Chapter Eight
KAHN SLEPT ONLY in short naps. Mostly, he supervised the robotic repair of the bay doors. Until they could once again close, he couldn’t warp through hyperspace and follow Tessa. However, after he engaged the starship’s big engines, he’d catch her in no time, tracking her with the device he’d placed in her suit for just such an emergency. So he had no reason to drive himself so hard, except that time was running out. She should have exhibited psi ability by now.
When he still couldn’t get a handle on his churning gut, he retreated to Tessa’s chamber to lose himself in the only way he knew how. “Exercise program on.”
“Choose your sport.” The computer directed.
“Hand-to-hand combat.”
“State the level.”
“Ten.”
“Ten is for experts.”
“Command override. Alphex 1020.”
“Medical monitoring required,” the computer informed him. At the first sign he was in distress or danger, the computer would automatically shut down.
“Understood.”
Kahn eased into a fighting stance and cleared his mind of the Earthling. With the program set on the maximum sparring difficulty, he would have to use every brain cell he had to avoid injury. He breathed in several long breaths and released them slowly and envisioned the clean white snow of Rystan.
“Begin,” he ordered.
His holographic opponent lunged. Kahn shifted. His foe faked a jab and then roared in with a spinning round kick to the head. Kahn blocked, countered, and . . . missed. Off balance, he altered his suit to null gravity, somersaulted, pushed off the wall near the ceiling, turned the gravity back on, and dived at the hologram at twice normal speed. His opponent spun, back fisted, and caught his shoulder. Pain radiated down Kahn’s arm. Pain he welcomed.
For more than thirty minutes, he worked out his anger and frustration with Tessa, but mostly with himself and his untenable position. When he ended the program, his chest heaved, his lungs burned, and he needed a pitcher of water to replace the fluids he’d lost, but he still hadn’t found the peace or calm.
Stars. Why hadn’t he watched her more closely? After the dreadful way he’d treated her, albeit with the best of intentions, he should have considered she’d try to flee. Now, she had broken the law, and they would both pay for the rest of their lives. He only hoped that Earth and Rystan wouldn’t also suffer consequences.
Exactly two days and four hours later, the computer informed him, “The flight bay door repairs are now completed.”
“Where’s the shuttle?”
“Sensors scanning.”
“And?” Kahn prodded, heading toward the helm.
“The shuttle is not at the expected location.”
“Damn, she must have warped into hyperspace again.” Kahn wasn’t worried. He couldn’t track the ship or communications through hyperspace, but once she dropped out of warp, her suit’s built-in transmitter would pinpoint her exact location.
Except when he scanned the area of space between his ship and Earth, she wasn’t there. His heart jammed up against his ribs. Had she crashed the ship? The suit’s transmitter wouldn’t work if she’d died.
However, if she’d flown around the back side of her world, the planet’s mass would block transmission. “Prepare for hyperspace.”
“Destination?”
“Earth.” But before they left, Kahn scanned the rest of the solar system. Nothing. “Jump.”
Braced against the heightened awareness of his senses that occurred in hyperspace, Kahn waited impatiently for the return to normal space. He checked the sensor readings. Nothing. He tried the suit’s locator. Nothing.
Again he searched the rest of the solar system methodically starting with Mercury and Venus and then outward to the colder planets. Earth hadn’t been blocking her signal, another world had been. Once again he’d underestimated her.
“Jump for Mars.”
TESSA STARED out the viewscreen in the hopes her people had colonized Mars over the last three centuries. After multiple shuttle disasters during her lifetime, the space program had lost popularity. She suspected Earth’s leaders had been reluctant to spend funds on reaching another planet when the money could be better invested efforts to solve Earth’s critical environmental problems.
She might be the first Earthling to have gazed at Mars from orbit, and while she marveled at the reddish mountains and crater-pocked deserts, she hungered for a hint of humanity. “Dora, didn’t our astronauts make it out this far?”
“My sensors haven’t picked up any recent activity. A few probes crashed on this world several hundred years ago. But since then—nothing.”
Tessa supposed she should feel some satisfaction in being the first Earthling to orbit Mars, yet she knew Kahn was out there hunting her. The man wouldn’t stop searching until the Challenge period or she expired—whichever came first.
“Any sign of Kahn’s ship?”
“He’s warped into hyperspace.”
