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Nevertheless, she tensed as he swam up to her and hooked his arms around the edge of the pool. 'This reminds me of when we were kids, swimming in the dam. Do you remember?'

She made herself relax, taking slow deep breaths before she answered. 'It was thinking about those days which gave me the idea to swim now.'

'Are they gone for ever?' he asked. His voice was dreamlike but she detected an undercurrent of tension. For some reason, her answer was important to him.

'I don't know,' she answered truthfully. 'I guess we all have to grow up eventually.'

'More's the pity,' he agreed. In the dappled light, she could feel his gaze on her. 'But you grew up more than most of us, Keri. You used to be so full of fun. You couldn't wait to get into the water at every opportunity, yet I haven't seen you use the pool once since you've been back.'

'As you say, I've grown up,' she said, aware of the brittle quality in her voice but unable to suppress it.

He noticed it and turned over so that he was achingly close in the balmy water. 'It's my fault, isn't it?'

'Does it have to be anyone's fault?'

'In your case, yes. I have a feeling if I'd given you a different response when you came to me after the reading of Dad's will, things would have been very different.'

'You did what you thought was right,' she suggested. 'You always do.'

He swore softly under his breath. 'But you didn't fight very hard to make me change my opinion of you. It was almost as if you wanted me to think what I did.'

She forced a laugh. 'Why should I do that?'

'I don't know. Maybe you're afraid of what a union between Rick and yourself might have produced.'

His explanation for her behaviour was so wide of the mark that she almost laughed aloud. 'How did Rick get into this?'

'You were in love with him once. Maybe you still feel the same, but with Robyn's disabilities on our side of the family and your sister's on yours, the odds in the genetic lottery can't be very appealing.'

'Is that why you think I gave Rick up?'

'Well, isn't it? If you don't care about the inheritance, as you say, then what other explanation is there?'

There was the most obvious one—that Rick couldn't compete with the attraction she felt for Ben. She had been dazzled by Rick at first and hadn't seen the truth herself until it was too late. The genetic problems hadn't even crossed her mind. 'For an intelligent man, you sure are blind,' she muttered under her breath. Before he could react she had climbed out of the water and wrapped her robe protectively around herself. 'I've had enough,' she said, meaning it in more ways than "one.

'Keri, wait,' he called and started to haul himself out of the pool. Soon he would be between her and the house. On impulse she ducked into the shelter of the pergola but he soon caught up with her there.

Moonlight dappled the space between them as he came closer. 'Keri, I know how you feel about Rick but he's no good for you, can't you see that?'

His hands rested lightly on her shoulders but she felt crushed as if under a great weight as he turned her to face him. 'It isn't Rick I care about,' she insisted.

In the moonlight his face was all harsh planes and angles. 'Then why did you come back?'

'I've been asking myself the same thing,' she admitted. 'I know when I was much younger, I was dazzled by his personality and his generosity, but I don't feel anything for him now.'

'Most of his so-called generosity was at Dad's expense,' Ben put in wryly. 'It made him see that Rick would ruin Champion Holdings, given a free hand. As it is, he's already spent every cent of the money Dad left him. If it wasn't for what I hold in trust for him, he'd be broke by now.'

'Surely that's what your father feared when he drew up his will?' she said. 'He can't have meant you to hand over Casuarina unless you were sure Rick was ready.'

In the dappled light, she saw his eyebrows arch in surprise. 'Are you telling me you don't care whether Rick gets the land or not?'

She gave a sigh of impatience. 'I'm telling you I don't care what Rick does, period.'

'But you didn't come back until Rick's wedding was announced. I was sure he was the reason.'

'Will you listen to me for once?' she demanded angrily. 'I did come back because he was getting married— because I thought that made it safe for me to come.'

In the dappled light she saw his face crease with puzzlement. 'Safe? What do you mean?'

She bit her lip. She had already told him more than she meant to. 'It's water under the bridge now,' she said dismissively. 'I thought Rick wouldn't be convinced I hadn't come back to him, unless he was safely married.' The thought made her smile wanly. 'I didn't realise you would be the one to need convincing.'

