Page 9 of Mark My Words

“You don’t think so?”

“Of course I do, but you still took this dance. What if I had just offered it to Gregory?”

“Then it’s too bad.”

She laughed louder as they moved, body to body, her back to his front, gliding to a slow jam.

Twirling her out again, he drew her back in, facing him as her palm landed on his chest while he clutched the other in his massive warm grip.

“I’ve missed you so damn much.” His gaze fell to her lips again, and he felt her shiver.

“Me too, Malik.”

“Have you?”

“Of course—we were in love.”

“Were?”

She exhaled heavily. “It’s been years.”

“Time does not erase the one you treasure.”

“I—”

“Ever,” he added.

She closed her lips and stared at him as their bodies moved.

“Do you find that to be false?”

She rubbed her lips together. “No.”

“Then—”

“I’ve missed you too, Malik.”

Desire swirled in the light brown hue of his gaze, and for the next two songs, they only danced. Their limbs moved in sync as they stepped in and out, mixed in one another’s aura, enjoying the closeness they’d both craved for years.

For Malik, he had never felt so at home then he did right now. Not when he left the army. Not when he enrolled in Morehouse. Not when he visited his mom for the first time or when he’d visited his father at his military gravesite.

As much as he tried to regain the semblance of home when he first returned, going so far as to hit up his favorite ice cream parlor in their neighborhood, none of it made him feel like he were in a place his heart could rest in. He knew why, though he’d tried to deny it. Now, however, there was no denying that she was the thing missing from all of those scenarios. And he felt like a fool for avoiding her for so long.

For Destiny,being in Malik’s arms filled her so much that her cup runneth over. Desire, love, and spiritual need collectively spilled from them both. It was all so much. Almost too much, considering their current circumstances. All of the nights she spent regretting the choice she made by breaking up with him didn’t compare to how ridiculous she felt about it now.

Okay…sure, she cherished his mother and understood her position but respectfully, it should’ve been a choice she and Malik made together. Now it was too late for that. He was engaged, and by now, she should’ve walked away from him and sought out Gregory. But she couldn’t. It felt so right to be there with Malik. To be held captive in his arms as if she belonged.

He twirledher out and in again.

“What’s on your mind, Belle?”

She smirked at him, staying in the cover of their costumes. “How long are you in town?”

“I can be here to stay if I had a reason.”

He held her eyes, and she sucked in a breath.

“Malik.”

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