Page 54 of Stealthy Seduction
“About as exciting as it sounds.” His mind immediately went to Izzy and the way she’d looked at him when he was setting up her mic. The memory of the feel of her warm, silky skin made his fingers tighten around the mug he held. “Until it wasn’t.”
“Cipher really knows how to make an entrance.” Chickie threw Steele a sympathetic look. He’d been in Steele’s combat boots before, when May was caught in the middle of a dark game involving a bomb.
Sinner paused mid-chew. “LED mask was a nice touch. Very sci-fi villain.”
“Guy’s got flair, I’ll give him that,” Mason agreed, sinking two more balls. “But seriously, Steele, you okay? That was some heavy shit back there.”
The question caught Steele off guard, not because it was unexpected, but because of how quickly his teammates had shifted from casual ribbing to genuine concern. It was one of the things he valued most about this team—they could joke around like brothers, but when it mattered, they had each other’s backs without question.
“I’m good.” He mostly meant it. “Just glad we got everyone out clean.”
“Everyone meaning Izzy.” Chickie aimed a knowing look his way.
“Everyone meaning everyone,” Steele replied, but he heard the defensive edge in his own voice.
Mason missed his shot, probably on purpose, and straightened up. “You know what? I’m gonna hit the gym.”
“Yeah, me too.” Chickie hooked his leg over the chair he sat backward on and stood.
Sinner gulped down the remaining half of his sandwich. “I’ll show you both how it’s done.”
Steele pushed to his feet, prepared to dig through the refrigerator with thoughts of putting together a tray for him and Izzy to share.
“Hang back a minute, Steele.” Con’s request made him swing to face his CO.
“Sure. What’s up?” He swallowed the last of the coffee. He had a feeling that there wasn’t enough caffeine in the world to prepare him for a talk with his commanding officer.
“How’s Izzy doing?”
“She’s good, but…”
Con’s arched brow was the equivalent of a court martial.
“Has Sophie ever complained about Stockholm syndrome?”
Con’s brows lowered. “What?”
“Did she ever mention that she only fell for you because you were stuck together?”
“Nope.” He braced his legs apart and folded his arms. “She wanted to be here. Are you saying…Izzy has feelings for you?”
He pushed out a sigh. “Yeah. But she does make a valid point. How can I encourage this if we don’t have a future?”
Con eyed him. “How do you see it going?”
“I’m committed to Charlie team if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Look around. There’s proof here that you can be committed to the team and still commit to the one you love. And if Charlie isn’t proof enough…Alpha team should be.”
Steele let that settle in his mind for a long moment. A loud bark of laughter trickled down the hall as the guys made their way to the gym.
“Some members of Alpha have their own houses near base,” he blurted.
“That’s true. They have a rundown building. We have a mansion.” Con swept out a hand. “We can fit one more person. Hell, we can fill this place with kids.” He turned to the tall window. “Look out there—a swing set will fit right there.”
Stunned, Steele drifted to the window that overlooked a corner of the property, dappled with sun and shade from the thick branches of an old-growth oak. He turned to his leader, suddenly seeing Con in a different light. He’d led them through countless missions, life-or-death situations where split-second decisions meant the difference between coming home or coming home in body bags.
This conversation felt more personal than any firefight they’d survived together.
