Page 4 of Suddenly Tempted
“Well, duh,” said Penny. “He’s always arrogant.What did he ask for? More silk for his sheets? More gold in his bathroom? A delivery of gorgeous models?”
“He wants to fly out tonight. He was asking for his helicopter.”
Penny glanced at the bank of giant windows that made up the south wall of reception. Through them was a perfect view of the Alps, their peaks dizzyingly high. The sky was darker now than ever, even though it was only mid-afternoon, and flecks of snow battered at the glass. It was dark enough that Darcy could see her own reflection there — her shoulder-length brown hair, her slim face, and the big, brown, doe-like eyes she’d inherited from her mother. She fiddled with the collar of her shirt, feeling overdressed and uncomfortable. It wasn’t her style, but you couldn’t exactly turn up to work in a place like this in jeans and a T-shirt.
“Well, even someone as rich as Devlin Storm can’t control the weather,” Penny said. “Management let us know an hour ago — no flights in or out. He’s in for a long stay once this blizzard gets going. It’s one of the biggest we’ve seen in years.”
“So what do I tell him?” Darcy asked. Penny shrugged.
“You’re new. You’ll soon learn that people like Devlin Storm don’t listen to anyone. If he wants his helicopter, he’ll get it. But nobody will fly it for him. Incoming.”
Darcy sat up straight as a young, dark-haired man walked up to the desk. He was incredibly dashing, with a beaming smile that was contagious. She grinned back.
“How may I help?” she asked.
“I was wondering if you could assist me,” the man said in a gorgeous British accent that was even posher than Penny’s. “I’ve been trying to call home, but the phone lines seem to be down. I need to speak to my father.”
“I’m so sorry, sir,” Darcy stuttered. “The storm has brought down all the phone lines. But I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as they’re back up and working again.”
“Thank you so much,” he replied. “My name is Edward Harrington. I’m just heading to the APEX drinks in the lodge, but I’ll be at the banquet later if that’s too soon.”
He nodded politely, then walked away.
“Like I said,” Penny whispered, “most of the guests here are perfectly nice, and perfectly gorgeous too. Case in point, that one is tenth in line to the British throne, or thereabouts. I hope his call isn’t about an urgent treason plot because it doesn’t look like the phones will be back anytime soon. The storm is closing in.”
As if on cue, a blast of wind shook the building hard enough for Darcy to feel the floor tremble. The windows rattled in their frames, and the crowdoohedand aahed as they filtered through the door to the banquet hall. Darcy was so busy watching them go, and searching for celebrities, that she didn’t see the figure approaching her desk until he’d slammed both hands onto it. She flinched, rocking back in her chair so hard she almost tumbled out of it.
“Oh,” she said, flustered. She glanced at the man there and became more flustered still. Devlin Storm was even more gorgeous in real life than he was on the covers of the magazines. It was like he’d been carved from marble, every line of his jaw perfect even past the scattering of stubble. His short hair had been teased and tousled by the wind, and the first thing Darcy found herself thinking was how much she’d like to tease and tousle that hair with her fingers.
Darcy! she yelled silently at herself, her cheeks blazing. At this rate, she was going to have to throw herself out into the snow and wind. But how was she supposed to cool down when Devlin was fixing her with eyes the colour of an alpine lake — deep and green and sparkling with cold sunlight.
“Uh . . .” she muttered. “Hi?”
Devlin raised an eyebrow, looking at her with such an intense expression that she felt like pushing her chair back just to escape it.
“No,” he said. “Bye. Are you the woman I was just speaking to?”
Darcy nodded, not sure if she could trust her mouth. Devlin may have been handsome enough to turn her insides to molten lava, but nobody got to speak to her like that.
“I don’t think you understand,” he growled. “I’m not accustomed to asking twice.”
“I’m sorry,sir,” Darcy said, fighting to keep her tone civil. “But as I said on the phone, there is a blizzard approaching. All flights have been grounded.”
“That’s not good enough,” he growled, leaning over the desk. He smelled of pine trees and the cold, fresh air, and it took Darcy’s breath away. “Nobody tells me I’m grounded.”
“I’m sorry,” Penny interjected. “Darcy is right, there—”
“Let me speak to the management straight away,” Devlin demanded, completely ignoring Penny. “If they want to see me back here, if they ever want another dime out of me, they’d better get me my helicopter.”
Darcy’s mouth dropped open. He sounded like a petulant child.
“Am I speaking to an idiot?” Devlin said. “Now!”
Darcy had pushed herself out of her chair before she even knew she was doing it. She didn’t retreat, she leaned over the desk until her face was just inches from his.
“You have no right to speak to me like that,” she pointed out, anger making the words boil up from inside her. “How dare you!”
“Darcy!” hissed Penny in warning. “Enough!”
