Belonging to Lust

Chapter 17: Heath's Sister

Zaiyia looked between Heath and his sister with a look of both shock and regret. She couldn’t believe that the intruder that she was attempting to scare out of the house with a dirty kitchen knife was Heath’s sister! An apology couldn’t begin to take back her actions, which is probably why she mentally struggled to find the right words to say. Heath yanked the knife out of her hand and glared down at her with the most murderous look on his face. She was sure everyone in the room could hear her heart shatter into pieces beneath his hateful stare. “Go to your damn room right NOW, Zaiyia!”

Feeling like a scolded little child, Zaiyia didn’t think she could stomach the hateful look in Heath’s eyes for her any longer than she had to. She quickly ran out of the kitchen and through the back door towards the guest house.

“Who the hell was that crazy psycho AND why the hell did she just try to kill!?” Annaliese demanded to know once the young girl had left. Her heart was pounding so hard she could feel it against the palm of her hand that was delicately placed on her chest.

Maverick sat back down from where he had shot up out of his chair, ready to defend his twin sister if he needed to. “Yovela’s daughter, Zaiyia.”

Annaliese was taken aback. “What? The five year old, Zaiyia?”

Heath nodded. “Yes, that Zaiyia. Now do you mind telling me what you’re doing here so late?”

Annaliese straightened her spine a bit before pointing towards Maverick. “I received a call today by his boss informing me that he got himself fired.”

Maverick rolled his eyes. “Jesus Christ, Annaliese you’re not my fucking mother, okay!?”

Heath stepped in before the two could begin one of their never-ending infamous arguments. “Hold on you two, how did you get into my house, Annaliese? I don’t recall giving you a key.”

Annaliese looked away with a guilty look on her face. “Oh well, I kind of…stole your spare key out of your bedroom drawer.”

Heath and Maverick both rolled their eyes and sighed over their sister’s constant intrusion in their lives. “Damnit Annaliese, we’ve already talked about this! We’re both grown men that can take care of themselves. We don’t need you mothering over us like a damn hen all the time. You need to stop checking up on us every minute of the day and focus on your own life.”

“So, I take it Zaiyia has moved in with you since Yovela disappeared on you?” Annaliese asked, as if she hadn’t heard a word Heath had just said and was attempting to change the subject.

“Wait, how did you know about Yovela disappearance before me?!” Maverick exclaimed, looking between the two of them with an offended look on his face at being the last to know about his brother’s drama.

Heath pointed a stern finger at his little brother. “It’s because she calls me three times a day to check up on me, that’s why! I hardly see you around anymore unless you do something as fucked up as sleeping with your boss’s wife and getting fired for it. And to answer your question, Annaliese, yes Zaiyia is staying with me until Yovela comes back.”

“Tell me again, exactly, how do you know Yovela is eventually going to make her way back here to you and her daughter?” Maverick asked, leaning back in his chair and resting his head on his hands.

Heath didn’t hesitate to respond. “Because Zaiyia told me she would.”

“Yeah but how would Zaiyia know THAT if she hadn’t seen her mother since she was five years old?” Maverick questioned.

“Yovela’s sister told her. Remember, Zaiyia has been living with her aunt this whole time until recently.” Heath explained, reminding his brother about the conversation he had with Yovela about her daughter before she up and disappeared on everyone

“Enough of your questions about Zaiyia, Maverick. What you need be concentrating on is why you’re such an idiot for sleeping with your boss’s wife on camera!” Annaliese scolded in such a motherly fashion that it had the two men in the room rolling their eyes at once.

Heath turned away to fix his little sister a plate to eat as she began to argue with her twin about the life choices he made thus far. The two squabbled all the time when they were little, but it became more frequent when Annaliese became pregnant for the first time. Not wanting to stick around to referee the fight, Heath placed his sister’s plate on the table and guided her to a seat before slipping out the backdoor to go and have a chat with Zaiyia. He still couldn’t believe that the young exotic beauty had pulled a knife out on his little sister like she was some kind of murderous intruder. Then again, it probably didn’t help that his sister had stolen his spare key so that she can come and check up on him whenever she wanted to like the annoying hen that she’s become. If Heath would have known that she’d taken his spare key he probably would have warned Zaiyia about his sister’s surprise visits. Heath wasn’t sure who to blame right now, all he knew what that he was going to give Zaiyia the biggest talk she has ever received in her life.

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Zaiyia was watching the main house from her bedroom window seat and became alert when she saw Heath leaving through the back door to walk towards the guest house. Her stomach ached with anxiety at the thought of why he was coming over, even though she already knew why. Heath was probably going to demand that she pack up her bags and leave for pulling a knife on his little sister like a mad woman. Zaiyia began to curse herself for ever trying to protect Heath and his little brother from harm. The thought of the danger that the intruder could inflict upon her hunky guardian’s sexy ass had her jumping to the rescue like an idiot without even thinking. As apologetic as she was, would that be enough to keep him from throwing her out? She had no choice but to try.

Zaiyai pushed herself off her window seat and rushed to meet Heath downstairs, flinging the door open before he could knock. Seeing him standing there with a look of disapproval oddly made her want to cry, but she refused to let the tears filling her eyes fall. Heath had already prepared his scolding speech on his walk there, but one look at Zaiyia’s face had those carefully picked words scattering off into the wind. “Mr. Sullivan, I’m so so sorry about what happened back there. Honestly, I wasn’t trying to harm anyone! Please don’t be upset with me. Please don’t kick me out of your beautiful home.”

Or out of your beautiful life.

Her glassy eyes and trembling bottom lip was successfully melting the tough exterior of his heart and had his features softening as well as his voice. “Let’s go inside and have a seat, Zaiyia?”

Zaiyia couldn’t do anything but nod in response because she could no longer trust herself to speak. There was a lump in her throat that would make her voice sound all watery if she dared to speak around it. She led the way to the couches and took a seat in one of them. Heath closed the front door and then took a seat on the other end. Zaiyia reached for a pillow for comfort as Heath began to speak.

“Zaiyia, why did you grab that knife like that?” Heath started off by asking.

He watched her wince at his question and pull the pillow close to her chest. “I thought there was an intruder in the house. I had no idea it was your sister, Heath, I swear to god. If I had known I never would have tried to scare her off with a knife. Please, you have to believe me. I’m not some crazy person, I really thought someone was in the house and that they would potentially try to kill you and your brother. I already saw them coming towards the kitchen when I caught sight of them and there wasn’t enough time to warn you two, I swear it. Please Heath don’t be upset with me…don’t hate me.”

Heath couldn’t help but to look her whole body over in the candlelight. She was the most beautiful female he had ever seen in his life, and it irked him. The girl was only 16 years old, much too young for him, yet that didn’t stop him from looking and wishing she was 18. He wished he could touch her deep golden skin that seemed to shimmer in the candlelight. He wished her full red lips weren’t begging to be kissed all the time. Heath cursed himself for finding this young girl to be insanely attractive, but she was.

“Is your homework done, Zaiyia?” Heath asked, his eyes staring down at the carpet as he tried fighting the idea of running his fingertips over her much deeper and darker skin.

Zaiyia was taken aback by his subject change and struggled to remember how far she got on her homework. “Um I-I think I’m halfway done with my last one.”

Heath turned to connect his green eyes with her brown ones before gesturing with his head towards the stairs that led up to her bedroom. “Go get it done then.”

Zaiyia frantically nodded before getting up. “Again, I-I’m so sorry, Mr. Sullivan.” With that, she hurried up the stairs to finish the rest of her homework. Heath let out a sigh before heading for the door to walk back across the yard to the main house.
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Zaiyia