Heart of the Billionaire:

by J. S. Scott

  “You damn well better,” he grumbled.

  In that moment, Maddie knew Sam was back. Tears leaked from her eyes and rolled unchecked down her cheeks as her hands clutched him close, trying to keep him safe until the ambulance arrived.

  Max’s gaze stayed locked with hers, comforting her silently, his eyes trying to tell her everything would be okay. His hand covered hers, warm and gentle, steadying her as she continued to hold on to Sam. They stayed just like that until the paramedics arrived.

  Chapter 13

  “Is it true, Max? Are you really my brother?” Maddie questioned Max in a tremulous voice.

  Sam had been taken to Radiology to clear him of any spinal injuries, while Max and Maddie waited alone in an exam room in the Emergency Department, sitting side by side, their hands clasped together.

  Her hand trembled slightly, the events of the entire evening getting to her. It was so fantastical…yet, even before she asked Max the question, she knew it was true. She felt in her gut, in her soul. Max Hamilton really was her brother.

  Maddie glanced up at him and smiled. Max was right. They did have the same eyes, an unusual hazel that had a sunburst gold pattern around the pupil surrounded by an iris of greenish brown. When she had first met Sam, he had called her Sunshine because of her eyes, saying that the pattern around her pupil reminded him of the sun. Later, he said he called her that because she was the light in his life.

  Max squeezed her hand a little tighter. “It’s true. I had to be sure before I said anything, but I felt it in my gut. I knew the moment I saw you that you and I were somehow related.” Pulling his hand from hers, he dug his wallet from his pocket and sifted through it, extracting an old photo, a small picture resembling an old high school photo. “This is our real mother,” he explained, handing the photo to Maddie. “It was her high school graduation picture. You look so much like her.”

  She took the photo, examining the youthful face and carefree smile. The woman did look like her, with flaming red curls and hazel eyes, her features very similar to her own. “Is she still alive?” she asked curiously. “Have you met her?”

  Max ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “No. She died in the late nineteen-eighties, a car accident with husband number three who was drinking and driving.”

  Maddie had never known the woman. Still, she felt a sense of loss. Maybe she had always hoped that someday her real mother would find her, that the woman who had given birth to her had actually wanted her, but had had to give her up. Admitting to herself that she had probably hoped for that rose-tinted scenario, Maddie knew it was the reason why she had never really dug much into her records or tried to look for her birth mother. If she didn’t know the truth…there was always hope, right? In her youth, the illusion that her mother would look for her eventually had carried Maddie through foster home after foster home, desperately clinging to the hope that her parents had actually wanted her but couldn’t keep her, that they had actually loved her. Later, she had simply no longer wanted to know the truth, her heart battered and bruised from too much rejection and hurt.

  Fingering the picture, Maddie answered softly, “I don’t know much more than the fact that her name was Alice Messling and my father’s name was Victor Dunn. Obviously they weren’t married and both of them were barely eighteen,” she mused, staring at her mother’s photo. “Do you know anything else?” Maddie questioned, ready to hear the answers. She had Sam now…and Max. Whatever was in the past wouldn’t hurt anymore.

  Max took her hand again as he answered, “They weren’t married when you were born, but they married before I was born. You were two years old and I was an infant when our father died. He was hit by a car when he was on his way to work one morning, leaving our mother with nothing except two kids and no money, no way to survive.” He sighed heavily before continuing, “From the information I could piece together, she had to give us up. I like to think she was thinking about our wellbeing. She went on to marry two more times, probably because it was the only way she could survive.” Turning toward Maddie, a remorseful look on his face, he added, “I didn’t know, Maddie. If I had known, I would have moved heaven and earth to find you. I was lucky. I was adopted almost immediately. My parents were already wealthy and I was completely spoiled while you were passed around the system. I’m so fucking sorry.” His voice cracked with emotion and regret. “I thought I was alone after my parents died.”

  Maddie looked into his contrite eyes, her chest aching from unspent tears. “I didn’t know either. It’s not your fault, Max. I’m just glad you’re here now.” And she was happy; her heart was overflowing with joy.

