The Doctor's Society Sweetheart (9 page)

A scream had worked its way up from her lungs and pierced the man’s ears. He’d told her to stop making the noise and then had slowly slid the cold, hard edge of the gun against her cheek. Instantly, Emmy had done as he’d said. Another man had then climbed into the front seat of the car…a man who wasn’t Patrick. Then she’d felt a sharp prick on the side of her neck and everything had gone blurry.

The kidnapping was something she’d repressed for a long time and while she’d known she might come across this sort of scenario, seeing men with guns, during her time here in Tarparnii, she hadn’t expected to endure such a paralysing, terrifying reaction. She’d thought she’d dealt with the horrors of those terrible twenty-four hours she’d been stolen from her parents. Apparently not.

‘Emmy?’ Neal nudged her, bringing her firmly back to the present.

Her eyes snapped open and she covered her mouth with her hands to stop herself from screaming at his sudden touch.

‘Emmy?’ he said again, a little taken back by her reaction.

‘What?
What?
’ She was panting, perspiration peppering her brow as she tried to swallow over her dry throat.

‘Uh…the papers,’ Neal said hesitantly. ‘Dart needs you to give him the papers that say it’s OK for us to film in this country.’

It was then Emmy looked across and realised that Dart was watching her with a curious but also clinical look. He’d moved. He wasn’t surrounded by the men with the guns any more. He was leaning into the truck, his gaze trained on her.

‘Are you all right, Emmy?’ There was concern in his tone and she could only imagine what she looked like.

‘Uh…’ She made a quick and conscious effort to try and get her breathing under control as she bent to rummage for
the papers in the backpack between her feet. It was the perfect opportunity to pull herself together, something she was glad she’d been taught to do quickly from an early age.

‘A lady must be under control at all times, her emotions locked away in the privacy of her own mind. Giving to others, helping others is more important than helping yourself.’ Her mother’s words rang clearly in her mind yet again.

She handed the papers over to Dart, who in turn handed them to the soldier. Emmy’s apprehension didn’t disappear but she was at least pleased that she’d managed to calm herself down, to slow her breathing to a more normal pace, to be able to smile politely and do her job. That was until the soldiers ordered everyone off the transport.

‘Why do we need to get off?’ she asked, the fear quickly returning to her voice. Dart was helping people off and when she stood, he held out his hand to her.

‘They just need to check everything over. There’s nothing to worry about. It’s all quite routine.’ Although the instant she put her hand into his, he knew there wasn’t anything routine about the repressed tension pulsating between them. Just the simple task of helping her down from the truck had his hormones going into overdrive. It was annoying because at the ripe old age of forty-one, he’d thought he had pretty good control over his hormones.

Not so when Emmy was near him.

As she stepped to the ground, she didn’t let go of his hand, as he’d expected. When he looked at her, he could see the veiled panic behind her eyes. He’d thought he’d seen it a moment ago, before she’d bent to find her papers, but now he could see as clear as day that there was something going on here that was spooking her.

‘Everything’s going to be fine, Em,’ he said softly. ‘This is very routine. Happens so often that these guys…’ he indicated the soldiers ‘…are getting to know me.’

She nodded at his words but the fear was still there. Dart put his free hand on her shoulder and looked intently into her eyes. ‘Trust me, Emmy. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.’ He might have no idea where the instant attraction had come from and he was far from being able to comprehend what it might mean, but what he did know was that the need to protect this woman was paramount. He’d felt it last night and he felt it now.

Dart continued to hold her hand as he spoke clearly to the guards, indicating that he was the man in charge. Emmy watched in complete fascination, the physical connection between them giving her more reassurance than anything else. Dart was here. He would protect her. She would be fine. No one was going to take her this time. No one was going to hurt them. The soldiers, for all their gun-carrying, seemed to be quite reasonable, not like the terrifying kidnappers who had given her nightmares for such a very long time.

