Billionaire's Revenge (4 page)

“Sit down Sara” he ordered as she
scowled, not sure what was happening, her senses only starting to return from the deep sleep she
had
been in.  Moving back to the chair
,
her movements unsure
,
she sat on the very edge, her body stiff, whilst he lean
t
back in his chair; the epitome of coolness and relaxation.

“I have been giving your situation a little thought”
 
His statement
saw
her head rise, her eyes darting to his
. 
“Imagine my surprise Sara to discover that your sister and her husband have defrauded the company which I just acquired by nearly fi
ve million dollars
”
Sara
felt the pit of her stomach drop at the full extent of the money stolen.  His accountants
had
been fast,
their
own still trying to get to the bottom of the deception and fraud perpetrated
by Angela’s husband Nick.  Closing her eyes slowly she felt her whole body droop.

“That much?
”
was all she could manage weakly as he watched the way she
seemed to come apart before h
im.
 
“My accountants tell me that most of th
e money was channeled through an
account called Paxton Holdings, but they are finding more and more each day
”
Sara
looked up at him, her eyes beseeching
. 
“My sister
had
nothing to do with it Darius.  The only crime
she is guilty of is stupidity.  She trusted Nick...my mother trusted him
”

He
watched her carefully
. 
“I know that.  Your sister was not smart enough to be involved in anything like this...but as you know she did countersign the loans”
,
the only
respo
nse
from Sara a small groan as she nodded as he frowned softly.
 
“What about you? Did you trust him?”
 
Sara
gave
a shake of her head
. 
“No.  I never trusted him, but I was away at university...then married.  I was never allowed to be involved with the business...
so
I
had
no idea what he was up to
.  We have a private detective looking for him and he
has some leads...we just need time to bring him to justice
”

A few seconds of silence
stretched out between them before he leant forward.
 
“
Seeing as
you bring it up
I’m interested in your marriage...six months does not seem like you made much of a commitment.  I understand that you only finalised your divorce last month”
 
He
saw
the
surprise on her face that he
kn
ew
the facts of her marriage
, before her eyes hardened as she dropped her look from his.
 
“My marriage has nothing to do
with this”
her tone soft but firm.

Sitting back once more he leant his elbows on the arms of the chair, his fingertips touching as he
regarded her thoughtfully before starting to speak, his voice emotionless, matter of fact.
 
“Your sister will be held
accountable for your brother-in-law
’
s actions.  Stupidity will not be an excuse in the eyes of the law Sara”
,
she
stared back at him, pain filling
her
lovely
cornflowe
r blue eyes
.

“Please Darius.  I am begging you, don’t do this
”
His
look hardene
d as he held hers
. 
“Are you asking me to show you the same consideration you showed me so many years ago Sara?
”
his tone
softly accusing.
 
Sara
nodded back
. 
“You may not believe it Darius, but what happened was much more favourable t
han
what my father wanted, and yes, I am asking you to show the same leniency that I showed you”
 
She jumped as his hand smacked against the wooden table top
.

“Leniency!
  You branded me a thief with no ability to redeem myself.  Everybody I knew was under the belief that I had
stolen that money. 
Your father phoned every
one
he knew and
told them that I was
a thief and a liar. 
Nobody was prepared to hire me and
I
had
no choice but to return to Italy.  So do not insult m
e by pretending that you were
lenient”
,
the disdain and hatred dripped from his words as he
snarled at her,
hopelessness
seeping into every part of her
as she
looked around herself.

“Look at what you have accomplished Darius.  Do you really think you would have any of this if you had
been thrown in jail
? So
yes
,
I
do think that you were shown leniency and I
am asking you to show
the same”
 
He
gr
e
w
quiet as he regarded her again, even knowing that had
he been in prison then he would never have built
his empire, his lust for
revenge still bur
n
ed brightly within him.

“Maybe Sara...but I was innocent.  I grew up in an area that you became either a priest or a thief.  I managed to avoid becoming either and it was hard, harder than a spoilt little brat like you could ever begin to imagine.  So to be branded one by you and your damn family...”
 
He
had
not finished his statement as his mouth tightened, Sara moving nervously in her chair.
 
