Always been mine!

Chapter twenty-one

Real love is knowing someone's weaknesses, not taking advantage of them. It's knowing their flaws and accepting them for who they are.

It's An intangible connection between two people that feels exceptionally good.

The strength and depth of the connection is determined by two conditions.

-The level of self-acceptance each person has for themselves.

- How open, honest and exposed each individual is willing to be.

Love is not an emotion. Love is the connection.

Your feelings are a reaction to the quality of that connection. That's how I feel about love, my opinion!

It has nothing to do with s*x, two people can have s*x and not be in-love, and be in-love but not have s*x. What pushes us to have s*x is desire, lust and attraction.

During the movie, Ronald kept his promise of not touching me, but I yearned for it. He had these huge hands that promised me so much. He got popcorn but I barely touched them. You don't eat popcorn on a date, especially if you're expecting a kiss later, and I was. Part of me didn't want him but another part of me was crushing on him. Enough with the love bullshit! Where had it gotten me? No where!

When Rapunzel hit Flynn Ryder with the pan,I moved closer to him, close enough to feel his skin. I leaned in and rested my head on his shoulder. He looked down at me and smiled then continued watching.

I had been so focussed on driving him away but I had done the opposite and my body reacted to his touch, maybe this was it.

My phone vibrated and when I pulled it out, caller ?, 'DAD'. I excused myself and quickly walked out. It cut but he called again.

Me;"daddy!" I answered into the phone immediately and I walked out the door.

Dad:"my princess, how are you? I was almost giving up, I miss you."

Me:"I miss you too papa, am great can't complain." I reply."How have you been?"

Dad:"so so. I miss my family. How's your mum?"

Me:"physically? She's fine. Emotionally, I don't know."

Dad:"I messed up,that much I know."

Me:"yeah! Daddy......ummh,,,,how's your son?"

Dad;"he's your brother, Nicolette."

Me:"half-brother!" I corrected him, "if he is, that is. How do I even know we're of the same blood?"

Dad:"Nicolette!... Look,that's not why I called. Can't we have a normal conversation? Where's Camilla? She won't pick my calls."

Me:"Dad, I am on a date so we'll talk later. Call me in the evening and I'll text camilla to let her know you've been trying to reach her." And I hang up.

Mum and Dad are now separated. Why? Funny. Dad's white ex had resurfaced with a long lost son we knew nothing about. Apparently they'd met at Oxford back in school, and she'd gotten pregnant. Dad had married her but left her two years later. 2012,she comes to Zambia with a 27yr old son!!!!! Anyway that's not the funny part. Amidst the drama, we discovered Dad wasn't really Charles Guardner! His real names are Charles Antonio Jones. He had changed his name a year before he met mum coz he didn't want to be associated with the Jones family anymore. Why? That's a story for another day. His son is 27yrs old and named Charles Jones.

Wonder how the guardner family became famous? That's how! The story had been all over the media. Dad had demanded a DNA test coz he hadn't been sure in the past if he was the father and still wasn't sure. It had come back POSITIVE. So they were father and son.

It is against the law to be married to two people at the same time. The second marriage is not and cannot be valid, because the bigamist was not legally eligible to become married to a 2nd

person while still married to the first. That means that the second marriage was, legally, never valid--i.e. you were never married. So he and mum weren't married legally according to the law coz dad was still married to Charles' mother.

Dad was British and mum was 100% Zambian. Both countries don't believe in Bygamy so mum's marriage never existed.

Imagine being with someone for more than 20yrs only to be told they weren't your spouse! The pain and shame. Mum had asked for nothing but dad to disappear. He'd left all his assets in Mum's name, I guess as a way of showing he regreted his actions.

We have continued using the name Guardner coz none of us have thought of changing. To what? Jones? Even dad wasn't sure he was a Jones. So.........

My sister Camilla aged 20, had taken advantage of the publicity and invested in music and acting. She loves singing and had enrolled in music school at Emendy Sound & Music Technology College in pretoria, South Africa.

