Layla blinked, astounded that Dusk had sent Rikyava to her rooms. But it made sense that Dusk would be some kind of empath with his vibrational magic, able to sense how Layla was feeling tonight. It would explain a lot about how he dealt so effortlessly with the needs of guests. A small smile lifted her lips, wondering what he had felt – but grateful he had. Unlocking her doors, Layla hauled one open to see the Head Guardswoman standing there with her cascades of blonde hair brushed out over one shoulder. Rather than her usual, Rikyava wore a quilted robe of violet silk with a high collar and draping sleeves, very much like Layla’s own sleep-robe. With a frown pinching her straight blonde brows, the Head Guardswoman gave a concerned smile.
“Are you all right, Layla?” As Layla opened her door, she saw Rikyava’s violet gaze brisk past her to the room, the woman’s hands raising as if they’d go to weapons, though she wore none tonight. Layla felt Rikyava’s energy swirl up around her, hot like a charring battlefield.
“It’s fine; I’m all right.” Layla held up her phone. “But I can’t get through to my friends. They’re worried sick about me. How do I contact them?”
Rikyava’s blonde brows rose and she blinked. “Security at the Hotel prevents any outside contact until you have your weeklong vacation. Did no one explain that to you yet?”
“It must have slipped everyone’s minds in all the excitement.” Layla growled, crossing her arms, her phone still in hand. It seemed to her a grievous oversight that even Dusk had forgot to mention she’d not be able to contact her friends or anyone else outside the Hotel until her first vacation. That was still three weeks away, and Layla felt a simmering rage rise inside her, aware that someone had severely dropped the ball during her orientation.
“Your closest connections should have been contacted by the Hotel already, to assure them you are fine. Somebodyseriouslyfucked up. Hang on.” Rikyava gave a frown, something strange moving through her eyes as her words practically echoed Layla’s thoughts. Closing her eyes, Rikyava’s blonde eyelashes fluttered. As if speaking to someone, her lips made soundless motions. At last, she surfaced from her sudden trance. “Dusk is taking care of it. I had to interrupt his… leisure time, but he’s solving it. The duty of calling your friends was left to someone in Staffing Resources who has not been performing well recently. I have a feeling they’re going to get canned over this; it wasn’t supposed to happen. On behalf of the Hotel, Dusk and Ideeplyapologize for any stress it may have caused, Layla. It won’t happen again.”
“Tell that to my friends.” Layla spoke, holding up her phone. But Rikyava’s words were reassuring, and it put Layla’s mind more at-ease to know that she wasn’t going to be held hostage here or anything. Hotel security was clearly fierce against anyone spilling the beans about the establishment to the outside world, and Layla suddenly wondered how much of her new experiences she’d be able to tell her friends even when she did speak to them. But even as she wondered it, another call came in, from Luke. Layla tried answering it but it went straight to voicemail, which was probably the Hotel’s complex security systems at work.
Listening, Layla heard his message.
Layla, thank god! We just had a call from the Hotel, and your boss Dusk assured me everything is fine. Apparently, you’ll be able to call me in three weeks? God, I had no idea they were working you so hard you wouldn’t have time to call! Anyway, Dusk said you performed well on your first day, and gave me details that could only have been you, giving him hell. I’m relieved. But I miss – I mean, we all miss you. Give em’ hell tomorrow. Call us when you can.
A smile curled Layla’s lips. The relief in Luke’s voice was palpable, though he wasn’t one to easily unwind. He’d probably still fret about it all night. Something about that thought made Layla sad and Rikyava must have felt it because she reached out, taking Layla’s fingers and giving them a squeeze. “Dusk take care of it?”
“Dusk called them.” Layla nodded, blowing out a breath. “I had a problem—”
“And he solved it.” Rikyava’s grin was eloquent. “Dusk is a master at his position. Even though he pisses me off, I don’t know how the Hotel would function without him. Everything ok now?”
Layla was about to say yes, when she realized it wasn’t. She paused and in that pause, Rikyava gave her a knowing smile. “Hey – mind if I come in for a bit? You seem like you could use some company.”
