She shivers beside him. The con is turning into a farce in Danny's hands, "Carry on conning," she mutters.
"It's not his fault," Ash tries to defend their errant leader. "He's trying."
"Trying my patience," she'll confess this to Ash alone, trusts "I don't feel safe with him running this, it's too risky."
"I keep checking his plans," Ash sighs, "when he makes them. C'mon you're frozen. We'll be back soon."
Stacie feels Ash's arms around her, his coat over her shoulder, inhales. "Smells of you, it's nice." She slips her arm through his and grins at him, "What? You do smell nice, whisky and whatever that aftershave is."
He laughs and then darts across the pavement, "Alright, I'll take your word for it.. Taxi.. Oi! Bleeding hell."
"Ash!" She pulls on his hand, seeing figures in an office doorway, "quick, isn't that the mark over there?"
Frantically they both look around the soulless street until finally he pulls her into the only place he can think of, a dim alleyway, pinning her against the wall "Typical," Ash breathes, "Sorry, I don't make a habit of pulling women into alleyways."
Their voices are whisper quiet as they hear the distant muttering of the mark and the men he is doing business with. Ash is frustrated, "What are they doing?"
"Fancy a game of eye spy?"
Ash laughs softly, "D?"
"Dark?"
"You're quick."
She touches his arm, "You can go, he doesn't know you. Get a cab. I'll catch you up later."
She can hear the protest in his voice and is relieved when he tells her he won't leave her alone under any circumstance, "At least have your coat back."
"You're cold, keep it." Ash's tone is firm, "chin up, could be worse. Could stuck here with Danny. At least I can keep my hands to myself."
"Shame that."
"Really?" His heart rate speeds up.
"Stuck in an alleyway with you. It's not how I imagined it."
Ash catches his breath, "Imagined what?"
"You and me," Stacie places her hands on his chest and wishes they weren't shaking so hard. Anticipation, lust? Glad of the dark as she's sure it's impossible to confess in the daylight to the face of his man she loves.
Then suddenly his voice is whisper quiet at her ear, "I wonder if it's anything like how I imagined it?"
"You - you've thought about it?" Stacie breathes, "but you've never tried it on with me. Not once."
"You're worth more than that." He touches her cheek gently and she finds herself pressing her face to his hand. "Didn't say I never wanted to." Ash gives a quiet laugh, laced she thinks with bitterness.
"It's always been you." She dares to say the words, "nobody else. My gentleman."
He sighs into her hair, "Oh Stacie." In the silence she breathes him in, listens to his heartbeat and feels the warmth of him. Then in the darkness he murmurs, "I've got potential to be very ungentlemanly."
"So how did you imagine it?" She's aware of his lips close to her neck.
"There wasn't so much talking," He dares to move his hand under the jacket he's donated to her and ghost a finger under the strap of her dress. Feels the heat of her skin.
"More doing?" Stacie breathes, tries to play it cool and fails as his lips whisper across her cheek and then her throat.
"Less clothing," Ash's touch is maddeningly light and intoxicating her.
"More kissing?" She wriggles against him, hoping to break the restraints he seems to live by when it comes to her and succeeds. His mouth finds hers instinctively in the darkness, teasing her lips in a manner she'd never consider gentlemanly.
"Think there was a bed too," He takes her hand, looks down the now empty street, "C'mon."