Flirting with Danger by Bev Hardy (digital e reader TXT) 📖

clicked and drank again.

Damn it; he had to ask.

"Eddie, you know Charlie and Doug… are they… did they… have they ever, you know…"

Eddie did know what Luke was asking, but he wasn't going to help him out. He was rather hoping that Luke wouldn't get around to asking that question.

Luke ran a hand through his hair and then leant closer to Eddie to finish,

"Did they ever get it together?"

Eddie groaned, and replied under his breath, "That's the sixty four thousand dollar question. Rumours began circling a few years ago. I don't know; she insists they are just friends, but she's so evasive when someone asks anything about it. Here's some advice for you though: don't broach the subject with Charlie. I did once and I thought she was never going to speak to me again! It's a bloody sensitive subject."

Luke stared at Eddie for a moment.

Right… okay… So there was something between them then. No one reacts like that if there was nothing going on. The whole thing was unsettling.

Luke glanced at his empty shot glass. "Might as well have one more," he said, handing it over to Eddie.

Eddie glanced around for signs of Doug, but seeing none, he refilled their glasses. They clinked and drank again.

"You two," Eddie began, pointing at Luke with his empty shot glass still in his hand, "you're great together though. You make me laugh."

Luke cringed slightly as the third tequila hit the back of his throat. "Laugh?" he questioned, "Why?"

"You're…" Eddie thought for a moment, "Spirited together."

Luke contemplated that. "Yeah, spirited," he repeated, seeming to like Eddie's assessment. He turned to look at Charlie then, but quickly turned back to warn Eddie,

"Playtime's over, the boss is on his way back."

Eddie whipped the shot glasses off the bar and hid them from sight.

"I'll see ya later," Luke said, standing.

"Yeah, and thanks for the drinks," Eddie whispered back before Luke left him.

Damn it, if only Luke wasn't perfect for Charlie… oh and if only he just happened to be gay too. Too much to ask for, but one could dream.

"You've been chatting to Eddie for a while," Sue observed when Luke returned to the table.

Was she keeping tabs on him already?

"Yeah," he laughed. "You get the champagne?" he asked.

"Yes, thanks," she smiled, picking up one of the bottles and filling a glass for him. "Cheers," she said, handing him the glass and holding hers up to clink.

He smiled. "Cheers."

"So, we should do the sitting next week," she said.

"Sitting?"

"Yes, so that I can paint you," she clarified.

What? He was kidding when he'd said that.

"Err," he laughed, his awkwardness trebling when he felt her hand slip down his leg.

He moved suddenly and his chair scraped on the floor, causing everyone on the table to look up.

Charlie was watching him with amusement. She'd seen; there was no doubt about it.

"I have a busy schedule," he replied to Sue. "I'll get back to you on that."

Unfortunately, this didn't put Sue off, and she went on, planning the painting and describing in detail what paints and utensils she was going to use. Luke nodded every now and then, whist contemplating how difficult it was going to be to get into her home without having to stay that night. Then boredom set in and Luke was considering reverting back to his first instinct: to break into her house and steal the discs.

Richie was discussing the charity conference with another club member who had joined their table, while Charlie was watching Luke with amusement. Maybe Sue was too much for him after all. Served him right. Then Doug appeared, seating himself opposite Charlie and next to Luke. He smiled at her, his eyes intensifying, the way they always did when he looked at her. She smiled back, but was then mortified moments later to feel a foot touch her ankle, and slide up and down her shin. She pulled her leg away and mouthed,

"Doug?" disapprovingly, her face beginning to heat up.

"What?" he mouthed back.

What on earth was he thinking, doing something like that there? Then she felt the foot again and it suddenly hit her; he wouldn't do something like that there, but she knew someone who would.

Her eyes flicked in Luke's direction. His face was still diverted as he appeared to be still listening to Sue, however, now his face had a grin on it. Of all the cheeky…

"Are you okay?" Doug asked.

"Yes," she replied, feeling decidedly not okay when the foot returned to her leg and slid further up. It tickled the back of her knee. She shifted away from it and crossed her legs, hoping to God that Doug wouldn't pick up on what was happening. The foot was persistent though and determined to push its mischievous luck as it found the sensitive inside of her thigh, stroking the soft skin.

"Charlie?" Doug questioned, noticing her lack of composure.

A small laugh escaped her mouth as she pushed her chair backwards, standing. "I…er, I think I'll just go and powder my nose," she said, turning to head for the Club building. On her way, she snuck a look back at the table. Luke was grinning at her. He winked.

Chapter 19

 

Now their torsos and legs were touching as they moved to the music, and it hit her hard: the smell of him, the nearness of him, the sound of his voice in her ear, and suddenly her treacherous senses were screaming, "it's Luke!"

