Defying Dorian: Bad Boy Billionaire Romance (6 page)

“Oh yes, that’s one all right.”

Reaching down, she touched her palm against my lower back, turning me towards the full-length mirror.

“It’s flattering on you.” Oksana began, making eye contact with me in the reflection. She smiled. “You’re beautiful, Tempest.”

I hadn’t expected anything like that from her. The compliment caught me by surprise. Of course, I got attention from drunk guys every day at the cocktail lounge. I was used to men leering at me for a living, but none of that ever made me feel
pretty
.

Turning to one side, I took a look at my reflection and glided my hand down the front of the dress, tracing the contour. It felt incredible against my skin, exquisitely made, and
very
expensive. I wasn’t sure how long I stood there before I noticed Oksana in the reflection again. She was smiling, almost like she was happy for me.

I snapped myself back into reality. What the hell was I doing? Why was I standing here like a princess going to a ball? I was a
prisoner
, being summoned by the king of the castle to a dinner I had no interest in attending. Turning away from the reflection, I started to remove the dress in a hurry.

“Tempest? What’s wrong? Don’t you like way it fits? The way it looks?”

The dress was halfway down my torso when I responded. “Yes, it’s fine. I mean, whatever.”

The truth was it did look incredible on me, and for a few moments at least, I enjoyed feeling beautiful. However, the thought of the night ahead did anything but fill me with a sense of anticipation and excitement. Stepping out of the dress, I passed it to Oksana.

She took it from me. “I think this only require minor alterations. I’ll have back in time for you to get ready for dinner. Dorian is expected back at the estate by nine tonight.”

I nodded but didn’t respond.

Eventually, Oksana rolled the rack of dresses out of the room and closed the door behind her. Once she left, I walked over to the door and tried to open it again, hoping I might get lucky.

Nope. Locked again.

As much as I didn’t want to have dinner with him, I was determined to keep my composure. We had a lot of things to discuss, mostly why he drugged me and how much longer he expected to keep me here.

“
I
’m
on the way back right now. What’s the latest with her?”

Leaving Ainsley in charge of Tempest was an easy decision. She was a no nonsense type of woman, the kind that makes things happen. It’s one of the qualities I admired most about her.

“Well, she finally got up and moving again this morning. She’s not happy, Dorian.”

“That’s understandable. What happened?”

Ainsley told me about the talk she had with Tempest earlier that day. She mentioned Tempest found out about us having to keep her sedated and to say she was pissed would be putting it mildly.

“I haven’t spoken to Oksana. What about the gowns?”

Ainsley let out a deep exhale. “I really couldn’t say, it’s been a busy day for me. Why don’t you call Oksana yourself and find out?”

Frowning, I leaned back in the limo seat, putting a hand on my knee. “What’s the problem?”

She didn’t waste any time responding. “What do you think the problem is?
Having her here
is the problem. Kendrick is right. I don’t get the importance of keeping her around. She’s just a distraction and…”

I cut her off. “Don’t meddle in my affairs.”

“Your affairs are my affairs. You need start remembering that!”

With that, we both took a breather, pausing before the conversation got completely out of hand.

“Look, I’m tired, you’re tired. If it wasn’t absolutely critical that I had to go out of town for the past few days, I would have handled this myself. I wouldn’t have asked you to deal with it unless it was absolutely necessary.”

“Mmm, hmm.”

It was obvious she was still aggravated but there was nothing I could do about it at that time. “We’ll discuss it after dinner tonight.”

“No,” she replied, zero hesitation in her voice.

“What do you mean ‘no’?”

“I can’t make it to dinner, something has come up.”

The response made me suspicious. “Are you sure you’re not just angry with me?”

“I know you think the world revolves around you, Dorian but no, I’m not angry, I just have something more important to do.”

I shook my head at her defiant attitude. After all these years, you’d think I would be used to it by now. “Okay then, are you sure it has nothing to do with how you feel about Tempest being there?”

“No. You are just going to have to trust me.”

Not long after, we hung up. I’d be back at the estate in a matter of minutes. Whatever was going on with Ainsley would work itself out. It always did. In the meantime, I sat up in my seat, fixing my tie and straightening my suit coat.

I couldn’t wait to lay my eyes on her again.

Since the first time I saw Tempest, I’d wanted to get her alone. Now that Ainsley wouldn’t be there, it would make my job much easier. After arriving at the estate and exiting the back of the house, I looked towards the veranda.

Even from a distance, Tempest looked incredible.

Fuck.
I felt my cock pulse between my legs.

