My Man Michael (37 page)

“ ‘That’?” Mallet laughed. “It’s called making love—”

“Not sex?”

“It’s more than sex.” Even with her inexperience, how could she not know that? “And while I hate to disappoint you, probably not.”

“I am not disappointed.” Next she traced an eyebrow. “I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to. I’ve never felt so . . . relaxed.”

He grinned. “Should we test you to see?” Even now, with his boner fading, it was incredible to feel her and only her, all slippery wet, still squeezing him in small aftershocks, still accepting him.

“Perhaps in a bit, if you think we’ll both recover enough.” When he laughed, she poked his shoulder. “You know more about this than I do.”

“We’ll get you schooled in no time.”

Her look turned teasing, sensually ripe. “I hope so.”

Damn, she pleased him. He gave her a tickling, laughing smooch, and because that felt so good, he came back for another. He’d thought he was dead for a while, but the kiss turned deep, not so much with lust, but with that special something that was more profound.

Lifting up to his elbows, he looked at her.

Her golden eyes were soft and slumberous, her silky, fair hair wild around her head. “Damn, woman,” he growled low and with feeling, “you are so fucking beautiful.”

Smiling a little, she turned her head to study him more, and her mood turned sober. “Thank you, but you are far more beautiful than I could ever be.” Her fingers teased along his upper chest while she ate him up with her eyes. “Especially after you’ve just had pleasure. Your eyes are so blue, they could enchant me. They
have
enchanted me.”

Uncomfortable with the praise, Mallet laughed. “Yeah, uh, most men don’t want to be called beautiful.”

“But you are.”

“How about cruelly handsome? I like the sound of that.”

Slowly, she shook her head. “That would never do because there is nothing cruel about you. Remarkable, yes. Outstanding, most definitely. But never cruel.”

He twisted his mouth. “What the hell, woman. I give you sex and you go all mushy on me?”

“I’m being honest, not mushy. Never did I think to find myself in this situation. In this position.” She bent her knees along his hips, deepening their intimate embrace. “But you are more special than I anticipated, and now I’m doing a lot of things I never considered.”

Things she didn’t want to do? Things he’d coerced her into? “I don’t want to disrupt your life.” What a lie. He wanted to turn her entire world around. But he also wanted her happy, damn it.

She frowned in incomprehension. “Yet you’ve done nothing but.” Then she kissed him. “And while it’s taking me time to adjust, it’s not all unpleasant.”

No, it wasn’t all unpleasant—because she liked the sex. Mallet wanted to curse himself. Somehow, with the role-reversal of her time, she’d managed to turn him into a fretting woman who feared being used sexually.

It burned his ass big-time.

“Look, I’m not a paragon, not a hero—”

“Yes, you are.”

He groaned. “But I’m not a villain, either.”

“I know this.” She studied him. “Why does the truth upset you so much?”

“Because you’re making assumptions. We haven’t known each other long enough for you to . . . hell, I don’t know. Hold me in such esteem?” He felt like an idiot, but he didn’t want to accuse her of hero worship. Somehow he didn’t think that’d go over real big with a woman as independent as her.

“It feels like I’ve known you forever.” She pulled him down for another kiss, and each touch of her lush mouth nudged him further away from tiredness and closer to full-blown lust again. “Each day, in a dozen different ways, your character is revealed to me.”

“Yeah, and as I recall, my character has put you in a snit more than a few times.”

She went all serious on him again. “I’ve thought about that, and concluded that it was my own insecurities that caused resentment. I like being in control of all things, but under my control, my colony has been endangered. I have to accept that I need your help, and that your help might include your leadership over mine.”

Mallet brought his face closer to hers.
“No.”

“Yes.” She smoothed a hand over his rumpled hair, then held his face. Her thumbs stroked his jaw. “Being in a union requires that both people give a little. It requires adjustment. I will do my best to adjust in the ways that you need me to.”

Mallet didn’t like the sound of that at all. Guilt that he’d pretty much forced her into the union added a nasty edge to his irritation.

He was happy. Hell, he was in love with her.

But she gave no indication of feeling the same. From what she’d said, she only suffered him for the sake of her colony.

And for the sex.

Just looking at her now, how she stretched so sinuously, she
loved
the sex, and truth be told, that made him feel about a hundred feet tall.

But he wanted more. He wanted her to love him, too, damn it, not just what he gave her in the sack.

“What if I disappoint you, Kayli? I’m a fighter with skill, but still just a man. What if I can’t make a difference? What if the intruders attack and it doesn’t go well?”

She pushed him to his back and sat up to look at him. All of him. With her gaze on his lap, she whispered, “You’re doing all that you can do, more than I ever hoped for. You’ve already made an amazing difference, in so many ways. If we fight and lose, it won’t be your fault. It will be mine.”

She ended that statement by wrapping her hand around his cock.

“Kayli . . .” He wanted to say more, wanted to explain that she took on too much responsibility for a woman so young, a woman going up against men. But she squeezed him, and all he could manage was a groan.

“Oh look, Michael,” she said with enthusiasm. “I think you are ready again.” Golden gaze warm and anxious, she sank down to his chest, whispering huskily, “That’s good, because I am ready, too.”

CHAPTER 21

A
FTER Mallet stepped into pants and Kayli pulled on a loose shirt, they headed to the dining room for sustenance. Even with the clean lines of the utilitarian furnishings he saw, her house still looked far more cozy and comfortable than her spaceship.

Unlike that cold metal vessel, her home had color.

Not bright crayon color, but subtle, warm colors of the earth. The windows were without shades or curtains, but darkened for privacy into a matte deep tan hue.