 

 

Luke was discovering many new and interesting ways to get under Charlie's skin, and he was loving every minute of it. Most interesting of all was the way that she had reacted to him at her house earlier. Then there were the comments thrown his way when he'd been flirting with Sue, and now there was Doug. She really was edgy with Doug around, and Luke being there too seemed to make her all the more edgy. Funny, she didn't seem to mind Richie and Doug being in the same space together though.

So this was fun. What next? A thought had occurred to Luke earlier, but he had dismissed it in favour of flirting more with Sue. Now however, he had changed his mind; he wanted a dance with Charlie. Okay, so the plan had been not to come on to her again, but it was just a dance. During an evening like that, it was perfectly acceptable. But if he was honest with himself, there was an underlying reason for wanting a dance with her. It was another opportunity to feel Charlie's body close to his, and any opportunity that presented itself, let's face it, he was going to take it. Who knew when it would come again, or if it would? Yeah, he was definitely getting a dance with her. He buzzed with the anticipation of it.

Luckily, Sue was being monopolized by a number of other club members at that point, leaving Luke free to spend that time with Charlie on the dance floor… that was, if she was ever going to return after his little foot play under the table. That had been very… stimulating; he smiled at the memory. But now he'd been left alone for a while, he realized that everyone seemed to have someone to talk to apart from himself. He glanced around to find, to his dismay, that the only person who was standing alone, hovering around the bar, was Doug. On second thoughts though, maybe he could use this to his advantage; after all, better the devil you know, right? Anyway, if all else failed, he got the distinct feeling that Eddie wouldn't turn down another tequila and chat with him. He wasn't a bad person to have on side either.

Luke stood and moved from the table to the bar, leaning across it to order a whiskey. He glanced sideways at Doug, who he was surprised to see was staring at him.

"So, you and Charlotte worked together before then?" Doug said.

"Yeah," Luke replied, removing his arms from off the bar and crossing them over his chest. "We were partners."

"Strange, she's never mentioned you before," Doug commented.

Luke assessed him before replying, "She never mentioned you neither."

The two of them watched each other for a moment until Luke turned to reach for the whiskey that Eddie handed him.

"When did you leave the field here?" Doug asked.

Luke shrugged. "Round seven years ago."

Doug's eyes intensified as though that number struck a chord.

"What made you decide to go back?" Doug went on.

Luke was unsure whether he intended to answer that question. Then again, there was something about this guy that, although Luke didn't give a damn what anyone thought, he didn't want to seem as though he were backing away from a challenge, or trying to hide anything.

"A friend needed help," he replied.

Doug gave a curt nod…whatever that meant.

"Edd," Doug called, gesturing him over. Eddie scuttled towards him. "A whiskey," he ordered.

Luke sipped his drink, watching thoughtfully as Eddie poured Doug's whiskey.

"Didn't intend to go back for good," Luke suddenly said, " but...sometimes things just don't turn out the way ya think."

Doug took the tumbler from Eddie and sipped before speaking up.

"And now you're back," he pointed out, waiting for Luke to offer and explanation.

Luke gave a small laugh. "Yeah."

But Doug clearly wasn't satisfied with that. "What brought you back here?" he asked.

This guy was straight to the point. There were worse ways to be.

Luke took another sip of his drink.

"Workin' in New York undercover, doin' what I was doin', its real tough sometimes… real tough," he stressed, his face falling deadly serious.

The next few moments fell silent between the two of them. Doug played with his whiskey glass, swirling the amber liquid around in the tumbler before taking another swig.

"It's a tough job," Doug finally said, "tough and dangerous."

"Yeah," Luke agreed.

Doug sighed deeply and took another sip. "There were times… times when I wondered if it was too dangerous for her."

"Tell me about it," Luke replied. "And she's damn stubborn too."

Doug laughed. "Oh yes."

Luke gave a knowing grin.

"See, what it is," Luke went on, leaning on the bar again, "the way I see it, is that it's a man's job to protect a woman. I know all about the way women think these days," he said with a dismissive gesture, "but what they don't understand is that it aint right. If they like it or not, guys are stronger than women and more cut out for that kinda thing. Now don't get me wrong," he continued, "she's the best female agent I've ever known… better than most male agants I know sometimes…" he admitted, "but…" He suddenly realised that he might have been talking too much, and that he might have also, somewhere along the line, contradicted himself.

"It's an admirable thing to want to protect a woman," Doug interjected.

"Yeah," Luke agreed. "That's what I think." He finished his whiskey then before saying, "But then she was…she was so damn good at her job. Too damn good," he laughed.

Doug smiled, taking a few moments to consider Luke's comments. He finished his drink slowly.

"I've known Charlotte for a long time. I know that type of work fulfilled her," he said simply.

Luke nodded. He had not really wanted Doug to be one of the good guys, but from what he had observed and heard