King of Pride (Kings of Sin #2) by Ana Huang

I almost laughed when the thought crossed my mind. I never imagined I’d be jealous of nature, but here we were.

“There are other women who would fit into your world better,” she said. “Women without tattoos and purple hair and…and pet snakes. Who never get caught talking about sex at the worst times.”

This time, I did laugh. Quietly, but it was there. Only Isabella could make me laugh in the middle of the most important conversation of my life. It was one of the many reasons why I’d brave the Brooklyn Bridge in the dead of winter for her.

A small smile touched her lips before it faded. “I’m never going to stop being me, Kai, and I don’t want you to stop being you. So how can we be together when we belong to separate worlds?”

“By building one of our own,” I said simply.

“That’s unreasonable.”

“I don’t care. This isn’t about reason. It’s about love, and there’s nothing reasonable about love.”

The wind whisked the words away as soon as they left my mouth, but their impact lingered—in the audible hitch of Isabella’s breath, in the cascade of nerves rattling through my body. They left me feeling exposed and vulnerable, like my skin was no longer a barrier between me and the outside world, but I forged on.

“I love you, Isabella Valencia.” Simple and raw, stripped of all pretense except for the naked truth that had been staring me in the face all this time. “Every single part of you, from your laugh to your humor to the way you can’t stop talking about condoms.”

One of those laughs I loved so much slipped out, thick with emotion.

A smile flashed across my face before I sobered again. “You think you’re broken, but I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. Smart. Strong. Beautiful. Imperfect by your own standards but so wonderfully perfect for me.”

A fresh tear streaked down Isabella’s cheek. Unlike her earlier sobs, this one was silent, but it seared through me all the same.

I’d never fallen in love before her. Once I did, I did it the way I did everything else. Completely. Totally. Irrevocably.

“I’ve always prided myself on being the best. I had to be number one. I had to win. I collected prizes and awards because I saw them as a reflection of my self-worth, and I thought nothing tasted better than victory. Then I met you.” I swallowed the emotion burning in my throat. “And everything else…faded. We’ve been through some dark times, but you were always the brightest part of my life. Even when we broke up. Even when I walked out. Just knowing you existed somewhere in this world was enough.”

Isabella pressed a fist to her mouth, her eyes glossy in the silver light.

“I never really lived before you,” I said. “And I don’t want to imagine living after you.” I dropped my forehead to hers, my chest aching with need and want and a thousand other emotions only she could make me feel. “Stay with me, love. Please.”

A small sob bled through and soaked the night.

“You idiot,” she said, her cheeks wet with tears. “You had me at condoms.”

Relief had the weight sliding off my shoulders. My body sagged, and the hands strangling my lungs loosened enough for a laugh to break free.

“I’m not surprised,” I murmured. “You do have a special fondness for condoms, especially of the—”

“Kai.”

“Hmm?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

Isabella.

Yes?

Shut up and let me kiss you.

So I did, deeply and tenderly, while the memories of us drifted back into my chest and settled where they belonged.





CHAPTER 42


Kai



The next morning, I took a day off work for the first time in my history at the Young Corporation.

My team could survive without me for the day. I had more important things to do.

“Syzygy is not a word!” Isabella slapped a hand against her thigh. “You totally made that up.”

The corners of my mouth twitched. “I’m afraid Merriam-Webster disagrees.”

“Yes, well, Merriam-Webster is a bitch,” she muttered. “Fine. You win. Again.” Her mouth formed an adorable pout.

We were on our third round of the game. Half-eaten pastries and two giant mugs of hot chocolate littered the coffee table, and flames crackled in the marble fireplace. Snow flurries danced outside the windows, carpeting the city in white.

After last night’s frigid stroll down the Brooklyn Bridge, neither Isabella nor I were in the mood to go outside, so we’d holed up in my apartment with food, drinks, and board games.

“If it makes you feel better, you almost had me,” I said, leaning over and giving her a kiss. “Qi was inspired.”

“Almost isn’t the same as winning,” Isabella grumbled, but her pout melted into a sigh when I deepened the kiss. She tasted like warmth, chocolate, and something wonderfully, uniquely her.

My hand slid up her thigh until it reached the soft cotton hem of one of my old button-ups. Seeing her wear my clothes kindled something primal and possessive in me; she looked so beautiful, so perfect, and so damn mine.

Isabella wound her arms around my neck. Our board game would’ve escalated into an entirely different type of play had my phone not rung, jolting us out of our embrace.