Read Online Naked Edge by Pamela Clare - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Pamela Clare
Tags: Contemporary
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beautiful.
Oh. My.
Her fear now pushed aside by an entirely different emotion, Kat couldn't take her gaze off him, the sight of him making her feel warm, stirring longings she'd ignored for years. She found herself wishing she felt as sexually free as Holly. What it would feel like to touch that body, to have those arms hold her, to be--
One of his feet slipped--and then the other.
Her stomach in free fall, Kat grabbed on to the open driver's side door as he hung suspended by only his fingertips, his arms stretched over his head. Then with strength that amazed her, he drew himself upward, the muscles of his bare arms, chest, and abdomen straining with the effort until his feet met rock again. Only when he reached the other side and began to climb down did Kat realize she'd been holding her breath.
His feet met the earth, and he walked over to her, grinning. "Sorry. I got here early and thought I could get some climbing in before you showed up."
But Kat was still clutching the door, fighting the falling sensation that had overwhelmed her the moment he'd slipped, her heart thudding, her legs shaky.
GABE SAW KAT'S bloodless face, her wide eyes. She looked like she'd just been frightened out of her skin. "Are you okay?"
Her gaze met his, the fear in her eyes transforming to anger. "You... You could have gotten yourself killed!"
"You were afraid for me?" Something warm spread inside his chest.
She glared up at him. "You almost fell!"
He heard the slight tremor in her voice, and then it came to him. It'd been only three months since her fall, and the experience was probably still visceral for her. "It's still with you, isn't it--the feeling of falling?"
She nodded, then looked down at her feet, her lashes dark against her cheeks.
He tucked a finger beneath her chin, lifted her gaze to his, unable to keep himself from running his thumb over the softness of her cheek. "I do this for a living, Kat. What you saw--that's nothing. It's just me relaxing after a day's work."
She let out a breath, stepped back from him, clearly still angry. "I guess that's the first difference in how we view the land. It's not just a big playground or something to be conquered. No Native man would ever climb here. Mesa Butte is for prayer."
Too touched by her concern to feel truly irritated, Gabe walked over to his truck, opened the door, and grabbed his T-shirt off the front seat. "Or maybe climbing is for me what the inipi is for you or what Sun Dance is for a Sun Dancer."
He'd never thought of it as prayer, exactly, but now that he'd said it, he supposed climbing was the closest he came to communing with any higher power.
"A Sun Dancer suffers for the sake of others, not for his own fulfillment."
Well, she had him there. And then again... "When my ability to climb enables me to save someone's life, is what I do still selfish?"
She said nothing this time.
Aware that she was watching him, he drew the shirt over his head, then reached for his duty belt and strapped it into place. Although he was off duty, he was unwilling to leave his sidearm unattended in his truck. He took off his climbing shoes and grabbed his socks and boots, then turned and sat facing outward on the driver's seat to put them on, his gaze drawn back to her.
The apology was in her eyes before she spoke. "I'm sorry. I..."
"You saw me slip, and it brought back the day you fell. I understand." He finished tying his boots, then reached for his coat, letting the subject drop. "I read the article, by the way. Great work."
The color was coming back to her cheeks. "Did I get you into trouble?"
"Nope." Webb had been more worried about possible blowback because of the complaint Gabe had filed against Daniels.
"Daniels claims you're connected to this woman and that's why you're supporting her complaint," Webb had said. "He says you seemed to know her."
"She's the woman who got caught in the rockslide at Eldo, so, yes, I recognized her," Gabe had answered. "But other than
Oh. My.
Her fear now pushed aside by an entirely different emotion, Kat couldn't take her gaze off him, the sight of him making her feel warm, stirring longings she'd ignored for years. She found herself wishing she felt as sexually free as Holly. What it would feel like to touch that body, to have those arms hold her, to be--
One of his feet slipped--and then the other.
Her stomach in free fall, Kat grabbed on to the open driver's side door as he hung suspended by only his fingertips, his arms stretched over his head. Then with strength that amazed her, he drew himself upward, the muscles of his bare arms, chest, and abdomen straining with the effort until his feet met rock again. Only when he reached the other side and began to climb down did Kat realize she'd been holding her breath.
His feet met the earth, and he walked over to her, grinning. "Sorry. I got here early and thought I could get some climbing in before you showed up."
But Kat was still clutching the door, fighting the falling sensation that had overwhelmed her the moment he'd slipped, her heart thudding, her legs shaky.
GABE SAW KAT'S bloodless face, her wide eyes. She looked like she'd just been frightened out of her skin. "Are you okay?"
Her gaze met his, the fear in her eyes transforming to anger. "You... You could have gotten yourself killed!"
"You were afraid for me?" Something warm spread inside his chest.
She glared up at him. "You almost fell!"
He heard the slight tremor in her voice, and then it came to him. It'd been only three months since her fall, and the experience was probably still visceral for her. "It's still with you, isn't it--the feeling of falling?"
She nodded, then looked down at her feet, her lashes dark against her cheeks.
He tucked a finger beneath her chin, lifted her gaze to his, unable to keep himself from running his thumb over the softness of her cheek. "I do this for a living, Kat. What you saw--that's nothing. It's just me relaxing after a day's work."
She let out a breath, stepped back from him, clearly still angry. "I guess that's the first difference in how we view the land. It's not just a big playground or something to be conquered. No Native man would ever climb here. Mesa Butte is for prayer."
Too touched by her concern to feel truly irritated, Gabe walked over to his truck, opened the door, and grabbed his T-shirt off the front seat. "Or maybe climbing is for me what the inipi is for you or what Sun Dance is for a Sun Dancer."
He'd never thought of it as prayer, exactly, but now that he'd said it, he supposed climbing was the closest he came to communing with any higher power.
"A Sun Dancer suffers for the sake of others, not for his own fulfillment."
Well, she had him there. And then again... "When my ability to climb enables me to save someone's life, is what I do still selfish?"
She said nothing this time.
Aware that she was watching him, he drew the shirt over his head, then reached for his duty belt and strapped it into place. Although he was off duty, he was unwilling to leave his sidearm unattended in his truck. He took off his climbing shoes and grabbed his socks and boots, then turned and sat facing outward on the driver's seat to put them on, his gaze drawn back to her.
The apology was in her eyes before she spoke. "I'm sorry. I..."
"You saw me slip, and it brought back the day you fell. I understand." He finished tying his boots, then reached for his coat, letting the subject drop. "I read the article, by the way. Great work."
The color was coming back to her cheeks. "Did I get you into trouble?"
"Nope." Webb had been more worried about possible blowback because of the complaint Gabe had filed against Daniels.
"Daniels claims you're connected to this woman and that's why you're supporting her complaint," Webb had said. "He says you seemed to know her."
"She's the woman who got caught in the rockslide at Eldo, so, yes, I recognized her," Gabe had answered. "But other than
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