No Ordinary Billionaire (The Sinclairs) (R) (9 page)

Sarah smiled at him despite the fact that he’d spilled her secret. His tone was genuine and the praise obviously sincere. There was nothing more satisfying than knowing she’d made someone’s day a little brighter with music. “Thanks. You like classical?”

“I do,” Jared admitted. “I’ve heard some of the best pianists in the world, but your playing is outstanding. I’m surprised you never pursued a musical career.”

Sarah stood and carefully pushed the bench in closer to the piano. “I don’t think I’d enjoy it as much if it became an actual job.” She couldn’t imagine playing for a living, having her music become a duty that she had to do on a schedule. It wouldn’t be the same.

“Thank you for sharing your talent,” Jared replied, his tone genuine as he grinned at her before walking slowly out of the room.

“You’re welcome,” she called after him as she stepped down from the elevated platform where the piano was situated, grabbing her purse from the floor as she went.

Her head swung to the right as she noticed that the room wasn’t entirely empty. Dante Sinclair hadn’t moved from his chair, and his expression was still as focused as it had been earlier.

“I need to lock the room up,” Sarah told him as calmly as possible, her heart beginning to race as he stood.

“We need to talk,” Dante told her in a graveled, demanding voice.

He sounded like a man who wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

CHAPTER 6

Mine!

Dante’s entire body was wired up and tense, his instincts pounding at him to take Sarah away somewhere and satiate her until she couldn’t think straight anymore. She was dressed in a pair of blue-and-yellow-striped shorts and a short-sleeved matching blue shirt. The shorts were long, almost to her knees, and weren’t meant to be provocative, but on her, they were sexy as hell. Even the innocent, shiny pink polish on her toenails that peeked out from a pair of casual sandals made his dick hard.

He hadn’t just listened to her play the piano; he had felt her. Underneath her logical, analytical exterior was a woman of fire and passion. Yeah. He’d already known that, but he hadn’t realized just how raw those emotions really were. He’d watched her face the entire time he’d been listening to her pour her heart into her music, and it had leveled him, leaving him completely destroyed. He could feel her need just like it was his own, and the sensations hadn’t stopped when the music had ceased. Dante could still feel that sense of longing, and he knew that he was exuding it just as much as Sarah was. Tension flowed in the space between them like an electric current, and his cock was so hard that he was barely able to suppress the need to touch her, to somehow claim her. Even watching her smile at Jared had nearly killed him. He didn’t want another man near her, especially when she was vulnerable. Was it just him who could see that she wore every emotion close to the surface when she was playing?

“Let’s go take a walk,” Dante suggested, gritting his teeth to keep from suggesting what he really wanted: let’s go home and fuck until neither one of us can move. He moved close to her and took her hand, guiding her out of the room.

“Wait. I need to lock up, and I have to go pick up Coco,” she told him nervously.

He waited impatiently as she locked the door to the music room, following her as she dropped the key in a box near the front entrance, and then detoured to the gymnasium to peek into the bingo games. “Randi must have her,” Sarah murmured, moving to another room and cracking the door to look inside.

Dante breathed a sigh of relief as Sarah opened the door wider and he saw the room contained only one petite, dark-haired woman and a couple of kids. Randy was Randi, and she was a female.

“Hey, Randi. I just wanted to get Coco out of your way,” Sarah said, her eyes landing on the dog the woman was holding in her lap.

“She’s never a bother. You know I love her. I’d steal her away from you if I thought I could get away with it.” The woman rose from her seat and placed Coco on the floor. “And the kids love her. It took a while to get down to doing their homework.” She leaned around Sarah’s body. “Who’s this?”

“Dante Sinclair, meet Miranda Tyler. She’s a local teacher and a very good friend of Emily’s,” Sarah told him as she scooted from her place between them so he could see Randi.

Dante smiled at the brunette and held out his hand. “We’ve actually met. She was the maid of honor for Emily at her and Grady’s wedding. It’s good to see you again, Randi.”

