by Linda Verji
"I hope it's not too much," Gertie said, a hint of anxiety in her voice. "Mr. Damián told me you were coming with a four year-old but I didn't know anything about her, so I just went with my gut."
"It's perfect," Aiko reassured. She turned to Seraphina. "Phia, do you like it?"
Seraphina nodded eagerly, her wide-eyed gaze darting up and down the room
"She likes it." Aiko chuckled. Patting her daughter's thigh to draw her attention, she said, "Say thank you."
"Thank you, Aunt Gertie." Seraphina offered the housekeeper a shy smile before ducking her head into the crook of her mother's neck.
After making sure that they were settled and informing them that lunch would be in an hour, Gertie left. While Seraphina acquainted herself with her new room and toys, Aiko unpacked her daughter's clothes and hung them in the closet. Later, she headed to her room to deal with her own luggage. By the time she was done unpacking Seraphina was asking for lunch. They followed the delicious scents down the stairs to find themselves in the massive chef's kitchen.
"You're just in time for lunch." Major's eyes twinkled when he saw them. "I was just about to set the table."
"You don't need to do that. We don't mind eating here." Aiko motioned toward the island. She took a drew in a long breath. "Mm. That smells wonderful."
"Major's shrimp tostadas. It's my own secret recipe." Major puffed his chest proudly as he reached for plates from the cabinet above his head. "I hope you like shrimp. But if you don't, I can-"
"We like shrimp," Aiko interrupted before he could offer a replacement. Lifting Seraphina onto one of the barstools by the island she said, "Especially when it smells like that."
Like Gertie and William, Major was quite friendly and maintained a constant chatter as he served them. Minutes later, Gertie and the other female staff joined them for lunch. At first they were ill at ease but they soon relaxed in her presence - enough for Aiko to prod for more information about Zoe. And what she heard was enough to give her pause.
"Four nannies?" Aiko gaped.
Nana gave her a knowing look. "This month."
"Are you serious?"
"And this is a good month." Emily vigorously cut into her tostada.
Lizzie added, "In March, we had seven."
Surely, they were exaggerating. Zoe was just a girl, barely a teenager at that. What could she possibly have done to all those nannies to send them packing their bags so swiftly?
"Don't let these ones scare you." Gertie frowned as she dug an elbow into Lizzie's side. "I'm sure you'll be able to handle Zoe much better than the previous nannies. You just need to understand her."
The other members of staff exchanged skeptical looks but none of them said anything more about Zoe. Ten minutes later, Aiko learnt exactly what those skeptical looks were for. They were just finishing lunch when Zoe Colter, quite literally, swept into the room.
"Gaaadd, don't tell me you cooked those nasty smelling tostadas again." Zoe wrinkled her nose and tossed her long platinum blond hair as she walked into the room. Her long, ivory satin robe swept the floor behind her, though Aiko really wasn't sure why she'd bothered wearing it. It wasn't like the robe was doing much to hide the girl's tiny top and equally skimpy shorts.
Quickly pushing back from the island and standing, Major started, "I thought you said you liked-"
"Don't. Just don't. Stop talking." The girl stopped him with a rude raise of her hand. Without even glancing at Queenie who'd raced to her feet or acknowledging the other people in the kitchen she made her way to the cooker. Lifting the lid off one of the pots, she took a whiff of its contents and made a face. "Ew! I'm not eating this shit."
Aiko's eyebrows shot up at the cursing, but she didn't say anything. Queenie obviously disagreed with Zoe's assessment of the meal because she was barking, wagging her tail, jumping and staring up at the pot with wide-eyed hunger.
"No, Queenie. Bad for you." Zoe bent to ruffle the excited dog's fur before turning to Major. "Queenie and I are going to have pizza for lunch."
"It might take awhile to make-"
"Then order in," Zoe interrupted again.
Aiko mentally shook her head. This girl was so lucky. Were she a Vaughn, someone would've already slapped the taste out of her mouth.
The tween added, "Do it fast. I'm leaving in a while, and I don't have time to wait."
"Yes, Miss," a subdued Major answered.
