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

by Cristina Grenier

  “We worked so hard,” Anita said, shaking her head. “Your father was a great man, but he let you get spoiled. He never made sure you understood that the people who worked for you were people.”

  “I understood that quite well on my own,” Dorian argued.

  “Hush. I know that. But you don’t understand why they did the things they did. Why the people who serve you coffee or food do the things they do. If you were my son, I would have made you get a job. Appreciating those less fortunate than you is an important lesson.”

  Dorian frowned and peered into the steaming liquid of his Earl Grey. “I don’t want to think of her as less fortunate than me.”

  Anita tutted. “That’s not your decision to make, I’m afraid,” she said. “The majority of the world is less fortunate than you. That’s just how things work.”

  “So how am I supposed to fix this?” It was all well and good for her to tell him how many different ways he’d messed up, but how was he supposed to make it better if he didn’t know how?

  There was a reason that he didn’t really date, aside from the fact that people bored him and usually only saw him as a walking, talking bank account. If they could just leave money out of it…

  Oh.

  “God, I’m stupid,” he said, and Anita smiled at him.

  “Had an idea?”

  “More like a revelation.”

  She made a gesture that was clearly an invitation to tell her what he’d figured out.

  “We’re just people,” Dorian said, and heaved a sigh. “Money doesn’t have to enter into it.”

  “True. Also I’d add that Andrea is an adult and you have no hold on her, so she can do whatever she wants. If she wants to stand on street corners and advertising sex, there’s not much you can do about it.”

  Dorian blanched at the mental image. Both because he didn’t want to think about her doing something like that, and because. Well. He’d seen prostitutes before. And Andrea had legs that were made for tiny leather skirts and fishnets, heels that would boost her height and highlight her calves and make her arse look… He cleared his throat, much to Anita’s apparent amusement.

  “Stop laughing at me,” he said crossly.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it, sir,” she replied with a smile that was much too sweet. “You like her, and that means you have to accept that she’s a person who can do what she wants. Maybe she hasn’t realized she can have more than she does now. Maybe she can’t have more than she does now. But it’s none of your business.”

  “Yes, yes. I know. I suppose groveling is in order. If she ever comes back.” He’d gone to her door not even an hour after their argument, intending to apologize for his lack of manners at the very least, but there hadn’t been any reply to his knocks, and he had enough sense not to try to force the issue by entering uninvited to see if she was there.

  A quick check of the garage had shown that her car was missing, so he’d let that go. Ben had come back at some point, and they’d had a brief conversation that left Ben suspicious and Dorian worried.

  Another reminder that pissing off Andrea’s brother, who was the head of his security, was a bad idea.

  Anita retired to her room after their conversation, leaving Dorian sitting in the kitchen alone. He’d thought to wait for Andrea and Ben to come back, but ultimately decided to clear out. It was his house, but more than anything he wanted them both to be comfortable there. He and Andrea could resolve things in the morning.

  Of course, his assertion that they could fix it in the morning had been contingent upon Andrea being there in the morning. Ben had just laughed when Dorian asked him if she was up yet around nine in the morning.

  “Oh, she’s been up and out of here for hours. She hardly ever sleeps past seven these days, and her shift at Hollybrook started at eight. She’ll be home around five.” He gave Dorian and arch look. “I’m assuming you have some things you want to say to her?” His voice was as mild and pleasant as always, but there was no denying the undercurrent of ‘don’t you dare hurt my sister’.

  “Ah, yes,” Dorian replied. “I wanted to apologize to her for how I acted yesterday.”

  “Good,” Ben said with a grin. “And in the meantime, I was thinking we could do a round of interviews today. I’ve already met with all these people, and I’ve chosen the ones I like, but you have to be comfortable with them, too.”

  Dorian agreed that was for the best, and managed to forget about his fight with Andrea while they talked to the people Ben had picked. He had to focus on them, wanting to make sure that what had happened with his last team wasn’t going to be a problem. It quickly became clear that Ben had listened to everything he said when he’d been talking about what kind of team he wanted because each candidate was very well chosen.

  They stepped out of the sitting room some hours later, after the last one had left, and Dorian felt hopeful.

  “So I was thinking we give them the rest of the week to get their stuff in order and then this weekend we’ll go out somewhere. Give them a test run.”

  Dorian nodded. “I’d like that. How are you planning to divide them up?”

  “There’s five of them right now, and we can decide if that’s too few later. I have some other candidates wait listed if it is. Three in the guard house and two living here, with me. You get a panic button that you need to carry around whenever you’re somewhere alone. That includes in the bathroom or anywhere else in the house. Or on the grounds. Something happens, you press it, and the signal will go to every guard you have. Whoever’s closest will intercept it. I’ve been talking with Carlos about making the grounds more secure, and we’ve set up more cameras along the gates, and I think the dog idea is awesome. A buddy of mine trains dogs for guard work, so I had a word with him. Maybe this weekend we can go pick out some.”

  “That all sounds marvelous,” Dorian replied. “Thank you. You’ve done amazing work, Ben.”

