Couples share a bed, Princesa
“What do you mean there’s only one bed?”
“I’m sorry, Miss,” the lady at the counter says, checking over her screen. “The booking clearly states it’s one double room.”
Madi’s mouth is dropped open as she glances at me. Ana booked the room, so I didn’t know that we’d have to be sharing a room, let alone a bed, but I can’t say I’m distraught about it, either. “What are we going to do?” she asks me.
I shoot her a smirk. “Couples share a bed, princesa.”
Those gorgeous brown eyes narrow at me, and I chuckle to myself. “Really?” she asks. “That’s all you have to say?” She lets out a breath and turns to the lady. “I’ll just book a room for myself, then.”
“I’m sorry, Miss. The rooms are fully booked for tonight. With the gala happening, it books out weeks in advance.”
She squeezes her eyes closed, shaking her head. “So, there’s nothing we can do?”
The lady shakes her head.
Madeline turns to look at me and her eyebrows are tugged together, clearly bothered by this. “Do you want us to go to a different 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.”
I smirk. “Good, ’cause I didn’t want to sleep on the floor.”
She scoffs. “What a gentleman.”
I chuckle, but when I look at her, it settles. “I was only kidding, Madeline. If you really didn’t want me on that bed with you, I’d gladly sleep on the floor.”
She stares at me for a while, but then she blinks. “No, it’s fine.” She walks further into the bedroom and places her bag on the bed. “You can get dressed. I need a shower,” Madeline says, heading toward the bathroom. “I smell like plane.”
She does not. She smells fucking incredible. Like warm vanilla and caramel cookies. She’s wearing that damn perfume again. The one that makes her smell good enough to eat.
I hear the shower turn on, and I busy myself with making sure to put all of my shit out of the way so that Madeline doesn’t freak out over my mess. But when she walks out of the bathroom, my mouth drops, and I stop in my tracks.
A billow of steam trails behind her from the hot shower as she walks out looking like an angel from above. Her dark brown skin coated in little droplets of water, covered in a white, fluffy robe and her hair wrapped in a bun on the top of her head.
Holy fuck.
I can’t look away. I don’t want to. I don’t think I understood the implications of sharing a bed with her tonight. I knew she’d be sleeping next to me, but I only just realized she’d be sleeping next to me, looking like that. Her soft curves just a few inches away, her beautiful face without a stitch of makeup on it, staring up at me.
I’m fucked.
So fucked.
I clear my throat and turn around, already missing being able to see her. “I can leave if you want to get changed.”
“No need,” I hear her say. “I just forgot my pajamas. I’ll get changed in the bathroom.”
The door closes once she’s inside and I blow out a heavy breath. Get it together. I shake my head, and I don’t waste any time. I peel off my clothes, tossing them aside into a neatly folded pile, and get changed.
When the bathroom door opens and Madeline walks out again, she’s no longer wearing the white robe, replaced by a set of dainty pajamas that leave very little to the imagination. Pink, with tiny red hearts all over it. The top barely covers her, teasingly grazing her stomach and those shorts… I can’t help but inwardly groan. They leave her long, slender legs on full display. They look so soft and silky, and… fuck. I can’t seem to look away from her.
When I finally drag my eyes away from her legs, I meet her gaze to see she’s blinking at me, looking somewhat taken aback. “Is that what you’re going to wear?” she asks me.
I glance down at my naked chest and boxer shorts, and I can’t help but smirk when I meet her gaze again. “I usually sleep naked.”
Her eyes widen even further, and she quickly turns around, clearly flustered. “That’s, uh, those are fine then,” she says.
A chuckle escapes my lips. “Yeah,” I tease. “I thought you might say that.”
After she wraps her hair and we brush our teeth, we both climb into bed, tugging the covers up. I steal a glance toward my side and notice Madeline as far away as she can get, on the very edge of the mattress. “You’re going to fall off.” I chuckle, a hint of concern in my voice.
She shakes her head, a faint smile on her lips. “I’m good here.”
I let out a sigh. “Madeline. Do you want me to sleep on the floor?” I ask her again, my tone earnest. I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable with having me here. It kills me that she is.
“What? No. Of course not.”
I narrow my eyes playfully. “Then why are you so far away from me?”
I watch her throat move when she swallows. “Fine,” she concedes, shuffling a few inches closer to me. It’s still way too far for my liking, but I know how much she doesn’t like touching. I’m good with that. At least she’s still next to me.
