We fell asleep like that, with Zee laying on top of me and her head on my shoulder, though we did move about in the night. But I still woke up to her in my arms, her face inches from mine as her dark lashes fluttered slightly while she dreamed. I smiled, hoping that the dream was about us together, but that thought was shattered as she started squirming in my arms.

"No, mami, no!" she cried out, her voice fearful in her sleep. Having been there for many of my daughters' nightmares through the years, I didn't hesitate at all, but started to shake her gently. Unfortunately, that only seemed to make things worse, as she started to yell louder. "No, mami, please!"

So, I kissed her.

I know, we were supposed to be limiting it to one kiss, but it was all I could think of to change whatever was happening in her dream. Maybe a gentle kiss would make her realize there was a better external stimulus to concentrate. In seconds, she was kissing me back, even as she whined, and her hands wrapped around my body, clutching at me desperately before she broke the kiss as she woke up sobbing.

"I'm sorry, baby. I tried waking you up, but I think I made it worse." I was wiping away her tears and holding her tight while she started to calm down. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, then hugged me closer. "Thank you. I'm sorry, I don't think I've had a nightmare like that in a while." I didn't want to ask yet, it might be too personal, so I just kept holding her until she was breathing easy and became limp in my arms.

"I'm glad I was here to help. Do you want to get up, or stay here?" I just rubbed her back, trying to soothe her and ease her trembling.

I don't know how, but she burrowed further into me, pulling me a little on top of her body and breathing deeper. "Can we stay like this for a little longer?" Her voice was deep and sleepy, and I just wanted to hear her talk more. But no, she needed more rest after that nightmare.

"Of course," I promised. "You just rest, and if you have any more bad dreams I'll be right here."

"No, no more dreams like that." She smiled as she kissed my neck. "I'm right where I want to be now."

She was right where I wanted her too, and I let myself relax while still acting like a weighted security blanket for her. We stayed that way for about 45 more minutes, just relaxing and dozing, until my bladder demanded my movement. Once that was taken care of, I crawled back into bed and kissed Zee's forehead. "I'm going to go start breakfast, okay? Just come on up whenever you like."

"I'll be up in a bit then. I'm just going to take a quick shower." She stretched out, her taut body straining at the fabric of the skimpy clothing that she wore and making me growl in my throat.

"Damn, you keep moving like that and you're going to be breakfast!"

She reached up, stroking my cheek and smiled. "I can't wait till we're at that stage, because that sounds like the best way to wake up. But you'd have to be my breakfast too." She was adorable when she was sleepy, and I just wanted to sink back down into the bed with her.

"Can I have one more kiss before I go make breakfast?" I asked her as I leaned in a little. "I promise it won't be long." She nodded quickly, and I bent down the rest of the way to let our lips gently touch once more. I sighed, and she hummed softly, and it was just one more reminder of how our life could be soon. Waking up to Zee next to me in bed, and sharing morning kisses, would be pretty perfect.

She slowly broke the kiss, leaving our lips almost touching. "It's going to take a long time before I believe this life is real," she whispered. "This makes the rest of my life seem worth it."

I couldn't help but smile at that, even though it worried me as a statement. Based on that and what she'd cried out while having her nightmare, it made me wonder what her home life was like back in Fort Lauderdale. There was a reason she was here for Thanksgiving after all, and she was planning to be back in December after her graduation, which was much earlier than she needed to be for the internship. But that was why we were starting out slowly, right? Even if this week we just got comfortable with one another, it would be nice, because once she graduated and moved in, we'd see each other daily, and it would make everything easier.

The hardest part would be making sure we didn't race though, because just one night sharing a bed with her already had me wanting it every night, and that had to be done in moderation. I had to remind myself that I'd gotten her room set up precisely so that we could both have some space. That way we could go knock on a door and go on a date, then I could walk her back and kiss her goodnight. Yes, we would live in the same house, but on different floors, and we could still have our own place to retreat to if necessary.

"Ok, you shower. When you're done, come on up and eat."

"Can I help cook?" she wondered as she rolled out of bed. No, I didn't look at her ass in the little panties either. Okay, yes, I did. I may have even licked my lips, remembering her taste. "I'd like to contribute while I'm here, if that's okay."

I nodded happily. "Of course, I don't mind that at all. But you don't have to if you don't want to."

She walked over, standing right in front of me as she made sure she watched where my eyes roved over her. "I don't want you to do it all by yourself. I'm not one of your kids, right? I want to contribute like we're doing things together. In fact, on some nights, I want to do all the cooking so you can relax. Is that okay?"