The floors in the hallways lit up as they walked. Like a cross within the home, the hallways all led to a single focal point: an enormous tree growing out of the center of Kayli’s living room. The tree had a smooth trunk and waxy leaves, and grew all the way to the top of a high ceiling.

Mallet stopped and stared in amazement. “You have a tree in here.”

As if such a thing wasn’t at all unusual, Kayli shrugged. “I don’t get to see much nature when I’m on the vessel. I miss it.” She trailed her hand along a low, twisting branch. “It won’t grow any taller than its confines, and it gives off a woodsy scent that I enjoy.”

Mallet sniffed, and grinned. “Smells a little like my favorite cologne.” Thinking of men and their grooming habits led his thoughts along a different path. “It’s unusually quiet here. You don’t have any AMAs milling around?”

“No. I’m not home often enough to need assistance.”

Home. Yeah, that’s what made this different from her spaceship. Even without a lot of personal clutter or knick-knacks, the place felt like home, like a specific design that reflected Kayli’s personality. “What about for cleaning up?”

“That is unnecessary. The house maintains itself.”

Of course it did. Shaking his head, Mallet looked around at the soft, modular furniture, a flowing water feature in the wall that also fed into a narrow groove to nourish the tree, delicate wind chimes hanging from multiple floor stands, and some pretty funky lighting effects.

The walls in this room were made of thick glass that could either be clear or frosted for privacy. With a touch, Kayli frosted them.

Before they headed for food, Kayli took Mallet on a quick tour. At the end of each of the hallways were separate areas, including the bedrooms and bath, a media and tele-commuting center, a professional workout and training area, and the dining and cooking areas.

As he walked, each of Mallet’s footsteps glowed on the strange floor. Depending on the area, the muted hues changed shades. The hallways had the brightest illumination, the bedroom the dimmest.

He learned more just by watching Kayli as she moved modifiable walls to adjust the sizes of each room. The walls slid in and out of place as easily as a closet door would.

In her dining room, the floor was slate-like tile that she said came from the mountains beyond, traded from a different colony. Like most of Kayli’s house, it was sparsely appointed, holding only pod-like chairs and an oval, frosted-glass table that adjusted at a touch.

Instead of hanging pictures as adornment, large blocks of artistic color themes bisected the creamy beige walls.

“Cool artwork.”

“Thank you.” She glanced at him with an impish expression usually foreign to her character. “Do you remember the mood rings of your time?”

“I’ve seen them.”

“Watch.” With a touch of her finger, the colors in the nearest collage changed.

“No way. Mood
art
?”

“The panels are built into the wall. Sometimes they pick up my feelings just through my nearness.”

“Huh.” Tonight her mood was soft and mellow, swirls of butter yellow, pale melon, and softest blue. Uncertain what that might indicate, Mallet nodded at the color collage nearest her. “Does that mean you’re happy?”

“It means I’m content.”

Not quite what he wanted to hear, but he supposed that would have to be good enough for now.

“I’d like more light in here.” Just that easily, the ceiling opened up to allow in the last rays of the fading sun. “Are you very hungry?”

Mallet turned a circle, taking it all in, making note of her preferences. “I’m not starving, if that’s what you mean. Whatever is easiest is fine.” Hell, this was sort of her honeymoon, though there was too much going on in the colony for her to take any real time off.

“It’s all easy. I was thinking about some ripe fruit, and perhaps some cheese and crackers?”

Standing there in nothing more than a shirt, her long shapely legs bare, her hair tousled, she looked more than adorable. Mallet didn’t care what they ate. He just wanted to make sure that she did because after they finished, he’d probably keep her up most of the night. “If that sounds good to you, it works for me.”

She turned away to speak into a microchip in the wall.

The meal came up out of the center of Kayli’s dining table along with a chilled, green-tinted drink. Kayli gestured for him to sit, and after he did, he pulled her onto his lap.

Knowing her bottom was bare teased him, but for the moment, he felt sated enough to just enjoy the closeness of cuddling her.

She reached for a glass and handed him one before settling back against his chest.

Mallet sniffed the liquid. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”

“No.” She put her nose to his throat and breathed in. “Such is forbidden.”

“Should have figured.” He tried the drink, liked it, and drank about half before starting on the food. He alternately took bites for himself and fed her.

If he had his way, he’d always take care of her, but he had a feeling this was a one-shot deal, an aberration brought on by the discovery of her sensual nature. She wouldn’t see this as a routine, more as a celebration of their union.

“This is decadent,” she said, agreeing with his thoughts. “But tonight, I don’t care. I’m enjoying it too much.”

“Me, too.” While he had her in an agreeable mood, Mallet asked, “Do you think we could live here, now that we’re in a union?”

As if the question surprised her, she hesitated, and then sat up on his lap. “Did you want to live here?”

He wanted a real life with her, with her in the role of wife instead of soldier. It wasn’t likely to happen, and he felt like a bastard for trying to change her, but he needed to know she’d be safe.

Being in a home, as a couple, was a start. “I like it here. It’s cozier than your spaceship.”

“My vessel is not meant to be cozy.”

No, it was meant to facilitate her role as Claviger. “Can you handle your duties from here as easily as you do the spaceship?”

“Yes. If I needed to be aboard, Hauk could transport me in a second.”

“Transport
us
,” he corrected. She wasn’t going anywhere, definitely not into danger, without him. Now that they were in a union, he had certain rights—and he’d damn well exercise them.

Kayli chewed it over before looking around the dining room as if just seeing it. “We could live here, if that’s what you want.”