Billionaire's Pursuit of Love: Destiny Romance Read online

  ‘You bring some stupid oversized hamper, stuffed with a whole pile of stuff Jemma doesn’t want or need. You spend the whole time on your mobile or computer, without really communicating with anyone, and then you leave. You may be a brother in name, but really you’re a benevolent stranger bringing expensive, useless gifts.’

  His Adam’s apple ratcheted up then down. ‘Did Jemma tell you that?’ Raw shock threaded his words.

  She felt like one of those cruel women from a Charles Dickens novel, but she didn’t care. If he could be so careless with her feelings then he could learn some hard home truths.

  ‘She didn’t have to tell me. If you had any insight at all, you’d see it for yourself. But no, you’re all wrapped up in your company, your games and making obscene amounts of money.’

  Every muscle in his body tensed as though torn between fight or flight. She waited for his usual rational high-handed retort. For him to dump all her words in the don’t-be-ridiculous category. But he walked to the couch and his body buckled. His strong, conquer-all features fell from resolute to ruined. It felt as though each of her ribs had turned into a clamp twisted to its tightest position. She stood frozen, lost as to how to handle the situation she’d ruthlessly engineered.

  He placed his elbows on his knees and dropped his head into his hands. ‘I don’t know any other way.’ His hushed tone wrung the blood from her heart and the breath from her lungs. What had she done?

  ‘Oh, Blake.’ She flew to the couch and slid her arm across his broad, hunched shoulders. ‘I’m so sorry. I . . .’ She didn’t know how to proceed. Their relationship only knew the tediousness of dispute or the overwhelming pull of desire. She’d been so busy trying to get him to understand her position that she’d never really considered he was anything but as he presented himself. Hard. Single-minded. Driven. She’d never dreamed there might be more to this corporate giant.

  She rubbed his shoulder softly with the tips of her fingers. He didn’t move. Fear gathered more strength with every heartbeat. She’d pushed too far.

  ‘I’d been about to board a plane to find you when I got the call about Dad’s death,’ he said.

  The words forced the air from her lungs. She held him tight, hoping her words hadn’t wreaked permanent damage. Why hadn’t she believed him earlier?

  ‘He’d called me but I was too distracted to talk. Too consumed by you, my love for you, my plans for a life with you.’

  She could hardly breathe, terrified any sound might cut short the words he needed to say, the words she needed to hear. He didn’t speak for a few minutes. She wished she could draw away the terrible pain that clearly throbbed through his body.

  ‘After the company’s collapse, the vitriol directed against my father and our company was vicious. His face was splashed across the front page of every newspaper and was the lead story on the news every night for days. I got it. I understood it. Thousands of people had lost money. A lot of money. In some cases, a lifetime of savings. Hundreds of people lost their jobs. My father went from hero to demon. I couldn’t bear it. They didn’t know him. They didn’t know that he’d been devastated, that he couldn’t face the misery he’d unwittingly caused.’

  He expelled a long, heavy, defeated breath.

  ‘After the funeral, I vowed I’d restore the company and my father’s name. I’d try to pay all our debts. I wouldn’t stop until Hunt-F Tech was number one, the undisputed leader. I’d pay everyone back with interest. I’d employ more people. I wouldn’t be distracted until I’d achieved that. Until I felt my father could rest in peace. That I could be absolved.’

  ‘Your father’s death, the company crash, it wasn’t your fault.’

  ‘No? I don’t know about that. But one thing I do know is that I can deliver what I vowed and then, maybe then, I can feel I’ve done right by him. Made up for not being there when he needed me. Then maybe I could stop asking myself the question, what if I’d been there that night?’

  He rubbed his hand slowly across his brow, as if doing so might wipe away some of his pain. He shifted and turned to her. ‘Don’t you see? I can’t deviate. If I change my approach, if I allow myself to be distracted again, something . . . something terrible will happen. And now it’s worse. I have you in my life. I have Daniel. If I get too close . . . if I let you down . . . if anything happened to you . . . I couldn’t live through that pain again, that grief. It would kill me.’

