The Doctor's Society Sweetheart (11 page)

Her breathing had increased even more now and as Dart continued to watch her, his gaze flicking between her mouth and her eyes, the emotions became even more intense. She slipped her tongue out to wet her lips, the action bringing forth a groan of deep-seated need from Dart. It only gave her more confidence.

‘Friendship is important, Emmy,’ he managed to choke out, his words brushing against her lips they were so close.

‘We can be friends,’ she insisted. ‘I was never a believer in instant attraction but when it hits you like a slap to the face, it’s hard not to notice. It’s as though I’ve known you a lot longer than I have. I can’t explain that and I’ve stopped trying to understand it. I can’t help the way you make me feel, and from the moment we met, I’ve been fighting it,’ she explained in a rush, her words tumbling over each other as she tried to make him comprehend just how he made her feel.

‘I don’t want to fight it any more, Dart. I like feeling the way you make me feel. I like being around you.’ She edged even closer, his hand at her waist now sliding further around to rest in the centre of her back. His other hand was still in his pocket, clenched tightly as though he needed to maintain some control over what was happening here.

‘I like the tingles which course through me when you touch me. I like the heat that starts as a slow burn then works its way up to a frenzy when your lips are against mine.’

‘Shh.’ Dart closed his eyes, wondering how on earth he was supposed to fight against this. ‘Stop saying things like that.’

‘Why?’

‘Because it makes it more complicated.’

‘Why do we need to be rational?’ Her words were enticing him further, drawing him closer. Never before had he been so seduced by a woman as he was now. He’d watched her in the village today, watched the way she gave one hundred per cent of her attention to whomever she was with, whether it was a patient or a member of the village community. She cared. She really cared about them and now, as she gave him that same undivided attention, he knew deep within his heart that she really cared about him and what she was saying wasn’t just words.

And that was the major part of his problem.

She wanted to get to know him better. She wanted to be real friends, not just colleagues. She wanted to probe into his past, to get him to open up to her. He had no idea why but he simply knew, instinctively, that agreeing to be friends with Emmy definitely meant more than colleagues who shared a few tales from their pasts as they sat around the hut of an evening trying to unwind from a full day’s work.

He could freely admit that he wanted to kiss her now more than anything. He wanted to be near her, to hold her against his body, to feel the way she responded to him, to know that whatever he did say to her, whatever he told her from his past, would stay between the two of them. Friends. She wanted to be friends but it appeared she wanted to be friends who had a certain level of intimacy.

‘You intrigue me, Emmy.’

She smiled at his words. Her mouth was so close to his, he
felt
the sides of her mouth tug upwards as he spoke. ‘I’m going to take that as a compliment.’

‘You should. You’re a remarkable woman and the fact that
I’m intrigued means I want to know more. That doesn’t usually happen to me and most definitely not with colleagues, but there’s more to think about than just this moment here and now. We can become friends. We can talk, we can share, we can…kiss.’ He shook his head, the movement so small it was almost imperceptible.

‘We will leave this country in a matter of days, both to return to our lives in Australia. Our very
different
lives. I’ve seen it all before. People work together here, they go through some stressful and often life-changing experiences, and when they return home, they’re different and the people around them, the people who are in their daily lives, don’t understand what happened. The couples are usually from different States, sometimes different countries, so they find it even more difficult to see each other, and even if they do live close to each other, normal life has a way of changing things. Here, everything is amplified. Back home, you may not feel the same way about me.’

And there it was, she thought. In a nutshell, Dart was letting her know that he thought that when they returned home,
she
would change.
She
would get swept up in her ‘different’ world and not want to be with him. There was nothing she could say at the moment that would make him think any different and so she decided to
show
him just how important he was becoming in her life.

‘You know what your problem is?’ she asked.

‘What?’ The one word was defensive.

Emmy laced her fingers at the back of his neck and urged his head down. ‘You talk too much.’

With that, his mouth was once more pressed to hers in another heart-stopping, mind-spinning, earth-shattering, axis-altering kiss…And he realised there wasn’t a thing he wanted to do to stop it.

