His Perfect Match (18 page)

Darius, holding his box as if it were precious diamonds, moved to the doors leading to the back entrance. By now he had lost some of the watching children but many of them followed Marc, who followed Darius down and around the winding paths.

Soon they were knocking on the door and it was quickly opened by an elderly, gray-haired man whose eyes went immediately to the box. “I understand you have a patient for me.”

As Darius entered the suite, he saw that the doctor had already laid out a cloth and his instruments on a small writing table. “Do you know what happened to him?” Dr. McGillicutty asked.

Darius gently placed the small box on the table. “I have no idea, but if you can save him, Doc, you can stay at my hotel free for the rest of your life.”

Dr. McGillicutty smiled and his eyes widened. “Well now, that's as good a motivation as I've ever had.”

Darius shooed the children back out of the suite as a startled Mrs. McGillicutty was coming out of the bathroom. She'd obviously just taken a shower, and Darius apologized for the interruption.

“Doc, I'll be right out here when you're done,” Darius said, pulling the door closed.

He and Marc went to a nearby tree and propped themselves against it, as the other children eventually wandered off to find other entertainment.

Marc's small face was as solemn and serious as Darius had ever seen him. “I'm sure the doctor knows what he's doing, Marc.”

“I know.” He nodded thoughtfully.

“So what's wrong?”

“I was just wondering, what if he needed a kidney? His daddy is not around to give him one like mine was. I don't want him to die because he needs a kidney.”

Darius's heart had stopped beating at the words
like mine was.
He swallowed hard. “Marc, do you believe I'm your father?”

Marc looked up at him, slightly confused. “Aren't you?”

“Well, yes, but—” Darius felt as though he was wading into some pretty deep water, but he didn't know if he should turn around or keep going. “How did you know I was your father?”

“You gave me a perfect kidney.”

Darius frowned. “That's it?”

Marc nodded. “Who else could do that?”

Darius might have informed him that anyone with the right blood and genetic makeup could have, but he wasn't about to spoil this perfect gift. “Then why do you still call me Uncle Darius?”

“That's what Mom told me to call you.”

Darius blinked and waited. He blinked again, realizing that that was all the answer that would be forthcoming.
Out of the mouths of babes
, he thought.

“You think he'll need a kidney?” Marc's small, round face looked up at Darius with such earnestness, Darius only wished life and death were within his power. In that moment, he would've given half his hotel to save the life of that little bird.

“No, I don't think he needs a kidney. I think his wing is a little hurt, and the doc will fix him up just fine.”

Just then, the door opened and Elton McGillicutty came out with a soft smile on his face, wiping his hands on a dark-colored cloth. “Well, I believe with a little time our patient will be flying once more.”

“Yeah!” Marc jumped up and down and then rushed to hug the doctor. “That you, Dr. Mickinaniny, thank you so much.”

The doctor smiled at Darius, and ran his hand over Marc's short hair. “No problem at all. I'll just keep him here over the next few days if that's okay with you.”

“Can I come by and see him sometime?” Marc beamed up at the doctor and then at his father looking as though the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders.

“Marc, we don't want to bother the doc—”

Dr. McGillicutty lifted his hand. “It's no problem at all. If we happen to be in the room he's perfectly welcome to drop by.”

Darius reached forward and shook the doctor's hand. “Thank you so much, sir. You have no idea how grateful I truly am.”

Dr. McGillicutty took the handshake and leaned forward slightly. “Did you mean what you said earlier?”

“Absolutely. In fact, this trip is on me. Just stop by the check-out desk when you get ready to leave and we'll reverse the charges.”

He and Marc started to walk away. “Thanks again.” Marc waved back.

As he led his son back to his suite, he found that there was so much he wanted to say, but he thought he should first talk to Liz. They arrived on the main path at the same time as Dee and the McKinseys were coming up from the beach, and instead of going all the way to their bungalow, he said his goodnights to them there on the path and headed back to his own suite. It was almost midnight and he had an appointment.

D
arius quickly prepared his suite. The bottle of champagne he'd ordered was sitting on the table on ice, already chilling. He went into the bedroom and took a quick shower and dressed in black silk pajamas.

Even as he laid out the matching silk negligee, Darius knew there was a more than fifty-fifty chance Liz would not appear tonight. As for going to her, Darius wasn't sure what he would do. He knew there was a part of him that could not resist such a challenge, but another part did not want to cause her even one more second of unhappiness at his hands.

He waited by the front window that overlooked the harbor, watching as the staff cleaned up the remains of the evening's dinner. It was two minutes after midnight when he heard the soft tapping on the door.

