was sitting up now, blanket tucked to her chin, concentrating on the problem at hand. ‘Don’t worry too much,’ she told him. ‘The wind’s died. I suspect you’ll be mortified, but the Australian Air Sea Rescue services are good. They can probably track the wind and the currents and get a fair idea of your direction. If I was them I’d be checking the islands first. There’s only about ten. Any minute now we’ll have choppers overhead, searching for one lost soldier.’
He felt sick.
‘Don’t worry,’ Claire said again. ‘I imagine it’s embarrassing, getting rescued twice, once even by a girl, but you’ll just have to cop it.’
‘I won’t,’ he told her.
‘Are you going to tell me how you can avoid it?’
‘I already have avoided it,’ he said, goaded. ‘I didn’t tell anyone I was going sailing. What’s more, I took my friend’s boat. My friend’s currently trying to climb Annapurna Two in Nepal. He won’t know I’m missing and he won’t know his boat’s missing. No one knows I went to sea. I could be anywhere and my...my grandparents will be devastated.’
His grandparents?
This wasn’t just about his grandparents, he thought. His bodyguard consisted of two skilled, decent men who’d feel as if they’d failed. The top brass of the army would be mortified. His friends would be appalled. And, back home, the media would be in a feeding frenzy. Heir to the Throne Disappears! It didn’t bear thinking about.
He would have groaned if it would do any good.
It wouldn’t.
‘Raoul...’
‘Mmm?’
‘We all do dumb things,’ she told him, and put her good hand on his knee. ‘Some dumber than others. But, hey, you’ve lived to be embarrassed. The supply boat’s due next Monday. You’ll climb aboard, they’ll let everyone know, and by the time you reach Hobart the fuss will have died down. You might need to apologise to a few people and go home and hug your grandparents, but it’s no big deal. So one soldier’s gone AWOL? If they don’t think you’ve drowned then they’ll probably assume you’re in a bar somewhere. Or with a woman.’
And then she had the temerity to grin.
‘Actually, they’re both true. You’re very much with a woman, and if you go through that door there’s a truly excellent bar.’
‘I think I need it,’ he said, and she chuckled and tried to stand.
She wobbled a bit and he rose to steady her.
‘What did you give me?’ she demanded. ‘I feel like I’ve had enough drugs to down an elephant.’
‘Or to not scream when your arm went back in. You were very brave.’
‘I was, wasn’t I?’ she said smugly. ‘So I’m brave and you’re lost. And my arm’s back to where it belongs. They’re the givens. For the rest...we just have to get on with it.’
‘I really can’t get off this place until next Monday?’
‘We can try and fix the transmitter,’ she told him. ‘Are you any good with electronics?’
‘No.’
‘Then I’m vetoing that as a plan straight away,’ she told him. ‘I have no intention of saving you twice. Now, Raoul...?’
‘Yes?’
‘Put some logs on the fire while I feed Rocky. We have life to get on with.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ he said, because there was nothing else to say. Nothing at all.
THIS MORNING SHE’D been bored.
This morning her entire desire in life had been a decent cup of coffee.
She was not bored now, and her desire was taking a new and entirely inappropriate direction.
Maybe she should be nervous. This guy was seriously big. He had the brawn and build of a well-honed military machine. Even washed up on the beach he’d looked awesome.
She stood under the shower and let the hot water run over her battered body as she let her mind drift where it willed.
It willed straight to Raoul.
She was alone on this island with a guy she didn’t know. A seriously big guy. A seriously good-looking guy. He was dark-haired and tanned and his grey eyes were creased at the edges. Was the weathering on his face from years of military exercises in tough conditions? She wasn’t sure if she was right, but she guessed she was.
He was kind. He was also skilled. He’d managed to get her arm back into place and the relief had been enormous. He was also worried about his grandparents. She could see that. One lone soldier AWOL from the army wouldn’t cause a fuss, but she’d seen that he was distressed. Of course the army would contact his family, and of course it distressed Raoul that his grandparents would worry. Because he was...a good guy.
Raoul. Nice name, she thought. Nice guy. And a seriously sexy accent. Almost French, with something else in the mix.
Sexy.
And there lay the rub. There lay the reason why she should stop thinking about Raoul right now.
‘Are you okay in there?’
His voice almost made her jump out of her skin and when she landed she had to fight to get her voice in order.
‘F... Fine.’
‘Dinner’s ready when you are. I already ate, but I’m ready to eat again.’
‘You already ate?’
‘Your refrigerator’s amazing. Or should I say refrigerators, plural. Wow. I opened one to check and three eggs almost fell into my hand. So I ate them. You do realise eating’s been low on my priority list over the last few days? Having had my pre-dinner boiled egg snack, I’m now serious about making dinner proper. But first I’m here to towel my lady’s back, if she wants it towelled, because it’s occurred to me that one-arm towelling might be hard.’
There were things there for a woman to consider. A lot of things. She was alone on the island with this guy. Every sensible part of her said she shouldn’t accept his help.
Raoul had put a plastic outdoor chair in the shower before he’d let her into the bathroom. He’d fussed, but she’d assured him she was okay. She’d been able to kick off her salty clothes herself, and sitting under the hot water had been easy. She’d even managed to shampoo her hair with one hand.
But now... The wussy part of her said she didn’t know how she could towel herself with one arm, especially as the painkillers were still making her feel a bit fuzzy. And there was a tiny part of her—a really dangerous part—that was saying she wouldn’t
