Page 36 of A Rancher's Bride
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Luke Stone had fallendown a rabbit hole and there was no escape.
As they reentered the hotel, Kelli was all eyes again, staring in wonder rather than watching where she put her feet. Luke was glad he had a grip on her. It made it easier to tug her across the floor toward the glass-fronted elevators that led to the tower suites.
She continued to crane her neck, looking everywhere, whispering quietly as she spotted decorating touches that made her grin.
He fixated on the mirror in front of them, staring at her as if it was the first time he’d truly seen the woman.
Kelli was small compared to him and yet a bundle of energy as she swung around, flashing a smile before she fell into jaw-dropped awe at a carving on display on the sideboard table. A couple of strands of hair had fallen loose from her braid, trailing past her cheeks.
In the moments before the elevator doors opened, Luke let his gaze drop and openly take in the swell of her breasts, the dip where her waist cut in, and the flare of her hips—not very much there because she was so petite everywhere except up top.
Her image slid into nothingness as the doors gaped, and she tugged him after her, pressing the floor number.
Kissing her had been a revelation.
His over-the-top reaction might partly stem from being officially solo since the end of summer. It had been July since he’d actually had sex, what with the way the relationship had worked out between him and Penny, but he didn’t think this was just his body craving a woman after a long dry spell.
Kelli was sweet and spicy at the same time. Like the discussion he and Josiah had regarding chicken wings, and the damnedest thing was that Luke was a split second from opening his mouth and sharing his thoughts because he knew that Kelli would get a kick out of the comparison.
He was so screwed. He liked her. He always had, but there’d been that barrier that saidhands off and leave her alone. Kelli had thoroughly shredded that to ribbons with her blunt request and offer.
Only she hadn’t thought this through. No more than he had making his boneheaded move and getting them into this circumstance in the first place.
She said she’d had the hots for me forever.
The elevator let them off on the top floor. Luke wasn’t sure if he could stop himself from marching down the hall like a rooster.
They stopped outside the elaborately carved wooden door leading into their rooms for the next week. Kelli grinned at him. “This is going to be fun.”
“Entertaining, no matter what,” he drawled.
He placed his wristband to the keyless lock and it buzzed lightly, opening for them. He pushed the door open, holding it so Kelli could enter ahead of him.
The enormous space was elaborate and yet comfortable at the same time. The room was a wide triangular shape with floor-to-ceiling windows opposite them that faced the Rocky Mountains. Outside the hotel, snow-covered peaks flared skyward close enough he could almost touch them, but inside was all about warmth and luxury.
A gas fireplace stood freestyle as the centerpiece of the room. Tucked up against the wall with the massive windows on either side of it, the tall black stovepipe reached into the lofted ceiling. Three couches were arranged in a semicircle facing the view, and there were thick soft carpets underfoot and beautiful tapestries on the walls.
Kelli’s fingers slipped back into his, but this time it didn’t seem as if she was trying to make a point. More like she was grounding herself. “Holy moly.”
“Yeah, this is not going to suck.” Luke squeezed her fingers then twisted to take in the rest of the room. He slipped off his coat and hung it on one of the open wrought-iron hooks lining one wall. There was space for their boots underneath, although he caught Kelli wrinkling her nose as she arranged her well-polished but worn footwear next to Diane’s shining knee-high leather boots.
Then she shrugged, distracting him with a bright smile. “Come on. I want to see our room.”
She turned on her heel, and he trucked after her.
“How do you know where you’re going?” he teased. “There are two identical doors in either corner of this place.”
Kelli pointed across the distance as she turned the doorknob and leaned her hip against the heavy weight. “That one has a sock on it.”
Luke snorted as he spotted what she was talking about. Sure enough, Jack had placed a plain white sock over the doorknob leading to their room.
A further clue—behind their door, neat blue-and-white luggage was lined up at the foot of a king-size bed.
Kelli was already moving toward the far wall and the door there. “Tell me there’s a bathtub in here with a view…” She cracked open the door then peeked over her shoulder at him, grinning from ear to ear. “I apologize now, but I might never come out.”
He leaned over her shoulder. “Jeez, could they use a little more chrome and tile?”
