He crossed the room to the door and cracked it open just a little and poked his head out. Seeing no one in the hallway, he crept out of the room toward the sound of voices, feeling like a child spying on his parents again. When he got close enough to hear the conversation clearly, he stopped and leaned against the wall, surprised to find himself slightly winded.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he heard Eli ask.
Darby sighed. “I’m fine. I fell asleep in the chair after I fixed Colin’s arm, that’s all.”
There was a long silence. “Will you stop looking at me that way? I’m fine,” Darby said.
“Fine, but you didn’t look okay when you came out of that room. I don’t trust that guy,” Eli said. “Did you find out who he is?”
Darby laughed nervously. “He says he’s Prince Colin,” she said.
“What?” Eli asked, clearly shocked by her answer.
“He says that the king and queen kicked him out of the castle, and then he got his money stolen, but he can’t remember how he got here,” she said.
Colin heard the sound of a fist hitting something. “I knew I shouldn’t have left you here alone with him; he’s crazy or something. I think it’s time he went on his way.”
“I believe him,” Darby said quietly.
“What?” Eli demanded again.
“I believe him,” she repeated.
Colin couldn’t stay hidden any longer. Darby’s words had sparked the first ray of hope he’d felt since his nightmare had started. “And she’s right. I am Prince Colin,” he said, coming around the corner.
There was a silence in the room as the three of them stared at each other, then he broke it. “I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed these. You seemed uncomfortable with me running around naked.”
Darby gasped, and Eli’s head whipped around so fast, Colin was sure it would come right off. While he was staring at Darby, it gave him a chance to observe the other man, and he wasn’t sure he liked what he saw. Good looking and muscular, his hands rough from working, he looked exactly like the kind of man Darby would want.
“He was naked?” Eli finally managed to ask, now staring at Colin.
“Yes, I mean, his clothes were all messed up,” Darby said, the blush appearing on her cheeks again. “It wasn’t like he makes it sound.”
Colin wanted to tell Eli that if he hadn’t shown up, they would have both been naked in a few minutes, but he kept his mouth shut. The younger man looked like he was about to jump over the table and attack him, and he wasn’t sure he could win a battle with him right now.
“This is not happening,” Eli said, his face turning a bright shade of red. “I want you out of here right now. I don’t care if you are the prince, which I doubt: you need to leave this house.”
Darby was looking at Eli in shock. She reached out and put her hand on his arm. “Eli,” she began, but he cut her off.
“I want him gone,” he said.
The look that appeared on Darby’s face made him cringe just a little, and he felt bad for the other man. “Eli, this is my house, and I’m the only one who can make that decision. I understand that you’re concerned, but I don’t think I’m in any danger,” she said. “Colin can stay until he feels well enough to leave.”
Eli’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times. “Fine, have it your way, but I’m going to be watching,” he said, then stormed out the door.
***Darby***
Darby took a deep, steadying breath and turned to Colin, who had a strange look on his face. The sight of him dressed only in pajama pants was still unsettling, and she knew that she’d been harder on Eli than she should have been. But her mind and body were reeling with all the new emotions and sensations bombarding her every time she turned around.
Her quiet life had suddenly gotten more complicated than she was comfortable with, and she had to find a way to gain control again. The source of her discomfort was still standing in her kitchen watching her, and to her horror, she felt her cheeks pinken again. Knowing her attraction to him was the first place to start, she turned to the refrigerator and opened it.
“Why don’t you go back to bed? You’re probably still a little weak,” she said, not looking at him. “I’ll make some lunch and bring it to your room.”
Colin crossed the room and sat down at the kitchen table. “I’ll just rest here and watch you cook, maybe think about kissing you again,” he said, a satisfied grin on his face.
Darby looked over her shoulder at him, her stomach doing flip-flops, then put her head back inside. When she finally managed to get herself together, she decided just to ignore Colin, but that proved harder than she thought it would be. Her back to him, she started putting sandwiches together, taking her time, but feeling his eyes on her the entire time.
“Will you please stop staring at me?” she finally asked without turning around.
“How do you know I’m staring at you?” he asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.
Finished with the sandwiches, she turned around. “I just know you were, okay,” she said. “Eat this and then back to bed with you.”
“Only if you’ll come with me,” he teased, flashing her another smile. “That bed is definitely big enough for two.”
Darby sighed and pushed her sandwich away; it was time to set Colin straight. That kiss had been a mistake, especially now that she knew who he was. She wasn’t sure why she believed him, but deep down, she knew that he was telling the truth, and that scared her. She’d heard stories about Prince Colin, his drinking and partying, his disdain for anyone other than himself, and worst of all, the way he treated women.
Even in a society that was as open about sex as Ballentine, he was known as a user, a man who made big promises but never came through. She wasn’t about to be another one of his conquests, one of the women he talked about so freely in the bars and restaurants around town. Prince or not, she wasn’t going to sleep with him, kiss him, or run her hands over his muscular chest.
Wanting to curse out loud at the direction of her thoughts, she said, “I think it’s time we had a little talk.”
“Well, talking isn’t my favorite part, but if you insist, I suppose we could make small talk for a while,” Colin said, that same grin on his face.
Darby wanted to slap the smile off his face. “Look, I don’t know what you think that kiss meant earlier, but it didn’t mean anything. I’m not going to have sex with you,” she said, deciding to be as blunt as possible. “I don’t sleep with men I don’t know, and even if you are the prince, I don’t know you.”
Colin shrugged. “Well, then I guess we’ll just have to get to know each other,” he said, then looked her right in the eyes. “Because I promise you one thing, Darby: I’m going to make love to you.”
A thrill so powerful it took her breath away and made her slightly dizzy bolted through her, followed by a tingling deep inside that the look in his eyes only made more intense. Breaking eye contact and shakily getting to her feet, her body humming with desire, she quickly dumped her sandwich in the trash and put her plate in the sink.