Billionaire's Revenge (12 page)

“It is lovely to meet you dear”
 
Sara
was
surprised at
the
thick English accent, as she
sh
ook
her
outstretched hand, muttering something appropriate back.
 
Darius however, continued to talk
,
“Edith runs the house and has a few cleaners come in each week to help
, and he
r
husband John looks after the gardens”.  The other woman grinned agai
n.

“And my son helps at the moment too...keeps him out of trouble”
,
she declared in a voice which held a laugh, Sara instinctively knowing that Edith Clark was a happ
y person as she smiled back, relieved that she and Darius would not be the only ones in the huge home.

“Oh...Miss Balfour...your clothes arrived today and I put them in your closet
”
Sara
bit back the small groan
;
what must the older woman think of her, a shaky smile rising to her mouth
. 
“Thank you Mrs Clark”
,
she managed as the woman
tutted
softly, waving away the words.
 
“Edith...nobody calls me Mrs Clark”
,
she smiled cheerily as Sara
nodded back
.
“Only if you call me Sara”
,
she grinned back as the housekeeper nodded approvingly.
 
“Well in that case Darius and Sara, dinner is in one hour
”
He
made
an appreciative sound as he took her hand.
 
“We will be there...Edith is the best cook around...would
never miss one of her dinners”

Sara thought how easy it was for Darius to charm any woman, seeing how Edith
gave
an almost girly giggle, shaking her head happily as she returned to her work.  As she
was
pulled out of the kitchen s
he thought about how he always
had
been able to get his own way with any
woman
. 
Six years ago s
he
was
nervous of the builder, never quite knowing what to say to him, his ability to flirt so effectively with the other girls in the office clear to her.  Her sister
took
great delight in telling the many rumours of the women he
was
allegedly
involved with, Sara only too aware how
Angela
longed
to be one of them
, her
lip
s
curling contemptuously.

When he would appear in the office, his paperwork always done to a high standard, she had
been aware of the way her stomach would flip seeing him.  His insistence
on
dealing with her
confused her
.
Sara
told
herself that it was because having her do the actual paperwork on their side left him free to flirt with the
only-too-
willing staff in the office.

Pushing the thoughts to the back of her head she followed as he moved into each of the downstairs rooms giving her a tour.  He explained the routine of the household and as they entered the large study he mov
ed
to his computer as she tentatively requested internet access.
 
Sara watched as Darius set up the account for her, not surprised that he would be so pr
oficient with computers, his ability to learn new skills evident in the time that he worked for her
father’s
company. 

Biting down on her bottom lip, her brow furrowed
. 
“I
...
I was wondering what your expectations are for
me
while I am here?”
 
His head
rose
in surprise
asking,
“In what way?”
,
before a small smile played on his mouth
.
“I thought that we
already determined that
”
Darius
once more enjoy
ed
seeing the way her cheeks flushed slightly at his obvious reference to sex.
 
“I...I meant during the day” 

His shoulders shrugged softly. “I work in the city most days...don’t come back till late...so do what you like”
,
  his smile once more becoming playful
,
“so long as you are where I say
,
when
I say...you are free to do what you want
”

“Like a well trained puppy”
,
she bit out, before she could stop herself.  The large smile which spread over his mouth made her want to move over and smack it from him
,
“That a girl...
so long as we understand each other”
H
is fingers ma
de
one last pass
on the keyboard before he stood again handing her a sheet of paper with logon details.
 
“House is wireless, so you can access from anywhere” 

Sara
gave
a
short nod, the anger still visible in her blue eyes.
“I will ask Edith if she has a bus route”
 
Darius
gave
another frown
, his tone so matter
-
of-fact
“Just take one of the estate cars if you want to go out.  I will clear it with John”
“Thank you”
,
her
curt
reply made him smile even wider as he leant against the desk “You really hate being reliant on anybody
don’t you Sara?”
,
his tone full of
curiosity
as she regarded him back, eyes scoffing. 

“No...I just don’t like to be pushed around by some bully with some perceived vendetta
”
His
eyes
gr
ew
harder once more as he straightened, moving towards the door.
 
“Let me show you our room
”
The
mention of the reason she was there knocked the fight out of Sara, as silently she followed him up the sweeping grand staircase.  There
were
many
rooms along the corridor they walked, bu
t he moved to the corner one, stepping aside to let her in.

The room could have swallowed up the last flat she shared it was so big.  A small sitting area was at one end of the room beside floor-to-ceiling doors which she could see led out to a veranda.  Silently, she moved inside as he strode to one of two doors.  Behind the first she gave a soft gasp at the most beautiful bathroom she had
ever seen.  Marble and glass, it retained
a
vintage feeling while offering all of the modern conveniences.  The huge tub with what appeared to be Jacuzzi
jets;
the large
walk-
in shower, bigger than her last family bathroom, the room was wonderful.

