Face-Off at the Altar

by Toni Aleo

  She cleared her throat. “I completely agree that it is not okay for parents and children not to talk. But when said parents call the girl he loves ‘white trash,’ what is he supposed to do? I understand you have your own issues, and maybe you feel I’m not good enough for him, maybe you thought I was with him for the money or whatever else, but I wasn’t. I am with him because I love him and he loves me.”

  “We didn’t realize that before, and we apologize for what we said,” Yolanda said, her eyes dark and narrowed. While Mekena wanted to believe her words, she didn’t, but she wouldn’t hold it against Markus’s mother. Her own bitter issues were her own. All Mekena cared about was Markus.

  “I hope you can accept our apology and understand that it won’t happen again. I think we all have Markus in mind on this, and I feel we should all get along for him,” Lamar added, and Mekena nodded.

  “I have no problem letting go of what happened and moving forward with you two, but I will not be disrespected,” she said sternly. She couldn’t believe how confident and strong she sounded. She was fighting for what she wanted. She wanted to be respected. She demanded it.

  “We completely understand that,” Lamar added with a nod, and Yolanda did the same.

  “We just have to get to know you. We judged you too early. You’re obviously a very successful girl. River said you’re the photographer for the Assassins.”

  “I am,” she said proudly. “And I’ll travel with the team, so Markus and I won’t be apart. It will be great.”

  Yolanda smiled. “As long as they sign him.”

  “They will,” Mekena said proudly.

  “I like the way you think,” Lamar said, cupping her shoulder with a smile, and she smiled back. “There’s my boy!”

  They walked past Mekena as she turned, seeing Markus enter the room with Jayden behind him. He looked adorable, recently showered with his purple Assassins tee tucked into his jogging pants. He wore an Assassins hat low on his head, but she could see his eyes and they were right on her. His parents went to hug him, but he held up his hands. “One second.” Moving past them, which they did not like at all, he came to Mekena, wrapping her up in his arms, kissing her jaw as his hat pressed into her head. “You good?” he whispered, and she nodded, nuzzling her nose in his freshly washed neck.

  “Great.”

  “Were they nice? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to take that long,” he said, and when she opened her eyes, his parents were watching them, displeasure on their faces.

  “Everything is great,” she said as they parted. “I’m so proud of you.”

  His eyes were lit up, his grin unstoppable as he held her gaze. “Thanks.”

  “You were amazing.”

  “I was,” he said matter-of-factly, cocky as all hell, and God, she loved him. When he added in the wink, she grinned.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you,” he said, kissing her hard on the lips. “Let me go say hi.”

  “Go,” she said, kissing him once more, but instead of walking away, he took her hand and brought her with him. At that moment, she realized they were facing his parents as a team.

  Just like they would do everything else in life.

  Moving her hand up and down Markus’s chest, she exhaled loudly as the Nashville skyline sparkled in the windows of their apartment. God, she loved this apartment. When she first saw it, the white interior with the all-glass walls, she was completely in love. And when Markus loved it too, it was a done deal. She didn’t want to look anywhere else. The floors were dark hardwood and beautiful, but the place was empty. No furniture because they had nothing but suitcases, but that was fine. They were happy, and they would add to the apartment day-by-day, making it theirs.

  Markus’s hand moved along her hip, rubbing it softly as his lips dusted her hair, and she felt so damn good.

  “I hate this bed.”

  “I know,” she laughed, looking up at him, her chin resting against his chest.

  He had a lazy smile on his face, and she knew she mirrored him. Which was surprising after the night they had. Dinner with his parents had gone really well. They were very nice and kind of sucked up to her in front of Markus. But Mekena wasn’t stupid; she knew they hated her. But she didn’t care. She only cared what Markus thought, and he loved her completely. After coming home, she decided to show him how much she cared for him and made love to him on the very uncomfortable air mattress they both now decided was the bane of their existence. Especially when they were rocking it so hard, the air kept coming out.

