‘You’re right. You already told me how he behaved when you confronted him and it was totally out of character. The drugs were affecting him far more than he realised,’ she said sadly.
‘Maybe he was ashamed, too, because he knew that what he was doing was wrong. That’s probably why he couldn’t face telling you the truth and found it easier to blame someone else. In a way, I can understand how he felt because his whole life was in such a mess by that stage.’
‘You’re too generous,’ she said softly, bending to kiss him.
‘It’s easy to be generous when you have so much to look forward to. Your brother has been through a rough period in his life and all we can do is hope that he sorts himself out.’
‘He is trying to get back on track, but I still think he needs to face up to what he did.’
‘Then maybe you should talk to him when we get home and get everything settled, once and for all.’ He smiled at her. ‘I’d feel much happier if I knew this was never going to become an issue between us again in the future.’
‘It won’t, but if it means that much to you then I’ll go and see Keiran as soon as we get back.’
‘Good.’ He kissed her again then sighed in bemusement. ‘And to think I was too scared to admit how I felt about you, too. I can’t believe I was such a coward!’
‘A coward who came galloping to my rescue in his trusty Jeep,’ she teased, and he laughed.
‘Hmm, there’s different sorts of cowardice—although I’m hoping not to have to repeat today’s little episode, thank you very much. Dodging bullets is not my idea of a fun day out but there was no way I was leaving you there in danger.’
‘My hero!’ She pretended to swoon, then gasped when he extracted his own particular brand of punishment. The kiss was long and increasingly hungry so that she was clinging to him by the time it ended.
‘Seeing as we have the place to ourselves, how would you feel about us making the most of the opportunity?’ she asked, smiling at him. ‘I mean, everyone’s gone to a great deal of trouble to make sure we aren’t interrupted, so it seems rude not to show our appreciation.’
‘Good point. So what do you suggest?’
‘That we have a nice cool shower…then a nap.’
‘A nap?’
‘Yes. After all the excitement we’ve had today we really need to rest,’ she told him, her tongue very firmly in her cheek.
‘You can rest if you like but I have other ideas!’
He swept her into his arms and carried her towards the stairs. Kasey giggled as she clung to him.
‘Careful! You don’t want to do yourself a mischief. It won’t look good if the others get back and find you laid up in bed with a pulled muscle, will it?’
‘I couldn’t give a damn so long as you’re in the bed with me,’ he said firmly, carrying her up the stairs. Kicking open the bathroom door, he let her slide to her feet and smiled wolfishly at her. ‘Were you thinking of showering on your own or sharing?’
‘Sharing sounds good to me so long as there’s enough room for two in that tiny little stall.’
‘I’m sure we can both fit in…if we stand very close together,’ he assured her, his deep voice throbbing in a way that made an answering pulse beat in the pit of her stomach.
He bent and kissed her softly on the mouth then started to unbutton her blouse, interspersing each button being opened with another kiss so that she was breathing hard by the time the last one had been undone. He slid the blouse off her shoulders then bent and kissed her throat, letting his mouth slide down until his lips were nuzzling the top edge of her white cotton bra. He drew back and smiled at her.
‘You next.’
Kasey’s hands were trembling as she began to work the tiny buttons down the front of his shirt out of their buttonholes but they soon steadied because it was such an enjoyable experience. Little by little a bit more of Adam’s muscular chest was appearing as the cotton parted, and it was the best incentive in the world to get the job done. The final button popped out and she spread the shirt wide open while she placed a kiss on his breastbone, the tip of her tongue snaking out so that she could taste the slightly salty flavour of his skin. He groaned deeply.
‘Now you’re taking advantage.’
‘I am. Are you objecting?’
‘No way! Not so long as I can take advantage of you.’
