Dark eyes studied her and a small smile played on his lips. ‘Don’t be mad,’ he said softly.
‘I don’t get mad. I get even.’
She groaned inwardly. Couldn’t she have thought of a retort that was a little less clichéd? She was becoming more inarticulate by the minute. At least it was better than blushing.
‘Look,’ she said, ‘I know you’re a major and I’m only a lieutenant, but I won’t be made a fool of.’
That was better! Now she was showing some backbone.
He lost the smile, although there was still a suspicious glint in his eyes. ‘You’re right.’ He raised his hand to his head in a mock salute. ‘I apologise. Unreservedly.’
Flustered by his unexpected apology, she looked at her watch. Seven-thirty. ‘Don’t you have work to do?’
He tossed the dregs of his coffee onto the ground. ‘Actually, I don’t. I’ve finished rounds and it’s all quiet.’ He eyed her speculatively. ‘Don’t suppose you play poker?’
‘As a matter of fact, I do. However, unlike you, I have work to do.’ She swept past him, aware that he was following her. Every hair on her body stood to attention.
‘What about tomorrow? When you’re finished for the day? Come over to the bar—the NCOs’, that is. It has, let’s just say, a more relaxed atmosphere there.’
Why was he so interested in what she did in her spare time? Why couldn’t he just leave her alone? If he wanted someone to amuse him there were bound to be plenty of others happy to fill that role. However, a plan was forming in her mind. She turned around and smiled. ‘Sure. Why not? Let’s say six.’
* * *
Determined never to have a repeat of the fiasco with the press-ups, Tiggy decided to run around the camp perimeter every morning before breakfast. Despite the humiliation of having hundreds of men calling out encouragement as she wheezed and puffed her way around the track, she gritted her teeth and kept telling herself that she could do it. Anything was better than yesterday’s embarrassment of having Nick’s hands on the waistband of her trousers when he’d helped her complete her press-ups.
But once again, damn the man, he appeared like the devil from hell beside her. He shortened his strides to keep pace with her.
‘Hello, Red. Turned over a new leaf, have you?’
‘If you call me Red again,’ she wheezed, ‘so help me, I won’t be responsible for my actions.’
A slow smile crossed his face. He held up his hands with his fingers crossed. ‘I promise never to call you Red again. If I do, you can have all my poker matches and that’s a promise.’
She hid a smile. She hadn’t known she could smile and run at the same time. He turned round so that he was running backwards. He was shirtless and his combat trousers were so low on his hips she couldn’t help but notice his six-pack. She averted her eyes, pretending an interest in a passing Jeep.
‘How many circuits?’ he asked.
‘This is my last.’ She wasn’t about to tell him it was also her first. One circuit was torture enough and she was determined to wait until she got to the safety of her quarters before she collapsed.
‘I’m impressed.’ His toffee-coloured eyes crinkled at the corners.
‘Don’t you have lives to save or something?’ She indicated the hospital tent with her arm.
‘Not right at the moment.’ Even running backwards, he managed to look her up and down. ‘I saw you come out for your run and the thought struck me that I might have to save yours. Looks like exercise hasn’t exactly been high on your agenda until now.’
Was he implying she looked like a couch potato?
‘Although you clearly do something to keep in shape,’ he added.
Oh, please. Despite everything, the look of frank admiration in his eyes made her heart skip a beat.
Come on, Tiggy. Get a grip. This man is out of bounds and even if he wasn’t, he is so not your type.
But it was as if her mouth had a mind of its own. ‘Been watching me, huh?’ A stitch had started somewhere below her ribs and the last word came out more as a cry of anguish than the casual reference she’d meant it to be. How long could one kilometre be? It could be the damned end of the world as far as she was concerned.
She gasped for air, trying to ignore the increasing pain in her side.
His eyes flickered over her and he frowned. ‘You all right?’
‘Never been better—or at least I will be when you leave...me...alone...’ She managed another couple of strides and then had to stop. She bent over, clutching her knees, as a wave of pain slammed into her. Dear God, was she having a heart attack?
Before she knew it she was being lifted over his shoulder.
‘Put me down,’ she yelled into his back—a back that she couldn’t help noticing, even from her upside-down position, was ridged with muscle.
‘I will as soon as I find some shade. Don’t you know better than to exercise in this heat? Are you crazy, woman? You should have started earlier, or there’s a decent air-conditioned gym on the other side of the camp that’s better suited for someone who’s not used to exercise.’
There was a gym? An air-conditioned gym? Why on earth had no one told her? Why hadn’t she asked?
Then she was inside her tent and he was laying her on the bed. Sue rushed over, concern furrowing her brow. ‘What happened? Is she okay? Tiggy, speak to me.’
‘I’m fine. Just need some water.’ Sue held a bottle to her lips and she gulped thirstily.
‘What have you been doing to the poor girl, Nick?’ Sue demanded.
‘Hey, don’t blame me. I was just an innocent bystander.’
‘Come off it! You’ve never been innocent or a bystander in your life!’
Nick laughed. ‘Make sure she cools down before she goes on duty.’ He leaned over and ruffled her hair. ‘Stick to the gym in future.’
* * *
Later that afternoon, Tiggy studied the cards in her hand and suppressed a smile. Although every muscle ached, including some she hadn’t known she had, her mood was improving.
She tossed a matchstick onto those already on the table. ‘I’ll raise you ten.’
Nick lifted an eyebrow. He counted out some matchsticks from his pile and added them to hers. They’d no casualties that day and Tiggy had spent most of her day with Hadiya, re-dressing her burns and being taught some words of Pashto by the little girl and her giggling mother. When the patients had all been seen to they’d set up a temporary poker table, at Nick’s suggestion, in an empty cubicle. Some of the nurses and technicians had started off playing, too, but after two hours Nick and Tiggy were the only ones left in the game.
The rest of the team was either watching them play, flicking through magazines or answering the occasional call from the patients.
Nick wasn’t to know, of course, that she played most nights with her father and her brothers whenever they were at home.
‘Twenty and I’ll see you.’
Nick leaned back in his chair and grinned. He placed his hand face up on the table. ‘A flush! Beat that!’
Tiggy pretended to look dismayed, studying his cards as if she couldn’t quite believe her bad luck. Then she allowed herself a small smile before laying hers down. ‘Think my four aces beats