Page 18 of Tangled Hearts
She laughed. It was soft and broken. “You know everything.”
“Nah,” he said, forehead pressed to hers. “If I knew everything, I’d know why I can’t leave you alone.”
“Kesh, don’t just be standing in my door!” Her mama yelled form her room making the two of them laugh but they didn’t move.
Her hands slid to his neck, pulling him closer. “‘Cause I’m the only one that match you. Them other girls? They’re cute, they’re safe. But me… I know you.”
He kissed her again, deeper this time, but pulled back before it could go further. His thumb rubbed slow circles into her thigh. “You dangerous,” he said, eyes steady on hers.
“You love dangerous… tell me you love me,” she shot back, smirking through the hurt.
His hand went to her waist, holding her in place, grounding her. “Don’t push me to say shit I can’t take back.”
“Then don’t kiss me like you own me,” she whispered.
Rock exhaled. “I probably do.”
It was a double entendre. Rock knew he probably loved her and owned her.
The words slipped out. They hung between them, both sharp and soft at the same time. Shakeisha searched his face, like she was trying to catch him lying. He didn’t blink.
“Say it again,” she demanded, knowing what his slip of words meant.
He shook his head. “Not tonight. You ain’t gon’ use my words against me tomorrow.”
She smiled through wet eyes, leaning into his chest. “One day you ain’t gon’ be able to hold it in no more.”
He rubbed her back, resting his chin on her head. “One day might be too late.”
The two of them stood in the doorway caught up in each other. They stood tangled in a way that didn’t have a name yet. His hands kept her steady, his lips marked her softly, but his chest felt torn in two.
Because he knew Knycole was the good girl, the better look, the safe future. But Shakeisha was the piece of him he could never fully cut loose. And he hated how much that truth felt like love.
Shakeisha pouted, leaning her forehead against his, like she could feel his turmoil. “You don’t want me no more?”
“I always want you. That’s the problem.”
Their mouths met again. His tongue deep in her mouth like he was trying to swallow all of her. Her shirt slid halfway off her shoulder. His hand traced the soft skin there. His thumb stroked her skin too.
She gasped, grinding into him, making him curse under his breath. Her hand went for his dick because sex was where their most honest selves laid—where his deepest shit revealed itself.
Then his phone lit up in his pocket, cutting through the dark porch. The vibration rattled against his jeans.
Shakeisha ignored it, pulling his face back to hers.
The phone vibrated again, Rock pulled it out. It was Hov calling him.
Rock broke the kiss just long enough to glance.
Shakeisha tried to pull him back, lips chasing his. “Ignore it,” she whispered.
The phone buzzed again. Then again. Over and over.
Rock pressed his forehead to hers, breathing heavily. “That’s my brother. I can’t ignore him.”
“You can ignore him for me.”
He pulled her face up so she had to meet his eyes. “You know I can’t.”
