Page 29 of King of Greed

We stared at each other for a suspended second, our chests heaving with adrenaline, before another guest jostled us and spurred us into action again.

She didn’t resist when I gripped her wrist and wrestled us toward the exit. The police had just arrived on the scene, but we managed to slip into a cab without them stopping us. I was sure they’d follow up with every guest later about Martin’s death, but I had zero desire to wait around and play concerned witness at the moment.

Alessandra remained quiet when I gave the driver the penthouse’s address. She seemed shell-shocked by the evening’s jarring turn of events, and I didn’t blame her. I’d attended hundreds of society gatherings over the years; none of them had ended in death.

Then again, none of them had had Roman as a guest.

I hadn’t seen him since Martin’s collapse. Not in the stampede toward the exit and bathrooms, and not outside the restaurant.

A tight knot of dread formed in my stomach. Between the SEC investigation into DBG and Martin’s death, there was a suspicious number of crises involving the banking industry. I didn’t know where Roman’s sudden reappearance fit in, but it was a piece of the larger puzzle. I felt it in my gut.

“Well,” Alessandra said as we pulled up to our building. I still thought of it as ours, even though it hadn’t felt like home since she left. “That was the most memorable dessert course I’ve ever had.”

Despite my trepidation, a smile ghosted my mouth. I’d missed her little quips. Her sense of humor was one of the many reasons I’d fallen in love with her, but it’d made fewer and fewer appearances over the years.

Contrition extinguished my temporary amusement.

“Sebastian is going to have a PR nightmare on his hands,” I said. I wasn’t a fan of Martin, who’d been notoriously corrupt and underhanded when he’d been alive, so I couldn’t say I was too torn up over his death. However, its circumstances and timing would have massive ripple effects to come.

“I bet.” Alessandra’s fingers tightened around the edge of her seat. “Oh God. Someonedied.He was sitting right across…he…”

Her breaths shallowed.Fuck.

I quickly paid the driver and ushered her into the building and up to the penthouse before she went into shock again.

“It was likely an allergic reaction.” I doubted it, but if it made her feel better, that was what I was going with. “Unfortunate timing, but it happens. There was nothing you could do about it.”

Still, I wrapped her in a blanket and brought her a mug of tea when we entered the penthouse. The staff had clocked out for thenight, so the living room was silent as she curled her hands around the drink.

“You probably think I’m overreacting.” She stared into the mug, her face unreadable. If she had any feelings about being home for the first time in weeks, she didn’t show it.

Emotion tangled in my throat. “I don’t. Seeing someone terminate in front of you is pretty traumatic.”

Alessandra’s brow arched a fraction of an inch. “Terminate?”

“It sounded better thandiein my head.” I rubbed a hand over my mouth. “It doesn’t, does it?”

“No. Not really.” Her soft laugh warmed the room. Our gazes lingered on each other, and her smile slowly faded as silence descended again. This time, it was a poignant silence, filled with memories and regrets and, perhaps, the tiniest bit of hope.

“Can I confess something?” Her voice was barely audible. “When the chaos erupted and everyone was running, you were the first person I looked for. I didn’t want to, but I did.”

My heartbeats pulsed like they were finally alive.

“Good,” I said quietly. “Because I was looking for you too.”

The rest of our unspoken words spilled around us, one spark away from igniting.

Alessandra’s eyes darkened, and the spark flared to life. Flames of emotion surged through the air, incinerating any inhibitions or rational thought. The only thing left was a gnawing, insatiable desire to kiss her before I died of deprivation.

She must’ve read the intentions scrawled over my face because her breaths turned ragged. Her lips parted, and that was all the invitation I needed.

One second, we were sitting on opposite ends of the couch. The next, my mouth was on hers, her body was against mine, and we were stumbling into the elevator in a tangle of pent-up longing and heightened adrenaline. Thank god for the penthouse’s privatelift because there was no chance in hell we could make it up the stairs without injuring ourselves. Not when my blood was on fire and Alessandra was grasping my hair with a desperation that cut into my soul.

We somehow made it to the bedroom in one piece. I kicked the door shut behind us, and our clothes fell to the floor with little care.

Dress. Shoes. Shirt. Underwear.

They left a rumpled trail behind us as we fell onto the bed. I kissed my way down her neck and chest while my fingers found the heat between her legs.

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