Page 50 of Tangled Hearts
She ran her tongue over her teeth. “It ain’t no fun when the rabbit got the gun, huh?”
“It won’t be fun when that lil’ nigga’s blood is on your hands.” His pulse slammed in his neck while the vein protruded, bringing attention to it.
“Get the fuck off me,” she said, using her body to push him off her. Thinking about the threat he’d made to Cash’s life didn’t sit well with her. “And I wish the fuck you would touch him. Your problem is with me... let’s keep it there.”
As soon as they were past the threshold, they engaged in an intense stare down. Knycole imagined herself melting, sliding onto the floor in a puddle of lust and she would’ve bet her last dollar Hov could hear her heart beating. She knew what she wanted to do, yet she wasn’t sure she should do it, or how.
Knycole was no virgin, she’d lost that to him—a story they kept between the two of them for years. Still, something about him made her uncertain of her sexual wants and needs. Everything about Hov screamed he was going to fuck your life up and leave you so high, no other man would ever be able to compare. He already cared for her on another level. Taking it further was terrifying because what if it didn’t work out? Knycole couldn’t live in a world that didn’t include Hov in some capacity. He meant that much to her.
“You’re okay, right?” Hov broke through the awkward moment to ask.
She nodded. “Are you?”
“No.” His bedroom voice shocked her center with lust.
Her eyes bulged. “You’re not okay?” Now her nerves were even more rattled. Hov was stressing her the fuck out.
Slowly, he strutted closer to her. Hov’s lips crashed into her thick, glossy ones and snatched her breath. To say he took her breath away was an understatement. With just one kiss, he owned her mind, body, and soul. She knew it and wasn’t willing to deny it.
Hov had known her since he was ten. Knycole was his soulmate, and although his best friend would beg to differ, he wasn’t going to let her go unless she told him to.
Keeping her eyes zoned in on him, Knycole studied his neck while her fingers traced his tattoos. His mother’s name stood out. Her eyes misted thinking about how much Hov loved his mama and wanted her to love him too. Instead of letting her tears fall, she pulled him down to her and placed gentle kissesalong the name he wore like a scarlet letter. Silently, she was vowing to protect him from all that would taint his heart.
That night, so many words were exchanged without verbal communication. Knycole needed his love just as much as he craved hers. At the young age of seventeen, she knew she’d witnessed love in several forms, but without a doubt, she knew his was the best one by far. It was clear to her that if he ever left or was taken from her, she’d be ruined.
CHAPTER 12
5 YearsLater
“Girl, hurry your ass up,” Noir fussed while texting a mile a minute on her phone.
Knycole kissed her teeth. “Don’t be rushing me, heffa.”
“Titi No, don’t try my ma,” Hov’s look-alike fussed, drawing attention from both the women. “What?” He cocked his head to the side, looking at them like they were crazy. He was wise beyond his years, and at the age of four, he was advanced verbally and educationally.
Noir popped him upside his head. “Boy, forget you and your ma.”
“Don’t do my baby like that. Qua, you act just like your daddy.” Knycole shook her head.
It was true. Qua had all his father’s mannerisms. He was overprotective of his mother and a gentle giant with the people in his life. Hov had raised him well.
“That’s my daddy,” Qua reminded them, causing them to laugh.
“Boy,” Knycole said, rolling her eyes. “You ready to go over Nick’s house?”
“Why I can’t come with you?” He pouted with his medium brown eyes.
Noir felt weak. “See, he’d get me every time with those eyes.”
“Just like his fuckin’ daddy,” Knycole whispered. “Because I have to go to work,” she directed to her son.
Although she’d never disclose the nature of what she did for a living, she still always made it clear to him that she had to work. The life she’d been able to create for her family went beyond anything she could’ve ever imagined. After much convincing, Hov taught her everything he knew and allowed her to help him run the business. In the streets, they were the Prince and Princess of the city with Christian still holding the title of King.
“Can I come with you, Titi No?” he asked, trying his luck on not going to his grandfather’s house. Being with his Old Nick, as he liked to call him, was fun, but for one reason or another, he was starting to wanna be in the streets with his mama. And when that didn’t work, he’d take his auntie.
Knycole’s face scrunched you. “What’s wrong with going to my daddy’s house?”
“Ma, he’s old.”