  Ben shrugged, but looked pleased. “It’s my job. And to be honest being able to build this whole thing from the ground up has been kind of a dream come true.” He glanced over Dorian’s shoulder towards the door and smiled. “Hey, Drea.”

  Dorian’s eyes widened, and he tried not to whirl around to see her, wanting to keep his composure.

  “Hey, Ben,” she said. “Dorian. Sounds like you’re getting your money’s worth from my brother.”

  Now he did turn. “A good bodyguard is invaluable,” he said. “And your brother is just that.”

  She quirked a smile. “Yeah. Well. I should…” she gestured towards the stairs and turned to leave.

  “Wait,” Dorian said quickly. “Er...please. Please, I… I’d like to speak with you. If that’s alright.”

  Andrea chewed on her lip for a bit and then glanced at Ben.

  “Oh. Right. I should go make sure the guard house is ready. Dorian, Carlos has your button. I think we should test it out starting today,” Ben said, and with one significant glance at his sister, he left them alone.

  “You wanted to say something to me?” Andrea asked, voice cool.

  “Yes. I wanted to apologize,” Dorian responded. “My behavior yesterday was beastly, and you were completely right in everything you said. I had no right to speak to you like that or to meddle in your business, and I am deeply sorry that I was so rude to you. I hope you can forgive me.” He lowered his head a bit, in contrition and also so he wouldn’t have to watch her face.

  So he was surprised when she giggled a bit at him.

  “Your apologies sound like they should be written on fancy stationery,” she said. “British people, honestly.” Andrea sighed. “It’s okay. I mean. You weren’t entirely wrong. It’s possible that I could get a better job. I have an Associate’s Degree in marketing, and one day I want to go back to school. It’s just. I’m still getting used to this. It’s going to take me some time to figure it all out.”

  Dorian nodded. “That makes sense. I suppose I just… I admire you, Andrea, and I didn’t want to see you s
ell yourself short. But that didn’t give me the right to treat you as I did, and I’m sorry.”

  For a moment, she said nothing, and Dorian wondered if he was even going about this in the right way. His words were genuine, and anyone who knew him would know that, but the problem was, of course, that Andrea didn’t really know him.

  But apparently he needn’t have worried because she smiled at him easily and nodded. “You're forgiven. I figured most of it was you not knowing how to talk to people who aren’t in your tax bracket. And that’s fine. I guess you’ll just have to learn, won’t you?”

  There was promise in her tone, and Dorian found he couldn’t help himself. No one else was in the entry way, and while this was probably not going to do anything to make her think that he wasn’t a bloke with no manners to his name, he couldn’t resist. Slowly, giving her enough time to guess his intentions and tell him to stop or push him away if she wanted, he closed the distance between them. His fingers slipped under her chin, tipping her face up to his.

  “May I?” Dorian whispered, because he could still be a gentleman even when he was desperate to kiss her.

  She swallowed hard and then nodded, eyes wide.

  And that was all the permission he needed before he was pulling her closer and fitting his mouth over hers.

  It took them a moment to figure out how everything worked with them, as all kisses usually went. They had to find the right angle for lips and noses, find a rhythm and determine how slow, how quick, when to push, when to bite.

  But once they found it, oh. Oh, it was glorious, and Dorian’s hands slid to the small of Andrea’s back and then to her waist, pulling her closer until there was no space between them. All of those carefully rationalized reasons why they shouldn’t be doing this flew out of his head, and all he could focus on was how warm she was against him, and how much he enjoyed having her taste in his mouth.

  Eventually they needed to breathe, and they broke apart, both a little dazed and panting for breath.

  “Wow,” Andrea murmured, licking her lips and staying pressed all along his front. “Didn’t think that was going to happen.”

  “I’ll admit that I’ve spent time trying to make sure it doesn’t, but.” Dorian shrugged. “I don’t want to stay away from you.”

  She grinned at him and leaned up for another kiss. “Then don’t.”

  All things considered, it was still a terrible idea. But kissing in the entryway was a worse idea than kissing in the first place, so they left and headed for Andrea’s room by unspoken consent. It never went past the sitting room, but then, it didn’t have to. They spent most of that evening on Andrea’s couch, kissing, hands roaming, mouths pressed to necks and wrists and cheeks, until Andrea’s stomach growled loudly and Dorian realized it was nearly nine and neither of them had eaten dinner.

  They managed to get themselves put back together and then head down to the kitchen. It wasn’t late, but there was no one around, and Dorian was only too happy to prepare a simple meal for them to share.

  He was still concerned about how this could inevitably go wrong, but with Andrea looking at him with her lovely eyes, smiling and leaning against his side, he was finding it hard to believe that anything at all could ruin this.

  Really, he should have known better. There was no such thing as something that couldn’t be ruined, and with the way his life tended to work, he had so much more to lose and so many more opportunities to lose it.

  The next morning started off like this: Andrea was already gone by the time he got up for the day, but he had the lingering memory of her lips on his to get him through until he saw her again. There were probably things he needed to say to her, things they needed to work out about what they were even doing together, but he was having a hard time believing that those things couldn’t wait until later.

