Chapter 181: Rejected Apology

She raised a brow. "Wouldn’t you like to know?" She settled against him again, her head resting carefully against his chest.

Dorian lowered his head and pressed a kiss to the top of her hair before closing his eyes.

*****

Naomi was just about to drive Dorian to the hospital the next morning when the doorbell rang. She paused halfway toward the entryway.

They were already running a little later than planned because Dorian had insisted on dressing himself despite the fact that every movement clearly irritated his injuries.

The bell rang again.

Naomi walked to the door and looked through the peephole. Her eyes widened.

Callum Sterling stood outside.

Behind him was an older man.

She stepped back from the door.

What the hell was he doing there?

She stared at the door as if it might explain itself.

The bell rang again.

Naomi turned and hurried back upstairs. "Dorian!"

His voice came from their bedroom. "I’m coming... I’m coming... just having a hard time with this fucking T-shirt!"

Naomi entered the suite and found him wrestling with the hem of a plain shirt. "If you’d let me help you!"

"I can manage."

"Callum is here."

He stopped immediately. "What?"

"Callum Sterling is at the door."

The frustration over his shirt disappeared.

"You stay up here. I’ll attend to him, okay?"

"No. No, no. I want to know what he wants."

Dorian tugged the shirt into place with another annoyed movement. "Him showing up at our door is suspicious enough. And I swear, if he is standing there with flowers or another gift, I’m shooting him."

"You and guns." She rolled her eyes and stepped closer.

Dorian looked down at her while she smoothed the front of his T-shirt where it had bunched awkwardly. His hand caught her waist before she could move away. "Stay behind me when we get downstairs."

"Fine."

Together, they headed downstairs.

The bell rang for the third time.

Dorian’s irritation returned immediately. "Persistent bastard." He unlocked the door and pulled it open. His expression shifted the second he saw who was standing there.

Callum was one thing.

Victor Sterling standing behind him was another entirely.

Dorian straightened. "Mr Sterling!"

There was genuine surprise in his voice as he looked past Callum to the older man. Both Dorian and Naomi stepped outside, and Dorian shut the door behind them.

Victor straightened slightly. "I’m really sorry, Mr Heathcliffe. I called your office and was informed you would be taking the week off. I apologise for barging in on you like this."

"What do you want?"

Victor glanced toward Callum. "My son here made a terrible mistake. He’s spoiled. That’s on me."

Dorian looked at him before glancing briefly at Callum. "I wonder what that has to do with me."

Victor exhaled. "He hired the men that assaulted you."

Naomi’s head turned so fast toward Callum that Dorian felt the movement beside him. Her eyes narrowed to murderous slits. "Why?"

"Like I said, he’s spoiled."

Was that supposed to explain away grievous bodily harm now.

"So I have come to offer you whatever compensation is needed so that we can forget about this."

Naomi snapped her attention back to Victor. "Forget?" She looked up at Dorian immediately.

There was a very clear question in her eyes.

You are not actually considering this, are you?

Dorian felt it without her saying a single word. He reached for her and slowly ran his palm up and down her shoulder.

Down, girl.

"I’m more interested in why you decided to tell me," he said.

"I knew you would find out anyway. Why drag things out instead of getting ahead of it?"

Dorian respected the honesty.

Callum remained beside him looking irritated rather than ashamed, which answered a few questions Dorian had not bothered asking.

"So what exactly do you expect me to do, Mr Sterling?" Dorian asked. "Forget this happened?"

"I would like to compensate you for the damage done. Whatever you need."

"You realise money is not the problem here."

"I understand."

"The problem," Dorian said, "is that your son made the decision to assault me."

"I know this is serious. And I’m not asking you to pretend otherwise."

"That sounds exactly like what you’re asking me to do. Besides," Dorian said, glancing toward Callum, "your son doesn’t exactly seem sorry. He’s just standing there like a limp little dick, allowing his father to do the talking for him."

"I apologise, Heathcliffe," Callum said stiffly. "I acted in my rage."

Dorian nodded once.

And for some reason, that tiny movement irritated Naomi more than even finding out her ex fiancee had something to do with her husband’s assault.

He was going to accept that?

Just like that?

No.

Maybe Dorian could afford to be calm because this was his world.

Naomi was used to being hurt. She had spent years accepting things she should never have accepted.

That was her old life.

She was not about to let that world collide with his and simply stand there smiling politely while it happened.

Callum had done this because of her.

Dorian had been attacked because Callum couldn’t handle losing control of something he had never owned in the first place.

She could not allow that. "No..." Her voice came out small.

So quiet that Victor and Callum didn’t seem to hear it.

Dorian did because she was pressed close enough to him that he felt the word vibrate through her body. His eyes dropped to her. "Babe?"

"No. That is not an apology." she gathered more courage to speak up again.

Victor frowned. "Miss Bennett—"

"Mrs Heathcliffe."

The correction came instantly.

Naomi’s chin lifted. "Mrs Heathcliffe," she repeated.

Victor adjusted quickly. "Mrs Heathcliffe, I assure you, he is sorry. You know him well. He is a proud man."

"I do not know him that well." Naomi looked directly at Callum. "But I agree with you. You are a proud man. I refuse your apology. You don’t touch my family."

"Your family?" Callum’s gaze moved between Naomi and Dorian. "He’s your family now?"