Chapter 3 Dinner Plans

Dragori

I watched her debate with herself, “I’m sorry, I should introduce us to you. I am Dragori Volkov, and this is my daughter Nissa. We are visiting here partially for my business, and partially for personal enjoyment.”

She smiled a bit at us both. “So, Nissa, that is an unusual name, but I have an unusual name, so I think that is beautiful. How old are you?”

Nissa smiled up at her and tried to hold up four of her fingers accurately. “I’m four.”

“Wow, four, such a fun age, so many adventures to have.” She grinned down at my daughter and again, I marveled at the easy way she spoke to and acted towards her. Not to mention my daughter was totally enamored with her.

“So, now that we have introduced ourselves, please let us escort you home. That way you don’t have to wait for a bus.” I smiled, hoping to coax her.

“Ah, okay, it’s not that far away, but it is too far to walk.” I led her to our vehicles as she spoke.

“Nissa, hop up into your booster seat, sweetheart, and Ilaria can sit next to you.” She nodded and climbed up and sat herself in her booster seat. Ilaria climbed in, giving me a very nice view of her ass, and sat next to Nissa, buckling her in. Once I was seated beside them, we pulled out.

Ilaria gave us her address, and my driver input it into the navigation system. I just watched her interact with my daughter, while I thought of ways I might be able to convince her to spend more time with us. I needed to discover so much more about her before I could fully enact my plans to make her mine.

“I would very much like to take you to dinner, to thank you for what you have done for Nissa today. It is just her and I, so she is very precious to me, no matter what my foolish actions might have made it seem like today.” She looked at me wide-eyed.

“Ah, that’s not necessary. Truly, I just did what anyone else would.” I shook my head.

“Unfortunately, that is actually not true. Too many would have turned away or thought of their own safety first. Please, go to dinner with me and Nissa.” She seemed to calm some at that, and I nodded inwardly to myself. She had not wanted to go to dinner with just me, so she was skittish about being alone with me.

“Well, I don’t really do the whole fancy dinner thing.” She blushed slightly at that, and that made me curious.

“We’ll keep it low-key, as Nissa would not be overly comfortable in a place that was too fancy as well.” She nodded.

“Then sure, why not.“ She smiled down at Nissa, who clapped her hands, and made her laugh.

Hearing her laugh, once again, made me uncomfortably hard, and I tried to discreetly adjust myself, so she would not see. She was thankfully distracted by interacting with my daughter. As we approached the address she’d given us, I was not happy with the state of the nearby buildings or the look of this neighborhood.

We pulled into the parking area of an apartment building. It was run down, and very much in need of repair and upkeep. I was thinking to myself about having one of my guards stay stationed close to watch over her. I didn't like the idea of leaving her alone in this place. However, I knew she would not come back to our hotel room with me.

As my driver parked, I resigned myself to the idea of her being here, at least for now. I would think and plan once we returned to our hotel about what I might do to secure her company. She was coming home with us, and she was mine, even if she didn’t know it yet. That idea had now cemented itself into my mind, and I was not willing to alter it.

“Thank you for the ride.” She smiled at me, and I nodded.

“Our pleasure. How about we pick you up right here at seven this evening? That way you can have dinner with both of us. I promise it will be a comfortable place and nothing fancy.” She bit her lip again, and I almost growled as I watched it.

“Okay, well, then I will see you for dinner, Nissa.” I was exceedingly surprised when she leaned over and kissed Nissa’s head, which caused her to giggle.

I got out of the car and then reached down to help her. I watched as she walked to the door of the building; she looked over her shoulder at me a few times, like she was surprised I would watch her to see she reached the building safely.

Once she was out of sight, I sat back into the car, and we started on our way to our hotel. I saw Nissa watching out the window, looking rather sad. “Don’t worry, princess, we will be seeing her in just a little bit. She will be having dinner with us.”

That caused my daughter’s face to light up, and even further confirmed to myself that this was indeed the correct course of action. With the way my daughter reacted to her, and her reaction to my daughter, she would make an excellent mother. That thought actually led to others I was surprised had begun to circle my thoughts.

I pulled out my phone and sent an urgent message to Ian, my IT specialist. I instructed him to find out everything about Ilaria, and that I wanted the information quickly. I needed to learn what obstacles I might have to overcome in my goal to bring her home with us. If I had to worry about her family, or if I would be able to work around them somehow. I continued to think, plan, and plot all the way back to our lodgings.

I actually managed to put Nissa down for a nap, explaining to her that if she wished to spend time with Ilaria, then she needed a nap as she would most likely be up past her normal bedtime. That worked, and soon she was sleeping peacefully. It wasn’t long until my phone chimed with an incoming message from Ian, and as I read, I couldn’t begin to believe the words before me.