Page 17 of Stealthy Seduction
He glanced up, surprised to find he was the first to arrive which was even better news. He wouldn’t be stuck with his back to the door.
The text he sent had his lips twitching and heat sweeping his veins.
Morning, Cruz. I’ve been thinking about your poker face…among other things.
Izzy’s response came immediately.And here I thought you were into my technique…at cards.
His lips quirked higher as he thumbed a reply.Your game was…memorable. Though I had you figured out by the end of the night.
You think you know my tells? That’s adorable. Maybe you should focus less on reading me and more on your own hand management.
He stopped a snort before it burst out, and good thing too. At that moment, three of his teammates sauntered in.
Quickly, he shifted the phone to his lap, out of view, and texted Izzy back.Oh, I manage just fine. Question is whether you can handle another round when the stakes get higher.
Bring your A-game, SEAL. I promise to go easy on you…at first.
“Here’s our buddy Steele with that goofy look on his face again.” Mason attempted to drawl in Steele’s own twang and completely missed the mark. Mason ducked his head, stealing a peek at the phone he had concealed under the table. “And big surprise, guys—he’s texting.”
“Bro.” Dante dropped into his usual seat near the head of the table and automatically drew the laptop toward him. “I’ve never seen Steele so glued to his phone.”
Con entered and circled to the head of the table. “I caught Steele walking around the kitchen wearing that goofy smile too. I called out to him and couldn’t get his attention.”
Steele placed the device face-down on his thigh and scanned the group. “At least I’m here on time. Where’s the rest of Charlie?”
Mason looked over at Dante. “Now he’s deflecting. Con, are you going to do anything about this?” He jerked a thumb in Steele’s direction.
Con grunted and settled with his own laptop and the reports he’d share as soon as they were all present. “It’s no big deal. Just national security and lives at stake.”
Mason and Dante shared a chuckle, and Steele forced himself not to react. He wasn’t about to discuss Izzy with any of his brothers. Hell, he hardly understood himself why he felt the urge to check on her.
He loved each brother on the team, but living on top of each other didn’t mean he had to share everything with them. Plenty of them kept their personal lives separate, Con and Dante included.
Chickie and Chase entered, talking between themselves, and took their usual seats. Within a minute, the whole crew was there, Sinner coming in last. He groaned at being stuck with his back to the door but rested his arms on the table with a resigned sigh.
Con quickly got down to business, beginning with current events. There was a small skirmish in South America between one of the Blackout teams and some renegades, but nothing pointed to Cipher.
Steele’s phone vibrated against his thigh. Though he was quick to silence it, Dante looked up at him.
Unruffled, Steele met his gaze with a steady one of his own before turning his attention to the monitors playing news reels on the wall behind their leader.
But Izzy’s text was tempting as hell. He rested a hand over his phone but would have to wait to read her message.
“Ahh,” Dante broke in suddenly.
“You have something to share?” Con asked.
“I see what has that smile pasted on Steele’s face.”
He jerked his attention to Dante.
“Looking at the phone logs, I can report ninety-four text messages between Steele and Izzy Cruz since 1800 hours.”
Con eyed Steele.
“I’m just giving her moral support.”
“Uh-huh.”
