No Ordinary Billionaire (The Sinclairs) (R) (20 page)

I just want to be normal.

That plea, that simply uttered need, had almost brought him to his knees last night. What he’d told her was true . . . she’d always be much better than normal. But she did deserve to do normal things. If he had his way, she’d stay safely tucked away until her attacker was finally caught. But honestly, there was a possibility that the guy had skipped town and he was keeping her sequestered for nothing. He could be vigilant. Still, bringing her outside in the open was nearly killing him. Sure, it was on the peninsula, and chances were that her location hadn’t even been discovered yet. But even a small risk with Sarah’s safety made him antsy.

Happy or safe?

Why in the hell did it have to come down to one or the other? He wanted Sarah to be happy
and
safe. Was that too damn much to ask?

His Glock was tucked into his waistband at his back and covered by the tail of his shirt. Dante silently scoped out his surroundings before dragging Sarah to the open area of the driveway. Releasing her hand, he went into the garage and rolled out her new bike, watching her face as she saw what he was doing.

“Oh my God. Is that mine? It’s beautiful,” Sarah exclaimed, her face glowing as she moved forward and reverently ran a hand over the black leather seat.

The bike he was rolling out was a metallic red with black accessories, and the look on her face was priceless, well worth the few hours it had taken to put it together. “This is a beach cruiser and it only has one speed. Perfect for this area and easy to learn to ride. It’s good for a starter.”

“It’s good forever. I can’t believe you got this just for me,” Sarah whispered softly, her hand moving over the shiny red paint. “It’s the best gift ever.”

“Better than the piano?” Dante said, amused. Only Sarah would think a starter cruiser bike was the best gift ever from a billionaire. However, he had no doubt that she was more excited about this silly bicycle than she would be about getting high-priced jewelry or anything else he could easily buy for her.

She lifted a brow at him. “You said the piano was for you.”

Damn. Busted!

The piano was never meant for him, but he knew he’d needed to make some excuse to suddenly have a grand piano show up in his living room. Yeah, his excuse had been lame. Still, he’d just stuck his big foot in his mouth. “It was,” he lied shamefully. He knew that she probably had never bought his excuse, but he wasn’t admitting it outright. More than likely, she’d want him to get rid of it.

“Hmm . . . yeah,” Sarah answered dubiously, but she didn’t push the issue. “Did you put this bike together yourself?” she asked curiously.

“Yep. I wanted to. I wanted to make sure it was safe.” He released a silent sigh of relief that she’d dropped the piano subject. Unfortunately, he knew he’d been nailed, but she’d let him off the hook.

Sarah stopped staring at the bike and lifted her gaze to his face. Dante froze as he saw the tears in her eyes, and felt his heart speed up as she curled one hand behind his neck and pulled him down for the gentlest, most tender kiss he’d ever experienced.

“That makes it even more special,” she told him softly. “Thank you.” Gripping the handlebars, she asked excitedly, “Can I try it?”

“Wait a minute,” he ordered, pulling out the safety equipment he’d purchased with the bike. He adjusted the lightweight helmet on her head, laughing as it squashed her curls and sent them protruding out of the sides of the helmet. He made her hold out her arms and legs as he put on knee and elbow pads. “Okay,” he said warily, allowing her to swing her leg over, wondering if there was any other protective gear he could have gotten her.

He showed her how to brake the bike, the most important skill as far as he was concerned, and how to balance herself. Honestly, he’d wanted to put training wheels on the bicycle, but he thought that was a little overkill. Now he almost wished he had included them. He was having visions of Sarah battered and bloody on the ground from a nasty fall, even though he knew he was being ridiculous.

“I’m staying with you, so don’t pedal too fast. And don’t hit the brakes too hard or you could go flying right over the handlebars,” he warned anxiously.

“Doesn’t it make more sense to go faster? It’s simple physics, really. If I’m moving at a higher rate of speed, the bike should become more stable,” she said thoughtfully.

Dante watched the concentration on Sarah’s face and grinned. He should have known she’d be calculating some mathematical formula for staying balanced. “Not too fast,” he instructed. “Mount up.”

Sarah used the pedals to slip onto the seat, finding a comfortable position for her hands on the handlebars as he held her steady.

“Okay, start pedaling,” Dante coached, keeping a grip underneath the seat and next to the handlebars.

She was a fast learner, and started out a little wobbly, but Dante found himself running along with her after a few false starts. He had her get used to the brakes, letting her bring the bike to a stop every time they reached the end of the driveway.

“I think I can do it,” Sarah told him confidently, her face glowing with excitement as they stopped at the end of the driveway after several trips back and forth. “You can let go this time.”

I can let go?

That thought rankled, even though Dante was pretty certain Sarah would stay upright. “We’ll see.” Her face was still shining with excitement, glowing like a child’s who was learning to ride for the first time. Dante had never seen her look more beautiful.

She pushed off and got herself seated, and Dante ran along with her for a short distance before letting go. “Don’t forget to brake,” he bellowed, running alongside of her now.

A startled look appeared briefly on her face as she realized he wasn’t holding on anymore, but then she whooped, “I’m doing it myself!”

She was, although Dante stayed close enough to react if she started to go down. He watched as she pedaled faster, and then started to ease on the brake to stop near the garage.

“I did it,” Sarah said breathlessly as she lowered her feet to the ground. Clambering off the cycle, she engaged the kickstand and threw herself into Dante’s arms, peppering his face with kisses as she bounced around in his arms jubilantly. “That was incredible.”

Worth every damn moment I’ve been sweating out her safety.

Dante was still watching their surroundings, but her happiness had been worth his stress, and having her delectable body bouncing against his was a definite bonus.

