Dancing With Danger (BWWM 2015) (BWWM Billionaire Romance) (17 page)

“Screw this,” he said. “I’m going up there.”

“Jack told you to stay put!”

“I don’t care!”

And then he was off, stomping up the stairs and forcing the door open with a snarl. He didn’t make it very far. There was a muffled thump and then he came tumbling down the stairs, making Sadie scream and jump back to huddle against the wall.

Dorian and Andrea traded looks that clearly said they were both hoping that this was something that was working in their favor and not some rebel gang or something.

“Ben?” Andrea called, somewhat timidly.

There was another thump and a barrage of swearing and then Ben’s face was peering at them from over the banister. “Thank god,” he said. “You two are in so much trouble, you don’t even know.”

“You can yell all you like as soon as you get us out of here,” Andrea replied, and the relief in her voice was palpable.

“One second,” Ben said and then disappeared back up the stairs.

Sadie was inching towards the stairs herself, but it wasn’t going to do her any good. From the sounds of it, Ben and the rest had things well under control.

When Ben came back down, he had a policeman with him, who brandished a pair of handcuffs. “Sadie Landon?” he asked, taking one look at the woman. “You’re under arrest.”

She didn’t even try to fight back, instead just letting the officer cuff her and lead her up the stairs. Ben sighed with relief and then looked them over. “Are either of you hurt?” he asked and then moved to untie his sister first.

Dorian couldn’t blame him for that, considering what he’d probably been through worrying about her.

From getting untied to getting out of the basement and into a squad car, the rest of it passed in a blur. He had to assure several people that he was fine, including Carlos who was armed and looked angrier than Dorian had ever seen him look.

The police assured him that they were going to do everything they could to make sure that they got in contact with people overseas and that if the members they’d captured here gave up some names, everything would go much easier.

Dorian wasn’t going to hold his breath about that, but it was a start and certainly more than he’d ever expected.

He almost made a joke about how he should have just gotten kidnapped earlier and this could have been taken care of already, but judging from how serious everyone looked, he held that in.

It was going to be a long night as it was.

***

Chapter 12: Home Again

As always after something like what they had just been through, it took ages for them to be allowed to go back home. They’d ridden in the back of a police car to the nearest station, and it had taken hours for them to recount the story and answer all the questions.

Ben had glared them down and said that neither of them were allowed to move until someone could escort them back to the house. There was no telling if they’d gotten all the members of the syndicate who were around, and the last thing they needed was for someone who wanted revenge to get their hands on them. Andrea’s car had to be towed back to the manor from the place where it’d been crashed, but she hadn’t argued when Dorian had practically begged her to be allowed to make sure that the damage was paid for.

It had been his fault, after all, and though she hadn’t said as much, he knew that she agreed. Dorian was ashamed of how he’d acted, and when Ben had read him the riot act about being foolish and dragging his sister into danger along with him, Dorian had just let him say what he needed to say.

He’d been in the wrong, and they’d both almost paid for it.

If not for the fact that his panic button had been in his pocket, it was very likely that Ben would never have found them, or at the very least taken a lot longer to find them, and things would have been much harder and much worse.

As things stood, most of the major news outlets were ignorant to the fact that Dorian had almost lost a significant portion of his money, and the police had arrested most of the members of the syndicate. They were confident that they could track down the rest of them and told Dorian that it wouldn’t be long before he didn’t have to look over his shoulder anymore, but Ben had made it more than clear that until anything and anyone who could be considered a threat was gone, Dorian wasn’t going to be let out of his sight.

He found the idea oddly comforting.

Once it had become clear that aside from some bruises and a couple of cuts, Andrea wasn’t hurt, Ben had reluctantly sent her back to the manor with Marta and Sam, making them promise not to leave her alone until she was safe in her rooms. And then to stay there and make sure she didn’t leave.

Dorian had seen the real fear in Ben’s eyes when he’d thought that Andrea was hurt or worse, and he’d stepped away when Ben had swept her up into his arms and held her for a solid five minutes.

They were the only family each other had left, after all, and it was a moment that he didn’t need to see. Especially since it was all his fault.

Andrea had kissed his cheek before she’d gone home, but until he talked to her, he wasn’t sure where they stood.

It was closing in on midnight when they finally made it back to the manor, and Dorian was aching and tired. His head was throbbing from recounting the same events over and over again, and the tea they’d served him at the police station had left a sour taste in his mouth. He wanted a real cup of tea, a shower, and his bed. In that order.

Preferably with Andrea in the bed with him, but he realized he was in no position to be making demands like that at the moment.

Anita was waiting up in the kitchen when they came through, and she threw herself at him as soon as he stepped inside, practically shouting at him in Spanish while she hugged him tight.

Carlos had yet to say a single word to him since they’d gotten to the car, and Dorian knew he deserved it.

Now, the formerly silent driver came over to where Anita was practically strangling him and put his arms around his sister and Dorian both. “Don’t you ever do that again,” he said in a low voice. “Do you understand? Never again.”

Dorian nodded and told himself that he wasn’t going to cry. It was amazing to be home and to know that he’d survived being kidnapped. As a child, he’d often wondered if he would.

He hugged them both and sighed with relief when Carlos pulled Anita away.

Dorian went to put the kettle on, sighing and slumping against the counter. He looked up to see Ben still standing there, and then looked away. “You’re upset with me.”

