Chapter 406: Presidential Suite

Hotel staff came at them the moment they entered the lobby.

Two of them tried to lead them away from the entrance and the noise still leaking in from outside. Bennett almost followed, then stopped. Other guests were already walking toward the front desk. She did not want the place getting louder than it already was.

She waited.

Her eyes went back to Lucas.

He looked calm. Too calm for a man who had just put a hotel bouncer on the ground.

In her head, it was obvious. He was a tourist. Rich, maybe. But still a man who had walked into Itary and thrown someone without blinking. He clearly did not know who he had brushed past outside.

Chiara.

The country’s favorite actress. Awards. Posters. Interviews. The kind of face people recognized even behind sunglasses. Half that crowd outside had been there for her, and Lucas had looked at her like she was just blocking the door.

No fear. No interest. Nothing.

And the other part kept bothering Bennett.

That bouncer had not been small. Tall. Thick. Built like he threw people for a living. Six-three at least. Lucas had yanked him off the ground like it cost him nothing.

Bennett stayed quiet and watched him.

Lucas did not look around for stares. He did not check if people were still watching. He just stood there, waiting, like the whole thing was already over.

When the desk cleared, Bennett stepped forward.

The receptionist looked up. Her eyes caught on Lucas a second too long before she forced them back down.

Bennett put her card on the counter.

"Presidential suite."

The receptionist’s fingers paused on the keyboard.

"Y-yes. Of course."

She processed it fast, then reached for payment.

Bennett moved her card forward.

Lucas got there first.

He pushed her card back and put his own down.

"No. Take this."

Bennett turned.

"Lucas~"

"You’ve already spent enough on this trip," he said. "Let me handle it."

She started to argue, then stopped. The way he said it left little room.

The receptionist looked between them, face a little warm, and checked the screen.

"Um... okay. That’s two point one million euro."

Her voice came out softer.

Lucas barely reacted.

A system window opened in front of him.

[Ding!]

Detected that the host is conversing with a member of the opposite sex.

Binding successful!

Personal Information

Name: Giulia Romano

Age: 25

Favorability toward host: 35

Current Relationship Status: Unmarried

Beauty score: 9.1

Lucas read it once and let it go.

Giulia swiped the card.

Another notification followed.

2.1 million spent.

x10 rebate triggered.

21 million received.

Lucas smiled to himself.

He had not planned that. He also did not mind.

A staff member took their bags and led them to the private lift. The hallway was quiet. Thick carpet. Soft lights. Money built into the walls.

When the suite opened, the room stretched wide.

City lights filled the windows. The living space was open and clean, long couches, dark wood, fresh flowers near the door. A dining table sat to one side. Further in, the bedroom held a bed big enough to look unnecessary, white sheets already turned down. The bathroom door was half open, marble and glass catching the light, a deep tub against the wall.

Bennett let out a breath when the staff left.

"Long day."

Lucas nodded.

She rubbed her neck, tiredness finally showing in the way her shoulders dropped.

"I need a bath. And food after."

"Go ahead."

Bennett took a towel from the shelf and paused at the bathroom door for half a second, like her body had noticed the privacy of the suite before her mind caught up. Then she went in.

That was the strange part.

She felt comfortable around him. More than she should. Shy, yes. Aware of him every time he moved, yes. But not stiff the way she usually got with clients once the door closed and the job stopped feeling public. The lock clicked. Water started soon after.

Lucas sat by the window and opened his phone.

Messages from the girls were already stacked on the screen.

He told them he had arrived in Itary and was resting. They wanted to call immediately. He said not yet. He was still settling in. They could talk later.

That did not stop them.

More messages came in anyway. Small gossip. Complaints. Bits of what had happened while he was gone. Lucas answered a few with short lines and left the rest unread.

Steam drifted under the bathroom door.

Then it opened.

Bennett stepped out wrapped in a towel, skin still warm from the water, damp hair resting against her shoulders and upper back. The suite light caught her as she moved.

Lucas looked before he could stop himself.

The towel was doing the bare minimum. Soft white fabric pulled tight across her chest, holding the full weight of her breasts with every breath she took. The tops of them rose smooth and heavy above the fold, a deep line of cleavage showing each time she shifted. Her shoulders were bare. Her collarbones sat clean under damp skin. The towel ended high on her thighs, leaving long stretches of smooth leg open as she crossed the room.

She was beautiful in a way that felt unfair.

Not just pretty. The kind of body that made the air in the suite feel thicker for a second. Full chest. Narrow waist under the towel. Soft hips hinted at by the way the fabric clung when she walked.

Bennett sat by the mirror and started light makeup like nothing about her state was unusual. After a moment she glanced up and caught him looking.

A small smile touched her mouth.

She did not tighten the towel. She did not make a joke. She just held his eyes for a second, quietly pleased, then turned back to the mirror with that same soft expression still on her face.

Lucas stood and pulled his shirt over his head.

Bennett’s gaze moved to him through the glass at once.

He took clothes from the wardrobe, dropped them on the bed, and went into the bathroom with a towel of his own. The door shut. Water ran again.

When he came back out, he was still wet.

Water slid down the center of his chest and over the hard lines of his stomach. A few drops traveled lower before catching on the towel at his waist. The fabric sat low, hanging from his hips, leaving his torso fully bare under the suite light. His shoulders looked broader without a shirt. The muscle across his chest and arms was clean, solid, still shining from the bath.

Bennett kept her compact raised, but her eyes kept slipping.

One glance.

Another.

Then a slower one she tried to pretend was about fixing her lipstick.

From the mirror, she could see all of him. The wet skin. The shape of his chest. The way the towel hung. Her throat felt tighter than it should have.

A thought landed hard before she could push it away.

They were sharing this suite.

One open space. One main bed. No second room to hide in. Too much quiet. Too much bare skin already between baths and towels and the late evening outside the windows.

She wondered if two people could sleep in a place like this without something happening.

Her own body still felt warm under the towel. Every small movement reminded her how little she was wearing. And Lucas, standing there half-dressed and unbothered, made the thought worse.

He did not look worried at all.

He dried off with no hurry, pulled his clothes on piece by piece, and ran a hand through his damp hair like the tension in the room belonged only to her.

Bennett finished her makeup, set the compact down, and stood. The towel shifted with the movement, drawing tight across her chest again for a second before she adjusted it.

"Ready?" she asked.

Her voice came out a little softer than she wanted.

"Yeah."

They left the suite together and headed downstairs toward the restaurant, the quiet of the room shutting behind them with too many unfinished thoughts still inside it.