  She had Sam, she had a brother, and she had friends who cared about her. For a woman who had once felt unwanted, it was everything she had ever needed.

  “Me too, Maddie. I want to get to know you, to be a brother to you. Will you let me?” Max asked hesitantly.

  Tears flowed down her cheeks as she looked at her compassionate, caring brother, still looking incredibly handsome even though his tux was somewhat wilted. “Of course. I’ve always wished I had a sibling,” she told him wistfully, releasing his hand and wrapping her arms around his neck, clinging to him as though the bond had already been sealed. From day one, Max had brought out her protective instincts, a need to soothe his pain. It might not happen today or tomorrow, but she was determined to see him happy again in the future.

  Maddie sighed as Max’s arms came around her, pulling her into a fierce hug. “Finding you was something I never expected, but I’m grateful. I just wish I could have found you earlier. I hate what you went through in your childhood. It couldn’t have been easy for you.”

  She clung to him, tears streaming down her cheeks, already sensing that Max was a man who felt deeply.

  Oh, Max. You need to heal. I can feel so much pain inside you.

  Maddie could feel Max’s loneliness in the desperation of his embrace. Her brother was in pain, but she could do nothing except hold him tight, hoping her joy in finding him could somehow touch his empty soul.

  “Hey…take your grimy paws off my fiancée.” Sam’s teasing growl sounded from the door. Max and Sam exchanged grins, both of the men looking relieved that they didn’t have to brawl anymore.

  Maddie released her brother, turning to Sam with a worried frown. “Did the doctor say you could be walking?” she asked, her voice admonishing.

  Her heart did a happy dance as she looked at Sam, still in tuxedo pants covered with a hospital gown. He was battered and bruised everywhere, but he had never looked so good. His smile was slightly pained and his normal fierce stride was slower from the pain of his injuries, but damn, he looked good, especially since she had feared he had been badly hurt, or worse.

  He gave her a wicked, lopsided grin. “Yes Dr. Demanding, he did. I made him come to Radiology to look at the x-rays immediately. I wasn’t staying strapped on the damn uncomfortable board any longer than I had to be.” He walked toward her slowly, and gave her a lingering kiss on her cheek.

  Maddie’s breath hitched, wondering how an innocent kiss could feel so sensual.

  Because Sam’s every touch is filled with intimacy and it gets to me. Bad.

  “So you’re throwing your financial power around again, making the medical staff do your bidding?” Maddie asked, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice. She was fairly certain Sam hadn’t asked the physician politely. Sam had demanded…and because he was a generous donor to the medical facility, he got whatever he wanted.

  “You’re a doctor, and it’s never worked on you,” he muttered, disgruntled.

  Maddie folded her arms in front of her, lifting a brow as she met his gaze. “That’s because I’ve been onto you for years. That charming smile doesn’t work with me,” she informed him, trying to keep a straight face.

  Honestly, she could barely refrain from throwing herself into his arms and clinging to him until she convinced herself he was going to be okay. Memories of him vaulting onto that railing and leapin
g over a treacherous drop to get in front of her to protect her kept haunting her brain over and over like a horrible nightmare. What guy did something like that?

  A man who cares about me more than his own life.

  “You love me. You know you do,” Sam said huskily, a teasing yet vulnerable timbre in his voice, the back of his hand smoothing over her cheek as he said it.

  Maddie smiled, unable to help herself. She had heard Simon and Sam banter so many times, heard Sam tell his brother the exact same words. Simon’s answer to that particular comment was nearly always…“Not today.”

  She caught his wandering hand and held it over her cheek, her heart racing as she answered softly, “Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do. I love you every moment of every day.” Really, how could she reply to him any other way? Sam needed love and she would never again pretend that he wasn’t her world. She was done hiding her feelings and not revealing how she felt. He had terrified the hell out of her tonight. Life was too short not to say exactly how she was feeling.

