Billionaire's Revenge (20 page)

Sara groaned softly
,
“That is terrible...what happened?”  He took
a few seconds to
answer
,
“Eventually I settled out of court with her
...I gave her some millions in exchange for her signing
over the company name to me...hence I took over the Garelli corporation name”
  A
wide grin filled his face
,
“She really should have waited a couple of years...I seemed to have a knack for making money...but by then she had
signed an ironclad contract and couldn’t touch a penny...plus she
had
pissed me off so much I was not about to be brotherly with her”

Sara
laughed softly back
,
as she
allowed herself to relax against this man.  This arrogant, forceful, demanding, yet kind, intelligent, funny and caring man...this man she loved.
 
“Thank
you for telling me”
,
she
whispered softly,
t
his her
last thought before sleep
took
her.

Waking
,
Darius
frowned.  Still dark
,
he was not sure what
pulled him from his dreams, dreams full of a beautiful blonde.  Turning he
frowned not s
eeing her there, his hands pushing the covers from himself.
  Rubbing his eyes
,
still sleepy, he
pulled on pyjama bottoms and padded softly into the other room, his lips curving as he
found Sara.
 
She
la
y
on
top of the bed the small boy
sle
pt in.  His little hands lay on her stomach, hers wrapped around him, both asleep.  From the door he
admired her.  Dressed in one of his t-shirts
,
she
looked sexier than any other woman he
had
ever met, Sara not someone who ever needed to try.  This
maternal
side of her was a surprise though
, as was the way it filled him with warmth. 

Frowning softly
,
he
thought how
she
confused him.  His belief that all women put their own needs before that of their children was being shaken, her reaction to her nephew making
him frown.  Sara
loved
the small boy
,
Darius knowing that it was not just a show to impress him, David’s reaction to her testament to this.  He
smiled
,
realising that the small boy must have woken
,
knowing that
she
rushed to comfort him.  Yes Sara w
as confusing the hell out of him. 

Moving forward he
gently
took
a cover from the end of the bed, and
tucked it around her
,
dropping a small kiss on her head as he had.  The next morning Sara
woke
abruptly
, David’s small face floating before her as he
jumped up and down on the bed
. 
“Morning Aunty Sara”
,
his happy cry
made her yawn
,
stretching her arms as she
groggily pushed herself up on the bed. 
Frowning
,
she
wondered where she was, the memory of hearing David’s cry during th
e night slowly returning as she
swung her legs off the side of the bed.

“Want some breakfast?
”
her sleepy voice asked, David giving a happy nod before he leapt to the ground taking off out of the room.
“I’ll get Darius”
,
he
yelled
,
disappearing out
of the room before she
had
time to stop him.  With a long sigh she followed him
in a vain attempt
to head him off before he woke the still sleeping man.  However, by the time she reached their bedroom, David was already
clambering
on top of the bed, his voice high and excited.
 
“Uncle Darius...Uncle Darius - Aunty Sara is making breakfast!”

Darius
woke
with a start, surprise on his face as David
knelt before him, his small features staring intently at the handsome man.  His eyes
fl
ew
to Sara, as she hovered awkwardly at the small
boy’s words, her face apologetic, as she
heard her nephew call him ‘uncle’.  Darius too
seemed surprised before his mouth
curved into a small smile
. 
“It’s OK...I understand
”
Sara
g
ave
a relieved return
grin
, before she pulled the small boy into he
r arms.
 
“OK...breakfast; Edith mentioned that she k
nows
how to make Mickey Mouse pancakes” 

David
m
ade a “cool!” response
before fleeing
out of the door and down the stairs as she
placed him back on his f
eet.  Giving a laugh, she
grinned over at Darius
,
“Where does he get his energy from
?
”
  H
e
no
d
d
ed
as he pushed the covers from himself.  Sara once more
held down the soft sigh of want seeing him naked, averting her eyes
,
her voice ragged
.
 
“Better catch up with him before he talks Edith into making him Donald and Goofy pancakes too”
 
Darius gave another laugh
,
“Well tell her to save me some...I will be right down”

In the shower
,
Darius
frowned.  The sound of David calling him ‘uncle’
was
unexpected, but no more than the way the words
felt so good.  What was this woman doing to him?  He liked his life uncomplicated.  Good intelligent conversation and great
sex
was all he expected from the women he was involved with.  He did not want anything to do with their home life, private lives or relations.  Sar
a had
been in his life for only a week, and he was allowing children to invade his
well-
ordered home.  With a deeper frown he
determined that she would have to go, tonight he wou
ld have her leave.
  Yet why
had
the sound of ‘uncle’ been so damn good to his ear
s
, and
why was
the thought of her gone so bad?