'Let's say I might have acted a little hastily.'

His hands on her shoulders pressed more tightly, bringing her closer to him. His body was damp from the swim and she could feel every masculine contour of him against her. While they talked, her robe had drifted and now he pushed the fabric further apart. His damp chest hairs teased her sensitive skin.

What had happened to her plan to keep him at arm's length? There wasn't even that much space between them as excitement stirred inside her. She had been so sure she was Ben-proof by now that she had let her guard down and he had wasted no time in stepping inside it. In his arms, it was hard even to remember why she had no business being there. She tried to remember that he had hurt her twice and she would be a fool to let him do it again. But the fool in her kissed him back, seemingly oblivious of the risks.

She was so lost in the magic of his caresses that she didn't notice her robe slipping off her shoulders until his hands began to wander over her back. She felt him go rigid as his fingers met the scar tissue on her shoulders. 'My God, who did this to you?'

Hastily she pulled the robe up again. 'It's nothing, just an old scar.'

He pulled her against him so that he could inspect the scar. 'Nothing be damned. I know the mark of a lash when I see it. Who did this to you?'

No, her mind cried the protest. Why did he have to ask her now, when the answer could destroy the fragile rapport they had finally begun to establish?

'Was it Rick?' he demanded when she remained silent.

She shook her head. 'I can't tell you.'

'Then who?'

'Leave it alone, Ben, please.' Pushing past him, she stumbled out of the pergola and fled around the edge of the pool back to the house.

In the sanctuary of her bedroom, she closed the door and bolted it. She was just in time. A few moments later he came knocking and insisted that she open the door. 'I want to know who hurt you,' he said through the timber.

Hysterical laughter bubbled up in her throat but she fought it, afraid of waking the rest of the household. If he only knew, she thought wildly, if he only knew.

AFTER
a long time, she heard Ben return to his own room. Shakily, she changed out of her damp swimsuit and into her nightdress but sleep refused to come when she lay down.

So much had changed since she went to the pool, herself most of all. While she had been holding herself aloof from Ben, some part of her was longing to be in his arms.

It should be an object lesson in how vulnerable she still was to being hurt by him, but her mind preferred to dwell on the feel of his hard body against her, and the warmth of his kiss as he plundered her mouth. She could have told him the truth about the scar, using it to drive a wedge between them again. So why hadn't she done so? Could it be that, despite the risks, she wanted him to care about her?

More confused than ever, she tossed and turned, finally falling into a restless sleep.

She couldn't have been asleep more than a couple of hours when she was disturbed by a knock on her door.

Groggily, she peered at the bedside clock. Ben knew what time she had gone to bed. He wouldn't waken her now unless it was an emergency. But when she stumbled to the door and unlocked it, Rick was waiting outside. 'What is it?' she asked, feeling a surge of alarm.

'Relax. I'm not here to cause trouble. Some of the stockmen were night-fishing down at Crocodile Creek and one of them was attacked by the rogue croc. Since you've been monitoring them, Ben thought you ought to know.'

'Where is Ben now?'

'Getting some gear together. Then he's going after the crocodile.'

She didn't hesitate. 'Give me two minutes to dress and I'll come with you.'

'But Ben said you were to stay here.'

She had a swift vision of Ben pitting his strength against the prehistoric monster she had been studying and a shudder shook her. She couldn't let him face that alone. 'I don't care what he said. I'm coming and that's that.'

She closed the door on Rick, enjoying his open- mouthed reaction. Then there was no time to think. Shedding her night clothes, she left them in a heap on the floor and pulled on her khaki ranger's shirt with its distinctive shoulder patches. Her brown shorts, socks and work boots came next. They felt hot and constricting against her skin but she wasted no time worrying about it. She had to be with Ben.

He was loading up the Range Rover when she came out. 'What are you doing here?' he demanded.

'My job.'

'The hell you are. Go back to bed, will you?'

