Page 12 of King of Malice

Automatically, I pick up the mug with one hand and take a sip. But I can hardly attend the flavor, my senses overloaded by the man who is still looking up at me like he knows the most beautiful secret.

CHAPTER FOUR

Ava

Dimitri and Annawalk me to my building and then we part ways. Though I try to concentrate, I’m working on Anna’s nanny applicants for much of the day, which means my thoughts are filled with her daddy.

Like they wouldn’t have been anyway.

He’s interested, it’s obvious, just like it’s completely clear that I am too.

But I’ve been down this road.

The last guy I tried to sleep with, I honestly stopped breathing and passed out right in the middle of everything. I thought I was having a heart attack and the date ended in the ER. He was really cool about it, but never called again, as if I could blame him.

But I like Dimitri so much more than I ever did those other guys I tried to sleep with, and I don’t think I could take it when I watch the interest die in his eyes.

So, I try like hell to push him out of my thoughts.

I finally give up on working in the office and head home, bringing my files with me.

Changing into my pajamas, I pull the folders back out. I’ve got the initial ten candidates. I’m going to review them all again and then start placing calls for screening interviews.

I don’t notice when the sun goes down, or how much time has passed until my phone rings, jarring me out of my work stupor.

I nearly jump and then pick up my phone, flushing when I see Dimitri’s name on the screen. “Hello?”

“Hello, milaya.” That rich baritone slides over me as I sit back on the couch, noting that it’s completely dark outside. How late is it?

“Milaya. What does that mean?”

“Sweetheart.”

“Oh…” I press a hand to my cheek feeling the heat. “But Dimitri…”

“Don’t bother arguing, milaya, I’m very stubborn in this way.”

I nip at my lip, placing my head on the back of the couch. “Is that what you were calling to tell me? That you’re stubborn?”

“No, I thought I’d see how you were doing.”

“The search is going very well?—”

“Not the search,” he interrupts. “You. How are you?”

“Oh,” I whisper into the phone. “I’m fine. Really. I hope I didn’t worry you, my job is to make you feel like you’re in competent hands not?—”

“You are very competent. But I also frightened you. Why?” He sounds curious, but still relaxed. It keeps me from growing tense.

I let out a small sigh. “It’s nothing. Thank you for checking on me, but I am honestly fine.”

“I’m glad you’re fine. Tell me anyway, milaya.”

My lips press together as I shake my head. “Honestly Dimitri, I wouldn’t even know where to begin. This isn’t appropriate and even if it were, this is not a part of myself I share with anyone.”

The only person who knows all my secrets is Cadence.

He pauses, the silence filling me with tension, before he lets out this low hum. “No one?”