Chapter 9
Lately, people had been telling Glimmer that she was glowing.
It made her heart leap. Her father always told her that was why he decided to name her Glimmer.
When she came out of her mother’s womb, she had a shining aura that deserved to be commemorated.
Somewhere along the way, she had lost that glow.
It seemed that it had finally come back.
She glanced at Gideon, who was across the room, while she wiped down the long table they used for Sunday dinners.
He looked back at her and smiled that infamous smile that made her want to melt into a puddle every time she saw it.
She blushed and went back to her mission of cleaning the space up before their big Sunday dinner.
It had been an entire month since she got married, and she was finally getting in the groove of living at the compound and being around the Vicious Kings. They made her get out of her shell, which exhausted her sometimes, but they also made her feel welcomed and like she belonged.
“I see you, girl,” Kyomi teased as she bumped Glimmer’s hip when she passed by with a bowl of ice.
Deja followed behind her with a case of soda in one hand and a case of beer in the other. “She was making eyes at Gideon again, wasn’t she?”
“And was,” Kyomi responded with a giggle.
“They like each other real bad,” Ivy said as she placed a platter of wings on the counter.
Glimmer rolled her eyes. The queens, as Glimmer learned they were called, loved teasing her about Gideon. Everyone in the club knew Gideon and Glimmer got married for convenience, but everyone was somehow also convinced that the newlyweds were secretly in love.
To get away from their teasing, Glimmer grabbed a beer and twisted the top off before she walked over to Gideon.
Her ankle had healed nicely, which meant she was able to show off the mean ass walk that normally had heads turning her way.
Gideon definitely noticed as she twisted her hips toward him and handed the beer to him with a smile.
He sat at a table playing chess with Pup, who looked down at the game in serious concentration.
Gideon took the beer with a magnetic smile. “Thanks, love. You okay?”
Anytime he spoke to her, he made sure to check her temperature. He was overly attentive like that, and she appreciated it. He’d made her transition from dealing with hell from Trick to living securely with the Vicious Kings a smooth one.
“I’m good. Ready to eat.”
“You always ready to eat.” He chuckled.
He wasn’t wrong. She had been so depressed for so long, she forgot how much she loved food. Since she’d been living at the compound, she’d been eating like crazy. Gideon definitely kept up with his vow to keep her fed, and she’d gained a couple of pounds because of it.
“We made your favorite,” she sang as she perched on the arm of his chair.
He casually leaned back and put his arm around her so his hand grazed her thigh. She bit her lip and tried to stop the heat rising to her cheeks, to no avail.
“Wings?”
She nodded. “And homemade mozzarella sticks, waffle fries with seasoned sour cream, nachos, . . . all the junk food you love.”
Really, she had made all those things. She never realized how much she liked cooking until she got there, and she especially loved making sure Gideon ate as much as he loved making sure she did.
“Hell, now I’m hungry.”
“Shit, me too,” Pup said as he hopped up and walked toward the counter where the queens had just finished setting out all the food.
Glimmer giggled. “You want me to make you a plate?”
“In a minute. I just want to sit here with you for a second.”
Glimmer leaned into him, nestling right into his side.
She watched the commotion going on. There was always someone, most times multiple people, hanging around the compound.
When she first got there, Glimmer found it overstimulating.
Now, she found it quite comforting. The chaos meant the people she was learning to love and trust were around. What could be better than that?
Glimmer loved these moments with Gideon. Whenever they were together, they seemed to gravitate toward one another. Being affectionate was easy for them. Cuddling, holding hands, gentle caresses, but sometimes Glimmer got a bit frustrated because they had yet to kiss again since the wedding.
They slept together every night, and he held her tightly, but that was as far as they’d gone.
It had her feeling conflicted. Her feelings for Gideon were definitely growing, but it seemed like Gideon was content with just being friends.
But then again, the way he took care of her and held her made her think he felt more, just like she did.
The mixed feelings got to her more and more every day.
“Aye, G! You got a package,” Deuce shouted from the entryway of the compound, interrupting their quiet moment.
Deuce walked closer and tossed the box to Gideon. Glimmer ducked, afraid the box would hit her right in the head.
“Mothafucka, how you know it wasn’t fragile in here?” Gideon asked after he caught the package. “And you don’t see my wife sitting right here? Coulda hit her.”
Deuce waved him off. “My bad, big dawg.”
Glimmer placed a hand on Gideon’s shoulder to soothe him. She felt the tension leave his body at her touch.
“What did you get?” she murmured and hoped he didn’t mind the change in the subject.