“Same here,” Randi answered, taking his hand and shaking it before adding, “I’m sorry about your partner, Dante. And I’m sorry you were hurt. I was relieved to hear that you were doing better.”

“Thanks,” he responded quietly, uncomfortable because he wasn’t quite used to talking about Patrick actually being dead. He didn’t know Randi very well, but from what little he’d seen of her at Grady’s wedding, she seemed like a nice enough woman.

Sarah pulled a leash from her purse and attached it to Coco’s collar. “Emily and I are meeting at Brew Magic after work on Friday if you’d like to come.”

Randi’s face lit up. “I wouldn’t miss it. It looks like I have a lot to catch up on.” She glanced curiously at Sarah, and then at Dante. “I didn’t realize you two were . . . together.”

Dante watched as Sarah’s face flushed, and she stammered, “Oh, no . . . we aren’t . . . we don’t . . . he’s my patient.”

Dante winked at Randi. “We actually are, and we do. And I just changed doctors so she isn’t my physician anymore.”
Because I want to fuck her too desperately to have her as my doctor.
Dante was damn tired of Sarah trying to ignore the attraction between the two of them.

“Difference of opinion?” Randi asked mischievously.

“Maybe for now. But I’ll convince her,” Dante told Randi adamantly as he grabbed Sarah’s hand and pulled her out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

“I can’t believe you just said that,” Sarah whispered harshly as they walked toward the front entrance. “You lied. I’m your physician. I can’t be seeing you in any other way.”

“One of the things we need to talk about,” Dante answered, squeezing her hand as she tried to pull away. “We’re going to settle this now, Sarah.”

“There’s nothing to settle,” she answered angrily. “I trust Randi, but if you don’t let go of my hand, the whole town will think we’re . . . together.”

It was dark as they walked outside, and Dante headed for the boardwalk. There might still be people around, but it was a little more private. “I can’t keep pretending that you’re just my doctor, that I don’t feel the need to rip your clothes off and fuck you until we’re both satisfied.”

“What happened at my house shouldn’t ever have happened. You were under the influence of narcotics. I shouldn’t have responded the way I did. I should have taken you home. I’m your doctor and I shouldn’t have taken advantage of the whole situation. I’m sorry,” she said breathlessly.

Dante halted underneath one of the lamps along the boardwalk to see her face clearly. Nope. She wasn’t messing with him. He could see the remorse and regret on her face.

Shit. Was she really that innocent? She has to be. That guilty expression is real.

And damned if that didn’t just make his cock that much harder.

“Are you under the impression that you somehow molested me? That I wasn’t totally aware of every single thing that was happening?” Dante couldn’t keep the amusement out of his voice.

“It’s not funny.” Sarah glared up at him. “Maybe I didn’t exactly try to seduce you, but I contributed to what happened. I didn’t stop it. I even encouraged it.”

“That’s what happens when two people get all hot and bothered, when they need to fuck so desperately that they can’t even remember their own names,” he told her gutturally, his mind focused on nothing except how badly he wanted to make her come. Really, he couldn’t say he had a whole lot of experience with this particular situation. He’d never felt like this about a woman before.

“I don’t get that way,” Sarah protested.

That was a challenge if Dante had ever heard one. Maybe Sarah didn’t mean it to be, but he’d certainly be willing to prove her wrong. “You wanted the same thing I did. Admit it.” His need to hear her say the words wasn’t something he could ignore. Possessive instincts were pounding at him, and he knew that the gnawing pain in his gut wasn’t going away until she admitted that she wanted him just as damn desperately as he wanted her.

“It doesn’t matter what I wanted. You weren’t in your right mind, and I’m your doctor.” She turned away from him to stare out at the ocean beyond the boardwalk.

Dante wanted desperately to laugh, but he didn’t. Sarah was obviously upset and troubled, and no matter how strange her notions might be to him, they meant something to her. She really felt guilty for what had happened. It might be funny to him that she thought she’d somehow coerced him. Hell, he wished. He fucking fantasized about that.

