AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A laugh rumbles in his chest just as the doors slide open. He winks and steps ahead of me, moving out into the hall. "I could never be your friend." I think I hear him mumble the words under his breath, but I can't be certain what he said exactly. I don't question him on it as Leo leads the way to my suite and pauses outside of the door, waiting for me. Rolling my eyes at him, I wave him to the side and he takes a step out of the way as I scan my key card and the lock clicks. I open the door and Leo pushes it open farther, holding it for me as I step inside.
"Jesus, you weren't lying about how cold it is in here," he muses out loud as he follows me into the main part of the suite. He glances at the thermostat that is on the wall in the small hallway. "It's fucking sixty degrees in here. This is absolute bullshit. How do they put someone in a room with a broken thermostat and expect you to stay in here for a week?"
I turn and give him a knowing look. "Calm down. I already agreed to sleep in your room."
He crosses his arms over his chest, mumbling something under his breath again as he walks across the room and stands by the window. His body is tense as he stares out at the city as I begin to pack my things. "Do you need any help?" he asks without looking at me.
"I'm fine, but thank you," I say softly as I start packing my stuff back into my bags. It's bad enough that I made the mistake of sleeping with him the first night we were here. I don't need him going through my underwear as I shove them into my suitcase. It's unfortunate that he's going to be stuck with me in his space now. I finish packing all my stuff and zip up the suitcase before I start to pull it off the bed. Leo doesn't interrupt but I can see the irritation written across his face as he watches me struggle to lift the heavy object. I told him I didn't need his help and I'm quite certain not helping is killing him.
As I grab my other two bags, Leo lets out the most exaggerated, exasperated sigh. "Can I please carry something for you?"
Turning my body, I face him head-on as I pull my bag over my shoulder. "I think I should be able to get it all myself."
"Aria," he groans, his voice low, almost like a warning. His eyelids fall shut, his chest rising as he inhales deeply and rakes a frustrated hand through his hair. "Please just let me get it."
"I don't need your help, Leo," I tell him as I try to brush off the irritation that laces inside me. He's done more than enough for me already. I grab my other bag and set it on top of my suitcase. Leo's brown eyes meet mine as I begin to walk in his direction and go to move around him. "I am perfectly capable of getting everything myself. I'm already imposing enough by coming to stay in your room, so please, just let me do this."
Leo reaches out, his hand grabbing my wrist as he pulls me around to look at him. "You are not imposing. I told you to come stay with me. I wouldn't have offered my room if I didn't want you in there."
His comment is a little unexpected. He made it clear that last night was a one-night thing, and I'm fine with that. It's better if we keep things that way, even if I do catch myself thinking of him. It just confuses me, the fact that he offered his room because he wants me in there, not just to be nice. I swallow roughly. "Why would you want me in there?"
He slowly brushes his thumb back and forth along the underside of my wrist. His voice drops to an even softer tone, one that reaches deep inside me and soothes my soul. "Because then I don't have to worry about you."
I can't help myself as a soft laugh escapes me. Part of it is from the nervousness he awakens inside me, along with how caught off guard I am right now. I shake my head at him in disbelief. "Since when do you worry about what I'm doing?"
There's a significant shift in Leo. His body grows rigid and his hand drops my wrist. The muscle in his jaw tightens and he shakes his head as he fixes his lips into an indifferent smile. "I don't."
"Leo," I start, guilt instantly sliding through my veins as I see him becoming detached. He was being vulnerable with me and I fucking ruined it.
He doesn't even look at me as he directs his own gaze down to the floor. "Come on, let's go," he mutters as he takes my suitcase from me and begins to wheel it out of my room.
I follow after him, the guilt cloaking me as I give my room one more glance before following him out into the hall and down to his room. Leo's already there, but he doesn't bother to hold the door open for me. He has it propped open with the doorstop. I watch him as he lifts my suitcase into the air, the muscles in his arms rippling as he sets it down on the bed. He slowly turns, his face void of any emotion. His eyes meet mine for the briefest second. "There's room in the closet and half of the dresser is empty. You can take the bed, I'll sleep on the couch."
"Leo, stop," I call out as he moves past, careful not to brush against me. He walks three more steps, putting as much distance between us before finally turning back to face me. "Where are you going?"
He stares at me for a moment, like he's trying to decide what move he should make next. I watch as his shoulders fall ever so slightly. If I weren’t studying him, if I didn't know the way his body moved, I would have missed it. A sigh escapes him, his body relaxing even more. "I'm going to go get dinner. Do you want to come with me?"
I want to, but I don't know if it's wise. Things are already getting blurry between the two of us. It feels like I'm staring at the rest of the world with my eyes open underwater. When I look at him, everything comes back into focus. I can see him clearly, while everything else appears muddled. This is a business arrangement. We aren't friends, and we'll certainly never be anything more than this. I can't live my life hanging on to the hope that lingers in his tone and his gaze. We gave in to our temptation and it isn’t something that will ever blossom. There is no room between us for it to grow.
All there is, is tension and lingering gazes.
I shake my head at him. "Thanks for the offer, but I think I'm just going to order room service."
Leo nods, half rolling his eyes as he gives me a bored look like he doesn't care. "Order whatever you'd like, it will be charged to the room."
"I'll pay for whatever charges are incurred while I'm staying with you."
He stares at me for a moment, his lips parting like he's going to say something, but he doesn’t. Instead, he clamps them shut and turns back around, walking directly to the door. As he pulls it open, he looks back at me one last time. “The other key is on the dresser if you go out. I’ll be back sometime tonight.”
I nod but don’t say anything more to him. He doesn’t need to tell me where he is going or when he’ll be back. None of that concerns me. I turn back to the bed, listening as the door closes behind him, and he's suddenly gone. It feels strange being in his space, even if this isn't where he lives. This is still his home for the week while we're over here and I can't help but feel like I really have inserted myself where I don't belong.
Unzipping my suitcase, I begin to unpack my stuff and organize it all in the closet and the empty dresser drawers. I look around the room and notice how orderly Leo keeps everything. He doesn't have clothes lying on the floor and everything seems to have its own designated place in his suite. The bed is made and the room almost doesn't even seem like it's occupied by anyone. I step into the walk-in closet and find a place for all of my things before heading into the bathroom. I tuck my things inside the vanity cabinet and head back into the suite.
I stare at the bed for a second and frown as I head over to the other closet. I can't sleep in Leo's bed and I'm not going to make him sleep on the couch. Pulling out the pillows and blankets, I carry them over to the loveseat before setting them down on top of it. It's not going to be a comfortable place to sleep, but not a single part of this is comfortable anymore.
Not only am I skating with my enemy, but now I’m sleeping with him…
Literally.
