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Fair cop She did look very different these days Her waist-length hair had fallen prey to the hairdresser’s scissors the day after she’d joined the arh mud and snohile dressed in full army kit had made the thick locks she’d considered her best feature very unattractive and in need of constant attention What had Sa about? Apart fro’

‘Afraid so’ His shoulder moved, oh so nonchalantly

That grin was now crooked Instead of loosening the hold it held over her, she was drawn in deeper It was beguiling and threatening in an I-can’t-afford-to-check-this-out kind of way Desperate for a distraction—no, Salanced around the compound She checked out the peri in a huddle, resignation on their faces

‘Why are there civilians waiting outside the camp?’

‘They’re hoping to see a doctor or nurse’

Her heart tightened for the sad-looking bunch of people They appeared helpless, lost even It took all her willpower not to drop her pack and race across to ask what she could do for them That was one of the reasons she’d joined the army after all ‘I want to help them’

‘It’s not that easy, Madison’

‘Why not?’ She flung the words at him ‘It’s why I became a doctor Isn’t it the same for you?’

He took her question on the chin ‘I understand, but out here you’re a soldier first, doctor second’

‘So you’re saying we ignore those people?’ Her hand flapped through the air in the direction of the perimeter ‘Seriously?’

‘No, I’aze stopped on the people she’d noted ‘We do see so body searches andthem in’

‘We don’t hold regular clinics?’ She’d been told she would be attending to outsiders, and had been keen to get ast them

‘More than enough,’ he grunted, ‘but sostream if we allowed it’ Sam locked his now fierce eyes on her ‘We do our share Remember why you’re here, Captain’

‘But there are children out there’ She couldn’t help wanting to help each and every person in that croaiting quietly as though they had nothing better to do, but especially the children They were pulling at her heartstrings already It would be a struggle not being allowed to put her ood use as she wanted when there were people needing them That hy she’d trained in the first place, to make life better for others, especially children now that she likely wouldn’t be having any herself

‘Yes, there are Cute as buttons some of them, too’ His face softened briefly

‘They look so desperate’

Sarowled, ‘Don’t be fooled They’re not all what they seeain

‘They’re not?’ But he didn’t, or chose not to, hear her

On a sigh she changed the subject For now ‘I’ll see you around I need to find my quarters’

‘I’ll—’

‘I don’t think so Major Crooks gave me directions’ Then she added laet the point, ‘He’s been here before’ Having thisShe required a few minutes to put her left-field reaction to hiht to behold, and a face fro and inviolate Vulnerability s she orking hard to overcoer sonar said be aware of thisto push him away

‘I was about to say I’ll see you later in the medical unit, where I can introduce you to everyone’ He stared at her, annoyance vying with interest in those eyes that appeared to notice far too much, his mouth flat at last

While herto keep in place Her eyes had better be fierce, not showing her true concerns about this exchange Having anyone know her inner tur home ‘Yes, Captain’

His face instantly becaht and emotion snapped off with the flick of a switch Her tense one too far He didn’t deserve her attitude, but a woman had to look out for herself Especially in a place she did not understand In a fit of pique for co second to her in an exam result Saht now she was proving hi about the real world If only he knew Back up She didn’t want him to know about the disaster that flipped her life upside down

Suddenly she was tired of it all; exhausted from the trip, from the heat, froet on with hirin ‘I look forward to

learning the ropes from you’

‘I’ll see you later’ Saether, then he spun around to stride away, his back raht, his hands clenched at his sides

He’s better looking than ever Shut up But it was true The boyishly handso face had becolance As was that ht of what his arht in her life for so long, surely? Not that Sam would be the rain that broke it, even if her body was thinking otherwise

Heatstroke Had to be But she’d been out in the sun less than half an hour Ads about a man she’d met minutes earlier would have s that weren’t conducive to working alongside hiet his looks, his ed to shut down But she was feuy She wasn’t i, feeling wo down the barriers so that a uts than she possessed, she could still appreciate perfection when she saw it

Maddy shook her head abruptly You came here to do a job, not to fire up your horht her that she couldn’t do casual sex; she had to have some connection with a lover When she’d fallen in love she’d known it had been worth the wait Until that man, who had beco with her confidence, and she was back to square one She was unlikely to ever forget Jason’s appalled reaction to her disfigured body She’d believed in his love Now she knew not to expect any different fro safe was entirely up to herself

‘Captain? Your room is number three in that block behind the mess hall’ A soldier appeared in her line of vision, a clipboard in his hand, thankfully blotting out that irritating sight of long legs and tight backside that had her in a spin