揧eah, baby girl.?And then we can do anything you want because you just saved my ass.
I go to meet her at the door.
揑抣l tell my people we抮e on for the price lock then,?Troy calls after me. 揙h yeah, and nice save, Lancaster.?
揥hat抯 he mean??Destiny asks, giving me a puzzled look.
揥ho knows. Your Uncle Troy isn抰 right in the head,?I mutter.
揇ad, that抯 mean!?She smacks my arm. 揃ut let抯 see if Eliza wants to come...?
Oh, fuck.
Just hearing her name and knowing she might show up with too much skin hanging out makes my cock twitch.
Oh, fuck, no.
No, I can抰 be doing this.
揝he抯 probably busy,?I warn. And I抦 still not sure what this is, Eliza teaching my daughter to enjoy the ocean while I teach Eliza how to surf waves of ecstasy she never imagined.
揥e should at least ask,?Dess says insistently.
I shrug, holding in a huge sigh.
If I抦 already in hell, I抎 might as well get comfortable with the heat.
揑 suppose we could梙ey!?
I don抰 even finish the sentence before Destiny takes off, running around the house and looking for Eliza. I抦 equally relieved and disappointed when she doesn抰 find her.
揇ess, I have a meeting at three o抍lock. If you want to go see these turtles, we抎 better go now, or we won抰 be able to.?
揙kay!?She leads the way down to the beach, bounding out the back door.
Halfway to the supposed turtle nest, I pass the spot where Eliza pulled that ridiculous little pipe from her pocket and brewed coffee on the sand. The same place where we first kissed.
Damn, she makes me come alive in such dangerous ways.
揇ad, did you hear me??Destiny asks.
揥hat??
揅an we get a smoothie? I抦 so thirsty. There抯 a stand up there.?
I look up and see a couple beach bums with a makeshift smoothie and acai bowl stand.
揝ure. It would be refreshing,?I say.
Dammit. I抳e turned into a sap.
A few minutes later with a banana-coconut drink in hand that I really wish had rum, we find the heap of green sea turtles up the beach. They抳e already been roped off by the authorities to keep them safe from dumbass tourists. Destiny wades into the water past the ropes, hoping for a closer look.
揋ive them their space, Dess. They抮e a protected species!?I call.
She whips around with a mortified look.
揢m, yeah, I know. Since 1978, Dad, I looked it up. Their protection is almost as old as you, Boomer.?
揑抦 not old enough to be a Boomer, Zoomer brat,?I grind out.
What if she抯 serious about this marine biology thing?
Am I really happy with a lifetime ahead of my holier-than-thou daughter jamming her wisdom up my ass?
I find a big piece of driftwood on the beach and sit, holding her smoothie while I gulp down mine until the paper straw collapses.
Protected species or not, the lazy turtles have a mind of their own. One of them waddles into the water and swims up to her like a big dog with flippers, poking its head above the surface as soon as Dess surfaces.
They抮e almost face-to-face and she bursts out laughing before the beast ducks down again and swims off.
揇ad, did you see that??She turns to look at me with a smile that抯 pure joy.
I smile back, watching her hold her hands up to the evening sun like she抯 giving thanks to the universe.
In a single moment, she抯 a young woman and a kid again all at once, bursting with wonder. My kind, excitable, happy daughter, bobbing in the water without a hint of the tragedy that unfolded on this beach.
I give her a thumbs-up, refusing to let my mind crawl back there.
If only I had my turtles.
If only I had somewhere else to go besides Eliza and the filthy ways I want to defile her pretty little face. She struggled so sweetly just to fit me梐nd not nearly long enough.
I want to fuck her into the next century a thousand different ways.
I want her body molded to my cock, ruined for anyone else.
I want to take every hole, bend her over, and press her face deep into the mattress.
I want her to bite the bed as she screams my fucking?
揑 love these guys. I抦 gonna miss them so much.?Destiny appears at my side, the smoothie I was holding already in her hand. She sucks her drink down loudly.
Goddamn.
Where is my mind? Is it ever coming back?
I glance at her. 揧es, I think we抳e established your love for everything that swims.?
揙h, Dad. Definitely not everything. Weren抰 you listening the other day when Uncle Troy tried to tell me about sea worms? I mean, they抮e interesting, but yuck. No parasites for me.?
揋ot it. We抣l find you a program that only lets you work with cute animals then. I抦 sure it抣l be a breeze.?
Her jaw drops at my sarcasm and she rolls her eyes.
Fine. I had that coming.
I抳e got to do some Googling and find out what the career path is for marine biologists. Damn, why couldn抰 she just take over Wired Cup? This would be much easier.
At least I manage to avoid Eliza and the impending hell-discussion about feelings or whatever the fuck for the rest of the evening as I sign off from my last meeting with finance back in Seattle.
If only I were just as happy to avoid her all night too.
By the following evening, it抯 been a day and too damn long since I saw her.
She抯 not in her lab when I go searching, so I look around outside. On the other side of the house, a few yards away, I see smoke curling up in the distance.
I think it抯 the old picnic area with its fire pit and laid stones where my grandparents would host luaus and barbecues ages ago.
Something tells me to follow it.
My nostrils tingle as I close in and see a small, familiar figure with curves that make my body knot.
She抯 sitting in front of the fire pit, brewing coffee over an open flame in a small pot balanced over it.
Out here, we抮e alone, surrounded by lush vegetation and a makeshift wall on one side. I sit down beside her.
揧ou fired up the old fire pit for brewing??I ask.
揥hy struggle with a lab grill when I can do better out here? This is a real campfire, a lot like what Wyatt used to brew the original stuff.?
揥yatt??
揟he guy who gave me the original idea back when he was homeless. The latest flavor is mine, but he was a huge help with the original technique,?she explains. 揑 tried to see if he wanted to help refine it before I started working for you, actually, but he抯 busy with his girlfriend and a real job and all...?
My jaw relaxes when I hear the word girlfriend.
Fuck. I hadn抰 even realized I抎 gone full jealous Neanderthal.
My growl is still neolithic when I reach for her, pulling her into my lap with a startled squeal. 揧ou spend too much time on your feet. I have a better idea. It抯 after nine, Eliza. Why not end your day at a decent hour??
She turns, devastating me with this moonlit smile that turns her eyes into amber gems.
揃ecause, Lump. We抮e both horrible perfectionists.?
I smile. 揑 thought it was pretty close to solid? Don抰 tell me any of the staff gave you a bad review at the tasting??I run my finger around the nape of her neck.
揘o, but some of the comments were really helpful for making tweaks. Especially from the household staff梩hey know what fresh Kona coffee should taste like when they抮e getting it every day from the farm.?She relaxes against my chest. 揂lso, I know you think my stuff is perfect, but you抮e biased.?
揃ull. You were talented long before you bewitched me,?I growl.
She giggles.
揑s your boss really such a hardass tyrant that you抮e afraid to quit working before ten at night??
揗y boss is a big softie. He doesn抰 scare me梟ot much桰 just like doing things right,?she whispers, tracing my jaw with her finger.
揂 brat like you doesn抰 startle easy. One of your best qualities. Then again, so is this.?I cup her face, relishing her softness before I bring it home.
I lean down, kissing her until her moan flutters against my mouth, all teeth and tongue and seething breath.
揙h!?She pulls away from me and gasps. 揥ait. Let me get this fire out.?
揑抣l do it. You have another fire to tend to,?I say, unbuckling my belt.