by Valerie Parv
She eased the hair off her nape with both hands. “Losing the information will make it more difficult to compare the rock art in my country to the examples on your land. I can reconstruct the research, even from here, using the Internet, but not with Jamal breathing down my neck.”
“Then we’ll have to find a way to stop him.”
Tom was mainly interested in how her work could help his foster father, Shara recognized, but she felt a frisson of pleasure. Hearing Tom ally himself with her was enough for the moment.
“Jamal would not have taken the tape and tipped us off that they’d been here, without good reason,” she observed, thinking of the plane. She’d taken his bait once.
“They probably expect us to try and get your tape back,” he agreed. “Jamal is wily enough to consider an exchange—the record of his meeting for your research tape.”
“It’s reasonable,” she said slowly. “At least one of us gets what we want.”
Tom’s grip tightened on her shoulders. “You’re not sacrificing yourself for Des. He wouldn’t want it, and I won’t permit it.”
She drew herself up. “I remind you again that I am not yours to command.”
“Are you sure?”
Before she could guess his intent, he lowered his head and claimed her mouth so possessively that her knees softened, and his grip became the only thing holding her up.
Instantly her thoughts swirled like windblown clouds. The heat inside the cottage had nothing on the furnace roaring to life inside her. She couldn’t do a thing to prevent it. Telling herself not to return the kiss was futile. Without conscious volition, her lips parted and hunger swelled through her, craving release.
Helpless to do anything but kiss him back, she felt the need growing until she would have done anything to have this sweet torment last forever.
Such was not Tom’s intent, she knew, when he lifted his head and she saw triumph glittering in his gaze. “In Australia there’s a saying about putty in one’s hands.”
In his hands, she wasn’t only putty. She was a mess of needs and desires only he could satisfy, she thought, her anger rising. Unnerved by her weakness, she tried to move away but he held her close. “I’m waiting for your promise not to barter your freedom for Des’s land,” he reminded her. “Haven’t I just demonstrated who commands here? Do I have to do it again?”
Torn between wishing he would, and anger at her inability to resist him, she shook her head. “I believe you have made your point.”
“Good.”
Was she imagining it, or did he release her with a reluctance that spoke of her effect on him? Perhaps he wasn’t as much in control as he wanted her to think. She subdued the rush of satisfaction accompanying the thought. Hadn’t he made it clear that any influence she possessed over him was limited to the bedroom?
Wanting him was futile. Even if he took her to bed again, and her whole body tingled at the very prospect, it wouldn’t solve anything. They had far more pressing problems to resolve.
She was bitterly disappointed at the loss of the plane to Jamal, who had completely deceived her father. How typical of Jamal to use her father’s indebtedness to him to benefit himself. If Jamal took her back to Q’aresh now, she’d have no chance of evading their marriage. Thinking he was acting in her best interests, her father would gladly give control of her life to Jamal.
Tom didn’t seem to have noticed that she hadn’t given her word not to follow Jamal’s trail, and that was exactly what she intended to do. She was tired of the cat-and-mouse game, and especially of being the mouse. With the private plane disabled, Jamal would have to take her back on a commercial flight. The scene she would create would make him think twice, although she hoped it wouldn’t come to that. She had to find a way to incriminate him. Running and hiding wasn’t going to help.
“You’re plotting something,” Tom said, watching her.
Years of royal training enabled her to blank her expression. “If I am, you have a most effective means of ensuring my compliance.”
He colored hotly, distracted as she’d intended. “Compliance is not the word I’d use to describe what we shared, Princess.”
It was her turn to flush, but she met his gaze squarely. “Nor I.”
He looked as if he would like to say more, then turned aside as if as aware as she that this wasn’t the time or place for them. “If there’s nothing you need here, I want to see how Des is doing,” he said.
She picked up her satchel. “Everything of value I brought with me is now with Jamal.” Surprising how little one could manage with if one had to, she thought.
Tom placed the bag on the back seat of the car Des had loaned her. “Not everything,” he said. “He doesn’t have you, and to get to you, he’ll have to go through me first.”
She knew he spoke out of the chivalry that came so naturally to him, but her heart swelled with joy. He cared enough to defend her against Jamal. As a spark could be fanned into a roaring flame, caring could be nurtured into love. All it required was time.
Would they be granted time? They had to be, she thought, refusing to countenance anything else.
Chapter 14
A dirt road ran from the old cottage to the homestead, wide in areas where cattle mustering had taken place, and a mere bush track in others. The trees ranged from white gums standing out from the black soil plains, to towering paperbarks and pandanus growing along the riverbank. The bush of the Kimberley was so varied and beautiful, and so crowded with animal and bird life, that Shara managed to forget her worries for whole minutes at a time, until Tom’s muttered curse brought her crashing back to earth.
“What is it?”
“We’re being followed.”
She slewed around. A cloud of dust masked their pursuer. “Could it be one of Des’s stockmen?”
“Possibly, but I don’t think so.” Tom tapped the radio between them. “They would have contacted me on the two-way.”
“Should you try to contact them?”
“Not if it’s who I think it is.”
Her heart seized. “Jamal?”
