Chapter Nineteen
After everyone finished eating, Patience and Keith bid their farewells and left Mark and Dawn alone. Mark thought that it would be best just to stay there in his place. They sat on his couch watching a movie. Mark was smiling because Dawn rested on his shoulder.
He didn't know when it happened, but he feel asleep holding her hand. He hadn't had but a few hours of sleep in the past few days. With everything that happened, how could he sleep? First he was beyond concerned for Dawn when she was kidnapped right from in front of him. Then she was finally found and safe in his arms. He couldn't possibly sleep when he finally had her back.
Dawn heard the soft rhythmic breathing and felt his breathe caress her hair. She looked up to see Mark fast asleep holding her on the couch. She yawned when realized she too was tired.
She smiled when the living room faded and everything turned into the bedroom. The back of the couch vanished and Mark fell back onto the cushiony bed. His legs draped over the edge of the bed. Dawn sleepily moved away and sank to the floor. Mark still had his shoes on and she worked to get them off. She huffed with each shoe because she could feel sleep tugging at her.
Once Dawn got his shoes off, she lifted up and pulled him till his head rested on a pillow. She started to move away from him when his hand came around her waist holding her to him. She felt too tired to fight, so she just got into a better position and fell to sleep.
Mark woke the next morning feeling refreshed and confused a little. He was in his bed. His shoes were off. But then he jolted up and looked around. He didn't see Dawn anywhere. He started to panic.
Mark scrambled out of bed and then stopped. The shopping bags Patience brought had been gone through. There was a small pile of the clothes she was wearing folded neatly beside the bags. She had changed while he slept. He wondered how long she has been up.
His ears caught the sound of plates hitting the counter and he smelled something so delicious in the air. He smiled thinking she was cooking them breakfast. He liked that she was making herself at home here with him. That she wasn't going anywhere else.
He sighed and took a shower. He groaned when he smelt coffee as he toweled off. He thought it was the sweetest smell next to Dawn's in the whole world. He changed into a fresh t-shirt and jeans.
He smiled as he saw Dawn at the stove with her back to him. A stack of pancakes next to her. "Morning." He greeted her as he walked into the kitchen.
Dawn looked over her shoulder, blushed, and then turned back. "Good morning." She whispered loud enough for him to hear.
"You didn't have to cook." Though he loved seeing her like this.
She bit her lip. "I didn't want you to cook for me again." She looked at the table. There were plates with bacon and sausages. Fluffy eggs. Fruit. And so much more. When she started, she couldn't stop.
"Where did you get all the food? Last I checked, I seriously needed to go shopping."
Dawn turned off the stove and walked with the plate of pancakes to the table. "I went out." Her shoulders drooped a bit. "I don't have my apartment anymore. The landlord rented it out after I didn't show back up after the robbery. I had to sneak in to retrieve my stash of money which I used to go grocery shopping."
He walked up and pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry to hear that. You can stay here as long as you want. Forever if you wish."
She sighed and stepped out of his arms looking down. "That's sweet, but I don't want to burden you."
He placed a delicate hand on her cheek. "You won't be a burden to me. You could never be." He tilted his head to the side. "If you want, you can do anything you want if you lived here. You could cook anything you want. You wouldn't even need a job. This condo is completely paid off so there's no worries."
"You mean like this?" She waved her hand over the table. "I don't think you could stop me from not making this."
Mark chuckled. "You're right." He looked in her eyes. "Please say you'll stay with me."
Dawn sighed giving in. "Alright. I'll stay."
"YES!" Mark picked her up and spun her around. He kissed her cheek over and over again saying thank you with every kiss. She started to giggle after the first ten kisses because she thought it was cute for him to be so happy about her staying here with him.
"Okay! Okay! The foods getting cold along with your coffee."
Mark smiled as he set her down and pulled her chair out for her. He nearly skipped the short distance to his seat. He was so happy right now that everything seemed brighter to him. He even saw the small smile on her face at seeing him happy.
Once they finished breakfast, Mark was up out of his seat before Dawn could blink. He was clearing the table feeling truly and blissfuly giddy. Dawn looked at him like he was crazy which got him laughing.