“I’m making you the best dinner ever later tonight,” Sarah told him excitedly.

Dante wanted to tell her that any time he ate at the same table with her was an incredible dinner, but he wouldn’t argue. His skills in the kitchen sucked, and Sarah was an incredible cook. The very best part of having dinner with Sarah was seeing her beautiful face as she sat next to him at the table. It was weird how fast he’d gotten used to not eating alone, to having her there every evening. Probably because he loved having her near him so damn much.

“It’s starting to get dark. You ready to head inside?” he asked her reluctantly, wishing he could capture her joy and hold on to it forever.
This
was the way he wanted to see her every single day.

“Yes,” she agreed readily, elevating the stand on her bike carefully and pushing it into the garage as though it were one of her most prized possessions.

Dante watched as she carefully removed her gear and stored it in the pouch on the back of the bike.

“Thank you,” she told him sincerely, reaching for his hand and entwining their fingers together when she joined him outside again.

He had to swallow a lump in his throat the size of Alaska. He’d never had a whole lot of tenderness in his life, but this woman was making him crave it from her.

Dante shrugged. “It was just a bike ride.”

“It was a whole lot more than just you teaching me how to ride a bike and you know it,” she replied quietly.

She knew that stepping outside in the open had been difficult for him. She was telling him that she appreciated the fact that he’d compromised for her. It should have surprised him that she understood, but it didn’t. Sarah could read him in ways that nobody else ever had.

Hell, there was almost nothing he wouldn’t do for her, but he didn’t know how to tell her that, so he kissed her instead, giving Sarah the same type of warm embrace that she’d given him earlier, before he wrapped an arm around her waist and took her back into the house.

CHAPTER 13

During the next week, Sarah was relieved that Dante had actually started to loosen the reins a bit on letting her be seen occasionally outside. Yesterday, he’d walked her to Brew Magic so they could get a latte. Of course, he had her shackled to his side with a powerful, muscular arm around her waist, and she knew he was well armed. Still, it was progress. And for the last several days, he’d let her take a few more laps up and down the driveway on her bike, teaching her how to make turns and improving her skills. And then, of course, there were the nights.

Sarah sighed happily as she thought about those incredible nights, with another one on its way. Neither of them could wait beyond five minutes before they were naked and in the shower together after work, each of them ravenous for the other. They usually woke up aroused and ready in the morning, too. Sarah thought her desire would settle down at least a little after she’d been with Dante. It didn’t. If anything, it made her need even more acute, more urgent.

Her cell phone rang just as she was exiting Dante’s truck after work that day, and she cringed as she dug into her purse and saw her mother’s number.

“Who is it?” Dante asked curiously.

“My mother,” she replied unhappily. It had been over a month since she’d heard from Elaine Baxter, and although some part of her wanted to talk to her mother because she was her only family, she knew how the conversation would go, how it always went.

Sarah answered it before she could decide to ignore the call. She knew that once her mother had decided she wanted to talk to her, she’d keep calling back.

“Hello,” she said apprehensively.

“Sarah?” her mother asked abruptly.

“Yes, Mom. It’s me.”

“I’ve found the ideal man for you,” Elaine said without preamble. “I met him in one of my Mensa meetings. He’s perfect. His IQ is similar, and he’s a brilliant neurosurgeon, so you’d have a lot in common. He’s older, and ready to settle down now. I need you to come back to Chicago.”

Nothing had changed a bit. “I can’t,” she replied, not mentioning that she had no plans to leave Amesport, a place where she’d never been happier in her life.

“Are you still not working in the hospital?”

“No, Mother, I’m not,” Sarah replied flatly as she followed Dante into the house.

“You’re going to have to conquer those fears. They aren’t rational,” her mother scolded. “You don’t belong in a small office, working in some town that’s hardly on the map. How are you going to keep advancing? You need to meet the man I found for you. Being older, he’ll be more stable. But I’m not sure he’ll understand your phobias.”

Sarah was pretty certain that he wouldn’t. If he was a friend of her mother’s and she liked this man, he didn’t deal in anything that couldn’t be proved with scientific evidence or mathematical formulas. “I’d prefer to pick my own husband, Mom,” she answered flatly.

Dante swung his head around at Sarah’s comment, frowning at the cell phone in her hand like it was an actual person.

Sarah continued. “And there was an incident here that indicates that the man who attacked me might be coming after me. I’m working with the police to try to apprehend him now.” Sarah desperately hoped her mother would show just an iota of concern.

“That’s all the more reason to get on a plane and come back here. Chicago has a much better police force to protect you,” her mother said with a sniff of disgust.

And John Thompson would have a big city to hide in. Just for once, Mom, ask me if I’m doing okay. Ask me what happened and if I’m safe. Ask me if I’m scared. Be a mom instead of a teacher.

“You’re wasting your potential there, Sarah. I want you on a plane and home by the end of the week, young lady,” her mother added.

Deflated, Sarah sat down in one of the dining room chairs. Dante moved a chair beside her and sat, taking her hand as though he knew she was upset.

Who am I kidding? I’m wishing for a relationship that never has and never will exist.

Her mother was more of a disciplinarian, an instructor whom Sarah could never please and never had, no matter how hard she tried. “I’m twenty-seven years old. I can make my own decisions now. And I’m never going back there. Ever,” she told her mother emphatically.

For Sarah, the words meant so much more than just location. She was starting to live, finding friendships after going so long without anybody, and she had a man who was right beside her, lending her support when she needed it. Dante might not be in her life forever, but she was going to appreciate what she had right now. No . . . she was never going back to the sterile, lifeless existence she’d known in Chicago. Not now that she was learning that life could be so much . . . more.