Page 30 of Ravaged Devotion

Ryker stood on the outskirts of the group, taking it all in, and nodded to Ellery when he and Uriel joined him.

Ell let out a low whistle. “Leave it to Rhys to book the entire place.”

It was laughable. There was more than enough space for their party of seventeen without him having to have gone the extra mile like that.

“He likes to show off,” Ryker stated.

“He’ll tell you he simply prefers privacy,” Ellery corrected. They’d been friends since grade school, and he’d spent plenty of time around Rhys Hart to know how elitist he could be.

A woman and two staff members dressed in burgundy greeted them outside the main entrance, wide smile plastered over her face. She greeted them as their bags were taken and the bus drove off.

“Hello, everyone! Welcome to Fireview Lodge and Resort. We’re excited to have you here, and hope you’re all looking forward to a fun filled week. If your goal is to relax, we’ve got you covered, but if you’re looking for a little adventure, there will be opportunities for that as well. First things first, my name is Cosima. I’ll be your event coordinator during your stay. If you ever have any questions, please come find me. If, for some reason, you can’t, there are nineteen other staff members who can all help you.”

A place like this probably took more than twenty staff to manage, meaning his father must have also requested they halve their numbers. Typical. He’d use the excuse that they’d be discussing confidential information on this trip, but the reality was, Rhys simply didn’t want to be bothered.

Ryker imagined his father would find a way to excuse himself from the brunt of socializing and separate himself and his closest board members.

Cosima led them all into the building, the smell of cedar and something floral tickling at Ryker’s nose as soon as they entered the spacious lobby. Their keys were distributed at the front desk, each of them receiving their own rooms, and then they were excused to go check it out and freshen up.

“Meet back here in fifteen?” Ellery suggested as they made their way to the wide spiral staircase off to the right.

Ryker nodded, incredibly aware of Rue and his friends directly behind him as he ascended the steps.

“What room number are you?” Bowie asked Rue, and Ryker couldn’t help but tip his ear slightly in their direction.

“Thirty-six,” came the reply. “What about you?”

“Twenty,” Bowie sounded disappointed. “We’re on different floors.”

“I’m twenty-one,” Lenore said in a chipper tone, either missing how bummed Bowie was by being separated from Rue, or choosing to ignore it.

The old-fashioned key attached to a wooden keychain in Ryker’s hand had the number forty-two on it.

“You’d think a place like this would have elevators,” Ellery grumbled as they kept moving up, even after most of the others had gotten off on their floors.

“People come to places like this to experience a more rustic lifestyle,” Uriel explained, only for his cousin to snort.

“Yeah, tell that to the people running the spa. Bet their clients are really roughing it.” Ell and Uriel ended up on the fourth floor as well, just further down the hall from Ryker.

His bags were already there when he entered his room, a cozy space with a king-sized bed and view of the forest. There was a private bath and a closet large enough to accommodate a month-long stay. A map was out on the small desk pressed against the wall across from the bed, showing the connecting paths that attached the front building, where all the rooms, the dining hall, and the main lounge areas were located, to the smaller ones that branched out on either side.

Those buildings only had two levels, and were where the spa and entertainment spaces were.

Maybe Ryker would visit the movie theater and attempt to find the zen a place like this was meant to instill. Light knew he could use it.

He was still angry.

Still had that unsettling buzzing sensation crawling beneath his skin. But there was confusion there as well. The way Rue had responded to him in the library…Ryker was torn. There was a chance Rue had acted that way because he missed Ryder. They shared the same face, after all.

But Ryder didn’t want him. Had never wanted him.

By now, that message would have been delivered to Rue by Uriel.

The Black Harts arrival had been the talk of the town all week, and Ryk had seen Uriel and Rue in deep discussion outside of the bus this morning before they’d climbed on and settled in.

He’d tried to glean Rue’s emotions from a distance, but hadn’t been able to. He’d even been too far to catch the color of the other man’s eyes accurately.

They’d been blue when Ryker had stormed into the library, but he could have sworn they’d turned green by the time he’d left.