back. She avoided his eyes, so confused and tormented. Instead, she fixed her gaze on his neck just above the collar of his shirt. Ever so gently she drew him in, inch by inch, until his chest almost brushed against her breasts and his silhouette obscured the light from the barn’s windows. A thrill ran through her when she pressed her soft lips to the skin below his ear, just like she’d done a few days ago.

Nicolas’s hand landed on the curve of her hip,
his thumb tentatively caressing the bit of skin peeping out between her top and her pants. He moaned almost inaudibly when Ava’s mouth continued its path along his jaw. The tiny gap of air between their bodies seemed to simmer with heat when she slid her hands up his back, gripping his shoulder blades and willing him to let down his guard completely.

“Nic,” she whispered against his mouth before tracing his bottom
lip with the tip of her tongue, her cheeks red from arousal when his hot breath mingled with her almost-kiss.