“Huh.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Lothair threw me a suspicious look. “Out with it, Terrance.”
“It’s surprisingly simple for a man with such extravagant tastes as yours.”
“I never invite people in here. It can look like whatever.” He sounded defensive.
“Absolutely. I’m not here to criticize your interior decor. What’s behind that door?”
Lothair pushed another sliding door open. “My closet.”
It looked like a department store, double the size of the bedroom. I refrained from rolling my eyes.
“Good,” I said. “Then you can get dressed.”
He laughed but walked in and pulled a pair of faded jeans from a hanger. He shimmied into them and dragged a simple white T-shirt over his head. His hair got mussed up, and he glanced in the mirror covering an entire wall in the monstrosity he called his closet. Combing through his hair with his fingers, he met my eyes in the mirror.
“Are you going to wear a suit all the time?”
“I dress formally when on the job unless the situation requires something else.”
“Good. You look hot in a suit.” And he winked.
He watched my reaction, but I didn’t let anything show on my face.
One of the scandals that made Lothair daily tabloid fodder was his short but explosive affair with a married actor. An alpha. Lothair was open about being attracted to both alphas and omegas, which was fine with me but aggravated the conservative circles. The alpha who was theepitome of masculine strength let someone fuck his ass—it drove some people up the wall.
I didn’t care. Lothair was allowed to do whatever and whomever he wanted. But if he flirted with me, I’d have to set clear boundaries.
“I’m glad you approve of my appearance,” I said with zero emotion. “Cassidy and Hassel have a dress code. After all, I’ll be seen in public with you.”
A corner of his mouth lifted in his signature sardonic smirk, but he said nothing. He walked out of the closet and back into the hallway, closing the door to his bedroom behind us.
“This’ll be your room.” He pointed to the door directly opposite.
“Your manager told me I’d be in a private suite on the first floor.”
“I decided something else.”
“And when did you decide that?”
“Right now.” He jerked his chin toward the closed door. “Have a look.”
Now, if it were a vacation, I’d be over the moon. The bedroom was spacious, facing west, with a big terrace and stairs that led down to the outdoor pool area. It had a view of the estate park with the Ardaine skyline on the horizon. But Lothair wanting me close made me feel on edge. He didn’t do it because he wanted to feel safe; that was for sure.
He observed me, his hands on his hips. “Nice, huh?”
“It’s more than sufficient. Thank you.”
He rolled his eyes. “Where the hell did you learn to speak like that, Terrance? You sound like my high school English teacher. He was seventy. Do you ever swear?”
“Yes.”
“Say something.”
