Stolen Feelings. Margaret Mayo

he was a dangerous man, and she had to steer clear of him.

      

      Ian was awake and dressed before Julie even stirred. He touched her shoulder. ‘Time to get up, Sis.’

      Her eyes shot wide instantly.

      ‘You’re supposed to be helping with cooking breakfast, and there are packed lunches to be put up. If you don’t want to incur Cameron’s wrath again you’d better get moving.’

      Mention of her protagonist’s name was enough to galvanise Julie into action, and by the time the rest of the team put in an appearance the trestle-tables were laid, sausages and eggs cooked, bread sliced, tea and coffee made. All with Raul’s help, of course. His indefatigable cheerfulness had helped restore her equilibrium.

      She did not sit down with them this morning, instead remaining in the kitchen making sandwiches. The sides of the tent, which were rolled down when it wasn’t in use because, she had been told, mocking-birds or even sea-lions came to steal food, were up out of the way and she could see Cameron sitting at the table with the other men.

      Jake came across to wish her a cheerful good morning. ‘You sure are a sight for sore eyes.’

      She gave him a warm smile. ‘Thank you, kind sir.’ His friendliness was like balm to her unsettled thoughts.

      ‘I hear you’ll be leaving for Vulcan soon, that’s a pity. I shall miss you. You’re the best thing that’s happened to us for a long time.’

      ‘You’re an old flatterer,’ she said, but she appreciated his compliment all the same.

      He stayed talking for several more minutes before going to his seat and Julie was taken completely by surprise when Cameron suddenly appeared at her side. ‘Are you encouraging Jake?’ he asked harshly.

      The question was so unexpected that her mouth fell open. ‘Of course not.’

      ‘He seems mighty friendly.’

      ‘And why shouldn’t he be?’ she asked. ‘Am I supposed to speak to no one but you and Ian?’

      ‘I don’t want you giving them the wrong impression.’

      She frowned. ‘And that is?’

      ‘That the bit of gold on your finger makes no difference.’

      ‘How dare you?’ Julie was sorely tempted to raise her hand to his cheek, except that it would have the unfortunate effect of attracting everyone’s attention, and she wanted to avoid that at all costs. This battle between her and Cameron was personal.

      ‘Just make sure that you watch what you’re doing,’ he growled. ‘And why aren’t you eating with the rest of us?’

      ‘Because I need to finish the lunches,’ she said quietly.

      He frowned as he looked at the shadows beneath her eyes. ‘If you refrained from midnight walks you might be able to get up in time to organise yourself.’

      Julie felt the reproof was unfounded. ‘I only walked because I couldn’t sleep, but you need never fear that my work will suffer because of it.’

      ‘It had better not.’

      His tone seemed unnecessarily sharp and she guessed that it was really because of Jake. They had laughed a lot and he must have compared it with their own, often aggressive relationship. No other man had ever stirred her like this, and she could only suppose it was fear of being found out that put her on the defensive—and also the very real emotions he managed to evoke in her.

      After breakfast, Ian asked what Cameron had said. ‘I thought he looked a bit uptight.’

      She shrugged. ‘He was checking that I can cope, that’s all.’ Best not to tell her brother about their unfortunate meeting last night, or his accusations regarding Jake.

      Ian’s frown changed to a smile. ‘He’s a real nice guy when you get to know him. He’s always concerned about his fellow men.’

      Julie’s smile was much weaker than her twin’s. ‘I’ll reserve judgement.’

      ‘You’ll learn to like him,’ said Ian confidently. ‘Everyone does. No one’s ever said a bad word against him.’

      The men began to drift away, until finally there was only Cameron left. A dreadful feeling began to settle in the pit of Julie’s stomach. Even Raul had gone back to his village; she was completely alone, completely at his mercy. ‘Aren’t you joining your men?’ she asked, trying to keep her tone light and cheerful.

      ‘There are things I need to explain.’

      ‘Typing out notes doesn’t need any explanations.’ She felt sure he was using this as an excuse to antagonise her further.

      ‘There are other matters.’

      He had already opened the sides of the tent until there was no more than a roof and they stepped beneath it now and Julie sat down at the desk. Regardless of its open sides, Cameron still seemed to fill the area with his presence, her awareness of him so powerful that she knew it would be impossible to concentrate on any single task until he left her alone.

      He indicated an untidy pile of handwritten notes—a huge pile! “These all belong to the various members of the team; I trust you’ll be able to read their writing.’

      Julie said nothing.

      ‘And this, here, is my work. I’ve kept my own field-study notes reasonably up to date, as you can see. But I seem to have got way behind with the book I am writing.’

      ‘Book?’ This did surprise Julie. Nothing had been said about a book.

      ‘Perhaps I forgot to mention it,’ he announced lazily.

      Or perhaps it had been deliberate! Perhaps he hadn’t wanted her to know exactly how much work was involved; perhaps he had thought it would scare her away! And he desperately needed a typist, that much was very evident. ‘What is it about?’ she asked curiously.

      ‘What else but these islands?’ Again his whole demeanour changed, his eyes lighting with pleasure in the work he was doing. ‘There have been dozens of books written about the unique wildlife found here—I’ve written several myself, each one specialising in a different subject. This one is dedicated to my dear friends, the fur seals.’

      ‘It’s just about them, nothing else?’ she asked in amazement. How much could be written about such animals?

      ‘Just the fur seals,’ he agreed, the harsh angles of his face softened by a caring smile.

      Julie wondered what it would feel like to have him smile at her like that? Best not to know. It could be devastating.

      ‘Apart from the catastrophic effects of El Niño,’ he continued, ‘they were brought dangerously nearly to extinction in the eighteen hundreds. One fur seal hunter boasted of killing five thousand seals in two months. Can you believe that?’ There was anger now, fury at the thoughtless acts of these men.

      He showed her drawings too, and Julie looked at them in amazement. “These are good. Did you do them?’

      He inclined his head in acknowledgement.

      ‘You’re very talented.’

      He lifted his shoulders modestly. ‘As you can see, there is a lot of typing to be done; everything is behind, and I have a five-week deadline for my book. I still have the last chapter to finish, but that won’t take long.’

      ‘You certainly intend to keep me busy.’

      Well-marked brows rose. ‘Isn’t that what you’re here for?’

      ‘Well, yes,’ he said, ‘but I did think I’d have some time to myself.’ And how she wished that she had not been so eager to sit down—it put her at a definite disadvantage.