"I'm sorry." He smiles down at me kindly. "I didn't mean to startle you, Elena."
I pause, warning bells going off in my head. "How do you know my name?" I look him up and down again, searching my mind for any stroke of recognition. I'm pretty sure I've never seen this guy before in my entire life.
"Oh," he chuckles, "forgive me. We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Dorian. Dorian Argyle."
I blink up at him, my brow furrowing. Argyle?
"Stephan—" I begin slowly, but he interrupts me.
"My brother. I'm not surprised he hasn't mentioned me." He chuckles again while I just stare up at him, feeling a sense of unease trickling through me.
"Stephan is my boss," I tell him, for lack of anything else to say.
"I'm aware." Dorian smiles at me, but there's something about the smile that strikes me as predatorial.
I take a step back from him, but he takes a step forward and loops my arm through his like we're a Victorian couple fixing to go on a stroll together. "Walk with me, will you, Elena?" he asks, though it's obvious he's not really giving me a choice.
He doesn't ask me where I'm headed. Instead, he just takes off in the direction I was already going.
What in the ever-loving fuck? I think to myself.Stephan has a brother!Of course, it's not like we're on a super familiar basis where he's obligated to tell me stuff like that, but it still shocks me he has one.
I can't help but notice how large Dorian's arm is against mine, nor how firmly he holds my hand in his own. Something about the man radiates power and danger, and I'm on high alert, though I try to tell myself that everything's fine. He's Stephan's brother.
"I didn't know Stephan has a brother," I say to break the silence.
I feel Dorian's eyes looking down at me before I ever look up to meet his gaze.
"We don't really bear a striking resemblance," he tells me, "as I'm sure you've noticed."
Dorian suddenly tips my chin up to force me to look into his eyes. His thumb strokes over my lip, leaving an odd wetness in its wake. "I wouldn't know," I tell him honestly. "I've never seen Stephan before."
I blink at my admission, surprised that I told him that, but the words just seem to tumble unbidden from my lips.
Dorian pauses as he looks down at me thoughtfully. "Hmm," he says as he contemplates me with new interest.
I'm confused as hell now. He made it out like it's strange that I've never seen Stephan.
"Is that...unusual?" I ask him.
Dorian doesn't answer. Instead, he asks me a question of his own. "How did you come to work for my brother?"
Again, he tips my chin up and captures my eyes with his.
"It was really an extraordinary stroke of good luck," I hear myself saying, though I didn't really intend to answer him.
"How so?" Dorian's eyebrows rise.
I feel my face heat as I reluctantly admit, "Well, when I lost my last job, James—Stephan's driver and apparently head of HR—came up to me out of the blue and offered me a job as Stephan's personal assistant."
I blink again. What the hell is wrong with me? Why I am word vomiting around this man? I don't have to answer all his invasive questions, yet it's like I can't stop myself.
Dorian's lips curl up slowly into a wolfish grin. "Sounds like a perfect little fairy tale," he comments dryly.
I give him a quizzical look, not sure exactly what he means. Though when I think back on how everything happened, it does seem rather too good to be true.
I don't know what it is about Dorian, but he has me on edge. Something about him just seems...off. I can't put my finger on it, but something doesn't seem right.
Dorian's chest expands as he takes in a deep breath. His eyes seem to glow red under the streetlight, and I blink, startled by their sudden color, but when I peer closer, they're dark brown again.