Obviously not then. She smiled and headed out of the building.
Stepping out into the open was like being reborn. For a minute, she stood, inhaling deeply. The air was hardly fresh. Late August in the center of London and it smelled of hot car fumes and too many people. But she loved it anyway.
As usual, she’d dressed in one of the black pants suits she always wore for work, but added her favorite top, a stretch red shirt that hugged her slight curves and made her skin appear white.
She strolled along the street keeping an eye out for Ash. He’d be hard to miss, but she couldn’t spot him anywhere. Maybe he’d decided she was too much bother and he didn’t want to get to know her better after all.
Some part of her whispered that would be for the best. She hated the idea that she was using him, lying to him. She’d make a crap undercover policewoman, as she found lying almost pathologically impossible and most people would see though her in a flash.
But the rest of her—the body part rather than the mind—felt a huge stab of disappointment.
She’d been trying not to think about it, but now she had a sudden flashback to the feel of his huge hands on her breasts. Little flutters started up in her belly; it had felt so good. And the kiss. She’d nearly come just from his kiss, from his lips on hers, his hard body pressing against her.
But she couldn’t sleep with someone she was investigating. Though she suspected the colonel would tell her to do whatever was needed to get the information he wanted. But she couldn’t. It was that “good guy, bad guy” thing again. She had her own set of rules.
Leaning against the metal railings, she scanned the crowd for black-clad men and the busy road for black SUVs. But nothing. Then she caught sight of a figure moving toward her. At first, her gaze slid past him. And back, because he was exactly what she liked in a man. Besides, he was tall, towering over the rest of the crowd.
Holy moly.
She had a vague memory of Ash telling her he was getting a makeover this morning. He hadn’t been kidding.
The black leather was gone—and she had to admit to a little pang of regret. Ash had looked great in black leather. In its place, he wore a lightweight, silver-gray business suit that had to have been made to fit him. A pristine white shirt and a dark red tie. His hair was immaculately cut and hugged the shape of his skull, the designer stubble was gone leaving him smoothly shaven. His eyes were covered by designer shades.
He came to a halt in front of her and she snapped her mouth shut because she couldn’t think of anything to say. Except—wow, and she really didn’t want to say that.
“Faith,” he murmured in that low, husky drawl. He reached up and took off the shades and his gaze wandered over her, then back to her face to settle on her mouth. Was he thinking about their kiss? Because she was. “You look beautiful.”
She almost snorted. One of them looked beautiful, and it wasn’t her.
“Are you all right?” he asked when she failed to speak.
She shook herself. “You look…different.”
“Yes, it was a sort of dare from Ryan. We have our first meeting this afternoon, and he didn’t think I wasn’t giving off the right vibes. I said neither was he. So we had a deal—I’d tone down, he’d tidy up.”
She cleared her throat. “Well, it’s official—you’re toned down.”
“You like?” he asked.
“Yeah, you’re gorgeous, now let’s move. We’re causing a traffic jam.”
It was true, people were slowing, no doubt to gawp at Mr. Perfect.
“You hungry? You want to eat?”
Actually, she was starving. At least she hoped that’s what that hollow feeling in her gut was. Hunger and not unrequited lust. But she hadn’t eaten last night and only had coffee for breakfast. “Yeah, I’m hungry.”
“We could go back to my place.” His gaze fixed on her mouth again.
She licked her lips and saw his eyes darken. Then gave herself a good mental shake. “I don’t think so.” Because if she got him alone, she doubted her lust would stay unrequited for long. She’d probably jump him as soon as the door closed behind them. What the hell was wrong with her? She’d never found sex a big deal before; now she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“A restaurant then. I know just the place.”
They strolled along the street, close but not touching. Faith avoided staring at him, keeping her eyes straight ahead, and trying to get her unruly emotions under control.
Why did Ash have to be involved with all this? Why couldn’t she have met him somewhere else, somewhere unassociated with work? Maybe if she wanted a last fling she should strike Ash off the list and transfer him to the work only list and turn her attentions to someone else…like Pete.