Page 9 of Line of Resistance

The woman was like a fucking flame. Bright and warm and alluring. Shining with the promise of scaring away the shadows haunting his past.

But he learned a long time ago that a flame could go out at any moment. Leaving you alone in the dark.

“I’m asking you because I know you have the information I want.” He skimmed his gaze over her features, lingering a little longer than necessary on the full pout of her mouth. “You could save me the effort it will take to get it.”

The sinful curve of her lips eased higher, this time into a smile significantly more genuine than most of the ones she’d worn before. “Maybe I don’t want to save you the effort.”

“Fair enough.” He worked his hand into a fist, trying to curb the urge to catch the piece of hair teasing at the corner of her mouth. To see if it was as soft as it looked. As he’d imagined it. “Anything worth having is worth working for, right?”

Eloise’s smile lost a little of its luster. “That’s what they say.”

“Are we ready to sing?” Naomi’s voice cut in between their conversation. Eloise seized the opportunity, immediately spinning away and moving to the other side of the room without looking back, seeming completely unaffected and unbothered.

It was a frustrating moment, especially considering he’d been the one moving away from her up to that point. He should still be moving away from her now, but the possibility of that happening got slimmer with each passing second. When she moved in beside Bryson, making sure he got a piece of cake and a scoop of ice cream, the will to keep her at arm’s length was all but severed.

“Fancy meeting you here.” Tyson moved in at his shoulder, observing his son’s birthday party with an amused gaze. “I knew you’d show up.”

“At least one of us did. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make it.” Nate dragged his attention from where Eloise sat, plopped down beside Harlow on one of the large sofas, the fake fucking smile back on her face as she people-pleased her way through conversation.

Until today, he thought her disposition was real. That Eloise was every bit the guileless, genuine, sweetheart of a woman she presented. And maybe she still was. But now he knew how much more there was hiding under her pristine personality.

And it was making it so much fucking harder to stay away.

“You know how fucking hot Florida is this time of year?” He forced his eyes from Eloise, swiping one hand along the freshly cropped line of his fade, being careful not to get into the styled, longer hair along his crown. “I was fucking sweating my balls off down there.”

“Hopefully you’d rather freeze your balls off than sweat them off.” Tyson glanced toward the line of windows overlooking the gated property. “Because it sounds like we’re about to get dumped on.”

“I’ll take the snow over the bullshit humidity any day.” Nate scanned the room, hoping to disguise that he was checking in on two specific partygoers. “They say there’s no bad weather, only bad clothes, but there’s not enough naked in this world to make that fucking heat comfortable.”

Rico had been happier than a fly on shit baking in the Florida sun, but he couldn’t wait to get back to the cold and snow of Alaska. It was home. It was where he was happiest. Where all the people he cared about were.

“I’m not saying I like the cold, but after being here for a few years I’m not sure I could handle the heat either.” Tyson shook his head. “But I’m not looking forward to having to shovel my own sidewalks this winter.”

“Liar.” Nate smirked at his friend. “You fucking love that townhouse and all the bullshit that goes with it.”

Tyson’s eyes slowly slid from where they were fixed on Naomi and Emmett and a wide smile spread across his face. “I might like it a little bit.” He looked Nate up and down. “When’s your place supposed to be done?”

He shrugged, trying to look unbothered that he was one of the final members of Rogue to move into the newly built compound Pierce constructed to offer the constantly growing families of Alaskan Security a safe place to live and expand.

And they were sure as shit expanding.

“Last I heard they were hoping I’d be in by the end of the month.” Nate’s eyes accidentally found their way back to where Eloise sat, lingering as she continued chatting and smiling with the women around her. “Hopefully they get it finished before anyone else couples up.” The bitterness he usually kept under wraps crept into his tone, revealing more than he intended.

And Tyson didn’t miss it.

“Still bitter about being bumped by Jamison, huh?” He worked one elbow into Nate’s side.

Luckily his friend misread the reason behind the sourness he’d carried for nearly fifteen years and assumed it was due to a minor inconvenience instead of the fallout from having everything he’d ever wanted ripped away in an instant.

And it could happen again if he wasn’t careful.

Nate turned from where Eloise sat, ignoring the urge to find her face yet again. “I should go unpack.”

CHAPTER THREE

ELOISE

“YOU WANT TO go out tonight?” Eloise glanced around her apartment, taking in the piles of clothes and her half-organized closet. She started to sigh but caught herself and forced on a smile instead. “Sure. Of course I can come. What time?”

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