delicious mouth until we both can't breathe anymore.
My Little Diva is fire and water, the air and the Earth. She's all things essential to life—my life. And she's now a vital component of who I am and what I need. It burns in my soul, and I know she's destroyed my ability to exist without her.
Her moans echo in the room like one of her songs. My nostrils flare with the smell of our sex. Our skin glistens, and sweat merges.
When I can't handle her perfection anymore, I erupt. She's already limp and violently writhing in my arms, her face in a beautiful contortion of pleasure.
As we still, I hold her tighter, determined to not only keep her but be merciless with anyone who ever attempts to harm her again.
18
Zoe
Pain keeps me up all night. Dirk stays up with me, trying to take my mind off it, or adding more cream, but it seems to get worse. I stay cocooned in his arms and finally fall asleep.
I'm woken by the house violently shaking, and the wall of the bedroom crumbling. Penelope screams.
I jump out of bed, toss on Dirk's shirt that I threw on the floor the prior night, and jump through the dust. I yell for Dirk, trying to figure out where she is in the heap of drywall as the earthquake continues to terrorize the house.
"Help! Oh, God! Please help!"
"Penelope! Where are you?"
"On the bed."
"Dirk!" I toss several pieces of rubble away to get to her. "I'm here. Hang on!"
There's a loud crash, and Penelope and I continue to scream. Within minutes, Dirk and Axel run into the room.
"Get under the desk, Zoe!" Dirk yells.
I obey and watch in horror as the house continues to vibrate, and Dirk and Axel quickly throw pieces of the wall out of the way to get to Penelope. The shaking stops, but Penelope is still trapped.
"Andre! Tinker!" Axel hollers.
I move to help, but Dirk barks, "Stay under the desk, Zoe!"
I crawl back under, feeling useless but not wanting to cause more trouble by not listening.
It feels like forever before Andre and Tinker come racing in, and the four men continue to dig through the rubble to get to her.
"Dirk, grab a towel," Axel says.
Dirk goes into their bathroom and comes out with a yellow one. He hands it to Axel. "Turn around, everyone."
The men all turn, and he pulls Penelope out of the rubbage and wraps a towel around her. She's trembling, and tears stain her cheeks.
Dirks races over and crouches down then pulls me into his chest. "Zoe, you okay?"
"Yeah."
"You're not hurt?"
"No."
He palms my head and kisses it.
"I've gotta get back to Naomi," Andre's voice booms.
"Where is she?" I ask in a panic.
"Under the table in the kitchen," he replies as he trots out of the room.
"Penelope, are you hurt?" I ask.
"I...I'm okay."
Dirk sits and tugs me into his chest. His heart is beating fast. He kisses my head several times.
I tilt my head up. "I'm all right."
He takes a deep breath.
"Can I come out now?"
He nods and helps me up. The five of us stand together, Axel holding Penelope, Dirk holding me, and Tinker holding his face, surveying the destruction.
"Thank God I have earthquake insurance," Tinker mutters.
"Let's get clothes on and clean up," I suggest.
Tinker sighs and leaves the room.
"Dirk, help me find my backpack. Penelope's clothes are in it," Axel says. "Go stand by Zoe, where it's not as messy," Axel tells her.
Penelope approaches me, and I embrace her. It's a miracle she isn't hurt. When I pull out of the hug, I glance at her towel and smirk.
So much for her hounding me about my relationship with Dirk.
"What?" she quietly asks.
I keep my voice low. "Do you always sleep naked or only with Axel? I don't remember you doing that when we shared a room."
She blushes. "Like you didn't just throw that shirt on."
I only smile at her, and she softly laughs.
Andre and Naomi's passports came the night before, and they left for the airport before we get downstairs. We spend the day cleaning up whatever we can, but the house is in shambles. There are large cracks in the kitchen wall, and sunlight shines through.
Mid-afternoon, Tinker goes into town to check out the damage. When he returns, he tells us the earthquake caused so much damage most of the city is destroyed. He also speaks to his passport guy, who tells him that his equipment was all damaged and it will take months to get replacements.