“Yeah,” Ben said. “Of course I am. Can you blame me? I thought you were smarter than this, Dorian. I thought you were better than this. Because when you hired me, you gave me this whole speech about how there needed to be loyalty and trust between a man and his security team, but apparently you only meant for that trust to go one way.”

“I didn’t!” Dorian rushed to assure him. “I didn’t mean that. I just. I wasn’t thinking. It won’t happen again. And… and I’m sorry that I got Andrea wrapped up in it, too. I know that you were probably more concerned about her well being than mine in this case, and she should never have been put in danger like that.”

Ben looked wary, but he sighed and leaned against the table, shaking his head. “No, she shouldn’t have. But I know my sister. If she was with you, then it was for a good reason. I just. I don’t want this for her. I want her to be able to be safe and happy, but she’s always been her own person and me telling her not to see you anymore isn’t going to do anything but make her mad.”

“I want her to be safe, too,” Dorian said. “I swear I do. I never meant for her to get hurt, and I take full responsibility for it, though she doesn’t seem to want me to do that.”

“Sounds like my sister,” Ben said and cracked a little smile. “I’m glad you’re alright. Both of you. It’d look terrible on my record if I let my employer die in the first month of me working for him.”

Dorian grinned at that, moving to deal with the kettle when it whistled shrilly. “Your reputation is safe, I believe. Better for it, I’m sure, since you helped to take down a well known crime organization and rescue me in the process.”

“Not bad for a day’s work.”

“Not bad at all.”

“Am I interrupting some manly bonding here?”

They both turned to see Andrea standing there with a grin on her face. Ben scowled at her, and Dorian set to making tea, making a cup for Andrea as well, just in case.

“No. And aren’t you supposed to be in bed?” Ben asked. “You’ve been through a lot.”

Andrea waved that away. “It wasn’t that big of a deal, you know. You rode in on your white horse before anything bad could happen, really.” She apparently saw something in her brother’s face that made her soften. “I wanted to talk to Dorian and then I’m going to sleep, okay? You worry too much.”

“With good reason,” Dorian said softly, though he kept his eyes on his tea making.

Ben didn’t say anything. Instead he pulled his sister into a rough hug and kissed the top of her head. “Get some sleep,” he said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

And then he was gone, leaving the two of them alone in the kitchen together.

Dorian hazarded a glance up at her and offered a small smile. “I didn’t know what kind of tea you preferred or how you take it, but.” He pushed the cup towards her. “There’s chamomile in it for relaxation and all that. You know where the sugar and milk is.”

Andrea nodded and set about fixing her cup the way she liked it (and Dorian noted that she didn’t use much sugar or any milk). After she’d taken a sip, she looked at him again. “You seem like you’re waiting for something.”

He shrugged. “I suppose I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“What do you mean?”

“All of this...seems too good to be true. We got out of there and none of my money had to be given to the bad guys for it to happen. And on top of that, the police have rounded up most of them. It just. Things rarely go this smoothly.”

She laughed at that and took a step closer to him. “I think your standards are a bit low if you think getting kidnapped and held hostage for hours counts as things going smoothly.”

Dorian shrugged. “I’ve been prepared for that eventuality for most of my life. I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.” He couldn’t hold himself back after that. After all they’d been through that night, he just wanted to touch her. So he put down his cup of tea and took hers from her before folding her into his arms and holding her close.

Andrea chuckled softly and hugged him back, leaning up to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I’m okay,” she said. “We’re okay.”

“Are we?” Dorian murmured. “I know that this wasn’t your idea of a romantic night out, and just because they caught some of the members of that syndicate, doesn’t mean they’ve got all of them. It’s going to be a while before I’m completely safe to be around.”

She rolled her eyes at him and pushed out of his hold, propping her hands on her hips. “Does it look like I care about that? I knew what I was getting into before tonight happened, you know. I knew that there was going to be danger and all that. Ben told me about it, too. I never thought that it was going to be easy, and that never stopped me from wanting it. It’s not going to stop me now, either.”

Dorian just looked at her for a moment and then pulled her into a hot, hard kiss. “You’re extraordinary, did you know that?”

She grinned against his mouth. “Of course I did. Now come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“You need a shower, and I am desperate to curl up in your bed and sleep for the next three days.”

“Don’t you have to work in the morning?” Dorian asked, and she snorted.

“I’m calling in sick. Now
come on.
”

He didn’t make her ask twice.

If there was one thing he’d say for Andrea, it was that she had good ideas. The heat of the shower beat into his sore muscles, and he groaned and slumped against the tiled wall, letting the water beat a tempo between his shoulder blades. Andrea was behind him, working shampoo into his hair, even though he’d insisted that she didn’t need to.

If anything, he should have been tending to her, even though his muscles were tight and sore, and there were already bruises blooming on his skin.

Andrea looked positively edible under the shower spray, of course, the water beading on her dark skin making Dorian ache to follow their path with his tongue.

Neither of them had the energy for more than a few half hearted touches at the moment, though, and so they washed each other up, trading kisses and sliding their hands over slick, wet skin.

Dorian did indulge himself in letting his hand drift between her legs for a bit, teasing the sensitive bud of her clit and enjoying the way her soft gasps echoed in the bathroom. It really did have lovely acoustics.

Seeing how she reacted to that made him keep going, and he urged her to spread her legs wider, working his fingers into her until she was slick with her own juices. He backed her up against the wall and worked at her clit with his other hand, keeping his movements slow and easy, seeing no need to rush and no need to overexert himself.