Belonging to Lust

Unexpectedly, Heath was awoken from his dead sleep by his mattress bouncing up and down beneath him and two girlish giggles screeching his name. “UNCLE UNCLE UNCLE!”

Jolting his head up, his green eyes scampered around him until they established the small figures of his nieces Florence and Vivienne responsible for stirring him from his dormancy. Grinning mischievously instead of being a grump, Heath took his opportunity and speedily sat up to apprehend each of their leaping forms on either side of him. They disintegrated into fits of giggle as he let out a growl and lugged them down to sit on the bed with him, locked in his steel-like restraint. “Grrr! Who wakes the mighty bear from his hibernation!?”

“WE DO!” The little girls disclosed haughtily, laughing as he tickled them with his fingers while keeping them detained.

“And why did you jump up and down my bed hollering me awake?” Heath inquired in a sober tone, his lips still widened in a smile as he reclined his back against the headboard and stared down at their little disheveled heads.

Florence tilted her head as far back as she could to look up at him with an open mouth grin. “We’re bored, Uncle Heath. And you were sleeping too long again.”

Heath rolled his eyes, not only doubting that the reasoning they woke him was lethargy, but also because their interpretation of sleeping too long was past 7AM. “Bored as in you’re hungry?”

Vivienne shook her head at the same time as her older sister, dismissing his thinking. “No, we’re not hungry.”

Taken aback by her claim, Heath arched a brow down at them. How were they not hungry? They were kids, they were always hungry. Hell, Anneliese always attributed him for her children’s appetite for it was exact to his black hole of a stomach. “You’re not hungry? How come? Did you plunder my pantry while I was asleep?”

“The Goddess in the attic made us breakfast.” Florence explained, her eyes glistening with fantastical admiration.

The mention of Zaiyia’s nickname made Heath’s heart to hurry off. His green eyes magnified at the abrupt memories of last night came flooding back to besiege him of when he relinquished himself to her body. They had made love in this very bed several times, he couldn't put a scientific number to it. If there was any uncertainty in his mind that it was only a dream, the sensation of the sheets on his bare genitals were proof enough, for he had on his briefs last night at least. Pressing his panicking senses to settle back down, Heath licked his lips before grilling them. “And where is the Goddess now?”

“Out back.” Florence answered, traveling her little hands over Heath’s arm hair to lay them down.

“In her temple.” Vivienne included, just as confident as her older sister that Zaiyia was indeed an actual Goddess living on her Uncle’s property.

Nodding, Heath finally discharged his fortified hold on his nieces. “Alright, go on and wake your brother up. I want you all dressed and ready to go for today’s adventure in 10 minutes.” He watched as his nieces scurried off the bed and left his bedroom through his open doorway. Laying across Zaiyia's side of the bed, he called out behind them. “The more time you waste the less time we have to everything before your mother comes and gets for you!”

“OKAY!” The girls simultaneously hollered back at him from the living room down the hall.

Alone, Heath sighed to himself at the prospect of having to face Zaiyia sooner or later. Until then, Heath tarried himself some more time by getting up and heading to his bathroom. Once he was dressed, he strode into the living room to turn the TV on and handed the remote to Josiah, causing his nieces to pout. “Wait for me here until I get back. I gotta go make sure Zaiyia doesn’t have a house party here while I’m out of the house.”

Josiah could tell he was bantering due to Heath’s wink, but goes along with it anyway. “PARTY ROCK!”

“Yeah, whatever.” Heath chuckled, shaking his head. He exited the house through the back door in the kitchen and entered the guest house with a second key. Searching for Zaiyia, Heath migrated up the stairs, his mind reciting the things he would say to her. Taking a deep breath, he reached the top of the stairs and saw...no one? Frowning at himself at where she might have gone, Heath stepped further into the room with his hand resting on the newel post. “Zaiyia?”

Suddenly, the bathroom door opened to unveil a freshly washed Zaiyia swaddled in a bathrobe. She took only one step into her bedroom before raising her eyes and discovering him. Startled, she surged back with a gasp. “Heath!”

With his words snared in his throat, Heath struggled to speak. As he stared at her, and she stared back at him, they were both speechless on what to say to each other after last night. What does one say? As the words splintered on his tongue, Heath was left with no other dialogue but his old and true. He knew it by heart. It went along the lines of ‘what we did was wrong’ and ‘it will never ever happen again.’ He didn’t need anyone's help to recant that old quote. And yet for the first time he didn’t feel that perpetual strain within himself that always forced him to accept the fact that they couldn't and shouldn't touch each other anymore. Their forbidden relationship had always been a bulky dismaying burden on his shoulders whenever he thought of it, but right now he felt weightless. There was no fight left in him. He had yielded to her last night and he was beginning to think it wasn’t just for the sex. No, perhaps he had yielded to her wholeheartedly instead. Was the battle finally over? Did Zaiyia win?

Heath opened and closed his mouth several times before eventually clearing his throat. Since he couldn’t work out a damn thing to say about last night, he elected to just move on from it and fixate on what was going on right now. Just to be sure he wouldn't do anything senseless, he crammed his hands in his front pockets. “Um, I was...I was just coming to tell you that the kids and I are going to be gone for most of the day. We might not be back until late.”

Zaiyia bequeathed him a terse smile, easily gathering how nervous and exposed he was feeling right now after last night. Giving him a nod, she accepted the fact that he was just gonna glaze over last night like it was nothing. At least it wasn’t another one of his elimination speeches. “Okay. Remember to be safe out there.”

Compliantly nodding, Heath inquired while striving to keep his eyes off of her. “So, do you um, need anything while I’m out?”

Wavering, Zaiyia considered his question. Nothing came up in her mind other than her urgency to relish him again. But would she dare request for such a thing? She was damn fortuitous enough to get away from one of his scandalous heartbreaking rejection speeches even if she didn’t know why he wasn’t imparting it to her right now. He hadn’t tried to force her away yet, but perhaps that’s because she hadn’t pushed on him yet. She didn’t want to poke the lion until it mauled her to death, but...at the same time she couldn’t suppress herself back from taking that chance just in case her luck might have turned. Giving him a nod, Zaiyia looked him straight in the eye. “Actually, there is something…I could use a favor.”

“A favor?” Heath recited curiously, not knowing what she could appeal at the moment. “What favor?”

Daringly stepping forward to close the majority of the distance between them, Zaiyia tilted her head up to ask him quietly in case the kids were downstairs waiting on him. “Come to me this time tonight.” Reaching a hand out, she planted it on his chest, her eyes never quitting from his. “That is if you’re able to bring yourself to do it. If not, I’ll understand.”

Tensing up beneath her dainty palm, Heath’s jaw clenched as he feuded internally with himself over her sexual favor. He was once again struck too speechless to react, and so he turned his gaze away from her impressive form. Swallowing hard, he compelled himself to pull back from her and walk away without looking back.

Zaiyia watched him go, her hand hovering over where he previously stood until the sound of the front door shut behind him. She was almost unclear of what his withdrawal meant until he left the guest house. Sighing solemnly, she lowered her hand back to her side and cursed herself while getting dressed for school. “Stupid idiot! Why did you do that, Zaiyia?! Now you’ve gone and ruined everything!”