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Annoyed, she threw her hands up in the air as she paced in front of me. "You can't come here and ask me to do this. We were children! Life is not so simple that you can ask me to jump and I do it without thinking."
"So you need time to think, right?" I leaned forward, a triumphant look in my eyes.
"I need…" Nikau sighed. Shaking her head, she turned away for a second before turning back to me. "The magic number was thirty, right? You still have a year to find a woman who's right for you. Why don't you give me a chance to find someone for you?"
A grin spread across my lips. So now she was trying to bargain with me? Well, she probably wouldn't come out on top. "You don't even know what I'm looking for."
"Then explain it to me."
"And you don't even have a presence in the scene I'm in. No one will take you seriously."
"If they hear you're behind it, they will."
A point that probably went to Nikau. I leaned back. "One year. If you haven't found a wife for me by then…"
"The original deal stands," she replied, rolling her eyes. Nevertheless, she extended her hand to me, but I was not yet ready to accept this new arrangement.
"You're coming home with me. Iowa is history."
"You know I have a job here, don't you?"
I shrugged. "If that's the only thing keeping you here, I'll make sure you find a much better place on O'ahu. What other objections do you have?"
Gritting her teeth, she looked at me. "None, I suppose."
"Wonderful." I held my hand out to her but pulled it back before she could reach for it, hastily sealing the deal. "There's something else, Nika."
"What?" she growled.
"In the meantime, you are available to me."
"I'm… what?!"
Amused, I held out my hand again. "You are mine. No other men. No affairs. You commit to me. I'll show you what I'm looking for. Make it easier for you to find the right woman." Or, even better, she'd finally realize how much she had missed out on over the last few years by only getting involved with simple men. Or boring. Depending on your point of view.
"Never mind, Kaden. I won't be involved in your weird sex games."
"Don't pass judgment on me until you know what you're talking about, Nika," I warned her with a raised eyebrow.
A muscle under her eye twitched, but she didn't answer. So I tilted my head, already armed with a solution to the problem.
"My counter-proposal is this: You accompany me to dinner and allow me to give you an insight. No sex– only at your express request. If you still think you're not interested in my weird sex games, we'll skip that part." This time, it wasn't the fact that I always got what I wanted that made me think I'd succeeded.
It was much more about the physical reaction I had witnessed a few minutes ago. The way her breath had caught and she had leaned against my hand, seeking protection. How her body had responded to the gentle dominance– not with rejection, but with a very natural welcome.
"You're still as annoying as you were then. Do you realize that?"
"Am I succeeding?"
Nikau laughed. "I hate to admit it, but yes. You're succeeding, idiot."
Perhaps I would get close to exorcising her overuse of affectionate insults, and instead get her to use names I much preferred to hear. "All right, dinner it is. You should pack so we can catch the next flight."
"There are plenty of restaurants here."
"We'll eat on O'ahu or nowhere."
She clicked her tongue before shaking her head. Apparently, she realized she didn't stand a chance against me. I'd rather cook a five-course meal myself than go to a mediocre restaurant in Cedar Rapids.