  “I mean, I don’t hate what we did, because holy shit, that was awesome, but I hate this bed.”

  Giggling, she nodded as she nibbled on his pec. “The new bedroom suite will be here tomorrow.”

  “Thank God,” he muttered, sliding his hand up her back and into her hair. “I love what we’re doing here.”

  “What, in bed?”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, and out of it.”

  “I do too,” she agreed, kissing his pec.

  “I love you, Mekena.”

  “I love you,” she answered as he kissed her lips softly before lying back down and exhaling hard. He’d had a long night, kicked ass on the ice, dealt with his parents, and then rocked her world. “I’m surprised you’re awake.”

  He scoffed. “I’m keyed up. Tonight was amazing.”

  “It was. I’m so proud of my sexy star rookie,” she gushed, and he grinned at her.

  “I couldn’t believe how great tonight went. I mean, I played my best on that ice. I was at home.”

  “You were.”

  “It was everything I dreamed of.”

  “It was awesome. Really awesome. That play you made, sprawled out on the ice, I held my breath!”

  “Yeah, I was scared I’d get a penalty.”

  She smiled. “I could have gotten a sexy shot of you sitting in the box.”

  “That would have been great on the wall.”

  “Yeah, we could start a collage. We should do that.”

  “As long as we do one of you falling off the trolley, I’m down.”

  “Done.”

  He laughed as she smiled happily, closing her eyes while she listened to the sound of his heartbeat. Seconds passed, and she swore she fell more in love with him. As she listened to the thudding in his chest, she had almost fallen asleep when he said, “My parents weren’t too bad.”

  “No, they were nice,” she answered, opening her eyes as she swirled her fingers along his belly button.

  “I think they like you.”

  She scoffed. “They hate me, but they don’t want to lose you.”

  “No one could hate you.”

  She smiled as she sat up, looking down at him. “See, I thought that too, but then I met your parents and figured it didn’t hold true with them.”

  Tangling his fingers in her hair, he smiled. “Well, I love you, and I don’t care that they don’t like you. Because I’m not in love with you for them, but for me.”

  “I feel the same way,” she said before crashing her lips to his. “So we’re good.”

  Throwing her leg over his waist, she straddled him as he took ahold of her ass, kissing her hard on the lips. “We’re more than good,” he said cheekily. She held her breath as she started to move against him, his cock coming alive beneath her. Eyeing her, he groaned out loudly. “What in the world are you doing?”

  “I think you know,” she said breathlessly as his eyes shut and his fingers dug into her hips. “Or maybe I need to teach you. Ha, me the teacher. Yeah, right,” she laughed and grinned.

  “Yeah, because the teacher would know that I just got done and can’t go again.”

  “Apparently, your friend doesn’t know that,” she said as she took him in her grasp, his hard girth heavy in her hand.

  “He’s an overachiever,” he joked, and Mekena smiled before directing him inside of her. “Whoa, babe, condom. I’ve never done it without a condom.”

  “I’m on the pill,”
she muttered as she sank down on him, groaning his name.

  Unable to breathe, he asked, “When did you do that?”

  “When I was like sixteen,” she said, trying to figure out how she was going to move with his huge cock inside of her like this. She felt like she was stuck in place, but then his hands were at her hips, guiding her up and down on him.

  “Sixteen?”

  “Period issues,” she answered as she moved, her butt smacking his thighs with each motion up and down.

  “That’s a really hot thing to talk about during sex.”

  “I know. You asked.”

  “You could have lied.”

  “Fine, I was a huge whore when I was a teenager, slept with everyone.”

  He paused, giving her a dry look. “Period issues, it is.”

  Grinning, she held on to his chest as she moved up and down on him, his cock going so deep she was sure he was in her throat. It felt so damn good, so damn filling as she rode him, her clit rubbing against him with each motion. She felt her own release building, but before she could get there, he rolled them over, pulling her legs back until her knees hit the bed and then he started to pound into her. Each thrust brought a cry from her lips, but God, it was great. She hadn’t realized how much she was going to love sex until she was with him. Finally with him. She had dreamed of this, read novel after novel, but nothing could compare to the true connection between two people like they had.

