Billionaire's Revenge (11 page)

Damn that woman
; e
ven now his body tightened at just the memory of the way
s
he reacted in bed
.  T
aking a deep breath
, he remembered
the way he too
had
reacted, his hand clenching as his lips curled into a
self-
mocking smile. 
That morning he
watched her, guilt filling him. Maybe he
had
not un
derstood what
happ
ened six years ago, maybe he
had
been blinded by his hatred for her before her coldness and words
angered him.  

With another frown he
knew
that she had
certainly suffered, her family throwing her to an animal like Nigel Lipton, this
not sitting w
ill
with him.  Standing straight he set his mouth firmly
, pushing the feeling of unease and guilt from him.  She
treated him in the worst possible way and for that she
was only reaping what she
had
sown, and maybe he was taking things too
far, but he
had
not finished with her yet, not by a long shot.  With that the decision
had
been
made that he would hold onto her for as long as it took to get the little minx out of his
head
, a small smile now turning up the corners of his mouth.  Payback was a bitch and s
o was Sara Balfour - well two could
“
make the best of a bad situation
”
.

The doors sliding open onto the foyer
revealed the manager himself, a kindly man who
walked with
him
to the
bar
;
pointing out the tall man he
had
come to meet
.
Darius
moved forward, his hand
outstretched
a more professional smile on his handsome face.

As promised an hour later, Sara
was
ready for the cheery
Rachel
.  Once more she was dragged around boutique after boutique, Rachel meticulously working through her
assigned
list, Sara knowing that she was being prepared for the next two weeks
, embarrassed by the amount of sexy under
wear that had
been bought. 
Rachel
however
waved
away her protests, her eyes spark
l
ing wickedly as she raised her eyebrows
suggestively.
 
“Oh Sara...if you
’ve
got it flaunt it girl...and you
’ve
got it” Sara unable to hold back the return chuckle as she
shook
her head.

Rachel
informed her that all of the
purchased
clothes would be delivered to Darius’ house as the two
dra
nk
coffee, Sara so unaware how tiring shopping could be.  Passing a jewellers as they prepared to leave, Sara stopped, her eyes staring at something in the window.  Asking
Rachel to wait she moved inside, a huge grin on her face as she returned fifteen minutes later, chucking.

“Darius insisted that I used his credit card...and I like to do as he tells me
”
Rachel
g
ave
a laugh and nod
. 
“Oh Sara sweetie...that is the kind o
f instructions I could live with...
you hang on to him”
  Sara
g
ave
a nervous half
-s
mile not prepared to say more of her situation with Darius.

At six that evening Rachel
once more returned her to Darius’
suite
, the man himself appearing as she moved into the
main living room.  A smile sat on
his lips, lips which Sara found herself staring at, the memory of how they
trailed over her body causing small flutters of nerves to fill her stomach.
 
“Did you get ev
erything?”
  H
is soft words pulled
her
attention back to him, her mouth tightening
. 
“Yes.  Don’t worry I will not be embarrassing you”
 
His lips twitched as his look dropped down her pointedly, Sara still wearing the jeans of the previous day topped
with a shirt which
Rachel
insisted they buy
, a lazy drawl his only response
, 
“Good to know”
,
before he
became
more serious.

“The car is downstairs...we are leaving now”
Darius str
ode
purposefully out of the suite, Sar
a nervously trailing behind him as they silently rode the
elevator down to the car which waited at the hotel entrance.
 
She
was
surprised as Darius himself slipped behind the wheel of the luxurious sports car having first ensured that she was placed in the
passenger’s
seat
.  Sara
h
eld
back the small groan as she s
a
nk into the softest leather seats she
had
ever sat in.  Wordlessly
,
he pulled the car into the busy city traffic, Sara allowing her eyes to flick over him, so in control and comfortable behind the wheel of the powerful
and
sleek vehicle.
 
“I ordered my accountants to stop their investigation into your brother-in-law
’
s fraud.  The shortfall at the moment is being hidden with my own money...all of which I will be getting back when he is caught”

His sudden statement
made her jump,
un
aware
that
she
had
been lost in reverie, memories of the same hand
stroking
her, sliding along her body, his movements sure then as they were now. 
Sara
bit
back the groan which
rose
to her soft mouth, knowing how much money they were talking about, her head nodding slightly.

