Page 70 of King of Greed

“That was three days ago, and the first thing you do when you actually see me with someone else is to attack them in the bathroom?”

“Ále, he— ”

“This is exactly why I can’t trust you. You keep saying one thing and— ”

“He was going to videotape you!” My words exploded with frustration.

Alessandra fell silent. She stared at me, her eyes round with shock.

“I overheard him talking to a friend in the bathroom.” I skipped the crasser elements of Dalton’s conversation. She didn’t need to hear any of that. “He was planning to take you home and secretly tape you having sex.” A fresh shimmer of rage threaded through my gut. “Tell me, what was I supposed to do?”

“You could’ve told me.”

“Would you have believed me?”

She didn’t respond.

“I said I’ll stand back and watch you date whoever you want, and I will,” I said. “It’s not my place to tell you what you canand can’t do. But Iwill notstand back and watch you be disrespected.” Emotion roughened the syllables. “I’ll do anything for you,amor, but I can’t do the impossible.”

Alessandra swallowed. Her anger had visibly abated, and she suddenly looked small and tired against our ornate surroundings.

My fist curled against the need to touch her. “I’ll let you get back to the party,” I said when she remained quiet. “I’m sorry for ruining your evening, but you deserve better than someone like Dalton.”

She deserved better than me too, but at least I knew it. There wasn’t a single person in the world who was worthy of her.

I made it two steps down the hall before she stopped me.

“Dominic.”

My heart ricocheted at her low tone. I turned, but I didn’t get a chance to react before she closed the space between us, grabbed my shirt…

And kissed me.

CHAPTER 31

Alessandra

I DIDN’T KNOW HOW IT HAPPENED OR WHAT MADE MEdo it. One second, I was watching Dominic walk away. The next, my hands were fisting his shirt, my tongue was tangling with his, and my world had blurred into a haze of heat and sensation.

Alcohol and a roller coaster of emotions dragged my inhibitions past the point of no return. In half an hour, I’d experienced a full range of human emotion—fury, shock, desire, and a thousand shades in between—and I wastired.

Tired of feeling uncomfortable in my own skin. Tired of making small talk and wondering if the other person liked me. Tired of fighting against the tide when I just wanted to sink into oblivion.

So for one night, I did.

Dominic’s tortured groan ignited deep in my core and spread outward, setting tiny fires ablaze until I was consumed with knee-weakening, mind-numbing lust.

I hadn’t had sex since the night before he signed our divorce papers. It’d been almost three months, but his earlier confession,that Dalton had been planning to take me home and sleep with me, made me realize that I wasn’t ready to be with anyone except him. At least not like this.

I stumbled backward, dragging him with me. Hands searched and fumbled before we finally opened a door along the hall and staggered inside for a breath of privacy.

His grip was tight on my waist as we moved through the room. I caught a glimpse of leather books and stained glass when I came up for air; we must be in the library.

Reason. Words. All of it had disappeared, leaving only need and desire behind.

Nothing between us was real, but it was all the truth we had. Our bond tugged at me, even as the jagged pieces of my heart worked to tear me apart.

My knees hit the back of a leather chaise. Dominic pushed me back, his body covering mine as he kissed me with toe-curling intensity. I was already wet from the first taste of his lips, and need pulsed heavier between my legs at his tortured groan.

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