the door behind him. He glanced around the room, and when his gaze returned to her, it seemed the intensity in the depths of his eyes was pinning her in place.
She drew in a deep breath, refusing to get caught like a deer in the headlights where he was concerned. So she tightened the sash of her robe around her even more and broke eye contact with him and beckoned him to the sofa. “Have a seat and let’s talk.”
She watched him move to the sofa while heat spread throughout her body. He looked too darn comfortable for her liking. There was something about the way he was sitting, with his arms spread across the back of the sofa, that made her want to slide down on the sofa with him, ease the tux jacket off his shoulders and run her hands across the broad width of his chest.
Where on earth had those thoughts come from? This was York Ellis, the one man she didn’t get along with, the one man who seemed to enjoy rubbing her the wrong way whenever their paths crossed. “What about Damien?” she spoke up and asked, reminding herself the only reason he was sitting on her sofa was because she was interested in what he had to say.
For some reason, the mention of Damien made him lean closer, cause something akin to anger to flash across his features. “You met him tonight.”
She heard the censure in his tone and wondered the reason for it. “Yes, and why do you care?”
Evidently her question stumped him. The irritation in his face was replaced by a slow smile, one that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Personally, I don’t other than the fact that you’re screwing things up for me and my investigation.”
She bit down on her lips as she struggled to keep a civil tongue. “What investigation?”
As he sat back, York drew in a deep breath, trying to calm the anger that was flowing through him. And it was anger he could not explain. What she did and who she did it with was her business. He shouldn’t care one bit, and he had tried convincing himself that he didn’t. But the truth of the matter was that he did. There was no way he would allow her to blindly walk into a dangerous situation.
“I wasn’t absolutely up front with you earlier today when I gave my reason for being here on the island.”
“You weren’t?”
“No. I’m here on a job. My company was hired by a group of moviemakers for security detail on a movie being filmed, the same one Felder is associated with. And while my outfit is doing that, I’m working behind the scenes to protect their interest. Someone is slipping the movies to the black market before their theatrical release.”
She lifted a brow. “And what does that have to do with Damien Felder?”
It was hard to explain why a part of him wanted to kiss her and strangle her at the same time. What was there about her that could drive him to such extremes? “I have reason to believe Felder might be involved in some way.”
“Do you have any proof?”
“No.”
“Then it’s merely speculation on your part.”
“For now. But he is being watched, and if he is guilty, I would hate for your name to be linked to his.”
She glared at him. “And what if your suspicions are wrong? Do you expect me not to enjoy the company of a man because you think he might be involved in some case you’re investigating?”
“I was hoping that you would. And as far as me suspecting him, I’m almost sure he’s my man. I wouldn’t have come to you if I didn’t.”
Darcy wondered just why he had. They weren’t friends, so his concern about her had nothing to do with it. He must have been truthful earlier when he’d said she had the potential of screwing things up for him.
She stood. “Okay, you’ve warned me. I’ll walk you to the door.”
He remained sitting. “And what the hell does that mean?” he asked.
The anger in his tone made her lift her chin. “It means just what I said, York. You’ve warned me. Now you can leave.”
“But you will take my advice.”
To Darcy, it sounded more like a direct order than a question. “No, I don’t plan to take your advice. Unless you have something more concrete than assumptions, I see no reason not to see Damien again. In fact, we’ve made plans for later today.”
He held her gaze, and she could see the fire in his eyes. He was so angry with her that he was almost baring his teeth. He slowly leaned forward in his seat, and in a tone of voice tinged with a growl, he asked, “Why are you being difficult?”
She curved her lips into a smile only because she knew it would get on his last nerve. “Because I want to.”
She knew she was being childish. Pretty darn petty, in fact, when for whatever his reason, he had come to warn her about Damien. She had no intentions of telling him that the warning was not needed since she wasn’t attracted to Damien and didn’t plan on seeing him again after their date that day. And the only reason she was keeping her date with him was because she’d always wanted to check out a movie set, nothing more. Even with Damien’s handsome looks, he hadn’t done anything for her.
And definitely not in the way the man sitting on her sofa was doing. Even now she was struggling, trying hard to fight the attraction, the magnetic pull, especially since it was an attraction she didn’t want or need. And it was an attraction she didn’t intend to go anywhere.
“You like rattling me, don’t you, Darcy?”
His words pulled her attention back to the present. She figured there was no need to lie. “Yes, I guess I do.”
Darcy didn’t think there could be anything sexy about a man who merely stood up from sitting on a sofa. But with York, watching his body in movement was enough to cause heat to flare in her center and the juncture of her thighs.
And when he slowly walked toward her, advancing on her like he was the hunter and she his prey, she merely stood her ground. She refused to back up or retreat. And it seemed he had no intentions of halting his approach until he came to a stop in front of her.
“I’ve heard of stubborn women before, but you have to be the stubbornest.”
She glared up at him. “I’ll take that as a compliment, York. Now if you don’t mind, it’s late and you need to leave.”
York thought some women had to be born for trouble, and this one standing in front of him was one of them. Against his better judgment, he had come here tonight to give her fair warning and he had done so. If she didn’t want to heed to his warnings, there was nothing he could do about it.
He tried to push the thought from his mind that while he’d been sitting on the sofa, whether she knew it or not, he had been fighting desire for her that had all but seeped into his bones. Why on earth would he be attracted to her of all women?
Before he’d come up to her room tonight, he’d been approached by a couple of women who’d all but invited him to their hotel room. One had brazenly offered to give him a blow job right there on the elevator. But he hadn’t wanted any of them. He wanted this one. This haughty looking female, who had blood firing through his veins, who was staring him down and standing in front of him looking as sexy as any woman had a right to look in a bathrobe.
He glared down at her when the room got too quiet for his taste. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I won’t. Now goodbye, York.”
At that moment, something inside of him snapped. She was glaring at him, yet earlier tonight she’d been smiling at Damien Felder. Not only had she been smiling but she’d also flirted with the man. “You like pushing my buttons, don’t you, Darcy?”
“Yes,” she said smiling. “Gives me great pleasure.”
“No, this is pleasure.” And then he reached out, pulled her to him