As a surprise for David, Darius
organised to visit the home of a friend of his, another soccer star.  David’s eyes
had
been
wide as Jim Jones
-
the goa
lkeeper for the league leaders
-
insisted on giving the small boy both a signed ball and a team top which
swamped the child.  He
chatted happily with Sara, flirting with her, his eyes admiring the beautiful blonde.  Dari
us
watched carefully, frowning softly as he
realised that he
,
Darius Garelli
- a man who never let any woman get to him - was jealous.  She on the other hand seemed completely oblivious to the attention being paid to her, turning at one point to mouth a thank you to Darius, this simple action causing a strange knot to tense in his stomach.

By midday they were once more home, Sara scowling as she checked her phone over and over again.  As 12:45
c
a
me and
went
, she
phoned
her mother
and sister, her teeth savaging her lips, whilst trying hard not to allow David to see anything was wrong.
 
Darius knew
that she
had
an appointment later that day
, giving
her a reassuring smile as he
advised
her just to reschedule.  She however,
looke
d panicked at just the thought.
 
“N...no...I
can’t...I have to be there”
,
her hand nervously pass
ing
over her forehead.
  “I have to be there”
,
she
repeated.

At 1:15 Sara was close to tears
;
anger and desperation written on her features.  Darius
took
her hand in his
. 
“Look...just cancel, I am sure that your appointment is not so important
”
Her
eyes flew
to his
,
a strange light within them
. 
“Yes...it really is
”
He
gave
a
frown.
“
Why?  Who are you meeting Sara?”
H
er
eyes
drop
ped
as she
sh
ook
her head
,
“I ...I can’t tell you
”
Darius
felt anger as she
refused to tell him.  He was sick of this secret that he
allowed her to
keep;
it was time for the truth.  Raising her chin with his finger
he
was
surprised to see the small
tears
which
gathered on her lid
s
, the anger melting from him instantly, surprised even more by his words.

“If it means that much, go.  I will wait with David
”
Sara
stared at him, her eyes full of hope and thanks.  She knew already that she trusted h
im com
pletely with her
much-
loved nephew, how could she not trust the man she loved?  Even given his dislike of her she knew he liked the small boy.
 
“I will be back as soon as possible”
,
she
smiled, her body relaxing as she
kissed David, promising t
o come
and see him later that week before she
ran out of the door to keep her appointment.  Watching her leave, Darius
felt almost disappointment.  Like all women
,
she
put her own needs before the small child, not sure why this
bothered him
so muc
h.
 

At 2:30 Angela
finally arrived, no
t alone.  A
s the man
joined her at the doorstep,
Darius
stared at him
,
a smile lighting his face
, Angela apologetic as she
explained nervously
. 
“I am so sorry Darius.  We
had
a flat tire...and I w
asn’t
able to power up my mobile ...so I couldn’t phone...I am really sorry”
 
Darius gave
her a reassuring
grin
in return, his eyes flicking to the man behind her
. 
“Joe?”
T
he man mov
ed
forward to shake his hand
,
“Darius...it is good to
see you...and wow...love the house”

Darius
was
surprised to see Joe Johnstone.  He
had
known the kindly man six years ago, the two friends.  He
owned a plumbing company with a
n
excellent
reputation
which Darius
found to be
accurate
.  Joe
had
always liked Angela
, his
attraction to her something he
hid
from most except Darius, his eyes full of surprise seeing them together.  Angela
moved forward as David
gave
an excited cry
.

“Mum...
Joe
,
” his genuine affection for the man obvious as he
rushed
into A
ngela’s arms.  His mother
scooped
up her son, kissing him on the cheek, a loving smile on her face.  Her eyes
moved behind Darius
,
searching.
 
“Where is Sara?”
She
look
ed
astonish
ed
as he
told
her that she
had
an appointment, a wary look cross
ing he
r pretty face
. 
“Y...you don’t mind?
”
her voice surprised before she
looked embarrassed
.
“I suppose
,
given
you and
...
”
Her
voice trailing off
,
her eyes darting to
Joe
as she
gave
an overly bright
half
-
laugh.
  Darius
felt unease at her wor
ds. 
What did she know about the appointment that made her so surprised that
he would allow it
?