Page 12 of Suddenly Tempted
“The reports we were getting said the storm is a big one,” she pointed out, panic bubbling in her chest. “It could be days before it blows over. We could be buried alive in here.”
“We won’t be,” he said. “Trust me.”
“I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you,” she said. “What were you thinking, bringing us up here? Does anybody even know where we are?”
Devlin shook his head, running his good hand through his fair hair.
“The airport will radio when we don’t arrive, probably within the hour. The chopper has a tracking beacon which should still be operational.”
“Should?” asked Darcy. “This gets better and better.”
“If it isn’t,” he went on, ignoring her. “Then the authorities will realise what’s happened and will send out a rescue team. They’ll have helicopters in the air tonight.”
“No, they won’t,” Darcy said. “Not in this storm. They wouldn’t risk it.”
“Not for you, perhaps,” he agreed. “But for me they will. You know who I am.”
“I know exactly who you are, Devlin Storm,” she said. “An arrogant, self-centred, pompous arse, who is one hundred percent an only child.”
She bit down on her tongue. It wouldn’t do anyone any good to get upset. She needed to conserve her energy for what really mattered: staying alive.
Devlin was grunting in pain as he tried to pull off his jacket. She decided that she wouldn’t help him because he certainly wouldn’t have helped her. But his face was knotted with agony, and he was really struggling. After thirty seconds of watching him struggle, her resolve melted. She went to him, taking a sleeve and pulling slowly.
“Gently,” he groaned.
“I am being gentle,” she said. “Can you stop being a baby about it?”
She dropped the snow jacket to the floor, then helped Devlin take off the suit jacket underneath. She offered to help him with his shirt, too, but he shook his head.
“I’ll be fine,” he said, a shade paler than he was before. “Go check for food.”
Darcy arched a brow. The arrogance of this man. She best to ignore it, not even his muscles were worth putting up with that. Walking out of the living room and into the storeroom next door, Darcy counted to ten. It was so cold in there, she was worried her eyeballs were going to frost up, and it took her a moment to remember how her arms should work. There were five boxes — a stack of three on one side of the room and two more by the window. She walked to the nearest box and fumbled at it with her gloves until the flap finally came free. Inside was a bunch of glass beakers, pipettes, and other scientific equipment, all utterly useless under these circumstances. Lifting it off the stack, she opened the next one and found a bundle of linen that looked like it might have been about a hundred years old. She pushed it to the floor then opened the third, finding more cloth.
It was too hard to examine the contents with her gloves on, so she took them off and emptied both boxes. There were clothes inside, a handful of thick, starchy shirts, Gor-Tex-type trousers, woollen jumpers, and a pair of snow boots that clattered loudly to the floor. There were hats and scarves, too, as well as some ancient underwear that she kicked away with a shudder.
Behind her, she heard Devlin muttering to himself as he walked past the door. She left him to whatever he was doing, turning to the last two boxes. Inside one were three huge books about mountain wildlife.
Come on, she said, praying that the final box would be stuffed full of chocolate and coffee. It wasn’t, but to her relief, there were some foil-wrapped protein bars and a small, half-empty first-aid kit. She checked the date on the food bars, seeing that they had expired three years ago. She was fairly sure they would still be edible, though, and if not, they’d have to risk it anyway. Taking them out and stuffing them in the pockets of her coat, she scooped up the bundle of clothes and carried them back through to the living room.
She laid the old clothes out on the sofa, shivering uncontrollably as she tried to find the least uncomfortable looking ones. Devlin wasn’t there, so she shrugged off her jacket and kicked off her shoes and trousers, her feet red hot and burning. Her shirt was soaked through from the snow that had fallen down the back of her jacket, so she unzipped it and wriggled out of it, standing there in her underwear. She’d just picked up a pair of grey snow trousers and a thick sweater when she heard a noise at the door. Turning to see Devlin standing there, a couple of logs under his good arm, Darcy felt her whole body heat with the strength of the glare he was giving her. He gave a single shake of his head and averted his eyes. Darcy felt it like a slap in the face. She knew she wasn’t model material, especially standing sopping wet in old underwear and with bright-red frost-bitten skin, but for Devlin to make it so obvious was just cruel.
“Excuse me,” she cried, throwing the dry jumper on as quickly as possible. “A little privacy would be nice.”
“I didn’t know,” he replied, still looking the other way. “A little warning would have been good.”
“Says the man who crept down the corridor like a ninja,” she said. “Why are you still standing there?”
“I’m going, I’m going,” he said, turning. One of the logs dropped out from under his arm and landed on his shoe. “Ow!”
“Go!” Darcy yelled, and he limped out of sight.
She quickly scrambled into the trousers, which were way too big for her. Luckily, they had a drawstring, and she pulled it as tight as it would go. The clothes could have fit a sumo wrestler with room to spare, but they were dry and warm and she shivered contentedly as she pulled on a pair of thick socks.
“Are you decent yet?” Devlin called out. Darcy tied her hair into a bun to stop the water dripping from it. “I’d like to make a fire before I freeze to death out here.”
“Yes,” she said. “Completely and utterly clothed you’ll be pleased to hear. Not a shred of naked skin unless my face is going to cause you discomfort?”
Devlin hobbled back into the room, his own face steely.
