Worth the Risk (16 page)

His eyes held hers. ‘I know you’re not.’

Her heart thudded under the intensity of his gaze. Was he going to kiss her? He hadn’t kissed her for ages. Not since the night of the bonfire party. She was horrified by how much she wanted him to. What was the matter with her?

‘I was a bit of a handful when I was young.’ He stared at the horizon and gave a wry smile. ‘Actually, that’s an understatement. I was the boy from hell. I suppose it’s not surprising that I was moved from one foster-home to another. No one could put up with me for long. I was totally wild.’

Ally’s heart contracted, thinking of how lonely and desperate it must have been for him with no family of his own. No wonder he’d been a handful. It was amazing that he’d grown up to be so well balanced. Part of her longed to ask if he’d ever tried to contact his mother, but he was opening up more than he ever had before and she didn’t want to jeopardise that with intrusive questions.

‘So where did Will come into it?’ Suddenly she wanted to put her arms round him and hold him tight. To love him like he’d never been loved before.

Love him?

Her breath caught. Dear God, she was a total fool but she did love him. As well as the strong, tough man, she’d had glimpses of the scared boy, protecting his emotions, and she loved him, too.

‘Well, he and Molly—’ Sean broke off suddenly and frowned down at her. ‘Are you all right?’

No. She wasn’t. She was in love with a man who never wanted commitment. The realisation made her feel strange.

‘I’m fine.’

‘Right…’ Sean stared at her for a moment and then carried on. ‘He and Molly had fostered once before but they didn’t do it regularly. Then one day I got into trouble and Will bailed me out.’

Ally gave him a curious look. ‘What did he do?’

Sean stared at the mountains and gave a short laugh. ‘I’d broken into a warehouse, only I misjudged the drop between the window and the floor and I hurt myself. My friends took me to the surgery and Will was the duty doctor.’

‘And he sorted you out?’

‘He stitched my leg, jabbed me and then gave me the sternest talking to I’d ever had. We talked for hours.’ Sean kicked some loose stones on the path and gave a wry smile. ‘I kept waiting for him to call the police but he never did. He called Social Services and read them the Riot Act.’

‘For not keeping a proper eye on you, and placing you with the wrong families?’

‘Something like that. Anyway, the long and the short of it was that he and Molly took me in. And that was that.’

‘Only you’d spent too long running wild, with no one bothering about you, to be able to trust them.’

Sean turned to look at her. ‘What makes you so astute?’

She swallowed. ‘I don’t know. It’s just the obvious reaction, I suppose.’ And he was still running, she knew that much.

‘Well, I did learn to trust them eventually but it was Will who steered me towards the army. I always loved fitness and the outdoor life and I suppose he thought the discipline and training would do me good. He was right.’

‘But he must have been thrilled when you decided to be a doctor.’

Sean’s eyes softened. ‘He was.’

‘He loves you.’

‘I know that.’ Sean’s voice was gruff and he straightened and shifted his rucksack more comfortably on his shoulders. ‘And what about you? Your childhood was idyllic by comparison, wasn’t it?’

They stomped up the path, continuing to talk, and Ally gasped with shock when Sean suddenly stopped and she cannoned into him.

‘Sorry—you need brake lights! What’s the matter?’

‘The weather. Damn. I should have trusted my instincts.’ Sean stared at the blackening sky and braced himself against the wind.

Ally blinked with shock. She hadn’t even noticed the weather. All she’d been thinking of had been Sean, Sean, and Sean. But as she stopped walking the wind suddenly buffeted her, making her stumble into him. ‘We’d better get down fast.’

Sean hesitated and then gave a brief nod. ‘Yes, OK. We’ll give it a try.’

Give it a try? What did he mean by that?

Walking as close to him as she could, she dipped her head to give herself some protection from the wind, her eyes narrowing against the sharp raindrops which started to pelt against her face.

‘Don’t you just love Lake District weather?’ Sean’s voice was barely audible above the wind as they exchanged a wry look of understanding.

They struggled on for another half-hour, Ally forcing her tired limbs forward despite the force of the wind which pushed her back again.

