by Lucy Clark
He’d come to Tarparnii to help others, to continue Marta’s legacy for always being there for those in need, and now here he was, helping himself to a woman who he wasn’t sure he even liked. Did he like Emmy? He liked the vulnerability she’d allowed him to see. He’d liked the way she had the same drive as Marta, to really get in there and help those who needed it most.
Was that the reason he’d succumbed? Did Emmy remind him of Marta? Was he projecting a lost love onto a woman who had the same sort of internal spirit? That need to give? If he was, then it was wrong. It was so wrong.
Swallowing, he shook his head and without another word turned and strode from the hut, leaving Emmy and the medical containers behind. She watched as the door closed behind him and it was only then that she seemed to snap out of the catatonic state that had held her, watching without being able to do anything as Dart had withdrawn from her.
Several emotions had flitted across his face. Confusion. Doubt. Anger. Still, there had been one emotion that had pierced her heart the instant she’d seen it in his eyes.
Regret.
Plain and simple. He regretted what had just happened between them even though it had been one of the most perfect moments of her life so far.
The way he’d looked at her, his touch, his mouth so incredible on her own. How could he deny what had passed between them? How could he just stare at her as though she was…nothing, and then walk away? She knew, without a doubt, with every instinct and fibre of her being, that he’d enjoyed that kiss, had wanted it, had needed it as much as she had. What she couldn’t understand was why he was now trying to deny that. She’d seen the look in his eyes, had watched the emotions cross his face and heard the purpose in his stride as he’d turned and left.
Well…she wasn’t as fickle.
She had been so into him, into that kiss, into the natural attraction that seemed to exist between them. However, if this was the way he was going to behave, she would harden her heart, the same way she’d had to against others in the past. Protection was paramount. Hadn’t her parents shown her that at an early age? Protection for herself was what she must have at all times if she was going to move successfully through this world and not get hurt.
She dragged in a cleansing breath, centred her thoughts, squared her shoulders and hefted a medical crate in her hands, ready to head outside and focus on the job she’d come here to do. She was here to help others…and Dartagnan Freeman could go jump!
They took two transport trucks to the village filled with various medical supplies, tents and other bits and pieces they would need. The trucks had plenty of seating room in the back, the hard wooden seats not supporting any seat belts or comfort of any kind, the roof merely a canvas tarpaulin. Little baby J’tagnan and his mother came with them, the woman leaning her head against Dart’s shoulder, the baby cradled safely in his arms.
He knew Emmy had spoken to both Meeree and J’tagnan’s mother to gain permission to film mother and babe returning home. All had agreed it was an excellent idea and after she’d briefed Neal and Mike on what sort of shots she wanted, they’d left Jalak and Meeree’s village.
As they drove along, the back flaps of the transport open to allow a breeze to surround them, the film crew sat on the end, cameras stuck out the back, filming anything and everything they could.
Emmy, on the other hand, was taking her own mental pictures of Dart, the man looking absolutely gorgeous as he sat there, protectively cradling the baby. A few times he glanced her way and she quickly looked somewhere else, trying to pretend he hadn’t just caught her staring. She was still mad at him for making her feel so incredible. How could he do that? How could he make her feel as though someone in this crazy world really cared about her and then flip every emotion on its head and walk away from her with such ease?
She closed her eyes, trying to force her mind not to dwell on such things. Now was not the time. She was here in Tarparnii to do a job, to throw light on the situations and conditions these people lived in, not get romantically involved with a man who, although he kissed like a dream, really wanted nothing to do with her.
With her body moving in time with the truck as they rumbled along, Emmy zoned out to the conversations around her. She was becoming used to hearing the strange guttural sounds of the Tarparniian language and she was even starting to pick up a few more words.
She had attempted to learn a bit before her trip but that had been more in the vein of polite pleasantries. Right now, though, she had a few minutes to rest her eyes, to clear her mind from distractions such as Dart Freeman and go over the words she would use to describe this country. A lot of her work, a lot of the narrative for the piece would be added post-production once the film had been edited when they were back in Australia…and miles away from Dart.
The truck started to slow down and Emmy was surprised that they’d reached their destination so soon. She felt someone move past her and a tingle of awareness coursed through her body. When she opened her eyes, she wasn’t surprised to find that Dart had handed the baby back to the mother and had made his way to the rear of the truck, his legs having briefly brushed hers as he’d passed.
The truck came to a complete stop and she prepared to get off the transport and into the village, anything to get her mind off the ever-present topic of Dart, but she found that this was not the village at all but a security checkpoint. Her eyes snapped open, her mind flicking into alert mode as several armed men in camouflage came to check out what was in the rear of the trucks, trucks that were painted with a big red cross on all three sides of the canvas surrounding their transport.
Fear started to tingle down her spine. Was this normal? Was this supposed to be happening? Flashes of a far-off event, of something that had happened in her past, long ago, came to mind as she watched the soldiers walk around the truck, their guns slung over their shoulders but their hands holding the butts of the weapons as though they were extensions of themselves, easily manoeuvred, easily used.
Her breathing started to increase and she found it difficult to swallow. Dart climbed from the truck and stood near them, handing over papers. Dart. Her heart pounded wildly against her chest as she watched him move, watched the way he held himself tall but relaxed. Dart. Anything could happen to him. They had guns, big, destructive guns, and Dart was right next to them.
Her mouth went dry and the drumming of her heart was loud, reverberating right through her so that she was having a difficult time focusing on what was being said. Time seemed to have slowed and a wave of sickness washed over her, distant memories, long forgotten, starting to return. If only Dart would get back in the truck. If only the men with guns would leave them alone. If only she could get her mind to focus, but her head was starting to spin.
When the soldier pointed to the camera and sound man, Emmy’s anxiety increased. She parted her lips, her breathing becoming more erratic with each passing moment. Was something wrong? Was this supposed to be happening? Again, flashes of pictures from when she’d been five years old came instantly to the forefront of her mind.
She wasn’t in a truck, she was in a town car. She wasn’t with Dart, she was with Patrick. Emmy closed her eyes tight, trying to wash away the memory, but closing her eyes seemed to make it worse.
She had not long started school and was being driven by her chauffeur, Patrick. He’d slowed the car as he’d thought there were roadworks. There hadn’t been. Patrick had wound down his window. She hadn’t paid much attention, content to play with her doll in the back seat. Patrick had climbed from the car. He’d told her to stay put. Then a different man had climbed into the back of the car with her. He’d had a dark mask over his face and she’d only been able to see his eyes and his mouth. He’d had a metal thing in his hand. She’d seen Tristan playing with those things. Toy ones. Guns. This one, though, had looked bigger, scarier, deadlier.
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 mo
uth 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.