Tom wrestled with the gears. “If we’d been in the Jeep, we could have given them a run for their money.”
She heard what he didn’t say. In the old work car it was only a matter of time before they were overtaken. Tom drove like a rally driver, negotiating the bumpy terrain with all the skill at his command, but she could see that the other car was gaining steadily. “They’re going to catch us, aren’t they?”
“Not if I can help it.”
She didn’t mind putting her own life at risk, but she refused to risk Tom’s. “Stop the car. I’ll try to talk to Jamal. Maybe I can bluff him into thinking the record of his meeting is still playable but hidden somewhere.”
Their speed didn’t slacken. “You’re more likely to get yourself dragged back to an arranged marriage.”
“It isn’t the worst thing in the world.” The thought of harm coming to Tom was more terrifying.
“Then why are you here?”
He already knew. “If he takes me back, I could still try to convince my father to see reason.”
Tom shook his head. “After this little escapade, your father will have you married off so fast your head will spin.”
His tone suggested he agreed with the tactic. “You can’t want me to marry Jamal?”
He slanted her a quick look. “If you were mine, I’d want to make sure you weren’t going anywhere.”
If you were mine. He didn’t mean anything by it, but the words taunted Shara and she knew why. She was dangerously close to falling in love with him. It was madness. Just because they’d made love didn’t mean he wanted her love. But she suspected she couldn’t stop herself any more than she could stop their pursuers’ progress by willpower alone.
She looked back. A car was following them, its outline becoming clearer through the dust as they closed the gap. “We can’t outrun them,” she stated.
They traded looks. She felt
as if she could read his thoughts. “Nudge?” she asked.
He nodded. “I’ll try and get us out of sight of Jamal’s car.”
Could she pull this off? “Won’t they follow our tracks?”
“Yes, so you’ll have to make this fast.”
Tom didn’t waste time. He knew as well as she did that they had run out of other options for the moment. He swung the wheel and the car careened off the track into a thicket of tall trees and undergrowth. Branches slapped at the windows but he didn’t slow until they were deep in the greenery, the car settling at a steep angle so it looked as if they were stuck fast. Hopefully it wouldn’t turn out to be true.
Then he turned to her. “They don’t know this area as well as I do, so I should have bought us a few minutes. Make them count.”
She was already delving in her bag for the ranger’s shirt. Swiftly she dragged the T-shirt dress over her head and tugged on the shirt. Her fingers shook too much to fasten the buttons.
Tom took over, speedily completing the task. She tried not to think of the touch of his fingers against her skin, arousing vivid memories and desires. He handed her a wrench. “Get under the car.”
She hadn’t thought beyond repeating this morning’s trick, of lowering her head and pretending to be Tom’s schoolboy protégé. Evidently he had something more in mind. “What do you want me to do?”
“Hit the wrench against the bodywork as if you’re making repairs. Don’t damage anything we’re going to need later. And don’t come out until I give the all clear, no matter what you hear. Understood?”
“I understand.” Heart pounding, she slid as far as she could under the car, being careful not to touch any steaming metal. The smell of hot oil clogged her nostrils as she followed Tom’s instructions.
Above the clang of the wrench against the bodywork, she heard Tom put the hood up and poke around in the engine. Moments later, their pursuers’ car plowed into the grove. She held her breath.
From her limited vantage point, she saw Tom stride around the car and stand near her. “Great timing, mates. We could use a winch out of here.”
“Tell us where to find the woman.” She recognized Jamal’s voice.
She heard Tom force a laugh. “If it’s a woman you want, you’re in the wrong place. Isn’t he, Nudge?”
She felt him kick her shoe. She hammered at the car body to avoid the need to reply.
Jamal’s boots came closer. “Who is that? Come out from there.”
The wrench almost slipped from her clammy fingers as she pounded again and heard Max Horvath say, “I ran into them in town this morning. He’s a skinny schoolkid who thinks he can learn something from this clown.”
She could only see Jamal’s legs but she knew he would have his head lifted slightly as if to scent a bad smell. It was his habitual expression and made his features seem hawklike and arrogant. She thought of his deep-set eyes, their ice-blue color rare in her country. They would have been striking if they hadn’t been as cold and devoid of feeling. “The boy may learn more than he expects if the woman isn’t handed over. She belongs to me.”
His arrogant tone made Shara feel sick. Even if she was forced to marry him, she would never belong to him.
“You’re not from around here, or you’d know you’re trespassing on Logan land,” Tom said, steel in his tone. “I’m prepared to overlook it if you and your lapdog leave now.”
“You’re a real comedian, McCullough,” Horvath said. “You won’t be laughing when I take over here as mortgage holder.”
“You’ll have to go through me first,” Tom snapped.
She could almost see Horvath shrug. “It would be a pleasure.”
“Enough,” Jamal thundered. “We know you are sheltering the woman. Where is she?”
“Australia’s a free country. If she doesn’t want to go back with you, that’s good enough for me. We outlawed slavery centuries ago.”
“Princess Shara is not a slave. She is my bride-to-be.”
“Not according to her.”