“How do you know?” Tessa turned away from the Martian landscape to the console viewscreen. During the last two days, she’d learned that the blinking green light signified the shuttle’s position. A blinking line showed their current orbit in relation to Mars, and on command, Dora could zoom out and show her Earth, too.
“Going to warp leaves a telltale autograph in space and each engine leaves a different signature pattern. I collate the data and—”
“Okay. Will we have any warning if—”
“He’s here.”
Fear galloped down her spine, but Tessa wasn’t ready to give up. “Go to warp.”
“We can’t. He’s grabbed us with a clutch beam.”
Tessa couldn’t feel the beam, but she imagined a fly didn’t recognize that a spider was pulling it into its web, either. “Can we shake loose?”
“Not enough power.”
“Come on, Dora. Search your data banks. How do we get away?”
“A shuttle this size cannot escape a clutch beam.”
Tessa didn’t like that answer. She had no idea how Kahn had found her, but now wasn’t the time to ask. She had more immediate problems—like escaping once more. “Do we have any weapons?”
“I’m not permitted to fire on the mothership.”
“Will our weapons sever the clutch beam?”
“No.”
“Are you telling me that there is nothing I can do? Nothing?”
“I am sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” Tessa slumped against the console, her pulse racing. She couldn’t stop Kahn from hauling her back into the flight bay. She couldn’t stop Kahn from boarding. She couldn’t stop Kahn.
She’d been defeated in battle many times, but never had the consequences been so severe. She reminded herself that she’d escaped him once. He was not perfect. Maybe she could escape again.
Probably ten minutes passed before the clutch beam pulled the shuttle back into the flight bay with its newly repaired doors. Those minutes flew by like seconds, and yet, it contradictorily seemed to take a lifetime.
The airlocks recycled, and the pressure changed. The door opened, and Kahn strode inside the shuttle. In the short time she’d been away, she’d forgotten his height and mass, how he towered over her. But worse, his face could have been carved of Martian granite.
Tessa forced back her shoulders, raised her chin, and tried not to think ahead. From the frosty glare in his eyes that took an inventory of her from her bare feet, up her naked torso to her eyes locked with his, she figured she might be better off if she remained silent. She most certainly didn’t want to risk loosening the temper he’d obviously reined in so tightly.
“Woman, you have done more damage than you know.”
Her mouth went sand dry, and she simply waited for his words to fall like blows.
“The theft of the shuttle is a high crime against the Federation.”
Her eyes narrowed. “The shuttle has been returned.” She didn’t understand why he had gone so stern and more serious than normal or why he spoke in the voice of doom. Was she going to jail? She’d actually find an eight-by-ten cell preferable to remaining with him.
“A shuttle is the mother ship’s only lifeboat. By stealing it you placed a life in danger. If there had been an emergency aboard the mothership—”
“Was there?”
“That’s not the point. I believe your world incarcerates criminals for attempted murder, don’t they?”
“I meant you no harm.”
“The Federation has no way to measure intent. There’s no need for a trial since the facts are irrefutable. The penalty is death.”
She had no reason to believe him, except that as far as she knew, he’d never lied to her, and he practically vibrated with anger, which indicated the seriousness of her actions just as much as his words. She didn’t want to die, but living didn’t seem all that appealing at the moment. “I should have died three-hundred years ago.”
“Silence.”
Damn it. She’d known anything she said would make matters worse. Why did she have to go and open her mouth? Because part of her still believed she could extricate herself from her fate. Because part of her believed that if she could just reach Earth and she could discuss the problem of her lack of psi with the authorities, a solution could be found.
Like an animal caught in a trap about to snap shut, she was clawing to escape. And couldn’t.
“There is only one exception to the death penalty.”
She waited, her breath catching in her throat, barely daring to hope.
“During times of courtship, certain behaviors are forgiven.”
Courtship? She cocked a hand on her hip. “You realize I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
“Except for murder, a crime committed during a lovers’ quarrel can be forgiven under certain circumstances.”
They weren’t lovers, but she didn’t want to go there. “What circumstances?”
“If we wed, the crime will be forgiven.”
“No.” She didn’t have to think. She would truly rather be dead than spend more time with Kahn. Death was clean and preferable to even one more hour of that same kind of treatment from him. She might be Earth’s last hope for clean air and oceans, but she didn’t have any psi, so staying alive would serve no purpose.
Kahn folded his arms across his chest, his expression resolute. “I am not asking.”
“Good. Tell me how long I have to live so I can prepare myself.”