Zoe started toward the door then as if she'd just realized that she, Major and Queenie weren't the only breathing beings in the room, she turned glittering eyes towards the people seated around the island. Her gaze immediately zeroed in on Aiko and narrowed in curious study. Aiko expected a greeting, instead the girl's gaze slipped to Gertie and she asked, "What is she?"
What is she? Oh, wow!
"She's your new nanny," the housekeeper introduced.
Zoe turned back to Aiko - then laughed. "My nanny?" She laughed again, this time sounding even more amused, as she started for the door. The sounds of her amusement rang behind her as she left the kitchen with Queenie at her heels.
Aiko didn't know what Zoe was so amused about, but one thing was clear - the girl needed a firm hand. She was almost tempted to tell Major not to get Zoe the ordered pizza and let her eat what everyone else was eating. However, she decided that until they were formerly introduced there was no point in starting a fight.
After lunch, Aiko insisted on cleaning the dishes despite Major's protest while Seraphina went off with Emily who she seemed to have taken to. Just as Major was setting the freshly made pizza on a plate in readiness to take it to Her Highness, they heard Zoe's voice out in the hallway.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm already dressed," the girl said. There was a short period of silence then, "Please, please, please, Shelley. Tell him to come with us."
"Who?" Aiko asked Major.
"She's probably talking to her friend, Shelley," Major whispered just as Zoe walked into the kitchen, phone to her ear.
The first thing Aiko noted was that the girl's eyes had changed from an enchanting gray to a blue that was way too vivid to be natural. Then she saw what Zoe was wearing - and wished she could wash her eyes with soap.
Seraphina had t-shirts that were longer than the strapless, tight, purple dress the girl was wearing. The fabric started low enough that Zoe's barely developed bust was on the verge of spilling out, and ended so high above the child's thighs that there was no way she could bend over without showing the world her future.
She'd topped the outfit off with stilettos that would've made a stripper proud then gone all out on her makeup; foundation, mascara, blush, lipstick… the whole shebang. She looked like she was seventeen going on pregnant.
"Ew. Nooo. I don't like him." Zoe teetered to the fridge. "He's like your brother." The person on the other end said something to which, the girl responded, "Because." Huffing with irritation, she grabbed a jug full of juice from the fridge. "Just tell him to come with us to the mall."
Even before she ended the phone call, Major had already set a glass on the island for her along with the plate of pizza. Without even thanking him, Zoe handed him the juice. While he poured it out, she leaned against the island and focused on her phone, seemingly exchanging texts with someone by the constant beeps.
Aiko saw this as an opportunity to finally introduce herself. Wiping her hands down on the kitchen towel, she turned with a smile toward the young lady. "Hi Zoe. We weren't formally introduced but I'm Aiko."
Zoe stayed silent, her attention on her phone.
"So, I was told that you're twelve?" Aiko asked. The question didn't even earn her a lift of the head let alone a pause in the incessant texting.
Aiko tried another tack. "I like your earrings." They were the only thing she could compliment on the girl. "They're very pretty."
Zoe snorted and murmured under her breath, "You're not."
Refusing to take insult, Aiko moved from the sink toward the island. Zoe's thumbs paused in their tracks and her body
visibly stiffened, but she didn't raise her head or turn her attention toward Aiko.
"So, where are you and your friend going?" Aiko settled on a barstool opposite Zoe.
Zoe immediately moved away from the island. She threw Marcus an, "I'll have my lunch in the family room," before flouncing out of the room.
Aiko watched her leave with a sinking feeling in her stomach. This was going to be much harder than she'd expected. It'd been sometime since she'd seen such disobedience. In their family, Kalila had been the problem child; boys, problems in school et al. But Aiko couldn't even imagine her showing the level of disrespect that Zoe had exhibited.
She had her work cut out for her with this one. But she was confident that if she and Damián came up with a strategy, they could coral Zoe back to sanity. The girl was just twelve and not set in her ways. As soon as her father got home she'd talk to him, Aiko resolved.
