Lucien gave Finn a small smile. “The regular is taken, isn’t it?”
Frowning, Finn checked on the computer, and when a hot blush colored his cheeks, I felt bad for him. “Y-You’re right, sir, it is,” he said, clearing his throat. “But there is one of the largest rooms available—”
“We’ll take that,” Lucien said, impatience in his voice. I could see the exhaustion in his eyes, on his face. It seemed he had truly reached his wits’ end.
I could relate. I was just as exhausted.
Finn mumbled something as he handed him the key cards, and soon after, we were in the elevator, traveling up to the fortieth floor.
“Do you own the hotel or something?” I asked once we were alone, rubbing my tired, bloodshot, puffy eyes.
Lucien leaned against the elevator wall, watching me closely. “I’m a shareholder.”
“Oh,” I murmured. “Okay, then couldn’t you take two rooms? One for each of us?”
He peered at me with a strange look in his eyes. “Why waste the hotel’s resources when we’re perfectly capable of sharing a room?”
I couldn’t help the blush coloring my face. “I can think of a few reasons,” I said, shifting from foot to foot in both discomfort and ... anticipation. Which was exactly the problem. “I mean, we’re still a man and a woman, and it’s not like we’re in a rom-com, forced to share the only available room in the hotel ...”
I was rambling, I knew, but I couldn’t help it. I felt extremely vulnerable after everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. I also felt about as sexy as though I had been run over by a truck. The thought of sharing a room with the hottest, sexiest man I’d ever met—yet the same man who was also a werewolf, whocould disembowel another person like nothing—made me feel both self-conscious and uneasy.
When Lucien didn’t respond, I chanced a look at his face and saw he’d turned his head, hiding his eyes from me. The elevator didn’t have mirrors, so I couldn’t really see his expression.
I tensed momentarily, then deflated.Right, Drew,I thought bitterly,putting the fact he’s a dangerous man aside, he’s way out of your league. Have you learned nothing from Matteo?
No, it appeared I hadn’t. Punching above my station when it came to men was something I’d always done, but it had gotten worse after Matteo, ironically enough.
Any sort of heat I might’ve felt disappeared, and only nerves remained. Nerves about sharing a room with a half man, half beast I was attracted to and somehow inherently trusted, yet was also wary of. The mix of contradicting emotions both tired and confused me.
Silence lingered between us until we reached our floor and continued to linger as we walked through the spacious, expensive-looking hallway toward our room. Once we entered, however, and I saw that there were two double beds, I realized why Lucien had said nothing before.
“Oh” was all I said as Lucien put my duffel bag on the bed closer to the wall. “So, it’s this kind of room.”
Lucien shot me a wry smile. “Disappointed?”
I fought another blush, because this was getting ridiculous, and glared at him. “No, I’m just relieved I don’t have to share a bed with a man I barely know.”
That wasn’t a complete lie, especially considering everything I was feeling toward the man. But if therehadbeen only one bed ... and Lucien was someone who could be attracted tome... in my current state, I would’ve jumped his bones easily.
If only to distract myself from my own emotional turmoil.
But Lucien wasn’t the type to want someone like me, and it wasn’t about me lacking confidence. I knew what I was worth, but I was also realistic, and this world—both human and supernatural,I assumed—ran on beauty standards. Within those standards, I was scraping for six out of ten, while Lucien was, like, a hundred or something. The gap was far too big.
Pretty people were attracted to pretty people. That was the unofficial law. And people who looked like Lucien would never find someone like me worthy to look at. That was me being self-aware rather than anything else.
There was also the fact he was a werewolf and I was human, which might also play a part. I couldn’t imagine being attracted to a human when the beautiful succubi existed.
The reality check made my shoulders slump. “Want to shower first?” I asked now, not wanting to think any more about any of this.
Unaware of my trail of thoughts, Lucien shook his head and said, “Ladies first.”
Folding my arms, I arched a brow and insisted, “You’re obviously far more exhausted than I am. Go shower.”
Lucien turned to face me with a slow grin. “You know, as an Alpha, I don’t usually take orders very well.”
It was the first time he’d outright admitted to being the Alpha, yet neither of us was surprised—not me at the so-called revelation, and not him at me already figuring it out.
“That has nothing to do with this,” I commented now, narrowing my eyes. “You’re still injured, so go take a shower first.”