My brothers, Thabang is 17yrs old studying Law by UNISA in his first year and Antonio is 14yrs old and in his 11th grade at IBEX HILL's Boarding school.

Antonio and my 10yr old sister Ashleigh doing her 8th grade by Banani international secondary school, had been very affected by the news. They both preferred to be in school than at home.

I wallked back into the theatre and watched tangled till the end.

Him:"two hours of watching a boring movie, and now its done! Finally!" He said raising his hands and pulling me up,out of my seat. I let out a small chuckle and hit him playfully in the chest.

Me:"c'mon. That's the best ever. Can't wait for tangled 2."

Him:"I'll be sick on that day! Find yourself a another toy." He said while turning me torwards the exit door.

We walked out to the car and he opened the passenger door for me. He walked over to his side,yanked it open and got in. He turned to me after having closed his door. "Can I take you home for a swim?"

Me:"I didn't even bring my bathing suit, but I'd love to."

Him:"we're in town so we can get one."

I bought a two-piece bikini from MUD and he took me home. I waited in silence while he unlocked the door to his appartment.

I wiggled a bit and readjusted the bikini until I was satisfied with the result. The top cupped my small breasts and did a remarkable job of making them seem more impressive than they actually were.

The bottom, I smiled as I turned at an angle to view the back of the bikini. It wasn’t a thong exactly, but it did draw attention to my rounded butt.

Straightening, I smoothed a hand over my flat belly.

Recognizing that I was stalling, I reached for the white towel and carried it.

I slipped out and made it through the living room to the pool at the back. I walked to the pool and eyed the water with anticipation. I was looking forward to a swim.

Shedding the wrap, I tossed it and walked to the edge of the pool to dip my toe in, then moved to the steps and carefully descended into the water.

Oh, it was wonderful. I swam toward the back of the pool and floated lazily on my back for a while then did a few laps, gliding underneath the water for as long as I could hold my breath. I came up with a gasp and grabbed onto the side of the pool. And then I saw feet.

I glanced up to see Ronald watching me, arms folded across his chest, a mock scowl on his face, his lips were twitching suspiciously.

With an innocent blink, I smiled. He squatted down and put a finger underneath my chin, nudging it upward.

Him: "Enjoying yourself, Nikki?"

Me: "Very much so, I feel great." I replied then extended my hand. "Please help me out."

He grasped my hand, and I reached to grip his wrist with my other hand at the same time I planted my feet against the side of the pool and pulled with all my might. He gave a shout of surprise as he toppled over and hit the water with a gigantic splash.

He came up sputtering, and for a moment, I was worried that he was truly angry. He scowled at me before glancing down at his soaked clothing. Then he started laughing.

Before he could think of retaliating, I swam over to the steps and exited the pool slowly. I glanced over my shoulder to see his mouth open as he viewed the back of my suit.

When I reached the top, I turned so he could see my front, and I heard him suck in his breath. I turned away again and began walking toward where my towel was laying.

"Oh no you don’t, you little tease," he growled. I blinked at how quickly he got out of the pool. I gave a shriek of surprise when he closed in on me then laughed when he gathered me into his arms and headed back toward the pool.

He bent down at the side of the pool and gently eased me back into the water. Then he stood and fixed me with a glare. "You stay right there."

I giggled. My laughter died in my throat, though, when he began peeling his clothing off his body. First his shirt came off, revealing his muscular chest. Then he kicked off his shoes and yanked off the soaked socks. When he reached for his trousers, I blushed but couldn’t look away to save my life.

The bulge in his boxers as he stepped out of his pants told me that I'd certainly been the cause. But now I wondered what exactly he’d do about it.

He hopped over the side, landing next to me with a minimal splash. Then he hauled me against him, kissing me hungrily. “That suit should be illegal,” he said as he worked his mouth down my neck.

"You don’t like it?" I asked innocently. "I could always get rid of it."

