Match Forged, page 6
part #0.50 of Mudden Men Series
“You couldn’t pay me enough to get in a spaceship alone with Rex,” Lauren continued. “The guy is scary.”
“It’s mostly for show,” she said, feeling defensive for him.
Lauren didn’t look convinced. “He’s got a reputation. They say he killed a man. That’s how he got that nasty scar. I don’t know why Devon insists on keeping him around.”
Elizabeth shook her head, not wanting to believe what Lauren was saying.
She didn’t doubt Rex had a reputation. She’d seen how people moved away from him. She suspected Devon picked Rex to do his dirty work because people were scared of him. He’d probably spread those rumors himself, the same way Lauren was spreading them now.
* * *
The next morning, Rex had a new idea.
“I want to teach you to fight,” he announced after they’d finished warming up.
“Fight?” She raised an eyebrow.
“To defend yourself. Though, in a fight where there is an imbalance of power, your main goal should always be to run away.”
“But why?”
“In case someone attacks you.” She looked nervously at Price and Edan to see if they were offended that Rex didn’t think them capable enough to defend her, but they kept their gazes averted.
“But why would someone attack me? You keep implying that I’m in some sort of danger, yet no one pays me any attention.”
“And let’s hope it stays that way,” he said, still avoiding answering her actual question. “But in the meantime, it wouldn’t hurt for you to know some self-defense.”
She sighed. She could ask him the same question for an hour and he’d probably still find a way to avoid answering it without actually admitting that was what he was doing.
“Fine,” she said. At the very least, it would give her a break from the weights. “I’m just surprised you actually know how to fight. I thought growing bigger muscles and practicing your scowl was enough to scare people away.”
That got her a crooked smile. She didn’t know why she liked teasing him so much. She’d noticed that people around them always tensed when she talked back to Rex, as if they were scared of his reaction. It made her feel brave. She liked pushing his buttons and seeing how he reacted.
“Just remember,” he said. “Only fight as much as you need to break free and then run.” She nodded.
He started by showing her some fighting stances, then moved on to defensive moves.
“If someone grabs you…” He reached his arm out and wrapped his large fingers around her wrist, dwarfing her hand with his. Her heartbeat drummed in her ears as she realized a big problem with learning self-defense from Rex; he was going to have to touch her. “You place your hand over your attacker’s and twist.” He twisted his arm up, still holding hers as demonstration.
“Grab my wrist and I’ll show you,” he said, releasing her hand.
She hesitated, her palms suddenly sweaty at the thought of touching him. Tentatively, she reached out, placing her hand on his wrist. Her ears pulsed, her attention zeroing in on the feel of his soft skin covered in coarse hair. She stared at the muscles of his forearms imagining herself stroking up his arm, when suddenly he pulled and twisted her arm behind her back, sending a shooting sharp pain into her shoulder.
“Ouch!”
“Once you’re here, you push against your attacker and run.” He released her arm. She grabbed and rolled her shoulder to ease the pain, giving him a nasty glare, which he either did not notice or ignored. “Now you try.” He reached out to grab her wrist again.
She practiced the move several times until she’d learned it to his satisfaction.
“Now if an attacker comes up close to you.” He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. She felt his body heat through her jumpsuit, as her soft curves pressed against his hard body. She breathed in to calm her reaction, but this close, she got an overwhelming whiff of his cologne mixed with sweat, stirring an unexpected intensity between her legs. He explained the movement to her, but the blood rushing to her head wouldn’t let her focus on anything but the effect of his nearness on her body.
Maybe she should ask him to stop the lesson, though she didn’t want to have to explain why.
“Pay attention,” he said, as he showed her the movement one more time. “Now you do it.”
He once again wrapped his arm around her neck. She grabbed his hand like he’d taught her and ducked, but couldn’t remember what to do next.
Suddenly, her feet came out from under her, and her back hit the mat hard. Her vision blurred as a sharp pain resonated when her head hit the ground. She tried to get up but his hand held her neck down. All the heat left her body and her blood ran cold. Rex’s face loomed a few centimeters above hers, completely devoid of any emotions.
“This is what happens when you don’t pay attention.”
His voice cold as ice sent shivers down her back. Lauren’s words blasted in her head. Murderer. Kidnapper. And there he was with his large hand only needing to squeeze a little tighter to crush her windpipe.
She couldn’t mask the fear from her face. The moment he saw the look in her eyes, he let go of her throat.
She drew in a painful breath. He stared back at her, his features unreadable.
“Were you going to kidnap me?” Her voice sounded distant to her own ears.
“What?” He raised his eyebrows in confusion.
“On Harcan,” she continued. “If I hadn’t come with you willingly. Would you have kidnapped me?”
Rex narrowed his eyes, then looked around at Price and Edan who had come closer since Rex had thrown her to the floor, though they hadn’t made a move to stop him. Great protection! Then he looked across the room at a guy lifting weights who also stared at them curiously.
Rex got up and extended his hand down to her. Her head still ringing from the fall, she turned on the mat and got up by herself, ignoring his offer of help.
