Page 55 of Primal God

“You’re blushing, Nanny W!” She turns to Diego. “You’re right. She has a boyfriend!”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I say. “Just a friend.”

Dimitri moves past me as he asks, “And does this friend have a name?”

My god. I see where Clara gets it. And Dimitri may have missed his calling as an attorney, because I feel like I’m being questioned on the stand.

“Of course he has a name.” I let out a small laugh. “Everyone has a name. Now, come on kiddos. It’s bath time.”

Just like I hoped, the twins rush from the kitchen, clattering up the stairs, with Clara leading the way, yelling about how excited she is for bath time.

Isadora reaches for me and says, “Bath! Bath!”

I laugh as I scoop her up and move past Dimitri. I think I’m safe about the same time he reaches out, grabbing my arm.

“Does your boyfriend have a name?”

The intense look in his eyes reminds me of the night in the pool. Like a fool, heat rushes to several parts of my body in response.

“Of course he has a name.”

“Lilith,” he growls in a low tone. “Don’t play coy with me.”

It would be so easy to push his buttons, but I don’t. Because this isn’t a complication I need in my life.

I pull free and say, “I’m notplayinganything, Dr. Santos.”

Head held high, I leave the kitchen, even though I feel like there’s a chance he might follow.

I make it to the upstairs bathroom when I feel him behind me. He’s so close that his breath fans my neck.

“Funny. I seem to recall that you like to play games, Lilith.”

His hand goes to my hip as he says the words, making it hard to think.

Clara comes from the twins’ room and says, “Papai! What are you doing in here?”

“I wanted to see if Nanny W knows the proper amount of bubbles to give you and Diego.”

Clara laughs, moving past him. “She does. But I wish she’d use as many as she did the first time.”

Holding Isadora on my hip, I move away from Dimitri and turn on the water for the massive tub, letting it warm before putting in the stopper. Clara hands me the bubbles, and I add some, swirling the solution with my hand. By the time Diego runs from his room, the bubbles are piled high and Clara is already in the tub. There will be a time soon when they won’t be able to take their baths together, but for now, it’s fine. Especially with a tub this big. Diego climbs in and immediately makes a bubble beard.

Clara laughs. “You look likePapai!”

Diego grins, as if this pleases him.

I let them play while I pull their towels from the cabinet above the toilet. Isadora keeps leaning toward the tub because she knows she’s about to get in with her siblings.

“In a minute,xuxuzinho,” I say as I make a silly face.

“You speak Portuguese?”

I glance at Dimitri. “Not much.”

He’d be shocked if he knew why I started learning in the first place…

“What made you decide to call this one sweet pumpkin?”

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