Dark And Dangerous (18 page)

 
He simply couldn't make himself refuse when
she looked so sweetly at him. He nodded and left the room without a word.

Kayley and Nathan followed
Klein and Brown quickly into the waiting elevator.

 
"Thanks for letting us go along with
you," Nathan said suppressing a smile. He had clearly seen Klein's
intention to refuse, and his struggle with himself caused by Miss Kans.

 
Klein spared them a sideways glance.
"You're just going to stand there without touching anything."

 
"No problem." Nathan was barely
able to hide his grin. "We'll try to stay out of your way."

 
"Civilians," Klein grumbled,
stepping out of the elevator.

They followed him out of
the hospital.

 
"Our car is over here," Nathan said
pointing. "You can follow us if you'd like."

 
"Fine," Klein said and kept on
walking.

 
"Come on." Nathan took Kayley's arm
and led her to their rental car.

 
"Why are you smiling?" she asked
curiously and slid into their car.

 
"Because Klein didn't want us to come
along." Nathan slid into the driver seat and started the engine.

 
"That's why he was so grumpy?"

 
"Yeah." He reversed the car and
drove out of the parking lot.

 
"I fail to see why that should make you
smile." She watched him pull over to the side of the curb and wait for
Klein and Brown to follow.

 
He grinned at her. "He wanted to tell us
no, but he couldn't make himself because Miss
Kans
was so happy about the idea." He pulled into traffic again when Brown and
Klein came up behind them. "The look on his face was priceless."

 
"I didn't even notice."

 
"You were too busy talking to Miss
Kans." He took a
hand off
the steering wheel,
and reached over lifting her hand to his lips. "Why is it you call her
Miss
Kans
, rather than Laura?" he asked,
releasing her hand again.

 
Silently telling herself that she was an
idiot for letting such a small gesture make her heart beat faster, she looked
at him. "I suppose it's just an old habit, really. All her students called
her Miss Kans."

 
"Did they?"

 
"Yes. I think she thought that made them
respect her more."

 
"And did it?"

 
"I really don't think that would have
mattered either way," Kayley said thoughtfully. "I believe you
respect someone for who and what they are, not because of what you refer to
them by."

 
"I couldn't agree more." He took
his eyes off the road for a moment to look at her. "But you still call her
Miss Kans."

 
"Yes. I suppose it would be strange for
me if I began calling her Laura now."

 
"The force of habit is always
strong." He pulled up in front of Miss
Kans
'
building and turned off the engine.

 
They stepped out of the car at the same time
as Klein and Brown pulled up behind them.

 
"Need any help with your
equipment?" Nathan asked, watching Brown unload bags from the car.

 
"Yeah, thanks." He straightened,
closing the lid, and grabbed a couple of bags. "You can carry those if
you'd like." He nodded towards the last bags.

 
"Sure." Hefting them, Nathan
followed behind Klein and Kayley into the building. "I thought you people
usually worked in larger teams."

 
"The rest of the team is on their
way," Brown said from behind him.

Klein unlocked Miss
Kans
' front door and pushed it open.

Chapter 20

 
Kayley
looked cautiously inside Miss
Kans
apartment, afraid
of what she might see. It wasn't as bad as she had feared. A few pieces of
furniture had been tipped over and papers were scattered all over the floor,
but at least they hadn't cut up her furniture, like they had in Kayley's
cottage.

 
Coming up behind her, Nathan stopped.
"Are you okay?" he asked too low for Brown to overhear.

 
"Oh, yes." She realized she was
still standing outside the apartment and quickly hurried inside. At the sound
of people Arthur and Guinevere came out of the bedroom to wrap themselves
around Kayley's legs.

 
"Are you hungry?" she asked,
bending down to pet them.

 
"You two don't touch anything,"
Klein ordered.

 
"But I have to feed the cats."
Kayley straightened.

 
"We'll go over the kitchen first, then
you can feed them." He gestured towards Brown. "Begin taking pictures
of the kitchen and collect any evidence you find."

Brown obeyed without a word.
He had barely disappeared into the kitchen before the door buzzer sounded.

 
"Get that, will you?" Klein said
without looking away from the equipment he was unloading.

 
"I
…
sure." Kayley pushed the buzzer and turned
back. "Can I touch the door?"