“We have a detective hunting him down”
,
she offered
softly;
as he
gave
a small laugh devoid of humour.
 
“Really...He has been gone for over a month...
Is
this ‘detective’ of yours any closer to finding him
?”
 
She
sigh
ed
, shaking her head
,
“No...
Not
yet.  But it only takes one thing...one mistake”
 
His eyes moved to give her a considering look “Well perhaps your man needs more help”
,
he muttered mysteriously, Sara giving a return wry smile
. 
“Perhaps”
, she said, as
both
f
ell
into silence.

Leaving the hustle and bustle of the city, the roads widened and the traffic thinned as the concrete and metal landscape gave
way to green
rolling countryside. 
T
he car pulled off the
highway
, moving
along the
winding road which ran
parallel
with the sea
;
Sara recognised the area, her family having long wished that they could one day afford even a small house in the much
sought-
after locale. 

Her eyes grew wide as the car stopped at the imposing high gates - the sole way into
the
estate surrounded by a tall stone wall, only the sweeping driveway surrounded by trees visible from the gaps in the ornate gate.
 
“Wow
”
The
word left her lips before she could stop it, Darius giving
a small curl of his lips.
“Not bad for a thief”
,
he bit out, Sara feeling the anger once more swell within her
, suddenly tired of having to constantly apologise for her actions so many years ago
.

“Oh I don’t know...tall walls locked gate
...
seems the perfect place for one”
 
His loud laugh made her turn,
fina
lly losing the battle to stop the smile which
rose
to her own lips, as he looked at her, an appreciative gleam in the darkness of his eyes
. 
“You always did have a sense of humour”
  H
is eyes moved
forward
once more as the gate swung open and he moved the car up the long driveway.  Darius
had
almost
forgotten
how Sara
w
ould make
him laugh so many years ago, her dry sense of humour never
used
to the
detriment
of others
, unlike her sister.  
Why over the six years had
he forgotten how she would smile and joke with the contractors, her
one-
liners and quick answers proof of her sweetness and intelligence
 
Pulling the car up in front of the large house, he
had
known why.  To remember w
hy he
had
been attracted to the woman beside him would detract from his anger at her for her actions so many years ago, and that anger
had
sustained him in bad times.

Darius slipped from the
driver’s
seat
, moving quickly to open her door, extending his hand to help her from the low car as Sara stared at the large imposing house before her.  Although made of stone - its imposing walls reminded her of some of the Scottish stately homes she visited on her one holiday to Europe - there was
a softness
to the building, set in such perfectly manicured lawns and gardens, her eyes like saucers as she drank in the beauty of his home.
 
“What do you think?”

Sara pulled her look from the house, suddenly aware that she still held his hand, pulling it from him, his lip quirking in amusement.
 
“Very big...ostentatious...over the top, just like you”
,
her trite answer
,
seeing his eyebrow rise.

“So...you don’t like it?
”
he asked softly, as she shuffled her feet nervously, f
eeling suddenly petulant as she
gave
a small sigh
. 
“Of course I like it...what is not to like
? 
It is stunning, beautiful
”
With
another chuckle he placed a hand on the small of her back, guiding her into the open doorway, his head leaning in to whisper
so
seductively
“
Also like me?”
Sara
gritted
her teeth as he laughed at her.

The inside of the building was no less impressive than the outside.   Each
room
was
decorated and furnished
harmoniously
for the house itself, the classic furnishings and sumptuous drapes subtle and elegant. 
Reaching the kitchen, she
heard the radio playing, the classical music streaming down the hallway as they entered the large room.  A middle-aged woman worked on what appeared to be a chicken dish, her attention held both by what she was doing and also the music she was humming loudly along to.  Starting, she looked over at Darius, a huge grin on her face.

“Darius!
”
her real pleasure at seeing him shining from her sparkl
ing eyes, eyes which turned to focus on her, polite interest now lighting the warm blue of them as she nodded her head in acknowledgment
,
“
Hello...Miss Balfour
isn’t it?”
 
Sara
gave
a shy smile back as she
nodded
,
“Please...
it’s
Sara”
 
“Edith...Sara
Balfour.  Sara, this is the woman who keeps this house running...Edith Clark”
The other woman stepped forward, rubbing her hands on the apron she wore, the pleasure of his words stamped over her features as she thrust a hand out to Sara.