  His eyes turned liquid, sparking like the exquisite gemstone color they resembled. “Damn, sweetheart…I like your answer a hell of a lot more than Simon’s,” he rasped emotionally, his gaze entwining with hers, his eyes speaking volumes. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited to hear those words from you?”

  Maddie shook her head, unable to speak.

  “Forever,” he replied emphatically, his fingers wrapping around hers, his grip almost painfully tight. “Let’s go home.”

  “You haven’t been cleared to leave, and you’re staying until I consult with the doctor,” she demanded. There was no way Sam was leaving until she knew every tiny injury he had.

  “Tyrant,” he accused with a charming smile. “It’s pretty hot. Do you want to play doctor when we get home?”

  Maddie shivered, the thought of examining Sam’s body in detail would have been arousing if he wasn’t beat to hell. Ignoring his sexual innuendo, she answered, “You need to take it easy. You’re going to be sore.”

  Sam frowned and he opened his mouth to argue, but the doctor in charge of the E.R. entered before he could answer.

  Maddie was acquainted with the older, gray-haired doctor, and she stepped closer to him to discuss the treatment and care needed for Sam’s injuries. From the corner of her eye, she could see Max helping Sam back into his shirt, leaving his jacket off for comfort. Sam was grumbling, irritated about anything that slowed him down.

  The moment the E.R. doctor left the room, Sam was headed determinedly for the door.

  “Whoa…we need to get your script and you need to sign your discharge papers, Sam.” She grabbed the back of his shirt gently as he clasped her hand in his and tried to drag her out of the hospital.

  “We’re leaving,” he rasped, tugging on her hand, Max following behind her.

  She shot a look back at her brother, his grin lighting up his face as he watched Sam striding hard-headedly toward the door.

  Max shrugged and Maddie rolled her eyes. Luckily, the nurse met them at the door, and Sam picked up the pen and scribbled his name on the discharge instructions, barely breaking his stride. Maddie took the papers and snatched the script, smiling at the nurse as she happily followed Sam.

  “I don’t need the damn pills. All I need is you,” he rumbled, heading for the exit, his grip tightening on her hand.

  It wasn’t exactly romantic or tender, but coming from Sam, the comment was heartfelt and it made Maddie sigh.

  Twenty minutes later, they were home.

  *****

  “Why didn’t you take my virginity when we were younger?” Maddie asked as she lay as close as she dared beside Sam in his massive bed. He’d kept trying to bring her closer, but she scuttled away, concerned about causing him pain.

  Sam’s entire back and legs had bruises forming and he had strained some muscles. Luckily, nothing was broken, but he had to hurt just about everywhere. She could see it in his walk, the pained expression on his face. She had stripped him down to his silk boxers and put him to bed, getting into bed and lying beside him after she had donned a silk nightshirt herself and had practically needed to force-feed him one of his pain pills.

  “I couldn’t do it,” he answered roughly, hesitantly, his hand raking through his hair as though he was frustrated, not quite sure of how to answer.

  Maybe at an earlier time, Maddie might have taken his answer as a rejection. But not now. Not after all that had happened between them. She pretty much knew the answer, but she wanted him to tell her. “Why?” she asked softly. “Was it because you were assaulted and molested?” She was tired of dancing around the issue.

  “You knew?” he answered quietly, his low voice astonished.

  “I read your medical records, Sam. Remember? Those records were there, too,” she admitted, her hand moving down to take his to reassure him.

  “Fuck!” he rasped, his hand squeezing hers tightly, his body tense. “I never meant for you to know. You shouldn’t know. I was tarnished. I wasn’t worthy of you. I was a street rat who let men use my body.” His voice was hoarse and tormented.

  “You were molested,” Maddie insisted indignantly. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Sam. It wasn’t your fault.” She sat up on one elbow, able to see his face in the moonlight, but not his eyes. Sam was lying on his back and his whole body was rigid, unmoving.

  “I wasn’t molested. I let them do it,” he replied flatly.

  “To protect Simon,” she added. “So they would leave him alone.”

  “Doesn’t matter why. I agreed,” he answered stiffly.

