Entangled Hearts by Yahrah St. John

and that you finally wore him down.”
    â€œWhat’s wrong, Chynna?” Lucas eyed her suspiciously. “You would finally be getting what you wanted, if only for the cameras.”
    â€œI don’t need a fake boyfriend,” Kenya replied huffily, folding her arms across her chest. “I’m perfectly capable of obtaining one on my own.”
    â€œOh, yeah?” Deacon asked. “So who do you have?”
    Kenya’s mouth pressed into a frown. She didn’t have one of course. She just didn’t want herself, or Chynna for that matter, to be railroaded into a fake romance with Lucas Kingston of all people. He rattled her and she wanted him far, far away.
    â€œThat’s what I thought,” Lucas replied. “I don’t like this idea any better than you do, but I think it’ll be salacious enough for the press to back off you and Blake.”
    â€œAre you prepared for the onslaught of the press that will be focused on you instead?” Fiona asked. “Because trust me, they’ll be brutal.”
    â€œI didn’t grow up in Beverly Hills, Fiona,” Lucas returned. “I grew up on the streets of South Central. There’s nothing the press can do to me I can’t survive.”
    Kenya was impressed. She hadn’t known much about Lucas’s past, probably because Chynna didn’t. But now she’d be forced into his company even more. And that spelled trouble. What if he realizes I’m not really Chynna?
    â€œThen I’ll set it up,” Fiona said and rushed out of the room.
    â€œWait a second.” Kenya held up her hand. “Don’t I get say in this little charade?”
    â€œNo,” Lucas stated emphatically. “It’s been decided. You and I will stay close and the press hounds will be forced to move on from this notion that you’re having an affair with a married man.”
    â€œLike hell!” Kenya stormed out of the room.
    â€œI’ll go talk to her.” Deacon attempted to rise, but Lucas put a hand on his shoulder.
    â€œDon’t bother. I’ve got this,” Lucas said and went in search of Chynna. Now this was the Chynna he remembered, behaving like a spoiled child when she didn’t get her way. But he wasn’t going to let her get in her own way and ruin her brand, a brand he and Eli had spent a lot of time developing.
    He found Chynna pacing the hallway outside, and when he walked toward her, his initial intention had been to talk to her, to reason with her. But then she was standing there, full of piss and vinegar, and he’d gotten horny as hell. When he reached her, he grasped her by the shoulders, lowered his head and pressed his lips down on hers. He moved his mouth over hers, devouring its softness.
    His actions must have shocked her because her hazel eyes widened with alarm and her hands went up to push him away, but he was stronger and wrapped his arms around her midriff, pulling her more firmly against him until they were thigh-to-thigh, chest-to-chest. He could feel her uneven breathing against his cheek. That’s when he went in for the kill. His tongue teased at the seams of her lips until she surrendered and parted them to his invading tongue. She matched his passion and hunger, kiss for kiss, molding her body against him.
    When he released her, Kenya stumbled back. The kiss Lucas had just given her sent a lightning bolt right up her spine, and she was slightly dizzy. Her heart hammered at what had just happened between them.
    Lucas’s silence told Kenya that he’d felt it too. Something inextricable that couldn’t be explained. “I ... I’m sorry,” Lucas began, and then must have thought better of it because he changed tactics and said, “Actually, no, I’m not. The press is going to be all over us and we need to make this relationship believable.”
    Kenya breathed in deeply, forcing air into her lungs to calm her steady