My Man Michael (14 page)

“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 the 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

R
AEMAY 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.”

He took her small hand into his mammoth mitt, gave it a clumsy, ungallant shake, and released her. “I’ll be helping Kayli with that, yeah.”

Nonplussed, Idola flipped back her hair to show her breasts to advantage.

And Michael looked.

It might have been a reluctant, even grudging glance, but he was male and therefore not immune to a woman’s ripe charms.

Putting her hands on her hips, Idola showed off her small waist at the same time. The draped fabric of her short dress was sheer enough to tease while still protecting her modesty.

“I promise that I would please you well in a union.”

His brows shot up, and then he . . . laughed.

Not a subtle snicker, or a quick chortle. No, he laughed out loud, robust and hearty, as if he’d just heard a fabulous joke.

Raemay couldn’t believe it. The boneheaded Philistine had no sense of propriety.

Wiping his eyes, he said, “Sorry, sugar,” without any sincere remorse. “Luscious as you might be, it just ain’t gonna happen.”

Though she fought it, tunnel vision closed in on Raemay. She saw everything slipping away. Everything important. Everything she’d worked so hard to conceal, to protect.

“Mesha!” Because she’d sounded far too shrill, Raemay took a breath to moderate her tone. She even worked up a smile. “Come forward, my dear, and meet our guest, Michael Manchester.”

With a sigh, Michael shook his head at her. “You can bring her on, Raemay, but I’m telling you right now, it won’t matter.”

Beside him, Kayli closed her eyes. At least she recognized his behavior as reprehensible.

Mesha, already swaying toward Michael, faltered for only a second. A blush climbed her neck to her cheeks and on up to her hairline. It didn’t help that she had her hair up to show her slender neck and pale shoulders in the low-cut gown. Unlike Idola’s, the dress wasn’t short, but it parted in the middle so that with each step her shapely legs showed.

With a nudge, Raemay got her moving forward again.

“Save it, honey,” Michael told her. “It’s a great show, but you’re wasting it on me.”

Kayli gripped his upper arm, yanked him down toward her, and groused something into his ear. But he only smiled and shrugged, and when she tried to separate from him, he hauled her right back.

Putting a hand to her stomach, Raemay fought to quell the queasiness churning there.

Michael’s direct blue gaze zeroed in on her. She saw it there, in the depths of his soul, what he intended.

“All right, Raemay.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Are there more girls lined up somewhere?”

Too sick to speak, Raemay just nodded.

One brave, and possibly nosy, council member stepped forward. “The rest of the women are through the doors in the antechamber, sir. Just there.” He pointed at the ornate double doors.

Michael started in that direction. “Let me have a look then, so we can get this over with.” He dragged Kayli along beside him, his steps so long that she had to rush to keep up with him.

He pushed the heavy doors open with laudable ease, and was enveloped in the collective gasp issued from the many eligible ladies in their colony.

Raemay knew it was his phenomenal size that caused the women to react so. Of course, he was handsome, as well. She’d even find him attractive if he wasn’t so mammoth in height and muscle.

His brows lifted at the vast gathering. “Damn, got a lot of them, don’t you?” He looked over his shoulder at Raemay. “And they’re all virgins? Seriously?”

He made a jest of them. He ridiculed them and all they held dear. Her throat burned with anger, but she said evenly enough, “Yes, they are pure, as is proper for one out of union.”

Glancing down at Kayli, he murmured, “No offense, babe, but damn. A hundred or more virgins? That’s like a wet dream, except that I’m awake.”

Raemay’s mouth fell open at such a crude disclosure.

Her daughter, lacking her reserve, offered up immediate retaliation. Kayli scowled, and landed a solid punch to his shoulder.

Raemay held her breath, fearful of his reaction to a physical assault. What should she do? Should she try to intercede on Kayli’s behalf?

She was still pondering protective measures when, to her surprise, he caught Kayli’s fist, kissed it, and smiled.

He wasn’t in the least injured, or even a little offended or angry.

Still holding Kayli’s hand, he said, “And hell, I’d go along with it, except it doesn’t suit my purpose in the long run.”

Still riled, Kayli asked, “What purpose?”

Pretending not to hear her question, Michael donned a charismatic smile and waved to the women. “Sorry, ladies. You’re all knockouts, no doubt about it. I’m sure whoever nabs you in a union is going to be thrilled. Thing is, I’m off the market.”

Hearing her worst fears confirmed, Raemay groaned. He was a buffoon. An imbecile with brawn. But she was the Arbiter, a woman of power. She would not tolerate this farce any further.

“Sir,” she got out through gritted teeth, “I’d have a word with you.”

“Sure thing, Arbiter.” He gave her an insolent bow. “You can even have more than one, but it won’t change anything.”

Rage and insult burned through Raemay, helping to mask her fear. She knew it was inevitable, but still, the second he got close enough, she tried her best to reason with him. “I must point out that despite the differences in our worlds, your behavior is inexcusable.”

“I find offering up virgins to be inexcusable, so I guess we’re at an impasse, huh?”

She wouldn’t relent. “You have made a mockery of a most serious ceremony for my colony. You have rejected my daughters in a callous manner—”

“Now there’s where you’re wrong.”

Raemay took a step back. “What are you saying?” Was there hope after all?

Both Idola and Mesha, expressions buoyant, took an anxious step forward.

The brute squeezed Kayli. “I didn’t mean to mock anyone. I probably lack the finer social skills you’re used to, but then, you had to have had some sort of background check on me before bringing me here, right?”

What could she say? She’d known he was an uncouth caveman, but Kayli had insisted, and as Claviger her opinion counted a lot with the council.

“I knew you lacked sophistication, yes.” Raemay put up her chin. “But that offers no excuse for deliberate cruelty.”

“I meant to be decisive, not cruel, so acquit me of that, okay?” He squeezed Kayli again. “I made my choice, but I figured you had your own ideas about that, and I didn’t want you saying I hadn’t taken the time to at least look at all the . . . options.”

Crushed by what she knew was to come, Raemay folded onto a settee. She sent Idola and Mesha an apologetic glance. “I see.”

Finally finding her voice, Kayli shoved away from him. “Well, I don’t see, not at all. What are you doing? What is this purpose of yours?”

“I’ve chosen.”

Kayli’s eyes widened, then a mask came over her features, hiding any emotion at all. “Who is it?”

As if he hadn’t just destroyed years of careful planning, Michael grinned, looked around at them all, and announced loudly enough to deafen ordinary men, “Kayli Raine, I choose you.”