More Than Paradise Part 10

Gently, she said, "I'm really surprised you're here. Maybe you should be taking some time out."

* 93 *

Ash read between the lines. "So I can drown my sorrows on my own dime?"

"That isn't what I meant."

"Yes, it is." Ash nally met her eyes. "Try not to worry that pretty head of yours. I can y a Huey in my sleep, but I'm not taking her up today. Isn't that enough for you?"

"I don't know why you need to be here at all if you're not ying,"

Charlotte said. "Under the circ.u.mstances, surely your boss would give you time off."

"Someone has to walk you beetle hunters into the highlands," Ash informed her laconically. "The pay is good and apart from the local tribes, no one knows this area like I do."

"Once you take us in there, what then?"

"We have a security roster. I'll be with you for a week until you're settled into the campsite, then Klaus will y my bird in with extra supplies and my replacement."

Charlotte cast a glance toward a Jeep that bounced across the uneven tarmac and jerked to halt a few yards from the helicopter. Four men jumped out and hauled large backpacks after them. They were wearing beige uniforms, complete with black berets. To Charlotte's astonishment, after throwing their gear into the helicopter, they went back to the Jeep and began unloading an a.r.s.enal of weapons.

"Are we ghting a war or something?" she asked. "The Fojas are uninhabited. Who do they think they're going to be shooting at?"

"It's a deterrent. News travels in this place. You never know who might think a team of scientists would be worth robbing."

Charlotte pictured a group of Rambos blundering around in a world untouched by humans, trampling important specimens and scaring shy animals. "I think it's ridiculous. I wonder if the expedition organizers knew it was going to be like this."

Ash shrugged. "They hired us."

Charlotte looked her over a little more intently. She was a mess.

Her eyes were shadowed with sorrow, the crinkles that fanned from each corner more p.r.o.nounced. Her frown seemed perpetual and her corn blond hair needed a cut. The waves were more like curls across her brow and the back of her neck. Even her body language spelled weariness. She was slouched in the deck chair, her legs extended carelessly in front of her. Her arms were loosely draped over the rests, * 94 *

and she looked like she could fall asleep in short order if Charlotte wasn't talking to her.

Bothered by what had transpired in her hotel bedroom ten days earlier, she said, "Well, since we're going to be stuck with each other for the next week, there's something I'd like to clear up. What you said in my hotel room when-"

"There's nothing to clear up," Ash cut across her blandly. "We both had a lot to drink that night."

"You know, alcohol isn't an excuse for everything a person does and says. I happen to take responsibility for myself when I drink."

Ash's expression altered. "Sounds like you're saying I don't."

"I can't speak for you. I don't know you. But I think it's fairly obvious from your appearance today that you have a problem."

"A drinking problem?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Let me see. When you're drinking you say things you later want to retract. You show up for work unable to y your plane. You had such a hard night you didn't even change your clothes this morning."

"I'm unclear why this is any of your business."

"I don't like alcoholics."

"I'm not an alcoholic."

"Oh, please. I know the signs. Just listen to yourself. You're totally in denial."

"You know the signs," Ash repeated thoughtfully. "Who was it?

An ex? A parent?"

"That's not relevant."

"It is when it impairs your judgment."

"My judgment isn't impaired. I know your type at a hundred paces."

"My type?" Ash's expression s.h.i.+fted from annoyance to incredulity. "Why am I sitting here listening to my character being a.s.sa.s.sinated?"

"Because you're too hungover to get up and walk away?" Charlotte suggested.

"Well, this has been educational." Ash brushed her clothes off.

"For the record, I haven't slept in fty hours. I've had a rough week and I came straight here from another a.s.signment."

"Oh, right. A date with a whiskey bottle."

* 95 *

Ash studied her with aggravating calm. "What's your problem with me, Charlotte?"

"I don't have a problem."

This earned a lazy, maddening smile. "You're behaving like a woman scorned. Are you p.i.s.sed that I didn't stay with you that night?"

"Don't be ridiculous. That's some ego you have."

"I've seen the symptoms often enough to recognize them."

"Well, don't give up your day job to become a shrink. You're way off base."

"That's a relief," Ash said glibly. "Because I'd sure hate to disappoint a woman as pretty, and charming, as you."

Charlotte choked. "Oh, please. Where do you get lines like that?

The loser's guide to chatting up women?"

"You can't blame a butch for trying."

