Hunting Kat by P.J. Schnyder Page A

those , even if he asked her directly. His face had been carefully blank as he’d left, claiming he needed to do some pondering.
    Right. He’d gone off to laugh himself silly.
    At least Dev had been kind enough to take himself somewhere else while he did it.
    “Package came for you.”
    She did turn then, cocking her head to one side as she studied the black case in Dev’s outstretched hand. Puzzled, she took it and placed it on her desk, thumbing open the catches. Nestled in protective plas-foam was a sleek magnum handgun.
    Dev let out a whistle. “A nice firearm you’ve got there, Kat. Somebody knows how to pick out a gift.”
    “I don’t use guns.” And her captain knew it. Still, she could guess who it was from, and she bit her lip to fight off the smile trying to take over her mouth.
    There was a small message disc in the case. She activated it and the text was laser-projected in the air above the disc.
    Rygard picked it for you. Enjoy. Boggle.
    Below someone had scrawled another message.
    Pick up another skill set. Rygard.
    “I’m thinking you found the smile we sent you looking for.” Dev was grinning like an idiot.
    Oh no, she was not going to admit it…even if the corners of her mouth were already turning upward. Before she betrayed herself with a full-blown smile, she bared her teeth. “Maybe.”
    “Not maybe, Kat. The man is standing in the airlock now, waiting for you.”
    “What?”
    He held up his hands with the familiar oh-so-innocent look on his face. “Could be I’m wrong, but he fit the specs you were giving Skuld not too long ago. Not the uniform I expected, but he’s built solid and looks to know his way around a fight if it comes to it.”
    Kaitlyn didn’t wait around to let Dev tease her more. She was out of her cabin and down the hall, headed for the airlock.
     
    “Like the gift?” Rygard smiled as she turned the corner and stepped across the threshold of the open lock.
    It hadn’t been that long. Still, she drank in the sight of his strong, sculpted features, his muscled physique barely contained by his fresh uniform.
    As if he would have changed over the last twelve hours or so.
    “Thank you.” Suddenly, Kaitlyn fell back to feeling awkward. She hadn’t expected him to return. He’d gone to report in and make his decision. Either way, she figured he’d move on. She stood just short of him, unsure.
    Rygard reached out for her hand and tugged her closer. “I made my report. Kept details to a minimum. Met you, escorted you back to your ship. CO wouldn’t have wanted the other stuff in the report anyway, considering how shady it all was.” He chuckled. “The minute he tried to head out to collect you from your team, high level orders came through. He’s not in command of our unit anymore. Your captain is an interesting man.”
    Kaitlyn huffed, blowing a lock of hair off her forehead. “Don’t go thinking whatever it is you’re thinking. He’s my captain and that’s it.”
    “You trust him.”
    Well, true. “It’s not like…”
    “No,” Rygard agreed. “But you do trust him and that’s a good thing. He’ll watch your back.”
    Relaxing, she risked leaning into him. His arms slid around her waist in an easy embrace. Turning her face into his neck, she breathed the clean, spiced scent of him. “Mmm.”
    Giving in to her feline urges, she rubbed her face against his skin, transferring her own scent to him and picking up as much of his as she could.
    “I decided to re-up for another tour.” He said it quietly, but layers of emotion hid there.
    She nodded against his shoulder. “You don’t need to deal with him anymore.”
    “Gotta hope the next-in-command will be a better man.” A pause. “I’m good at being a soldier. The service is the only thing I know. My unit is specialized, sweetness, the missions we complete make a difference where no one else can. I joined because I had the edge, and violence is what I do best.”
    “Neither of us is exactly made