Special Forces Rendezvous

chapter 2



Julia’s heart actually did a somersault. She’d thought that once you turned thirty, your heart didn’t do silly schoolgirl things like somersaults, but sure enough, it was flipping around in her chest like an excited dolphin.

Of course, how could her heart not turn into a dolphin when the sexiest man she’d ever met was flashing that gorgeous smile at her?

Sebastian Stone was not at all what she’d expected him to be. First of all, he was much more fit than she’d pictured, his long, lean body clad in green cargo pants and a thin gray T-shirt that couldn’t hide the tight six-pack of his abdomen. He wasn’t pretty-boy attractive, but ruggedly handsome, hard lines and angles creating a stark, masculine face that was more Marlboro Man than movie star.

Everything about him teased her senses. His playful gray eyes, the dark blond stubble coating his strong jaw, the woodsy scent of him.

“Cat got your tongue, Doc?”

Jeez, even his voice was sexy. Deep, with a slight rasp to it.

Blinking out of her stupor, Julia glanced at the thumb he’d been holding to his lips. “Sorry, but kissing boo-boos is not part of my job description,” she said, making an attempt to keep her tone dry. “But I should probably clean that up for you.”

He let out a low laugh. “That’s not necessary. It’s just a paper cut.”

She was already heading for the small cabinet next to the door. “We’re in Valero,” she replied. “Even paper cuts get infected, and around these parts, infection can lead to some pretty nasty stuff.”

She appreciated that Sebastian didn’t argue, not even when she rummaged in the cabinet and pulled out a small bottle of antiseptic, a piece of gauze and a bandage.

Heading back to the desk, she hopped up on the edge and gestured at his hand. His dark blond eyebrows quirked for a moment, and then he willingly gave her his hand.

“I know it seems extreme,” she admitted as she poured some antiseptic on the gauze and wiped the thin cut on the pad of Sebastian’s thumb. “But just suck it up and say thank you.”

His eyes twinkled. “Thank you.”

A smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “Huh, I didn’t think it would be that easy.”

“What?”

“You dropping the macho man protests and just accepting my authority.”

The grin he flashed her made her heart skip a beat. “I know when to pick my battles.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning you strike me as the type of woman who likes calling the shots and who gets ornery as hell when she’s challenged.”

“I am,” she confessed with a sheepish laugh.

“Like being in control, huh?”

“Of course.” She wrinkled her forehead. “Who wants to feel out of control?”

A seductive glint lit his gray eyes. “Lots of people like relinquishing control every now and then.” He arched one brow. “Especially in the bedroom...”

Heat scorched her cheeks. God, had he really just said that?

Averting her eyes, Julia swiped the gauze over his thumb one final time before unwrapping the bandage and sticking it on him. In an unnaturally high voice, she squeaked, “All done,” and practically vaulted off the desk like she was competing in the Olympics.

His soft laughter tickled her back, which she kept turned as she shoved the supplies into the cabinet. Her heartbeat was going haywire again, and she had to take a moment to collect herself.

What was up with the sexual awareness rippling over every inch of her skin? And she could swear she felt that same awareness being radiated from him. Which made no sense.

Sebastian Stone was sexy as all get-out, and a man as blatantly sensual as him would never be attracted to someone like her. She didn’t suffer from low self-esteem—she was perfectly content with the way she looked—but she also wasn’t delusional enough to think she was a supermodel or anything. Average features, frizzy hair, small breasts. And after six months of working herself ragged in Valero, she was now officially ten pounds underweight. It was hard to find the time to eat when you worked twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Gorgeous and glamorous she wasn’t. Nor was she overly feminine. She didn’t wear a lick of makeup, kept her hair braided most of the time, and she only donned the professional white coat for patients; the rest of the time, she wore faded jeans, tank tops and beat-up sneakers.

So why was Sebastian looking at her like he wanted to eat her up?

“Sorry, Doc, I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

His rueful voice stilled some of the butterflies floating around in her stomach. “You didn’t,” she assured him, finding the courage to meet his eyes.

The second their gazes locked, that hiss of attraction coursed through the air again.

Holy cow. What was going on? She’d never experienced this kind of instant, visceral chemistry with a man before, and though she wasn’t the type of woman who fell into bed with complete strangers, she honestly couldn’t see herself protesting if this man made a move on her.

God, if he marched over and kissed her right now?

She’d probably let him.

