Page 69 of The Ruler
She nodded. “I’m sure he won’t mind standing in for a sex-bot once in a while.”
Her grin was innocent and careless, but I didn’t find it funny. “That’s out of the question,” I said firmly.
“Why?”
“Because sex complicates things and sometimes it can ruin everything.” I didn’t share with her that I was speaking from personal experience.
“But…”
“No, Christina, don’t encourage Kya to have sex with Archer. They have to work closely together.”
“Okay, but there’s still Max and the two rangers that she can pick from,” Christina pointed out.
“Who is Max again?”
“He’s Boulder’s personal assistant. He’s not as cute as Archer, but nice enough in a non-threatening way, I suppose.”
“Christina.” My voice was firm. “Please stop fixing your friend up with Nmen; she’s here to do a job, not fall in love.”
“But if she did, maybe she would stay forever and she and I wouldn’t have to part again.”
“That’s a selfish thought,” I said. “You need to accept that you’re an anomaly. The rest of us aren’t attracted to Nmen. Some of us need something a bit more civilized.” It was my brain speaking. The part of me that wanted things to be that way. And maybe if I let my brain be in control for a while, it would overshadow my rebellious heart that had wanted to crawl into Khan’s bed last night and talk to him about the pain we both felt.
Christina looked down. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just that I don’t see Boulder as a scary Nman anymore. If only you knew how funny he is, not to mention caring, generous, and loving.”
“When will Kya arrive?” I asked with a soft smile to ease the abrupt change of subject.
“Tomorrow,” she said and brushed invisible dust off her pants. “Boulder suggested that you and Khan come to us. That way you can interview Kya and we can all go and see the school again.” Christina lit up. “You’re going to freak out when you see the changes Boulder has made already. He knows I desperately want Kya to say yes to the job, so he’s trying to create miracles before tomorrow to impress her.”
“Good. I’ll check with Khan.
“Right.” Christina furrowed her brow. “Sometimes I forget that you can’t just walk around and that you’re actually here as a hostage.”
“Yes. It’s limiting but at least now he’s not forcing me to sit in his office all day. I’m here in the suite most of the time and the two guards outside the door make sure I don’t go anywhere.”
“You don’t get out at all?”
“Only when it pleases him. I’m a bit like a pet, I suppose. He walks me a few times a day to avoid my getting too restless.” My mocking tone revealed that I wasn’t happy about it. “But we just went to the east coast and that was dramatic enough for a while.”
“What happened?”
“Some fighting and an up-close look at the poorest parts of the country.”
“That doesn’t sound too pleasant.”
“Christina, can I ask you something?” I said.
“Sure?”
“Was it worth giving up the Motherlands for Boulder?”
She looked down to her hands. “I’m not asking you to understand, but what I have with him is more special than anything.”
“Even your friends and family?”
“I miss them,” she admitted. “Kya the most. And that’s why the slight chance that she’ll be living close to me again is making me want to dance. But the short answer to your question is ‘yes.’ Boulder is worth it.”
“You don’t find him crude?”