Making a mental note to pick up a few more parenting books, Aiko left the kitchen in search of her own daughter.
CHAPTER 6
Damián deliberately delayed his arrival at home. As eager as he was to welcome his fiancée to his home, it wasn't enough to make him show his face before the dust cleared. Zoe, he was sure, had thrown a tantrum fit for Broadway on Aiko's arrival. He hadn't informed Zoe that her nanny - who she didn't even want in the first place - was being replaced, so he was sure that she'd outdone herself.
But she had to sleep sometime, right?
At precisely eleven p.m., he drove into his property. His stomach knotted when he saw that Zoe's window was still bright with light, and he almost backed out of the gate.
She's just a girl, he bolstered his courage. Sucking in a deep breath and stiffening his spine, he parked his car. With quick, long strides he made his way into the house. His intention was to make a quick escape to his room before Zoe noticed his arrival and brought the fight to him. However, just as he started up the stairs, a voice called out his name. "Mr. Colter?"
He stopped and turned, only for his gaze to crash into Aiko who was standing by the door to the family room. For a moment he'd forgotten that she was here. Now, he couldn't understand how. Ever since they'd met she'd become the object of his obsession. Seeing her standing here, in his house, looking sexy yet elegant in the snug, knee-length, maroon dress and ballet flats, was like getting an early birthday present.
The edges of his lips lifted in an unbidden smile. "Damián."
Her brow wrinkled. "Sorry?"
"Mr. Colter's my father. Call me Damián." He tilted his head and studied her. Up, down, he took his fill of her generous breasts and ample hips. Yet it wasn't enough. His body stirred with the need to see more of her. Prowling back down the stairs, he asked, "I thought you'd be asleep by now."
"I was waiting for you." She clasped the notebook he hadn't even realized she was holding to her chest. "We need to talk."
Damn! The desire that had been swirling in his blood died an instant death. He didn't even have to ask what she wanted to talk about. Zoe. Heaving an internal sigh, Damián changed the directions of his strides. "Not here."
Her footsteps fell evenly behind him as he led the way to the study. As soon as they got there, he walked straight toward the bar.
"A drink?" he asked over his shoulder as he splashed a generous amount of liquor into a glass.
"No, thank you." She closed the door. Though Damián's back was to her and her footsteps were as silent as those of a cat he was strangely aware of her every movement. He felt her stride to the seat opposite his desk, sit down then stare at his back. Interesting.
Glass in hand, Damián turned to find Aiko's brow drawn in a troubled frown. She said, "I met Zoe."
"Mm hmm," he offered wryly, leaning back into the bar's countertop.
"She's very…" Aiko's unfinished words hung in the silence between them. His body tightened in immediate tension as his senses reared in protectiveness. Yes, he knew Zoe could be a handful, but he didn't need people trashing her. Fortunately, Aiko didn't. Instead she said, "You should've been here to introduce me to her."
Even though he knew she was right Damián shrugged. "I figured that you didn't need me to hold your hand."
"It's not about hand-holding-" Aiko stopped speaking, studied him then released a long sigh. She waved her hand. "Anyway, that's not important. Zoe and I have already met and that's that. But I must say it was an illuminating meeting."
"Do tell." Damián sipped his whisky.
"Well, for one she woke up past midday which tells me that she slept late and probably doesn't have a set bedtime. In fact, I think she's still awake right now."
"Mmm," he murmured neither agreeing nor denying Aiko's assertion.
"Then she was very disrespectful to the staff."
Infusing some mild interest in his tone, he asked, "Really?"
"Really. She wouldn't eat what everyone else was eating…" Aiko waxed on about Zoe's sins, but Damián wasn't really listening. None of what she was telling him was new. Actually, if all Zoe had done was throw a few rude words around - no shouting involved - then Aiko was quite lucky.
Even as he made the right sounds to what she was saying and nodded in the right places, he focused on her mouth rather than her words. He watched her lush lips move, and remembered their last kiss. Damián had kissed, and been kissed, by many women. But the kiss with Aiko had been one for the books. Who would've thought that there was so much passion behind that expressionless, all-business demeanor? The way she'd kissed him back. Her taste. Her smell. The feel of her body against his. He couldn't wait to do it again.