A smile spreads across my face, and I roll onto my side to look at her. It seems like I can’t stop looking at her whenever she’s around. My eyes take their fill, looking at her soft brown eyes, the slope of her nose, those plump lips. Fuck, every inch of her is perfection.
Her brows knit together, and she gives me an inquisitive look. “You’re staring.”
Can’t help it. I smirk. “You’re beautiful.”
A dark shade of crimson coats her warm brown skin, and she quickly turns away to face the ceiling. It’s the first time I’ve been so forward, but I’m done beating around the bush. Acting like I hate her and this situation we’re both in. I don’t anymore. She’s all I want, and I’m going to make damn sure that she knows that.
She remains silent for a moment, still gazing at the ceiling. “It’s late,” she finally says, her voice soft and vulnerable, before she twists her body to face away from me. “I should probably go to sleep.”
She doesn’t want to talk about it, that’s fine by me. I’m a patient man. I can wait. For her, I can wait. I sigh softly, reaching out to switch off the lamp, but as soon as the room goes dark, she reacts with a gasp.
“No,” I hear her cry out, her voice trembling.
I quickly flip the lights back on. “What’s wrong?” I ask her, my voice filled with worry.
Madeline sits on the bed, curled up, shaking her head. “Don’t turn off the lights. Please,” she begs. Madeline has never begged me for anything, never asked for anything. My brows knit together as worry starts to take over.
“Okay,” I reassure her. “I won’t turn them off.”
She lies back down, her gaze meeting mine. Tears well up in her eyes, a single droplet tracing a path down her cheek. My heart aches at the sight. I’ve only seen Madeline cry once before – in the elevator when it went dark. I didn’t even know her, and even then, her tears were painful to watch. But now, it’s a thousand times worse.
“What happened to you, Madeline?” I ask softly, my heart pounding against my chest.
She shakes her head again, more tears spilling down her face. “Nothing,” she whispers.
“Bullshit.” I inch closer to her, my hands hovering in the air for a moment, aching to comfort her, to feel her soft skin beneath my fingertips. But then I remember that she doesn’t want me to touch her, so I clutch the comforter instead. “Tell me what happened.”
She doesn’t respond as she turns away from me again, facing the other direction. I’m left staring at the back of her head as I hear her shaky exhale. I close my eyes, feeling utterly helpless, wishing she’d let me in.
I wake up with a scream.
I bolt upright in my bed, my heart pounding in my chest when I hear Madeline thrashing against the tangled sheets, her body contorted in terror.
“What the hell?” I mutter, panicking as I fumble against the dimly lit room.
I glance toward Madeline, seeing her face twisted in anguish, her moans of terror alerting me. “Let me out,” she shouts. Her cries intensify, growing more desperate with each passing second.
“Madeline?” I say, my voice quaking when I hear her crying. “Madeline, wake up. It’s me, Lucas.”
“Please,” she cries again, her voice cracking with raw emotion. My heart aches as I watch her suffer, and I can’t take it any longer. I reach for her, my hands trembling as I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her toward me.
I hold her tightly, my arms wrapped around her trembling form. Her eyes remain shut, but I can still see the torment painted across her face.
“Madeline,” I say again, more urgently this time. My thumb brushes against her cheek, and I cradle the back of her neck. “Madeline, it’s me. Open your eyes.”
I feel the tension in her body slowly dissipating as I continue to hold her, my thumb stroking her cheek in an attempt to soothe her. “Madeline, please,” I murmur softly, pressing my lips against her forehead. “You’re safe. You’re with me. It was just a bad dream. Open your eyes, baby. Please.”
Her cries begin to wane as her eyes flutter. She blinks at me, confusion and fear lingering in her gaze. It takes a moment for her to fully take in her surroundings. “Lucas?” she whispers, her voice shaky and fragile.
I nod, relief washing over me like a tidal wave. “Yeah, Mads, it’s me,” I tell her. “You’re safe now. It was just a nightmare.”
Madeline’s breathing steadies, and she clings to me, wrapping her arms tightly around my waist. My heart races, thudding loudly against my chest, and a warmth spreads through me.
She’s so soft and warm. I can’t help but revel in the way her body fits perfectly against mine like we’re two missing puzzle pieces finally finding each other. Her eyes fall closed as she settles back into sleep, not daring to let go of me, and I let out a content sigh, resting my chin on her head as I fall into one of the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had.