“That’d be great, actually.” Layla gave a half-laugh and stepped back, opening her door wide. Dusk had solved two problems for her tonight, she realized as Rikyava moved into the room with a kind smile. He’d not only fixed the issue of Layla’s friends as soon as it had been discovered, but he’d sent the one person Layla had truly connected with at the Hotel right to her door. Again, Rikyava’s gaze tracked to every corner of the room before the woman relaxed.
But as her gaze fell upon Layla’s bed, she suddenly gave a startled laugh.
“What?” Shutting the door, Layla glanced over and saw what Rikyava had laughed at. A little gold-embossed box tied with a crimson bow sat on Layla’s pillows, right in the center. Rikyava chuckled again and her smile became sly, like a naughty girl out too late.
“What the hell is that?” Layla glanced from Rikyava to the box.
“Dusk, up to his usual tricks.” Moving to the gargantuan bed, Rikyava flopped down on it, seizing the small box from the pillows. “Bastard knows I have a weakness for chocolates. They’re fromTout Chocolat,the finest chocolatier in all of Julis – which is the Twilight Realm city of Paris. Plus, he knows I just got off shift, so he apparently set us up to hang out tonight. Would you like to share these?” Rikyava smiled more, reckless as she held up the little box and shook it.
“How could I say no to chocolate?” Layla smiled, realizing Dusk was an evil genius. She grinned as Rikyava shook the box at her again, suddenly feeling like they were having a slumber party. As Rikyava gave a bright, naughty smile and opened the box, Layla flopped to the bed and kicked off her heels. Putting their heads together as they peered inside the box, Layla saw four chocolate bonbons with differing decorations, the box tall enough for four more beneath.
“Those are my favorite,” Rikyava pointed at a dark chocolate bonbon with candied ginger on top. “It’s a ginger creme, with candied ginger pieces. Fucking decadent.”
“You should have that.” Layla fished it out, handing it over. “So Dusk set us up, huh?”
“He reads people’s vibrations.” Rikyava nodded as she took the bonbon. “Goes with being a Crystal Dragon. They read earth-vibrations, people-vibrations, even fucking star-pulses if they get strong enough. Dusk can feel people’s moods shift through their vibrations. He probably felt you were lonely; probably felt it coming for hours. He’s a little shit sometimes, but sometimes he’s thoughtful in ways no other guy can match.”
Layla smiled. Clearly, Dusk was an enigma. Fishing out a dark chocolate bonbon with red striping, Layla discovered it was raspberry, her favorite. As she bit into it, she paused, reveling in the heavenly flavor as Rikyava chuckled knowingly beside her. The bonbon was like Rake’s drinks – mellow and producing a lovely euphoria that caused Layla’s tension to sigh away like a summer breeze.
“And you and Dusk can form some kind of telepathic link?” Layla asked as soon as she could speak again.
Rikyava nodded, biting into her own chocolate with a deep sigh of contentment. “It’s mostly him. Through the Hotel’s security systems, Dusk can attune his vibrations to people who regularly come and go here. That’s why your first action in any bad situation should be to think of him as hard as you can. But Dusk and I have worked with each other so much, he can feel my thoughts if I send hard enough, and he can send responses back to me. He’s technically our first line of security around here, though the Guard have our own warning systems if anything goes wrong.”
“So, are you and Dusk—” The words slipped out of Layla before she could put them back.
“An item?” Rikyava laughed merrily, biting into her bonbon. “No! Definitely not. He rubbed me the wrong way from the moment I started here, and we’ve been busting each other’s balls ever since. It’s a Dragon thing. Though he manages to piss me off constantly, I respect him. He’s impeccable at his job, and the teasing – well, that’s just Dusk. Plus, he has like a billion lovers. Dusk’s sex life is complicated, and I’m not that patient.” Rikyava grinned. Her first chocolate finished, she reached her fingers in for another. “Mind if I—?”
“Help yourself.” Layla grinned, gesturing at the box. “So Dusk has a lot of women?”
“Plenty. That man could get pussy in Siberia. Or dick.” Rikyava took another chocolate – the other ginger cream.
“He swings both ways?” Layla blinked, something about that making perfect sense.
