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

It wasn’t much, but after so many failures and blocked paths, I’d take any encouragement I could get.

“Careful, or we’re going to be the ones covered in paint.” Kai laughed. His hands came up around my waist, steadying me. I’d almost knocked us to the ground in my excitement. “So what’s the question?”

“Hmm?” I asked, still high from my victory. Even surrounded by acrylic, he smelled good. Whatever he paid for his “signature scent,” it was worth it.

“The question you want to ask me now that you hit the target,” he prompted.

Right. My teeth sank into my bottom lip. I was torn between instant gratification and taking my time to come up with something good. Asking him about his fears or most embarrassing moment seemed like a missed opportunity to dig deeper.

“Can I save the question for later?”

“That goes against the rules you set out earlier.”

“They weren’t rules, they were guidelines. Besides…” I flashed an impish smile. “Rules are meant to be broken.”

“Why am I not surprised to hear you say that?” Kai sighed. “Fine. One question of your choosing, to be determined at a later date.”

“Thank you.” I beamed. “See? Not everything is black and white. There’s hope for you yet.”

“Good to know. I was getting worried,” he said dryly.

My arms were still around his neck, his hands still on my waist. My initial burst of excitement had faded, and my breaths slowed to match his.

Our smiles gradually faded as a spark of something other than amusement came to life in his eyes. The air settled around us, thick with electricity, and I felt a heady pull to stand on my tiptoes and—

A loud humming chased the sparks away. Kai and I jerked our heads toward the corner, where the blond artist/yogi was meditating on the floor. I’d completely forgotten he was there.

He wasn’t paying attention to us, but the spell had shattered.

We dropped our arms from each other and stepped back. Awkwardness rushed to fill the new space between us.

“Well,” Kai said stiffly, his cheekbones tinted with a dull brick-red. “This was an enjoyable if unexpected end to the evening. Thank you for the…enlightening experience. Shall I call a car to bring us both home?”

My brows dipped. “What do you mean, bring us home?”

“It’s past midnight. I assume you’re tired.”

Most parties didn’t start until midnight in New York, and I was anything but tired.

Kai was giving both of us an easy out.

If I were smart, I’d take it, but the thought of going home to an empty apartment filled me with trepidation. I loved Monty, but I couldn’t exactly converse with a snake.

“Exactly. It’s midnight, which means the night is still young.” A new smile filled with mischief stole across my face. “I haven’t shown you the real draw in the building yet.”

I almost laughed at how fast Kai’s face paled.

“Do I want to know?”

“Probably not, but you’ll find out anyway.” I removed my smock and tossed it in the dirty laundry bin. “Let’s go. We can get our canvases later. We don’t want to miss the fun.”

He looked like he had a different word in mind than fun, but he followed my lead and removed his smock, albeit with obvious reluctance. We left our coats in the studio and took the elevator to the basement.

“Brace yourself,” I said when the steel car thudded to a stop.

The line of consternation between Kai’s brows deepened. “What…”

The doors opened, and a powerful wave of noise drowned out the rest of his words. His consternation morphed into visible horror. This time, I couldn’t contain my laugh.

During the day, the basement was a glorified storage room. But at night? It was the hottest, most exclusive party in Brooklyn. No name, no advertisements, just good music, cheap drinks, and shattered inhibitions.

The Hulk-like bouncer recognized me on sight. He was a big fan of Felix’s, and he stamped our hands with the entry symbol before waving us past with a toothy grin.

“Is this…a rave?” I couldn’t hear Kai clearly over the music, but his appalled expression told me all I needed to know about his feelings toward raves.

“Of course not!” I shouted. “Raves have more drugs!”

Another laugh broke free from my throat. He looked like he’d swallowed a lemon whole.

“Come on!” I grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward the bar. It wasn’t fancy like Valhalla’s, but the drinks were strong and the prices cheap. Sometimes, that was all we needed.

It took us a while to push through the sweaty, gyrating crowd, but we eventually made it to the other side. The bar’s alcove provided enough shelter from the music for people to hear each other without shouting. I ordered two of the house specials and handed one to Kai.

“First round’s on me.” I lifted my plastic cup. Like I said, not fancy, but I wasn’t drinking the container. “To stepping out of comfort zones.”

Kai hesitated, eyeing the drink the same way he’d eyed the door earlier, like it might kill him if he got too close. For a second, I thought he was going to refuse, but then he shook his head, muttered something that looked suspiciously like fuck it (if my lip-reading skills were anything to go by), and tapped his cup against mine.