Page 15 of Suddenly Tempted
DARCY
Darcy left Devlin on the sofa and walked out into the corridor. She was shaking, and not just from the cold. The events of the last couple of hours had left her feeling more tired than she had ever felt in her life. The whole thing felt surreal, like a bad dream, and part of her wished she would wake up in her bed back home — in her warm, comfortable, soft, boring bed.
Boring?She wondered where that word had come from. She’d never really thought of her bed as boring before. But it was. Her whole life was warm, comfortable, soft, and boring. She hated adventure, and other than travelling to Europe four years ago to start a new life — a huge leap of an adventure she deeply regretted — she had stayed as far away from them as it was possible to be. Adventures were cold, and uncomfortable, and dangerous, and they certainly weren’t for her. The last few hours had cemented that.
So why was her heart drumming so hard? What she was feeling was nerves, sure, and panic, but it was something else, too. If she didn’t know better, she’d almost say she felt excited. And as much as part of her wanted to be home, there was a part of her that prayed she wouldn’t wake up in her bed, because if this was a dream, then so was Devlin.
Enough,she told herself. It had to be the adrenaline talking, because there was absolutely no part of her that was attracted to Devlin’s impossibly handsome face, or his athletic torso, or that infuriating bad-boy façade.
Right? Right?
Pushing the thoughts out of her head, Darcy passed the storeroom and walked all the way to the front of the cabin. She used the bathroom, checking the cabinets to find them all empty, then examined the boxes they’d seen on their way in. There were a few magazines in one, their pages yellowed with age, and in the other were more papers, these ones more official looking. Darcy dug through them until she found a map of the mountains. Pulling it free, she tucked it under her arm then grabbed another two logs for the fire.
“Here,” she said, returning to the living room and passing the map to Devlin. “This might help. Map reading is not one of my skills, but I’m sure you know your way around an Ordinance Survey. And if you don’t, then we’ll have to figure it out together.”
He took it without a word, and she dumped the logs by the fire before walking back out of the room. This time she made her way into the bedroom. Both beds were made up, which was a relief. The linen felt cold, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t damp. There wasn’t much else here, just a handful of personal items like toothbrushes and shaving equipment in the locker. Darcy grabbed the linen from the beds and carried it through, dumping it on the sofa. Then she went back and grabbed the mattress from the closest bed, hefting it down the corridor and putting it in front of the fire. She did the same with the other one, panting with exhaustion and actually sweating by the time she’d manoeuvred it into place. Devlin sat there, one eyebrow raised.
“Thanks for the help,” she grunted, collapsing onto one of the mattresses.
“You’re welcome,” he replied, flashing her an infuriating smile. He held up the map. “You want the good news or the bad news?”
“I can’t see how there would be any good news whatsoever,” she said. “So, start with the bad.”
“We’re not where I thought we were,” he said, tapping the map. “I was right, this is an old research station. It’s marked here in pen. The ranger station I was hoping to find is a couple of miles east of here, and a thousand feet or so over our heads.”
Darcy felt a cold trickle of dread in her stomach.
“And the good news?” she asked.
“Well, you were right,” he said. “There isn’t any, really. We just have to hope the storm clears long enough for somebody to find us.”
“And if it doesn’t?” Darcy asked. Devlin sighed.
“Then we have two choices. We either make the trek up the mountain in order to find the ranger station. There will be help there, and if not, there will definitely be a radio.”
“Or?” she asked.
“Or we try to find our way back to the resort, which is at least ten miles in the other direction. Judging by the map, it’s a dangerous route. That ravine we nearly ended up in is just one of dozens.”
“Great,” said Darcy. “So we really are stuck between a rock and a hard place.”
“A cold place,” he replied quicky, lifting the map a little and covering what Darcy could have sworn was a blush rising on his cheeks. “A cold snowy place.”
“Not a hard place?” she asked, feeling her own cheeks blaze like the fire. “I’m sure that’s the saying. A rock and a hard place, no? Am I wrong? I’m probably wrong.”
Shut up, Darcy. Stop talking now.
Devlin cleared his throat and shook the map out to reopen the corners. He studied it closely for a beat too long and Darcy wanted the mattress to open up and swallow her whole.
“We’ll be okay,” Devlin said, eventually. “You just have to trust me, we’re going to be okay. We can do this. Just stick with me and I’ll get you out of here.”
The bubble of embarrassment popped immediately at the idea she could trust this man to get her home safely when he was the one who put her in this position.
“My hero,” Darcy said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She stopped herself before she could say any more, swallowing down her frustrations. Devlin was right, arguing would get them nowhere. Whatever happened next, they had to learn to work together. They had to learn to look after one another. Darcy sighed deeply and patted the mattress next to hers. “Come on, you’ll freeze up there.”
“You sure?” he asked, and she nodded.
Devlin eased himself onto the mattress, resting back against the sofa. She did the same, so that they were sitting side by side, almost touching. The fire popped and roared at the end of their makeshift bed. For a moment, it was almost possible to forget about the storm, and the fact they were stranded. Darcy had dreamed about moments like this — sitting in front of a blazing fire in the middle of nowhere with a handsome man.
