King of Sloth (Kings of Sin, #4)

by Ana Huang

What did he say?” “Was he jealous?” Vivian added. “Did you two kiss?” Alessandra asked. I glared at them, wishing past me had had the foresight to befriend less nosy people.

Pls

And when he let out a tortured “fuck” and dipped his head, molding his mouth to mine, it didn’t even occur to me to pull away.

“Do I get a gold medal?” “For doing the bare minimum? No.”

FSKSKSKK

“We’ve been at this for hours. Let’s have lunch.” “It’s eleven a.m.” “Then let’s have brunch.”

ME

There are not

“Look at Eldorra’s royal couple. They had a centuries-old law working against them, and now they’re happily married.” “I’m not a princess, you’re not my bodyguard, and they were in love,” Sloane said flatly. “It’s different.”

Her fingers curled tight around her fork. Odds were, she was picturing stabbing me with it, but I didn’t mind a little hypothetical violence. It kept things interesting.

“No, I’m saying we can work around the publicist-client thing. Hell, we can watch one of those rom-coms you love—er, love to hate-watch—so much for inspiration,” Xavier amended when I glared at him. “Hollywood must’ve come up with a dozen strategies for this sort of thing.”

“I don’t want a kiss or a one-night stand,” he said. “I want you. I want to know you outside work. I want to take you on real dates. And I don’t know if it’ll work out in the end, but I want us to at least try.”

AAAGAHAHHAHAH

For God’s sake, Sloane, no one wants to date a block of ice.

I’m afraid of letting someone in again. I’m afraid of getting my heart broken. I’m afraid that, if you get to know the real me, you’ll find me unlovable like everyone else, and it’ll hurt so much more because it’s you.

I hadn’t been afraid of giving them a chance because I knew they wouldn’t breach my defenses.

“What are you doing?” I demanded. “This is breaking and entering!” “It’s a cab.” “That you’re breaking and entering into.”

“You have an intruder in your car. I don’t know this man. Please dispose of him immediately.” The driver glanced in the rearview mirror, unimpressed. “Weren’t ya just talking to him a second ago?” “He was talking to me.” “We were talking to each other,” Xavier corrected. “I⁠—”

Talk to you later.” “Ooh. Send us a picture of⁠—” I hung up before Isabella said anything else inappropriate.

That was how charming serial killers lured their victims to their deaths.

My showing up anyway was either a testament to how comfortable I felt with him or how stupid I was.

“Is that a claw machine?” I walked closer to the metal container filled with stuffed toys. It occupied the far-right wall between a vintage pinball machine and a retro popcorn cart.

Xavier rubbed the back of his neck, pink tinting his cheeks.

“But I have a temporary pet fish,” I said, determined not to dwell on such silly questions. “The person who rented my apartment before me left him behind.” Xavier opened the door to the rooftop.

“What’s his name?” “The Fish.”

“You named your pet fish…Fish?” “The Fish...

The entire setup was so cheesy, it looked like something out of a rom-com. And I loved it.

Emotion prickled my chest. When was the last time someone put this much thought into something for me?

“Since it’s Halloween, I figured we could do a double feature,” Xavier said. “One witchy rom-com and one Christmas rom-com that doesn’t release until the holidays. Friend of a friend is high up at the studio and pulled through for me.”

“You would rather watch a rom-com about a witch and a plumber falling in love than attend a costume party with celebrities?” “One hundred percent. As long as I’m watching it with you.”

I hated when other people were right.

I was the odd one out. I didn’t mind it; I would rather be single and content than in a relationship and miserable.

But there were slivers of time when I wondered how it would feel to exist in the world knowing there was someone who loved me totally, unconditionally, and whole-heartedly for who I was instead of who they wanted me to be.

“I have, but that was years ago, we weren’t dating, and I wasn’t trying to woo them.” Another type of warmth, one that had nothing to do with arousal, pooled in my stomach. “Is that what you’re trying to do? Woo me?” “Depends.” A smile played on his lips. “Is it working?” Yes. “No.” “Liar.” “A suitor shouldn’t call the object of his wooing a liar. It’s poor etiquette.”

His pinky, still hooked around mine, curled just a bit tighter. I wished I minded.

Sloane and I had kissed once, and she’d already ruined me for other women.

My grin widened. If someone had asked me a year ago what my favorite thing in the world was, it would’ve been a cold drink on a hot beach. Now, it was making Sloane laugh. Seeing her lower her guard and actually be herself never got old.

“Thank you for coming here with me.” That was a hundred percent honest. “Anytime, Luna. I’ll always be here for you.” I glanced up, my heart stilling for a split second at the sincerity in his eyes. It surprised me no matter how many times I saw it, and it scared the hell out of me.

“Who I date or how I run my business is none of your concern,” I said coolly. “I’d tell you to mind yours, but you don’t have a business of your own, do you?” A small tilt of my head. “It’s sad that your family can’t buy you deals the way they bought your admission into Princeton.”

“You have such a wonderful family,” Xavier said after Georgia and Bentley were out of earshot. “I can’t imagine why you don’t want to talk to them.” I huffed a small laugh. “Yeah, me neither.”

“What’d you think of my sister and her husband? Charming, aren’t they?” “That’s not the first c word that came to mind.”

They knew bits and pieces, but rehashing the memories was too painful. I’d rather lock them in a box and pretend they didn’t exist.

and I needed to share them with someone before I drowned in them.

blanched at the thought of returning to my empty apartment. Well, The Fish was there, but he wasn’t exactly stimulating company.

but the most beautiful thing about her wasn’t her face or naked body. It was the trust behind it.

She was standing here, in my house, bared and vulnerable, and I wasn’t stupid enough to take any second for granted.

I couldn’t breathe past the tightness in my lungs. Every time I thought she couldn’t get more perfect, she proved me wrong.

Fuck. Me.

“Are you going to keep talking, or are you going to finish what you started?” A rumble of laughter rose in my chest. That’s my girl. Sloane wouldn’t be Sloane without her sharp tongue, even when she was pinned naked beneath me.

“I bet I can make you come faster than you made me come.” “Always so competitive.”

The prestigious law firm was based in DC, but it represented corporate clients across the country. Jules Ambrose, Silver & Klein. Name number four.

Alex stared at me, unmoved. Dammit. Talking to the man was like talking to an iceberg—a low-key hostile one.

The big story of the day was the birth of Princess Camilla, Eldorra’s newest royal baby. I envied her. Babies didn’t have to worry about bars and business. They just cried and slept and ate, and people still loved them.

Her laugh unlocked a rush of dopamine,