Rex lowered his hand and walked out the room into the hallway, looking back at her to follow. She wondered if she should, not wanting to be alone with him. Though, clearly, Price and Edan weren’t going to defend her against Rex, so alone or with them, it didn’t make much difference.
Once in the hallway he turned toward her with his arms crossed over his chest. “What do you want to know?”
“Did Devon ask you to kidnap me?”
“He told me to bring you here. He didn’t give me any specific instructions on how to do it.” He lowered his arms. “The paid vacation thing was my idea.”
“But if I’d said no…”
He shrugged. “I had other ideas prepared, but you were surprisingly easy to convince,” he said, the tone of his voice conveying he was proud of himself. “I expected more of a challenge.”
“You made me feel guilty,” she protested. “Like it would be my fault if Lauren died.”
“You can’t possibly feel responsible for every pregnant woman in the system.” He shook his head. “I think you were desperate for something new.”
“What?”
“You pretend to be calm and responsible, but deep down you’re just looking for excitement. Whenever you’re faced with two options, you always choose the one that will give you the most thrills. You can’t even sit still for an hour.”
Elizabeth swallowed. Maybe he was right. She often felt guilty for the high she felt whenever a surgery went wrong and she had to save the day. It sometimes felt like the worse things got, the more fun it became for her. She enjoyed the adrenaline rush. Had part of her reason for coming to Mudden been that she’d imagined going to a new planet would involve exploring and danger? Instead, she was stuck inside the palace with bodyguards tailing her. Was this also the reason she kept going back to Rex? Did she, in some sick way, enjoy the fear and danger he carried with him?
She shook her head, not wanting to think about that.
He still hadn’t answered her question. “Was one of your ideas kidnapping me?”
She tried to ignore the sheer excitement she felt just asking him that question. She pictured him back on Harcan standing outside her apartment door, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. Her cheeks burned when the fantasy took on a sudden turn and instead of taking her to his ship, she imagined him walking into her apartment and throwing her down on her bed.
“Coming back here without you wasn’t an option. Devon would have fired me or worse. But I don’t know if I could have forced you,” he finally said, making his voice soft. “Kidnapping is not part of my job description.”
She looked up at him. His face was earnest. He did not want her to think badly of him, which sent a different kind of warmth through her chest.
“Honestly, my plan of last resort was to seduce you.” He half-smiled at her. Had he read her thoughts? And would her cheeks ever go back to their normal temperature?
“Is that why you were so interested in my relationship history?” She teased, her body buzzing as she played along.
“Yeah, I had to do some research before meeting you. Though there wasn’t much to find other than ‘hides behind ugly jumpsuits’.” His smile turned full-blown, making his scar jut out even more, yet softening his face so he could almost be considered good-looking.
He led her back to the gym. She wasn’t sure where they stood now.
She had no problem believing Devon was capable of kidnapping. Lauren’s admission pretty much guaranteed that’s what he’d expected Rex to do. And Devon controlled Rex, seeing him as a pawn to be used in any way necessary. Annoyingly, Rex seemed to be a very willing participant, ready to do anything for a chance to get off of Mudden. If she couldn’t trust Devon, then could she really trust Rex?
* * *
The next two weeks were just more of the same for Elizabeth. In the morning she worked out with Rex, her fighting skill improving with every lesson. Though she’d noticed more and more guys showing up to watch her while pretending to workout themselves. There were never any other women in the gym with them. She’d be worried, but Rex’s glare kept them at a distance, and most did not come back twice.
Afterward, she spent her days with Lauren and Magda. The three went on walks in the yard twice a day, but Devon somehow managed to make sure no one else was out there during those times, except for Price and Edan who dutifully followed.
Lauren was nice, but like everyone else she avoided answering any of her questions about Mudden. Elizabeth had to constantly remind herself that Lauren was Devon’s wife, and Devon could not be trusted, which meant that Lauren, who clearly loved him and supported him, could not either.
Lauren did however do as she promised and got Elizabeth some new clothes. She’d been given knee-length cotton dresses with embroidery on the body. They weren’t as fancy as the dresses the women in the family wore, but they were dressier and more feminine than anything Elizabeth had ever worn herself. She felt very self-conscious the first few days, but she liked that she no longer stuck out like a sore thumb. Not that she saw anyone else all day. Devon had decided to get their meals delivered to Lauren’s room so they didn’t even need to go down to the dining room at dinner time. Remembering how Hall had treated her the last time, Elizabeth wasn’t too disappointed, but she was getting bored of spending all her days with only two people to talk to. Although she saw Rex in the mornings, he was never chatty while working out. As for Price and Edan, they only really felt comfortable talking when Rex was around, like they did not truly believe they were allowed to talk to her unless they had him there as a buffer.
She wanted to go out and explore. She was starting to feel as claustrophobic as she had on Rex’s ship, and it didn’t help that she had nothing to do all day either.
She’d had enough. She remembered Rex telling her smiles worked on all single Mudden men and decided to test that theory out. After showering and getting dressed for the day, she turned on Price and Edan with the most charming smile she could muster.
“Let’s go for a walk.”
