Page 120 of River & Crown
"What Crown?" I groused in his direction.
His eyes seared into mine, almost making me shy away. I held his gaze, refusing to back down. A low chuckle spilled from between his lips. Licking them, Crown grabbed my neck with his calloused hands. He flexed his fingers, pulsing his strength against my skin.
"Crown," I croaked as he jostled me forward.
"I don't wanna hear shit about you and Chosyn not talking. Y'all should've been made up, but y'all are stubborn."
"It's not me. I've reached out, she... ouch! Crown that fucking hurt."
Crown's teeth sank into my bottom lip. The pressure was sharp then floated into pleasure as he sucked the ache away.
"Crown," I shuddered, reaching for the collar of his Polo shirt to bring us closer together.
"Chill with your horny ass." He smirked against my lips. "Get the fuck out of this car and enjoy brunch with your sister. I'm not gonna say it again, Four." The finality of his tone ended the conversation. Crown kissed me once more and ruffled my curls.
"Stop." I giggled, pushing his hand away.
"Ight."
A notification on Crown's phone caught his attention. I used that time to reapply my lip gloss and fluff out my curls.
"You ready?" I asked, paying extra attention to the pinch in Crown's brows and tempered glare.
"Go inside. I'ma go handle something real quick."
"I can go with you, then we can go in together." I shrugged.
I didn't know what I was about to walk into, but I didn't want to do it alone. For all I knew, Chosyn would be on my ass as soon as I walked in. The two of us had never come to blows, but there was a first for everything. That proved to be true with Leah.
"Nah, go inside. Chosyn is waiting on you."
"Yeah, but what if?—"
"River, you gotta relax and get out your head. Chosyn is your sister. A petty ass argument won't change that. Go make shit right."
"Fine," I huffed.
Crown chuckled, then got out of the car, leaving his phone on the seat. I leaned over to get a better look at the screen, but all I could see before it went black was the contact name.
"Who's Syn?" I asked when he opened my door. Grabbing hold of my hand, Crown helped me out, then pinned me against the back door of his car.
"Why you looking at my shit?" he asked voice low and rough.
His eyes lingered on my face, dropping to my lips and back up again. My cheeks flushed from his scrutiny, heat crawling up my neck like he touched me without lifting a finger. Running my hands along his jaw, I bit back the moan his stare begged to pull out.
"You seemed a little stressed. I wanted to know who caused it so I can?—"
"So, you can what, Four?" Crown peered down, letting his lids fall lower than usual. His fingers pushed my glasses up with ease, then found their way into my curls.
"Four." Crown was barely holding on, same as me. Every tempered exhale from him was a breath I drew in to survive. Heat radiated off us both, but it wasn't lust. It was aneedfor me to protect him.
"What you gon' do to the person who stressed me out?"
His question was simple to those who didn't know Crown, but I did. He told me how Emily betrayed him. What she did opened the scar left behind by his father. He never wanted to be like him, yet Emily forced his hand. Since then, he closed himself off, refusing to fall victim to thelovehe's known to end horribly. I changed his outlook on the four-letter word, and I wanted to protect him from all things.
"Whatever is necessary to show them what happens when they stress the man I love."
"Oh, you love a nigga." He smirked, slipping his arms around my waist. His forehead pressed against mine, and when his eyes closed, mine did the same.