There didn’t appear to be any animosity between the guards and Dart, both parties smiling now and then, as though they’d gone through this drill many times before. What Emmy couldn’t believe was the way her heart seemed to swell with pride and admiration for Dart. He was a commanding presence. Whether he was discussing and negotiating with a man holding a gun, performing shadow puppets with his hands or pressing his lips passionately to her own, he was the type of man to do everything to the best of his ability.

It wasn’t long before they were all back on their cargo transport, heading off towards their destination, the armed guards waving and smiling as they drove away. It had seemed surreal and she knew her crew had captured it all on film. It also brought home the fact that while there was fighting going on all around them, there was also some sort of order in the way things were organised. There were innocent people living
in this country, people who required medical attention, and it appeared PMA was allowed to provide that attention.

Dart had reluctantly let go of her hand as he’d helped her back into the truck, also giving his attention to J’tagnan and his mother and other members of the PMA crew. Everyone had shuffled seats from where they’d previously been sitting and this time Emmy realised that the only available seat left for Dart was the one next to her. After bidding a polite farewell to the soldiers, he turned and made his way towards her, carefully easing his tall frame onto the wooden bench. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, Emmy trying hard not to be affected by the way his shoulder kept brushing against hers as the transport rocked gently to and fro.

‘Are you all right?’ His voice was quiet and smooth yet she could hear him quite well over the noise of the truck engines.

‘Fine.’

‘Something happened back there. Are you sure you’re OK? You really did look terrified.’

Emmy swallowed. ‘It’s OK. I’ll tell you some other time. Nothing to worry about now.’

‘Sure?’

She glanced around them. ‘These are hardly the surroundings.’

He held her gaze but knew she was right. ‘OK. So long as you’re all right.’

‘I am.’

‘Good.’

An awkward pause settled over both of them and Emmy called on her finishing-school training once again in order to remain calm. ‘Agitation is not a becoming quality for a lady.’ Her mother’s words rang in her head and Emmy folded her hands into her lap, straightened her back and took a soothing breath…then wished she hadn’t.

The scent of whatever it was Dart wore teased at her senses, the spice, the earthy goodness and the plain heat coming from the man mixing itself into a powerful aphrodisiac. Her body tingled with awareness, goose-bumps rippled down her arms and legs, and when his warm thigh brushed against her own, she received a jolt of delight.

Memories of his mouth on hers, of his arms holding her, of the way those kisses had been the sweetest, most seductive kisses of her entire life, flooded through her and she did her best not to gasp at the contact. So much for remaining calm!

‘I should have told you about the checkpoint so you weren’t worried.’ Dart spoke softly, breaking the silence.

Emmy swallowed. ‘It’s fine.’ She waved his words away. ‘All part of the experience of being somewhere different.’

‘Huh.’ He nodded, easily seeing through her pretence of appearing calm and in control. She was a person who needed to be in control, to prove herself, to show the world that she was much more than just another rich heiress. And she was, he realised. The more he came to know her, the more he liked what he found.

As he glanced down at her, his gaze settled on her mouth and the memory came back to him of just how sweet, how wonderful and perfect she’d tasted…the feel of her close to him…her scent winding itself about him, just as it was now. Did the woman have any idea just how she was making him feel, sitting this close, their bodies jostling together as the truck continued to rumble its way to their destination?

Desire buzzed through him. He clenched his teeth, doing his best not to touch Emmy more than he was at present, even though he was almost desperate to put his arm around her shoulders and hold her close to him, have her turn her face up towards his so that he could lower his mouth to hers and ki—

‘It reminds me of my time in Outback Australia.’ Emmy’s words cut across his thoughts, bringing his mind back to the present.

‘What does?’

‘Being out here.’ She spread her arm, indicating the beautiful scenery they were driving past. ‘It’s so vast, so different from our normal lives. Tight communities, supporting each other, helping out where needed.’

Dart cleared his throat, his mind now back on track. ‘Were you in the Outback for another television assignment?’

‘Yes.’

‘Whereabouts did you go?’

‘Sorry?’

‘In the Outback. Have you been to several places or just one…community?’

