King of Greed (Kings of Sin #3) by Ana Huang

Her scream and my curse warped the peaceful air. Then water closed in overhead, and all was silent until we resurfaced with a chorus of coughs and splutters. Luckily, we’d dislodged ourselves during the fall and avoided getting trapped under the boat, but treading water in the middle of a fucking lagoon hadn’t been part of my game plan.

I let out another, more colorful curse.

I glanced at Alessandra, whose shoulders shook as she covered her face.

Alarm edged out my annoyance. “What is it? Are you hurt?” Had she hit her head on her way down? It would take a while to right the canoe, and we were at least—

A familiar sound leaked between her fingers. Was she… laughing?

She removed her hands from her face. No, she wasn’t laughing. She was fucking howling to the point where her laughter no longer made a sound.

“I’m fine,” she gasped, tears of mirth filling her eyes. “I just… you look like…”

I narrowed my eyes even as my mouth twitched. I didn’t find our situation particularly funny, but it was impossible to see her smile and not want to smile too. “Like what? A dolphin?” I asked pointedly.

“No,” she said with zero apology. “You look like a drowned rat.”

Shock submerged me more thoroughly than the water when we’d tipped over. “I sure as fuck don’t.”

“I’m sorry, but you do.” Alessandra’s laughter finally subsided, but amusement lingered on her face. “You can’t see yourself. I can, so my observation carries more— ” She squealed when a splash of water hit her in the face. She wiped the droplets from her eyes and stared at me. “Did you just splash me?”

I shrugged. “It was an accident.”

The words had barely left my mouth before she retaliated, and we ended up in a splashing war. Laughter and shrieks filled the air.

We were acting like children let loose on the beach, and I could barely breathe past her watery assaults, but there was something exhilarating about not giving a shit. It didn’t matter that we were acting silly and immature; it was fucking fun.

By the time we called a truce, we were so drenched we looked like we’d taken a shower in our clothes. Twice.

Alessandra’s mascara formed twin black tracks down her cheeks. Her hair was tangled, and not a single trace of her lipstick remained.

“I know,” she said when she caught me staring. “You’re not the only one who looks like a drowned rat.”

“That’s not what I was thinking.”

“Then what were you thinking?” The volume of her voice tapered off as I closed the distance between us.

I brushed a stray droplet of water from her forehead before it reached her eye. “I was thinking…” My hand lowered and lingered by her cheek. “That you’re the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.”

Our breaths rose and fell over the soft laps of the water. The last echoes of our laughter disappeared and gave way to warm, heavy anticipation.

Alessandra’s lips parted. She didn’t pull away as I gathered her hair in a gentle fist and dipped my head, inch by agonizing inch, until our mouths touched.

Some kisses were a product of passion. Others were an outpouring of emotion. But this one? This one was a fucking revelation.

Because when Alessandra angled her chin up and kissed me back, I finally understood, if only for a moment in time, what true contentment felt like.

No yearning, no chasing, no worries. Just her and us.

It was all I needed.





CHAPTER 26



Alessandra




I’D KISSED MY EX-HUSBAND.

I’d kissed my ex-husband and liked it.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I buried my face in my pillow with a groan. My alarm clock had gone off three times already, but I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed. Getting out of bed meant facing the aftermath of yesterday’s choices, and I was content to stay in my bubble of delusion.

Sadly, the universe didn’t agree. Less than a minute after I settled on the decision to loiter beneath the covers all morning, my phone rang. I ignored it. It rang again.

Another groan traveled up my throat. I almost wished I hadn’t stored it in one of the canoe rental’s lockers before we’d rowed out. Otherwise, it’d be at the bottom of the lagoon, and I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone at—I peeked at the digital alarm clock—eight fifteen in the morning.

I pressed answer and put the caller on speakerphone without lifting my head or checking their identity. “Hello?”

“Good morning!” Isabella chirped. “Sooo, how’s it going? Having the time of your life, I hope.”

“It’s complicated.” The pillow muffled my response.

My kiss with Dominic had lasted both too long and not long enough. In reality, we couldn’t have embraced for more than a few minutes, but his heat and taste had imprinted themselves so thoroughly on my senses that I could still feel him a day later.

The soft, firm pressure of his mouth. The expert sweep of his tongue against mine. The delicious tingles running down my spine when he’d tugged on my hair.

Goose bumps peppered my skin.

“Right, right.” Isabella sounded distracted. “Um, out of curiosity, are you at your hotel right now?”

“Yes. I was sleeping,” I said pointedly, which was half-true. Honestly, I was surprised she was calling this early. Isabella wasn’t a morning person.