Ryan (Mallick Brothers 2)

So when Ryan reached inside and offered me his hand, I put my clammy one in it and internally freaked the hell out about him feeling said clammy hand, but I still climbed out of the car and I still went with him as he led me away. Not to the big front desk area I could see through the sparkling glass doors though. He led me over toward the side of the building where there was another entrance, more understated, with the word "residents" over it.

He was a resident?

Who the hell was a resident of a very expensive hotel but had an apartment too? I didn't know a heck of a lot about the topic, but I knew residents of hotels paid an arm and a leg to live there.

"Mr. Mallick!" the girl behind the desk in a very formfitting gray dress that was professional, but clung to her large hips and chest in a way that bordered on risqué greeted him with a beaming red-lipstick smile.

And there I was in leggings and a roomy sweatshirt without a lick of makeup on with bruises, scratches, and a swollen freaking eye.

Lovely.

It had been so long since I worried about things like appearances that the insecurity came on me like a kick to the stomach. I ducked my head, letting my hair fall like a curtain as Ryan greeted the girl by name and promptly led me away toward a golden elevator where he put a keycard into to access.

It wasn't until we were nestled inside that he spoke to me again. "Sorry, but the elevator is the fastest way to the top floor," he supplied, his tone apologetic. "Hey, look at me, honey," he demanded a moment later when I just kept studying the very shiny marble floor. "Dusty," he attempted again, snagging my chin and forcing my face up. "You're not panicking," he said, as if he was ruling out what could possibly be wrong with me.

And, well, it was never smart to tell a guy you just started seeing that you were having a bout of insecurity because of some pretty desk attendant at a hotel. If there was one thing guys were sure to hate, it was pointless insecurity.

Goes without saying I think she's gorgeous if I'm dating her, y'know? That was what Bry had said when he bitched about the girl he was seeing asking him all the time if he was looking at other girls and comparing her to them.

"I'm alright," I allowed, listening to the floors ding as we passed them. "Rocky..." I said, suddenly remembering him and feeling like a really crummy pet owner.

"Mark and the porter will bring everything up. Mark has a key," he added.

Porter.

You knew a place was fancy when they called a bellhop a porter.

I looked up as we hit a longer ding, indicating the floor and saw the little readout saying PH.

Penthouse? Seriously?

"Here we go," he said, stepping out into the doorway and holding an arm out for me.

I half-expected to walk into the penthouse itself, but it was a hall that had a door on each side.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked as the heaviness started in my chest again. I needed to distract myself as Ryan slipped the keycard into the door and it bleeped.

"Sure."

"Why do you have a penthouse residence at a hotel when you have an apartment?"

He let out a low chuckle as he opened the door and went inside. "It's not technically mine. We all, my brothers and my parents, put into this place. Just in case we ever needed or just wanted a place away."

Their 'place away' was almost ostentatious.

The whole back wall was floor-to-ceiling windows that looked over the Navesink River. The whole space had an open floor plan from the living space that featured a huge fireplace with seating room in front of it to the dining space to the kitchen. Everything had the same warm tan, white, and brown swirled marble as the elevator from the floors to the kitchen counters. The furniture was all neutrals- white accent chairs, beige couch, medium wood tables.

"Come on, you want a bath?" he asked, knowing I had a hell of a morning. It was a little thing, but it meant something to me regardless.

"Yeah," I agreed, letting out a long-held breath as he took my hand and led me down the hall.

There was a half bath to the right along with a bedroom. But he took me to the left and into the master suite. It had the same color scheme and a giant bed across from a massive TV with no wires hanging anywhere.

Then there was the master bath. And, well, it was the stuff of dreams. There was more of the same marble on the floors and in the walk-in glass shower. There was a double vanity with huge mirrors and overhead lighting. And, finally, the tub. If I thought my soaking tub was nice, and it was because I spent a lot of time researching it, then this one was extraordinary. In fact, I was pretty sure three people could sit in it comfortably. And it wasn't a whirlpool, a personal hatred of mine. It was just a massive soaking tub.