Naked Edge (6 page)

You're attracted to him.

She wanted to deny it, but couldn't. Not that she blamed herself. Any living, breathing human female would be. He was one of the most attractive men Kat had ever met, more handsome even than Adam Caywood--and definitely more virile. Sitting across from her, his arm stretched over the back of the chair beside him, he seemed so big and broad-shouldered, his gray cable-knit sweater, tanned skin, and dark, windblown hair adding to the masculinity he exuded. She had some recollection of what he looked like beneath the sweater--all lean muscle and smooth skin. And those blue eyes...

Ranger Easy-on-the-Eyes.

That much was certain.

She willed herself to meet his gaze, determined to let none of what she was feeling show on her face. Like she'd told Pauline and the others, this was strictly a business lunch. She'd come here for information, not to flirt. Besides she wasn't sure she really knew how to flirt. She'd never tried.

She took a sip of her coffee, its warmth seeping slowly into her bones. "Most people call me Kat."

He grinned. "Okay, Kat. But I think Katherine fits you better. It's prettier, more feminine."

"What were you able to find out?" Disturbed by the way his smile and words affected her, she switched into a business tone of voice, her question coming out colder and more abruptly than she'd intended.

He arched an eyebrow, as if wondering at the change. "I paid dispatch a visit Saturday night. It turns out that there was no complaint. According to the supervisor, Daniels saw the fire and took it upon himself to act. Dispatch heard about it when he called in for reinforcements, and that's when they paged me."

This wasn't what Kat had expected to hear. "So he saw the fire, and rather than contacting Mountain Parks to find out what was going on, he just decided to break it up? Why would he do that?"

"Who knows? Daniels has always struck me as one of those cops who enjoys busting people."

"And hurting them." Kat's scalp seemed to tingle where Daniels had pulled her hair. "So if there was no complaint, then Daniels lied. Why?"

Gabe shrugged. "No mystery there. It's just standard CYA. He's trying to avoid getting in trouble for ignoring jurisdiction and getting the city into this mess."

"What's 'standard CYA'?" Kat hadn't heard the term before. "Is that a city policy or something?"

Gabe laughed. "'CYA' means 'cover your ass.'"

GABE FINISHED HIS burger and fries, watching the subtle changes in Kat's expression as she told him about the Native community's response to the raid on the
inipi.
His own thoughts were far from Mesa Butte, his mind full of illicit images. Kat kissing him as he tore off her clothes. Kat lying naked on his bed, twisting and turning while he kissed and licked and sucked her nipples. Kat spreading her thighs for him as he nibbled his way down her belly and then took her with his mouth. Kat arching beneath him as he drove into her, fucking her hard, sending them both over the edge.

What would she taste like? What would she feel like beneath him? And what would the reserved Ms. James do when she came? Would she shiver and sigh, or would she dig her nails into his back--and scream?

You'd just love to find out, wouldn't you, Rossiter?

Hell, yeah, he would. His cock had gone rock solid just thinking about it and now strained uncomfortably against his jeans.

Kat dabbed her lips--lips he'd love to taste. "I don't know how to thank you for looking into this for me."

Emboldened by her gratitude, he decided to go for it. "Have dinner with me Friday night."

She eyed him warily. "I ... I don't date men."

Gabe stared at her for a moment. What the hell? The male race had to be doing something terribly wrong if women like Kat were playing for the other team. "So ... you prefer women then?"

Her eyes went wide, her face flushing pink. "No! No, no! I like men. I mean ... What I meant to say was ... Oh, no, that didn't come out right."

Both amused and relieved, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, unable to hold back a grin. "Want to try again?"

Kat drew a deep breath, felt her cheeks burn, both embarrassed by what she'd said and uncomfortable with what she saw in Gabe's eyes--blatant male interest. If he were like other men, his interest in her wouldn't last once he understood that she wasn't going to topple into bed with him. That seemed to be the only thing most men cared about. They weren't interested in having a family, being husbands and fathers.

She willed herself to meet his gaze straight on. "I decided a long time ago that I would never be any man's conquest, so I don't date. I've never been ... with a man, and I won't be until I find the one who wants to be a part of my life and isn't just looking for a one-night stand. So unless you want lots of children, love mutton stew, and enjoy spending your summer vacations in one-hundred-fourteen-degree heat in a two-room hogaan without electricity or running water, we shouldn't even start down that road."

He seemed to consider what she said, a look of confused concentration on his face. "So ... what you're saying is that you're saving yourself for Mr. Right and that if all I want is to get inside you, I can forget taking you out to dinner, because you want happily ever after and not just sex. Did I get that right?"

"Something like that." She felt her cheeks burn.

"You're a little too old to believe in fairy tales, aren't you?"

She'd known he would find a way to ridicule her. They all did. And yet she couldn't help but feel let down. After the compassion he'd shown her, some part of her had hoped he'd be different. "You think love and commitment are just for fairy tales?"

"People fall in and out of love faster than the wind changes. There's no such thing as 'happily ever after.' Commitment only lasts as long as the hormones hold out. Love, romance, sex--it's nothing more than chemistry."

Her disappointment grew. "That's an awfully cynical point of view."

"It's reality." He glanced out the window at a young couple walking hand in hand. "People try to make sex into more than it is, and they end up getting hurt."

Kat couldn't believe he truly meant what he'd said. "Don't you hope to get married one day and be a father?"

A muscle clenched in his jaw. "No. Not interested."

The tone of his voice was starkly final.

He drew his gaze from the window. "Man, I bet it scares the shit out of most guys when you say that stuff."

Yes, it did. "Most guys just want to play around, but women aren't toys."