Price smiled back, his face turning a darker shade.
Edan just raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “Where?”
“Anywhere.” She shrugged. “I’ve been here for weeks, and all I’ve seen are the same three rooms in this place.”
“You go on walks with Lauren,” Price said.
“In circles around the same courtyard every day. I want to see the city.”
“No.” Edan placed his hands on his hips.
“I’m wearing an ordinary dress. I will blend in. Besides, the two of you will protect me.” She smiled innocently.
“It’s too dangerous. Unmarried women are not allowed to wander on their own.”
She shrugged her shoulders. That was news to her. “I’ll pretend to be married to one of you.”
“Which one?” Price asked with a shy smile.
“Either. Or both! You choose.”
“Is that possible on your world?”
“You give us both a kiss and we’ll take you,” Edan said, smiling back in a way that made her want to shower.
“No!” She shook her head, this wasn’t going the way she’d wanted. “But I’ll give you money.”
“Do you even have Mudden currency?”
“No, but I have plenty of increds. Devon paid me a decent sum of money to come here, and he owes me more when I go home.”
“What would we do with increds? We can’t leave the planet.”
“Come on. There has to be something you want that I can give you?” She pleaded with her voice. “Not physical,” she added, in case it needed to be said.
They looked at each other.
“We want to workout with Rex,” Price said.
“What? Why?”
Price shrugged. “He’s the strongest man in the palace. He probably has some good tips.”
“Plus, he’s got a connection to the future heir. If we’re good with him, we’ll have more job opportunities.”
“I’d love to go traveling on a spaceship,” Price said.
Elizabeth thought about it.
“Alright, I’ll talk to him.” That was all she could promise to do. Whatever Rex decided to do after that was their problem.
“And you’ll smile when you ask him!” Edan said.
“Fine.”
They smiled at each other. “Alright. Let’s go, but stay close to us.”
They took some back way out of the palace, and Elizabeth finally emerged into the city.
It was nothing like Tarkin city. There were no skyscrapers and no anti-grav traffic of any kind. Instead, people walked by and vehicles rolled, sending the smell of fuel directly to her face. The people wore the same clothes she’d seen inside the palace, but they looked hungrier, scared. Her feet kicked up dust as she walked, making her sneeze. Harcan was a desert planet, and yet its city streets did not have as much sand and dirt on them as these. The humidity made her dress, as well as a thin layer of dirt, stick to her sweaty body. She wondered how the palace kept so cool when they supposedly didn’t use any advanced technology.
She walked down the street looking at everyone and everything with wonder. She couldn’t help but notice the disparity between the people in the city and the ones in the palace.
Every once in a while, she saw men dressed in black, carrying laser weapons and walking in pairs. Price and Edan always steered her away from them. She noticed most people on the street were doing the same.
“Who are they?”
“Mudden military,” Price answered, pushing her on the back to get her moving away from a pair looking their way. “They keep the peace in the clan.”
They looked more like they were responsible for the scared looks on everyone’s faces.
After a short walk they arrived at a large square full of busy shops and stands.
“I think you’ve seen enough,” Edan said, turning around.
“I’ve barely seen anything.”
“I don’t like the looks you’re getting.” Edan crowded behind her to get her moving. “People know we’re palace guards, and they’re wondering what you’re doing with us.”
She ignored him and approached a stand covered in colorful fruits she’d never seen before. Mudden had the same fruits that were grown on Harcan, since all the planets grew their foods from the same seeds, but on Harcan she bought them already cut up and packaged, ready to eat.
An old woman approached her, looking her up and down, then at her guards.
Elizabeth smiled at her unsure what she wanted.
“Are you the doctor?” Her voice croaked.
Apparently people had found out that Devon had brought her here after all.
“Um…yes—”
“No!” Edan cut her off.
But the woman ignored him, looking up at Elizabeth with tears forming in her eyes.
“Please,” she said. “You have to come with me. Help my husband!”
“No!” Edan repeated, placing one hand on Elizabeth’s arm. She shook her arm from his grip. The old woman couldn’t hurt a fly, let alone be any danger to her.
“What’s wrong with him?” She asked.
“He’s fallen and injured himself, but he’s old. Our healer won’t do anything to help him.”
Elizabeth doubted she could do much herself, considering she had zero equipment on this rock, but the woman’s pleas tugged at her heart. “I could take a look.”
“No!” This time both Price and Edan chimed in.
“There’s no harm in looking at one person,” she said turning on them.
“We’re leaving,” Edan said. He looked around nervously. Several people had turned to watch their exchange.
“No,” cried the old woman. She grabbed Elizabeth’s arm in a surprisingly strong grip.
“She’s the doctor!” she yelled.
“The doctor?” Several more people turned toward them.
Her pulse quickening, Elizabeth pulled on her arm, but the woman wouldn’t let go.
“Please,” she begged again holding on with both hands.
Elizabeth’s brain froze. Hadn’t Rex taught her how to get out of someone’s grip? She couldn’t remember anything as panic hit her. The crowd gathering around them closed in, yelling and demanding answers.