His hands had slid behind her while he was speaking and the next second she felt the catch on her bra being unhooked. All that was holding it in place were the straps and Adam soon dispensed with them—sliding them off her shoulders and down her arms. Her nipples were already peaking before he touched her and she closed her eyes when she felt a wash of sensation rush through her whole body as he caressed her, cupping her breasts in his palms and stroking her nipples with his thumbs.
‘Adam,’ she murmured, as the need inside her began to build.
‘I know,’ he said huskily. ‘I know!’
He pulled her to him and held her tightly against him as the waves of pleasure grew inside them both then gently set her away from him and unfastened the snap on the waistband of her jeans. His hands were gentle, reverent, as he eased them over her hips and down her thighs. Kasey stepped out of them and kicked them aside then it was her turn so she unbuckled his belt and drew it through the loops, tossed it aside then unsnapped the fastener and drew down the zip.
Adam caught hold of her hand and pressed it against him and she shuddered when she felt the hardness of his erection. He wanted her as much as she wanted him and the proof of his desire for her was like balm to her soul because she’d never thought he would feel like this a second time.
‘I never thought you could love me again,’ she said, her voice catching.
‘I never thought I would either, but I couldn’t help myself.’
He kissed her hungrily and held her to him so she felt the tremor that passed through his strong body, and she loved him all the more because he was letting her see that he was vulnerable, too. Reaching up, she kissed him on the lips, telling him with her mouth how much he meant to her, before she pulled away and slipped out of her panties then turned on shower and stepped beneath the spray.
Adam got in beside her, holding her to him as the water flowed over their heads and down their bodies, cooling their skin but making the heat inside them seem all the hotter because of that. When he picked up the bar of soap and ran it over her breasts and stomach she shuddered. He handed her the soap and stood patiently as she lathered his skin, her fingers working the scented bubbles into the dark hair on his chest before she frowned when she felt the puckering of old scar tissue. Wiping the lather away, she stared at the injury.
‘What is that?’
‘I was shot when I was over here the first time.’ He shrugged when she gasped in dismay. ‘It healed really well and has never caused me a problem.’
‘That’s not the point. June told me that you’d stayed on after the civil war broke out but I didn’t realise you’d been shot. Why on earth did you put yourself at risk that way?’
‘Because it didn’t seem to matter all that much what happened to me.’
Her eyes filled with tears. ‘Because of me?’
‘Yes. But that’s all in the past now so let’s not spoil things by dwelling on the mistakes we both made.’
He dropped a kiss on her lips then looked pointedly at the bar of soap. She laughed softly as she soaped her hands and ran them over his broad chest again then let them move lower until he suddenly pulled away, a wry smile curving his beautiful mouth.
‘That had better be off limits for now if we hope to get beyond the shower stage.’
‘Oh!’
Heat flooded through her when she realised what he meant and he laughed softly and so sexily that she ignored the danger and carried on.
‘I did warn you,’ he gritted out as he pulled her to him.
‘You did but I don’t care if we don’t make it to the bedroom!’
‘Good.’
Their coupling was swift and passionate as the water pounded down on them, each thrust seeming more potent because their skin was slick with water and so sensitive because of that. Their love-making had always been a success but there was a new intensity about it now, a hunger that sprang from the fact that they’d had such a long abstinence. When it was over, Adam rested his forehead against hers and she could feel him trembling.
‘I have never wanted anyone the way I want you, Kasey. And I never shall.’
‘It’s the same for me.’ She touched his lips, loved him with her eyes and her heart and her whole being. ‘I’ve not had a relationship since we split up because I never wanted anyone else.’
‘Oh, my love!’ He hugged her to him. ‘No wonder we were both so desperate.’
‘You mean it’s been the same for you?’ she asked wonderingly.
He reached behind her and turned off the water so that his words seemed to carry even more weight in the ensuing silence. ‘I’ve not slept with a woman in the past five years. I’ve not wanted to.’
‘Oh, Adam, I don’t know what to say…’ Tears welled into her eyes and he laughed as he bent and kissed her.