Klein looked up at her
approvingly. "Here, catch."

 
She caught the pair of rubber gloves he threw
at her, and pulled them on before opening the door just in time to let the rest
of the team in.

 
Kayley exchanged a look with Nathan as four
people walked straight into the apartment and began unloading their equipment
immediately, and got to work.

She closed the door again
so Arthur and Guinevere couldn't escape. Not that they appeared to have any
such plans. They were still winding around her legs, trying to convey their
message of hunger to her.

 
"I don't think I have ever seen anyone
so effective," she whispered to Nathan, watching Klein's team work.

 
"I know what you mean," he
whispered back, leaning down. "It's like watching a show choreographed
with military precision."

 
"Exactly." She watched as they went
around the room. She recognized the two men from the day they had met Klein and
Brown. But she couldn't recall seeing the two women before. They appeared to be
working in smaller teams. The two women were each working with one of the men,
making an effective unit. One were taking photographs and the other were
collecting evidence.

Arthur nudged her leg
impatiently to get her attention, ripping her out of her thoughts.

 
"I know, honey." She bent down to
pet him. "You're going to have to wait a bit longer before I feed
you."

 
Guinevere appeared to have thrown her hope
and affection at Nathan and were winding around his legs.

 
"You hungry, sweetheart?" He bend
and picked her up in his arms. Apparently that suited her very well, as she
began purring loudly and rubbed her face against his chest affectionately.

 
"Wow, she really likes you," Kayley
said stunned and picked up Arthur. He too began to purr. "I don't think
I've ever seen Guinevere take to someone that quickly. She's usually the shy
one."

 
"I've got a magic touch," he said,
looking at her pointedly.

She couldn't prevent the
blush from climbing her cheeks and quickly lowered her eyes.

But not before she saw his
grin spread.

 
"You're not exactly modest," she
whispered back, still avoiding his eyes.

 
"I'm just stating a fact. That's nothing
to be modest about."

She snickered. "I had
no idea you were that self-conceited."

He leaned down so their
eyes were nearly level. "Are you claiming my touch isn't magic? Because if
so, I'm afraid I'm going to have to prove you very wrong."

She blushed again but met
his eyes straight on.

 
"Are you?" he asked again when she
didn't answer.

His eyes were so close,
Kayley thought. And her pulse was beating much too fast.

 
"Are you, Kayley?" he repeated,
leaning down even further until their eyes were only inches from each other and
she felt his warm breath on her lips.

 
"The kitchen is clean," she heard
Brown say somewhere far in the distance. "Hey, you two."

She blinked and looked
over to find him grinning at them.

 
"Get a room, will you," Brown
suggested and got back to work.

 
Embarrassed, Kayley blushed deeply and
hurried into the kitchen without casting a glance at Nathan.

 
She heard him walk in behind her as she sat
Arthur down and began rummaging through cupboards in search of the cat food.

 
She fumbled and berated herself. She had
never experienced anyone else having the power to unsettle her so effectively
before. She cast a glance over her shoulder to find him standing leaned
nonchalantly against the counter, watching her with a grin on his face and
stroking an adoring Guinevere.

 
Her heart did a little leap at the look in
his eyes, so she turned quickly back to fumble through the cupboards and
finally managed to locate the cat food.

 
Arthur pranced around her, eager now that she
had finally understood what he wanted, and dogged her heels as she poured food
into two bowls.

 
"You better set down Guinevere,"
Kayley said looking up at Nathan. "We wouldn't want her to try to jump out
of your arms."

 
"You're in no hurry, are you,
sweetheart?" he murmured stroking the cat and set her on her feet.

 
He was right. Guinevere simply strode calmly
and dignified over to her bowl, after looking up at him as if to ask why he had
set her down.

 
Kayley busied herself by picking up their
water bowls and taking them to the sink to clean them.

 
"You never answered me in there,"
Nathan murmured, sliding his arms around her, startling her.

She sloshed water onto the
counter. "What question was that?"

 
"Are you claiming my touch isn't
magic?" He nibbled on her ear, nearly making her eyes cross with pleasure.

 
"I don't know what you're talking
about," she managed, lying.

 
"Don't you? Well, I suppose I will have
to refresh your memory then." His mouth roamed down her throat, nuzzling.
She nearly dropped one of the bowls when he brushed open-mouthed kisses over
the sensitive spot on her throat.