Something in his chest instantly uncoiled and he
moved across the room to answer. She stood on the threshold with a solemn expression and a determined glint in her eyes, and Darius knew that despite her willingness to come tonight he was still in for a fight.

Without acknowledging his existence, she walked past him and into the suite. “We need to talk.”

He closed the door and locked it. “No, we don't. What we're doing doesn't require conversation. That's for lovers, we're just sex buddies, remember?”

She spun around and her narrowed eyes were almost reddish gold. He was instantly hard. Nothing got him hotter faster than a pissed-off Liz.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and then another and he watched fascinated as she tried to rein in her anger. He wondered if she knew she was fighting a losing battle. She lifted her arms in some sort of meditative motion, and he could only shake his head.

Slowly her lids lifted and he saw her eyes had returned to their natural soft brown.
Oh, well,
he thought,
there's more than one way to tick off an ex.

“Darius, I came here tonight to tell you that I love you.”

He tilted his head, caught off guard by the confession.

“I love you and I would love nothing more than to spend my life with you.”

Darius's face spread in a wide smile, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. “So, you'll marry me?”

“On one condition.”

“Aw, hell.” He covered his face with both hands. “I can't believe I let you sucker-punch me again. When will I learn?”

“Just listen! I meant every word I said, I just need to know you trust me. That you can trust me as your wife and partner. I can't go into a marriage thinking that
you're always going to be worried about me running off with a first cousin or something!”

“I trust you.”
Besides, I don't have any first cousins,
he thought, but wisely kept the thought to himself.

“No, you say that and may even believe it until something happens and then all bets are off.”

“So, what do you want me to do, Liz? Take a lie detector test?”

“In a way.”

His mouth fell open. “What?”

“Except the lie was not told by you, it was told by me, and I need you to detect it.”

He stood on the opposite side of the room just staring at her for several minutes. Then he turned and headed for the bar in the corner. “I need a drink.”

He could hear Liz taking another deep breath behind him and he briefly wondered if she were doing her meditation thing again. He considered simply saying something to get her riled beyond return, picking her up, carrying her to the bedroom and having all the wild, animalistic sex either of them could handle. But the problem was that the sun would eventually come up, and she would be even further out of his reach than she was right now.

He poured a brandy and turned to face her again. He took a sip, studying her determined expression over the top of the glass. “Okay, I'm listening.”

She nodded. “There is an
untruth
between us.”

He frowned. “What kind of
untruth?”

“Not a lie exactly, just a truth I never shared with you.”

He took another sip, and grudgingly admitted to some interest in what she was saying. “And you think this truth is important to our relationship.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because it's the only way I can prove to you how much I love you.”

“Liz, you don't have to—”

“Yes, I do, Darius. I need you to know this, but you have to know it on a deeper level than me just telling you.”

“This is crazy.” He shook his head. “So now I'm supposed to play twenty questions with some tidbit about you that I don't even know? How am I ever supposed to figure this out? Up until a few months ago I hadn't seen you in almost ten years! It could be anything!”

She shook her head slowly. “No, not anything. Something you should know. Something the man who loves me
would
know.”

“Oh, okay I get it.” He took another sip of the brandy. “So, this is not about you proving your love for me at all—it's about me proving my love for you. You're talking in riddles.”

“I know. But I don't know how else to explain myself without just coming out and saying what I need you to know!”

“How long do I have to solve this riddle?”

She smiled, a soft sad smile. “As long as you need.”

He huffed. “Why should the time frame be any more definitive than the question itself?” He set the brandy glass back down on the bar. “So, just so I have it straight. There is something about you that you've never told me. Something important. Something I should've guessed already, I assume. And you won't marry me unless I can figure out what that
what
is?”

She grinned brightly. “Nicely done.”

“Now what?”

She crossed the room to him, and pressed her lips to
his. “Now, we enjoy what time we have together while we have it.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her to him. “Um, I'm all for that but there is something I should tell you first.”

“What?”

“Marc knows I'm his father.”

“What? How could you? I told you I would tell him in my own time, in my own way! You had no right!”

“I didn't tell him!”

“Then who—” She shook her head against the thought as soon as it formed in her brain. “No, Dee would never—”

“Liz! He guessed on his own.”

“What? How?”

“According to him, only a daddy could give a son a perfect kidney.”

She frowned in confusion. “But…but he calls you Uncle Darius.”

“Yeah, because you told him to.”

“Huh?”

“The point is, he knows the truth, apparently has for some time. I think we just need to sit him down tomorrow and talk to him together. Okay?”

She nodded, but the confused expression on her face told him she was still trying to work out the logic of a nine year old in her head.
Good luck with that.