Swallowing, she broke eye contact and fiddled with the end of her braid. “Anyway, do you have any more questions? Because, er, I should check on my patients.”

With a knowing smile, Sebastian stood up. He rolled his shoulders for a moment, as if being stuck in that tiny chair had done a number on his back. Hell, it probably had, seeing as the man was built like a linebacker.

“I think we’re all good.” He reached for the tape recorder he’d left on the desk. He clicked it off, then shoved it in his canvas shoulder bag, along with the notebook he’d been scribbling in during the interview.

“So when’s the article coming out?” Julia asked, trying for some casual conversation.

“Not sure yet. I don’t work for a specific publication, remember? So I’ll need to shop the piece around first. I still have your email address, though, so I’ll keep you updated.”

“Thanks, I’d appreciate that.”

They slid out the door and fell into step with each other in the corridor. When they passed two of the volunteers on staff, Julia quickly introduced them to Sebastian, noting how both women cranked their flirt meters up a notch or two in his presence. Apparently she wasn’t the only one affected by the waves of magnetism rolling off that big, strong body of his. And he reeked of confidence, walking in a measured gait that was almost a swagger, offering that charming smile to everyone they encountered on the way out of the clinic.

When they finally stepped onto the pillared porch, Julia stifled a sigh of relief. The clinic wasn’t tiny by any means, but Sebastian seemed larger than life, and it had been getting hard to breathe walking side by side with him in that narrow hallway.

She inhaled the humid, late-afternoon air, her gaze sweeping over the dusty courtyard that housed a few rust-covered pickup trucks, the two vans they used for transporting supplies, and the crappy old moped she rode when she visited the more remote settlements to see patients who were too old or sick to travel, or who refused to come into town.

For the past six months, this had been her life. Waking up in the canvas tent she shared with three other female staff members. Treating the patients who came to the clinic and visiting those who couldn’t. Sitting inside the mosquito tent with her colleagues every evening, listening to Simone’s father strum his guitar, or Kevin Carlisle, the British physician, tell dirty jokes.

At the thought of Kevin, a frown marred her lips, reminding her that the Brit still hadn’t returned from his visit to the north. He’d been gone for several days and was due to return sometime this morning, but he’d yet to make an appearance.

“Everything all right?” Sebastian asked, evidently noticing her frown.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” she said absently. “I’m just making a mental note to radio one of our doctors. He was seeing patients in some neighboring villages, and he was supposed to be back by now.”

“Is there reason to worry?”

“Not yet. Kev notoriously loses track of time, so we usually adjust for his tardiness—we take the time he says he’ll be somewhere, add five hours, and if he exceeds that, then we’re allowed to worry.”

Sebastian chuckled. “Sounds like you Doctors International folks are pretty close.”

“We are. It’s bound to happen when you spend every waking hour with the same group of people. We’re like a family now.”

“I know exactly what you mean.” He paused for a beat. “In my line of work, you tend to run into the same journalists and media folks and a sense of camaraderie develops.”

A short silence descended, during which Julia tried to come up with a way to ask him if he was sticking around for a while, without sounding like she cared if he was sticking around for a while. After a moment, she gave up. Screw it. She hated playing games, or saying anything less than what was on her mind.

So she opened her mouth and said, “Are you sticking around in San Marquez for a while?”

A regretful look entered his eyes. “I’m afraid not. I’m on a nine-o’clock flight back to Ecuador.”

Disappointment skidded through her, but she hoped it didn’t show on her face. She trailed after him toward the older-model Jeep parked a few dozen yards away. She couldn’t help but admire his taut ass, which looked ridiculously good in those cargo pants of his.

Oh, boy. She was totally lusting after this man.

And he was leaving. Just her luck.

Sebastian opened the driver’s door, but didn’t make a move to hop into the Jeep. Instead, he offered an awkward-looking shrug. She got the feeling this man didn’t feel awkward or nervous often, and she fought a smile as she watched him shift his feet.

“Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Doc.”

“It was no problem at all.”

He cleared his throat. “And if, er, if I find myself in these parts again, maybe I can come see you...”

He trailed off, making it unclear whether that was a question or a statement.

She treated it like the former. “Sure, I’d like that.”

Their gazes collided, and there it was again, the crackle of heat, the sizzle of awareness. Her nipples promptly puckered and strained against her white cotton bra, and that spot between her legs throbbed with anticipation. Jeez. You’d think she hadn’t had sex in two years or something.

Oh, right. She hadn’t had sex in two years.

