Brats in Training 3: Dangerous Dusty (4 page)

“No, you will earn a salary, Dusty.”

Dusty pushed back and squatted in front of Alexander, his arms resting on his thighs. His blue eyes shot to Alexander’s groin and then quickly moved to the carpet. “Will I get my own room, sir?”

Not if I can help it.

“Yes, Dusty. You will have all the privacy you desire.” Until Alexander took Dusty under his tutelage and showed the man just how much guidance he really needed. If Alexander didn’t intervene, Dusty was going to end up killing himself, and probably from walking across the damn room.

“What about Larry and Dizzy?”

Right, the pets.
Alexander wasn’t a pet person, but he would tolerate a small cat and a fish. How much damage could a guppy and a tabby cat do? “Just as long as you take on the responsibility of their care, Dusty. I won’t have fur balls littering the condo, or tolerate a dirty fish tank. These are your pets. I expect you to take proper care of them.”

“I already do, sir.”

“Then it is settled. Go gather your things. I’ll send a car to fetch you in one hour.” Alexander stood, brushing the blue glass from his slacks. He was going to have to call maintenance and chew someone’s ear about the mess that was still left behind.

“Sir?”

Alexander glanced up to see Dusty staring at his groin once more. He knew he was rock hard, but having Dusty lying on top of him had been unexpected, and Alexander couldn’t have stopped the reaction if he had wanted to.

And he hadn’t wanted to. Alexander wanted Dusty to see just what the small man did to him. And from the guy’s reaction, Dusty approved. Now all Alexander had to do was ease Dusty into the D/s life. And possibly buy the man some bubble wrap—see-through bubble wrap, of course—to use when walking around.

If all went well, Alexander would be able to teach Dusty how to center himself and not be such a klutz to the point that he hurt himself. Eyeing the stunning young man, seeing the various bruises littering his arms, Alexander prayed he could pull it off.

“Yes?”

“How do I know which car will be for me? Will the driver hold up a sign with ‘Dusty L’ on it like people do at the airports?”

“No,” Alexander said as he walked around his desk, pressing the button on his phone for his secretary.

“Yes, Mr. Sheffield?”

“Dusty will be borrowing my car. Can you please send Symon up at once?”

“Yes, Mr. Sheffield.”

“Who’s Symon?” Dusty asked.

“My driver. You’ll know what car because you’ll be taking it home to gather your things.”

“You have a driver?” Dusty made some sort of snorting sound that Alexander was coming to realize was the man’s natural laughter. It was kind of cute. “Dang, I have one of those, too, but I call him my bus driver.”

Alexander hid the grin as Symon knocked on his office door and let himself in, clasping his hands behind his back. Symon was very efficient. “You wished to see me, sir?”

Somehow the word
sir
didn’t have the same effect on Alexander as it did when Dusty used the word. His cock hummed every time the three letters fell from Dusty’s lips. Damned if he wouldn’t have Dusty crying it out by the end of the week.

“Yes, please drive Dusty where he needs to go and then bring him to my condo. And I want you to keep your eyes on him at all times. Don’t let anything happen to him.”

Symon nodded. “Yes, Mr. Sheffield.”

“Boy, you sure have a lot of people at your disposal, Mr. Sheffield.”

True, but there was only one person Alexander was interested in. “My job has its perks, Dusty.”

Alexander didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until the door closed behind Dusty and Symon. He sat down in his chair and leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling tiles. He was asking for trouble having Dusty move in with him. He just knew it. But he couldn’t think of any other way to keep Dusty safe.

The man was a walking disaster zone.

“Christ!” Alexander reached for his phone and dialed a number he knew well. “Stephen, this is Alexander Sheffield. I need you and a crew to go to my condo as soon as possible and remove anything breakable—all the vases, glass tables, and anything else someone could fall into, trip over, or hurt themselves on.”

“Right away, Mr. Sheffield.”

“You might want to remove anything sharp from the kitchen as well.”

“Are you having a baby, Mr. Sheffield?” The question was asked with a slight tremble in Stephen’s voice.

“You could say that,” Alexander murmured. He cleared his throat when the line remained silent. “No, I have a friend coming to stay with me, and he’s a tad bit accident prone.”
Wow, was that an understatement.
“I’m just trying to keep him safe.”

“Very well, Mr. Sheffield, I’ll have a cleaning crew go right over.”

“Thank you, Stephen. You’re a gem.”

And he should be for the price Alexander was paying him to clean his house twice a week. He cost a pretty penny, but he did a fine damn job. And he was bonded and insured. In the five years that Alexander had been using Stephen’s services, he had never had a single problem.

Alexander said good-bye to Stephen, knowing his condo would be taken care of, and turned his attention back to his work. He suspected that he would need to bring some work home if he wanted to get the latest financial analysis done before the weekend. He had plans for the weekend, and they did not include anyone or anything besides him and Dusty, preferably naked and sexually satisfied.

Well, at least Alexander would be sexually satisfied. Dusty might be in traction.