“You do not understand. The choice is not yours—but mine.”
No. “Says who?”
“Say our laws. You will be my wife.”
No. “For how long?”
“Forever.”
No. “You’ve never heard of the civilized custom of divorce?”
He shook his head.
She backed from him until the console stopped her retreat. It was one thing to die during an honorable mission for her world, quite another to commit the rest of her life to . . . him. To a life with no freedoms. To a life on his world. “You don’t want to do this.”
“For once you’re right. I don’t.” Distaste flickered in the depths of those eyes, then hardened. “I’ve consulted with legal experts who see only one way for you to win the Challenge. And I don’t care if every atom of your soul resists what we must do. I can’t lie about your theft of the shuttlecraft—not with Federation sensors and cameras onboard to monitor our actions. Your rebelliousness has taken all options from us—except one. We will marry.”
Ice skimmed down her spine. “But—”
“Because winning the Challenge for Rystan and Earth is more important than our wishes. And you cannot win the Challenge if you are dead.”
“Now there’s a romantic proposal.” She used sarcasm to try to shut down the maelstrom of fear, an effort equivalent to spitting against a tornado. Tessa wasn’t afraid of death. She was afraid of living without freedom and hope. She couldn’t imagine a fate worse than marriage to this man. As if stuck in some nightmare, she tried to find a way out, a way to awaken. This couldn’t be happening.
She hadn’t only lost everyone she’d known, her job and her world. She’d lost her freedom, and despite her ramrod straight spine, she swayed on her feet, dark despair clamping her down from all sides until she couldn’t breathe.
And even worse, she’d failed Earth.
“Woman, enough sarcasm. You have insulted me—”
She might be suffocating, but she would protest with every last freedom-loving cell in her. “I haven’t begun to—”
“You will promise to follow Rystani customs. Our woman do not speak with such rudeness to their men.”
No. “I make no such promises.”
“You’ll make them, and you’ll keep your word . . . because if you do not, we can spend every night like we spent our last hours together. With you bent over my lap, begging me.”
At his intimidation, the blackness in her soul swirled with rage and an impotence that she’d never known before. Giving her no quarter, no room to maneuver, he might as well have nailed her to the wall.
“Are you saying that if I become your wife and obey your customs, you won’t ever do that to me again?”
“I shall do with you whatever I wish.”
He wouldn’t bargain. He wouldn’t give one damn inch. And there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop him.
Kahn turned on the shuttle’s viewscreen, grabbed her hand, and tugged her over to watch scenes from Earth flash across it. She saw people wearing masks to breathe. Huge masses of clouds so dirty they obstructed entire cities, oceans that were no longer blue, but brown, and rivers clogged with filth, children playing on the banks.
Kahn made more adjustments to the screen. “This is Rystan.”
The view was from orbit. He pointed to the glowing continents in both hemispheres. “That’s from radiation.” His entire world glowed, except at the poles where snow and ice covered the land. At the harsh landscape she more than understood his desperation to succeed and wished she could help, but she couldn’t because she had no psi and couldn’t win the Challenge without the skill.
She spoke past the lump of frustration in her throat. “It’s difficult to believe anyone could survive on Rystan.”
“We ruined a world of beauty. Rystan’s climate was once like your Earth, but then atomic wars wiped out billions. The major continents will remain radioactive and uninhabitable for thousands of years. There aren’t many of us left, and we’re barely surviving at the North and South poles. We don’t have the resources to fight the Endekians for our world—”
“You once told me your glow stones are valuable. Can’t you trade them for food and weapons?”
“Glow stones are atomic in nature. “Their natural shielding prevents radiation, but when inserted into projectile missiles, the stones become bombs.”
“And the Federation won’t help you?”
“They won’t send troops to defend us until we are a full-fledged member.”
“What sort of organization is your Federation if its leaders aren’t concerned over nuclear threats?”
“Even the Federation has limited resources. Your country was known as the wealthiest and most democratic of its time. Yet, when India and Pakistan threatened to annihilate one another, your United Nations did not send a peace-keeping force. Such decisions are made in our Federation, too. For Rystan’s voice to be heard, we need full status.”
“And for Rystan to acquire that status, I have to succeed at the Challenge?” she whispered, surprised he’d studied so much Earth history. With the fate of two worlds at stake, she couldn’t give up—even if the odds of success appeared hopeless. And neither could he. The Challenge that had once been a mission had now turned into a life sentence. She would have to marry Kahn.