‘It means I have an awful lot of lost time to make up for so how about if we make a start on catching up? My bedroom or yours?’
‘I don’t have a bedroom, remember. I’m not supposed to be here. I should be thirty thousand feet up in the air at this precise moment.’
‘Then we must do something to rectify that.’
‘You don’t mean you’re going to send me back to England at this point!’
‘Certainly not. I was thinking more along the lines of transporting you to dizzying heights by some means other than flying.’
He stepped out of the shower stall and grabbed a towel off the rack, wrapping it around his waist before taking another one and draping it around her. Kasey smiled as he helped her out of the stall.
‘Sometimes, Adam Chandler, you have the most wonderful ideas.’
‘Only sometimes?’ he queried, his brows arching as he opened the bathroom door.
‘Yes. I don’t want you getting too big for your boots by being overly lavish with the compliments.’
‘Heaven forbid!’ He stole another kiss as she passed him then smiled at her. ‘I don’t think there’s any need to worry. You seem to know how to keep me in my place.’
His eyes were so full of love that her heart caught as she smiled up at him. ‘And that place is with me, Adam.’
‘It’s the only place I want to be.’
‘I wish we could stay a bit longer.’
Adam smiled when he heard the wistful note in Kasey’s voice. It was the last day of their stay in Mwuranda and they were in the process of clearing up. The crew had finished dismantling the theatre tent and it was now on its way to the airfield where it would be loaded on board the plane that was due to arrive the following morning.
Two weeks had passed since the attack on the airfield and the army now had the situation under control. The rebel fighters had been driven out of the area and the town was being rebuilt. So many of the old staff had returned to the hospital that they’d been able to open another two wards, and there’d also been rumours that several of the doctors who’d fled the country were returning. Mwuranda was gradually settling down and Adam had to admit to feeling a great sense of satisfaction at what they’d achieved.
‘So do I but we have to go back home at some point.’ He put his arms around Kasey, ignoring the laughing looks the other members of the team exchanged. He loved her and he certainly wasn’t going to try and hide his feelings.
‘I know and it will be lovely to go back to England but I just wish…’ She stopped and he frowned.
‘You wish—what?’
‘You’ll think I’m crazy,’ she warned him.
‘But I’ll love you anyway,’ he told her, chuckling when she glared at him.
‘Cheek!’
‘I know, and I’ll apologise for it later,’ he promised suggestively, loving the fact that she could still blush despite the fact that they’d spent every waking and sleeping moment together for the past two weeks.
‘I’ll hold you to that,’ she told him, but he felt the shiver that passed through her and knew how she felt.
‘So tell me what’s on your mind.’
‘I just wish we could get married here,’ she blurted out. ‘Oh, I know it’s a crazy idea because we said we’d have a big wedding for all our friends and family back home, but it would be so special to hold the ceremony here, wouldn’t it?’
‘It would,’ he said slowly, because maybe it wasn’t such a crazy idea after all. He, too, would love to make his vows right here in this country where they’d finally found happiness again, but would it be possible to arrange a wedding at such short notice?
‘Do you really mean it?’ he said briskly, because there was only one way to find out if he could make her dream come true.
‘Yes, of course I do!’
‘Then let’s see what we can do about it.’
‘But we’re leaving in the morning…’
‘Which means we have the rest of the day to sort everything out.’ He glanced at his watch then kissed her quickly on the lips and ran to the Jeep. ‘You find something to wear and I’ll do the rest. Be ready in an hour. OK?’
‘But, Adam…!’ Kasey protested then gave up because he wasn’t listening. She stared after the Jeep as he drove away, wondering what on earth he intended to do. There was no way he could arrange for them to be married in an hour’s time!
Could he?
She turned and ran back into the hostel. June was in the storeroom, helping to pack up the rest of their supplies, and she looked up when Kasey raced into the room.
‘What’s the rush?’
‘Adam…well, Adam says that we can get married. Today.’