Pushing aside the sarcastic thoughts, she focused on Sebastian, who looked ready to say more. Julia held her breath, waiting for him to speak, but then an indefinable expression washed over his face. She glimpsed reluctance, regret, even a cloud of torment, and before she could try to make sense of it, he slid into the driver’s seat and shoved a key in the ignition.

“Keep up the good work, Doc.” He raised his voice so she could hear him over the rumble of the engine.

She swallowed another dose of disappointment. “Have a safe flight,” she told him, and then she stepped away from the vehicle and raised her hand in a wave.

The Jeep raised a cloud of brown dust as Sebastian executed a U-turn and sped toward the gravel road that would lead him back to civilization.

“Who was that?”

Julia turned around in time to see Lissa Purdue descending the porch steps and striding in her direction. Out of all the staff at the clinic, she was closest with Lissa, the fun-loving Australian nurse she’d been bunking with for the past six months.

“That was that journalist I told you about,” Julia answered, her eyes still focused on the Jeep, which was slowly disappearing from view.

“For real? Because that was one crazy-hot bloke.”

She sighed. “Yes, he was.”

Lissa’s jaw fell open. “No way. The perpetually professional Dr. Davenport is showing not-so-professional interest in a bloke? Are you ill, love?”

She rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t very well argue. It was true, the opposite sex hadn’t interested her much since she’d arrived on the island. While some of the other women—Lissa included—had no qualms about flirting with the single males in their vicinity, Julia made an effort to keep things professional.

There were several attractive men working at the clinic, including Kevin Carlisle and Simone’s single father, Marcus, but Julia wasn’t one to mess around with a coworker. During her last placement in Ethiopia, she’d watched two colleagues fall in love—and then she’d witnessed the relationship crash and burn, making life downright unbearable for everyone who’d had the misfortune of being around.

Unfortunately, with her coworkers off-limits, she didn’t have many other options in terms of sex or romance. Aside from the cute pilot who dropped off supplies every two months, there were no other single, eligible men to lust over.

“You should’ve asked him to stay for dinner,” Lissa added, slinging an arm around Julia’s shoulder.

At six feet, Lissa towered over Julia’s five-foot-five frame. Some of the men on staff teased the Aussie about her monstrous height, but truth was, everyone was a little bit in awe of Lissa. Now Lissa would definitely be Sebastian Stone’s type. A tall, gorgeous redhead with a great rack and endless legs?

Call her selfish, but Julia was kind of glad Sebastian had already left before Lissa came outside. No doubt the man would have been drooling all over his hiking boots.

“He had a flight to catch,” she replied as the two women headed inside.

“Pity. You could’ve benefited from a good shag.”

Julia burst out laughing. “Why are you so concerned with my sex life? Seriously, you talk about it a scary amount.”

“I just don’t like seeing my mates work themselves to the bone, love. I wish you’d let yourself have some fun.”

“I’ll have fun in three months.”

She neglected to mention how incredibly not fun the thought of heading home was, but because Doctors International demanded mandatory breaks between placements, she had no choice but to return to Boston when her time was up.

The nine-months-on, three-months-off cycle was liable to kill her. She’d joined D.I. the second she’d finished her residency, and she’d been with the organization for three years now. She was already dreading returning to Boston and twiddling her thumbs for twelve weeks while she waited for her next cycle to begin. She usually spent the time off taking shifts at a colleague’s private practice and counting the days until she could go overseas again.

“Anyway,” she added as they headed for the small nurses’ station past the waiting room, “you can have fun for the both of us.” She grinned. “That is, if you’re still planning on seducing Kev?”

“Definitely,” Lissa declared, her vivid green eyes shining with mischief. “The second you and Marcus graciously bestow me with a night off, I will be sneaking into Dr. Carlisle’s tent and finally putting us both out of our misery.”

“You have been dancing around each other for six months now. It’s about time.”

“Exactly.” Lissa pulled out the elastic restraining her hair and retied the curly red strands in a fresh ponytail. “I’ll see you later, love. Sally needs help with those vaccinations.”

Julia watched the nurse bounce off in her usual lively fashion. Earlier, when she’d told Sebastian that her colleagues were her family, she hadn’t been kidding. Lissa truly had become like a sister to her. Kevin was her teasing older brother. Marcus was the father figure she’d lacked her entire life. Helga, the midwife on staff, was the sweet grandmother who handed out endless words of wisdom.

