Page 27 of Suddenly Tempted
“Let’s take a break,” Devlin suggested, picking up the case and walking to her side. “Why don’t you eat something?”
“We’ve only got one protein bar left,” she said. “We need to save it.”
“Have a bite,” he urged. “Go on, it will give you a boost.”
She nodded, pulling the bar from her jacket pocket. She used her teeth to tear it open, then took the smallest of nibbles from the top.
“You can have more than that,” Devlin said.
“I don’t want to,” she replied, grimacing. “It tastes like an old sock.”
He laughed, and she held it out to him.
“Your turn.”
“No, thank you.” He shook his head. “I’m okay.”
“Hey, have you forgotten our last conversation already. Come on, we’re a team.”
“I thought we were talking about rabbits,” he said, considering the protein bar. “Oh man, I could eat rabbit stew right about now.”
“Oy, you leave Nibbles out of this conversation,” she hurled back, lifting the bar to his face as his good hand was full.
“Nibbles?”
“And Norman,” she added. “I’m capturing two.”
Nodding thoughtfully, he opened his mouth and took a bite.
“Thanks,” he said, chewing then swallowing.
“Don’t get used to me feeding you,” she replied. “I know your APEXBillionaire’sClub must have an army of servants who do that, but I’m not one of them.”
He laughed, and the cloud of his breath drifted up into the sky. He looked different when he laughed, his eyes crinkling. Unreserved, unharried, like when he was sleeping. A dangerous tingling warmed her belly and she looked away.
“Is that what you think my life is like?” he said. “Servants feeding me? Getting me dressed?”
“Isn’t it?” she asked, smiling. “I bet you have somebody to tie your shoe laces.”
“Of course,” he said, smiling back at her. “His name is Jim, and I pay him a million quid a year to make sure my shoes are on properly.”
He shook his head.
“My life isn’t any different to yours,” he said. “Not really, not when you boil away all the other stuff. I get up, I go to work, I go to the gym, I watch TV, I read, I eat, and I go to bed.”
“But you get up in a mansion, you drive to work in a Porsche, you have a personal gym, you’reonthe TV, and your bed is probably made of gold. If you need something, you buy it. If you need someone, you buy them too.”
Devlin shrugged, the smile dropping away.
“That’s not true,” he said.
“You bought me,” she replied. “One hundred thousand, wasn’t it?”
“It’s not like that,” he said, again. “I was desperate, and the money felt like a necessity. I needed to get up to the mountain and you were my only hope.”
“But there’s the difference,” Darcy added, not unkindly. “A huge difference. You were desperate for my help so you paid me because you had the finances to be able to do that.”
Devlin closed his eyes in exasperation.
