Uppercut Princess (The Heights Crew #1)(42)

This gives Johnny pause. Thankfully.

“Plus, I’ll be worth the wait.”

He takes a deep breath, resigning himself—I hope—that right now is not the time for where his mind was headed. After a few moments, he shakes his head. “I forgot the reason I came over here. Turn around. Let me see how you’re doing.”

“Oh,” I say, a little surprised that he would come over to check on me. I mean, he’s the one who put it there. “I put a Band-Aid on it,” I say, the lie feeling right on my lips. If Johnny knew Brawler was the one to do it, he wouldn’t be happy.

“Well, turn around anyway,” he says. “I want to make sure you’re taken care of.”

I turn and immediately his presence looms over me. His fingers move around the thin tank top strap and gently guide it down. His heated breath hits my skin first, making it tingle, then the soft pressure of his lips linger over the pad Brawler placed there, and I shiver.

“I’m so sorry I hurt you,” he says, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d think there was genuine remorse in his voice. Who knows? Maybe there is. Johnny might be a victim of his circumstances just like me. His morality is skewed because of the way he was raised. It’s okay to dick around. Respect is everything. He has no empathy or concern for those who aren’t in the Heights Crew. I don’t know. I can only say that I’m just glad I hadn’t grown up like that.

He kisses the area again and then moves my tank top strap back into place, muttering something about marring such a beautiful canvas.

I blink. The guy could be a poet if he wasn’t a gangster. No wonder why women flock to him. It’s not just because girls think he’s their only way out. He’s smooth. He’s charming. He’s got bad boy polish written all over him.

I turn to face him. “I’m glad you stopped by.”

“Me too,” he says. He looks around the bedroom, and my heart explodes in my chest again, taking off with a sprint. It’s not as if anyone could tell I have a hidden compartment in that shelf, but it still makes me nervous he’s in the same room with the one thing that could take me down. Then again, there’s also a gun in there. I’d use it on him to protect my aunt and uncle. I made a promise to myself long ago that no one else would get mixed up in this. This is my story, and my story alone.

“I’m sorry I had to take off earlier…and that I’m about to do the same again.” He smiles hesitantly like he hopes I’m not mad. “Father and I have an important business meeting.”

I nod. Tentatively, I reach up and run my fingers down his angular face. “I know you have other commitments.”

His jaw tenses, then he moves forward, taking me with him until my back is pressed against the wall. His hips sink into mine, and his hot breath caresses my throat. “God,” he groans. “It’s not fair that you get me so hot.”

I’m thrown by his outburst. All I did was graze my fingertips over his cheek. It’s not like he’s starved for attention. He fucked someone mere hours ago. I don’t get it. It must be the fact that he can’t have me. I’m probably the only girl in the Heights who he can’t have and it’s driving him crazy.

He moans again, the sound filling the room. “Kyla?”

“Yeah?” I choke out. His dick’s getting harder by the second, pressing into me. I’m trying to think of anything but, but it’s hard.

Ha. Literally.

“Can I kiss you?”

My mouth drops. It’s a good thing he’s not looking at my face right now. His head’s buried in the crook of my shoulder as he wrangles his breath. I didn’t take Johnny for the kind who asked if he could kiss. I took him as the kind who would just take what he wanted. Why are all these Crew members so difficult to understand?

“I—”

A knock sounds on the apartment door. “Fuck,” Johnny spits. “That’s Magnum.” A second later, the voices of Magnum and Oscar fill the living room.

I expel the breath I’d been holding in my chest. “He’s here to take you to the business meeting?” I guess.

Johnny nods to confirm my suspicions. He moves away, and fresh air winds its way around me. It’s hard not to react to Johnny. The attraction is completely physical. He’s good looking. He’s a charmer. He’s good at seducing.

I look away to get a hold of myself. Jesus Christ. I’m sick.

“I have to go,” Johnny says. “Oscar’s staying with you.”

“I really don’t need anyone to stay with me,” I hedge, finding something to fixate on other than the hitch in my breath.

Johnny smiles. “It’s just part of being with me, babe. You need protection. Trust me. If you don’t want Oscar, just tell me.”

I shrug. It’s not Oscar at all. I don’t like the fact I’m being watched twenty-four-seven. “It’s not him.”

“Okay,” Johnny says, giving me a small smile.

“Rocket?” Magnum calls from the living room.

“Be right there,” Johnny says. He takes my hand and turns toward me again. “If any of them bother you, you just let me know. Okay?” he asks, eyebrows raising.

I nod in response. Oddly, it’s not Brawler or Oscar I have to worry about. It’s the one reminding me to tell him if anything is wrong.