I think I gaped at her when she said that, but then I pulled her into a hug. "That's more than okay. I know you said you haven't been in a real relationship, but it's been a long time for me too. I can't remember the last time anyone other than Elizabeth, Quinn, or Harlow cooked a meal for me. Maybe we both have a lot to learn in this."

"But we can learn together. I'm not a great cook, but I love to make fried plantains and I'm decent with breakfasts and other basic things. Those were big down near Miami and they're so yummy. I bet I could learn to make a lot more though."

"I think the plantains will be perfect as a side dish for Thanksgiving," I said as I pecked her nose. "We always try one new dish every year, and I would love to incorporate some of your heritage into our meal." It didn't hurt that fried plantains were one of my guilty pleasures. Right around the corner from the office was a little hole in the wall Cuban restaurant where I would sneak off to at least once a month for a delicious Cuban sandwich with a side of the fried plantains. If this lovely woman could make those treats here at the house, I was going to reward her in ways that would make her moan as much as I would while eating them.

"Perfect! We can buy the plantains this weekend then, so they're nice and ripe for Thursday."

"I think that's a great idea. No more delays. Go shower before I join you!"

She just giggled, walking towards the bathroom while she slipped her panties and crop top off while looking over her shoulder to make sure I was watching. Once she was naked, she gave herself a little spank on the flag tattoo before she shot me a wink and closed the door. Damn, this girl was driving me insane! I think we needed to try the new toys out tonight, just so we could take the edge off of our lust, or there was no way I wasn't going to come down here and bend her over the bed with the strap.

Maybe both.

With a groan of suppressed desire, I walked upstairs to the kitchen, not surprised to find it empty. It was the weekend, and there were three teenagers upstairs that liked to sleep in whenever possible. Perhaps the smell of cooking food would wake them up? Luckily, this breakfast would be relatively easy, since everything was almost prepared. I never got many cooking lessons from my actual mother, but Elizabeth was a whiz in the kitchen and had taught me some good tricks. First, she pointed out that it was easy enough to make a big batch of dry ingredients for a homemade pancake mix and store it in sealed containers, and then it would be just as easy to make as using a boxed mix, but much tastier. That same mix could be used for either pancakes or waffles depending on what wet ingredients were added, and it was very versatile.

Now, I wasn't sure what Zee's favorite breakfast was, but I knew the girls loved pancakes almost as much as we loved the waffles. But I made waffles the last time we had a big breakfast, so I decided to go with pancakes today to make everyone happy. I got the portable griddle out and got that heated up while I got a batch of bacon started on the stove. The smell of cooking bacon almost always woke up the girls, and I had little doubt that it would work this morning too.

Indeed, in under ten minutes, I had all three of my daughters stumbling down the stairs, sniffing the air happily as they clustered around the kitchen island near the tea kettle and coffee maker. Zee wasn't far behind, as she came up from the cellar, then joined me in the kitchen for a quick hug before she looked over the setup I had going.

"What can I do to help?" she asked nervously.

"Can you take the bacon off the heat?" I asked, gesturing to the pan. "That should be the last batch, and then we can get the pancake add ins."

"Oh? What kind of add ins?" she wondered.

I pointed over at the girls. "Each of them will want something different in their pancakes. Jashanna will want strawberries, Hollie will want banana, and Gracie is the sugar fiend that wants m&ms. Plus, I like blueberries, and we need something for you too. So, if you can slice up some banana and strawberry, the rest is pretty easy. But then we still need something for you too."

She shook her head with a grin. "You're a real short order cook here. But I'll be having blueberries with you, so I'm easy too."

"Oh? How easy are you?" I asked while nipping her ear.

"I can show you." Her whisper of a reply was husky with desire.

"Ahem!" Hollie snickered. "Innocent ears over here!"

I quickly stepped away from Zee, with all of my daughters giggling at us. Zee stuck her tongue out at them though and stepped back next to me. "We're behaving and taking it slow, but that doesn't mean we can't flirt a little."

"A little?" Hollie snorted. "If the three of us weren't here, you woulda been all over each other!"

That was overstating things just a little. If we were that bad, we'd probably still be in the cellar sharing the shower. I couldn't deny that it was rough, but I was proud of our commitment to trying to go relatively slowly. At some point, I had a feeling that we'd give in, probably before Zee and Hollie went back to school, but for now we were doing exactly what we needed to give our new relationship a firm foundation.