  Proving that he was well worth his salary, Ben was getting everything set up for the security team. Three members of the team showed up that morning to start moving their things in, and Ben brought them by to be formally welcomed by Dorian.

  He liked all the people they had picked.

  Four men (including Ben) and two women, all of whom had exemplary records. He said hello to Marta, David, and Sam, the three who were moving in that day, and shook their hands, thanking them and making sure they knew that anything they needed, they only had to ask.

  Marta was a tall woman, right on level with Dorian’s over six feet of height. She nearly towered over Sam, and had a background that included time in the army and skill at martial arts. She had lean muscles and an easy smile that brightened her tanned face, and Dorian liked her instantly.

  David was dark skinned and quiet, and he seemed to be one of those people who was always alert. He, too, had a background in martial arts, but his real skill was technology and weapons.

  Sam was barely five and half feet tall, but he had some of the best references, military training, and medical knowledge, making him an asset to the team.

  Libby and Kyle, the other two members of the team were similarly skilled, and Dorian felt better about his safety than he had in years.

  He left Ben and the others to finish their tour and get settled and made his way to his office. There were some files that needed to be given to his financial advisor and some new information about holdings that were recently discovered to be in his father’s name, which meant a lot of reading about them and figuring out whether to keep them or sell.

  None of it sounded interesting, but if everyone else was busy, he supposed he might as well be, too.

  Dorian was halfway through the first file when the phone on the desk rang.

  “Dorian Kingston,” he answered it, not thinking twice about it.

  For a moment, no one said anything and the line was filled with the sound of crackling static. Dorian frowned and was going to hang up when a rough, metallic sounding voice stopped him. “You’ve been a bad boy, Mr. Kingston. Like your daddy. You know what happens to bad boys?”

  Something like fear and anger twisted in his stomach, and Dorian gripped the phone tightly. “I beg your pardon?”

  “So polite. Your daddy was polite. Right up until the end. You can’t hide forever, Mr. Kingston. We always get ours. One way or another.”

  The sound of high, sharp laughter jolted Dorian out of his almost trance like panic, and he glared at the desk, phone clenched tight in his hand. “Is that so?” he said back, anger lacing his tone. “Well, you’re going to have to do more than threaten me if you want me to be afraid. I’ve been threatened all the bloody time. Ever since I was a child, and I am no longer a child.”

  “You’re still powerless,” the person opined, and Dorian’s eyes narrowed.

  “That’s what you think. I am done with living my life in fear of you people. There is nothing you can do to hurt me!”

  He hadn’t even realized he was yelling into the phone, and when a hand touched his shoulder, he realized he hadn’t been aware of his surroundings either. He jumped and then was relieved to see that it was just Carlos who had entered the room at some point during his rant.

  “Give me the phone,” Carlos said firmly, holding his hand out for it.

  Dorian looked from the phone to Carlos and then handed it over, fingers trembling a bit. He watched as Carlos put the phone to his ear, wondering if whoever had called him was dumb enough to still be on the line.

  It seemed they weren’t because Carlos shook his head. “We will need to discuss some sort of phone tracing with Ben, I think,” he said. “And the next time someone calls and tries to intimidate you, it might be wiser not to engage with them, Mr. Kingston.”

  “I know, Carlos,” Dorian replied with a sigh, slumping back in his chair now that the adrenaline had worn off. “I just got mad. It’s bad enough that they make me live in fear when I’m out, but now I can’t even answer the phone in my own home without having to worry? This is getting out of hand.” He dragged fingers through his hair and sighed again, shaking his head. “Still. I let
my temper get the better of me. It won’t happen again.”

  Carlos studied him for a moment, lips pressed into a thin line. “I am not your father, Mr. Kingston,” he said, gently. “But I do care for your safety, all the same. And I know this is hard for you. But please, we need you to stay alive and antagonizing the very people who would see you dead is a terrible idea.”

  Dorian just nodded. He already knew that, and he knew that Carlos was just scolding him because he was worried. Carlos had watched him grow up, and with his parents dead, he and Anita were the closest thing he had to family.

  “I’m sorry,” he murmured.

  “Chin up, Mr. Kingston. All will be well.” Carlos smiled at him and then gave an informal salute. “I’ll go have a word with Ben. Perhaps you should let off some steam?”

  “Yes, of course,” Dorian replied, nodding vaguely. “Sounds good.”

  He watched until Carlos was gone and then sighed, letting his forehead thunk against the desk. All of his anger from before had drained out of him, leaving weariness that seemed to drag at him. All he wanted was to be able to live his life. Dorian had long ago made his peace with the fact that his father’s mistakes were going to haunt him for most of his life, but sometimes it was just a little bit too much to handle.

  ***

  Chapter 8: Making a Move

  The rest of the week was a flurry of activity. Ben spent the better part of it meeting with different companies that offered call tracing software. After the incident with the phone call, none of them wanted to be in that position again, and Ben worked hard to make sure that if someone else had the bright idea to make a harassing phone call to Dorian, they would get caught.

  The rest of the guards got their things moved in before mid week, and Ben spent time showing them around and introducing them to all the household staff. They needed to be familiar with everyone who regularly came and went at the manor and every nook and cranny of the place as well.