The Dark Prince (The Dark Light Series)(53)
Dorian takes a step back, visibly shaken by my observation. Oh shit. I guess I can add ‘tactless’ to my list of attributes. Yet, he’s not angry or saddened by the memory of my deceased father and his best friend. He’s thoughtful, surprised.
Finally, he nods, and flashes his ridiculously sexy half-smile. “I do. I miss him. And I guess you do favor him in some ways.”
I move into the bedroom to dress. Though I’m not ready to leave him, I have to be at Cashmere in thirty minutes to open. “Tell me about him,” I say with a gentle smile. I know that revisiting this part of Dorian’s past could potentially hurt him.
He flops onto the bed and sighs, looking up toward the ceiling as if he is recalling a distant memory. “I have to admit, at first Alex hated me. Being the spoiled, entitled eldest son of the king, I thought I could flex my so-called authority even after I joined the Shadow. I was wrong. We were all equal, all brothers. Alex quickly kicked my ass and I never forgot it.”
What? My dad kicked Dorian’s ass? How is that even possible? Dorian is invincible. No one could physically hurt him. At least I couldn’t.
“He taught me the ropes, whipped me into shape. He wasn’t much older than I was, yet he was so much more grounded, humbled. Disciplined. Being that he was the illegitimate son of a nobleman, he had to work for what he achieved. He knew what it meant to be a man. And he taught me more about that than even my own father.”
I slip on my modest red floral shirtdress, accenting it with a tan belt, all the while beaming with pride at the thought of my father having a positive impact on Dorian, the man that I love. To know that he helped shape and mold the compassionate, decent Dark One that stands before me today makes me feel somewhat close to him. And proud to be his daughter.
“My father’s family…you said their name last night. What was it again?”
Dorian nods. “Polemos.”
“What does that mean?” I ask, slipping into my wedge sandals.
Dorian is still sprawled out on the bed, only a towel covering his tantalizing nether regions. He seems so comfortable in his skin, so self-assured. He looks at me, his eyes filled with nostalgia. “War. He was a great warrior. All the Polemos are.”
War. He was a fighter, just like me. And my mother was a bad ass in her own right. Now it all makes sense. Learning about my parents is more than just an education. I am learning about me, the girl I never really knew. The girl that was spelled to appear mundane and insignificant.
Dorian tugs at the hem of my dress like a child trying to summon his mother. “Don’t go,” he whines playfully. “If you stay, I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
“You’ll tell me anyway. Besides, the boutique can’t run itself. Can’t make you much money if I close up shop every time you want to play hooky, boss man.”
Dorian shrugs. “What do I care? I have no need for any of it.”
“Then why do you own all this?” I say waving my hand around the room to indicate the luxury apartment complex. “You have all these businesses but you don’t care?”
My spirited lover laughs heartily, even going as far as to throw his head back with glee. “I thought you would have figured it out! It’s all a front, all constructed to lure you. I present a convenience so you never have the need to look elsewhere.”
“What the hell?” I shriek, placing my hands on my hips.
Dorian lifts his palms in feigned defense. “Calm down, killer. It was for your own good. I had to ensure I kept you near. To protect you. And I wanted to make you happy, honestly. I want to give you everything you could ever want and need. I’m extremely wealthy, Gabriella. Every business I’ve acquired has been for you. It’s all for you.”
His heartfelt admission successfully stops me up short, causing me to release my tightly clenched fists. “Oh. So what…you want me to be a kept woman?” Barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen comes to mind if only I could cook…or even conceive children.
“Not at all. You would never allow it anyway. I get the feeling you have an aversion to authority, not to mention your inability to relinquish even an ounce of control.”
“Damn right!” I smile.
“Plus, I like your spunk. Your independence. Your refusal to take any of my shit. And I like that you make me feel young. Free. You are sincere and real. My entire life I’ve been surrounded by women who felt like they hit the jackpot as soon as they met me. They were ready to let me walk all over them just as long as they could say that they were connected to me somehow. And I did just that. I’d get what I wanted and move on without a second thought. But women like that bore me. I like a challenge,” he winks.