When Sean finally stopped walking she fought to stay upright against the pressure of the howling wind, and only Sean’s firm grip on her hand stopped her from dropping to the ground with exhaustion. Why on earth hadn’t they noticed the change in the weather and how late it was? She bit her lip. Because they’d been too busy enjoying each other’s company, that was why. Neither of them had paid too much attention to the weather.

The wind threw all its force at her again and she stumbled against Sean who clamped her against him with a strong arm. For once she was glad of his protection.

He steadied them both and frowned down into her white face. ‘Are you OK?’

She nodded, not wanting to show how scared she was. She knew better than anyone how totally unforgiving these mountains were when you made a mistake. And they’d made a mistake. A big one. And it was winter.

Sean’s eyes swept her strained features and then he glanced at his watch. ‘It’s getting late. We’d better set up camp.’

‘Camp?’

Her gloved hand fastened itself to the front of his jacket. He represented the only solid security around here and she wasn’t letting go, principles or no principles!

Sean grimaced and his fingers closed reassuringly over hers. ‘We’re not going to make it down before dark. I’m sorry. I misjudged it really badly.’

‘It wasn’t your fault.’ She was almost shouting to be heard above the noise of the wind. ‘You weren’t responsible for me.’

He gave a wry smile and flicked the end of her chilled nose with his gloved finger. ‘Miss Independent.’

She managed to return the smile—just. ‘Can’t we just push on and make it down? We’ve got torches…’

Sean shook his head. ‘No way. The wind’s rising. We’ve loused up badly, sweetheart, so we either make the team drag themselves out to rescue us or we camp and sit it out until morning.’

Ally stared at him. ‘We haven’t got the equipment.’

Sean gave her a saucy grin. ‘You keep refusing to let me show you my equipment.’

How could he flirt and be so relaxed when they were in danger? ‘Sean, please…’

Something in her voice must have penetrated because his smile faded and his eyes were gentle. ‘We’ll be fine, angel. Trust me.’ Gently disentangling her hand from his jacket, he checked the map and the compass. ‘OK, let’s set up the tent on the lee slope. Can you walk just a bit farther?’

She nodded dumbly, staring at him in amazement. Tent? He had a tent? They walked on for another ten minutes and then he stopped abruptly and swung the rucksack off his massive shoulders. In a remarkably short time—and with no help from her—
he’d set up a dome tent.

‘Right. All wet clothes off quickly and into that polythene bag, and then get inside fast.’ Sean helped drag off her dripping wet jacket and over-trousers and left her to undo her boots while he sorted himself out. She stuffed her wet clothes into the polythene bag so that they wouldn’t get the inside of the tent wet, and crawled inside.

Seconds later he joined her, his dark hair glistening with a mixture of rain and snow.

‘OK?’ He paused as he tugged some more gear out of his rucksack, a frown touching his dark features. ‘You’re shivering.’

‘I’m fine.’ She was shivering but goodness knew why. The tent was totally waterproof and windproof and was the perfect shelter.

‘Strip some more clothes off and get into the sleeping bag.’ Sean gave the bag a vigorous shake and threw a sleeping mat in her direction. ‘Spread that under the bag.’

She followed his orders without question, too cold and exhausted to argue, watching while he secured the tent and fished in his rucksack for the mobile phone.

‘You’re calling Jack?’

‘We gave him our route so he’ll be worrying soon. Let’s hope there’s a signal.’ Sean punched in the number and then grinned. ‘Jack? It’s us.’ He listened for a moment and then gave a grim laugh. ‘Tell me about it!’

Ally could hear Jack’s voice, but not what he was saying.

Sean’s eyes rested on her face. ‘No, she’s fine. Just a bit tired out.’ He listened again and this time his jaw tightened. ‘No need, but thanks for the offer. We’ll camp out here tonight and then I’ll get her down at first light.’

Jack must have said something else because Sean gave a short laugh and muttered, ‘In my dreams.’ Then he snapped the phone shut and dropped it back into the rucksack.

‘Right, then.’ He stripped off his jumper and thick shirt and raised an eyebrow in her direction. ‘I suppose you’re going to say I can’t share the sleeping bag.’

How could she possibly say that when it was his skill and preparation that was saving them both? She shook her head numbly and shuffled to the furthest edge to make room for him. Even so, it was a shock to her system when he slid inside with her, the warmth and power of his body filling the remaining space in the sleeping bag. Outside the wind screamed in anger and whipped at the sides of the tent, and Ally snuggled further inside the sleeping bag, a delicious feeling of safety creeping over her as she felt Sean next to her.

