Edge of Reason (EDGE Security Series Book 2) (11 page)

The corporal snorted. “I’m their section commander.”

“Okay, where do you want to do this?” Cat said in a bored voice, though Rhys could see the anger sparking her blue eyes.
 

The corporal’s eyes narrowed. “Do what?” he asked as he looked around the group. It had grown from just his section and their team. The D-boys had joined the outer edges, watching quietly. “You offering me some special treatment, baby?”
 

Rhys clenched his fists. Marc touched his arm and motioned him to the side of the circle. “Trust her,” he said quietly. “Our job is to make sure no one else jumps in.”

“I’m going to teach you a lesson in hand-to-hand combat,” Cat said to the corporal. “Now, do you want to do it here or do you have a place with mats so when I throw you down it won’t hurt as much?”

He crossed his arms. “I’m not fighting a girl,” he said.

“Scared?” Zach taunted.
 

Rhys clenched his teeth. The corporal had the thick muscle of a lifter, which didn’t mean he wasn’t also fast or a decent fighter. If he landed a good punch he could break Cat’s jaw. Rhys stepped forward.
 

Zach pulled him back. “Seriously, man,” he whispered. “She’s got this.”

“Look,” Cat was saying. “I’m tired and have a lot to do, so I’ll make this easy for you. We’ll fight one-on-one, right here, right now. First one who yields wins.” She unbuttoned the shirt of her BDUs. With each button, the section whistled and catcalled. Rhys’s hands clenched into fists. He wanted to pound someone.

Cat had an olive green v-neck tee underneath, but that didn’t stop the comments. She dropped her shirt at Rhys’s feet.

 
Her face was calm and her eyes stony as she shook out her arms. “You and I will talk later about obeying orders,” she said quietly.

She turned to the corporal.

The corporal smiled. “I’m not going easy on you, I don’t care who you screwed in the past.”

Cat didn’t reply, she just sank into a fighting stance and waited. One of the D-boys nodded approvingly, but Cat looked only at the man in front of her. “Come on, asshole.”

The corporal swung a fist, faster than she’d expected, but not fast enough to hit her. She ducked and sank a fist into his gut, dancing back out of the way. The crowd around them roared at the first hit, but she ignored them and kept zoned in on her opponent.
 

“Lucky punch,” the corporal said.
 

Cat didn’t debate it. She feinted left and struck hard with a right cross. The corporal’s head rocked back, blood spurting from his nose.
 

“Ready to yield, tough guy?” she said, deliberately taunting him. She could end this quickly, but the meeting with the CO had her fired up and she needed to vent. Beating the crap out of this idiot might alleviate her stress. She almost smiled at the thought, and stepped out of range of another of his swings.
 

Then things got interesting. He barreled at her, striking hard with his hands and even throwing a kick in. The pattern had the clumsy feel of a newbie kickboxer. She ducked, dodged, and swatted his punches aside, not going on the offensive yet. She wanted to see what he had. He panted hard but grinned, thinking since she didn’t hit back he must be winning.
 

Jab, jab, right. A fast left, right, left, right, before a roundhouse to the ribs. He did the combination once more and she let him tire himself out, but never let a punch land. Then on his next jab, she pushed his strike aside and stepped in close, striking hard with an elbow to his cheek. The skin split, but she didn’t stop.
 

It was her turn now. She followed with two more elbows, stunning him enough that she could grab his head and yank it to her upcoming knee strike. She softened the blow a bit so she wouldn’t damage the corporal too much. He went limp and thudded to the ground.
 

His section stared at her. “Any other takers?” she asked.

They shook their heads in unison. She would have laughed if she still didn’t have anger surging through her system like a drug. The corporal’s section picked him up and hauled him away.
 

The three watching D-Boys nodded—a rousing chorus of approval for them—and slipped away.
 

“Nice work as always, Valkyrie,” Marc said.
 

“You going to deal with him?” Zach pointed to the major who walked toward them.
 

She lifted her chin. “Yes, he’s definitely next.”