Her bleak future swallowed her like a black hole where time stood still and misery lasted forever. Her spirit shriveled. He’d given her no choice but to cave. In the depth of her despair, a sensation she’d never experienced jolted her from her emotional pain. Oh, God. What had he done to her now?
The sensations coalesced, then exploded.
“FOLLOW ME, woman. We must prepare for a wedding.” Floored by the fact that the Earthling would prefer death to marriage to him, Kahn spun on his heel and gave her his back to hide his supreme irritation at her unreasonable attitude. She never reacted as he expected. When he’d mentioned the death penalty, he’d assumed she would fall apart. She hadn’t. When he told her how he could save her, he’d expected her to be grateful. She wasn’t. And when he’d explained her fate, taking the decision out of her hands, did she appreciate that he was willing to shoulder a lifetime of responsibility of protecting and providing for her? No, she didn’t.
Without years of training, he would never have noticed a totally unexpected psi attack launched at his back. Kahn responded with his own psi out of instinct. Pivoting, he’d blocked and counter-striked, flinging his adversary across the shuttle.
Stars! No. Only after committing to the block and counterstrike did his brain connect all the elements. Tessa had attacked him.
She had summoned her psi power.
But, he’d flung her towards a wall, responding as he would have to any sudden and unexpected assault.
Krek, he cursed. Without psi training to protect herself, she would be injured. If only he could undo his actions, but that was impossible. He stared in horror as, arms flung wide, she flailed in midair, crashing into a bulkhead with a sickening thud. Even as she crumpled, he lunged across the room and caught her before she hit the floor.
Fearing the worst, he spoke to the computer. “Medical diagnosis.”
“She is unconscious,” the computer gave him a medical evaluation. “Her skull is not fractured. The brain is not swelling. She should recover with a powerful headache and a painful lump.”
Kahn had never struck a woman in his life. Then again, a female had never attacked him, either. Still, he had no excuse. Rystani men protected their women; they valued their women. When he had sexually stimulated and then stopped, he’d mistreated her hoping to evoke her psi. This time he didn’t even have a good excuse. No matter the circumstances, what he had done was unpardonable. Even if she’d landed her intended blow, Tessa’s attack couldn’t have hurt him. She didn’t have enough focus or power, but when he’d responded, he’d reacted without thought and on the sheer instinct as a warrior would have under attack in battle to a deadly force. Still, his action had been totally unacceptable. Unforgivable. If they’d been on Rystan, his offense could have cost him his position as leader, maybe gotten him banished from Rian, his village. Even worse, he might have permanently damaged her.
Holding her in his arms, he hugged her gently against his chest and prayed for her quick recovery. “Will it hurt to move her?”
“No,” the computer answered.
His heart heavy, Kahn exited the shuttle, carrying Tessa. She had been through so many traumas and now he’d added to her burden. He headed directly for her chamber, listening for a moan, hoping for a flutter of the eyelids, a hint to indicate she would fully recover.
She remained limp in his arms, and he berated himself for his carelessness. He sat on the dais, held her in his arms, nestling her head against his shoulder. Who would have thought such a tiny pink female could cause so much trouble? Or react to her first psi experience with an attack?
In the Federation’s history of Challenge contenders, no woman had ever comported herself with such violence. She should have been covering her nudity and changing her suit’s transparency, but no, she’d jammed her fist at his kidney.
A soft moan drew his gaze to her. Slowly, her eyelids opened. Clouded with confusion, her eyes stared at him then widened as she brushed a lock of hair from her face. “What happened?”
“I owe you an apology.”
“You do?”
She didn’t squirm or fidget in his arms and appeared quite puzzled by his words. Perhaps she didn’t remember.
“I am deeply sorry for hitting you.”
“I attacked. You countered. No big deal.”
She did remember, and stunned, he shook his head. He’d treated her terribly, like an uncivilized Endekian. He’d struck her, and it was no big deal? She must not be thinking clearly due to the blow to her temple. “How’s your head?”
She gently touched the swelling and winced. “I’ll live. But what happened?”
“I hit you. Then you smashed into the bulkhead.”
“Before that?” she demanded with exasperation. “I attacked you, but with a force . . . that shot me across the room like a cannon ball.”
He grinned. “You did it.” Then he kissed her forehead, relieved she would be okay, happy that she’d finally succeeded.
