Risking the Crown (The Crown 2)

“I just heard Sasha and Cal’s news.” I slid my hands in my back pockets.

“Oh yeah?” He crouched low to put the boxes on the floor.

“Yeah.” I smiled. The misunderstanding in the moving truck seemed stupid and insignificant.

“What do you think about that?” He stood, his arms crossed. I wasn’t sure he wasn’t still annoyed with me.

“I think it’s great news. I can’t believe the wedding is next month.” I didn’t have a chance to get all the details from Sasha, like how Cal proposed, where they were going to live, or if their families were supportive. I didn’t want to wonder about whether she was pregnant. It did seem kind of rushed.

That would be a mess.

“She couldn’t wait to tell you. Made all of us keep it a secret until you got here.” He took a step closer and my heart rate sped up. “Found my phone.” He held it up, and moved even closer.

“That’s good. Where was it?”

“In the maintenance cart inside the storage closet. I forgot I had put it there when I was checking rooms.” His eyes followed his fingers as they tangled through my hair, sweeping along my collarbone.

Cal and Lance were in the other room, but all I could think about was getting Cole’s lips on mine.

“I’m sorry if I overreacted in the truck.” I edged toward him. My chin tilted up.

“Don’t they say moving is one of the most stressful life events?” He caught the small of my back with his palm and placed enough pressure so that I was firmly pressed against his body.

If he didn’t k

iss me now, I thought I might die on this kitchen floor. My chest tightened with heavy breaths, ready to feel the warmth of his mouth, his tongue. Taste his breath on my lips. Why were there other people in the house?

My arms snaked around his neck, tugging him closer to me. “Yes, that’s what I’ve heard. Tons of stress.”

He grinned, and I felt my knees quiver. He could drive me crazy with only a smile.

“I think I know a few ways to help you with all of the stress.” His eyes dipped between my breasts. I pushed against him, begging him to make a move. To hell with the guys in the other room.

“We only have a dresser left and we’re done,” Lance called from the hall.

Cole kissed me on the cheek. “Let me help them with that, and then we can work on the stress relief.”

I refrained from letting out the full-fledged groan that was building in the back of my throat. He got me all worked up on purpose, I thought. I tried to focus on the stack of bowls I had begun to unpack.

Somewhere in one of these boxes was a set of glasses. I at least needed one tall glass of ice water to cool down everything he started.

5

Cole

I strolled into the bedroom, dropping next to Kaitlyn. She had disappeared sometime after Cal and Lance left.

“I think it’s official.”

“What’s that?” she asked, rolling toward me.

“We are officially living together.” I grinned as I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her on top of me.

She pretended to squirm.

“Official sounds official.”

When in the hell had I become this man? One look at her and my chest filled with some kind of strange pride. I was proud she was mine. Proud I had fought for us. Proud that my son was where he belonged and we were all going to live under the same roof.