  He briefly closed his eyes. ‘If I keep everything at a distance, everything manageable, everything . . .’ He simulated a box with his hands. ‘Everything tight . . . controlled . . . in the realms of practical. It just keeps . . . I know it sounds idiotic, but it keeps anything bad from happening.’

  She took his face in her hands. ‘Can’t you see you’ve already achieved all that you set out to do? Blake, you brought back your family home two years after the company’s collapse. Hunt-F shares are some of the most sought-after in the market. You’re there.’

  He gently removed her hands from his skin. ‘No. No.’ He shook his head. ‘After Everest’s launched. Then . . . then I’ll have done it.’

  She’d had no idea of the agony stored in Blake’s heart. She’d re-entered his life right at the pointy end of a mission to restore his father. But really his plan was to restore himself. She’d been the original source of his distraction. Therefore she’d help him gain the absolution he so desperately craved.

  ‘Okay.’ She stood up and held out her hand. ‘You get to bed. It’s midnight. You have the biggest day of your life coming up. You’ll hear no more demands from me, well, at least for the next seven days.’ He took her hand and stood. ‘And Daniel and I will watch with pride when you stand up on stage and launch Everest. Then I’m going to teach you how not to be an emotional cripple.’

  ‘That’s going to be a tricky job.’

  ‘Well, fortunately I have a secret weapon. There’s a little boy down the hall who’s taught me a thing or two. After Everest, we’ll go away together and work out how to make our crazy situation workable. Promise.’

  He ran his finger up her arm and across her chest. ‘I know what would really, really help me relax.’ That come-sleep-with-me smile informed her Blake the Almighty was back.

  She tilted her head to the side and raised her eyebrows. ‘And what would that be?’

  He slid his hands down her back, cupped her bottom and drew her hard against his groin. ‘You naked underneath me.’

  Pulsing heat pooled between her thighs. ‘I don’t want to be a distraction,’ she said, her voice already husky.

  ‘You’ve got it all wrong. I need this type of distraction.’ He flicked his tongue up the side of her ear.

  She groaned inwardly. How was she supposed to avoid being a complication? ‘Don’t you need to focus?’

  ‘Great.’ He threw up his hands in mock horror. ‘I reveal my tortured soul, spill my deepest darkest secrets and you use them against me.’

  ‘Well,’ she said, slowly unbuttoning her blouse. ‘If you think it would help.’

  A hungry smile crossed his face. He reached for her.

  ‘Nope.’ She playfully slapped away his hand. ‘Not here.’ She walked to the entrance of the hall and slid her shirt from her body and whirled it seductively; her lacy white bra the only fabric between her and the chill of the air-conditioning. She turned and ran down the hall to his room. He raced in after her.

  ‘Remember, not a sound,’ she said. She shut the door quietly and locked it.

  He pushed her up against the wall and kissed her hard, his body against her in a lustful crush. ‘I’m not making any promises I can’t keep.’

  ‘Blake —’ But his fingers pulled aside the fabric of her bra and circled her nipples. His seductive caress melted her words, her thoughts. He kissed his way down her neck and replaced his fingers with his lips. She arched back against the wall. She wanted more, more, more. He read her thoughts and unhooked her bra. It fell away and his fingers explored her other breast. Heat and want
and craving coursed through her body.

  ‘I want you. Please. Blake.’

  In answer he slid his hand up her leg, pushing her skirt to her hips. Desire throbbed between her legs, begging for his touch. His slid his finger under the edge of her knickers and found her sensitive core. His touch torched her body with fiery desire, each stroke of his finger driving her higher and higher, demanding more and more. Teasing. Stroking. Tension building, building, building. Her breathing came fast and hard and shaky. She betrayed her own demands when she shattered with release and cried out his name.

  Sarah flicked on the kitchen light and tugged open the fridge. She pulled out free-range eggs and fresh spinach and placed them near the cooktop. She’d discovered the Notting Hill farmers’ market and now Blake’s kitchen was always stocked with fresh food.