'Sorry, no. This is what I trained for. You won't have to worry about me,' she promised.

In the half-light, he gave her a searching look, his eyes clouded as if he was fighting a battle with himself. 'All right, get in,' he conceded.

She did so with alacrity, hoisting the last of the gear up with her. Ben closed her door then took the driver's seat. Soon they were bumping across the paddocks that led to Crocodile Creek. Two more station cars moved into convoy behind them.

In the insect-splattered vehicle with the dark green bush crowding in on all sides, she was suddenly conscious that they were alone together. Rick had tried to come with them until Ben assigned him to another car. Now she found herself wishing that at least one of the men had come with them.

'What happened?' she asked, to fill up the silence which stretched uncomfortably between them.

'It seems that Nugget's brother, Ningara, was the one attacked. Luckily the croc latched on to his catch rather than the man. He was pulled off balance into the water and got a hell of a fright, but the croc was so busy with the fish that Ningara had time to climb up the bank to safety.

'Thank goodness,' she said, heartfelt: If the crocodile hadn't been so interested in the barramundi which was one of its favourite natural foods, the outcome would have been tragic.

'It looks as if Fang will have to be moved before someone is taken,' she added.

Ben shot her a sidelong glance. 'Fang?'

'It's the name I gave to the crocodile with the damaged jaw,' she explained. 'He's most likely to be the one causing the trouble.'

'It couldn't possibly be the female,' he said, his tone sarcastic.

'Females aren't always the troublemakers,' she said, well aware of his train of thought.

'You could be right,' he relented. 'We'll see whether Ningara's description of his crocodile matches your Fang.'

'If it does, what will you do then?'

'You said he wouldn't be dangerous if he had a steady food supply. I could keep him as a mate for Matilda.'

It was an inspired idea. 'He'd be perfect,' she enthused. 'From my observations, he's in good condition, apart from his jaw, and he's of breeding age. It would certainly be a better solution than moving him to a new location, then having him turn up again in a few months' time.'

'Which solves the crocodile problem at least,' Ben said in a low voice.

'What other problem is there?' she asked. Even as she said it, she remembered and was glad he was too involved in the driving to see the colour which surged into her face.

'I still mean to find out who hurt you,' he confirmed. 'How can you protect someone who'd do such a thing?'

'It depends how much you care for that person,' she said carefully. 'In any case, it's in the past now. Why is it so important to you?'

His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. 'Because I . . . because you're important to me.'

A lump rose in her throat. If only he was saying it because he truly cared, and not because of the good she could do for Robyn. She looked steadily out of the window, blinking furiously.

She was relieved when they finally drove up to the clearing at Crocodile Creek. It was light enough to see without torches. On the riverbank, a group of stockmen clustered around a seated figure whom she recognised as Ningara. Even from there she could see he was recounting his adventures in great detail. No doubt it would be the subject of a grand corroborree in due course.

Talking to Ningara soon confirmed that Fang was the crocodile which had attacked him. 'He's a plenty big kinga,' he confirmed. 'Better you catch him soon, boss.'

Thanks to Keri's observations, they already knew most of Fang's movements so they were spared the task of tracking it by spotlight over several nights. They could start choosing the best trapping sites in the main groves straight away.

After helping him clear several passages through the mangroves, Ben's stockmen clustered around while he explained how the crocodile trap worked.

It was a simple socklike net with a bait at the narrow end and a noose around the entrance. 'When the crocodile grabs the bait, he releases a weight high up in a nearby tree. This comes down and closes the noose on the crocodile,' he explained while they nodded thoughtfully. Keri was already familiar with the method and she found herself focusing on Ben's expressive hands and the richness of his voice as he briefed his men. It was an effort to keep her mind on the task at hand.

The men were less enthusiastic when it came to setting up the trap. This had to be done at low tide so that the trap was submerged when the water rose. By the time the trap was set, everyone was covered in mud and eaten by mosquitoes and sandflies. Using repellents was out of the question as the crocodile's acute sense of smell would detect any hint of chemicals.