Charlotte couldn't tell if she was being mocked or if Ash was serious and just happened to be a throwback to the Brylcreem era.

She glanced around, hoping their conversation wasn't audible to her colleagues in the hangar. No one seemed to be paying any attention and the rain pounding on the tin roof was loud enough that it had probably drowned out their voices. Charlotte shuf ed along to the seat right next to Ash's and lowered her voice just in case.

"Don't waste your time. I'd never be interested in someone like you."

Ash's eyes wandered with sensual deliberation from Charlotte's mouth to her throat and down to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, leaving her skin p.r.i.c.kling as if invisible ngers had trailed across it. "You've thought about it,"

she concluded with a knowing look that infuriated Charlotte.

"Oh, now you're psychic?" Charlotte was aware of a tender tension in her nipples. She tried hard to keep her expression immobile so she gave nothing away.

She'd never been a good liar, and the galling truth was she had thought far too often about having s.e.x with Ash Evans ever since their awkward farewell. She'd even tried to nd a phone number for her before heading off on the Kokoda trek. Fortunately, Ash had been impossible to track down and Charlotte had come to her senses after a week. Seeing Ash now only con rmed what she already knew-that she was exactly the kind of person she could not allow into her life. A drinker.

Of course she was attracted to Ash. It was her pattern, a special * 96 *

form of self-sabotage whereby she desired the women most likely to hurt her and least likely to be reliable, committed partners. The lesson she'd learned from Britt was that when it came to romance, she could not trust her own judgment. If she was strongly attracted to a woman it spelled only one thing-the woman was trouble.

Ash's candid stare and her own tingling reaction was all the warning she needed. There was no way on earth she could afford to reveal any sign of interest. Ash was the type who wouldn't need much encouragement. Charlotte was stunned by her bad luck. This expedition was the opportunity of a lifetime, and dealing with Ash Evans was one big ha.s.sle she didn't need. Perhaps Miles could have her replaced immediately. Obviously Ash didn't want the job. She would probably be pleased if her boss found someone else.

Charlotte cast a glance toward the helicopter where Miles was stroking his goatee and looking very serious as he discussed something with the men in uniform. Most males were susceptible to attery, and Miles had already shown he would grant her special treatment as the only woman on the team. Charlotte was reluctant to play on her gender, but if things got dif cult she would do whatever was necessary to get what she wanted. And what she wanted was results.

After she'd returned from the Kokoda Trail, she'd spent a day carefully studying the Sealy-Weiss brie ng papers her new boss had presented her with as she departed. The focus of her research in the Fojas was intriguing. Sealy-Weiss had been conducting a phytochemical research project for the past two years, backed by Belton Pharmaceuticals. Recently, the research team had made a small but signi cant breakthrough, isolating a powerful antifungal molecule found in the leaves of a g species previously unknown. The specimens had been supplied by a couple of botanists who had been cataloguing ora in Papua New Guinea. The pair had purchased the leaves from West Papuan tribesmen who appeared to use them to treat leukemia.

Charlotte had been tasked with locating the species, most likely a hemiepiphytic strangler vine. She was to take samples, identify host tree species, estimate numerical abundance distribution, and identify potential seed dispersers. Sealy-Weiss had presented their initial ndings to Belton, who had become the expedition's major sponsor in order to have the Sealy-Weiss representative obtain a larger sample and the necessary data. Early ndings suggested that the molecule was even more potent than the resveratrol found in grapes and mulberries.

* 97 *

In the body, an enzyme known as CYP1B1 had been found to convert resveratrol into a toxin that selectively destroyed cancer cells.

No one was pretending they'd found a magic bullet in any of the various phytochemical therapeutics already in use, but the eld was seen by many as the one most likely to produce a wonder drug in the next decade and it was highly compet.i.tive. Although no credible scientist seriously believed that one plant compound would deliver the ultimate cancer cure the public dreamed of, Charlotte knew it remained a secret hope.

Researchers now envisioned the phasing out of traditional radiotherapy and chemotherapy and their replacement with a new generation of treatments that destroyed only the cancer cells. Everyone's worst fear was that the world's most promising biological resources would be destroyed by the timber industry before the holy grail plant could be identi ed. The race to discover that plant was urgent and serious, and Charlotte was overwhelmed to have been chosen for a key role in that quest.