“I did what?”
He kissed her cheek. “You used your psi power.”
She jumped off his lap and paced, totally ignoring her injuries. Tessa acted as if the pain was inconsequential. He would have thought she was fine, except he could see the swelling above her ear and the blood trickling down her face before the suit absorbed it.
“I have psi power.” Her voice raised an octave in wonder. “I never really believed you.”
“If you hadn’t taken me by surprise . . . I would have not hurt you.”
“I understand.”
How could she be so casual about his negligence? He could have killed her. She must not comprehend the gravity of what he’d done. “After you launched that attack, I reacted instinctively, I should never have—”
“Look, you defended yourself. It’s not a problem.”
“It isn’t?” He would never understand her. She caused this huge fuss over his stopping before she reached sexual completion, yet when he’d raised his fist to her, she acted as if he’d simply tripped and bumped her.
She stopped pacing and placed her hands on her hips. “Kahn, how did I activate my psi?”
“You tell me,” he challenged her. Proud of Tessa for going straight to the most important detail, he restrained a grin.
She shook her head as if recalling a terrible moment. “I don’t want to go there again.”
“You must.” At the dark look on her face, he tempered his demand. “But if you wish to rest or wait until you heal—”
“I’m fine.”
She wasn’t fine. The skin around her eye was bruising. Tomorrow, she would no doubt sport an ugly bruise. Every time he looked at her, he would remember his shame.
She gestured for him to rise to his feet. “I want to try that maneuver again.”
His lower jaw dropped. “What did you say?”
“I want to attack you again.”
“No.”
“Look. This time you’ll be prepared. This time you won’t hurt me.”
“This is not the way we train females.”
“Yeah, well, your method didn’t work, did it?” She looked as if she wanted to say something, hesitated, then took a deep breath. “Exactly how do you train men candidates?”
“With combat.”
“Well, duh. Did you ever think that combat might work for me?”
She stared at him as if he was the most stupid man in the universe, waiting for an answer. Tense, balanced on the balls of her feet, her hands loose, she looked ready for action.
“You have no idea what you’re suggesting. I can’t believe you’d even think such a thing. On Rystan men don’t battle women, they protect them.”
“I’d rather go to war than have you keep ‘protecting’ me,” she sneered.
“You have no cuts, bruises, or broken bones.”
“Those are acceptable risks. And much better than torture.”
No, what she asked was unthinkable—except that her outrageous suggestion might be the only way to train her for the Challenge.
She fisted her hands on her hips. “I shouldn’t be the only one expected to make adjustments. Perhaps you should reconsider.”
Perhaps he should. Yet, no matter how much yielding to her suggestion went against his Rystani customs, winning the Challenge had to take precedence, didn’t it?
He needed more time to come to a decision. “We will talk no more about your training for now. Today is our wedding day. You must learn our customs and what a Rystani man expects of his obedient wife.”
She sputtered. “Excuse me. I’m more interested in—”
“Rystani wives don’t argue with their husbands.”
“Really? If the other men are like you, I find that impossible to believe.”
He stood, placed his hands on her waist, and lifted her until her eyes were on the same level with his. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” She chuckled, a deep rumbling laugh that made him want to shake her. Had the knot on her head made her lose her sense of reason?
When she finally stopped laughing, she cocked one haughty eyebrow. “Do good Rystani wives cook?”
“Of course.”
“I don’t know how.”
He set her back on her feet and loomed over her, trying hard to forget the delicious meals Lael had once prepared for him and how she’d enjoyed his praise of her cooking. “You will learn to cook. In fact it’s your job to prepare a wedding feast for us.”
“Nor do I know how to clean. Or sew. Or take care of children. I am not good-wife material any more than you are good-husband material.”
“Lael never had any complaints,” he muttered, thinking that he’d never have thought he would be so happy to hear Tessa insult him again. Relief that he hadn’t caused real damage must be blindsiding him to his fate of having to put up with her for a lifetime.
“Lael?” Tessa’s eyes narrowed.
“My wife. An Endekian killed her.”
“I’m sorry,” she told him, her tone sincere. “Do you have children?”
He shook his head, his throat clogged with grief that wasn’t quite as thick as it had been before he’d met Tessa. He recalled her words that no one would replace Mike in her heart but that she was sure she could love again. Sometimes she seemed so wise and well balanced. However, he’d never wanted to care again. Caring caused pain, and he’d certainly had enough loss in his lifetime. But then so had she, and he marveled at her courage.
