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The Billionaire Kings Book 5
Prologue
Saturday, 8 June
The night of the cyclone
Fitz
I leave the sanctuary of the Ark and head out into the wildness of the winter night.
Man, it’s crazy out here. The wind is blowing so hard, it’s impossible to stand upright. I double over, clutching my jacket around me, and stagger toward the petting farm across the field from the main block. I should have had my hair cut; it’s getting long, curling like a bastard, and the wind whips it around my face and makes it sting.
I hope Poppy doesn’t mind me joining her at the petting farm. I don’t like the idea of her staying there alone during the storm. She’ll be trying to keep all the animals calm, and it’s scary enough with every plank of wood and loose tile flapping and banging about, without having to worry about the goats and rabbits getting twitchy.
My decision to head over there has nothing to do with the fact that I find her attractive. That I take any opportunity I can get to spend time around her, so I can listen to her soft, slightly husky voice when she talks, and study her slender figure when she’s not looking.
I’ve been building up to asking her out for a while. She hasn’t been at the Ark that long—only three or four months. She was a primary school teacher, but her brother, Albie, told me that she had a relationship with one of the deputy principals, and it ended badly. Because of this, I’ve given her a little space, but I don’t want to leave it too long and see her snapped up by someone else.
I reach the enclosure, which is empty, all the animals obviously inside the barn. Poppy appears to have chained the gate with a padlock to ensure it doesn’t come loose, so I attempt to vault over the fence, catch my foot on one of the planks, and end up on my backside on the ground.
Swearing under my breath, I get up and dust myself down, stumble across to the barn, push the door hard, and pitch headfirst into the barn onto the floor again.
“Hello, Mr. Elegant.” Poppy closes the door behind me, puts a bar across it, and offers me a hand. “Are you auditioning for Dancing with the Stars?”
I scowl, take her hand, and let her pull me to my feet. She’s surprisingly strong considering she’s six inches shorter than me and about thirty pounds lighter.
“My back doesn’t bend the way it used to,” I tell her. “I forget sometimes.” An accident injured my spine when I was in the Army. I’ve had surgery, but the injury has never healed completely—a constant reminder that I’m thirty-two now and only half the man I used to be.
“What are you doing over here?” She tucks a strand of her long curly hair behind her ear. It’s a beautiful auburn color, like trees in autumn, their leaves about to fall. “You took your life in your hands venturing out into this weather.”
“I wanted to check you were all right,” I tell her. “I didn’t like the idea of you being alone.”
She gives me a wry look. “I’m not a maiden in distress. I don’t need saving.”
“I know.”
She meets my gaze for a moment. Then she drops hers and goes to lean on the wall that surrounds the animals. I join her, our arms a few inches apart. The animals are quiet at the moment, and don’t seem too worried about the rattling of the rafters.
“Where’s Jack?” she asks, referring to the Jack Russell who’s usually by my side.
“Back at the Ark. I didn’t want to bring him out in this weather.”
“Any news on the cyclone?”
“We’re in the middle of it now. I think we can expect another couple of hours of this.”
She nods. “I brought a sleeping bag. I thought I might stay the night, just in case the animals are frightened.”
“I’ll stay with you, if you like.”
Her green-eyed gaze comes back to me again. “You don’t need to do that.”
“I know.” I take a deep breath. Time to show my hand. “I want to spend some time with you. Is that so surprising to you?”
Her eyes widen. Albie told me she doesn’t get subtlety, and that she won’t believe I’m interested unless I say it straight up—that she would think I’m just being polite when I try to talk to her, and I realize he was right.