He watched her as she flipped open her notebook, and eyed her curly hair drawn back into that loose chignon. He wondered how it would look draped over his pillow. When his glance met hers, he wondered what it would take to change the keenness in her eyes into wild desire.
Her gaze locked on him, Aiko continued, "I think the disrespect is what we need to handle first."
That drew Damián's attention, and his eyebrows shot up. "We? Isn't that the reason I hired you? So you'd handle her?"
"But you're her father," Aiko protested. "I thought you'd want-"
"I don't," he cut in. Truth be told, he was done with this whole conversation. Setting his still half-full glass on the counter, he pushed away from the bar to stride towards her. "Zoe is all yours. Do what you need to do to fix her."
"She's not a broken toy. I can't just fix-" Aiko's words came to an abrupt halt when he stopped in front of her. When he snatched the notebook from her grip and tossed it on his desk, her face creased in confusion. "What are you doing?"
Damián didn't answer. Instead, he grasped her wrist and urged her upwards. When she was standing, he took a step closer - so close his face was mere inches from her. Immediately the heat in the room shot up by several notches and sexual tension eased its way between them.
The look in Aiko's eye turned from confusion to wariness and she repeated, "Damián, what are you doing?"
He reached for the back of her head. "I like your hair down."
"What?" She started to pull back her head, but it was too late. With one pull, he removed the decorative pin holding up her chignon. Her hair fell around her face and shoulders in a cascade of boisterous curls.
"There." He smirked in satisfaction as he tossed the pin next to her notebook.
"Damián." Her voice rose as she smoothed her palms over her hair to drag it backwards.
"Don't." He pulled on her wrists dragging them downwards.
Her irritated gaze raked him, and the fingers he still had loosely clasped around her wrists. "You know it's not really my hair, right?"
"Really? Shocking." He injected amusement into his voice. Of course he knew it wasn't her hair. This wasn't his first ride on the rodeo. Releasing one of her wrists, he lifted one hand to brush an unruly lock of hair away from her eye and tuck it behind her ear. "You look beautiful with your hair down."
He seemed to have touched a nerve because her eyes lit up in anger. "
Don't be ridiculous."
"What's so ridiculous about saying you're beautiful?" he asked, his eyes riveted to her lips. He touched his thumb to the side of her mouth.
Immediately, anxiety crowded out the irritation in her gaze and she took a step back. "Damián we were still talking."
"I love how you say my name." He edged a step closer.
She tried to tug her wrist away but he held on fast. She took another step back. He took it with her.
"Damián," she protested.
God, how he loved the sound of his name on her lips. His eyes remained firmly planted on her mouth as he ordered, "Say it again."
Biting her lip in obvious nervousness she edged backwards. "We were still talking."
"Later. Right now-" He closed the space between them and lowered his head.
Before he could set his mouth on hers, she jumped back. "Now? No."
"Now. Yes."His fingers still around her wrists, he followed her.
"But we're still- still talking about Zoe." Her tongue peeked out to sweep over her bottom lip and wet it.
That little action was enough to hike Damián's desire and harden his cock further. He sealed the distance between them to press that aching part of him into her stomach. Aaah. The moment Aiko felt him her eyes widened, and she took a quick step backwards. Too bad for her - and good for Damián - that they'd reached the door. Her back ran smack into the wooden barrier.
His lips curling in a satisfied smile, he said, "We'll talk about her later. Right now you need to take care of me - as per our agreement."
"But she's still-" Aiko's words staggered to a stop when he set both palms on the door behind her and pressed his cock into her again. Her startled eyes flew to his as she realized what he already knew. She was trapped, right where he wanted her, with nowhere to run. When he started to lower his head, she quickly turned her face to the side. "Damián."
"Hmm?" The angled turn of her face forced him to touch his mouth to her temple instead of her mouth. When she sucked in a sharp breath and set her hands on his flanks, he trailed his lips down the smooth skin of her cheek.