After taking a second to collect myself, I headed towards her, each step bringing her beauty into clear focus. My determination to have her set my blood running hot through my veins. Approaching the table, it took all of my strength to not grab her and take her right there.

“Been waiting long?” I asked.

The green dress she wore hugged every inch of her, accentuating her curves and teasing me with an eyeful of cleavage. Tempest looked up at me and shrugged.

“Does it matter?”

I would have had to be an idiot not to see that, in spite of looking incredible, she was uncomfortable. The look on her face… It’s like this was the last place she wanted to be. After talking with Ainsley, I knew Tempest wasn’t happy about the situation, but this was way worse than I’d expected.

She’s just not getting it.

I made up my mind right then and there she would understand I’d move mountains to help her, protect her, and if need be, kill for her. I’d make her understand all of these things ––
if only I could get her to listen
.

No shit, I made multimillion dollar deals as easily as I comb my hair, but no transaction I’ve ever closed has vexed my powers of negotiation like this woman.

I sat down at the table. Even though she probably didn’t want to hear it, she looked gorgeous. Her eyes never left me, but it wasn’t like she was looking at me –– more through me, like I wasn’t there.

“You’re looking much better, well rested. How do you…”

Tempest snapped her upper body forward, banging an elbow down on top of the table and pointing at me.

“Well, you see, that’s the funny thing… When you’re being
drugged
, it’s really easy to be well rested.”

When she finished talking, she leaned back in her chair and dropped her arm into her lap, glaring at me.

I shook my head. “It was a difficult decision, but I had to do what the doctor recommended. After all, it was in your best interest at the time.”

“I am getting
really sick
of everyone doing things in my best interest. No one, not your goddamn doctor and certainly not you, know what’s in my best interest!”

I raised my arms to my chest, crossing them in front of me. If she wanted to rant, I decided to let her get it out of her system. She didn’t waste any time.

“And speaking of my best interest… How am I supposed to pay my bills when I can’t even go to my job? What the hell did you do?”

Now wasn’t the time to get into any of that. I cleared my throat to make my point, but before I could, Tempest raised her hand and showed me her palm.

“Save your breath,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t want to hear any more lies from you. I just want to know when the hell I’m going to be able to get out of here. With any luck, I can throw myself on the mercy of my shift manager and pray that it’s enough.”

She let out a ragged exhale.

Nodding, I reached up and placed my palms on the table, standing up immediately after. “You don’t have to worry about your job. I promise.”

She looked away from me, obviously irate. I walked around the table, stopping next to her and looking down.

S
eeing
him again made me so much angrier than I’d expected. The frustration, the not knowing, the lack of control -- it was all coming to a boiling point.

And now, here he stood, right next to me.

Before long, his scent drifted in my direction, permeating my senses. I hadn’t seen him since the first night I was there. Even though I hated to admit it, even though I was furious about everything happening to me, seeing him again made me…

Ache?

Now, with the aroma of his masculinity tempting me, I felt a sensation triggered deep inside. It sent an unexpected shock through me, racing into my core and straight to my…

Ugh. Why couldn’t I control myself? Why didn’t I want to?

Dorian’s hand appeared in front of my face. Turning my head, I looked up into his eyes. In spite of my venom, he’d remained calm. In a strange way, I found it reassuring.

He wiggled his fingers. “Come with me.”

I hesitated.

“It’s okay,” he continued. “I promise you’ll love it.”

With reluctance, I decided to do as he asked. Reaching up, I placed my hand in his. His palm was rough and worn from effort. Strength permeated his fingers, bringing me to my feet with ease.

Once I stood, he let go, and I wondered how a man who wore a suit and tie all day had the hands of an iron worker. We exited the veranda and began to walk down a path leading towards the back of the estate.

We hadn’t been walking for long when Dorian reached inside of his pocket and pulled out a small device, about the size of a keyless remote control. With a press of the button, the lights around the property began to turn off. All of a sudden, it was pitch black – I could hardly see a foot in front of my face.

While my eyes adjusted to the change, Dorian spoke. “Hold my hand. It gets very dark from here.”

I gave my hand to him again, delighting in the feel of his powerful grasp. No sooner did he wrap his fingers around mine than I felt myself go weightless. Dorian swept me off the ground and into his arms, lifting me like a doll. Before I realized it, he was carrying me, his feet crunching on the trail with each steady step

A flashback hit me.

I’d felt his touch before, his embrace… I was sure of it, but the vision wasn’t clear in my mind. It was hazy, like a distant memory, but then it all came rushing back at once – the night of the accident.