He tried to tell her calmly, “I wasn’t under the influence of the drugs. They had already worn off, and I didn’t take any more of them until I got back home again. When I said they made me feel strange, I just meant I wouldn’t drive while I was taking them, and I was speaking in past tense.” He tugged on her hand, leading her down to a beach that was lit only by moonlight. Reaching down, he let Coco off her leash and dropped it into the sand. “I don’t think she’ll go far.”

“She won’t,” Sarah agreed nervously.

Dante recaptured her hand and pulled it against his groin. “I’ve been like this since the moment I saw you. There isn’t one damn second that my cock isn’t hard when you’re near me. This isn’t drug induced, and I’ll be damned if I even understand it myself. But I can’t ignore it, and I’m past the point where I give a shit why.” Dante wasn’t in the mood to reason anything out. He needed her, and he wanted to do something about it. He was a take-action type of guy. He’d never been this obsessed over a woman. Not ever. And all he wanted to do right now was calm his ass down by satiating her.

Dante nearly groaned as her fingers hesitantly traced the outline of his engorged cock. Even over the denim of his jeans, the feel of her touching him made him hotter than any woman ever had, and his dick wasn’t even out of his pants.

“I don’t understand this.” She kept tracing her fingers over the denim. “We hardly know each other. I don’t know what your favorite color is or what kind of music you like. I have no idea what your favorite food is, or if you have a favorite book. You’re a billionaire who has more money than just about anyone else on the planet, and I’m a doctor who went to school on scholarships and student loans. My father might have been a rocket scientist, but he wasn’t good with money, and there wasn’t much left for my mother when he died. We have almost nothing in common.”

Dante could hear the uncertainty and confusion in her voice. Despite her brilliance, Sarah was still innocent. Her intelligent mind was still trying to make sense of the two of them wanting each other. In reality, it didn’t make sense. It just . . . was. For Christ’s sake, he was a homicide detective who got laid whenever possible, but he didn’t get involved because of his job, and he didn’t get territorial afterward. Ever. Now he was possessive, and all he’d really done was kiss Sarah. This wasn’t his normal behavior, and he was more than a little unsettled by the whole damn situation. Problem was, he couldn’t ignore his instincts. And the vulnerability he could hear in her voice made comforting her his first priority.

He grasped her hand that was cupping him through his jeans and pulled her body into his, wrapping his arms around her waist. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled, letting her fragrance fill his senses. “I love dark blue, a blue so dark that it looks almost violet. There aren’t many types of music that I don’t like, and it just depends on what mood I’m in. I think lobster rolls are my new favorite food, and I don’t have much time to read because I’m never usually still enough to finish a book.” His hands moved to her ass and pulled her pelvis up and against his aching cock. “And I don’t give a shit about my money. I never have. I live in a one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles, and my salary more than covers all of my needs unless I want something special. I use a family friend to manage and invest for me. My job has always consumed me, so I don’t have time to even spend any money. I don’t have a private jet, although I have to admit that I think Grady’s is pretty nice. Most times, I forget that I’m even a billionaire. I live the same way you do: I live for my job.”

Sarah squirmed, trying gently to move away from him. “Your ribs—”

“Would feel a whole lot better if you’d stop moving,” Dante finished.

Sarah froze. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”

Jesus.
His dick was pulsating just from the heat of her covering him and the feel of her soft, fragrant body against him. “I’d give anything to have you naked right now,” he rasped, his heart hammering against his chest wall.

“You’d be disappointed if I were,” she told him warily.

No, he wouldn’t, and he didn’t understand why she’d think that. He’d taste every inch of her exposed, fragrant, soft skin until she was whimpering for him to take her. Unable to wait another moment, he moved his hands up her back and trapped her head between his palms. He figured she knew more than enough about him now. If she wanted details, she could have them later.