Chapter 26
“Good morning,” Markus’ raspy voice filled her ears as she ambled down the stairs, a tone correcting jelly mask on her face that Aunt G insisted she wear on her off days.
She’d even called a few times to check in and had new fall pieces delivered to her.
Reign assumed that she’d gotten her number and address from Markus.
She welcomed her wisdom and warmth and somehow was comfortable with the subtle, intrusive nature of it all.
Something else she had to thank Markus for.
Her eyes squinted as she took him in – not because the image of him wasn’t clear but because the image of him was so…
beautiful. His durag-covered head, no shirt, gold chains hanging around his neck, sweats low, and his glasses on.
Markus was actively slicing the apple in the palm of his hand, his muscles flexing with every movement.
Reign’s eyes trailed the tattoos etched into his skin from the base of his neck to the top of his sweats.
Where they went after that, she told herself, wasn’t her business to find out.
Softly, she cleared her throat, prompting him to continue.
“How’d you sleep, Speechless?”
“…fine. So this half-naked chef thing is something I should get used to?” Reign questioned.
Markus stopped, took her in the same way she’d done him. Jelly mask, bonnet, nipples pressing against the satin of her pajama top, her legs free of the pants she wore the night before, feet covered in a pair of sleep socks.
“Been here every morning, haven’t I? Put your ass to sleep, carry you to the bed, back here before you wake up. I’d say you should be used to it. Five days of this.”
Reign rolled her eyes playfully. “Mm takes about twenty-one days to form a habit.”
“You and that mouth. Is that something I get used to?” he paused his cutting to point at her jelly-covered face before his eyes dropped to her breasts. “I mean, I could.”
Reing looked down and quickly covered her chest, hating that her body was betraying her. Only because it was free to. Safe to. “Had I known you were coming back, I would’ve fixed this.”
“Nah, don’t do that,” he said, placing her apples on the plate. “I like it. You look comfortable. It looks good on you.”
Reign muttered, “I could say the same.”
“You eating just fruit this morning or some real food?”
“Considering I had to fend for myself last night, real food would be nice.”
“Oh, watch out, she’s getting spoiled.”
Reign laughed softly at Markus’ comment. “Don’t start nothing you can’t keep doing.”
“Everything I start I can finish, know that.” His eyes lingered on her with that comment.
“I’m going to assume you didn’t sleep because you talkin’ crazy,” Reign quipped.
“I did sleep, right on the couch. Where you were safe. Missed that foot, though,” he shared. “How’s the salon coming along? Any new hires?”
“Yeah, two. They’re doing good. I’m happy for the day off, though. Where am I being whisked off to today?”
“You know what, Speechless, I like that you know what’s up,” he spoke with a chuckle, sliding the plate of fruit over to her. “Kickin’ it around the city today. Is that cool? Some tourists shit.”
Reign’s brows shot up. “Tourist? I don’t get to go to the corner stores and climb up fire escapes?”
“Nah, that’s later. You know, when you become my girl and shit.”
Reign’s face frowned. “Your arrogance is astonishing.”
“Astonishing, or is honesty something you just aren’t used to?”
Reign shook her head as she picked up an apple slice, eyeing how he pitted it. She took a bite and slowly chewed it before answering his question. “In a world full of lies and bullshit, finding the truth is … refreshing.”
“Good, because telling you a lie is something I wouldn’t do,” he spoke, cleaning up his minimal mess.
Reign tilted her head. “So you just wouldn’t tell me.”
Markus chomped on an apple slice of his own. “There’s going to be some shit I get involved in that you will never know about. You’ll always be safe, though. Always.”
Reign bit a grin, but that didn’t stop her cheeks from flushing and glowing red. She tried to recover by asking, “So chillin’ around the city, what should I wear?”
“You got a closet full of fly shit. Put it on, we got reservations,” he stated.
“Oh, you planned this?” Reign asked, pleasantly surprised. “Not a by the seat of the pants type of day. I’m with it.”
“Good, take this with you and go get ready,” he softly urged, pointing to the plate.
Reign picked it up and roamed back up the stairs.
Markus’ heated gaze on her back could have melted the clothes from her body if he wanted to.
That mere heat she felt forced her up the stairs quickly in search of reprieve.
Markus was inching into her space and kicking the baggage and all the bad shit that had happened out of the way to make space for him.