T
HE
woman was incredibly alluring, drawing him into her life by the sweet way she touched him. She tasted of promise and hope and it was those very things he’d been searching for to fill the lonely void in his life for a long time. His past was his past. He knew that. He’d accepted that but in some ways he hadn’t expected to ever move on.

Then he’d met Emmy.

Dart slipped his arms about her, drawing her closer, needing her closer. Everything she’d said had been correct. The need that burned between them was only going to intensify and was it wise to ignore it? Friendships could survive on a more intimate level, couldn’t they? As the kiss intensified, his mind cleared of all thoughts except how she tasted, so sweet and full of flavour, so intoxicating.

‘Emmy.’ He murmured her name as his mouth broke free, dragging in breath but still unwilling to completely break the embrace, pressing small butterfly kisses along her jaw to her ear, nibbling at her earlobe, drawing in the scent she wore and nuzzling her neck, making him wonder if he was ever going to be able to let her go when they returned to Australia.

She wrapped her arms about his neck, giggling slightly at the way he continued to kiss her neck. ‘You’re tickling me.’

‘I like your laugh. It’s so free,’ he whispered into her ear.

Emmy sighed into the embrace, closing her eyes and
wondering if she’d ever felt this happy before. Dart was holding her close, whispering sweet things in her ear, pressing light, tantalising kisses to her skin, and she wanted more. ‘I like you making me laugh,’ she returned.

Dart chuckled at this. ‘Are we forming a mutual admiration society?’ There was the sound of distant thunder, which they both knew wasn’t really thunder but more people coming to the small village, people in need of medical treatment. He’d snatched a few moments with Emmy and they were moments he knew he would cherish, being able to hold her this close, to breathe in her scent, to kiss her just as he’d dreamed of doing.

‘I think we’re already charter members.’ Emmy laughed and tightened her hold on him, her laughter ending on a sigh. ‘They’re coming, aren’t they? More patients. More treatments.’

Dart eased back slightly and looked down into her gorgeous face. ‘It’s not too much for you, is it?’

‘Good heavens, no. I didn’t mean to imply that I was exhausted or tired of treating patients. Not at all.’

‘That’s good because you’re such a natural with them all. Not even the language barrier seems to be stopping you.’

‘Thank you.’ She pressed a kiss to his cheek. ‘I only meant that the arrival of a new round of patients means less time for us to become better friends.’

Dart shifted, bringing his hands to rest on her shoulders. Emmy slowly but very reluctantly slid her hands down to rest on his chest, her fingers memorising every contour. ‘Friends,’ he agreed, although they both knew that even with this last kiss the landscape between them had changed once again.

He’d just dropped his hands back to his sides when Gloria poked her head into the food hut. ‘There you two are. Ready for round two?’

‘Lead on,’ Emmy said, feeling more confident, not only in her work but in her burgeoning relationship with Dart.

That night they slept in tents. All the medical staff, along with Emmy and her crew, were squashed into two of them. Dart noticed that Emmy made sure her sleeping area was right next to his and later in the evening, when the others were sound asleep, she snuggled into him.

It was a small slice of heaven, a slice he’d thought he would never know again. Emmy had awakened feelings he’d thought long gone. Gone when Marta had perished, her life snuffed out by the same fire that had claimed the lives of his parents. His world had gone from happily structured to destructive disarray.

It couldn’t last. It
wouldn’t
last. He was at least honest enough with himself to realise that. They came from two completely different worlds, not only geographically because they lived in different States back in Australia but also because they came from opposite sides of the tracks. If he allowed himself to follow this path, to think that there could be anything remotely permanent between Emmy and himself, he would end up hurting both of them.

There could be no future for them. She was a public figure, a high-profile person not only in the world of television but in the fast and furious world of the rich and famous. He was a doctor who preferred to spend his time working in the middle of nowhere where life ran to a more simple rhythm. Here he could help others, focusing on giving rather than on looking inward to his own life.

Emmy may have shown him that he wasn’t as dead inside as he’d originally thought but the fact of the matter remained that there could be no future for them.