The hardness of his body, the strength of his grasp were there to protect me then, like now. I probably should have resisted, told him to put me down, but for some reason, I couldn’t.

Wouldn’t?

I felt safe, in spite of the unknown darkness in front of us on the path but also in the days ahead. With every ounce of strength I had, I resisted an urge to lean in close to him.

It was an almost impossible fight to win.

“It won’t be long.”

“L-long for what?” I stammered, swallowing hard, unsure of what he was talking about.

Dorian pointed ahead. Even in the darkness I made out the shape of a dome-like structure. He continued walking, finally stopping just short of it and placing me on the ground.

I glanced up at the building. “What is it?”

Dorian looked down at me, arching an eyebrow. “You really don’t know?”

“No.”

“It’s an observatory.”

I frowned at him while he continued to talk.

“This isn’t the best time to see them, but…” he paused and looked up to the sky, “light pollution is low. We might get lucky.”

“Get lucky? What do you mean? What are we going to see?”

He ignored me, pressing buttons on a keypad next to the entrance. “This is where I come to relax.”

The lock unlatched. He turned and looked at me, moonlight from overhead casting a seductive shadow across his cheek.

“Do you know anything about stars?” he asked.

“No.”

“Good.” His expression softened, and he smiled. A mouthful of white beamed at me, brighter than all the twinkling lights overhead. “Come on.”

He cracked open the door and walked inside. When he did, subtle lighting flickered on, running the length of the floor and illuminating the interior with a soft glow. I followed him and stopped when I saw it.

It was huge. The telescope took up most of the room.

“Close the door,” he said.

I did as he asked and joined him. Dorian spent the next few minutes adjusting the telescope. It buzzed and clicked, making lots of mechanical sounds before he’d finished getting it like he wanted.

He turned to me. “Here, come look. You’re a very lucky girl.”

I wrinkled my brow at him. Curiosity got the better of me, and I walked over.

“How am I lucky exactly?”

Dorian nodded and got up from the chair where’d he’d adjusted the telescope. He stepped aside, pointing towards the eyepiece.

“You’ll see. Just look through it. That’s all you have to do.”

I’d never looked through a telescope in my entire life. After positioning my eye against the eyepiece, I couldn’t believe what appeared. It was as if I could see straight into space. Never had I seen so many stars, so clearly.

“Do you see it?” he asked, breaking my trance.

“I-I’m not sure what you mean. I see a lot of stars. What am I looking for?”

Dorian was silent, at first. Eventually though, he answered me, the deep tone of his voice sending chills along my spine.

“Concentrate, Tempest. Look. Do you see them?”

I blinked several times in a row, refocusing my attention and continuing to look up into the star-choked sky. More than once, I caught myself holding my breath in anticipation of whatever it was he wanted me to see.

“Do you
see them?
” he asked again, further heightening my frustration and excitement.

“What though? Where?”

“Bright streaks, long and multicolored, you can’t miss them…”

I bit my lip. I didn’t see anything like that. Impatience got the better of me, but just as I was about to turn around and tell him it was hopeless, something caught my eye.

At first, I thought I’d imagined it.

“You see them don’t you?” he said, paying attention to the change in my demeanor.

Engrossed in a world I didn’t know existed, I licked my lips while I watched the spectacular light show above.

“Oh my God! Oh my God!” I began, leaning hard against the eyepiece. “I see them! What are they?”

Dorian chuckled behind me. “It’s the Perseid meteor shower.”

“Wow,” I said, my voice not much more than a whisper. “That’s so incredible.”

Without thinking, I pulled my face away from the telescope and smiled at him. Nothing could have prepared me for being so thrilled after looking through a telescope, but yet I was.

Our eyes met. He looked at me with steadiness in his gaze, like the eons-old stars overhead. I looked away, returning my attention back to the telescope and leaning into it. Soon after, Dorian moved in behind me, pressing his body against my backside.

“Keep looking,” he began, his hot breath beating against my neck. “I’m just making an adjustment.”

His hands weren’t the only thing hard on his body.

While he lingered there, I felt an unmistakable firmness just below his hips. Nothing about his approach was gentle – far from it. I lost my ability to concentrate.

Oh shit. No, no.

My tongue slipped from my lips, gliding across them a subtle flick. The feel of his hard body and pulsating, warm breath against my exposed skin started to take a toll on my resolve.

“Almost there, Tempest. Almost.”

His voice vibrating inside of his chest sent prickles down my arms. I started to feel weak, each breath more difficult to take than the one before it.