“Come get us if you need anything.” He and Marc walked toward the shelter where their bunks were located.

Cat snatched her shirt from the ground. The look of appreciation in Rhys’s eyes stopped her for a moment. The anger could explode into heat if she let it. She wanted to explore what was between them—and she wanted to do it right now.
 

Dammit. She shook her head and forced her gaze from his tall, muscled form. This was not the time.
 

Steve stopped in front of her and she couldn’t help but compare the two men. Rhys, with his lean muscles and chiseled cheekbones, appealed to her not just because he was gorgeous, but also because he physically challenged her. She had to work hard to beat him in a race, and even so she wasn’t sure who’d win.
 

Beside him, Steve stood with his square face and looked almost squat, like a high school football player going to fat. His muscles bulked his body up to the point that she suspected it hampered his agility and speed. She wondered if he still took steroids. It had been one of the arguments that had broken them up. He’d used them after he’d failed to get into CSOR with her.
 

She had been so busy with the regiment that she hadn’t noticed what he’d been doing. She’d only spent thirty-some-odd nights at home in that first year and they’d grown apart—and not just because of the lack of time spent together, but also because of Steve’s jealousy.
 

He’d tried once more to make it into CSOR and failed. When she tried to console him, he told her the regiment was only filling a quota by letting her in. That remark had killed the last of her feelings for him and she’d ended the relationship.

By the glint in his eye as he stood in front of her, he’d seen her take down his corporal and he wasn’t pleased, though that didn’t stop him from letting his eyes wander to her chest. She gripped her shirt in her hands, refusing to give him the satisfaction of covering up.
 

Rhys was right. She did pick losers to date.

She put her hands on her hips. “Why’d you set your guy on me?” she asked. “If you want to fight me, then challenge me yourself, don’t send your minions.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rhys step back and cross his arms while a small smile played on his face. She would deal with him next. She wasn’t here to amuse anyone.

Steve made a face. “Stop being so dramatic, Cat. Corporal Anderson was just seeing what you’re made of. It’s what guys do.”

“You’re so full of it.” She turned away. He grabbed her arm, and without thinking she dug her fingers into the soft underside of his wrist and twisted. He let go quickly, but she didn’t. She held his arm in a slight twist, not enough to bring him to his knees—something she wouldn’t do when she knew his men watched discreetly from inside the buildings—but she put enough pressure into the grip that she had his attention.
 

“Don’t touch me again,” she said, releasing him.

His eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth, but Rhys stepped in front of him. “We have a mission to get ready for. If you’ll excuse us.” He turned his back on the major and quirked an eyebrow at her.

She nodded, and together they walked toward the HQ. He didn’t say anything when she chose to alter their route and they walked past HQ and away from most of the other buildings on base. She veered away from the small airfield and made for the perimeter fence.

“How do you do it?” Rhys asked after they’d walked for a few minutes.
 

She frowned at him. “Do what?”
 

He jerked his chin back the way they’d come. “Do you have to deal with dickheads like that wherever you go?”

The question made her sigh. She stopped short of the chain-link fence, her fingers white on the shirt that was still gripped in her hand. “Not everywhere,” she said. “But enough places that it sometimes makes me wonder if it’s worth it.” She stared into the stunted trees bordering one side of the base and spotted two sentries facing away from them.

“And is it?”

“Worth it?” She turned to Rhys. His brown eyes held questions and concern. She wanted neither. Her blood still pumped too fast from the confrontations. She wanted more fight, more fire. She wanted Rhys. “Hell, yes, it’s worth it. I like knowing that what I do makes a difference in the world. A real difference.” She bared her teeth in a fierce grin. “And besides, what other job is going to let me blow shit up?”

Rhys pursed his lips. “A construction worker?”
 

She laughed. “I will definitely consider that career when I retire.”
 

Her smiled died. No matter how nice he was, she had to remember that he wasn’t for her. She was his team leader. “We need to talk,” she said.

“I figured this wasn’t just a friendly walk.”