 
"You have to stop," she said almost
pleading, despite her
body's
wish that he continue.

 
"Why?" He didn't stop, but simply
continued his leisurely exploration.

 
"I can't think when you do that."

He laughed softly.
"You smell so good, Kayley," he murmured deeply. She had never
realized a voice could hold so much power.

 
"Really, Nathan, you have to stop."

 
"Mm hmm." He just continued.

 
"Sorry to interrupt."

Startled, Kayley dropped
the bowl with a clatter in the sink, and turned her face embarrassed to find
Klein grinning at them from the doorway.

 
"Have you found anything useful?"
Nathan asked and tightened his arms around her when she started to move away.
He couldn't say why it annoyed him so much that she pulled away from him every time
they weren't alone.

 
"They were sloppy with their
fingerprints, but that's about it. We're likely to get a match though. I doubt
these boys have managed to stay on the straight and narrow until now."
Klein smiled at them amused. They appeared to have worked through their
problems.

 
"But they got what they were looking
for. The little information she gave them, led them straight to Joe."

 
"Are you finished then?" Nathan
asked.

 
"Almost. We're just wrapping up."
Klein turned around and headed back into the living room.

 
Still embarrassed, Kayley fumbled with the
bowls, cleaning and pouring fresh water into them.

 
"You know," Nathan bent and nipped
her ear carefully, making her splash the water onto the counter, "It
really annoys me the way you pull away from me every time someone else
appears."

 
"I don't," Kayley protested.

 
"Yes, you do." He released her and
stepped back to lean against the counter again. "But I don't intend to let
you."

 
"Oh, really?" She mopped the
counter vigorously. "Sometimes you think way too much of yourself."

 
"I don't think so."

She turned around to stare
at him through angry, narrowed eyes.

 
"I'm simply telling you that I'm not
going to let you jump back like a child caught with one hand in the cookie jar
every time someone walks in on us."

 
"Well, there's just one little flaw in
your plan. You can't make me." She was so angry, she missed the dangerous
narrowing of his eyes, and didn't have any time to react before he grabbed her
hand and pulled her into the living room like she was no
more
heavy
then a rag doll.

 
"Everyone," Nathan said, turning
around and pulled her against him. "I just need your attention for a
minute."

 
Before she fully realized what he intended to
do, he crushed his mouth against hers while his arms banded around her tightly,
keeping her firmly against him and easily absorbing her struggles. There was
nothing gentle about this kiss as he poured all of his frustration into it.

 
He lifted his head to look down at her, his
eyes a combination of anger and triumph. Stepping back, he released her and
looked at the others.

 
"Thanks. That's all," he said and
walked back into the kitchen like it was the most natural thing in the world.

 
Embarrassed, Kayley looked up to find the
others grinning at her and cursed herself silently for blushing deeply.

 
She cleared her throat. "Excuse
me," she managed in what she hoped was a dignified voice, and fled the
room quickly, while they grinned at her back. She found Nathan standing in the
kitchen, leaned casually against the counter with Guinevere in his arms.

 
"What is wrong with you?" she
hissed in a low voice that she hoped didn't carry into the other room.

 
"I don't know what you mean," he
said coolly.

 
"What, do you have
alzheimer
along with a rude personality?"

Despite his anger he
couldn't prevent his lips from twitching in amusement. Her heart skipped as he
pushed away from the counter and took a step toward her.

 
"I don't think it's rude to show
affection to you in front of others." He took another step towards her.
"And I can't for the life of me understand why you would think so."

She swallowed nervously.
His eyes looked like a deep storming sea. "I
…
It's not that."

 
"What is it then?"

 
"I
…
" Needing to do something with her hands,
she placed the cats water bowls on the floor. "I can't really explain
it."

 
"Try anyway." He set Guinevere on
the floor and stepped over to take Kayley by the shoulders. Gently this time.

 
"I think it's just because my family
never showed their feelings the way yours do. It simply wasn't natural for us.
I think in my whole life I only remember my mother hugging me maybe twice. And
I don't think my parents ever did anything but fight."

 
"I'm sorry, Kayley. But that doesn't
mean that's the way you should live. Neither of my parents grew up in an
affectionate family. But they chose to change that."