Daring Masquerade by Margaret Tanner Read Free Book Online Page A

here except for the muted chatter of birds darting through the treetops and the gentle murmur of water lapping against the sandy banks.
    Within minutes she got a bite, and as she reeled her catch in she laughed out loud. As fast as she baited her hook and cast in the line she caught another fish, too easy really. She much preferred a challenge.
    The Australian Alps, almost purple in the distance, slumbered peacefully in the sun. In the winter, covered with snow, she imagined they would be dazzling white. The breeze laden with the scent of mountain wild flowers, the lazy droning of wild bees soothed her troubled mind, as she stretched out on the soft warm sand.
    "Harry, Harry," Ross yelled. "Where the hell are you?"
    She jack-knifed into a sitting position. "Over here. Catching tea like you instructed."
    He limped towards her and his ashen face shocked her. Not a vestige of color remained in it. He cradled his right hand, wrapped in a bloodied rag, against his chest. Blood oozed through another rag tied around his thigh.
    "What happened?"
    "I've been stringing barbed wire and a strand snapped back on me, ripped into my hand and leg."
    "You ought to see a doctor."
    "Rubbish, I came back here so you can clean and dress it for me. There's a first aid kit in the kitchen."
    She glanced around for someone else.
    "I didn't need a nurse maid to escort me if that's what you're looking for."
    She picked up the bucket with the fish in it, and he hobbled beside her as they headed for the kitchen.
    He sat in a chair while she bathed his hand in warm, salty water. The long jagged cut ran deep. He winced as she put some iodine on it before applying a bandage.
    Being so close up she was able to scrutinize his face without being obvious. Faint lines fanned out from the sides of his eyes. His thick lashes curled up at the ends. His hair, damp with perspiration, flopped into loose ringlets across his forehead.
    "You have gentle hands," he said as she tied off the bandage.
    She shrugged. "I'll get some clean water and see to your leg."
    His blood had turned the water in the basin red, so she emptied it outside and refilled it before hurrying back. He had already kicked off his boots and now stood, fumbling with his trousers as he tried to use his left hand.
    "You'll have to help me get my pants off."
    "What!"
    "My pants, help me take them off."
    "I can't."
    "Can't? Are you mad? You can't clean the wound through the cloth. Afraid of seeing a real man?" he jeered. "Pretty little boys like you make me sick."
    Boy. Of course. Her mouth suddenly went dry. Unless she admitted to being a female, he expected her to help him undress. Oh, God, what could she do?
    As she squatted down on the floor, sweat broke out on her skin and trickled between her breasts. You can do it, she urged herself. You have to do it for Gil. She grabbed the ends of his pants and yanked them down.
    His curse of pain covered her shocked intake of breath and moan of distress. He wore nothing under his trousers. Her hands shook. She bit her lip and steeled herself not to stare at his perfect male body. His skin was white where it had not seen the sun, his body hair brown and curling. Thank God he still wore his shirt. At least the length of it covered his vital male parts.
    "Hurry up, damn you. A man could bleed to death, you're so bloody slow."
    She focused her eyes on the jagged wound oozing blood on his thigh.
    "Anyone would think you've never seen a man with his trousers down before."
    "Oh, I've seen plenty," she lied. "I'm just shocked at the size of the wound."
    Making sure her hands didn't brush against any part of him except his leg, she gritted her teeth and bathed the blood away. "They're not as deep as those on your hand."
    "Hurry up," he snarled, despising himself for the tumultuous feeling the gentle, soft hands had on him. Harry has the touch of a woman, and if the boy didn't hurry up, his turmoil would be obvious to anyone who wasn't blind. He swore softly.
    "Sorry if I