Page 41 of Dancing With Desire

“Can we speak?” she hisses, standing. I give our guests an awkward smile and follow her from the room. “What are you doing?”

“Being kind to your parents,” I say.

“They don’t deserve it,” she snaps. “We need to get rid of them, and then I’ll tell them we’ve broken up so they don’t come begging again.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“We’re not supporting him,” she hisses. “He’s fucking lazy, and he’ll spend the money on old habits.”

I smile, gently squeezing her shoulder. “There are conditions, mykrasota.”

“Dmitry,” she groans, “you don’t understand. He’s an expert at all this, and he’ll find a way.”

“Trust me,” I say. “Now, I’m going to speak to your father while you catch up with your mother and sister.”

“No,” she cries, grabbing my hand when I turn to leave.

I place a kiss on her forehead. “Trust me,” I repeat, and she releases me.

“Don’t tell him about the baby,” she adds, “or about the marriage.”

I takeRoger Harding into my office, and he looks around in awe. Marshall stands by the door, and when Roger notices he isn’t leaving, he narrows his eyes suspiciously. “Who the fuck are you exactly?” he asks.

I lower into my chair and point to the empty one opposite my desk. “Sit,” I say bluntly, and he does. “Your daughter isn’t happy that you’re here,” I state.

“Because she’s an ungrateful bitch,” he spits. “We raised her good, and now, she’s here shacked up in a palace and she keeps it quiet while we’re not fucking eating and facing being put outon the streets.” I force a smile, and it unnerves him. He takes a breath. “You’ll get to know what she’s like.”

“I know her well,” I say. “In fact, I plan on marrying her.”

His eyes widen and then he smirks. “You’ll be family,” he says, and I can practically see the pound signs in his eyes.

“Exactly, which is why I want to help you.” I open the file that Marshall left on my desk and stare at the picture of the rundown house before me. “This is your home, no?” I turn it to him, and his frown deepens. “I’ll buy your house,” I offer. “Outright.”

“What?”

“You can live out your days rent-free.”

“Why would you do that?”

“For Victoria.”

I turn the page to Poppy’s profile. “She’s intelligent,” I note, checking her IQ results and recent school report. “I can send her to the best school if she’s willing.”

“A private school?” he asks.

“Yes. She’ll live there, of course.” And I imagine she’d be happy to get away from this waste of space. “I’ll cover the fees.”

“All this for Tori?” He scoffs. “You do know she’s as common as us. She’ll probably fuck your butler or,” he glances back to Marshall, “him.”

“Let me worry about Victoria.”

“So, you wanna buy our house, send my kid to a posh school, all so you can marry Tori?”

I smirk. “Oh, I’m marrying her regardless. I’m doing all of this for two reasons. First, you will stay away from Victoria. You won’t contact her or ask her for anything. Second, you’ll not ask questions about Marcus. He took a good deal and is living his best life far away from my fiancée. I will not have him return.”

“You’re trying to pay off her commoner family so you can pretend she’s better than she is?” He laughs.

“No,” I say, placing my hands on the desk and clasping my fingers together. “I know all about Marcus and his wandering hands,” I say, and he stiffens. “I suspect you know all about that too. Seeing you reminds Victoria of what he did to her, and how you and her own mother ignored it so you could continue to claim money to look after him. So, Roger, my offer is a fair one, and one you will take without question. Should you decide not to, I will blow your world apart.”

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