"Oh, I love it," he murmured. "Are you giving me permission to take it off?" He raised his eyebrow. "I’m going to like taking it off of you even better."

Me: "maybe." I said as I broke loose and dove beneath the water, swimming away from him as fast as I could. I surfaced after a short distance but didn’t immediately see him. I looked down, too late, to see his body. He grabbed my legs and yanked me underneath.

His lips closed over mine, and he propelled us both above the water. I wrapped my arms around his neck and smiled up at him. “I suppose I’m going to have to take back what I said about you being no fun.”

“It would seem so.”

“I wouldn’t object to you hauling me out of the pool,” I said with pretended innocence.

He kissed me again, hot, breathless. His hands slid around my waist to cup my ass. He lifted me upward, and I latched my legs around his waist.

“Hold on to me,” he murmured. “I’m hauling you out of the pool right now.” He said stating my exact words.

He mounted the steps and carefully climbed out of the pool. As he neared one of the loungers, I noticed that he’d brought another towel with him.

I grinned at him. He put me down in one of the loungers then reached for a towel. He dried my hair and body, allowing his hands to linger on my thighs.

“Now who’s teasing?” I said breathlessly.

He straddled the lounger and lowered his body to mine. "Mmmm, nice, you’re so warm."

“Are you cold?” he asked huskily. “I wonder what I can do to warm you.”

His erection strained against my belly, hot and hard like steel.

Warmth shot through my body, leaving me flushed and aching. I wanted him. Wanted him so badly, it had been so long since anyone had touched me.

“Take me,” I whispered as he kissed my neck and breasts.

The sound of footsteps startled us both. He let out an oath as he rolled away from me and yanked up a towel to cover me. I stiffened when I saw Christopher over Ronald’s shoulder.

I excused myself and walked into his house. Thirty minutes later he walked through the door.The s****l tension in the air was so thick, it pressed against me like a physical force. He wanted me, but I wanted him too. It was enough to silence my internal worries that all of this was moving way too fast.

The look of a dark promise in his deep brown eyes said he didn't think it was moving fast enough. "I like your place." I said as I looked around.

Him:"I'm glad you like it. I do too." He shut the door and locked it and now turned to face me, "I like you even more."

I licked my suddenly dry lips. "I like you too."

Him:"I'm going to kiss you, now."

Me:"All right."

When his lips touched me, it was unlike anything i'd expected. His hands curled

around my waist and pulled my body into his while his tongue demanded entry into my mouth. I gave it to him.

From the first slide of his tongue against mine the passion he sparked in me burned through my body and I went up in flames. It was too much, but not enough.

He groaned and one hand moved down to cup my ass, massaging it and causing a burst of heat in-between my legs.

He stripped me of my suit as if by magic and then he removed his blue silk boxer, letting out his erect manhood, teasing me and I let out a moan. He walked over to me and pulled me up.

I stood naked in his arms and suddenly, fear had me breaking the erotic play of our lips together. "Ronald?"

Him:"What, my love?"

Me:"This isn't just a one-night stand, is it? You won't disappear on me once we've made love?" I don't know what made me ask the question, maybe my ongoing fear that this man was no better than Michael.

He stopped moving and held me still to meet his gaze, his expression so serious that I shivered. "I am definitely making you mine, not preparing to notch a

bloody bedpost."

I bit my lower lip. "Do you become mine too?"

Him:"Of course. You'll have all of me."

I shuddered. "Okay."

I wanted more than a temporary physical need.

He kissed me all over my face and throat, saying over and over again that I was beautiful, passionate and his.

He picked up his shirt and tugged it over my head. "I won't make love to you, not yet. I'll do it the day you ask me."

With that he kissed my forehead and put his boxer on. "Spend a night. In the guest room ofcourse." He chuckled when he noticed the questioning look on my face. "Supper?" He asked and I nodded.

Me: "I want fried chicken and cheesy fries."