‘Today?’ June’s jaw dropped. ‘How? I mean you can’t arrange a wedding in a couple of hours. It takes months of planning and organising and—’
‘If Adam says it’s going to happen, I believe him. And that means I need something to wear because I am not getting married in a pair of jeans!’
‘Right. Let’s get ourselves into town and see what we can find for you.’
June quickly rallied, abandoning the cartons as she headed for the door. Katie and Lorraine were in the hall and she summoned them over and told them what was happening. Within minutes they were on their way to town and heading for the local market where June made straight for one of the stalls that sold cloth.
‘See if you fancy any of these patterns,’ she instructed.
Kasey obediently browsed through the rolls of brightly coloured fabric until she found one in a glorious mixture of emerald green and turquoise. ‘This is gorgeous.’
‘We’ll take it,’ June told the stallholder, getting into her stride now that her initial surprise was fading.
Kasey watched in bemusement while a length of fabric was cut and paid for then they all hurried back to the hospital and headed straight for Matthias’s room. Sarah was there and she was delighted to offer her help when June explained what they wanted her to do and why.
Half an hour later Kasey stood in front of the mirror and stared at herself in amazement. Sarah had fashioned for her one of the traditional dresses the local women wore, using safety-pins and lengths of tape to hold it all together. The beautiful fabric draped softly over her shoulders and was cinched in at her waist before cascading to the floor. It was the most fabulous gown she had ever worn and she was thrilled with it and said so.
‘Thank you so much. It’s just wonderful. I can’t believe that’s me in the mirror.’
‘You look beautiful, Kasey,’ Sarah said sincerely. ‘But it isn’t the gown that is making you glow like that. It’s love.’
‘I know. I love Adam so much…’ She broke off and hugged herself because she felt she was going to burst with happiness.
June laughed as she gave her a hug as
well. ‘I am so pleased for you both but you certainly put us all through the mill before you got your act together!’
Everyone laughed at that. Kasey glanced round when the door opened and Florence suddenly appeared. She was holding a huge bunch of tropical flowers which she shyly handed to Kasey.
‘We have picked these for you, Kasey. We all hope that you and Dr Adam are very happy together.’
‘Thank you so much!’ Kasey hugged her then took the flowers from her and stared in delight at the brilliant colours. ‘They are so beautiful, aren’t they?’
‘They are. And maybe just a couple in your hair would add the finishing touch…’ Sarah plucked a couple of bright red flowers out of the bunch and pinned them into Kasey’s dark curls, adding an even more exotic look to her wedding outfit.
‘I just hope Adam has managed to sort everything out after all the trouble you’ve gone to,’ she said mistily.
‘I have.’
Suddenly Adam was there as well and Kasey swung round, seeing the love that lit his eyes when he looked at her in the beautiful flowing dress.
‘You look beautiful,’ he said softly, taking her hands and kissing them.
‘Thank you.’ She smiled at him, all the love she felt for him reflected in her eyes.
‘Ahem! I hate to butt in but have you managed to organise this wedding or not?’
Adam grinned when June reminded them that they had an audience. ‘Sorry, but you can’t blame me for getting a little carried away. And, yes, I have managed to sort it out.’
‘You have?’ Kasey gasped. ‘How?’
‘I went to the orphanage and enlisted Claire’s help because I thought she might be able to suggest something.’
‘And did she?’ she asked excitedly.
‘Yes. She suggested that I have a word with Father Michael and ask him to conduct the service. He’s visiting the orphanage at the moment so the timing couldn’t have been better. Anyway, I asked him if he would marry us and he agreed.’
‘He did!’
‘Yes. Sister Beatrice very kindly offered to hold the service in their chapel so it’s all arranged. I’m not sure if the marriage will be legal in England but we can check that out when we get home. It’s not that important, is it? The important thing is that the wedding can take place in an hour’s time if that’s what you want.’
The Forever Assignment Page 17