“You’re not getting out of socializing, Alexei. You’re the COO,remember?”
Alexei snorted. “Think Iforget?”
Sean shot him a look as he palmed open the door to the master bedroom. “I wouldhopenot.”
On first glance, the master bedroom suite was bigger than his bedroom back home, though that wasn’t hard to accomplish. Alexei’s apartment could fit in the penthouse suite with room to spare. He eyed the king-sized bed with its mound of pillows and soft-looking sheets and duvet. The bed was probably soft as hell; his back hurt just looking at it. The furniture was a dark mahogany color offset by the plush beige carpet beneath their feet. The accent wall was painted a deep, cobalt blue, a shade hinted at throughout the room’sdesign.
Their two large suitcases were propped up against the wall near the walk-in closet. Alexei and Sean apparently needed more clothes to match their status, and Jamie had helpfully offered up his credit account again, splurging on several new suits for each of them. The only things Alexei had brought with him out of his closet were his swimming trunks and pajamas, but he wasn’t getting into those until after he’deaten.
“Place is clean and we’re in the clear!” Annabelle called out from the middle of thesuite.
That was one less thing to worry about. Figuring out where everyone was going to sleep was the nextthing.
“Can call for second bed?” Alexei asked as he approached the room’s only bed and prodded at the mattress with one hand. Definitelytoosoft.
Sean tipped over one of the suitcases and pressed his thumb to the biolock to open it. “No, wecan’t.”
“Is penthouse suite. Are special guests. Can get whateverwewant.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re calling for an extra bed.” Sean stood up with an armful of garment bags. “Chloe thinks we’re acouple.”
“She not here to see us becouple.”
“The casino has a private maid who comes through here every day. We can’t know she won’t report back to them about whatshesees.”
“So where Isleep?”
Sean shrugged as he stepped into the walk-in closet to hang up his suits. “The bed is big enough for the both of us. You keep to one side and I’ll keep to theother.”
Alexei knew how he slept sprawled across a bed. What’s more, he knew how he slept when he shared it with someone—wrapped around them as if they were his magnetic north. Somehow, he didn’t think Sean would appreciate waking uplikethat.
“Okay,” hereluctantlysaid.
“It’ll be fine. I promise Idon’tkick.”
Alexei didn’t say anything to that, still taking in the spacious room. The curtains were pulled across the windows for privacy, hiding them from the outside world. His gaze tracked over every corner of the room, which was how he noticed the thin lines in the ceiling above the bed. The rectangular shapes spoke of something hidden behind the panels. He wondered if it was a second flatscreen. People in Las Vegas were exceptionally lazy if they couldn’t be bothered to lift their heads and look at the one above thedresser.
“Computer, open ceiling,” heordered.
His eyes widened as the ceiling panels parted down the center, revealing a large mirror the size of the bed itself. The panels locked into place, his face reflecting back at him in the mirror as he stared up at it insurprise.
“That’s…unexpected.”
He looked over at Sean, who was staring at the mirror with an unreadable expression on his face. He didn’t seem embarrassed by it, but Alexei couldn’t not tease him, offering up an exaggerated leer. “Still okay toshare?”
Sean rolled his eyes, but couldn’t hide his smile fast enough, despite ducking his head as he knelt to dig through the suitcase again. He came up with a pair of swimming shorts that he forcefullyshookout.
“I need to get downstairs. Sodoyou.”
“Food not here yet,” Alexeipointedout.
“Eat, then join us downstairs, but don’t taketoolong.”
Sean locked himself in the swanky bathroom to change. Alexei left the bedroom to prowl over the rest of the suite, ignoring the rich splendor in favor of figuring out the controls for the windows to check the privacy-modeonthem.
“Already got it set,” Madison told him as she sprawled in a chair at the round dining table nestled between the long bar and several window panels. “Where’s yourotherhalf?”
“Sean is not other half,”Alexeisaid.