What is happening to me? No man has ever had this effect on me before.

Then, I thought about him…

What the hell was he doing? What about Ainsley?

No matter how bad my body might’ve wanted his, I wasn’t about to give him a reason to cheat. Reality came crashing down on me, sharpening my senses and focusing me on what I had to do –– stop him before it was too late. Swallowing hard, I made up my mind to tell him to back off when, at the last instant, he beat me to it.

“All set,” he said, stepping away from me. “Better, right?”

I didn’t even know what the hell he was talking about.

Oh right, the telescope.

Looking into the eyepiece again, I felt lucky to have the distraction. The tension between us, real or imagined, relaxed over the next few minutes. Dorian switched topics with a casual ease, asking me questions about what I was seeing.

While he talked, I detected a genuineness in his tone. Maybe I’d misinterpreted, taking things too far in my own mind. Watching the stars helped. They calmed me. It wasn’t hard to understand why he felt the same way about them.

“A shooting star!” I yelled, seeing the streaking slash in a way I never had before.

Swiveling my head away from the telescope, I looked at him. He smiled.

“Go ahead and take this one. You saw it. It should be your wish.”

Still smiling, I nodded at him and closed my eyes for an instant, making my wish. Of course, I’d been wishing for the same thing for years now but the chances of Dad getting out of jail weren’t any better than the day he went away. We’d exhausted all of our appeals, and in spite of his good behavior, the parole board hadn’t budged.

Assholes.

At this point, all I had left were wishes.

“What was it?” he asked after I opened my eyes.

“Oh no, you know the deal. If I tell you the wish, it won’t come true.”

Dorian leaned away, narrowing his eyes at me.

“What?” I asked. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” he began, nodding. “This is about your wish.”

“My wish? What about it?”

“I know that your dad was only trying to do the right thing. Even so, wishing won’t get him out of jail -- not now, not ever.”

What the…? How? Was there no end to him digging into my past?

He seemed to already know everything about my life, but the fact he knew about my dad… He must have known how important it was for me to see him. By keeping me there with him, Dorian kept the only source of happiness in my life from me, confining me to this prison of luxury and in a way, similar to my dad’s imprisonment.

“Are you angry?” he asked, interrupting my train of thought.

“I-I… Yes. I mean, wouldn’t you be if you were me?”

Dorian shrugged. “Maybe yes, maybe no.”

“Well, I am. I need to see him. He’ll want to know what’s happened to me, why I haven’t come.”

Dorian took a couple of steps in my direction. “You will, in time. Just not right now.”

With that, I stood from the seat and walked away from the telescope, crossing my arms at my chest. “I’d like to go to my room now.”

Dorian didn’t respond immediately, eventually answering with a single word.

“Fine.”

* * *

I
t was
a quiet walk back to my room. With every step I took, the anger I’d repressed while spending those few minutes with him looking up at the stars came roaring back.

He tried speaking to me once or twice, I don’t really remember. The only thing I do remember is wanting to get the hell away from him. So once I reached my room I opened the door quickly and tried to go inside. Before I could close the door, Dorian slapped his hand flat against it, holding it open.

“Go away,” I snarled.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he replied, leaning his weight against the door and forcing it open.

“Jerk!”

I backed away. He walked up to me, wrapping his hands around my upper arms. Our eyes met.

“Look, there are men involved who will stop at nothing to get what they want. They will harm anyone who gets in their way. I don’t want to be responsible for any more loss of life, and that’s the end of it.”

I looked down towards his fingers and then back to his eyes. “Let go of me.”

He did and I turned away from him, making my way towards the bed. “I’m no one’s prisoner. You can’t keep me here forever.”

From behind, I heard the sound of the door closing. I turned to see him still in the room with me.

“I’d like to be left alone. Why are you still here?”

While I spoke, he walked in my direction, closing to within a couple of feet. He didn’t need to answer the question about why he’d stayed there.

It was obvious
why
.

The look in his eye told me everything I needed to know. It wasn’t like he’d been subtle up until now.

I decided to change tactics.

If he wasn’t willing to listen to reason, then I would use the only power I still had. Maybe if I just gave him what he was after, what he
really wanted
, then he’d change his mind and let me go.

After all, men are men.

At this point, I could have cared less about what was happening between him and Ainsley. It was becoming increasingly obvious if I didn’t do something to get myself out of the situation, who knows how long I would have to stay there? I was done with being controlled, being told what I could or couldn’t do, and where I could or couldn’t go.