Page 108 of Wicked King

“And you can thank me for that one.” Luca throws me a grin over his shoulder. “I convinced Esmeralda it would be in her best interest to remain on our good side if she ever hopes to show her face in Manhattan again.”

“Which I hope she doesn’t.” Jia’s lips twist into an adorable pout.

A stupid grin melts across my face as I regard this fierce, beautiful woman who allowed me to make her mine. “Well done, laodà. I would expect nothing less of the fearless leader of the Four Seas.” I capture her lips in a swift, fiery kiss. “Or anything less from my wife.”

CHAPTER 50

THIS IS FOREVER

Jia

I watch the gentle rise and fall of Marco’s chest, the sea of tan skin buried beneath dark tendrils of hair and that gilded cross nestled in the center. I’ve been thanking God every day since we returned from Puerto Rico with both of us safe and sound.

I also haven’t been resting enough, spending all night just watching him sleep. To make sure he’s still breathing, to make sure he’s still here… I never thought I could love someone so much, so wholly, so completely.

When he was gone, it was as if he’d taken a piece of my heart with him. I inch closer so I’m flush against his side and tighten my arm around his torso. I’ve slept attached to him every night since our return two days ago. We’ve also spent nearly all of those forty-eight hours in this bed.

But today, we would finally have to leave the confines of our happy bubble because it’s finally opening day for CityZen. As if Marco senses the flurry of excitement thrumming through my veins, his lids flutter and he inhales deeply.

“Good morning, spitfire…”

“Good morning, honey.” I roll onto his stomach and press a kiss to his mouth. My thighs are still sticky with his cum from last night, and as I straddle his hips, I’m greeted by his already hardening cock.

“This is how I want to wake up every morning,” he murmurs against my lips.

“I suppose it could be arranged, if you’re a good boy.”

Marco chuckles, the warm sound reverberating through his chest into my own. “Only for my wife.” He frames my face with his strong hands and captures my gaze. “Dio, Jia, I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost you. You have me so completely whipped it’s embarrassing.”

A faint chuckle seeps through as I regard him. “I guess this is what real love is, right?”

He nods. “I hate the feeling as much as I love it.” He pauses to nibble on my bottom lip before continuing. “I’ve never felt so vulnerable, so afraid of losing everything. The human life is frail, fragile, so easily extinguished. In my line of work, it’s the harsh reality we live. The idea of spending even a minute without you has become completely unacceptable. How are we supposed to continue doing what we do? And when we have children…” His hands drop to my stomach, cradling my belly.

“So what are you saying? You don’t want to run the Gemini empire anymore?”

He shrugs. “It’s not something I can just walk away from.”

Just like I couldn’t walk away from the Four Seas.

“But there has to be something we can do so I’m not tempted to tie you to this bed and never let you leave the safety of the penthouse again.”

“I think I would be okay with that.” I rock my hips against his cock, and he releases a satisfying shudder.

“There’s something I’ve never told you…” His lids slowly close, then he shakes his head as if ridding himself of some dark memory. “I wanted to tell you after you admitted the truth about your father because it made me understand so much more about you, and I want you to know everything about me. It doesn’t excuse the way I’ve acted toward women for the majority of my adult life, but maybe you’ll understand why I got so fucked up.”

I still, no longer grinding against his erection. I’ve never seen him so serious.

“You can tell me anything.” I caress his cheek, reveling in the feel of the soft stubble.

“I was only a kid when I first fell in love—or at least, I was certain it was love until I met you. I was nineteen and Isabella had just turned eighteen. She was my world at the time. She was a foster kid like me and we’d met in the system years earlier. I’d already aged out and we continued to see each other, and things finally developed into a serious relationship. She was supposed to move in with Nico and me…”

Tears fill his eyes, and a sliver of my heart nearly breaks right off.

“We’d just started the Geminis back then. We were a rag tag group of kids without families, without love or guidance. Nico and I were hustling on the street to pay for college, anything to make a buck. We were stupid and got into the drug business because it was easy and paid well. Isa was just at the wrong place…”

His jaw clenches as his eyes flutter closed once again.

“She died because of me, in a damned dark alley with a gunshot in the chest. A bullet that was meant for me because I stiffed our dealer a hundred bucks. She died for a mere one hundred dollars. Do you know how fucked up that is?” A dark, rueful chuckle pierces the tense air. “I drop hundreds like dollar bills now. And Isa died because I was a selfish asshole.”

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