  It was pure perfection.

  She loved him.

  Completely.

  When he came, he came hard, his moan so loud as he fell on top of her and just lay there, gasping for breath. He gathered her up in his arms as he kissed her sloppily on the lips. He was throbbing inside of her, her own body shaking as she clung to him, needing his arms around her. She nuzzled her nose into his chest as she swallowed.

  “Your dick is really big.”

  He paused and then started laughing really hard. They shook the bed so much, she was sure they’d have no air in it. “Usually, guys like when a girl says that. But when you say it, I know you mean it, and you’re not trying to boost my ego. For some reason, that makes me laugh.”

  “You were basically fucking my brain.” Still laughing, he lay on his back, sliding out of her as she shook her head. “I’m pretty sure I forgot my name.”

  “Mine, your name is mine,” he said then, kissing her nose as he reached over for a glass of water.

  Still gasping for breath, she watched the muscles in his back. “Was it like this with other people? Or is it just ’cause you’re my only that I feel like this?”

  He paused before looking over at her and falling onto his back. “What do you mean?”

  She smiled. “I mean that you take my breath away every single time we do this. I get so excited, and I swear I could come for hours from just having you in me. I feel so connected to you. So perfect. Is it always like that?”

  His lips quirked before he rolled to his side, cupping her face. “No, sometimes, it’s pointless and bad. Sometimes, it’s hot but no connection. Never in my life have I had sex with someone and just felt empty when I left them. That’s how it is with you. I get out of you, and I want so bad to get back in there and live there. It’s actually borderline psycho, but I don’t care. I love it. You, I love you.”

  Giggling, she smacked him as he smiled. “It’s perfect.”

  “It is,” he agreed as her phone sounded. Making a face, he asked, “Who the hell is texting you this late? It’s three in the morning.”

  She wasn’t sure, but it made her smile. “My other boyfriend.” He glared and she laughed. “Jeez, jealous.”

  “Yes.”

  “Why? I’m yours!”

  “With someone else texting you! I knew you were too hot to stay mine.”

  Laughing harder than she should, she wrapped her body around him as she kissed his nose. “I’m only yours.”

  “Yeah, don’t forget,” he said laughing, reaching over her for her phone. When she smacked his butt, he cried out. But then his grin was gone as he looked at her phone, all the playfulness disappearing as his eyes darkened.

  “Markus?” She took the phone to see that the message was from Skylar. “What the hell?” she asked, opening the text to a screenshot of Claire’s Instagram with a picture of Markus and Mekena at Lucy’s wedding with the caption: True love.

  Under the picture, the text read:

  Skylar: Jesus, really? You’re with him? He fucked me, Mekena. How stupid can you be? He’s a sleaze. He’s going to break your heart. Hell, let him come around me and he’ll fuck me again. You’re so stupid. Maybe you’re the one on drugs cause something is clouding your brain not to see he is a fucking douche. You just wait, you’ll be crying to me in a week’s time.

  Biting on her lip, Mekena rolled her eyes before shutting off her phone and placing it on the floor. “I need to change my number.”

  When she looked over to Markus, even in the dark she could see his face was grim while he stared up at the ceiling. “What did I do to her, Mekena? Like, why does she hate me so much? To keep trying to hurt us?”

  “Because I love you,” she answered, rolling over and wrapping her leg around him. “Misery loves company, and we’re happy, so she wants to ruin that.”

  Cuddling her into his side, he kissed her head. “Well, fuck her. We have each other.”

  “You got that right, and I’m happy, Markus,” she said. “I really am, and I don’t believe anything she says.”

  He smiled as he nodded. “Good.”

  “Are you okay?”