He gave her a small smile and handed her the box. “For your collection.”
Glimmer’s eyes immediately lit up as she tore the package open. Inside was a brand-new perfume with a pretty bottle. She immediately sprayed some on her wrist and smelled before humming happily. She held her wrist out to Gideon, who took it gently and sniffed.
“Might be my new favorite one,” he said.
She giggled. “You say that about all of them.”
“Everything smells good on you, baby.”
There went that damn heat spreading across her cheeks again.
“Thanks,” she uttered, feeling shy all of a sudden.
“Hey, how ’bout we have Sunday dinner upstairs?”
Glimmer grinned. “Really?”
“Yeah. I think it’s a movie and chill night. Just wanna kick it with my wife.”
“I love when you call me that,” she blurted, and then she clamped her mouth shut in embarrassment. She hadn’t meant to say that. She stood, almost knocking over the chessboard. “Oh, uh, my bad.” She straightened the game out before she said, “I’ll make our plates and meet you upstairs.”
She swore she heard Gideon chuckle as she rushed away. Before she got to the counter where everyone crowded around to grab their food, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She grabbed it and instantly smiled because she knew who it was before she even tapped on the text.
Dad:
How you doin’, baby?
It felt like her entire heart smiled. She and her dad kept in constant communication. It still saddened her that she couldn’t see him. He stood firm on that rule, but she was glad he seemed to be in good spirits and that she could talk to him whenever she wanted.
Glimmer:
I’m good, Daddy. Miss you. You doing okay?
She put her phone back in her pocket. Her dad was just like an old man and normally took forever to text back.
“I heard you made all this, sis,” Haze said as he threw his arm around her shoulder.
She smiled up at him. “The queens helped.”
Haze’s brows rose. “You know you’re a queen now, too, right?”
Glimmer blinked up at him. Nobody had pointed that out to her yet, but she realized he was right. “I guess I am.”
Haze kissed the top of her head. “Thanks for dinner.”
She nodded and gave him a gracious smile before she grabbed two plates and piled them high.
Just as she was standing there trying to figure out how she would juggle two plates and drinks all the way upstairs, Gideon appeared at her side.
His body pressed into her back, and she instantly relaxed into him as he leaned down and asked, “Need help?”
“Y-yes.” She stammered as she tried to ignore the pool of juices seeping into her panties.
He reached around her and grabbed her a Sprite and him another beer. “Come on,” he said as he grabbed one of the plates from her hands. His large hands oftentimes came in handy.
She followed behind him and was glad nobody stopped to tease them about dipping off.
When they finally made it upstairs, she realized she kind of missed the noise of everyone downstairs, but she knew she would be able to really relax with Gideon in their quiet bedroom.
After she closed the door behind her, Gideon grabbed the plate from her hand. She realized he already discarded everything else on the bed.
“You want to kiss me, love?” Gideon asked when he turned around again, completely dwarfing her with his size and backing her into a wall.
She was caught completely off guard by his question.
Gideon had always been such a gentleman and never pushed up on her like this, to her dismay.
Her heart hammered in her chest as he peered down at her.
At that moment, she recalled the small crush she had on Gideon when she was young and watched him from afar.
He was always too old and too forbidden to tell anyone about her feelings.
Not only that, but she also didn’t see him often enough to make a move, even if she wanted to.
Oh, how the tables had turned.
“I . . . uh . . .” She stammered like an idiot as he looked down at her with amusement in his dark eyes.
“Say it,” he murmured as he stared at her juicy lips.
“Yes.” The word came out in a breathy whisper.
Gideon gently pinched her chin and leaned down to grant her wish.
This kiss was very different from their wedding day when they had eyes on them. Gideon kissed her now like they were the only two in the world. The passion she felt when he swirled his tongue with hers had her weak in the knees.
She only pulled away because she needed air to breathe. He had completely knocked the wind out of her, and judging by the way he looked down at her with the ghost of a smile, she knew he knew it too.
“You my wife. If you want a kiss, say that,” he reminded.
He turned to walk away, and though her chest heaved and she was clearly very effected by his kiss, a witty comeback slipped right out of her.
“You know the same goes for you, husband.”
He stopped and turned, giving her that heart-stopping smile. “Touché, wifey. Touché.”
Glimmer watched him grab their food and spread their feast out on a small table he’d bought a couple of weeks ago, since they liked eating just the two of them more often than not.
She shook her head. That man was sure to shake things up in her life. Shit, he already had, but she couldn’t lie . . . She was more than happy about it and couldn’t wait to see what the future for them held.