There was a groan of pain and she saw Tom’s legs start to buckle as if he’d been punched. Anger on his behalf almost made her betray herself, until she realized she could get them both killed by revealing herself now. All she could do was stick to the plan and hope he wasn’t too badly hurt. She slammed the wrench against the bodywork in frustration.
Tom’s legs straightened. “I wouldn’t do that again.”
At the sound of his voice, strained but coldly defiant, relief swept through her.
“Tell me where you’re hiding the princess, and it won’t be necessary.”
“Go to hell.”
She tightened her hold on the wrench, bracing herself to come out fighting if Jamal attacked Tom again. Stupid, heroic fool. Didn’t he know it was dangerous to provoke a man who considered himself above the law? Jamal had killed men for less.
Max Horvath came between Jamal and Tom. “We’ll be quicker finding her ourselves, Prince Jamal. If she isn’t at the plane, we can deal with the ranger and his halfwit assistant later. Without a winch, they aren’t going anywhere in a hurry.”
“She had better be with the plane,” Jamal snarled at Tom, “or you will live to regret your part in this.”
Praying that Tom wouldn’t respond to the taunt, she almost sobbed with relief when he didn’t. It was exactly what Jamal would want, giving him an excuse to take out his anger and frustration on Tom. She was sure that only the thought that Jamal would then turn his attention to Nudge kept Tom from retaliating.
“Get off this land,” he growled.
She wasn’t the only one hearing the warning in his tone, because Horvath said, “Please, Your Highness, this isn’t getting us anywhere.”
Weasel, she thought, wishing she could smash her own fist into the neighbor’s toadying face. It was agony to lie under the car, unable to take action. She slammed the wrench against the bodywork again.
The metallic sound rang in her ears as Jamal said, “If you have touched the princess, I will kill you, McCullough.”
“She’s a free woman. You can’t dictate what she does. Why don’t you go back where you came from and leave her alone. She’ll never marry you.”
“She will be mine. And you will pay for keeping her from me.”
The conviction in Jamal’s voice made her flesh crawl. But the thought of what he would do to Tom was far worse. She almost slithered out from under the car and confronted Jamal then and there.
Tom somehow sensed her intention and positioned himself so she couldn’t slide out from under the car. “Don’t get cute now, Nudge. Just do what I told you.”
“Good advice. I suggest you take it yourself,” Jamal said. A few minutes later the other car screamed away, spraying gravel.
Tom moved aside so she could crawl out from under the car. He looked murderous. One hand splayed across his midsection, and movement made him wince. “Did he hurt you?” she asked, reaching to open his shirt and see for herself.
He ducked away from her hand. “It’s nothing compared to what I’ll do to him if he lays a hand on me again.”
“You shouldn’t have stopped me from confronting him.”
“He had a gun. We can both be thankful he only slugged me with the butt. If you’d shown yourself, he’d have killed me then kidnapped you.”
And if he’d married her and learned that she was no longer pure, Jamal would kill her too. By letting Tom make love to her, she had placed them both in terrible danger. She couldn’t undo what was done. But she could help him keep Horvath from claiming his family’s land, she resolved.
If she said as much to Tom, he’d try to stop her, so she didn’t tell him. “Would you like me to drive?” she asked.
“He only winded me, I’m fine.” Then he read the fear in her gaze and his arms closed around her. “I’m glad you didn’t play into his hands.”
Pulling his head down, she let her mouth tell him how much she’d wanted to help. Heat tore through her, ignited b
y desire, until she remembered that it was precisely this desperate hunger that had put Tom at risk. She forced herself to step back. “Now you know why I despise him so.”
“He may be royal, but he’s an ignorant son of a—”
Her finger against his mouth silenced him. “We both know what he is, and royal isn’t part of it. His is a courtesy title, accepted because of his service to my father. In truth, he is the son of a palace guard, a far more pleasant man than Jamal himself.”
“Pity he didn’t take after his father.”
“Not everyone does,” she said, loading her tone with meaning.
He ignored it. “We’d better get moving. It won’t take Jamal and Horvath long to find out you’re not at the plane or the old cottage, and hightail it back here. We won’t linger at the homestead in case they follow us there.”
“We’re running out of options,” she said.
He lifted her chin and touched his mouth to hers, kindling fresh fires. “We’re going to get that tape repaired and bring Jamal to justice. Now I’ve seen for myself what he’s like, he’ll have to kill me before I let him take you.”
Because she feared it was exactly what Jamal intended, she suppressed a shiver. “Let’s pray it won’t come to that.”
The flight had taken mere minutes. The drive was longer and bumpier, and by the time they reached the homestead, her throat was clogged with the red dust seeping into every crevice.
Judy flung herself out of the house and hugged Tom then Shara. “I saw the plane go over, and I thought maybe Jamal and Horvath…”
“They were watching the airport,” Shara informed her. “We took the plane and got away, setting down at the old airstrip near the cottage.”
Judy lasered Tom with a look. “You took your sweet time getting back here.”
He shifted awkwardly. “We had things to do.”
Seeing Judy reach her own conclusion, Shara fought the inclination to blush. She was doing too much of that lately, thanks to Tom’s effect on her. Now his foster sister would have a fair idea how they’d spent the hours since they landed.
