“This is very organized.” Apparently illegal activity takes a lot of planning. Makes sense when I think about it.
“Thank you,” he chuckles. “I’m going to work from the apartment today so that you can ask any questions you might have throughout your first day.”
I scan over the pages, relief making my shoulders sag. There are several spots in each day that Anna is at school or engaged with other services. “Anna has a speech therapist?”
I catch a slight grimace on Dimitri’s face. “Between the two languages spoken at home and her mother’s…” He looks away. “She’s been very slow to speak. But she’s catching up now and doing a wonderful job.” He gives Anna a soft smile.
“Aya,” Anna curls her hand a couple times, calling me forward. “This doll. Baby. Needs bed.”
“You want me to put the baby to bed?” I ask, leaning forward. I hear Dimitri’s soft growl and turn back to realize that in bending over, my butt is really close to his face. He’s staring at the roundness of my ass in leggings, his gaze dark in a way that makes me sit back up, a little zing of tension making me stiff. “How should I put the baby to bed?”
“Sing,” Anna giggles. Then she hands me the mother doll. “Rock in the chair.”
I set the dolls up, having no choice but to bend again. I don’t look back, and Dimitri doesn’t make a sound, but I can still feel the tension radiating off him.
Even worse, I respond, growing damp between my thighs. Which means, this time the tension is not fear…
I do as Anna requested, slowly rocking the tiny chair in the dollhouse and sing. Anna joins me humming away.
That’s when Dimitri touches the small of my back. It’s a light brush of his fingers, and in his relaxed position, stretched out on the floor, it doesn’t frighten me at all. In fact, I pulse with need even stronger than I felt before last night.
It’s like now that my body’s had a taste…
His phone rings, interrupting the moment. He pulls himself up, taking the phone from his pocket. “Hello?”
Immediately, he begins speaking Russian as he leaves the room.
I stay with Anna, playing with various toys until an hour later, when the speech therapist arrives.
As soon as they’re settled, I dart to my room and fire off a series of texts to potential candidates for Anna’s full-time nanny. I’d like to keep the search moving so Dimitri doesn’t suspect why I’m really here.
With that in mind, I slip from my room, making my way deeper down the hall. I know Dimitri’s room is here along with his office.
His door his partially open, his deep baritone rumbling into the hall.
“I know what I’ve told them, and what I haven’t. But it’s time to be honest. I need the Kincaids and the Smiths if I’m going to take him down.”
Take him down?
What does that even mean? It doesn’t sound good.
“Make it happen. Tonight, if you can.”
Then he hangs up.
I hear the squeak of his chair, and I realize my mistake. I’m about to be caught eavesdropping. I start down the hall, glad for the leggings and sneakers.
But even at a run, I hear his door softly swing wider and I spin back toward him, like I’m just coming out of my room.
“Milaya,” he says in that voice that never fails to send sparks shooting through me. “Is Anna with the speech therapist?”
“Yes,” I nod with the manic energy of someone who is trying to cover her real intentions. “Is there something I should do while she’s receiving services?”
He shakes his head. “The time is yours.”
He stops in front of me, his eyes devouring me and my breath catches as I try to decide if the emotion pulsing through me is still fear or if it’s just attraction. Both?
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a card. “The day after tomorrow, Anna has preschool for four hours. I took the liberty of making you an appointment.”