Page 6 of Suddenly Tempted
Devlin growled beneath his breath. He looked at Abigail, then at the balding man, then finally over his shoulder at Darcy.
“I’ll take her.”
“What?” Darcy exclaimed, shaking her head. “No, that’s impossible, not to mention extremely presumptuous. I’m not a co-pilot, I’m a receptionist.”
“You’re fine. Luckily a co-pilot doesn’t need to know what they’re doing,” he said. “You just need to sit next to me and stay quiet.”
“What?” Darcy replied, her thoughts swirling like snow.
“Fifty thousand if you’ll ride with me, right now.”
Darcy’s mouth fell open for the second time in ten minutes, and she looked at Abigail. The older woman shrugged.
“It’s your call, Miss Wainwright. Technically, Mr Storm is correct. There’s no rule to say the co-pilot has to be a trained pilot. There’s nothing against it in our rulebook.”
“But . . .” Darcy said. “But my job . . . Don’t you need me in reception?”
“I’ll make sure she flies right back,” Devlin interjected. “Or I’ll put her in a car. Either way, she’ll be back here safely by tonight.”
“Sign here, for our insurance,” Abigail said, handing the clipboard to Devlin. He ran his eyes over it then signed, handing it back. Darcy realised she was still shaking her head. Devlin glanced at her, his expression as cold and unreadable as ever.
“One hundred thousand,” he said in a demanding tone. “Yes or no.”
It was more money than she’d earn in five years here, all for going on one helicopter ride over the mountains and down into the airport — half an hour at most. The idea of it terrified her, just like the idea of most things terrified her. Adventures were things to be afraid of, but she knew that the money could change her life. It could get her home.
“Yes,” she said, her voice little more than a squeak.
Devlin nodded at her, his mouth curling into the closest thing to a smile she’d seen since she met him. Her heart drummed a little more, and maybe it was the stress of the situation, or maybe it was the way Devlin was looking down at her, his eyes piercing hers, but suddenly Darcy had had enough.
And you’re about to spend half an hour alone with him, said her brain. She ordered it to shut up. Abigail was giving instructions to the balding man, and Devlin snatched up his suitcase from the ground. He glanced down at her one last time with an extreme, almost unnerving intensity.
“I’ll have you back by nightfall,” he said. “That’s a promise.”
Chapter 3
DEVLIN
“Is this the fastest you can go?”
Devlin paced back and forth, checking his watch every thirty seconds. There was still so much to do, and the storm was closer than ever. Every time a gust of wind blew, the whole hangar seemed to tremble, and from the sound of the snow drumming on the tin roof, visibility would already be poor. His heart was pounding in his chest. He did have his pilot’s license, and he’d flown helicopters before, but not this one, and not for a long time.
He had to do it, though. So much was riding on this trip.
He glanced to his side, seeing the other reason that his heart was beating so fast. The cute, doe-eyed receptionist stood there, furiously chewing her nails and looking like a rabbit that had been cornered by a fox. Most women would give anything for half an hour with Devlin Storm, but this girl — Darcy — seemed to want nothing more than to get away from him.
There was something unexpectedly attractive about that. Ordinarily, people spoke to him like he was royalty. They complimented him, and sucked up to him, and said whatever they thought he wanted to hear. This girl, though, had stood her ground and told him where to go. That showed a surprising amount of strength for someone so terrified.
She caught him looking and scowled at him, turning her back. He couldn’t resist a smile, but it didn’t last long. Another fist of wind shook the building and he checked his watch.
“Come on!” he yelled.
“We’re moving as fast as we can, Mr. Storm,” said Abigail. “Please be patient.”
The Bell 525 Relentless was being wheeled towards the hangar doors, piloted by the balding man. Devlin would have done it himself, but Abigail had forbidden him. Another insurance matter, probably. He had a good mind to buy the entire resort just so that he could burn their insurance policy to the ground, but he couldn’t be bothered with the hassle. Maybe he’d do it when he got back home.
If he ever got back, that was. This was taking for ever.
“Come with me,” he ordered Darcy, striding towards the hangar door. It was open, and drifts of snow poured in on the wind. He’d almost reached it when he heard a strange noise behind him. Turning back, he saw the girl there, her arms folded over her chest and her teeth chattering like castanets. She was dressed in a shirt and a knee-length black skirt, a pair of cheap black pumps on her feet.
