Madeline turns to look at me and her eyebrows are tugged together, clearly bothered by this. “Do you want us to go to adifferent hotel?” I ask her, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable. She won’t even let me touch her, for fucks sake, there’s no way she’d want to share a bed with me. “I’m sure there’s some rooms available.”
“You’re out of luck,” the lady says again. “The Celestial Manor isn’t the only hotel that’s full for the gala. All surrounding hotels are fully booked.”
I glance toward Madeline. “What do you want to do?” I ask her. If she wants to go look for a hotel with two available rooms, then I’ll do that, even if it takes us all night.
She lets out a sigh. “It’s late and I’m exhausted. Let’s just stay here.”
I’m good with that, too.
“Okay, then.” I turn to the lady. “Guess that’s decided.”
“Great.” She smiles, placing down two cards on the desk. “These are your key cards. Your room is on the fifteenth floor, room 202. If there’s anything we can help you with, just ask.”
“Thank you.” I pick up the room keys and head into the elevator, but Madi freezes at the door when she sees me inside. “What’s wrong?” I ask her.
She shakes her head and turns around. “I’ll meet you up there. I’ll just take the stairs.”
Shit. The elevator. With the way she reacted last time, we got stuck in one, it doesn’t surprise me that she’s wary about going inside another one again.
I leave the elevator and head toward her. She turns her head behind her shoulders and furrows her brows. “What are you doing?” she asks, turning around to face me.
“Taking the stairs.”
She lets out a harsh sigh. “Lucas, I’m fine. You can use the elevator.”
“I’m good here.”
She narrows her eyes. “We’re on the fifteenth floor.” Her hands are placed on her hips, and because she’s so damn stubborn, she isn’t moving.
I shrug. “I need the workout.”
She laughs, her eyes dipping down to my legs. She sucks in a breath and shakes her head. “You do not.”
I blink, my body warming from her eyes on me. “Did you just… check me out?”
“What?” Her eyes widen and she scoffs, snapping her head away from me. “I definitely did not.” I press my lips together, loving the thought of her getting all flustered. She walks up the stairs, and my eyes instinctively drop to her ass.
Come on. This is torture. I mean, fuck. How am I supposed to survive fifteen flights of stairs while her hips sway with every step she takes? I stifle a groan as I watch her take step after step in front of me.
I rip my gaze away from her and head up, nudging my shoulder against hers when I’m right beside her. “I think you did.”
She laughs again, but it’s strained, and I know she’s lying. “You’re crazy.”
Yeah, crazy about you.
Twenty minutes later, we’re finally in front of our room.
“Fuck.” I let out an exhale, breathing hard. “Those stairs kicked my ass.” I work out a lot. As a model, I have to keep my body looking good, which means I work hard in the gym, but those stairs just wrecked me way more than an hour training session ever did.
Madeline leans against the wall, dropping her head back. “Is this what dying feels like?”
I laugh, my chest hurting when I do. “Not quite.”
I pull out the keycard and open our room. When we walk inside, we both freeze and stare at the big white double bed in the middle of the room. It’s a topic we haven’t quite discussed yet.
“I can sleep on the floor?” I offer.
She shakes her head, but my eyes drop to her slender throat, moving as she swallows harshly. “No, don’t be ridiculous. The bed is big enough for the both of us.”