He gave her a quick peck. “Now that that is out of the way, what were you saying before? Ah yes, let's enjoy the time we have.” Without warning, he bent and swooped her up in his arms and carried her into his bedroom.

She reached up and touched his face. “As I was
putting Marc to bed this evening he told me about the bird. Thank you.”

“Don't thank me, thank Dr. McGillicutty.”

He dropped her unceremoniously on the bed, and before she could bounce back up he was over her, straddling her body. Looking down at her, he said “No matter what you are telling yourself are good enough reasons for us to be apart, I do love you and I know you love me. And we have a child together, and a common history which are all good reasons why we should be together.”

“But not enough.”

He huffed loudly. “I can't believe my whole future hinges on a damn riddle.”

“You'll figure it out.” She took his face between her hands and looked directly into his eyes. “All you have to do is pay attention.”

Shifting her body, Liz wrapped her legs around his waist and Darius willingly lowered himself on top of her. “Oh, wait.” He stood and crossed the room to pick up the negligee he'd bought her. “I kinda wanted to see you in this.” He held it up.

Liz sat up on her elbows looking at the flimsy piece of material before climbing to her knees. She reached down and pulled her blouse over her head, bringing her bra along with it. “I thought you wanted to see me in this.”

Darius's eyes immediately fixed on her bare breasts, sitting so high and proud. He tossed the negligee back over his shoulder, and headed back to the bed. “You're right, as always.”

Stopping beside the bed, he lifted her beneath the arms until her breasts were directly in front of his face. He took one in his mouth and suckled until Liz thought she would cry out, only to switch to the other and repeat the action.

Liz could only brace herself on his shoulders as she tried to slow the quickly building need in her body. With a single touch he could electrify her whole being, and she had yet to find a way to hold out.

Darius stopped momentarily to remove his own clothes, and when she attempted to remove her jeans as well, his large hand came over hers. “Let me.”

He quickly disrobed, but took his time removing her clothes. He gently pushed her back against the bed, as he slid his hand over the button-front fly of her jeans. He let his palm flatten over her tummy and she twisted and almost purred for him.

Darius decided that one day he would get her to purr if it took all night. Opening the fly, button by slow button he simply enjoyed the exposure of her bronze skin as it was revealed to him. He came to the top of her black thong panties and stopped.

Looking up at her face he could see she was already halfway there. Sliding his index finger into the top of her panties he found the slit in her body moist with readiness for him. With his other hand, he reached into the nightstand and pulled out a condom, laying on the bed next to her.

He leaned down and whispered at her ear. “Does anybody else make you feel this way, baby?”

Her head turned left and right as she struggled to maintain some connection with reality. “No, nobody, Darius, no one but you. Only you.”

Pushing his finger further up inside her, he listened to the soft whimper that escaped her lips, lips that were begging to be kissed, so he did.

Leaning forward he kissed her with all the passion he felt in his heart even as he added another finger inside
her. Her hands came up to grip his shoulders and she clung to him as though he was the last lifeboat on a sinking ship.

Darius wanted to bring her to the point of climax with just his fingers, but he doubted he would last that long. Moving back, he pulled her jeans and panties off the rest of the way and in the same way and same motion quickly covered himself with the condom and came over the top of her. “You make me crazy, you know that?” he whispered in her ear as he entered her body.

One again he was surprised by the tightness of her opening. Holding her hips in his large hands he shifted and with one hard thrust drove himself deep inside her. Her small teeth clamped down on his shoulder as a moan came from her throat. “Damn.” He hissed at the sweet pain.

She lifted her legs higher and he knew what she wanted. He'd been right before—they didn't need words. What they said to each other was communicated on a deeper level. That's how he knew she still wanted him. How he knew almost instantly that Marc was his. There was something between them, something rare. Something once-in-a-lifetime, and despite her doubts and silly riddles he had no intention of ever letting her go again. They had already lost too many years on things that didn't matter.

Holding her against his chest like the precious thing that she was, he settled into a steady rhythm. She was the mother of his son, the mother of his future children. His first love and the last face he wanted to see before he left this world. She was everything, and whether she ever said the words Darius knew in his heart she felt the same.

He sensed it in her touch, in the way she completely
surrendered her body to him as if she were his and only his, never to be touched by another. Suddenly he stopped in mid stroke as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes.

Braced on his elbows he stared down into her face, a face filled with love and trust. They'd both been so young ten years ago, and although they'd loved each other, mistakes had been made on both sides. They'd both made some bad choices, but some choices were not really choices at all. Some things were known and felt at a bone-deep level that might never be fully understood.
How the hell did I miss that?

“What?” She was looking up at him slightly confused, slightly annoyed that he'd stopped and all he could do was grin down at her.