  “It matters, Sam,” she told him softly, her hand coming up to stroke his cheek. “Tell me about it,” she pleaded.

  How could she tell him that it was even braver of him to sacrifice himself for Simon? He’d submitted to the pain and humiliation to keep his younger brother from being a victim, his father getting payment in drugs and alcohol for the use of his son’s body.

  Sam released a masculine sigh. “I heard the men talking with my father one night, trying to make a deal. They were a bunch of sick bastards from the organization that got their rocks off by screwing young boys. They wanted Simon because he was young, helpless. My father was going to do it; he was going to let them do that to Simon. Goddammit. How can a man sacrifice his kid like that for any reason?” Sam’s chest was heaving as he continued, “Simon was in fucking grade school, still so damn innocent and young. I told my father I’d kill him if he touched Simon and he said he had already agreed and we’d all be in danger if he didn’t deliver. So I let the bastard give me over to them instead.”

  Maddie sifted her hands gently up his cheek and through his curls. Her sweet, protective, courageous man had intrepidly offered himself in place of his younger brother. “They hurt you,” she whispered, tears coming to her eyes.

  “I didn’t want you to know, Maddie.” His voice was strangled, his torment over talking about it apparent. “You asked me how I got the scars on my back. I got them when it hurt so badly that I fought them. I let them do it, but most of the time they had to beat me into submission.”

  “My poor Sam. I love you, baby. I hate the pain you suffered and if I could find those men, I would probably kill them. Screw my Hippocratic Oath,” she answered harshly. “It wasn’t your fault. You were so very heroic and brave. And you were molested, raped and assaulted. It does matter that you submitted to it to save Simon that pain. It makes it even more heartbreaking.” Maddie ended on a sob she couldn’t suppress.

  “Don’t cry. Please. It was a long time ago,” Sam answered hesitantly, letting go of her hand and putting a muscular arm around her and tugging her along his side.

  “Don’t. You’re in pain,” Maddie warned him sternly.

  “It will hurt more if you struggle,” he answered. “And it hurts worse to not have you close to me.”

  Maddie’s heart melted, and she tried to lay as still as possible against him. “Does Simon know?” she asked tentatively.

&
nbsp; “No. Nobody knows except my counselor and now you. My mother would hate herself for it and so would Simon.”

  “Did the counseling help?”

  “Yeah. For most of the problems. I guess I haven’t quite gotten over being touched. I usually tried so hard to please a woman that she never really cared whether she touched me back or not,” he told her honestly.

  “I care. I want to touch you, Sam. I want to please you,” Maddie told him in a loving, warm voice. “When we were younger, I was confused. I thought you wanted me, but you wouldn’t take me to bed.”

  “I wanted you,” he growled, pulling her close to him. “I was serious when I said I’ve dreamed about it for years. You were the best thing that ever happened to me, but I felt dirty and soiled, not worthy of having you.”

  “And now?” she questioned, propping herself up on one arm and running her hand lightly over his ripped chest.

  “Now I can’t fucking help myself. You had your chance to find a better man. You’re stuck with me,” he answered, his hand stroking over her curls, massaging her scalp. “You agreed to marry me.”

  “There is no better man for me, Sam.” Maddie ran her finger lightly down his chest, making butterfly patterns on his abdomen with her finger.

  “Either stop touching me or you’re going to be flat on your back in five seconds,” Sam cautioned her in a voice filled with desire.

  “Don’t you hurt?” she questioned, her light touch stopping at the waistband of his boxers.

  “The only thing that really aches is my cock right now. And it isn’t from falling down the stairs. Jesus, Maddie. All I have to do is think about you, smell you, feel your touch and I’m ready to be inside you.” Sam groaned, his hand coming down to covers hers.

  “You’re not having sex right now. You’re beat up too badly. It won’t be pleasant,” she told him sternly.

  “It will be hell if I don’t,” he quipped. “I need you too damn badly.”

  “I want to touch you,” she whispered, loosening her hand from his and slipping it under his boxers. “Will you let me? Please. I want you to just lay there and be still. I’ll take care of you. Can you do that?”