Defying Dorian: Bad Boy Billionaire Romance (4 page)

* * *

D
orian lifted
his arm and made a motion with his hand like I needed to calm down. I bit my lip. His charm faded right then, for sure.

“Take it easy,” he began, lowering it again. “You are going to be staying with me, here. This is my home.”

He paused just long enough to reach down towards the floor. His arm disappeared beneath the surface of his desk which blocked my line of sight. The next thing I knew, he produced
the metal case
, swinging it up and over the edge of his desk before placing it in front of him.

I wasn’t even thinking. When I saw it I wanted to get away, get as far away from it as I could. Staggering to my feet, I backed away from his desk, turning towards the door of the office.

“Come sit down,” Dorian said, pointing to my chair. “I’ve already told you that you won’t be going anywhere.”

Ignoring him, I took off running before the Eastern Bloc chick stepped in front of me, blocking my exit.

“Get out of my way, lady. I’m warning you.”

The woman crossed her arms at her chest. Shaking her head, she nodded her chin in my direction.

“Go sit.” She growled, her accent sharp. Russian, definitely Russian.

I frowned at her. “Go to hell!”

I kept walking in her direction, determined to open the door and get out. She didn’t waste any time. With blinding speed, she grabbed me by the wrist and pulled my arm behind my back, pinning me against the wall before I could say a word.

The pressure she applied caused a sharp sting of pain to radiate down my arm.

“Ow!” I winced. “Let go of me!”

I felt her shift positions behind me, pulling my forearm higher up the middle of my back and sending the pain to new heights. Gritting my teeth, I cried out.

Dorian stopped her with a stern tone. “Oksana…”

No sooner did he speak her name than her death grip eased. The woman moved away from me and took her position by the office door again. I reached up towards the shoulder she’d yanked behind me and rubbed it, moving the joint in a small circle. Glaring at her, I turned in place until my eyes met Dorian’s.

“Tempest, that is my personal assistant, Oksana.”

My eyes darted towards her. Thin lipped, she nodded in my direction, her face expressionless while Dorian continued.

“She grew up in a military household… Three brothers, all Russian special forces. They were protective of their little sister and taught her well. You’ll have to forgive her instincts.”

When he finished speaking, Dorian pointed towards the seat in front of his desk. “You are making this more difficult than it has to be.”

Crossing my arms in front of my body I rubbed them with the palms of my hands while I made my way back to the chair before sliding into it. The cold feel of the leather sent a shiver down my spine.

I looked at him.

He broke eye contact with me just long enough to look at the case. Placing his hand on top of it, he rubbed the smooth surface, tracing it back and forth with a series of strokes.

“Tempest, I know you’re afraid.” He stopped and looked at me. “But I’m telling you, you don’t have anything to worry about. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. You’re safe with me.”

Leaning back in the chair, I frowned at him while he continued.

“For now though, there is business to conduct. Until it’s completed you won’t be going anywhere or talking to anyone. The less you know about everything that’s happening, the safer you’ll be.”

I scoffed at him.
Was this guy for real?

“What makes you think I want to be anywhere near you? You kidnapped, blindfolded and brought me here against my will. Not only that, but there’s the inconvenient fact that
you’re a killer!
”

From behind, I heard the sound of Oksana’s heels clacking in my direction. She circled around the back of Dorian’s desk while I finished my thought.

“Don’t you think someone saw what happened? You know, grew suspicious? I have friends, family… They are going to want to know what’s happened to me.”

The truth was I didn’t have many friends, but I did have my father. Still, none of it seemed to matter to Dorian. His expression hardly changed.

He gestured towards Oksana. “All of the people who work for me are incredibly loyal, Tempest. No one knows you are here in my home and no one is coming to look for you. The fastest way for you to get your old life back is to do as you’re told,
when
you’re told.”

I shook my head in disgust.

Oksana looked down at Dorian. “Would you like anything to eat, sir?”

Dorian waved her off at first, but then turned his attention towards me. “Do you want something?”

“No.”