“I am so glad I don’t have to clean this”
,
she chuckled, her sense of humour rising in spite of the awkwardness of the situat
ion.  Beside her she heard the throaty laugh of
Darius as he nodded in agreement, moving to the second door in the room.
 
With a groan Sara moved into the large
walk-in closet, ev
ery woman’s dream she
thought, eyes flicking
over
the walnut interior. 
One side was filled with his clothes
-
and there
had
been many of them
-
and the other
,
hers. 
While they
shopp
ed, Sara
w
a
s
shocked at how much they bought, but now
seeing them hung on the hangers,
the outfits seemed lost in the expansive closet.

As they moved once more back into the main bedroom, she finally allowed her eyes to rest on the king-size bed which dominated the area, her throat suddenly feeling so dry as her hands shook.  Trying to seem nonplussed, she gave him a small unsure smile
,
moving
back to the door. 
“It is very nice”

“Where are you going?”
H
is body moved in front of her, stopping her exit, his voice seductive.  Sara felt the instant awareness as his hand lifted a strand of her hair, his eyes focused on it as he allowed it to brush down her cheek. 
“E
...
Edith said dinner was in an hour”
,
she managed, her voice weak and raspy as he made a point of lifting his hand to check his watch
.

“We still have forty-five minutes
”
His
arm
mov
ed
to wrap around her small waist, Sara allowing herself to be drawn against him.  She felt as her hea
rt thudded within her chest, swallowing
nervously as his fingers dropped the lock of hair and wound through the silky softness to hold her head.

“What could we do for forty-five minutes?”
,
he whispered, his head
moving ever closer
, his look dropped to her
slightly open lips, as her lashes fluttered closed, unaware as she raised her head slightly in invit
ation
to his kiss.  A kiss which never came, as stunned
,
she
was
released, her eyes flying open with surpri
se
as she swayed slightly, more
than a little disappointed.

He stood a little away from her, his eyes running up and down her
. 
“I would suggest that you have a shower and change...I am pretty sick of seeing you in those jeans”
 
Anger flared within Sara as sh
e
glared back at him
, swallowing down the words she wanted to throw at him, her eyes daggers of hatred, his mouth curled into a mocking smile
. 
“Obedient
–
remember
”
,
his voice soft as she turned
,
moving quickly into the bathroom, slamming the door closed beh
ind her.
  Inside she pulled
off her clothes, cursing under her breath at the way he
tric
ked h
er.  Angered more at her own reaction as she
hungrily f
ell
against him, wanted him,
giving a small yelp as she kicked her shoe off, catching her toe on the marble side of the
shower.  As she jumped naked around the bathroom, tears filled her eyes, both at the anger she felt towards him and the pain.

The door opened, a concerned Darius entered as his eyes
t
ook
in the way she bounced towards the towel, another yelp leaving her lips as she pulled
the
towel around herself in a movement of coyness.
 
“What happened?
”
he demanded, Sara noting the sound of concern on his voice, unable to
focus on his face as tears f
illed her eyes.
 
Dropping down on the si
de of the large tub she grabbed her foot, scowling up at the man before her
. 
“It’s fine...I just stubbed my toe...please...I am fine”

Darius however,
moved forward, his hands taking her foot as he examined the toe, the heat of his fingers sending all kinds of tremors through her as she savaged her lip to stop the moan from tumbling from her mo
uth.
 
“
Its
fine...thank you”
,
her tone stilted as she tried to pull her foot from his hold.  He was staring at the foot
intently
, his hold tigh
tening as she tried to move, before he released her and stood up leaning against the vanity, his arms and legs crossed in a relaxed pose.
 
“Seems OK...don’t let me stop you from showering”

Sara stared at him in horror.  “I
...
I am not in the habit of showering in front of people”
,
she stammered, as he
gave
a smile, a
roguish
wicked smile.
 
“
Yes.  I can see how that would be uncomfortable
”
Relief
wash
ed
over her, before her eyes narrowed seeing as he began to
unbutton his shirt, her eyes wary
. 
“W
...
what are
you doing?”
Dar
ius
straightened and flicked on the shower, the powerful jets of water filling the room
with noise, his eyes turned to hers
. 
“Joining you”
,
he answered, his tone matter-of-fact, Sara staring back her eyes wide and aghast.
 
“Y...you
can’t
”
,
she cried, her t
rembling fingers clinging to the edges of the towel, her eyes turned from him as her cheeks burned brightly.