“Mr. Sheffield?”

Alexander glanced up from his paperwork to see Karen standing in his doorway, biting her lip. He wondered why she hadn’t simply buzzed him instead of showing up in his doorway. It was very unusual behavior.

“Yes, Karen?”

“Symon is on the phone, sir.”

Dread filled Alexander as he reached for the phone on the desk. His fingers gripped the receiver so tightly as he brought it to his ear that he lost feeling in them almost immediately. “How badly is Dusty hurt now?”

Chapter 5

Dusty grimaced as he watched Symon open the apartment door and admit Alexander. The man’s amethyst eyes instantly pinned on Dusty, scanning him from head to toe. Dusty slowly lowered the ice pack he was holding to his head and sent the man a weak smile.

“I forgot my helmet.”

Alexander shook his head. “Dusty, what am I going to do with you?”

Dusty had a few ideas, but he didn’t think it would be in his best interest to mention them at the moment. His new boss seemed to have an issue with Dusty’s clumsy behavior. If Alexander expected to keep Dusty around, he should probably get used to it.

“Do I still have a job, sir?”

Okay, was it bad when Alexander’s nostrils flared?

“Yes, Dusty, you still have a job.” Alexander glanced around the apartment, grimacing when he saw how threadbare it was. “Do you have everything packed?”

“Most of it, sir.”

Alexander’s eyes snapped back to Dusty, narrowing down to tiny little slits of light. “Most of it?”

“I still have a few things to get out of the bathroom, sir.”

“Then get to it.”

“Yes, sir.” Dusty climbed to his feet and started toward the bathroom.

“Ah, sir?”

Dusty groaned when he heard Stephen’s voice. He just knew the man was going to tattle on him. He picked up his speed and hurried to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him and then leaning back against it.

Oh man, at this rate, he would never keep his job. And working for Alexander seemed to come with so many benefits. For one, and maybe the most important one, Alexander Sheffield was walking, talking eye candy. Dusty could make a million fantasies just from watching the man walk across the floor.

Living with the man, even as his personal assistant, was like icing on a very large cake. An Alexander cake, with chocolate frosting and sprinkles and everything. Dusty slapped his hand over his mouth when he started to giggle and one of his famous snorts came out instead.

Dusty squeaked and spun around when someone pounded on the door.

“Dusty,” Alexander shouted through the thick wood. “Open this door.”

Dusty reached over and slowly turned the doorknob, pulling the door open just a crack. He leaned over to peek through the crack when Alexander pushed it open. Dusty jumped back so he wouldn’t get clocked in the face by the door—and promptly lost his balance.

Dusty’s head hit the edge of the tub and lights flashed before his eyes. He slumped down next to the tub and wished he was anywhere except for where he was—with a staggering headache and his new boss staring down at him in obvious disapproval.

Yeah, he was making a great impression on the man. Dusty had lost count of how many times he had broken something or hurt himself just since meeting the man. He was doomed. As much as he wanted this new job, a part of Dusty wanted to be around Alexander so that the man would acknowledge that he existed, and maybe show some interest.

At this rate, Alexander was going to walk away and maybe take out a restraining order to keep Dusty away from him. Dusty sighed as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head. He was never going to get laid at this rate.

“Are you okay, Dusty?” Alexander asked as he stepped into the bathroom and dropped to his knees in front of Dusty.

“I’m okay, sir,” Dusty replied, suddenly feeling like the idiot everyone called him.

“Here, let me take a look.”

When Alexander tried to pull him closer, Dusty shied away. He didn’t want Alexander kissing his boo-boos. He wanted Alexander to kiss his lips. “I’m fine, sir.”

“Dusty.”

Dusty’s eyes snapped up at the stern tone he heard in Alexander’s voice. He just couldn’t not look at the man. His voice was so commanding that it sent shivers of delight right down Dusty’s body to the very bottoms of his feet.

“Yes, sir?” he whispered.

“Bend forward and let me look at your head.”

Despite his protest of a moment ago, Dusty found himself bending forward. He winced when Alexander’s fingers probed the tender bump on the back of his head. It wasn’t the first bump he had received, and no doubt, it would not be the last.

“Well, it doesn’t look too bad. There’s no bleeding, just a bump,” Alexander said. “I think an ice pack should do the trick.”

“Thank you, sir.” Dusty felt Alexander’s hand under his chin, lifting his face up. He hesitantly raised his eyes to meet Alexander’s. Wow, he was so close. Dusty could feel Alexander’s breath brush over his cheeks.

“You can thank me by being more careful, Dusty.”

“I don’t mean for these things to happen, sir,” Dusty explained, feeling somewhat desperate. “They just do. No matter how careful I am, they just happen.”

“I want you to do something for me, Dusty.”

“Anything, sir.”

“Close your eyes.”

Dusty frowned for a moment and then slowly lowered his eyelids. He didn’t know what he expected, but it certainly wasn’t the feeling of Alexander’s lips pressing against his. Dusty inhaled sharply and jerked back, his eyes snapping open.