He closed his eyes against the truth, tightening his hold on the woman who had come to mean so much to him in such a
short time. Soon they would return to Australia, to their own worlds, where they would slot nicely back into their own lives, their time together, this very night, becoming a pleasant but distant memory of a perfect moment.

The instant the words came to mind, Emmy started to flinch a little, her breathing increasing and as Dart looked down at her, he saw her brow furrowed into a frown. ‘No,’ she whimpered. ‘Leave me alone.’ When she started to tremble, Dart tightened his hold on her, his heart pierced by the thought that she was dreaming such terrible things. Was someone trying to get her? Hurt her?

‘Shh. It’s OK, Emmy. I’m here. I’ve got you,’ he murmured soothingly, and dropped a kiss on her forehead, the possessiveness he’d felt towards her over the past few days increasing yet again. ‘I won’t let anything happen to you.’

At his words, Emmy’s brow relaxed, her breathing returning to a more normal rhythm as she snuggled in closer to him.

‘Mmm. Dart.’ Hearing her whisper his name brought a new round of pleasure and pain. Pleasure because he knew she was now dreaming about him and pain because he knew they simply couldn’t allow themselves to follow through on those dreams.

Tonight. He at least had tonight to capture her essence, to create a memory that would need to last him the rest of his life. Holding her. Feeling her hand on his chest. The rise and fall of her breaths, perfectly synchronised with his own. Her sweet, fresh scent encompassing him.
This
was what he would miss the most. The quietness of holding her in his arms, of protecting her, of keeping her safe.

Dart relaxed his body, knowing they had another hectic day tomorrow and that sleep was needed.

When he woke, it was to find the sun just starting to peek through the shadows of night. He shifted slightly, surprised
and delighted to feel Emmy still in his arms, just starting to stir herself. He looked down at her, watching that first moment when she opened her eyes and saw him. The smile was on her face before those gorgeous baby blues opened and met his gaze. She stretched, their sleeping bags rubbing against each other as she angled her body closer to his.

‘Good morning.’ The smile was brighter now and within a second she’d leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips. ‘I slept so well.’ As she said the words, she realised the complete truth of them. Not only was it the best sleep she’d had in a long time, she couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt so secure, so protected. Being with Dart, in his arms, she’d known without a doubt that nothing bad would happen to her. Her subconscious must have known it as well because never before had she felt this refreshed first thing in the morning.

Dart was lying there, looking at her face as though she were the most precious thing in the world. It was an incredible feeling and one she wanted to continue for ever.

‘You don’t remember having a bad dream?’ he asked, his voice thick and deep with relaxed slumber.

Emmy thought for a moment then shook her head. ‘Nope.’ Then she angled her head to the side. ‘Did I?’

‘Not a very long one. You wanted someone to leave you alone.’

‘Oh.’ Emmy’s mouth went momentarily dry as she realised exactly what he was talking about. ‘Sometimes I have small bad dreams.’ She shrugged the thought away. ‘It’s nothing.’

‘Did something happen to you when you were younger?’

She closed her eyes for a moment, not wanting to get into the kidnapping, which still gave her bad dreams every now and then. She’d probably had one last night because the soldiers with guns had triggered the memory. The strange thing was that she usually remembered the dreams, she usually woke up trembling and perspiring all over, gasping for air. That hadn’t
happened last night and she knew it was because she’d been held safe within Dart’s arms, feeling as though nothing and no one would ever hurt her again.

She didn’t want to think about that now. She wanted to concentrate on the incredible feeling she’d woken with, the one that Dart was responsible for creating. With him next to her, there would be no more bad dreams. There would be no more questions about whether someone could ever love her for herself rather than her fortune. Dartagnan Freeman had made an enormous impact in her life and she wanted him with her, to keep him in her life, by her side, holding her hand during the day and drawing her close at night.

‘Yes, but I don’t want to talk about that now,’ she said as she leaned in for another kiss, disappointed that they couldn’t enjoy a lovely, relaxing morning, taking their time with breakfast, sharing the paper and generally just spending time with each other. Not that she minded the alternative, being here in Tarparnii, helping out, learning so many new things, coping with busy medical clinics.

