Made to Be Broken (Nadia Stafford 2)

I woke again as the daylight streaming through that crack between the curtains hit my eyes. As I shifted, Quinn's eyes opened. He reached over and pushed a strand of hair off my face, tucking it behind my ear, his fingertips gliding over my cheek.

"Good morning," I said.

His lips curved in a drowsy, sexy smile. He started to say something, then a sharp rap at the door had me jumping back so fast I pulled the covers with me.

"Got it," Jack grunted.

I looked past Quinn to see Jack sliding out of bed. He stood, rolled his shoulders, then stepped over, peered into the peephole, and let out a profanity.

"What the fuck is this?" he said as he opened the door.

"Just repaying your ungodly early visit from yesterday." Evelyn's voice preceded her. "Is Dee bunking down -?"

She stepped in and noticed me, sitting on the edge of the bed. Then she saw Quinn rising on his elbows, and cocked her eyebrows, gaze traveling from us to Jack.

"Well, that's one solution," she said.

"The cheapest one," I said, stifling a yawn. "But, no, I'm not making the guys squeeze into one room to save money. We were up late and never got around to renting another."

Quinn got up, and I saw he was wearing only his boxers and T-shirt. He stretched, then grabbed his pants.

"Sorry," he said. "We're a little casual around here."

"Oh, don't rush on my account."

I glanced over to see Evelyn admiring the view as much as I'd been, and taking far fewer pains to hide it.

I fished my jeans from under the bed. "Coed sleeping arrangements are always tricky."

"Not if you do it right. Of course, if you do it right, there's no need to worry about clothes."

I shot her a look.

She sighed. "Youth really is wasted on the young."

"How'd you find us?" Quinn asked as he sat back on the bed.

"I can find anyone."

"Called last night," Jack said. "Wanted the hotel number. Said she had to fax something."

"I needed to talk to Dee."

"The phone works."

"And I had business in Detroit, so I decided to make a trip of it."

"What business?"

"None of yours."

Jack snorted, not buying it, but when he opened his mouth to call her on it, I shot him a look that asked him not to.

I said, "If it's about what we started to discuss yesterday, let's let the guys get showered and shaved while we go grab coffee and talk. I'm interested in hearing - "

"Oh, I'm sure you are." She flashed a smile that set my teeth on edge. "We'll get to that. Eventually. Probably."

I turned to Quinn. "Up for a jog, then? I've missed the last couple of mornings, so I'm heading out. You're welcome to join me."