Tessa must have seen the torment in his eyes. “Didn’t you once tell me that if a Rystani’s mate died, another would be found?”
“I refused. As leader of my people, I had enough to worry about. I didn’t intend to remarry.”
“You can still change your mind.”
“No, I can’t. I can’t let you die for stealing the spaceship—not when it was my fault that you escaped. Not after you’ve proven you have psi ability that might allow you to win the Challenge.”
“Kahn, you deserve a wife who will be proud to keep your home and raise your children. I’m sorry that you’re stuck with me because I’m so obviously unqualified. Perhaps after the Challenge is done, we can go our separate ways.”
“You will adjust. Don’t think to fight me on this, woman. Life on Rystan is hard enough without a man coming home to strife. Since we must make this sacrifice of marriage and since we will live in my world, the least you can do is adapt to our customs.”
“Wouldn’t you prefer to live on Earth? The air might not be fit to breathe but at least there’s enough food.”
“My people need me. And you have no ties on Earth.
She hesitated, then words burst out of her as if she couldn’t keep them inside. “If we wed, I also want something in return.”
He would make no concessions. Didn’t she yet understand that the winning the Challenge came before their own preferences? “You will do as I say.”
“Wouldn’t you rather I was willing?”
Yes, and admitting so would give her negotiating powers. Yet his silence seemed to tell her what she wanted to know.
She bit her bottom lip, then raised her eyes to his. “I’ll agree to follow your customs as well as I’m able. In return, you train me for the Challenge as you would a man.”
Such an important decision could not be made without much thought. “I will consider your request.”
Her eyes darkened. “I understand that to you hitting a woman is unacceptable. But torturing me sexually is fine and dandy?”
He glared at her, wishing he could explain that his behavior was no more acceptable to him than to her. “I would never treat a Rystani woman that way.”
“But since I’m not Rystani, it’s okay?”
“The necessity of winning the Challenge changes the rules of acceptable behavior.”
“Not in my mind.” She shook her head. “The ends don’t justify the means.”
He couldn’t argue his reasons for his actions without explaining more than he should. And for now, it would not hurt her to believe that she had to obey him or suffer consequences she wouldn’t like. “You will abide by Rystani marriage laws.”
Stubborn as a warrior, Tessa wouldn’t give up, and she shot him a saucy grin. “What would you say to a little bet?”
He deliberately looked her up and down, knowing her nudity bothered her and needing to prove a point—that she couldn’t manipulate him. Winning the Challenge was simply too critical to too many people for him to let her think she could do what she pleased. “I will take what I want. You have nothing to wager.”
“Actually, I do. Wouldn’t you prefer to have my cooperation?”
“I’ll have that either way.”
“You said life was hard on your planet. You don’t want strife. Do you really want to spend the rest of our lives fighting one another?” He didn’t appreciate her using his own words against him. When he didn’t answer, she continued, “Must I remind you that for me to win the Challenge and save your people that you need my cooperation? I’m willing to bet that I can defeat you in unarmed combat—if you don’t use your suit.”
“You wouldn’t know if I used it or not.” As abhorrent as he found her suggestion, in truth, he was actually considering her request. He couldn’t ignore that she hadn’t responded at all to the sexual frustration or that her first use of psi had been an attack. She wasn’t Rystani, she was from Earth, and he should have taken her background into account sooner.
“Your honor would forbid you from cheating. I’ll trust you to be true to your word. And if I defeat you, you’ll train me as a man.”
Still undecided, he asked, “And if you lose?”
She spoke boldly. “If I lose—we’ll do everything your way—and with my full participation.”
As if knowing that he couldn’t make up his mind on the matter, she eyed him with a distinct twinkle in her eyes. “I’m sure a man of your enormous fighting abilities can subdue little ole me without throwing a punch.”
True. He could wrestle her to the floor and pin her with his weight. Or he could use mai-slan-hi against her joints. Perhaps a gentle wrist twist to put her on her knees. He could defeat her without striking her, yet it bothered him that she seemed to know he could do so, and yet she’d still asked to make this strange bet anyway.
“I agree.” With a psi thought he lowered the dais until it once again became part of the deck, leaving them a wide, flat surface and nothing to trip over or run into. Then he deactivated his suit.
She widened her stance and raised her hands in a defensive gesture. “Shall we begin?”