My Taboo Harem System

Chapter 124: Home

"I’m home," Denzel called out once again, stepping fully inside the house and shutting the door behind him.

Nothing answered him at first. No footsteps hurrying down the hall, no voice calling back, nothing but the settling creak of the house around him.

’Huh?’ He blinked, glancing around the empty entryway. ’What is this? No one’s home?’ He let his eyes sweep the room once more, disappointment curdling low in his chest. ’That’s disappointing. I was expecting a bit more than this. A lot more.’ He scoffed under his breath. ’Where are the hugs? Where’s someone throwing themselves against me? I was gone a full day — didn’t anyone worry about me?’

He started forward into the house, boots quiet against the floor, when a faint rustle broke the stillness — a door easing open somewhere down the hall. He turned just in time to catch Maria’s head poking out from around the frame, her eyes finding his instantly.

Something almost sharp, almost hungry flickered across Denzel’s face — a grin he caught and buried before it could fully surface. ’There you are,’ he thought, keeping his expression carefully unreadable.

"Denzel," Maria said, stepping fully into view, arms crossing loosely over her chest. "You finally decided to come home?"

"Yes, I did, Maria." He spread his hands, feigning offense. "What, no hug waiting for me?"

She shook her head, a small huff of a laugh escaping her.

"You baby," she said, already crossing the distance between them.

"Can you blame me?" Denzel said, letting the smile show now. "I’m your baby, aren’t I?"

She wrapped her arms around him, pressing herself flush against his chest, and for a moment the empty house didn’t feel so empty anymore.

She tilted her head against his chest. "Baby? What type do you mean?"

Without answering, Denzel’s hand slid lower, finding the curve of her ass and giving it a firm squeeze. "Both," he said, grinning down at her.

Maria paused, glancing up at him, a matching smile tugging at her lips before she rose on her toes and pressed a light kiss to his mouth. "So," she said, pulling back just enough to look at him properly, "how was your errand? Tell me all about it."

’Tell you all about it,’ Denzel thought dryly. ’About how I nearly got killed?’

"Nothing special," he said instead, keeping his voice easy. "Just went out drinking with some friends."

"Drinking?" Maria’s eyebrows lifted, amusement flickering across her face. "I never knew you were that kind of person, Denzel." She ran a hand along his jaw, thumb brushing near his nose. "Honestly though — not too bad." She stepped back out of his arms. "Anyway, I made some jollof rice. It’s in the kitchen if you’re hungry — there’s still some left for you."

"Much appreciated." Denzel glanced past her toward the hallway. "Where’s Sophia?"

"Oh, she said she had something to do — work-related, with some friends. Wasn’t coming back tonight." Maria was already turning, drifting toward her room as she said it, like the words meant nothing at all.

Denzel watched her go, his expression unreadable. ’Work-related,’ he thought. ’With friends.’ His jaw tightened faintly. ’Sophia doesn’t have friends. And her work — if it’s still what I think it is — doesn’t have night shifts.’ He let the silence settle over him like a second skin. ’That’s a clean lie.’ A slow, deliberate thought followed, cold beneath the surface. ’Then I’ll use tonight to find out exactly what she’s hiding.’

"Well," Denzel said, keeping his tone light, "if she says it’s a work thing, I suppose that’s cool."

"That’s cool," Maria’s voice drifted from her room, threaded with mock offense. "You guys leave the entire house to me. Don’t you know it gets lonely up in here?"

Denzel huffed a small laugh. "I know, I know. But you can’t expect us to just stay indoors all the time. We’ve got our own lives too."

"I know, I know." A pause, then, softer. "You guys have to work for money too."

As he spoke, she stepped into the doorway — and Denzel’s easy smile faltered for half a second when he saw her, undressed, unhurried, like it was the most natural thing in the world. She didn’t rush to cover herself, didn’t so much as glance down. She just kept talking, casual as ever.

"I just—" she said, leaning against the frame, "I suppose I just hope you guys are safe. I get really worried whenever you’re not home. I might not act like it, but I don’t think the world’s peaceful enough for people to be out strolling around at night."

"I understand that," Denzel said, holding her gaze instead of letting it wander. "And honestly — I appreciate the worry."

"Really?" She crossed toward him, bending to retrieve a towel from the chair, unbothered.

"Yes, I do." He kept his voice steady. "But I don’t want you worked up and worried all the time either. It’s not healthy, Ma."

"I know," Maria said, a small shrug in her voice. "But there’s not exactly much I can do about it. It’s just in my nature."

Denzel tilted his head. "What are you doing, anyway?"

"Oh." She blinked, almost caught off guard by the question. "Me? I just had a bath — the water’s already run. I’ve been so worked up lately I figured I’d come home, have a long soak, get all this worry off my mind."

"A stress relief method," Denzel said, one eyebrow lifting.

"Mm, yes." She wrapped the towel around herself, tucking it in at her chest. "I suppose you could put it like that."

"Why do it while I’m standing right here, then?" he asked.

"Huh?"

He let a slow smile creep across his face. "Why don’t you let me remove your stress instead?"

"Oh?" Maria’s eyebrows arched, a teasing curl at the corner of her mouth.

"And how exactly would you do that?"

Denzel smiled, closing the last of the distance between them. "Why don’t you let me bathe you?"