21: DANICA

"Turn this way, please," I say, gripping her hair between my fingers.

"And then he asked me if I would be his partner at tonight's luau. Can you believe it?" she squeals.

"Why wouldn't I believe it? You're beautiful, smart, and funny. He would have been a fool not to ask you."

"I still can't believe Papai said that I could go."

"He did, as long as you make sure that you're with Emma, Riley, Iesha, Briana, and Tiffany. You're not to go off too far by yourself with Nick."

"I know," she says in a familiar pouty teenage groan.

"Good. Okay, sit up," I instruct, tugging on the ends of her hair. "Go take a look in the mirror."

Zee Zee hops up and takes off running to the bathroom.

"Eee!" I hear her happy screech from my seat in the living room.

Zenon, who's just coming in from grilling on the deck, asks, "What was that?"

"Your thirteen-year-old daughter, who I am presuming, has given me the approval for her hair."

At that moment, Zee Zee comes tearing out of the hall bathroom with her arms flailing and her long legs and feet barely skidding to a stop.

"You like it?" I ask with a lifted eyebrow.

"I love it! Where'd you learn how to braid hair?"

"Just practicing on mine when I was a teen. I kept working at it and working at it until I got decent. Then, when I went off on my modeling career, I had the opportunity to practice on other girls."

The familiar nausea and regret rise within me as those memories return. Memories of getting the other girls ready to go out on their "dates" with men who would only desecrate their bodies the same as the men that I was with did to me.

"Well, you're not just decent. You're not even good, Dani, you're great!" Zee Zee declares.

"Thank you, Zee."

I get up, head into my bedroom, and return with a pair of turquoise earrings.

"Here, you can wear these. I thought they would go perfectly with your turquoise tank top and leather and turquoise sandals," I say, extending the earrings to Zee Zee.

Her eyes widen, and she says, "You'd let me wear these?"

"Of course, I would."

Zee Zee's bottom lip trembles just a bit, and she says, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, doll."

"Would you mind?" she asks, holding her head sideways so that I can put the earring in her right ear.

"Not a problem at all," I say, affixing the earring to her ear.

After I place the other one on, we make small talk for a little while until her friends arrive. The community is having a luau on the beach tonight for the teens. The girls are all excited about it, but I've opted to stay inside.

I want them to have fun without all the attention being on me.

"Have fun," I tell her as she leaves.

Zenon leans in and presses a kiss on the top of his daughter's head.

"Remember what I said, stay where you're visible, remain with your friends, and no hand-holding or kissing," Zenon says, wagging his finger.

Zee Zee's friends giggle as she groans, "Papai!"

"Girls, go on," I say, holding the door open and giving Zenon a warning glare.

"What?" he asks, holding his hands out at his sides.

"Did you have to embarrass her that way?"

"I wasn't trying to. I just wanted her to remember that we have rules in place is all."

"You know that she's growing up. I think she's done a great job of proving that you can trust her."

"That's my baby, Dani.

"I know."

"I just want to protect her."

I place a hand up at his face and say, "I know you do. You're doing a good job. By the way, why aren't you heading out for the luau?"

"I thought I'd stay inside with you tonight."

"You don't have to do that, you know?"

"I know that I don't have to. I want to," Zenon says, taking my hand and moving me into the middle of the living room.

Zenon grabs the remote and turns on the sound system. With a series of flicks, he turns the TV to Spotify. The sounds of the Bamboo rattle, the Hula drum, and the Ipu heke fill the air.

"I didn't know that you were into mele," I say as the Hawaiian music pours forth, and he begins to slowly dance me around the living room.

"I wasn't until tonight," he says with a heavy-lidded gaze. "Besides, why should I go out there when I can enjoy my own personal luau in here with you?"

Laughing, I shake my head. "You know that you're corny, Z, right?"

"Corny? I thought that I was being romantic."

"Did you, now?" I challenge, resting my head on his chest.

We dance through two more songs before we stop, and I curl up on the couch.

Zenon heads into the kitchen and returns a few minutes later with two frothy, pinkish-peach-colored drinks with a pink hibiscus leaf on the rim.

"Ooohh, what's this?" I ask, accepting the cool glass.

"It's called Tropical Sunshine."

Taking a sip, I savor the flavors of Sprite and pineapple juice. "Mm, it's delicious. What's in it?" I ask.

"Sprite, Grenadine syrup, and pineapple juice."

I take a gulp and moan, "This is so delicious and refreshing."

Zenon kneels in front of the couch where I'm curled up.

"Hey!" I cry out when he takes my drink from my hand. "What are you doing?"

"Tasting what's so delicious and getting my own refreshment."

Zenon licks my lips, and I instantly stick my tongue out to touch his. It's cool, and then I suck it to find that it's sweet, like I'm sure mine tastes.

Zenon shifts from his knees to leaning over me, and before I know it, he's lying on me. His massive body presses me into the couch, and his thick arousal makes its home between my thighs.

I shift slightly, allowing him to have more space between my thighs than before.

Zenon's tongue burrows deeper into my mouth, eliciting moans that should be reserved for the bedroom. My arms wrap around him, and I instantly think that I could be with him like this all day, every day.

"I want you," he murmurs against my lips.

"Not as badly as I want you," I reply.

Zenon lifts off me and pulls me up to sitting.

"We've got at least an hour to have fun. Two, if we're lucky."

I giggle when he lifts me into his arms and carries me into my bedroom. Gently, he lays me on the bed before he lays beside me.

Zenon's hand slides down the curve of my hip as his lips smother mine.

"I want to taste you," I tell him.

"There will be time for that," he grumbles, grabbing at my short cutoff shorts.

