“I don’t. You really want me to live here, with you?”
“Of course I want that.”
“You want me to live in your mansion? A place I never thought I’d ever be able to step foot in, much less call home in my lifetime?”
“Yes. You might not have as much privacy as you would at your apartment, but we do have a lot of space.”
Hell, the issue of lack of privacy hadn’t even crossed her mind. Moving in with Kye would be as if she’d found her dream home and prince charming all rolled into one. And from the look of the place, he wasn’t just loaded, he was filthy rich.
“Show me more,” she said.
Linking their hands, Kye took her to the spacious living room that had a big widescreen television and black leather couches and armchairs. No one was in the room, but she could picture Kye’s family sitting around watching TV. Next, he showed her the kitchen with its stainless steel appliances and grand table. There were ten chairs around it. If she hadn’t already known how large his family was, that would’ve given it away.
Kye let go of her hand and crossed over to the window that was above the sink, and looked out. “That’s where they are.”
He motioned for her to follow him as he went to the single door that led outside to the backyard. The first thing she heard was the sound of metal hitting metal. The next was a woman’s voice yelling, “Come on, Roan. You’re not going to let your brother whoop your ass, are you?”
After a quick grin aimed her way, Kye took her hand again and hurriedly pulled her around the corner of the house in the direction the sounds had come from. “You have to see this,” he said.
Michaela’s steps faltered slightly when they came into view of two very large men going at each other with swords. She had to blink just to make sure she truly saw what she thought she had seen. She had. Those were real weapons, and they were swinging them as if it were something they did every day.
Walking closer with Kye, Michaela noticed the two men had strikingly similar features, and they were extremely good-looking. They had to be two of the three true brothers Kye had told her about. The only difference was that one wore his hair longer, pulled into a ponytail that ended at the middle of his back. She then noticed the two women who stood on the sidelines cheering them on.
Just before they reached the small group who stood in the middle of the lawn, Kye said, “Roan is going to lose. Jager, his brother and the one with the long ponytail, usually does beat him, and the rest of us, on a regular basis. His sword is such a part of him that when he was single, he used to sleep with it in his bed.”
Before Michaela could get a chance to ask if by “the rest of us” Kye meant he knew how to sword fight as well, he brought them over to the two women and introduced her. “Ladies, this is Michaela. Michaela this is Ansley, Roan’s wife.” He nodded to the woman with long, straight, dark brown hair. “And next to her is Daylen, who is Jager’s.” Daylen had shoulder-length hair as well, but hers was reddish brown.
Michaela smiled at the two women. “Hi.”
Before she could say anything more, Kye said, “Now that the three of you have been introduced, I’ll be right back.”
“Wait. Where are you…” her words trailed off once Kye left at a run.
“He won’t be gone long,” Daylen said with a chuckle. “Kye has more than likely gone into the house to get his sword.”
“Do they do this a lot?” she asked. “Fight in the middle of the backyard with replica swords? I at first thought they were real, but they can’t be. Can they?”
“Yes, and those aren’t replicas. They’re the real deal.”
“You mean the blades are sharp enough to cut?” Michaela’s gaze swung toward Roan and Jager. Watching them cross blades took on a whole new meaning, now that she knew they weren’t blunted.
“It’s all right,” Ansley said. “They rarely hurt each other. They’re what you would call experts, and have done this for years.”
Michaela turned around at the sound of Kye returning. Sure enough, he carried a sword that appeared to be a match to the ones Jager and Roan had. He’d also changed his button-down shirt for a black t-shirt. He met her gaze. “You look a little worried about something.”
Ansley answered before she could. “Daylen just told Michaela you guys don’t use blunted replicas.”
He smiled at Michaela. “You have nothing to worry about, babe. This is just practice, so we’re always careful.”
At that moment, there was the sound of something heavy hitting the ground, accompanied by a loud groan. Michaela sucked in a breath when she saw Jager standing over the fallen Roan with the point of his sword leveled at his brother’s throat.
“Damn, Jager,” Roan said. “When the hell did you learn that move?”
His brother stepped back and held out his hand to help Roan to his feet. Jager grinned. “Daylen has taught me some karate moves. Having a wife who has a black belt in martial arts does have its advantages.”
“Well, shit, now you’re going to be even harder to beat.”
“Now it’s my turn,” Kye said as he walked toward the two men. “Which one of you wants to take me on?”
Jager pointed at Roan. “Since he was the loser, you can fight him.”
“Hey,” Roan said, “shouldn’t it be the winner who accepts the challenge of any and all contenders?”
“Not today it isn’t.” Jager went to his wife and put his free arm around her shoulders. “I promised Daylen I’d take her out for lunch, since we have the evening shift over at Roxie’s.” He then turned Michaela’s way. “And you must be Michaela. Kye has talked about you.”
“I am,” she said. “I’d offer to shake your hand, but I don’t want to end up on the business end of your sword.”
Jager looked down at where he held it, then back up at her with a chuckle. “I usually take it wherever I go, so I sometimes forget I have it.” He squeezed his wife closer. “When Daylen and I first met, she tried to arrest me for carrying it. She used to be a cop.”
Michaela took in Daylen’s slim, toned body and could easily picture her as a police officer. And that would explain why she had a black belt in karate. “So you aren’t a cop anymore, Daylen?”
The woman shook her head. “No, I gave it up. I enjoy being a Protector better. Plus, that way, I don’t have to worry about being apart from Jager. As a police officer, I worked long shifts, mostly nights.”
“I see.”
“All right, enough standing around talking,” Kye said. “I guess it’s you and me, Roan.”
As Kye and Roan crossed swords, Michaela vaguely saw Jager and Daylen walk away from the corner of her eye. She was too focused on the two men who were a little ways away as they blocked each other’s hits with the edges of their blades. She’d seen a lot of movies where the actors were sword fighters, but their steps were all choreographed. Such wasn’t the case with Kye and Roan. A single misstep and one of them could become seriously hurt. She couldn’t stop the shiver that ran through her at the thought.
“Don’t worry so much, Michaela,” Ansley said. “If you watch closely, you’ll be able to see they really aren’t trying to do any damage. I think of it as a kind of dance the guys do.”
Doing as Ansley suggested, she paid closer attention to each strike Kye and Roan made. It looked as if each man held back some of his strength, though it didn’t mean they would stop from trying to find an opening to disarm their opponent.
In the end, they called the match a draw, neither man able to get the advantage, since they were so evenly matched. Both Kye and Roan breathed heavily as they crossed the short distance to Michaela and Ansley.