Dorian looked at Oksana again. “Not now. Maybe later.”

Her face softened with a smile. I didn’t think she had it in her. Oksana turned and walked away, going towards the back of Dorian’s office and disappearing around a corner. Once she vanished, I looked at Dorian. He sat there, his hands folded comfortably in his lap.

“As you can see, there’s no sense in struggling or fighting. You should do what you can to relax. It will make your stay here much more enjoyable.”

I leaned into the chair, pressing my upper body into it.

“Enjoyable? Would you enjoy being kidnapped?”

Dorian ignored me. Instead, he reached for the cuffs of his white dress shirt and started to roll them up. When the tan skin began to emerge, I bit my lip.

Hard.

Anticipation took hold of me. He slipped his fingers underneath the soft fabric and began to curl it upward, one inch at a time. Rugged musculature and deep striations ran down the length of his forearm, riveting my attention.

I sat there staring like a wide-eyed puppy. I swear, I couldn’t help myself.

He finished the first one and after I got an eyeful, I used the last of my sorely depleted strength to look away, focusing on the office decor instead.

In every direction, the trappings of success filled my gaze.

Whoever he was, whatever he did, there was little doubt he was successful at it. Eventually, I looked towards a large bank of windows, which extended floor-to-ceiling. Beyond that, there wasn’t much to see, and by that I mean outside. It was dark. Only the subtle orange lighting of the grounds came into focus.

Without thinking, I spoke. “Where do you live?”

I heard Dorian ease back in his chair, the fine leather groaning under the weight of his shifting torso. “You’re at my home, in Las Vegas.”

I swallowed hard but didn’t turn to look at him.

Las Vegas? How far could I possibly be from my apartment? What if I got away somehow? Could I make it?

Dorian interrupted my escape fantasies. “You live in Las Vegas. Don’t you?”

Turning my attention away from the windows, I looked at him. Dorian leaned over his desk, a pen in one hand, writing away. I found myself staring,
again.

He was
incredible
. I shook my head. What the hell is wrong with me? It must be exhaustion.

What was the question again? He asked me something right?

Dorian put his pen down and looked at me. “Not much of a talker are you?”

I shrugged. “There’s nothing to say.”

Dorian changed subjects, catching me off guard.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he began, placing his hands on his desk and interlacing his fingers. “I didn’t know that you were engaged to Todd, or even with him for that matter. Of course, that is until after everything happened tonight.”

I couldn’t believe how much this guy knew about me. Good-looking or not, his smugness about what he did know was already wearing thin on my nerves.

I snapped at him. “How did you find out about that? The engagement?”

Awareness hit me like lightning. I looked down at my finger. The ring. It was gone.

Where was it? Did he have it? Did I lose it? I couldn’t remember.

Dorian didn’t say anything, just arched an eyebrow at my question.

“No, you know what? Never mind,” I snapped, deciding to keep my mouth shut about the ring for the moment. “I don’t want pity from someone like you.”

Only, he wasn’t finished.

“Information is easy to come by and cheap to get, Tempest. I know everything about you. Not just where you live but that you’re an only child, your mother died of cancer, your father is in prison, and you’re a cocktail waitress at the Bellagio.”

Gritting my teeth, I felt my pulse quicken. My fingers curled into balls of hard flesh.

“I also know that your
real name
is Tempest, it’s not just the name you assumed for work. Maybe a byproduct of having parents who were drunk or high all the time?”

Fucker.

I crossed my arms over my chest, squeezing them together tight. “My parents didn’t drink or do drugs, asshole.”

I barely got the sentence out. By now, I was biting my lip so hard I thought it might bleed. Whatever stupid game he was playing, it annoyed me I was so far behind in it. I didn’t know anything about him except that being in his presence made me uncomfortable, in more ways than one.

He smiled at me, oblivious to my frustrated inner state or maybe in full awareness of it. I had no idea.

“Have you changed your mind yet?” he asked.

“About what?”

“Something to drink? Are you thirsty?”

“No.”

“Something to eat then? Are you hungry?”