“What do you want from me Darius
?
Y
ou
know that Angela is innocent...are you really going to destroy my entire family for the past?”
 
Sitting back once more he again fixed her with his look, this time
h
is voice
musing
.

“Would you do anything to save them Sara?
”
his question catching her by surprise, her lovely features showing her confusion
as his eyes held hers
. 
“You see...somebody always has to pay for the past, and I would rather that person was you...but are you prepared to sacrifice yourself for them?”
 
Frowning softly
,
she
bit
the softness of her lip
,
savaging it with her teeth, her eyes full of
uncertainty
before her head
r
ose
proudly
. 
“Yes”
,
her voice holding a small
quiver,
swallowing hard at the smile that spread over his features – an almost serene smile
.

“In that case I have a proposition for you.  You see being branded a thief was the worst thing imaginable for me...and I understand your family well enough to know that the thing they fear most is public
humiliation.  So I want you to become my mistress...to move in with me for as long as I can be bothered parading you around for public disgrace”
 
Sara felt her mouth and eyes open in stunned shock
. 
“Y
...
you want ME
... To pretend to be your mistress just so that you can humiliate my family?
”
her voice growing higher as
he
gave
her a smile his head shaking softly
.

“I never said anything about pretending...I said BECOME my mistress
”
Sara
leapt to her feet, her ha
nds wringing by her side as she paced before him, her shocked features evidence of her feelings
. 
“You cannot be serious”
,
she finall
y
threw
back, her eyes pleaded for him to tell her he was joking.  However, he remained motionless
,
his expression
uncha
nged
.

“That is obscene.  Immoral”
,
Sara
cried with shock,
finally stopping,
her
back to him as she looked heavenwards, one hand rubbing her temples as the other rested on her hip.  She had
not heard him move around the desk, giving a loud gasp as his hands moved to hold her hips, his mouth against her ear.

“You asked for leniency Sara
...
and I am offering it.  You can take it or leave it...the choice is completely yours
”
She
stared ahead, her whole
being
aware of his closeness, of his hands on her as her b
reathing
be
c
a
me ragged.  His mouth dropped and his tongue gently flicked against the small franticly beating vein on her neck, Sara biting back the sigh of pleasure that rose within her.
 
“I will give you till lunchtime tomorrow to return here
and gi
ve me an answer.  If you fail to turn up...then I will have your sister arrested and assume that was your decision”

Sara was struggling to understand the soft spoken words, as his mouth continued with its sweet exploration of her throat and neck, her whole body tightening in such an unfamiliar manner.  Pulling back slightly
,
his hands moved to her shoulder
s
,
slowly turning her around to face him
, his look flicking down her face
,
taking in the smouldering fire within her lovely eyes.
 
“
Perhaps you might even enjoy it”

His arms moved around her small waist pulling her in harder to him as his mouth dropped to take her lips.  Sara
kn
ew
she should fight, should push him away but as his tongue slid against hers she allowed him, encouraged him even, her own sensually returning each
and every caress.  When he finally
moved
away, her eyes seemed to take a lifetime to open, struggling t
o focus as she
swayed, frowning softly
,
not sure why he
stopped.  Darius stood watching her, his eyes full of fire too as he
gave
a
half-
laugh, Sara noticing though how husky his voice sounded.
 
“Well aren’t you a hot little thing
? 
I can see the
rumours are true”

His words slammed painfully into Sara as she felt reality crash back, her cheeks flaring knowing exactly what he was talking about.  With a whimper she stooped to the ground to pick up her shoes discarded earlier, before spinning around
,
moving to the door needing to be out of there, away from this odious man, away from what she
had
just been so prepared to do.  As she pulled the door open to flee his words
followed her.
 

“Remember
-
till lunchtime tomorrow”
 
Sara
felt
the sob
rising within her as she ran from the suite, only stopping to put her shoes back on when she reached the relative safety of the elevator.

Sara
took
a cab straight to her
m
other’s
house, where both she and
Angela
were waiting to hear of the events of the night, both women hoping that she would be returning with good news.  If either
noticed how upset she seemed, neither
bothered to ask
, both solely interested
in
finding out if she had
talked to the CEO of
the
Garelli
Corporation
.  Her despondent nod
saw
both look at each other, their faces fill
ed
with dread.