'Do you find it impossible to mind your own business?' As the man left she grabbed the keys and pushed them into her bag, glaring up at Kip in the lights.
'I'm an engineer. Things mechanical fascinate me.'
'You're not that sort of an engineer!'
'For your information, I can strip a car down to the last nut and bolt and put it all back together again.'
Natalie noticed he had brought Annette in his car, the one he had driven her from the airport in. It was gleaming under the lights. She had been brought to the hotel in a dusty Land Rover! It made her more annoyed than ever.
'Then strip your own car down and leave mine alone.'
He looked down at her, taking her arm when she would have stormed back inside. 'I've got the hang of you now, Natalie,' he warned softly, his dark eyes on her angry face. 'If you take off into the bush and break down, somebody will have to rescue you and that somebody would have to be me. You'll never ask for help and you'll never say where you're going, so I have to be quite sure that you're reasonably safe.'
'I've been taking care of myself for years!' Natalie snapped, her anger covering her embarrassment. She would not ask for his help, it was true, because he had too much of an effect on her, an unsteadying effect, and she wanted nothing to do with him at all. He was quiet, smiling danger.
'And have you been taking care of yourself well?' He looked at her seriously. 'An angry little cat, with eyes like emeralds. Calm yourself. A few days and we'll be far from each other, no need whatever to meet again for the rest of our lives.'
'Good! I live for that moment.' She walked in and he followed. She had no intention of collecting her drink and staying to have some social chat but Kip had already made plans and that was clear as the head waiter came up with smiling deference.
'Your table is ready, Mr Forsythe. I've placed Miss West with you.'
'Thank you.' His hand came tightly to Natalie's arm, stilling her rising denial. 'Surely you don't imagine I'll allow you to sit all alone when I'm dining here?'
'You have a dinner companion already,' Natalie reminded him crossly. He had her trapped again, fluttery inside at the idea of spending an evening facing him.
'I'm prepared to act as escort to two ladies. Behave yourself, Natalie; we're not at home now.'
'Look--!' she began, snatching her arm from his grasp but he collected her again immediately, his cool fingers sending warning thrills right through her.
'I promise not to tell any tales,' he murmured against her ear, as Annette Shelton walked out of the bar looking
decidedly miffed. 'There's no need for Annette to know how delicious you look in a white towel.'
His thumb was stroking in small circles against the skin of her arm and for the moment Natalie admitted defeat. Those few words had brought back the shivering excitement of Kip's dark eyes burning over her. Annette's bright blue eyes were attempting to maim her and she felt definitely outnumbered.
'You're with a television company?' Annette asked as they settled down to their meal. 'I suppose you pry .into things a lot?'
'Only in a very nice way:' Recognising a battle in the offing, Natalie was prepared to back-pedal. It was nothing to her if this woman was jealous and she certainly was not about to be drawn into it. 'Most of our work is in making documentaries. That's why I'm here now.'
'Yes. Kip did tell me. You must be glad to be at the hotel at last. It must have been awful finding yourself ill all this way from England and having to lean on Kip's good nature. If only he'd told me, I would have been there to help.'
'Mina helped,' Kip put in speedily as he saw Natalie's green eyes flash sparks. 'I didn't exactly have to act as a lady's maid.'
Only when he had undressed her and lifted her into bed. He didn't need to mention it. The memory was all in those dark eyes and Natalie's face flushed at his steady gaze. Annette looked more suspicious than ever.
'Well, that's a relief, darling,' she murmured, her hand stroking his arm. 'I did wonder why I wasn't seeing as much of you as usual.'
'Things will be back to normal in a few days,' Natalie assured her quickly. 'Being ill has delayed things and now I'll really have to put a spurt on. My team are due out here as soon as possible and I'm supposed to have everything ready for them.'
'Are you going to interview local celebrities?' The other woman perked up somewhat.
'Annette asks because she's in that category herself, being head of the new secondary school out here,' Kip enlightened her wryly.
So that was where she got her bossy air? Natalie looked interested and Annette softened at the thought of television, herself in the bright eye of the camera.
'Tell me about it.' Natalie leaned forward with every appearance of keenness, completely in her element. She switched on the small, powerful recorder she invariably kept in her bag. Not much bigger than a powder compact, it could pick up sound over a good range, certainly from across the table. Normally she held it openly in her hand but now she placed it surreptitiously on her lap. This was where Kip Forsythe found out that she did know her business. Perhaps after this he would back off and leave her to get on alone?
Annette waxed eloquent. Natalie watched with wide, awe-stricken green eyes and the tape recorder turned silently. There were a few times during this boastful monologue when she feared that Kip would intervene and bring it to an end. He looked bored out of his mind and Natalie found it necessary to glance at him occasionally with entrancing jewelled eyes until finally he just let Annette talk as he settled to watching Natalie's beautiful face.
'That was really interesting,' Natalie assured Annette as she finally ran down, her face flushed with effort and wine. 'I may get the camera over to your school. Of course, our project here is the dam itself, but the school seems to represent progress. In any case, I do quite a few articles for newspapers on a freelance basis and after the production is launched they'll be very keen I imagine. You'll certainly be in an article.' She lifted the recorder to the table and switched it off with a certain amount of flourish. 'I'll even transcribe this tonight. It was fascinating.'