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ken.”
    He’d already turned, so she couldn’t see if he’d smiled when he said that. She certainly hoped so.
    “I realize you think you know best, but I’d like to make a few reasonable suggestions.” She tried not to let the mesmerizing motion of his buttocks in those too-tight jeans distract her. “I’ve watched history disks of earlier societies, so I might have a better grasp of survival strategies.”
    She raced to keep up with him as he pounded down an endless flight of stairs. He’d gone right past an archaic, but perfectly good elevator. Of course, he wouldn’t know what an elevator was.
    “I dinna need yer help. It shouldna be hard to find a wee cave that’s dry and free of vermin. Ye can start the fire whilst I kill some fearsome beast wi’ my club. When I drag it home, ye can skin it, then cook the meat. ’Tis simple.”
    She didn’t appreciate his sarcasm. At least she hoped it was sarcasm. She was too out of breath to make a cutting reply. The flow of blood must’ve been different in earlier humans. It obviously bypassed the brain and went right to the legs.
    At the bottom of the stairs he opened a door, then stopped dead. The force of gravity from her warp-speed descent carried her into his back with enough strength to wring a grunt from her.
    For one dazzling moment, she forgot everything in thecling wrap sensation of his back and buttocks melded to her breasts and stomach. The empty spasming of her lower regions reminded her they yearned for some melding too. If only he were a little shorter.
    He was so darn tall. She wasn’t used to looking up to people, literally speaking, of course. It made her feel…
    No! It made her feel nothing. Evolving humans had to be physically large and strong to cope with their hostile environments. In an advanced civilization, mental capacity was more important than physical size.
    A heavy weight landing on the trailing end of her gown interrupted her satisfying thoughts of anthropological superiority. Glancing over her shoulder, she met the black cat’s enigmatic stare. “What’s with you, cat?”
    “He’s taken wi’ ye, lass. Are ye certain ye have no witches in yer family?”
    She glared at Leith’s strong back as he stepped into the rest-over’s lobby. Dragging her feline hitchhiker behind her, she moved to stand beside him.
    He turned in a circle, not bothering to hide his amazement. “ ’Tis passing wondrous.”
    She gazed up at a huge skylight that let in the sun’s harsh glare. Last night the rest-over’s ceiling had glowed with soft, mood-enhancing light. She squinted at the walls. Wood paneling? Last night the walls had been a kaleidoscope of muted colors that shifted and flowed, responding to the energy levels of the many guests. Glancing down, she blanched at the red floor covering. Didn’t these people know anything about the soothing influence of neutral color schemes? And everything was so…cluttered. Plants, paintings, statues. “Garish.”
    “Ye dinna like it?”
    “I prefer lighter shades—unobtrusive, restful. In my society, we use our minds to work, and mental stress is tiring. Neutral colors leave me calm and rested.” She started athis wide breadth of chest. What would he know of stress? She’d bet he solved his problems by hitting them over the head with his club. She’d make it simpler for him. “What I mean is—”
    “ ’Tis a fine carpet.”
    “What? Oh, yes, you have this thing about red.”
    “Ye’d look fine in red, lass, wi’ a gown that dipped to here.” He ran his finger from the base of her throat, where her pulse beat madly, to between her breasts—a line of sizzling, molten…red.
    Enough. He had this touchy-feely thing, and his touch bothered her. She wasn’t used to someone touching her. Even her mother hadn’t bothered with hugs, viewing them as unnecessary physical contact.
    Besides, she was trapped in a strange time with an even stranger man, and all she could do was discuss color