Page 20 of King of Malice
“Milaya,” he rumbles, Anna appearing at his side, grabbing onto his pant leg.
“Aya,” Anna points with a smile.
Despite all the anxiety I had leading up to this moment, Anna mixing my real name and Dimitri’s nickname, melts my heart.
I slide to the floor, sitting on the marble as my bag sags next to me. “Anna,” I coo back. “I’m so glad to be here with you.”
She smiles and then starts for me. “See my dolls?”
I reach out a hand, letting her little hand fold into mine. “I’d love to see your dolls.”
I stand again, keeping her hand in mine as she leads me to her room. Looking back, I catch Dimitri picking up my bag and easily slinging it onto his shoulder. I hide the wince to see that beat-up, dirty thing against his Italian wool slacks.
Instead, I focus on the little girl pulling me down the hall. We turn into her room, a large dollhouse sitting in the corner.
Dimitri doesn’t follow, taking my bag into my temporary room instead. I can’t believe I’m going to live with him. It’s insane.
My boss is furious. I’m supposed to place nannies, not become one. I had to promise to forgo my next three vacations and keep up with all my regular work while I did this.
Anna squats down in front of the wooden structure, intricate in every detail.
It’s built with center hinges so that it can be opened and closed to reveal the entire inside. It’s open now, exposing all the rooms within the house, the furniture, and the dolls. “It’s beautiful,” I gush, dropping down on my knees next to her, to look inside.
Anna grins, reaching inside. “See this?” She’s pointing to the baby room, which looks a great deal like her own.
“Wow.” I touch the doll bed coverlet, the material a plush velvet.
She grabs up all the dolls. There is a little girl. A daddy. A grandma. A mother and a little baby boy.
Anna places the daddy in the office. “Daddy goes there.”
I hide my smile.
“What are you grinning at?” Dimitri rumbles sliding down next to me.
I stiffen again, and then chide myself to remember to relax. My body cannot give away my every feeling. “At least she didn’t set the daddy doll in the bathroom.”
He rumbles out a laugh and I find myself relaxing. I know what I know about him. About who he is and what he’s done. But I alsoknow that he isn’t likely to hurt me here or now. What he’ll do if he finds out the real reason I’m here is a worry I’ll have to consider later.
“Not right,” Anna holds out the mother doll to Dimitri.
“Why not, my little love?” he asks taking the doll and turning her over in his hand.
Anna touches my hair. “Hair is yellow.”
Does she want a doll version of me? My brows shoot up and my heart twists. I slide my hand over the dark silky strands of her ponytail. Whatever I do, I have to make certain Anna is not hurt in all of this. She’s an innocent in every way.
Dimitri takes the doll in his hand, his thumb sliding down the doll’s synthetic hair. “You want a doll with yellow hair?”
“Yes.” Anna nods.
Dimitri hands the doll back to Anna, kissing her chubby little cheek. “I’ll see what I can do.”
He gets up again, leaving the room, but returns a minute later with several sheets of paper in hand.
Sitting next to me, he stretches out on the thick carpet, his long legs looking lean and sexy in his dress slacks.
On my other side, Anna starts to babble about how the baby needs to go to sleep but all I can do is watch Dimitri from the corner of my eye. “This is a list of daily activities for Anna. They are color-coded by ones you need to attend, and ones that are drop off like pre-school. Home visits are in green. I’ve provided all addresses and contact information, but I have a driver who knows all the locations and travel times for you.” He hands me the sheets.