‘I did a three-part series on outback doctors. I spent quite a bit of time in Didjabrindagrogalon in Western Australia and also up at Dingo Creek and Blaytent Springs in the Northern Territory.’ She smiled as she spoke. ‘Everyone rallies around, doing what needs to be done, just as you and your team do in the villages. They make house calls, which, to all intents and purposes, is what I guess we’re doing today—driving to another village to help out.’

‘Exactly.’ He pointed to the scenery as they drove along the ungraded road. ‘Although there aren’t so many trees in the outback.’

‘No.’ She smiled as she looked at the lush, green jungle, the rain having come once more, falling softly but constantly. The humidity started to rise and with it came the annoying insects. ‘And in the outback, the heat tends to be dry, with flies being the dominant insect.’ She turned and looked up at him…and he wished she hadn’t.

Her smile was delightful, the curve of her lips only enticing him more than he cared to admit. Her eyes sparkled with
an intensity he didn’t want to know about. Her flowery scent wound its way about him, making him crazy for her.

How was it that in the past he’d been able to easily fight attractions to other women, never once making a dent in his resolve to never marry and to keep Marta’s memory alive? What was it about Emmy that made him want to slip his arm around her, pull her towards him and press his mouth to hers once again? Why should she be any different from other women?

Because she was.

There was no logic in the answer, just as there was no logic in the question. He was attracted to her and perhaps the sooner he stopped trying to deny it, the sooner he would be able to gain control over this temporary infatuation and get back to his normal life where he could happily brood about his lost love all he wanted.

‘Please don’t look at me like that, Dart,’ Emmy said softly, and it was only then he realised he was still staring at her.

‘I can’t help it.’ The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. He made no effort to touch her, to hold her hand, to cup her face in his and press his mouth to hers, which she was becoming desperate for him to do.

‘I’m drawn to you, Emmy. Believe me, I don’t want to be but I am.’

She frowned a little at that, feeling a touch insulted. It carried through in her tone. ‘Good to know reluctance is still alive and well.’

‘Look, all I meant was that we come from different worlds. You’ll be gone in another few days, back to Australia, back to your life in front of the camera, working for a television network and doing…whatever else it is that you do.’

His tone, his words made it all sound so glamorous when in reality, it was a way she’d devised to live so no one knew just how lonely she really was.

‘Nothing.’

‘Pardon?’

‘I do nothing.’

Dart frowned. ‘Yes, you do. You do excellent work for charities and…and you help people just by being there, by listening to them.’ He felt a little out of depth as he spoke, given that all he really knew of her life was the few snippets he’d caught in the press over the years. Still, he didn’t want her to think that he’d been trying to attack her with his words. Quite the opposite.

‘Your story here, what you’re filming now, will help people in Australia to know all about Tarparnii and how they can help out. Australians are a giving people and always come through for a good and noble cause such as this. You’re a big part of that, not only giving of yourself but making sure issues aren’t swept beneath the carpet.’

‘Now you’re making me sound like a saint and that I am definitely not.’ There was a hint of hope in her tone, the desolation starting to slip away, and she couldn’t believe how much of an influence Dart’s words had on her. His opinion of her mattered. That’s what she realised in that moment. She cared, probably far too much, what he thought of her.

Pleased he’d made her smile again, Dart took her hand in his. ‘Emmy, I think you’re an incredible woman and, yes, there is an attraction between us—a rather strong one given the past twenty-four hours—but—’

‘We can’t let it get the better of us,’ she finished for him, nodding slowly, trying desperately not to react to the warmth of his hand. Just one simple touch from him and she was again reduced to a quivering mass of uselessness.

‘I can’t do my job properly and neither can you,’ he continued, rubbing his thumb tenderly over her knuckles.

‘We need to concentrate,’ she agreed, and looked from their entwined hands up to his face, his brown eyes reflecting the
deep and powerful sensations he felt for her. It was almost enough to make her renege on the words she’d just uttered. What she wanted was for him to lean down and press his mouth to hers, to kiss her not with the soft sweetness from this morning but with the powerful, animalistic need that she could feel was simmering beneath the surface in both of them.