make sense to want anything more than freedom from Matvei, so I swallow the lust I felt moments before and roll over onto my side so I can sleep.
But the man still haunts my dreams.
Nikolas is grumpy when I get him up for bed in the morning. He didn’t get a good night of sleep, so I have to sit him down and listen to him tell me about his nightmares. In his dreams, his mother and father are always just out of reach. The whole room goes dark and he can’t find them, no matter how loud he screams for them.
Just listening to him tell me about his dreams breaks my heart, and I pull him into my arms, rocking him back and forth to calm him down. After finding out about his upcoming therapist appointment, I’m glad that my schedule is being rearranged. I hate seeing him get like this, and I decide to try my best to cheer him up by offering to make apple strudel for him.
It works like a charm.
We both race down to the kitchen as I prepare his favorite treat for him. It’s a bit sweet for breakfast, but on mornings like these, with him in a foul mood from not getting good rest, I decide to treat him just a little.
“How come you’re here?” he asks me suddenly, icing smeared on his chin as he eats.
“Because it’s breakfast time, silly,” I say brightly.
He shakes his head. “No. How come you’re here?” He emphasizes the last word and I understand what he’s trying to say.
Why here—as in, why in this house, this prison, this tundra of dark, swirling intensity.
I gulp. “I’m here because Matvei hired me to take after you,” I say. “I’m like a babysitter, but cooler.” I try to be all sunshine and lightness whenever I talk to him, with the vague hope that it’ll coax him out of the dark moods he seems so prone to. I feel like a dummy when I do it, but I don’t have very many options in my nannying toolbox, so this is the best I can do, all things considered.
He frowns and says nothing, as if considering the answer. Before he can say anything else, I hear two sets of footsteps approaching. I look over my shoulder to see Matvei enter the kitchen with one of his men behind him.
“Niko.” Matvei turns to me. “Victoria.”
I feel a warmth wash over me, and I don’t know whether it’s embarrassment at how formal he’s being or if I’m thinking about last night and the hot and heavy dreams I had. I can still picture his body flat against mine, grinding and bringing us both to our climaxes. It sends a shiver down my spine.
Matvei looks a bit tired, and I can’t help but wonder if he’s had as rough a night as Nikolas. If that’s the case, he’s probably going to be quite irritable. I don’t want to get on his bad side today, that’s for sure. Whatever’s keeping him up at night must be serious.
“Thank you for making him breakfast,” Matvei says uncharacteristically. Any other day, he’d tell me it was my job.
“Of course.” I’m wringing my hands in front of me timidly.
“If you’re not too busy, I’d like to speak with you. It’s about the safe room that you asked about earlier. You remember, right?”
“I remember,” I say, wary of why he’s bringing that up. It seems totally random, but there must be a reason.
“Great. While I show you, Miron will look after Nikolas.”
I glance at the boy eating his food, completely oblivious, and I nod. “Sure.”
When I stand from the table, I feel both of their gazes on me. Miron looks me up and down, then takes my seat, watching Nikolas carefully, the same way he’d watch a wild animal that might attack at any moment. I suppress a laugh.
Matvei leads me out of the kitchen, and I head upstairs with him. When it comes to Matvei, I’ve learned to trust my gut, and right now my gut tells me that something is wrong. He wouldn’t interrupt breakfast like this if it wasn’t something bad.
As we walk down the hall to the safe room, my stomach twists in knots, unease creeping up my back like an unseen hand.
I don’t say a word when Matvei stops and stares at me. He seems to be amused by my fear, because the tiniest of smiles spreads on his face. He then turns to the door