Belonging to Lust

After school was over, Zaiyia burst through her house in a frenzied race. She had to make sure that dinner was ready for Heath and that the whole property was pristine for when Alice arrived later on. By the time Heath’s truck rolled up into the driveway, Zaiyia had his place at the head of the table set and ready for him. Setting up her own spot beside him, she seated herself at the table awaiting Heath’s arrival.

“Zaiyia!” Heath’s voice called into the house the moment he stepped through the front door.

“In the kitchen!” Zaiyia responded loud enough, notifying him of her location. Her plate was still intact, not because of any domineering rules set by Heath, but because she just didn’t wish to eat without him.

Entering the kitchen, Heath’s face illuminated into a grin at his well-prepared dinner then faltered when he saw an edgy Zaiyia sitting in her chair. “What’s wrong, Zai? Did something happen at school today?”

Zaiyia shook her head, dissolving the thought from his mind. “No, it’s…Alice is coming over tonight. She’ll probably be here in a few minutes and…yeah, I’m nervous about it.”

“Is this about her father?” Heath inquired, a brow arching inquisitively.

Nodding, Zaiyia began to fidget with her napkin spread over her lap, adding in. “The last time we spoke on it, she still seemed pretty determined to see this thing all the way through.”

Going straight for his chair at the head of the table, Heath sat himself down and picked up his fork with a nod. “In that case, I’ll finish dinner quickly so we won’t have any delays or distractions.”

Almost forgetting, Zaiyia swiftly inserted while plucking up her own fork. “Oh, and she’s likely going to be bringing her two younger siblings over too. I don’t think she’s comfortable with them out of her sight.”

With the tip of his fork, Heath indicated towards the living room while he spoke around his dinner. “They can keep themselves occupied with the toy box in the living room. That should give us enough privacy.”

Zaiyia had to do a double take before frowning. “A toy box? I don’t remember seeing a toy box before in the living room.”

“That’s because it doesn’t look like your typical toy box. It’s just a boring plain wooden box.” Heath informed her with a wink as his fork amassed another stack of food to engulf next. “My nieces and nephews tend to leave some of their toys over here whenever they come to visit. After a while things began to accumulate everywhere so I built them a box to put their things in when they’re done.”

Zaiyia had no choice but to accept that. She didn’t have time to withdraw from her dinner to search for this box he claimed he built for his nieces and nephew. Then again…now that she thought about it, she did remember seeing a wooden box in the living room pushed up against the back wall. It wasn’t anything that ever inspired her to peek inside before. She just assumed it had some random knick knacks or abandoned tools inside. If that was the very same box he mentioned, then it certainly didn’t look like a toy box.

By the time the couple had hurriedly ate their dinners and put the dishes away, Zaiyia was anxiously pacing by the front door, wringing her cold fingers. Heath sat on the couch, watching her go back and forth. When he opened his mouth to ask her if she was alright, the doorbell rang followed by two knocks on the door, likely by tiny little hands.

“Holy shit, they’re here!” Zaiyia gasped out then spun around to face Heath. “How do I look? Do I look scary, like I eat little kids for dessert or something?”

A sexy smile overtook Heath’s face as he stood up from the couch. “For as long as I’ve known you, little kids were never on your menu for dessert. You prefer…bigger, meatier things.”

Biting back a smile in return, Zaiyia shot him a scolding look for making a dirty comment before turning around to open the front door. She greeted Alice and then the little blond cheery kids standing at each of her sides. “Hey, you guys! My name is Zaiyia, what’s your names?”

“This is my sister, Molly, and my brother, Levi.” Alice answered for her siblings who stuck out their hands to Zaiyia. She smiled proudly as her younger siblings shook hands with her former enemy now-turned best friend. “Can we come in?”

“Of course!” Zaiyia told them, standing aside to welcome them into Heath’s humble abode.

“Have you three had dinner yet?” Heath inquired immediately, indicating to the kitchen with a nod of his head. “We have some leftovers if you’re not too picky.”

“No, thank you. That’s actually why we’re a little bit late.” Alice answered him, her cheeks flushing pink at the sight of the tall muscular Hercules that was Zaiyia’s guardian. “We already stopped by McDonald's with some friends to get these two fed before we got here.”

Already on his way to the toy box, Heath popped the lid open and invited both Levi and Molly to take a gander inside. “Well, if you are interested in checking out some bigger toys I got some in this box.”

Molly and Levi’s eyes lit up, no longer intrigued with their own Happy Meal toys in hand. Looking to their big sister for permission, the two instantly set off for the box once they got it. However, they didn’t get a chance to reach in before the large man closed it shut. Glancing up, the two children pouted up at him for denying them access to the treasure trove inside.

“Not so fast.” Heath told them with an ulterior plot in mind. “If you two wanna play with these toys I got in here, then you have to earn it by…beating me to the backyard first!”

“It’s a race then!” Levi declared, accepting the challenge along with his sister Molly who was more than eager to fight to the death for these toys too.

Hoisting the wooden box up off the floor and onto his broad shoulder, Heath began to count to three with a grin on his face. “On my count to three, ready? One…Two…THREE!”

Both Molly and Levi took off running with a jubilant shout while Heath lazily strode along behind them to the backyard. “You better go faster! I’m gonna catch up with you slowpokes!”

Both Alice and Zaiyia laughed at the thrilled children as they followed along behind the trio. By the time they stepped onto the patio, both Molly and Levi were dancing a jig in celebration of their victory against Heath.

The giant himself lowered the box down to the patio floor and opened the lid for them as a reward for their achievement. “Alright! You two won fair and square. Have at it then.”

And the two younger Whites did, their little hands delving in for the variety of treasures within.

Heath escorted the two young ladies back inside, making sure to keep the backdoor open in case the kids wanted back inside. While Zaiyia was whipping the kitchen curtains open so they’d also be able to keep an eye on the kids in the backyard, Heath turned his attention to a nervous Alice. “Have a seat, Alice.”

“T-Thank you.” Alice whispered, helping herself to the one across from where Zaiyia usually sat.

Rounding the kitchen table to take a seat beside Alice in support, Zaiyia ran a soothing hand up and down her back with a soft smile. “It’s okay, Alice. Don’t worry, I’m here.”

Taking his seat at the head of the table, Heath began his interrogation. “So Alice, have you given more thought into what we discussed last time? The whole foster care and such.”

“I…I have.” Alice nodded as she took a deep breath, fighting to maintain eye contact with either one of them. This was a major life-changing case for her and her siblings. It wasn’t easy navigating through uncharted waters that only held the unknown. It wasn’t easy to appear as strong as she should be.

“And?” Heath prodded. “Have you made a decision on what you want to do next?”

Alice’s blue eyes flew to the backyard where her carefree siblings were playing with Heath’s toys. Just seeing Levi and Molly smiling without the routine fear implanted in their eyes, devoid of any trauma. It made it enough for Alice to stand by her decision. Looking at Heath now, Alice announced. “Yes. Your idea is what is best for my family right now. It 's what we all need no matter how much I fear us being separated. We’re in too dangerous of a situation for me to procrastinate on taking any actions.”