With both her father and sister gone, Julia was all alone in the world. Sure, she still had her mother, but the two of them had never been close, and once Darlene moved to the West Coast a few years back, they’d completely lost touch. Not that Julia was beat-up over it—Darlene Davenport was a cold, self-absorbed woman without a single maternal bone in her body, and Julia was better off without her.

“Jules, I need you in here.”

Shifting her gaze, she caught sight of Nadir Patel poking his head out of an exam room. Along with Julia, Kevin and Marcus, Nadir was the fourth physician on staff. In his native India, he had run a thriving pediatrics practice, so he was responsible for dealing with the younger patients in Valero.

“Everything okay?” she called.

“I’m attempting to take a blood sample and our patient is a tad cranky. Perhaps you could lend a hand?”

A loud, petulant wail came from the exam room, telling Julia that Nadir’s patient was more than a tad cranky.

“Sure thing,” she called back.

Ten minutes later, she’d successfully assisted Nadir in drawing blood from the bawling two-year-old. Afterward, she went to check on her own patients, pleased to see that many of the ones who’d come in complaining of malaria-like symptoms were no longer showing signs of the parasite. She still couldn’t release them until the blood test results were in, but she was fairly confident they weren’t looking at a serious outbreak.

For the next three hours, she bustled around the clinic, doing everything from stitching up patients to changing bedpans. Her white coat might label her a doctor, but the clinic was so understaffed that the responsibility lines blurred significantly, and Julia often found herself being not just a doctor, but also a nurse, a surgeon, a janitor, a cook, a babysitter or any other job that cropped up.

It was no surprise that by the time nine o’clock rolled by she was ready to collapse. Because she was on the evening shift, she hadn’t eaten dinner with her colleagues. She’d scarfed down a can of cold beans during a break between patients, and her stomach rumbled with hunger by the time she shrugged out of her coat and left the clinic through the back doors.

The D.I. staff lived in heavy canvas tents behind the building. There were four large tents, two for the men, two for the women, which housed six cots each, and along with those, there were a few smaller tents for people with special circumstances; one for Simone, and the others were reserved for the married staff.

She strode to the tent she shared with Lissa and two other nurses—Kendra, a lovely African-American woman from Detroit, and Marie-Thérèse, a young French blonde right out of nursing school.

Kendra was passed out on one of the cots, so Julia tried to be quiet as she sank onto the edge of her cot. She dimmed the battery-operated lamp so as not to disturb the sleeping nurse, then opened one of the two drawers and pulled out her toiletry kit.

As tired as she was, she wanted a cool shower before bed to wash off the heat and grime of the day. There was a bathroom and shower area behind the tents, which they shared with the men. Not that it mattered much in such primitive conditions, but a schedule had been arranged to preserve the modesty of those who actually still cared about things like that. Julia was always far too exhausted to worry about who might see her naked.

She stood up with her toiletries in hand, then froze when the radio on the night stand began to crackle. Shooting a quick look at Kendra, she grabbed the radio and hurried out of the tent, ducking through the flap.

Outside, the small recreation area was deserted, and she headed for the long picnic-style tables where the staff usually congregated for meals.

“J-J-Julia...c-can...h-hear me?”

She could barely make out the tinny voice emerging from the speakers, but it sounded like Kevin’s. Her brows furrowed as it suddenly occurred to her that he still hadn’t come back.

As more static hissed out of the radio, she clicked the button and said, “Kevin, is that you?”

“J-Julia...”

She heard him more clearly this time. Relief swept through her. All right, at least he was still in one piece. He’d probably decided to spend the night in one of the villages rather than trek it back to the clinic in the dark.

“Kev, do you read me? Where are you?”

“I...village...Esperanza...”

Julia frowned. “Esperanza? Why did you go so far north?”

More static, followed by what sounded like a round of heavy coughing. “Things...h-here...bad.”

For the first time since she’d heard her colleague’s voice, a real pang of concern tugged at her gut. “Kev? What’s going on there?”

“I...t-treatment...don’t know...never seen it before.”

Unease circled her spine like a school of sharks. Her palms started to tingle as a wave of panic swelled inside her.

“The water...maybe...don’t know.” Kevin sounded more anguished, and his British accent grew more pronounced, the way it always did when he was upset. “B-bad, Jules... Don’t know wh-what’s wrong with me...stay away.”

Those last two words sent a chill through her body.

“Y-you hear me, Julia? D-don’t come here.” He repeated himself, more desperate now. “Don’t...come...here.”

And then the radio fell silent.