"The new millennium, remember?" Mark said with a wink before she could say anything.
She crossed her arms with an eyebrow raised. She was wondering how he knew what she was going to say. He must have just guessed.
She rose and grabbed some of the plates from the table. Mark was beside her in a second. "Uh-ah. You cooked which means I clean."
"But you said I could help." She defended.
Mark thought back and then chuckled at himself. "I did, didn't I? Alright. How about this? I wash, you dry. And no using you power."
"I wasn't thinking about using it now. I tend to use it sparingly." She said as she slipped from around Mark.
"Well. That's good to know." Mark smiled as he returned to be in front of the sink. Something he got used to years ago when Patience lived with him. She always washed dishes by hand which he caught on because he didn't want her cleaning up after him. Though Patience never dried while he washed before.
They worked well together as the cleaned and dried the dishes. Mark would purposefully brush her hand even though his hand was wet. She would blush knowing he was doing it on purpose.
Mark towel his hands after the last dish was clean. She handed it to him and did as he had been doing, brushed his hand with her fingers. She blushed, gave him a shy smile, and then left the kitchen. Mark dried his hands watching her as she went into the living room. She was just looking at his work on his walls.
He tossed the towel on the counter and went to the lean against the doorway of the kitchen. He tilted his head to the side. "Do you know what I do for a living?" She shook her head without looking at him. "I'm a photographer by all the pictures you see. I was in great demand before a year ago."
"What happened?" She blushed at voicing her curiosity. Something she rarely did yet she was doing it now with him. He was bringing out things that had been buried inside of her.
Mark looked down. "I'm not proud of that time. I was different then." He sighed. "Fame had gotten to my head and I let its darkness cloud everything. At the time Patience and I were engaged for a few years. I was the one to put off the wedding and she never complained. Over time I got frustrated with our lack of intimacy and cheated. Now I know better.
"Because of my arrogance and pride, I was caught in my studio with another woman. When I found out that Patience found out, I blamed her and I was so wrong to. I hurt her so much. She didn't deserve what I put her through.
"Now we know that it was never meant to be. She was always meant to be with Darius. He has made her so happy. They are soulmates. Destined for one another. Since seeing them together, I have prayed for someone who could complete me just like she had found."
Mark looked up and saw Dawn's back to him. Was it too soon to tell her? He felt it wasn't. He wanted there to be no secrets between them. He was willing to swallow his pride and show her he would tell her the truth even if the truth was so ugly.
"What will happen to me when you find her?" She sounded so small and fragile.
Mark walked over to Dawn and touched her hair. She didn't flinch like she has done in the past. She remained still but so vulnerable.
"I think I have found her. Found her in you." Dawn spun around with her breathe caught and eyes wide. Mark smiled at her shocked look. "The moment I saw you, you have stayed with me. In my heart and my mind. Say you have felt it too." Now he was the vulnerable one.
She had to force herself to breathe against the weight of his words. She looked in his eyes to see if he was telling the truth. She saw no trickery or deceit in his eyes as he stroked her cheek tenderly. He had felt something for her since that moment.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. He had told her something so personal, now she should return the favor. She opened her eyes and looked deep into Mark's eyes as if she were seeing into his soul. Feeling the soul to soul contact.
"You're the first man that has ever gotten into my heart." Mark noticed a blush growing dark on her cheeks. "You're actually my first kiss. My family had kept me home and guarded me so tightly that I never was around anyone outside of my family without them around me."
Her eyes traveled to his lips. Speaking of kissing had her wanting to kiss him again. Mark saw and smirked. "Would you like me to kiss you again?" She nodded absently in a daze.
He smiled brighter as he leaned forward and softly captured her lips. Her hands found his chest as his went to her waist and the back of her head. Her hands slid up his chest and around his neck. She pressed herself closer to Mark as he deepened the kiss.
He groaned as he tried to stop from becoming hard by her but he couldn't. She was pulling him closer and grinding delicately against him. She was doing everything to arouse him subconsciously. She was allowing herself to get lost in his scent, taste, and touch.
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