  He cupped her face, kissing her nose. “Yeah, I am. I’ve got a plan. I’m not letting her ruin that. I will get over this, I will be good, and I will love you for the rest of my life. No matter what.”

  And for once, she didn’t question that statement. She believed him as she stared down into his eyes. They held nothing but promise and honesty. He was living by his plan, and she was so unbelievably proud of him. She didn’t want Skylar to ruin them. She had done that once, and Mekena wouldn’t let her do it again. She wanted to rise above it all and love him, unconditionally.

  With a grin on her face, she reached up and kissed him. “I’m here for you,” she said against his lips, looking into his eyes. She hoped he saw how much she loved and cared for him. As he cupped her ass, holding her close, she whispered, “Always here for you.”

  “And that’s all I need.”

  Letting his head fall back, Markus looked to the ceiling of Epiphany Design Studio and let out a long, very obnoxious moan.

  He did not want to be shopping right now.

  “Get it together, Reeves,” Mekena called back to him from the white fabric sofa she and Lucy were oohing and aahing over. Groaning once more, he fell into a chair, fully intending to pout, but then he found that he liked the chair.

  “Hey, I love this chair. It’s soft.”

  The women both looked over, and within seconds, he knew he wasn’t getting the chair.

  “It’s cowskin,” Mekena said, shaking her head. “We’re going for country chic.”

  “Hey, nothing says country more than cows,” he replied, and she glared as Lucy giggled. “Moo,” he added, and Mekena’s face darkened with annoyance. He hadn’t been the easiest to shop with.

  He was somewhere in the range of a toddler who was hungry with no nap.

  They both rolled their eyes. “No.”

  “Moo. Moo. Moo. That’s cow for I love it.”

  “Markus, I can’t even with you right now.”

  “Moooo, that’s cow for—”

  She shot him a look that cut him off. “We are in a ritzy place. Be classy.”

  He made a face as he rubbed his butt on the chair. “Moo, moo? That’s cow for what’s that?”

  “Jesus take the wheel, Markus. It doesn’t go with the style, and stop mooing!” Lucy demanded, and he snapped his lips shut. “I’ll find you something just like it.”

  He grumbled as he leaned back whil
e Mekena rolled her eyes, a sneaky little grin on her face. She might think he was annoying and childish, but boy, did he love that smile on her face. As he watched her gush over the couch, he decided he didn’t want to be anywhere else but right there, watching her eyes light up as she looked at stuff to fill their apartment. It had been three glorious weeks since they had moved in, and since Mekena had gotten her signing bonus that neither of them knew she was going to receive, she wanted to blow it on home furnishings. Lord knew they needed them.

  Since neither of them knew anything about decorating, they hired Lucy. Well, the term “hired” was loosely used because they were paying her back in babysitting for Angie. Perks to having a “big sister” as an interior designer, and Markus was thankful because he couldn’t contribute anything. He still hadn’t been offered a contract with the Assassins. He was playing great, kicking ass. He still hadn’t scored, but he was getting assists left and right, which was just as great. His plus-minus was rocking, and Coach and Elli Adler were bursting at the seams with happiness. Yet, he hadn’t been signed. His agent told him not to worry, but he was in full panic.

  He didn’t want all this to be for nothing, which he knew it wouldn’t. He’d come and visit, stay with her, but man, he wanted this apartment to be their home. Their permanent home. It was all so up in the air, and he hated that feeling. He had told Dr. Lemiere about how he was feeling during their last meeting, and she assured him it was normal. But he felt so lost. He felt like it was all going to come crashing down on him, and he just wanted to succeed.

  He wanted to make Mekena proud.

  He loved her. More than he thought he could ever love another human. It was all so wonderful. They were happy, they were both doing great at their jobs, and at the end of the day, they came home and went to bed. Together. It was everything he could hope for. He just wanted it to be final. He wanted to know that nothing could change for a while. He knew there was always the chance of a trade, but before that, he wanted to be a permanent Assassin.