Page 61 of King of Greed
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 anoutpouring 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 andlikedit.
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 pressedanswerand 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.
Wait a minute.Whywasshe calling this early?
I popped up, my adrenaline spiking with sudden alarm. “Why? Is something wrong?”
“Well…” She inhaled an audible breath. “A pipe burst overnight. The entire store is, um, flooded.”