placed the note on his nightstand and then . . . stood there.
She looked almost ill, causing Mallet to sigh. “Kayli, I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I trust not.” A deep, fortifying breath gave her courage to move nearer to his bed. But a few feet away, she stalled once more.
Trying an encouraging smile, Mallet again patted the mattress. “Sorry, honey. I’d get up and woo you proper, but with my injured leg, I’d only fall on my face.”
That got to her, and with blatant sympathy she seated herself beside him. “Very soon, it will be as if nothing happened to your body at all. All your bruises will be gone. All your aches and pains—”
“Yeah. Can’t wait.” Mallet caught her upper arm and tugged her resisting body slowly down to him. He stared at that oh-so-sexy mouth of hers, watched her lips part, saw her tongue slip out to wet dry lips.
Damn, he was hard again, and he hadn’t even kissed her yet.
“Closer,” he whispered, his voice deep and rough. “A little more.”
He felt her hot breath touch on his face, felt her palpating fear, strange as that seemed. And then his mouth brushed hers, and though he wasn’t a man given to poetic inclinations, he knew her mouth intoxicated him—that was the only way to describe the rush of sensation that jumbled his emotions and fired a deep physical response.
Using his free hand, Mallet clasped her warm nape to keep her close. He deepened the kiss, turned his head for a better fit, and slicked his tongue past her teeth to explore her sweet mouth.
At first, she gasped and stiffened. Mallet kept it up, tasting her, teasing himself, and reveling in how a simple kiss had turned so carnal.
As he burned, she gradually slumped into him, and by small degrees flattened over him.
To fully relish the feel of the soft female body covering him and her cautious, surprised response, Mallet kept his eyes closed.
It wasn’t until his hand moved down her back to her behind that she stiffened and jerked back on straightened arms.
Panting a little, her eyes cloudy with confusion and uncertainty, she asked, “Satisfied?”
Keeping Kayli’s gaze locked in his, Mallet shook his head. A warm breeze moved over them, dancing over his heated skin and causing her fine, silky hair to move. “I won’t be satisfied until I’m well enough to put you under me.”
To his right, a man said, “You are well enough.”
Shock sliced through Mallet.
Keeping a hold on Kayli, he jerked around—and discovered he wasn’t in his familiar hospital bed any longer.
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit .
Purest sunlight shone through a tall wall of windows built along one side of a white room with a very high ceiling. There were tables and chairs, but unlike any he’d ever seen. Through an open corridor, warm, fresh air circulated.
He gulped. “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
Kayli blinked. “Sir?”
Several robed people stood around him, all of them strangers to him, all of them with impersonal expressions on their faces.
Scowling at Kayli with accusation, incredulity, and a healthy dose of caution, Mallet accepted the truth. “You transported me!”
CHAPTER 4
R ATTLED from the unexpected intimacy of Michael’s kiss, Kayli tried to free herself without success. Michael’s hands were so tight on her, she winced. Knowing it was a reaction to the circumstances, and not a bent toward brutality, she leaned closer to him. “It’s okay, Michael. They’re only android assistants.”
“Android assistants?” His vigilant gaze never wavered from their audience. “As in . . .” He shook his head with disbelief. “Not real?”
“They’re real, sir. Very real. They’re just not human. These are my friends and companions.”
“Robots? Are you yanking my chain?”
The things he said . . . “They’re anthropomorphic systems.” At his blank look, she clarified, “Designed to be human in appearance, but freethinking only to a limited degree.”
“Who
She looked almost ill, causing Mallet to sigh. “Kayli, I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I trust not.” A deep, fortifying breath gave her courage to move nearer to his bed. But a few feet away, she stalled once more.
Trying an encouraging smile, Mallet again patted the mattress. “Sorry, honey. I’d get up and woo you proper, but with my injured leg, I’d only fall on my face.”
That got to her, and with blatant sympathy she seated herself beside him. “Very soon, it will be as if nothing happened to your body at all. All your bruises will be gone. All your aches and pains—”
“Yeah. Can’t wait.” Mallet caught her upper arm and tugged her resisting body slowly down to him. He stared at that oh-so-sexy mouth of hers, watched her lips part, saw her tongue slip out to wet dry lips.
Damn, he was hard again, and he hadn’t even kissed her yet.
“Closer,” he whispered, his voice deep and rough. “A little more.”
He felt her hot breath touch on his face, felt her palpating fear, strange as that seemed. And then his mouth brushed hers, and though he wasn’t a man given to poetic inclinations, he knew her mouth intoxicated him—that was the only way to describe the rush of sensation that jumbled his emotions and fired a deep physical response.
Using his free hand, Mallet clasped her warm nape to keep her close. He deepened the kiss, turned his head for a better fit, and slicked his tongue past her teeth to explore her sweet mouth.
At first, she gasped and stiffened. Mallet kept it up, tasting her, teasing himself, and reveling in how a simple kiss had turned so carnal.
As he burned, she gradually slumped into him, and by small degrees flattened over him.
To fully relish the feel of the soft female body covering him and her cautious, surprised response, Mallet kept his eyes closed.
It wasn’t until his hand moved down her back to her behind that she stiffened and jerked back on straightened arms.
Panting a little, her eyes cloudy with confusion and uncertainty, she asked, “Satisfied?”
Keeping Kayli’s gaze locked in his, Mallet shook his head. A warm breeze moved over them, dancing over his heated skin and causing her fine, silky hair to move. “I won’t be satisfied until I’m well enough to put you under me.”
To his right, a man said, “You are well enough.”
Shock sliced through Mallet.
Keeping a hold on Kayli, he jerked around—and discovered he wasn’t in his familiar hospital bed any longer.
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit .
Purest sunlight shone through a tall wall of windows built along one side of a white room with a very high ceiling. There were tables and chairs, but unlike any he’d ever seen. Through an open corridor, warm, fresh air circulated.
He gulped. “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
Kayli blinked. “Sir?”
Several robed people stood around him, all of them strangers to him, all of them with impersonal expressions on their faces.
Scowling at Kayli with accusation, incredulity, and a healthy dose of caution, Mallet accepted the truth. “You transported me!”
CHAPTER 4
R ATTLED from the unexpected intimacy of Michael’s kiss, Kayli tried to free herself without success. Michael’s hands were so tight on her, she winced. Knowing it was a reaction to the circumstances, and not a bent toward brutality, she leaned closer to him. “It’s okay, Michael. They’re only android assistants.”
“Android assistants?” His vigilant gaze never wavered from their audience. “As in . . .” He shook his head with disbelief. “Not real?”
“They’re real, sir. Very real. They’re just not human. These are my friends and companions.”
“Robots? Are you yanking my chain?”
The things he said . . . “They’re anthropomorphic systems.” At his blank look, she clarified, “Designed to be human in appearance, but freethinking only to a limited degree.”
“Who
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