King of Pride (Kings of Sin, #2)(40)

I wasn’t sure why it mattered. It wasn’t like we were going to invite each other over to our houses for four days of food, sex, and shopping. Right?

Kai gave a slow shake of his head. “I have a red-eye flight to San Francisco tonight,” he said.

“Part of the work crisis management.”

“Oh.” Disappointment sank like a weight in my stomach.

“Have you visited the library again?” He abruptly switched topics. “For your writing?”

“Not yet.” It reminded me too much of him. Even if it weren’t so quiet, I doubted I could write in there. “Maybe one day.”

“I see.” This time, he was the one who looked disappointed.

Silence lapsed again, punctuated by the hum of the heater. God, this was torture. Why couldn’t I simply say what I wanted to?

Because it’s a bad idea. Because it’s against the rules. Because— I get it. Shut up.

Kai hesitated. “About Saturday—”

“It was a mistake.” I interrupted him before he could state the obvious. “I know. You don’t have to say it. We shouldn’t have done…what we did.”

His frown deepened. “That’s not what I was going to say.”

I faltered. “It’s not?”

The clock ticked in the ensuing quiet. My heartbeat ticked right alongside it, rising and falling with the tide of emotion threatening to sweep me under.

“No.” A muscle worked in his jaw. “Unless you truly think it was a mistake.”

“I…” On one hand, it was a mistake. Kai and I came from different worlds. His role as Young heir probably involved marriage to a proper society heiress like Clarissa. Getting even more involved with him was a sure path toward heartbreak. I’d been there, gotten the T-shirt, and I never wanted to go back.

On the other hand…

I swallowed. I didn’t know what Kai and I currently had, but the thought of severing it cleaved through me like a scythe.

“You don’t have to answer now.” Kai stood and nodded at his empty glass, his expression unreadable. “Put it on my tab. I’ll be upstairs.”

By the time my brain processed his words, he was already gone.

I’ll be upstairs.

His parting statement played on a loop while I cleaned and closed out the bar. He had no reason to tell me that unless…

You don’t have to answer now…I’ll be upstairs.

A choice. I could go home, pretend the kiss never happened, and move on with my life.

Or I could go upstairs.

New Isabella should do the smart thing and choose option one, but it was obvious by now that no version of me was good at doing what she should.

I locked the bar door behind me and made my way to the second floor. A part of me knew I was risking my job by doing this. Unfortunately, that part was so faint I could barely hear it over the drum of my heart.

I could rationalize away my attraction to Kai all I wanted, but the truth was he made me feel more alive than anything else had for years.

I stopped in front of the piano room and rested my hand on the doorknob. The drumming in my chest intensified. No going back now.

I opened the door, stepped inside…and there he was, lounging against the side of the piano in a deceptively casual pose.

Dark hair, dark eyes, devastation inked onto every inch of him.

Even if he hadn’t dropped the upstairs hint, instinct would’ve guided me to him. The melding of gazes in a crowded ballroom, a chance meeting in a quiet hallway…no matter where we were, an invisible force drew us together like magnets to steel.

Our eyes locked.

Emotion flickered over Kai’s face. It was there, then gone, like a ship passing in the night, but it was enough.

It pulled me toward him at the same time as he straightened, his body lined with tension.

Five steps.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

I halted inches away from him, my mind and pulse gone haywire. I didn’t say a word. I didn’t have to; my presence was telling enough.

His throat flexed.

A breath passed, and then—we collided.

Hands. Lips. Teeth.

His mouth crushed against mine, my fingers tangled in his hair, and urgency ignited between us until my limbs were heavy and weak with desire.

This time, there was no crowd, no music, only the desperate, frantic need to get as close to him as possible.

My back slammed against the side of the piano. I gasped, more at the thick, insistent press of Kai’s arousal against my thigh than the impact. Pain didn’t register. My blood was liquid fire, burning away any sensations except pleasure, want, need.

Kai’s body molded against mine. He bracketed me with his arms, and a moan rose in my throat when he drew my bottom lip between his teeth and tugged.

The stiff, reserved CEO was gone. In his place was someone who kissed like a man possessed, filled with filthy promises and wicked intent.

My hands roamed over warm skin and sculpted muscles, feverish with want. We were pressed so tightly together I could feel the wild beats of his heart, but it wasn’t enough.

Kai groaned when I arched into him, craving more.

“I was right. You are going to be the death of me,” he muttered.

He pulled back. A protest climbed my throat, but it quickly died when he took off his glasses and tossed them to the side before kissing me again, even deeper this time, his mouth exploring mine so expertly all rational thought dissolved. Strong, warm hands swept up the backs of my thighs and lifted me onto the piano. One stayed on my thigh, sliding up and around until it brushed the wetness soaking my underwear; the other stole beneath my top and bra to palm my breast.