“No. I’m not either, so just quit asking.”

He seemed to study my face, trying to figure out if I lied or not. He turned over his shoulder and looked behind him, calling for Oksana. Before long, she was standing next to him.

“Oksana,” he began, pointing his index finger upward while he thought. “I’ll have a gin and tonic. Prepare something for Tempest in case she changes her mind later.”

I couldn’t believe the nerve of this guy.

A few minutes later, Oksana returned. She passed him a glass filled with clear liquid and three ice cubes. Dorian took it from her and raised it to his mouth, gulping down a healthy swig. Oksana walked away, and he put the glass down on the table with a thud.

“Of course,” he began, circling his finger around the rim of the glass. “I didn’t know Todd.”

I looked away from him. Dorian stopped talking. I heard the sound of him picking up the glass and drinking from it once again.

“Tempest.” He paused. “Look at me.”

With reluctance, I turned my head towards him.

“Like I said, I didn’t know him.” he stopped, holding the glass in his hand. Dorian swirled it, ice clinking inside before he continued. “Here’s the thing. He took something that didn’t belong to him to give to another man -- a
very dangerous
man.”

I scoffed at him.

“Dangerous!” I snapped. “
You
had him killed or at the least, you were involved! What could be more dangerous than that?”

His eyes narrowed at me. My comment bothered him.

Good! Finally! I got under his skin for a change.

“Yes, his death was unfortunate, but trust me when I tell you both of you would have died if he’d been allowed to deliver that case to Reno. Even though you may not realize it, I saved your life. If the person who was to get this case would have gotten to you before I did, you would have wished you were dead.”

On the one hand, his smug self-assuredness pissed me off. On the other, I had no way of knowing if he was telling the truth or not. The simple fact was I was still alive and Todd…
wasn’t
. I really didn’t know how to react – how to think or feel.

“I see a lot of men do desperate things for money. Crazy shit, just like Todd. It had nothing to do with you. The guy was a piece of shit. You are far better off without him. He didn’t deserve a woman like you.”

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Before I could ask, Oksana returned with a plate of food and a glass of wine. A juicy burger and a healthy helping of fries tantalized me, causing my mouth to water. I wanted to restrain myself, not give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right about how hungry I was, but I hadn’t had anything to eat since early in the morning.

Oksana had placed the meal down at the edge of his desk. Dorian reached towards the plate and nudged it forward with his index finger.

“Why are you being so stubborn? You need to eat.”

My eyes darted back and forth between the half inch thick patty and Dorian. By now, the aroma from the burger began to permeate my senses.

“Go on.”

I sat forward in my seat, reaching for it and sinking my teeth into the first bite. Salted meat and hickory flavor cascaded across my tongue. I’m not sure if it was the best burger I’d ever eaten or not, but hell, it was close. After my second bite, I grabbed the glass of wine and took a big sip.

I gulped down the first few bites, probably giving him the satisfaction he wanted. At that point, I didn’t care. I was too tired and too hungry. Another couple of swallows of wine, and the glass was nearly empty. Oksana returned and refilled it.

“How is it?” Dorian asked, pinching his chin between his thumb and forefinger. One corner of his mouth curled into a smile, a dimple mocking me followed not long after.

“It’s good, very good,” I replied, wiping my face with a napkin. “Thank you.”

He didn’t say anything. He just nodded and returned to his paperwork. I ate in silence for a little while longer, watching him work. Eventually, I started to feel full and eased back into my chair.

The insanity of everything that had happened combined with my exhaustion, half a hamburger and two glasses of wine were all starting to take a toll on me.

I began to feel sleepy.

It wasn’t long before I struggled to keep my eyes open. In fact, I found it almost impossible.

Dorian took notice.

“Oksana!” he called out.

His personal assistant returned. Dorian gestured towards me.

“Take Tempest to her room. It’s been a long day, and we’ve got several more to come.”

I seriously didn’t have the energy to fight with him for even one more second. Getting up from the chair, I thanked him again for the food and followed Oksana out of his office.