Pushing my hands between our bodies, I unfasten my button and then begin wiggling out of my shorts.

As we turn onto our sides and face one another, his hands grips and caresses my ass before working their way up my back, tickling my spine.

"I thought we said we weren't doing this for a while," I say.

"It's been a while," he grumbles against my lips.

"Has it?"

Pulling back, his eyes flash with heat, and he grabs my hand.

"Feel me, Dani. Does it feel like I can wait any longer?"

Smirking, I grab his hand in return and place it between my thighs. "Does it feel like I am waiting?"

He groans and shoves me onto my back before he reaches into the back pocket of his shorts and removes his wallet. I watch as he grabs a condom and sheaths himself.

We've never discussed him not using a condom, but when we were together before, I always made him use one. He didn't like it, but I didn't give him an option. He thought it was for my protection but what he didn't know was that it was for his.

When he slides into me, I feel so complete, and for the first time, I realize how much I've missed him connecting with me like this since we decided to wait. Large hands move over my breasts, teasing my nipples until they're so hard they ache.

As he moves in and out of me, his hands are replaced on my breasts by his mouth. His tongue lights me on fire and stirs in me an unquenchable desire, a desire that lets me know that I will only ever want him and no other.

Arching my back and thrusting my hips upward, I moan, "I only want you, Z. I love you so much."

Those words seem to spur him on as he picks up his speed, and his thrusts become more powerful, more invasive, and cause me to cry out loudly.

My hands rake over his back, and I furl my hands into fists to prevent from scratching him. I've never been territorial, and I don't believe that I need to do all that to claim him. But I'm struggling right now because he has me feeling so good that I can barely stand it.

Zenon's mouth moves from my breast to my neck, over my shoulder, and then to my lips. Slowly, I drag my hands up his back to cup the back of his head, pinning him to my mouth and sealing our kiss, unable to pull apart.

"Dani," he grunts in a ragged voice that seems to be torn from somewhere deep within.

"Yes, Z?"

"I don't want you to go. Don't leave me again, baby. Losing you might kill me."

Tears flow down my face, and I nod. "I feel the same way."

"I don't care about what you've done, what's been done to you, or how you may have hurt me. Just love me now. Stay with me in the present," he grunts with each thrust.

"Okay," I whimper, welcoming him deeper into my body and giving him my heart as his home.

"Promise?" he asks, staring gravely into my eyes.

"God, yes, I promise," I cry out as I release my orgasm all down him.

"Thank you," he mutters against my lips.

When Zenon finally releases, he covers my mouth with his so that I can help him drown his thunderous roar.

We're lying there kissing and moaning when we hear footsteps out in the front of the cottage.

Zenon panics, jumping from the bed and grabbing his shorts. As he stumbles into them, I'm hopping around, looking for my tank top and shorts.

I kick my discarded panties underneath the bed as a knock sounds at my door.

"Fuck," Zenon mouths.

I jerk my head towards the bathroom telling him to go in that direction to hide. I straighten the covers on my bed, cursing myself for losing control, knowing that Zenon's daughter is here.

"Just a minute," I cry out, finishing straightening the bed as Zenon slips into the bathroom, quietly closing the door behind him.

I turn on the two candle warmers on my nightstands.

I know the scent of sex is powerful in the air, but I don't want to risk Zee Zee hearing me spraying the air freshener.

I quickly move to the door and pull it open.

"Hey, is everything okay?" I ask Zee Zee breathlessly.

"Yeah, is everything good with you?" she asks, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Mm-hmm," I mutter, licking the sweat from my top lip.

"I was looking for my Papai. I had a question for him."

"Um, oh...what's up?"

"I wanted to see if it was okay to spend the night with Emma."

"I'm sure that he won't mind. Go ahead."

Smirking, Zee Zee says, "Thanks, Dani."

"You're welcome, Zee."

Just as she turns to leave my doorway, she pauses with a finger in the air and then spins on her heel to face me.

"Oh, and would you please tell Papai that I said it's okay to date you? You two don't have to sneak around, you know," she says.

My eyes damn near pop out of my head. "What?"

"I know that you two were having sex before I knocked at the door."

"Zee, I don't think—"

"It's okay. I'm thirteen. Tell Papai he doesn't have to hide in the bathroom."

"How do you...?"

"He left his tank top on the floor beside your bed," she says, pointing over my shoulder.

I turn back to glance at the space that she's pointing at, and sure enough, his orange tank top is lying on the floor, along with a torn condom wrapper.

How in the hell had I missed that?

"Besides, at least you two are being responsible and using protection. Thanks, bye!" she says, bounding off towards the living room.

Slipping into the hallway, I peer around the corner after her. I see her tug a bag over her arms, and Emma is sitting in the living room giggling.

"Did you tell her that we heard their moans?" Emma asks.

"God, no! It was embarrassing enough to tell her that I know they're having sex," Zee Zee says, making me flush with embarrassment.

"Why are grown-ups so weird about it all?" Emma asks just as they disappear through the front door, closing it behind them.

I collapse against the wall and onto the floor, smacking my forehead with my palm. A couple of minutes pass before Zenon joins me in the hallway, sitting opposite me.

"Did I just hear the conversation between my daughter and you that I think I heard?"

Not looking up at him, I nod dumbly. "Mm-hmm."

"Think it's time that I have a conversation with her about the birds and the bees?"

"If that's the terminology you're using, Z, I can guarantee you that she's light years ahead of you and may teach you a thing or two."

I look up to see his eyes widening in disbelief. I take pleasure in knowing that he's experiencing a little of the discomfort that I already did.