The murmuring sound of the busy lobby echoed in the open space. Sleek elevators opened and closed. Guests waited to be checked-in at the long desk on the far wall. Complete normalcy filled the grand hotel.
Until my eyes met his. At the center of the room, near the extravagant fireplace, stood my rockstar. The dark lashes that lined the pale green of his eyes lowered as his gaze raked across every inch of my body.
I wasn’t sure what was with me, but I half expected the gold specks to return and verged on disappointed when they didn't.
My bare feet shifted slightly against the cool tile and Alex’s mouth parted as he looked from me to the man standing just a few yards away. A long sigh left his chest as he glared at the heavy interest the man was giving me.
“Yeah, you’re a look of total modesty all right,” Alex mumbled under his breath.
To test the gods, I didn’t wander over to the rockstar. As if setting an elaborate trap, I simply waited to see if he would come to me. My attention trailed over the pretty details of the chandeliers above, the fine cut of the glass, the way the light splayed across the room. I looked anywhere but at him and to tempt the sin a little more, my fingers began to toy with the top of my robe, pulling at it and moving it, shifting it until it drove even myself mad.
“What’s your name?” The sound of his voice was like honey over velvet. Smooth and warm, comforting and commanding all at once.
If one more person called me Dora I was going to lose my mind on the first day back.
“Hope. My name’s Hope.”
And after the sins were released into the world, all that was left was Hope.
How fitting.
The angles of the man’s jaw held his smile in a dark and malicious way. It wasn’t a look of happiness at all, really.
I looked up into the slicing pale colors that streaked through his beautiful eyes. He truly was a mortal who would make the gods envious.
“My name’s Ashton St. James.” His tongue snuck across his lips as he slipped his warm hand into mine.
He held my hand firmly in his as he took a confident step closer until the ends of my robe brushed against his dark jeans.
Ashton St. James.
Alex was wrong; I definitely knew sin when it was right in front of me
Chapter Five
Another man joined Ashton. The other man’s hair was short, blonde, and tidy, not at all like the mess of dark locks that fell across Ashton’s lashes. The two seemed to be friends but total opposites. An accent rushed the other man’s words as he spoke about media and connections and things that he seemed to say too quickly for my mind to find a meaning to. His words had a pretty air to them. Light and alluring. I remained silent while to two of them checked the other man’s phone for something before Ashton’s gaze drifted back to me.
“We’re staying in town for a few weeks. What about you? You from out of town?” He still stood only inches away, his bare arm that was covered in swooping ink brushed against mine.
“Yeah … I’m from out of town.”
Way. Out. Of. Town.
The other man’s attention skimmed over me for less than a second before he typed furiously away on his phone again.
“This is my friend, Zavier. You might have heard of him, he’s responsible for the Finder app.”
I tried to keep the confused look from my face as they both waited for some sign of recognition.
The Finder app. Is that impressive?
It’s supposed to be impressive. I think.
“Wow,” I said with a nod. “Finder. Yeah. Impressive.” Basic one-word replies were all I had. This was turning into a mess.
“I have to get back to my room. I’m feeling a little indecent.” A smirk touched my lips when I heard Alex laugh loudly from behind me before smothering the sound with a gruff cough.
Both of them paused on that statement, their gazes trailing warmly across my thighs before meeting my eyes again.
