Stolen Feelings

Julie had never really thought of herself as being beautiful. She had good bone-structure, yes, but she had always considered her face pretty ordinary, her eyes a little too small, her mouth a little too wide. Her hair was her best feature. Thick and black and glossy, she wore it without a fringe, normally falling in a cascade of luxuriant waves down her back. Now, of course, it was scraped tightly and unbecomingly back and confined in a band.

As they sat down to eat she was aware of Cameron’s eyes on her. He was diagonally opposite, with Ian on her right and a blond giant of a man, who had been introduced as Jake, on her left. ‘Jake hails from Australia and he’s an expert on lichens.’ Ian informed her.

‘I’m afraid I don’t know anything about them,’ Julie apologised.

Jake laughed. ‘I guesss you’ll learn all sorts of things by the time you’ve finished typing our notes.’

‘I expect so,’ Julie acknowledged.

‘Ian’s lucky you were able to come with him.’

‘Are you married yourself?’ asked Julie. Jake was nearer forty than thirty, probably much the same age as Cameron, with a good body and blue eyes too, although they were nowhere near as deep and powerful.

She felt Cameron’s eyes on her again now, and it was almost as though he was warning her not to get too friendly, which was ridiculous. What was she supposed to do—talk to no one? Or was it her imagination? Was she imagining criticism when none was there?

‘I was,’ the man admitted with a wry smile. ‘It didn’t work out. Maggie objected to the fact that I spent so much time away. It’s wrong to marry someone who’s in a completely different job; they simply don’t understand.’

‘So no one here is married?’ she asked.

‘No, that’s not right,’ he replied. ‘Ray over there is.’ He nodded towards the oldest of the team. ‘But his wife doesn’t mind him being away. She runs her own business and has plenty to do. And Sim, he’s married. He could have brought his wife, she’s a biologist as well, but she’s working on another project, and then there’s young Andy, he’s only been married six months.’

Julie frowned. So why hadn’t Cameron suggested this boy bring his wife as well? Unless, of course, she had no skills that were necessary to their research; Cameron wouldn’t want to carry dead weight. ‘What does Andy’s wife do?’ she asked.

‘She’s a nurse, I believe,’ Jake answered, ‘working on a cruise liner. It’s where they met. They’re used to spending time apart. He reckons it’s more than worthwhile when they do get together.’

‘Do you miss not having a woman in your life?’

‘Hell, yes, sometimes.’ His eyes twinkled at her. ‘It’s going to be refreshing having you here.’

‘Don’t get any ideas,’ she warned him, though she smiled as she spoke. ‘Ian packs quite a punch.’

‘Just joshing,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t jeopardise my job. This is an ongoing project—biologists come and go, some don’t stay long, some for years. Cameron loves the place.’

They both looked across the table as they spoke and Cameron’s eyes were upon them, narrowed and assessing, though he smiled and acknowledged Jake.

‘I was just telling Julie how much I enjoy my work here,’ said the Australian, seeing nothing wrong in Cameron’s expression.

‘It would be unprofitable if you didn’t,’ agreed Cameron drily. ‘We can only hope that Mrs Drummond enjoys her work too.’

The emphasis on her marital status this time, she decided, was a warning to Jake that she was a married woman. She turned to Ian at her other side, and he smiled warmly and touched her hand. ‘All right?’ he asked quietly.

She nodded, and tried to concentrate on her meal, but it was difficult with Cameron sitting so near. She was relieved when it was all over, when she was able to help Raul clear away and wash up.

By this time it was dark, no long twilight like in England, but a rapid descent of the sun and then total darkness. It was still only a little after seven.

Solar lamps, that had been sitting in the sun all day gathering energy, were switched on and the whole camp looked festive. The men sat around in groups talking and Julie found herself alone with Ian and Cameron. It had been a long day, though, and she felt tired, and after an hour listening to the two men talk shop, trying to ignore the fact that her body was responding to Cameron’s in a way that made her feel uncomfortable, she yawned and stretched, and declared that she was going to bed.

Ian dutifully gave her a kiss on the cheek. ‘You poor darling, you’ve had a tiring day. I’ll try not to wake you when I turn in.’

She smiled. ‘Goodnight, Ian.’ And then she turned to Cameron and bade him goodnight too.

Their eyes met and held briefly. ‘Goodnight, Julie.’

But she did not sleep, she was far too aware of this man who had made such an impact on her life in such a short space of time. She could only be thankful that there were no reciprocal feelings; that would have been hell. There was no way then that she could have gone on with this charade.

When Ian came to bed a couple of hours later she pretended to be asleep. Almost within minutes his breathing deepened; he was happy here, there was absolutely nothing on his conscience to keep him awake.

Julie tossed and turned and in the end decided to get some fresh air. It was noticeably cooler now and she pulled a cardigan about her shoulders. There were no lights, every tent was in darkness; she felt quite safe.

She walked down to the shore and stood listening to the lap of the waves, watching the pattern of reflections from a full, silvery moon, totally unprepared when a harsh voice came out of the darkness.

‘Mrs Drummond, what the hell do you think you are doing?’

CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_1c0be8e2-29d6-53f3-8a44-b670001f1b67)

JULIE had heard no movement behind her; Cameron had approached with all the stealth of a tiger. She swung around, her heart hammering unsteadily in her breast. ‘I’m not doing anything.’

‘It looks to me as though you’re asking for trouble,’ he growled.

She frowned. ‘What do you mean?’ He was still wearing the same shirt and trousers as earlier, though whether he had pulled them on again when he saw her, or whether he had not yet gone to bed, Julie had no idea. She did not even know what time it was.

Cameron’s eyes glittered. ‘I’m sure you’re not unaware that the moon shining on you renders your nightdress virtually transparent. And that knitted thing doesn’t hide much.’

Julie’s heart went into panic. How long had he stood watching her before making his presence known? And how much could he see? ‘I couldn’t sleep,’ she retorted defensively, clutching the cardigan tightly around her throat as if by so doing it gave her some form of protection.

‘It cannot have escaped your notice that most of the tents are open-sided. If any of the men are awake they will not have failed to see you out here.’

And he thought she was doing it deliberately! Her chin came up. ‘Then they will not have failed to see that you followed me. What do you think they will make of that?’ And why was his opinion of her so very, very low?

The chiselled planes of his face grew harder and more angular; his mouth tightened. ‘If they have assessed the situation correctly they will know I have come to warn you.’ His voice was dangerously low, a threatening growl that shivered across Julie’s cruelly exposed nerve-endings.

She held the neck of her cardigan with both hands, her arms pressed close to her sides,

‘You have been here less than twelve hours, Mrs Drummond,’ he went on, ‘and already you are becoming a nuisance.’

His constant formality unnerved her. Despite Ian’s confidence, she felt sure Cameron suspected all was not as it should be. He watched them too closely, too often, and always there was calculation in his eyes. Why he should be suspicious, she did not know, but she was sure he was.

He moved so that his back was to the moon instead of hers, and she imagined it was to see her face more clearly, put her at an even bigger disadvantage.

She gave a tiny laugh, recalling Ian’s plea that she try to get on with his boss. ‘Why is it that I cannot seem to do anything right?’

Brows lifted. ‘Surely it’s a matter of basic intelligence?’

‘Haven’t you ever had women working here before?’

He inclined his head. ‘Yes, we’ve had female scientists.’

‘And were you as much on their backs as you are mine?’