Free My Man Michael by Lori Foster

pleasure of walking under his own steam.
    The AMAs looked as human as he did, not at all like machines. “So they’re sexually oriented android robots, like in Terminator and Alien ?”
    “Sexually oriented only in part.” Kayli held out a hand. “Our time is limited, so I’d prefer to brief you on the way.”
    Though skeptical, Mallet looked forward to her explanations. He took her hand and she started him down the long, narrow corridor.
    That, too, he enjoyed. Hell, he wanted to run. He wanted to jump and kick and train.
    He wanted to fight again. Right now. Not in anger, but in competition, just to assure himself that he was back, as good as ever.
    But Kayli’s gentleness, her undeniable femininity as she walked beside him, tempered his desire to test his strength and speed. Instead, his thoughts went to her, what made her tick, what motivated her.
    What excited her.
    Her hand felt small and cool in his. And damn it, he felt protective. Not because of whatever malevolence she claimed against the colony, but because of her own misconceptions about her appeal, and her mother’s emotionless interaction with her.
    Little by little, he was starting to believe.
    Everywhere he looked, he saw things unfamiliar to him. It was all too vivid, too substantial to be a dream. His friends had seen Kayli. Drew Black had held her hand, the same as he himself did now.
    She existed—which meant he really had transported to the future.
    Kayli needed him, and he wanted to help her—not only with the problems she described, but with the inner turmoil he detected, too.
    She glanced up at him, then away. “I understand that your media entertainment often focused on the future. That’s what you meant by Alien and Terminator ?”
    “Kick-ass movies, yeah. I enjoyed all the sequels, too.”
    “Our AMAs are unlike those ill-tempered creatures of your films.”
    Windows lined the corridor and through them, Mallet saw grasslands, towering trees, and flowers everywhere. The colors were brighter than any he’d ever seen; the sky so blue it hurt his eyes, the grass lushly green, the flowers a rainbow of hues.
    Mallet moved to a window. “If we’re in a spaceship, we aren’t that high in the sky.”
    She came up beside him. “We’re in my vessel, but while moored, we have restrictions on visibility. We must be close enough for all to see, but not so low that other vehicles might have to avoid us.”
    “So if I jumped out—”
    “You can’t!” She latched onto his arm with alarm. “The fall would extirpate you.”
    “Extirpate?”
    “Kill you. You would be beyond repair.” She shook his arm, anxious to make him understand. “I would not be able to make you whole again.”
    Mallet covered her hand. “Sorry. Bad joke.” He lifted her hand and kissed her fingertips. “I’m not planning to damage myself again anytime soon.”
    Her scowl showed just what she thought of his humor. With a tug, she steered him into a sterile room in direct contrast to what he’d seen out the windows.
    There was no color here at all.
    The warm, white stone floor held soft white chairs, odd in their design. Only the single door they’d entered broke the windowless white walls.
    After one last stern look of reprimand, Kayli returned to their previous discussion. “Our AMAs are freethinking, but never provided with more strength than the person who acquires them. However, they are often more intelligent, and they can be designed with a varying assortment of human emotions.”
    Mallet turned a circle in awe. The temperature of the room wasn’t cold, but the atmosphere felt stark and frosty. Distracted, he pointed out, “Yours have emotions.”
    “Yes, they do. I paid extra to have them fully equipped with all known sentiments. It makes it easier to enjoy their company.”
    Because her mother kept herself so aloof? What about her sisters? Did they treat Kayli the same way? Like a stranger, an employee, rather than family?
    That thought bothered