Fear was still in the driver’s seat. While the gas she needed to run had been cyphered, the brakes were still functioning, and fear was trying to put an immediate stop to the feelings attempting to hijack the ride.
In the mirror, with a mouth full of apples and a jelly mask, she bitterly laughed at herself. Laughter was a nice replacement for the river of tears she’d cried. Even if it were a condescending gripe that left her full mouth. “Like you got space to fit that nigga in your space.”
Space, capacity, volume, and whatever other metric she had to fill didn’t seem like much, but what she knew was that Markus was big. Not just in his stature, but who he was. He’d fill, occupy, settle, and own every crevice of her that she allowed him to touch.
Five nights, and she’d gotten used to her foot in his hold. His heavy breathing lulled her to sleep. His presence. She’d gotten used to him. Too close. Too personal. Another inch of space closer, and he could break what was left of her.
Reign’s mind didn’t stop running circles around itself until she was dressed in a distressed houndstooth oversized jacket that could double as a dress against her small frame.
Black tights over her legs and a pair of leather boots.
Markus rested on the ottoman by the front door, handling business per usual.
Once his brain was alerted that she’d consumed his presence again, his eyes lifted, nose inhaled every note of her scent, and his lips curled at their ends.
A high ponytail cascaded around her face, makeup perfectly blended, lips painted in a chocolate and nude combo. His grunt was what stalled her fear-driven engine. The subtle bite of his lip as he straightened. Markus wore an Ameechii sweater, jeans, and sneakers. The durag still atop his head.
“Do you need a haircut?” she questioned, taking him in and trying to school herself not to have the same reaction he had.
“Yeah, I don’t know what to do with this hair,” Markus spoke, watching Reign take off back up the stairs.
“Come on,” she called over her shoulder. “Let me fix that.”
Markus took off behind her, coolly hiking two stairs at a time.
Reign’s steps were even as she entered her bathroom.
Markus entering her space felt…heavy. Sure to keep a safe distance from her in a room engulfed with the scent that could have him blowing his cool in the wind, he leaned against the bathroom door.
Reign looked at him in the mirror, softly nipping the inside of her lip so her brain wouldn’t go off the rails with all the wild thoughts. “Why are you over there? Come, sit, take that off.”
She pulled the bench out and motioned to it before returning to rummaging through hair products. Markus sat, untied his durag, and welcomed the dance of her tiny fingers through the tight, low-cut curls atop his head.
“You know, when you demanded that I cut your hair, I was wondering why you didn’t embrace this,” she spoke, spraying a mixture of water, oil blend, and leave-in conditioner into his coils. As she massaged the product in, she studied the way his eyes were focused on her before drifting closed.
He grumbled, “Look too much like my pops.”
Reign hummed, still massaging until his hair looked good. She stepped back to the counter to wash the product off and dry off her hands. “Well, it’s done. Ready?”
Markus reached out, pulling her close enough for their scents to transfer. Reign’s hands fell softly on his shoulders. His on her hips, and his lips twitched with that need. The tuck of her lips and the dance of her eyes prompted him.
“Thank you. Let’s go.”
Relief flooded her as he released her from his hold.
He stood and motioned her toward the door.
A sigh of relief came from them both. In the car, they fell back into their day-to-day routine until arriving at the Majestic Museum of Art.
The valet greeted them and took Markus’ keys as he stepped out.
Reign sat inside until Markus rounded the back of his car to assist her out.
“I like how you weren’t going to have me put that nigga through the sidewalk because you wanted to be hardheaded,” he spoke with a laugh, holding his words.
Reign gave him a soft smile. Not forced, not monitored, not disingenuous but luminous and beautiful. Soul stirring.
“You look like somebody today. Didn’t want you to mess up your fit,” she replied, walking inside in stride with him.
“Damn, what I look like every other day?” he questioned, pulling out his phone and handing it to the young girl at the podium. She scanned the digital tickets off his screen, handed it back, and gave them each a pamphlet.
“Enjoy the collection.”
Reign nodded in thanks and moved with Markus inside. “Like you a nigga in the streets. Simple but not inconspicuous.”
Markus grunted. “Damn.”
“It’s not bad, it’s just your style. It’s not flashy, but you know…you still look like you touch packs.”
“I do.”
Reign subtly nodded her head. “I know, but you don’t have to. How did this compliment turn into me having to break this down?”