and I wouldn’t mind making life unpleasant for him.”
Okay, maybe that shouldn’t make me curious, but I leaned forward to peer around the doorframe at the man who stood in front of another door, keycard in hand but not going in. He was glaring at Kestrel like he wanted to report him.
Yeah. The hotel was fairly expensive and catered to a certain clientele. Part of the reason I’d booked here, even if most of the company was staying at a different hotel.
That, and Eric didn’t have any access to my room here.
Win-win in my book.
“Yeah, you should definitely come in.” I made the mistake of clasping his arm, and at his sharp look, I released him, even as I backed up. “Or not… I just don’t want you to have to deal with hotel security that guy is likely to send up here.”
When in doubt, fall back on manners, grace, and privilege. My mother drilled that into me from the day I could learn to talk. It didn’t matter what I thought or wanted, they expected me to demonstrate a certain level of confidence and behavior, particularly in public. That included not making scenes or causing a disturbance of any kind. It also meant taking control of any situation.
And fuck it, I didn’t want to think about either of my parents right now.
Kestrel eyed me from the doorframe, the warmth leaching from his eyes to be replaced by something far colder and infinitely more dangerous. With one glance to his left, he got rid of the man eyeing him. I didn’t even need the sound of the door closing echoing down the hallway to know the man had fled that look.
I should probably want to flee that look. But I preferred it.
While Kestrel had been unfailingly polite to me, he hadn’t hidden the darker side of him, and I preferred to see it on display. It reminded me that everyone was dangerous and I knew better than to trust them. But I’d invited him into my suite, and I intended to go with it.
If he was going to attack me, he’d have done it by now. Most of the predators I’d contended with didn’t give me days to get used to them.
My stomach rolled at the thought, and I turned away, the paper bag filled with sinful delight clutched in my hands. The suite wasn’t much more than a little sitting room with a sofa that turned out into a bed and a separate bedroom with an oversized queen bed in it. Both rooms had huge televisions, and there was a little kitchen type area that I barely used except to make tea when I got back here at night.
By the time I sat back on the sofa, Kestrel had actually come inside and he closed the door, then threw the security bar over the top and checked the bolt. I caught him prowling the room, checking the bathroom then the bedroom, like he expected someone to jump out at him.
“I’m by myself,” I reminded him, not that it was any of his business if I hadn’t been. But ugh, no thank you. The only one likely to have tried to be in here was Eric, and I’d worked hard to make sure he had no idea what hotel I was at.
Between the new lock on my dressing room door, the tech running interference for me at the theatre, and Kestrel making sure he didn’t let anyone hitch a ride in my car, I’d had probably the best four days on this whole damn tour. Cross-legged, I bit into the burger and closed my eyes at the meat explosion in my mouth.
I was pretty sure I moaned.
Also pretty damn sure I wasn’t remotely going to be embarrassed about it. He had no idea how long it had been since the last time someone smuggled me real food. The only concession I made was to chew it really slowly. I made sure to make every single bite count. I would fill up fast, but I could save at least half or more for after the show and just gorge on fries now.
They were less than tasty after they got cold.
On my third fry, I glanced over to find Kestrel leaning against the door to the suite, arms folded, staring at me with a frown.
“You could sit down,” I offered around a mouthful of fries. Well, that was attractive.
“I’m good right here,” he told me. The friendliness from earlier seemed to have