“You have to treat me like an equal, Rhys. You can’t try to protect me.”

His head tilted as he studied her. “I have been treating you like an equal.”

“You tried to stop the fight back there. You’re no better than those dickheads, as you called them. How many times do I have to prove to you that I can take care of myself?”

His eyes glittered dangerously and he took a step toward her. “I was treating you like my teammate. I wouldn’t have let those assholes treat Marc or Zach or anyone with that kind of disrespect. Of course I got in their faces. It’s what teammates do for each other.”

“That’s not how it works with me,” she said, not backing down. She lifted her chin. “If I’m seen taking any kind of help then that just fuels their rumors.”

“Why the hell do you care so much about what they think?”

Her blood pounded in her ears and she fought for control, but the anger of being forced to prove herself over and over again won. “Because I am
sick
of the whispers and the doubt about whether I can do my job. And
you
are not helping. So either get out of my way or request a new team.”

She turned to head back when Rhys grabbed her arm. “You want me to trust you,” he said, putting his face close to hers. “Then you’ve got to trust me, too. Trust that I’m not judging you and that I’ve got your back.” He pulled back slightly, but his searing gaze never left hers. “You trusted me with everything once.”

Heat flushed her body at the memories his low words stirred. “Don’t bring that up.”
 

“Why not?” he said, his hand no longer gripping her arm, but caressing it instead. “What we had was good.”

She clenched her teeth. “You don’t get it. We work together. If we hook up, then my reputation goes into the shitter and yours gets a boost.”

Rhys pulled her closer and into the shadow of a building, out of sight of the HQ. “Who said anything about
hooking up
?”

She pushed her bangs off her forehead, frustration making her movements jerky. “You just did.”

He sighed and pulled her closer, his hands loose on her hips. “You don’t have to prove anything to me or anyone else. We’re two consenting adults.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but he overrode her. “We’re teammates. Colleagues,” he said. “We’re not in the reg force. I don’t believe there are rules against us fraternizing.”

He pulled her tighter against him. This time, she let him. The electric shock of his chest touching hers silenced her argument.
 

What was it about this man that sent her blood pressure shooting skyward? His hands caressed up her bare arms to her neck, sending shivers of need through her. He cupped her head with his large palms and his whiskey-colored gaze captured hers.
 

“I trust you,” he whispered. “Now trust me back.” He lowered his mouth to hers. His lips, warm and soft, pressed against hers and she melted into him, her hands gripping his shirt, pulling him closer.
 

Just one moment, she promised herself. Just one moment to enjoy, that’s all she wanted. One moment to be a woman desired for who she was and not as a trophy by her peers.
 

She opened her mouth under his and moaned as his hands traveled down her back and dipped under the bottom of her t-shirt. His rough palms rubbed over her heated skin. One slid around to her front and up to her breasts. He cupped one and his thumb stroked over her nipple. She moaned as fire surged through her.

Rhys lifted her without breaking the kiss and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He took two steps and pushed her back against the concrete wall of the building. She used her legs to bring his body closer. His hard length pressed against her while their tongues teased and tormented each other. His hand found her breast again. She pulled back for a breath and he kissed his way down her neck. She barely stifled another moan when his hot mouth found the spot behind her ear. She dug her fingers into his shoulders, trying to anchor herself.
 

Footsteps sounded from nearby. She and Rhys froze.

“What are we doing out here, Mac?” a strange voice said.

The soldiers were headed straight for them. Rhys set her on the ground silently and motioned for her to follow him.
 

“The colonel just told me to grab somebody and head out this way,” a gruff voice answered the first. “I don’t know what the hell for. Maybe he thought he saw something.”

Anger flashed through Cat as she followed Rhys around the corner of the building. A glance back showed a sergeant and a corporal striding toward the perimeter fence, right past where they’d been standing.

And kissing.

The colonel must have seen them walk out this way and suspected something. How could she have been such a fool? Dammit. One kiss was too much. She might be in E.D.G.E. now, but nothing said she would be there forever. She had a reputation to maintain.