I reached the door marked 6, then slid the key into the small hole, only to realize the door was already unlocked.
Nice security.Maybe ithadjust been a random break-in, if this was the tight ship the SEAL kept at his own lodge.
I pushed open the door and went inside, expecting more cedar and the smell of pine, not to see Audrey there.
The door thudded shut behind me, and she froze. Yeah, well, so did I. Like a damn deer in headlights.
She became a still-life portrait of a beautiful and verynakedwoman.
Full lips parted. Blue-green eyes wide. One hand outstretched where, presumably, that towel now on the floor had been before I walked in.
Wet, light-blonde hair clung to her shoulders, and I did my best to blur and censor the rest of her.
I waited for her to realize she wasnakednaked, not towel-wrapped naked. Full-on, kill-me-now naked.
I looked away. Looked back.
At least my gaze landed north of her breasts that time, at the curve of her collarbone, then on to her flushed cheeks.
But my brain? It was already filing this underRyder’s Going To Kill Me. Something told me Trevor would too.
“You’re here,” she whispered.
“And you’re naked,” I blurted out.
I waited for her to register the draft in the air. My eyes burned from the effort it took not to blink my way south again.
“I, um ...” She dropped down, then popped back up, this time with the towel around her body. A modest improvement. Better for my sanity. “Why are you in my room?” Her skin went from shock pale toa deep embarrassed red real fast. Much faster than the towel had made it back on.
“Yourroom?” I finally connected the dots to what she’d asked, my bag slipping from my hand like I was about to move in.
I held up the key and flipped it. A nine. It was a damn nine, not a six. Fate, always playing games. The cold must’ve frozen my brain downstairs for me to have made such a rookie mistake.
When our eyes met again, it was clear she was only just realizing the full impact of the moment.
I barked out, a little harsher than I intended, “Why didn’t you lock the door, especially while in the shower?”
“I thought I did.” She paused, letting the truth sink in. Her careless mistake mirrored my own. Theoopswas written all over her face, right down to the tension bracketing her full mouth. “This place is safe. Trust me, no one would dare cross Trevor or Eden’s boyfriend.”
Eden’s boyfriend? No clue who he was, but her protest still felt as weak as she was now making my pulse. Borderline lifeless at her cavalier attitude toward her safety.
“People around here, even the guests, are friendly.” There it was again. A casual disregard for the whole being-caught-naked thing.
My eyebrow arched, an automatic response. “Right,” I said dryly. “Your home was broken into. Kind of kills that vibe.”
“This place is different. And an important FYI ... when my son is around, Iquadruple-check locks.”
Her collarbone was still beaded with water droplets, and she dragged the pad of her thumb along the bone right where my gaze had gone.
“Why didn’t you knock?” she asked instead, before I could respond, a hint of sass in her voice. “Something tells me your mother taught you manners. You forget them?”
Her challenge jolted my gaze up to hers.
Bold and unapologetic. Daring me to answer.
“I thought this was my room.” That memory clicked into place a few seconds too late. “Later,” I demanded roughly, “we’re going to havea conversation about locks, safety, and stranger danger. Because your life matters. Not just your son’s.” After that, I finally did the smart thing and turned my ass around.
“Now you sound like Ryder.” A littleharumphnoise followed her grunty—albeit cute—tone.
