Page 11 of Wilde and Untamed
The warning bells in her head grew louder. “Discretion is my middle name.”
“And here I thought it was ‘adventure.’”
Rue matched his smile, though her stomach tightened. “A girl can have many talents.”
“Wilde Security’s presence could complicate certain… delicate arrangements.” Frost’s voice dropped, the polished host veneer thinning to reveal something colder beneath. “The so-called extension of the Antarctic Treaty exists on paper, but in practice, it’s ignored daily. Nations, corporations, private interests… everyone violates it.”
“And?”
His lips thinned, but he stayed silent, his ice-blue eyes searching her face.
“You’re telling me things I already know, Frost. Antarctica is the new wild west. So unless you have something more useful to tell me…” She trailed off and waited.
Still, he said nothing, but this time, he looked back toward the windows at the crowd mingling inside his penthouse.
“Like maybe what you meant when you told my sister there are things in this world even you won’t sell?” she prompted. “Or why you said I should take someone I trust with me on this expedition?”
“Hence yourfiancé,” he said finally, leaning on the word with a faint sneer of disdain.
She narrowed her eyes at him. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think he was jealous. But no way. Atlas Frost was a lot of mostly unflattering things, but he wasn’t a man who felt anything as petty as jealousy.
“Yes, because I trust Elliot more than anyone.”
He didn’t reply to that. Instead, he faced her. The winter wind ruffled his black hair as electric blue eyes zeroed in on her like lasers. “Antarctica isn’t the wild west, Ms. Bristow. It’s a chessboard. And the investors funding your little trip don’t like pawns who wander too close to the kings.”
The threat was there, wrapped in silk, but undeniable. Her fingers tightened on the railing. “You’re the investor.”
His smile slipped, and she swore she heard him mutter, “Not by choice,” before a man called his name from inside, and his smirk returned. He raised his glass at the man, then turned back to her. His eyes were unreadable in the dim light. “Enjoy your evening, Ms. Bristow. And do try to stay warm out there.”
Before he could turn away, she caught his arm. “What aren’t you telling me?”
For a moment, she thought he might actually answer her, might drop the cryptic warnings and tell her what the hell was really going on.
Instead, he looked down at where her fingers gripped his expensive suit, and something dangerously close to regret flashed across his hawkish features, making him look almost human. “I wish it wasn’t you going.”
Shocked, she dropped her hand and backed up a step. “What?”
“Nothing.” Frost pulled back, the mask of the calculating businessman slipping back into place. “Just make sure you keep Wilde on a tight leash. I’d hate for his company’s... interests to interfere with our expedition.”
With that, he turned and glided back toward the glass doors, leaving Rue alone with the biting wind and the unsettling feeling that she was walking into something far more dangerous than extreme weather.
And she was dragging Elliot along with her.
God, she never should’ve involved him.
The glass door slid open again, and Elliot’s broad shoulders filled the space Frost had left empty beside her. Relief flooded through her so suddenly, it was almost embarrassing. His calm presence felt like a lifeline in the sea of uncertainty Frost had left behind.
“There you are,” he said. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“Just needed some air.” She tried to keep her tone light despite the tension coiling tighter in her chest. “It was getting a bit stuffy in there.”
Elliot moved to stand beside her, his shoulder nearly touching hers as he leaned against the railing. The warmth radiating from him made her realize how cold she’d actually gotten.
“You’re freezing.” He shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over her shoulders before she could protest. The gesture was so simple, so Elliot, and the fabric carried his scent—clean soap and something sweet and woodsy that was pure comfort.
“Thanks,” she murmured, pulling it closer around herself and resisting the urge to bury her nose in the lapel.
“Was that Frost I saw leaving?” he asked.