And she
had
coped. She was a good doctor. She’d been able to treat her patients effectively and efficiently and she’d loved every moment of it. She was a good doctor and Dart thought so, too. What more could a girl want?

Resting her head onto his chest, she listened to the steady beating of his heart, loving the warmth of his arms about her, and even though the sun was starting to drive the temperature up, it was nothing compared to the way she felt when Dart held her. He could set her insides alight, make her entire body tingle with one of those smoulderingly deep looks he often sent her way. They may have only known each other for a few days but Emmy knew without a shadow of doubt that she was one hundred per cent, prime time, in love with him.

‘I just want to absorb this moment in time. Just you and me.’

‘And half of the PMA staff all squashed into one tent,’ he pointed out as he reluctantly released her, knowing they needed to get the day under way. There was a lot of work still to be done today, a lot of patients to treat and distance to travel if they were going to return J’tagnan and his mother safely to their own village.

He leaned over and brushed a quick kiss on Emmy’s lips, delighting that she was allowing him to do so and also filing the sensations away in the back of his mind. He knew things would change the instant they returned to Australia.

There were several raised eyebrows between their colleagues when they realised that Dart and Emmy had become closer. It wasn’t as though they flaunted the change but Emmy would trail her hand down his arm more slowly, more intimately than before. Or Dart would tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, smiling brightly. No one said anything, but smiled as they got on with the job they’d come here to do.

By midday, they were halfway through the clinic, Dart and Emmy barely finding two minutes together to sneak some alone time. Emmy couldn’t believe how wonderful it was simply to be a doctor. Medicine was in her blood, it was what she had been called to do, and while her job at the television station allowed her to bring situations such as the one here in Tarparnii to the public’s attention, she couldn’t believe the satisfaction she felt at treating a patient, even if it was for an immunisation or just a check-up.

Around two o’clock, when there was a lull in patients, they all stopped for a bite to eat, Emmy taking a quick look at the digital footage her crew had shot. It looked good and she could already hear the commentary she would write and present play out in her head.

She felt rather than heard Dart come up behind her. ‘How’s it looking?’ he asked as he slipped his hands about her waist.

‘Good. The guys have shot some incredible stuff. It’s going to be great.’

‘No doubt.’ He turned her in his arms so she was facing him, a smile bright on his lips as he bent to give her a quick kiss.

Emmy couldn’t help but chuckle. ‘You’ve certainly changed your tune since we first met. You didn’t want to have anything to do with the filming.’

‘Well, that was before I understood your vision. What you’re doing here, Emmy, raising awareness of issues which are usually swept under the carpet, is good. Very good.’ Dart was lowering his head, focusing on her luscious mouth, wanting nothing else than to taste the gloriousness which was his Emmy, when there was a loud shout from one of the villagers.

‘Soldiers!’

At the one word, spoken in English, Emmy froze to the spot. Soldiers? Here? Men with guns? She swallowed over the instant dryness of her throat, her eyes widening in fear.

‘Where?’ Dart called, releasing her and rushing over to the villager who had called the warning.

‘Friend or foe?’ Tarvon asked in his native tongue.

‘Friend,’ came the cry. ‘Injured.’

Dart looked over at Emmy, surprised to see her standing right where he’d left her. It was exactly the way she’d looked when Weyakuu had been brought in the other day. ‘Emmy?’ He crossed quickly back to her side. ‘Everything all right? You’ve gone pale.’ Just as she had when they’d been in the truck, going through the checkpoint. Was she afraid of the soldiers? Or guns? He wouldn’t blame her if she was but his gut told him there was more to it than that.

‘Emmy?’ Dart put his hand on her shoulder and she all but clamped onto his arm, drawing him close.

‘I’ll be fine in a moment,’ she murmured as she breathed him in, trying to calm her racing fear.

‘It’s all right. The soldiers are friendly. Allies.’

‘Will they still be carrying their guns? Weyakuu didn’t come into the village with a gun, just a bullet deep inside him from someone else’s gun!’