Yawning hugely, she pulled back the flap of the tent and found Chase standing just outside. His eyes swept over her, taking in every detail of her lounge pants and thin top, lingering just a little too long on her breasts. Glancing down, Kate saw her nipples were stiff from the cold and poked against the fabric of her shirt. She crossed her arms over her chest.
“You realize that I only fell asleep like fifteen minutes ago,” she said crossly. “Why didn’t you tell me I’d need to wake up at two-thirty in the morning if I wanted to talk to Tenley? I could have chosen a different time.”
“Do you want to make the call or not?”
Kate frowned at his impatient tone, and guessed that he was no happier about being awake at this hour than she was. Her bones ached and she actually felt a little sick. More than anything, she wanted to crawl back into her cot and sleep, but she’d told Tenley she would call her, and she intended to make good on her word.
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go.”
Without waiting for her response, he turned and walked away while Kate watched in dismay. He gave a low whistle and a dark shape materialized from the shadows. A dog trotted toward him, its tail wagging enthusiastically as Chase reached down and gave it a friendly rub behind the ears. The animal wore a harness and stayed close to Chase’s side.
The night air was chilly, and for a brief second Kate debated on going back for a sweater, but Chase wasn’t waiting for her. With a sound of frustration, she followed him. The roads were covered with small rocks, which made walking treacherous when you couldn’t see where you were going. After she’d stumbled twice, Chase finally stopped and waited for her to catch up, using his flashlight to illuminate her path.
“So, did you wake up just so I could make my phone call, or do you not sleep?” Kate asked, hugging herself around the middle and trying to keep her teeth from chattering. She wouldn’t have been at all surprised if Chase responded that he didn’t require sleep; he was a machine.
“I caught some sleep, but I don’t need much to get by.”
“Will you go back to bed after this?” she asked, partly because she was interested, and partly because she was just trying to make conversation.
“Well, I guess that depends,” he mused.
Kate shot him a startled look. Had she only imagined the sexual suggestion in his voice? She tried to read his expression, but the darkness made it nearly impossible.
“Actually,” he continued smoothly, “I’m up for the day.”
Kate should have felt relieved, but found his words left her oddly deflated. She remembered what he had said earlier that day: I have no intention of sleeping with you. Either the change in time zones had seriously messed with her biorhythms, or she had definitely gone too long without sex, because she spent way too much time imagining him naked. “Who’s your friend?” she asked, in an effort to change the subject. Kate tried to pat the dog, but the animal shied away from her hand.
“This is Charity.”
“Ah,” she said meaningfully.
Chase looked at her. “What does that mean?”
Kate shrugged. “When you and the other guys were talking about Charity, I thought you had a girlfriend on the base. I never would have guessed you were talking about a dog.”
“Well, I think Charity would disagree. I’m pretty sure she thinks she’s human.”
“So, do you?”
“What?”
“Have a girlfriend?”
He gave a surprised laugh. “No, I do not. Right now, Charity is the only female in my life.” He glanced at her. “Aside from you, of course.”
Kate had already noticed that he wore no rings, but felt a surge of satisfaction in knowing he was single.
“Where did you get her?” she asked, moving to safer territory.
“She was a stray that I rescued from a village in the mountains. I guess you could say we adopted each other.”
“Do you keep her in your housing unit?”
“She won’t come inside, but when I’m on base she’ll sleep outside my door. When I’m in the field, I leave her with the K-9 unit. She gets along with the other dogs, and the handlers have been teaching her how to track.”
The mention of his housing unit reminded her of the small gift he had left in her duffel bag. “By the way, thank you for the licorice. I feel guilty that you gave it to me.”
“Don’t.” He rubbed a hand over his flat stomach. “I try to avoid sweets, but I can’t resist licorice drops. It’s better if you take them. Besides, my mother will send another jar in her next care package.”
They had reached his housing unit, and Kate welcomed the warmth of the interior after the chill of the night air. As Chase dialed an outside line, she stood in the middle of the room and looked around. Although she had already been inside his unit once, everything looked different at night. A desk lamp cast a warm glow, making the room seem almost cozy.
While Chase was concentrating on the phone, she took a covert peek into his bedroom. Disappointingly, his bed was neatly made and there was nothing to indicate that he had slept there at all. She would have enjoyed seeing rumpled blankets or clothes on the floor—anything to indicate the guy wasn’t completely perfect.
“Something interesting in there?” Chase asked, catching her.
Kate flushed. “I was, uh, just checking out your bed.”
His eyes grew hot, and Kate’s body responded instantly. Her breathing quickened and her imagination surged with images of the two of them, naked and entwined in his sheets. She would have sworn those same images were swirling through his head, too, but then he thrust the phone receiver at her, breaking whatever spell she had been under.
“Make your call,” he growled, and spun away.
Keeping a wary eye on him, Kate quickly dialed Tenley’s number, frustrated when the call went to voicemail.
“Tenley, it’s Katie. I told you that I’d be calling. Why aren’t you there?” She lowered her voice. “I don’t want you to worry about anything, okay? Russell will drive you to the airport tonight, and I’ll be right here waiting for you when you arrive. Okay, I’ll try to call you later.”
She hung up the phone and stood for a moment, chewing the edge of her finger. Where was Tenley and why wasn’t she answering the phone? She briefly considered calling Russell to ask him to check on her sister, and just as quickly discarded the idea. She’d asked both the housekeeper and Russell to keep an eye on Tenley and she trusted they would. There was a reasonable explanation for why her sister wasn’t answering the phone. She was not going to freak out, especially not when there wasn’t anything she could do about it.
She blew out a hard breath. “She’s not home.”
“Jeez, what a surprise,” Chase said drily. Seeing Kate’s annoyed expression, he spread his hands. “What? She’s not exactly Miss Responsible. If she was, you wouldn’t be here.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Chase gave her a tolerant look. “C’mon, Kate, don’t play coy with me. We both know that the only reason you’re here is to try and save your sister’s career.”
Kate desperately wanted to tell him he was wrong and that Tenley was coming over for all the right reasons. But seeing the truth in Chase’s eyes took the fight out of her. Plunking herself down on the nearby chair, she dropped her head into her hands.
“You’re right,” she admitted in a weary voice. “I’m not even sure she’ll come.