  The past couple of days had been crazy with work for Blake, but the Everest launch was on track. With a few days to go, Blake barely slept more than a couple of hours each night. He barely ate. At least she made sure he had a healthy breakfast each morning.

  ‘Morning.’ Blake walked bleary-eyed into the room. He came up behind her and kissed her neck.

  She smiled. ‘The usual?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes please,’ he said.

  She popped some wholegrain bread into the toaster and Blake took a seat at the table. Before she cracked the eggs, she leant across the table and caressed the creases from his forehead. ‘How late did you work?’

  ‘Ah, I left the office at midnight, but an issue broke at around two this morning.’ He poured himself a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. ‘All good now though.’

  A few minutes later, they both sat eating Sarah’s version of a traditional English breakfast.

  ‘I’ll be home late again tonight,’ Blake said. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘Don’t even think about it. You do what you have to do. We’ll have all the time in the world once Everest is launched. Remember, if there’s anyone who can understand honouring a parent’s wish it’s me.’

  ‘You’ll be able to do more than just honour it now.’

  He was right. She’d already had ideas for a visitors’ education centre. She’d be able to sell some of the village’s local arts and crafts and bring further prosperity to the region.

  Blake pushed back his plate. ‘Got to shower and get out of here.’

  She followed him down the hall into his office. Files lay all over the desk. He began packing his briefcase.

  ‘You shower,’ she said. ‘I’ll get this organised.’

  ‘Thanks. I need all the files. And there’s one marked Technical in the top drawer.’

  ‘Go. Go,’ she said.

  She sat and pulled Blake’s briefcase onto the desk. Opening the top drawer, she found the Technical file and slid it into his bag. She placed her hand on the drawer to close it, when a small navy-blue book caught her eye. She snatched it up.

  Daniel’s passport.

  She turned it over and over in her hand. A few months ago she’d have grabbed this document and fled. It’d been so simple then, escape and negotiate everything on her terms. But how could she do that now? Blake had admitted he needed help. Blake was Daniel’s father. They’d already developed a bond that filled her heart with joy. Blake had wedged himself back in her heart and she didn’t want to let him go.

  She replaced the passport and slowly closed the drawer on an easy getaway. Blake was Daniel’s father. He had rights, too. What if the situation had been reversed? Hell, she’d probably have chained Blake in a basement if it had meant access to Daniel. And Daniel; he deserved to get to know his father, love his father. They’d go away together and make it work.

  She gathered up the remainder of the files and stacked them in the briefcase. One slid from her hand and spilled onto the floor.

  ‘Damn.’ She knelt down, arranging the papers back into the manila folder. Standing, she bumped the side of Blake’s enormous computer. She cursed. So clumsy this morning.

  The computer sprang to life. She glanced at the screen. His email account stood open. The title of one email smashed into her brain.

  Investigative Report. Sarah and Daniel Walker.

  A sharp injection of icy terror flooded her body, painful and rancid. With a trembling hand, she grabbed the mouse and read the email.

  As requested, please find attached the report on the history and living circumstances of Sarah and Daniel Walker. Court date confirmed. The short message then listed a date four weeks from today. A fear greater than she’d ever known gripped her, rendering her limbs useless. She dropped into Blake’s high-backed leather chair. The fear spread, fast, like a deadly contagious virus. Her hand shuddered. She reached for the mouse and opened the attachment.

  Strong support for full custody case.

  Living circumstances could be described as third-world.

  Incident in 2006 useful for unfit-mother case.

  The strength seeped from her body, her mind muddled with a kind of confused madness. Her stomach foamed with nausea. She couldn’t breathe but forced herself to read further down the page.

  Images of her home appeared on the screen. Her tiny cabin looked squalid. The world puzzle lay completed on the table. She slumped back in the chair. Someone had been in her house. The photos had clearly been taken before her recent trip to Brunei with Blake.

  She stared unseeingly at the office wall and her pulse thundered in her ears. A stranger had gone to the Sanctuary, been in her home . . . and at Blake’s request. Dug into her life, at Blake’s request. Gathered damning information, at Blake’s request. Everything she thought she knew about Blake slipped away.

