I remember to breathe. He sits up and helps me rearrange myself and now I feel shakier than before, for different reasons.
I smile up at him through my eyelashes before I remember he doesn’t do playful. ‘Did that help any?’
He’s still panting, his chest hauling in air like he’s just run a race and inexplicably failed to finish. He darts me an irritated look. ‘Not really. Where were we?’
‘Industrial secrets?’ I prompt, gently.
He quits the sofa like he needs more air. Briskly he pulls up a chair, sits and leans forward with his arms on his knees, his fine long hands clasped loosely between them. ‘Know anything about thermal imaging?’
I roll my eyes and he sighs.
‘OK. Put simply, it’s taking pictures of heat sources. Detects people or animals in the dark. Useful for surveillance, war-zones, hunting, riot control. One of my companies was developing a cheap, mass-produceable micro-imager that could be used in home surveillance units. Not only that but it could calibrate the image to a precise enough ratio to give an instant read-out of the likely size and type of the source. So, say your home alarm system is triggered late at night while you’re away, it would tell you or your local police whether the intruder’s a cat, or a man or a group of men, their height and weight, whether they have weapons, and then send the data to your phone so you could decide on the best response.’
This is not entirely new to me. Ryan often came over all technical – one of his few charms, as I recall. Anyway it made a change from literature. When he took the trouble to keep it simple I even managed to follow some of it.
‘Did Mitchell talk much about his work?’
‘I only know he majored in surveillance technology. I gathered that was why he joined your company in the first place. But what’s the connection?’
Darnley’s eyes narrow to slits. ‘We sacked him. He was caught passing commercially sensitive stuff to a rival. But he was part of the team developing the thermal imaging software and when he left he took the untested version and all the plans with him and immediately set up his own company to develop it.’
I frown. Ryan was always wrapped up in his work. I could forgive that – so am I. What finished it for me were tiny lies, the constant lateness and the feeble excuses. He even filched money from my bank account. But this? I shake my head. ‘I can’t believe he’s a criminal. I’ve known him since college. He’s just – self-absorbed.’
As far as I was concerned it was the upgrade that did it. She was the last in a long line of female straws.
Troubled, I scan Darnley’s stern, classical face. With a shock I see he’s looking at me intently, his expression alive with something almost like pain. ‘So – you want to find him and make him give it back, is that it?’
He’s frowning now. ‘No, I just want to give him a piece of my mind. He used our resources to work on our idea and then stole it – along with the time and effort we’d invested in it. But his version’s untested, unreliable. He won’t get far if he tries to sell it on. I want you to give it back.’
I grin in disbelief. ‘Me? It’s got nothing to do with me.’
His eyes glitter dangerously. ‘I’d like very much to believe that. But we both know there’s a little more to it than that, don’t we, Ella?’
‘We do?’ Once more the conversation is slipping away from me. Miss Normal has given up and gone home and now nothing’s normal any more. And to prove it he suddenly says something so high and wild I know I must be dreaming.
‘Yes, we do. The patent he applied for is in your name. Right now you must be worth – at a rough guess – some five or six million dollars.’
I stare at Darnley, once more in shock. I’ve just found out that Ryan, my ex, is a criminal, Darnley, my once-only one-night stand, is now a bitter enemy and I’m rich beyond reason. Plus I’ve been on the road since dawn.
It’s been a long day.
What I need right now is a stiff drink, space to think and sleep. I rise shakily to my feet and head for the door. ‘If you don’t mind, I’ll turn in. This has all been –’
Darnley’s there before me. His hand closes over mine the second I touch the handle. Once more the shot of electricity from his touch fires instant arousal. Once more I’m helpless in the fierce intensity of his gaze, mesmerised by the force of his will.
‘Not yet, Ella. Please.’
I bridle, nerves still jangling. I’m puzzled but angry. In my current state it’s an unhappy mix.
His face softens. ‘Look, you’ve had a shock. You shouldn’t be alone. Stay here tonight. I’ll be told the minute Mitchell comes in. I’ll wake you.’
Stay here? I wrench my imagination back from the wild images spiralling before me. Mitchell? Who’s that? Oh, yes, my ex … for a split second I’ve forgotten his existence.
I lick my lips. It’s a tempting offer …
Darnley must read something of this on my face because I see his mouth twitch at the corners and his eyelids lower. He senses my weakness, predator that he is.
‘There’s more than one bedroom.’
His voice is silky now, his hand firmly planted over mine. I feel his thumb move gently. It grazes the tips of my knuckles in a tiny, subtle caress.
‘But I have to get my things,’ I falter, feeling my will drain away in the white heat of his steady gaze.
‘I had them brought up. You’re in the room on the left.’
‘What?’ I snap to attention. ‘Before you even asked me?’
He loosens his grip on my rigid fist and slides his hand up my arm. ‘Come and sit down again. You’re a terrible colour. I’ll get you a drink.’
His look is veiled, his tone calm, but it’s one shock too many.
I glare at him. ‘I’m fine. Please show me my room.’ I clamp my lips in a firm line so he won’t see them tremble and guess I’m on the point of giving in.
With an impatient sigh he leads me through the vast spaces of his suite to a large, gauzy room with filmy drapes. The bed is already turned down, my slip prettily laid out across the pillow. I turn to thank him but he’s already gone.
Still on autopilot I shower, brush out my hair and prepare for bed. At last I perch on the unfamiliar satin sheets, pull my knees up to my chin and gaze at the wall, trying to make sense of all that’s happened tonight.
* * *
The small pool of light from the bedside lamp makes strange shadows in this sumptuous, unfamiliar room. They mirror my thoughts. Nothing adds up. However I come at this I can’t seem to untangle it. All that stays with me is the strange feeling I had