Her new employers were very clear that if she brought home a winner, billions of dollars and the well-being of countless people could be the eventual reward. The coup wouldn't do her career any harm either. Sealy-Weiss's ultimate aim would be to develop and patent a cell culture production technology that would yield high quant.i.ties and be more ef cient than harvesting from the original source. But in the meantime, they would need to gure out how the species could be grown commercially. That meant replicating the critical environmental factors that created its unique biology. Charlotte's observations as a botanist would be critical.

She allowed herself a small sigh of satisfaction. Thinking about the rami cations of her work put everything into perspective. She had more important things to worry about than a eeting attraction to a woman she would never see again once this a.s.signment was completed.

Meantime, since they were going to be stuck with each other, a professional relations.h.i.+p was necessary. So far, she had not helped this cause by getting personal.

She s.h.i.+fted in her seat and forced herself to relax. Ash had just said something, a reply to the facetious remark about being psychic, no doubt. Charlotte had been so abstracted, she hadn't listened.

"I'm sorry," she said. "The rain's very noisy. I didn't hear you."

* 98 *

"I said I don't need to be psychic. People give themselves away and you're no exception."

Charlotte wasn't going to be goaded into t.i.t for tat. Trying for a conciliatory tone, she said, "I'm not going to argue with you anymore, Ash. You're right. It's none of my business what you do in your spare time and I apologize for my comments about your drinking."

Ash's eyes narrowed and her gaze sharpened. Doubt in ltrated her expression.

"I was just thinking how silly I'm being," Charlotte plunged on, hoping she came across as a distracted scientist muddling her way through an embarra.s.sing situation. "I guess I was taken aback when you arrived. I had no idea our security arrangements were going to be so elaborate. The organizers never said anything about us being at risk."

She wished she could read Ash's thoughts, but her face gave nothing away and the cool intensity of her stare made Charlotte self-conscious.

"As I said before, it's a good idea to hire security in this part of the world," Ash reiterated tonelessly. "We're not expecting any trouble, but if it happens, you'll want us there."

Charlotte nodded like she was accepting the wisdom of these p.r.o.nouncements. "Well, I guess that means we're going to be seeing quite a lot of each other. So I was thinking, perhaps we can agree to set our feelings aside and behave like grown-ups."

"What feelings?"

Charlotte considered the comment. "Let's be honest. I think it's obvious that there's some kind of transient chemical attraction going on between us. And since we both have jobs to do and that kind of thing can make working together awkward, I suggest we avoid getting personal with each other."

Ash regarded her thoughtfully. "You're saying you're attracted to me and that makes you uncomfortable, so we should pretend it's not happening?"

For some reason this placid rewording bothered her much more than it should have. Charlotte could feel her cheeks changing color.

Aggravated, she hissed, "It's not just one-sided."

"No. But only one of us seems to be concerned about it. Why is that, Charlotte?"

* 99 *

"I have no idea what you mean. I am simply trying to preempt a problem. I think the next few days are going to be hard enough without some kind of...agenda."

"I'm not sure what you have in your mind, but my only agenda is to get your team into the required zone, make sure you can survive, then get the h.e.l.l out."

"Then we have a common goal," Charlotte said. "All I'm doing is making sure nothing gets in the way of it."

"I see." Ash studied her for a moment. "Answer me something.

The kind of attraction you're talking about-how often does it happen for you?"

Never. Charlotte immediately rejected the answer that popped into her head and considered the question rationally. She wasn't normally intensely attracted to anyone, but her feelings for Ash had emerged out of an unusual set of circ.u.mstances. Somehow Ash had tripped a switch that connected with a part of herself buried since Britt.

Charlotte hated that inner self, with her unsafe cravings and unreliable instincts. Her life was successful and drama free because she kept that traitorous side of her personality under control. h.e.l.l would freeze over before she allowed a few wayward impulses to destroy everything she'd worked for, and that was exactly what could happen here. It didn't help that Ash seemed able to look straight past the person she tried to be, and see the being she wanted to hide.

Disconcerted, she said stif y, "You know what it's like. There are always women one looks at twice. It pa.s.ses."

"I've found that acting on a s.e.xual attraction pretty well guarantees it won't last," Ash said softly. "Just a thought."

"Are you suggesting we sleep together so we can...I don't know...

move beyond it?"

"Well, getting beyond it does seem to be your main aim."

Suspicious of her velvety tone and the glitter in her stark blue eyes, Charlotte asked, "Do you think this is funny?"