Page 72 of Line of Resistance

He’d been right when he believed she was sunshine and warmth and positivity personified, but that was only half of the story.

Eloise was also wickedly smart. Quick witted and filled with snappy comebacks. She understood the complications of his life and fit into it in a way he didn’t realize anyone ever could.

Now he just had to make sure she saw it too.

Nate settled her bag of clothing in the closet before carrying her toiletries into the bathroom and placing it on the counter. When he came back to where she was still standing in the doorway, Eloise looked uncertain. “You keep things really neat, don’t you?”

Nate moved to stand in front of her, bringing both hands to curve against the sides of her face. “Sweetheart, it only looks neat because I don’t have anything to mess it up with.”

Her brows pinched together as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. “You’re over thirty years old. How do you not have anything?”

It was an easy, but depressing explanation. “I’ve never had a home, Eloise. There was no reason to have things.”

Eloise’s big eyes stared up at him. “But Tyson and Naomi have a house. Lots of people at Alaskan Security do.” Her hands came to rest on his chest. “There’s a whole bunch of places where they live. Why don’t you move into one of those?”

“I’ve been on the list to get one of the townhomes, but it didn’t make sense for me to take one when someone with a wife and kids needed it.” He’d actually been one of the first to jump at the opportunity. One of the first in line ready to shell out however much it would take to finally have a place he could call his own.

Would it have been a home? Maybe. Maybe not.

Maybe a home didn’t have as much to do with owning property as most people thought it did.

He’d still been frustrated when he kept getting bumped down the list. Not angry, because he was happy to give up his place for others in his family, but upset he didn’t need it in the same way his brothers did.

“That’s bullshit.” Eloise’s lower lip pushed out in a sexy pout. “You deserve a place just as much as they do.”

This was another of the reasons he couldn’t imagine not having Eloise in his life. No one had ever fought for him. Not when he was a little boy and not now that he was a grown man. Yes, the men on his team had his back, but at the end of the day, he wasn’t their priority.

And he shouldn’t be.

“I gave up my spot voluntarily. No one made me do it.” Nate snagged Eloise by the hand, pulling her into the suite he took over when everyone else moved to the townhomes. “Could I interest you in a hot shower?”

Eloise let out a little moan, her eyes rolling closed. “That sounds amazing.” Her lids jumped up. “It’s actually hot though, right? Not Reggie hot?”

He laughed, continuing to pull her toward the bathroom. “It is so hot it will burn your skin off if you’re not careful.”

Eloise gave him a dreamy smile. “That sounds freaking fantastic.” Her smile slipped a little. “Where is Reggie? Is she in her suite?”

“She’s happy and fed and not here to come collect your dirty clothes.” He urged Eloise into the bathroom, stealing away her pillow. “You can see her tomorrow.” He grabbed the door and swung it closed. “Take your time.”

The second the latch clicked into place he went to work. He tossed the pillow onto his bed before grabbing a set of fresh clothes and rushing out the door. He took a quick shower of his own in the community bathroom located next to the gym before stopping at the kitchen in the rooming house to collect a few items. Eloise was probably starving after walking through the snow all day, and his refrigerator was pretty bare.

He grabbed the items as quickly as he could, piling them into a reusable shopping tote from the stash Elise kept on hand, before hurrying back to the second floor, taking the steps two at a time. He wanted everything in order before Eloise came out of the shower. He needed to prove he could take care of her. That she could depend on him. That, contrary to what he might have shown in the past, she could trust him. Count on him.

Nate quickly swiped his badge and shoved open the door, making it three steps in before nearly fumbling his armload of items. Eloise stood in the kitchen wearing nothing but one of his long-sleeved black T-shirts as she scanned the handful of items in the refrigerator.

Her eyes jumped to where he stood and she must have realized what he was staring at because she fingered the soft cotton hem where it dangled at the middle of her thigh. “I hope this is okay. I must have forgotten to grab pajamas.”

Nate cleared his throat, trying his damnedest to peel his eyes away from the sight of her in his clothes. In his kitchen.In his life.

But maybe he shouldn’t.

He moved closer, letting his gaze drink her in. “It’s better than fine, actually.” He shoved the food in the general direction of the counter, refusing to take his eyes off her for a second. “I think you should sleep in it every night.” He fisted the front of the fabric, using the hold to pull her body against his. “I like it a hell of a lot better than what you slept in last night or the night before.”

Eloise laced her arms around his neck, the move lifting the bottom of his shirt higher. “Last night I slept in someone else’s sweatpants and the night before that I slept in someone else’s jeans.”

His lips curved. “Sounds like you have a habit of sleeping in other people’s clothes.” He traced the bottom of his shirt, following the line until it reached the curve of her ass. “I have to admit I like it best when you sleep in mine.”

Eloise pinched her lower lip between her teeth. “Yours are the most comfortable so far.”

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