Page 1 of King of Temptation

CHAPTER ONE

Kim

“It’s almost disgusting,” I mutter to myself as I look out the window at the picturesque mountains beyond.

The morning of Charlotte and Mason’s wedding is a perfect Colorado spring day. It rained last night—I could hear it on the roof—but today, the world is bright and shiny for the washing it received the night before.

The grass is a brilliant green, the sky a bright blue dotted with white puffy clouds, the Aspen pines a perfect shade of dark green.

I stare out the window of the honeymoon suite I shared with my best friend Charlotte and marvel at the perfection. When you have money, even nature works to please you.

We’re at some high-end hotel and resort in Aspen, the sort where I’ve never even dreamed of staying. One night probably costs more than my whole month’s rent. I don’t know because Charlotte’s fiancé, Mason, paid for my flight here and my room, along with all the extras.

Which is crazy to me, I’m not even using the room he paid for since I kept Charlotte company last night. I keep track of every penny—I have to—and waste is currently not in my vocabulary.

This room is twice the size of my apartment in Las Vegas, and I share that place with three other dancers.

This wedding is a lavish display of wealth that makes my head spin.

But the money is not what unsettles me deep down. The Kincaid men, all five of them, have jangled my nerves. They are all handsome as sin, with their dark hair and their piercing brown eyes. Each of them is as rich as they are successful.

But they all have this edge. You can feel it under the surface.

Dangerous.

They are as intoxicating as they are nerve wracking and I’ve been jittery since I got here. Especially when the second Kincaid brother enters the room, Leo. He’s more of everything.

More muscles, more good looks, more sinister charm that sets my pulse fluttering and my gaze darting about the room. There is something so deliciously dangerous about him.

Which is a reaction I can ill afford. I’m so close to realizing my dreams, I cannot allow a distraction now, no matter how tempting.

It’s crazy to me that my best friend is marrying one of these predators. I’d be more worried about Charlotte and what she’s getting into, except Mason seems to worship her.

And by extension, he’s lavished me with gifts. Plane ticket, room, dress, spa day.

I wouldn’t have been able to come if he hadn’t. I have exactly enough money to pay for myself to fly from here to New York tomorrow morning to attend my interview with the New York City Ballet and not a penny more if I’m going to pay rent this month.

In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to sleep in the airport before my return flight the day after tomorrow.

But I don’t care about that. This interview is a dream come true and my one chance at having the career no one from my childhood would ever have imagined for me. The one my mother dreamed of and never got the chance to have because she had me instead.

Charlotte is still asleep as I sit by the window, staring at the lush garden below, the staff already hard at work making the perfect garden even better for the upcoming ceremony.

The gazebo is decorated with a gauzy fabric that floats in the morning breeze while white chairs are set at perfectly angled rows.

A little sigh escapes my lips. I might be cautious around the Kincaids, but I’m still a bit jealous about the way they live.

I shake off that feeling. I’m going to hold to the plan for a little while longer to make my dreams come true.

A soft knock sounds at the door, and I get up to answer it, tightening the lush robe around my waist, before I crack the door open.

Mason is standing on the other side. He’s the picture of business casual, masculine elegance this morning. With his pressed slacks and his white shirt that is tucked in but open a single button at the collar.

I’ve never been into guys who are that perfectly coiffed, not a hair out of place, but I can’t deny he cuts quite the figure.

Charlotte did well. Though, I always knew she would. Stunningly gorgeous, quiet and shy, she has this demure grace that makes men like Mason froth. Charlotte and I waited tables together at a bar called Rebel’s. The serious businessmen who came in always gave Charlotte a long look.

“Morning,” I whisper.

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