Hotel O

“I don’t care,” I say.

“Hmm …” he hums, rubbing his lips together. “We’ll see once you get there.”

Chapter 23

Declan

When she steps into my office, I’m surprised.

I was hoping she might change her mind. That she might reconsider, but she hasn’t. And here she is.

“Well, well, well …” I say, folding my hands behind my head.

“I’m here,” she says, placing her bag in the corner of the room.

“Yes, you are.” I bite my lip at the sight of her short pink skirt and black crop top. I like it.

“So what now?” she asks, crossing her arms as she swivels her hips sideways.

Damn, I like the view a lot from here.

Still, I’m worried about her. She’s far too serious, too headstrong, and she has no idea what’s about to happen to her.

“Now,” I say as I pull out a paper and place it down on the desk. “You sign this.”

“What is it?” she asks.

“A form to make sure you don’t sue us when you don’t like what happens,” I reply.

She stares at me for a few seconds, and judging from the look she’s giving me, she isn’t sure whether I’m serious. But I’m dead serious.

After a few seconds have passed, she walks to the desk, picks up the pen, and casually scribbles her signature at the bottom of the document along with her name.

“Done,” she says, pushing it back toward me.

“You decide quickly,” I say.

“It’s a shorter document than last time,” she replies.

A smirk forms on my lips. “That one was an application form. This one is what comes after it.”

“Oh,” she muses. “So I don’t even have to apply. Are you playing favorites?”

“I like to cut to the chase,” I say, winking. Then I pick up the document and briefly scan over it. “So is this your real last name?”

Her eyes widen and her lips part, but it takes her a while to respond. “Why would you ask that?”

“Because you have two phone numbers. Figured you probably wouldn’t give me your real last name either.”

She doesn’t say a word. Caught in the act, huh?

“It’s okay,” I say. “You don’t trust me. I understand.”

“I never said—”

“You don’t have to say anything,” I interrupt. “I know.”

I’m tired of the anger, the fear. If I want her to trust me, I should start by trusting her myself.

I clear my throat, and ask, “Did you bring the doctor’s bill of health?”

She produces it from her pocket. “I blacked out my name,” she says. “But it’s mine. You can see the address.”

“I know,” I say, quickly looking it over. “On the pill?”

“Yes,” she says.

“Good.” I put both documents in a drawer and pull out another one. “Here’s my clean bill of health.”

She briefly looks over the document for a second before sliding it back. “And now?” she asks.

I tuck the paper away and get up from the chair. “Let’s go.”

“Where?” she asks, still trying to pull herself together after I’ve clearly caught her in a lie.

“Follow me,” I say, nodding at her before opening the door.

She grabs her bag and walks behind me as I take the lead. Stepping into the elevator, I use my card to take us to the VIP floor. Once she steps inside, the doors close. The silence is … deafening. The closer we get, the more my heart begins to race. Not only because she’s so very near, and I’m actually fantasizing about kissing her right now … but also because of what’s about to happen next.

I wonder if she’ll be happy. Excited. Upset. Or maybe even mad.

She’s the only girl who’s ever gone up here without knowing what her purpose is. Every client who’s up here knows exactly why they’re here, along with every other staff member.

Except her.

She’s not a part of this hotel nor a part of its clientele.

She’s something … different. Something … special. Like a secret no one else knows about. Something that belongs to me and me alone. And now I’m about to share it.

Kat

We walk through a corridor of endless doors, one after the other. I wonder what’s happening behind each one of them. If these are just exclusive hotel rooms or if they’re used for something else.

I haven’t stopped being excited since last night. I couldn’t even sleep; that’s how much I was looking forward to seeing all the other things that go down in Hotel O. Kinky shit, I’m sure. And I can’t wait to find out.

He stops in front of a door and steps aside, beckoning me to come closer. “Look.”

I frown, stepping closer, unsure of what he wants.

“Go on,” he says, nodding toward the door. “Have a look.”

I stand in front of it, but there’s nothing to see. Just a dark, wooden door with a red circle right underneath the handle that says occupied.

Declan positions himself right behind me, moving his hand up to a metallic slider at the top.