Playing Against Type: Soulgirls, Book 4 by Heather Long

her forte. “I don’t really know you that well, so inviting you into my hotel room seems a bit personal. But I am really hungry and you were kind enough to invite me to breakfast, so it would be rude not to just share the one I have.”
    “All right. Let’s flip the latch, so it will keep the door open.” He reached around and caught the latch, which would secure the inner door. He folded it out to block the hotel room door from closing. Pepper chewed the inside of her cheek. Oddly enough, the simple act did quiet her nerves some.
    She backed up and he followed her inside. Instead of continuing deeper into the room, he waited. Pepper’s nervousness receded. They were closeted in here, completely alone. “All good?” Finn asked as if he were aware of her uncertainty.
    “I think so. Sorry.” The last came out as an afterthought.
    “Not at all. You’re visiting a fairly strange city. I would be a little concerned if you weren’t cautious.” He looked around the room, pausing at the mostly closed curtains. “Shall I open those for you?”
    She’d almost forgotten about the sunlight and nodded. With a quick smile, Finn passed her and pulled the curtains open. Pepper gasped at the dazzling light that flooded the room. It warmed her everywhere it touched. But what held her captive wasn’t the brightness, but the blue—the endless verdant blue sky.
    The decades since she last gazed upon it melted away. Oh, she’d seen the sky in movies, but it didn’t compare to the real thing. She didn’t fight the inexorable pull to walk over to the glass. Touching it with three fingers, she sighed at the warmth. Las Vegas wasn’t much to look at during the day, the spectacular neon paradise looked almost ordinary under the sun.  
    From their vantage, she could see past the other buildings. Dozens of casinos lined the strip, but the Royale afforded them a view beyond the lazy sprawling town to the desert and mountains beyond.
    “It’s beautiful,” she murmured.
    “Yes, it is,” he agreed. Awareness prickled over her. Finn wasn’t looking out the window. Instead, he stared at her.
    Her face heated and she dragged her attention away from the sky—the openness and the freedom. She was supposed to be seducing him or distracting him, not gawking like someone who hadn’t seen the sun in thirty years. Even if I haven’t… Rubbing her hand against her hip, she gestured to the desk. “Shall we?”
    “After you.” He hooked one of the chairs by the window and pulled it over to the desk. He didn’t crowd her, yet her spacious hotel room seemed very small with Finn in it.
    Hands trembling, she removed the silver lids. Three plates filled with bacon, eggs and pancakes awaited her. They were plenty warm and the scent made her mouth water. Her hunger was no longer content to be put off and it took all of her manners to keep from falling on the food like a ravenous beast. As if the dining staff expected she wouldn’t be eating alone, she found extra plates in a warmer, along with biscuits and— Oh my God, is that gravy?
    Sealed under clear wrap was a bowl of white sausage gravy. That clinched it. Pepper sank into a seat and dished out a helping eggs, bacon and pancakes for Finn. She passed it over to him and barely heard his thanks before loading her own plate with a couple of biscuits, topped them with eggs and then poured gravy over the lot.
    Finn handed her some of the wrapped silverware. Spreading the napkin on her lap, she wasted no time taking her first bite of the gravy-smothered-eggs-and-biscuits. The flavor explosion on her tongue earned a low moan. “Oh, so good.”
    One bite led to another and then another. She cleared her plate in a few minutes, not allowing even a drop of the gravy to escape. Replete, she leaned back in the chair and sighed.
    “I thought about asking if I could have some of the gravy,” said Finn, “but I think you should have another.” Amusement warmed his voice and Pepper winced,