‘I ought to turn the torch off.’ Sean’s voice was gruff and she shifted her head so that she could look at him.

‘Can we keep it on a bit longer?’

He lifted a hand and brushed a strand of blonde hair away from her face as he searched her eyes with a frown. ‘Are you scared?’

She shook her head. ‘No.’ It was true. She wasn’t. But only because he was here and she felt totally safe with him. ‘I just don’t want it to be dark yet.’

He studied her for a long moment and then rolled onto his back, staring at the roof of the tent.

Ally gazed at his strong profile, hardly daring to breathe. Why didn’t he touch her? After all their previous encounters she would have thought that the first thing he’d do in this situation when they were both half-naked would be to carry on his seduction. But he didn’t. He didn’t touch her, and she found herself almost moaning aloud in frustration. This was ridiculous. Usually she was fighting him off and now, when she desperately wanted him to touch her, he seemed totally indifferent to her. She wanted him to touch her so badly. She needed to feel his strength, needed his comfort. She loved him so much—so much. Sean was right. It was worth the risk.

She was still lying on her side and unconsciously her left hand crept onto his chest, her fingertips feeling the hard muscle beneath the fabric of his T-shirt. Without even planning to do so, she slipped her fingers underneath, her stomach flipping as they tangled with the hair on his chest.

Sean sucked in his breath and shackled her hand. ‘You’re playing with fire.’

She lifted herself on one elbow, her breath catching in her throat as she met his burning gaze.

‘Sean?’ Her voice was a plea, and he closed his eyes briefly, the muscles in his throat working as he swallowed.

‘Let’s get one thing straight, shall we?’ His voice was husky. ‘I may have amazing will-power when we’re both fully clothed and cavorting around the health centre, but you’re half-naked in my sleeping bag, angel, and if you carry on like this I can’t promise not to retaliate.’

Ally moved so that her body was pressed against his and slipped one slim, smooth calf over his hair-roughened thigh so that she was half lying on top of him.

‘I think I want you to retaliate.’ Her words were so soft that she barely heard them herself, and for a moment she wondered whether she’d said them at all. Maybe she’d just thought them.

Then Sean stabbed his fingers through her long blonde hair and anchored the back of her head so that she couldn’t look away.

A muscle flickered in his jaw and his gaze was intent. ‘Say that again.’

She swallowed hard. ‘I want you Sean…’

He stared at her for a long moment and shook his head slowly, his expression grim. ‘No. No, you don’t. It’s just because you’re scared and you think you need me. You don’t need to worry, Ally. I promise to get you off this mountain safely.’

‘It’s not that.’

His eyes held hers, his strong fingers clamped either side of her head.

‘What, then?’

‘You were right.’ Her heart was hammering in her chest. She’d never propositioned a man in her life. What if he turned her down? Didn’t want her any more?

‘Right about what?’

‘About it being worth the risk.’ Her voice was a whisper, and when he didn’t react she lowered her head slightly and licked at his lips in a provocative gesture that made him catch his breath.

In one swift movement Sean rolled her on her back, using enough of his ample strength to keep her pinned under him but not enough to hurt her.

The muscles in one shoulder bunched as he supported most of his weight and his free hand came up and cupped her chin, forcing her to look directly at him. Not that she wanted to look anywhere else. She was through with playing games. She loved this man with all her heart and she no longer cared about what was sensible. She’d deal with the consequences later. All she cared about was now…

‘This is your final warning.’ The look in his dark eyes made her limbs weaken, and she curled a hand behind his strong neck.

‘Kiss me, Sean.’

He lowered his head, his breathing uneven, his eyes still holding hers, still checking for her reaction as his mouth closed over hers. And then he gave a groan and was lost. And so was she. The storm outside the tent faded into insignificance compared to the one raging inside.

His kiss was wild and dominating, and his body shifted over hers, his arousal immediately obvious as she felt him press closer to her. Her insides were melting with the heat of sensation, and she sobbed his name as his hand jerked her T-shirt up and found the catch of her bra.

The touch of his fingers on her breast made her writhe in an agony of yearning and she curled a leg around him to try and bring him closer.