His gaze hardened. "Are you saying that most women don't play around, that women don't use men?"

"Not in the same way." Not the women Kat knew, certainly.

"If you say so." He gave a bitter laugh. "Thanks for being so direct. But when I asked you to dinner, I wasn't asking you to have sex with me. I just wanted to get to know you better."

Kat stared at him, astonished and mortified. Could she have misjudged him? Could she have been wrong about the look she'd seen in his eyes? She'd thought for certain that he was coming on to her, but ...

Wishing she could hide under a rock, she looked away, cleared her throat, and changed the subject, her cheeks burning even hotter. "Is ... Is there any chance you could get into trouble if I use the information you gave me about Officer Daniels in my interviews and my article?"

After all he'd done to help her, she didn't want to get him fired.

He seemed to consider the possibility for a moment, then shook his head. "It will become public record soon enough. Just don't attribute it to me."

"Do you have a number I can reach you at if I have any questions?"

He reached into his pocket, took out his wallet, and wrote his number on the back of a business card. "It's best if you call my cell."

"Thanks." She gave him her card, then took one last sip of her coffee. "We're hoping the city will apologize and then amend its charter to guarantee us access to Mesa Butte. If only we could make the public understand ... But then I guess it's impossible for anyone who wasn't brought up with the Native way of life to see the land the way we do and understand why the butte is so important to us."

He raised a single dark brow. "Is that so?"

The note of challenge in his voice made it clear he wasn't convinced.

She stood her ground. "Of course, it is."

"Well, then how about this? Meet me up there on Saturday at four. My shift will be over, and it will still be daylight. You can show me what the land looks like through your eyes, and I'll tell you how I see it through mine."

KAT's ARTICLE HIT the street the next morning, her version of the story so much more complete that the other news outlets were now scrambling to catch up. She'd gone to print with the tip about Daniels she'd gotten from Gabe, a tip she'd verified using transcripts from police dispatch. She'd also included the Native community's demand for a formal apology and guaranteed access to Mesa Butte. A radio station in Boulder had asked her to come on the air this evening to talk about what had happened at the butte. But best of all, Grandpa Red Crow had already called her to tell her how much he appreciated the article.

"It's good to read our side of the story for once, Kimimila," he'd said.

She'd promised to stop by with a few extra copies of the paper after work, his praise touching her deeply, some part of her wishing her mother could hear him.

Of course, hers wasn't the only I-Team article making waves this morning. Matt's story about the embezzled pension fund was a scoop, the clamor from city hall deafening as city council members demanded answers from the confused mayor, who knew nothing about it and had to defer to Matt's article. Because Tom had taken the time to copyright both stories, the TV networks were forced to credit the
Denver Independent
with breaking the news.

"Find the bastards, and nail 'em to the wall. That's what we do." Tom was in a very good mood.

Kat should have been in high spirits, too, but her thoughts kept drifting to Gabe. She shouldn't be thinking of him at all. He was exactly the kind of man she'd spent her adult life avoiding, the kind who made love to lots of women without loving any of them, who couldn't be burdened with something as inconvenient as monogamy or family and saw sex as nothing more than recreation.

What had he called it? Chemistry.

How could a man who cared enough about people to save the lives of strangers have such a cynical view of love and human relationships?

Kat didn't know. But she did know that she wasn't willing to settle for random hormonal impulses. She wanted love. She wanted "happily ever after."

You're not going to find it with him.

No, she wasn't.

And with that realization, her day became a bit grayer.

Forcing her emotions aside, she followed the rest of the I-Team to the conference room for their morning meeting. Matt was doing a follow-up to yesterday's article, hoping to be present for the embezzler's arrest. Natalie wanted to write a follow-up about the wounded officer, who had been moved out of intensive care this morning. Sophie was researching the lack of community corrections programs for women and how that meant more time behind bars for them.

"Also," she said, meeting Kat's gaze in an unspoken plea for support, "I wanted to share some exciting news. Hunt and I are expecting another baby in May."

Natalie gave a little squeal. "That's wonderful! Congratulations!"

"I'm so happy for you!" Kat reached over and gave Sophie's hand a squeeze.

"You know, they've figured out what causes that," Matt said with feigned seriousness. "You might want to research it."

Sophie smiled. "Research it, Matt? Obviously, I'm an expert."

Matt turned red.

"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?" Syd asked.

Sophie shook her head. "Either way I'm happy."

Then the room fell silent, everyone seeming to hold their breath, waiting for Tom's reaction. But Sophie had timed her news well.

"Congratulations, Alton." He gave Sophie a nod, then turned to Kat. "James, what have you got?"

GABE PARKED HIS service vehicle, then headed inside Mountain Parks headquarters, leaving his copy of the
Denver Independent
on the truck's seat. He'd already read through Kat's article twice, impressed by the way she'd put it together, explaining what had happened and asking the tough questions about the city's land-use policies. It felt fair, and yet, at the same time, it did a much better job of explaining the Native perspective than the other papers had done. And he was in it, right there in the fourth paragraph: "according to a source close to the investigation."

He'd bet that had made the suits at city hall shit their pants.

He drew his key card from inside his coat and scanned it, entering through the back door and heading straight to the john, where he washed the dried deer blood off his hands. Then he walked toward the break room, stripping off his coat and his heavy Kevlar as he went, his mind on what had already been a busy day.

Just after sunrise, he'd found a vagrant frozen half to death in the parking lot at the mouth of Gregory Canyon and had had to call an ambulance. He recognized the man, an old guy who drifted through town every so often. The man had apparently gotten kicked out of the homeless shelter late last night for being drunk and had tried to sleep it off in an old sleeping bag beneath a picnic table. Not the best decision he'd ever made.