Dangerous to Know by Nell Dixon Page A

to me.” Gemma took another drink of her soup and wondered if her bladder would hold out a while longer. She didn’t fancy going out to relieve herself in the cold, wet, darkness.
    â€œThe weather changes so quickly up here. The locals will tell you that you can experience all four seasons in one day.” He let the flap fall back into place, casting his face into shadow.
    Gemma fidgeted on her sleeping bag. “Um, do you think I could borrow the lamp? I need to go to the bathroom.” Her face burnt with embarrassment.
    â€œSure, I’d better come with you.” He scrambled out of the tent and stood holding the flap up so she could follow him.
    â€œYou can’t, I mean…”
    â€œGemma, it’s really foggy. If you wander off you could easily miss the campsite. I don’t want you lost on the mountain.” He retrieved the lamp from his tent and turned it on. “I promise you’ll be nice and private.”
    She followed him across the scree back towards the trees. It had been years since she’d felt this embarrassed, probably not since she’d been at high school and had accidentally come out of the bathroom with her skirt tucked into her knickers.
    â€œHere, take the lamp and I’ll wait for you,” he said once they had reached the edge of the forest. He handed her the light and she set off into the undergrowth.
    * * * *

    Jerome turned his back and leaned against a tree while he waited for her to return. He rubbed his face to clear his head, wincing as he caught the edge of the cut on his hairline.
    Maybe he should have insisted on Gemma going back to the village. What was supposed to have been a nice relaxing weekend of camping and picture-taking had already turned into a nightmare. He lifted his chin and squinted at the cloud swirling all about him. Even the weather was against them.
    He heard twigs snapping underfoot and turned to see Gemma’s lantern bobbing back towards him. His heart lifted when she smiled at him. She really was amazing. He didn’t know one woman in a million who would have gone through a day like today and still be smiling. Most of the women he knew would have run down the mountain screaming even before the gunshots, and that was the very few who would have agreed to come with him in the first place.
    â€œI’m glad you came with me,” she said as she fell into step beside him and they made their way back toward the tents. “It’s a bit spooky out here now.”
    The rain had ceased but the air swirled moist and cold around them, obscuring their vision, leaving their faces clammy and damp.
    â€œI’m really sorry you’ve been dragged into all this. So much for a fun weekend, huh?” He glanced at her face, pale in the misty light.
    â€œOh well, I love being shot at, soaked and frozen on my weekends off.” She looked back up at him, the corners of her lips curving upwards as she spoke.
    Jerome swallowed. She looked so small and cute in her heavy waterproof coat with her hair curling around her face. “You can’t say I don’t know how to show a girl a good time.”
    She shook her head in disbelief and laughed. Jerome halted next to the boulder they had sheltered behind earlier. The earlier flirting games he’d shared with Gemma seemed childish and inconsequential now. He wondered what would have happened earlier if the kid with the gun hadn’t interrupted them.
    â€œIf you’ll chance another weekend away with me, then I promise I’ll take you somewhere special to make up for this.” He pictured Gemma in a large, comfy four-poster bed in some luxury country hotel and his body hardened with desire.
    She looked up at him, her mouth quirking. “Will wherever you take me have a real bathroom?”
    Jerome wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. “Does that mean you’d say yes and come with me?”
    He waited for her response,