  Fear turned to action. She sat straight in her chair and clicked further through the report. Newspaper articles came into view. May 2006. A blade sliced through her heart. Her worst nightmare. At just three, Daniel had wandered into the jungle. He’d been lost for eight hours. The story had made the national newspapers. When he’d been found, a nation had heaved a collective sigh of relief. She’d never forgiven herself. Now Blake was planning to use the incident that still haunted her dreams. Use it against her.

  ‘All good?’ Blake’s voice pierced her heart. Her gaze darted to his like a trapped animal.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ He took a step towards her.

  Sarah didn’t speak. She pointed to the screen.

  Blake walked over and leaned in. It only took him a moment to digest what she’d seen.

  He jerked upright. ‘Wait, I can explain this. It’s not what you think.’

  ‘You’re planning to go for full custody. To take Daniel from me.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘It’s all there.’

  He touched her shoulder. She stood and shook free of his touch.

  ‘Sarah, I commissioned the report when we first met. When I thought you were going to run.’ He grabbed the mouse and clicked out of his email. ‘We’re past that now.’

  Are we? A few days ago, he’d used her and the Sanctuary to get what he wanted without telling her. Why would this be any different?

  She took a step away from him. ‘There’s a court date booked.’

  He grabbed her hands. ‘I’ve been too busy to cancel it. You know how things have been at work.’

  How could she believe him? What could be more important than Daniel, his happiness? The success of Hunt-F Tech. Sarah realised with painful clarity that Daniel would always be low down on the list of Blake’s priorities. And she’d probably only make the list when his mind turned to lust.

  Pain stabbed her heart, but she plotted with the single-minded ferocity of a starving lioness.

  ‘Of course,’ she said, forcing lightness into her voice. She pushed the final file into his bag with shaking fingers. She clipped the bag closed and handed it to the man who planned to steal her son.

  He looked at her for a long time, clearly trying to decide where he stood. He kissed her. She didn’t flinch.

  ‘Are we okay?’ he asked, searching her face for t
he clues she kept hidden.

  ‘Sure,’ she said, pushing past him and walking to the front door. ‘Go to work and we’ll discuss it tonight.’

  She opened the door. She drew her expression into one of neutrality. Her face felt tight, like that of a mannequin, all plastic and pretence. ‘Have a great day,’ she said, forcing a smile, fake and docile.

  Blake paused. ‘I know things are crazy at the moment, but we will work this out. You and Daniel mean everything to me.’ His words sounded as hollow as her smile.

  ‘I know.’ That’s why you’re walking out the door. You can’t even see my feeble masquerade.

  She waved and shut the door. Walking to her bedroom, she pulled her suitcase from the back of the cupboard. Blake didn’t understand the law of the jungle. Nothing stood between a mother and her cub.

  Blake scanned the entry hall of the Natural History Museum from his position on the steps. The cathedral-like room was packed, with people milling around the diplodocus skeleton dominating the central space. Excited voices bounced off the nineteenth-century terracotta-tiled walls.

  Every influential media outlet had a microphone erected at the podium. The grand staircase acted as the stage for the event. Television cameras and photographers jostled for the best positions at the foot of the steps.

  He turned away from the crowd and walked over to the marble statue of Charles Darwin sitting still and serene. Although Blake’s announcement today wouldn’t have the same impact on global consciousness as that of Darwin’s theories, he was about to introduce a new concept that would finally secure, without a doubt, the future of Hunt-F Tech as a global force.

  Ten long years in the making and here he was. His commitment delivered upon. He knew that if he could make Hunt-F Tech number one, then he’d forgive himself. For not being there for his father. For not paying attention. For letting young, crazy love blind him to what was important. Today, his father’s company would become a true global force and no one would ever again question the integrity of the Huntington-Fiennes.

  ‘We did it,’ Tom said, clapping him on the back.

  ‘Yes,’ Blake replied. But it didn’t feel how it was supposed to feel. Where was his absolution?