Now

He slipped her earring onto her finger – and of course the hoop of the earring fit perfectly around it. She could feel the clip rubbing between her middle and ring finger, but hid the discomfort by pulling Alec up onto his feet and bringing her lips to his.

Contrary to what she thought most people might do – dive face first into a messy, aggressive kiss – she gently stroked his face toward hers and planted a soft kiss on his lips. The air between them changed, and she discovered in mere moments that he liked her particular brand of lip lock, if the way he growled lightly into her mouth was any indication. And his eyes – the gleam of something more primal sizzling there like crystallizing nectar from a honeycomb. It was certainly heating her up. It felt like there was an invisible cord between them, pulling them toward one another. She opened up to his caressing lips and allowed his tongue passage, and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his hard, lean form.

All around them, they could hear the cheers of couples clapping, realizing they had been a part of this romantic night. But Max couldn't think about any of that, not with Alec's soft lips pressed against hers, not with his tongue delving expertly into her mouth and exploring it with a fervor. Oh, god, she thought. She wasn't sure if she was lamenting the fact that he was an expert at this, or just plain enjoying it. No, more than enjoying it – freakin' living inside of it.

When they finally came apart, in a quick second, he seemed to come back to himself, his creamy caramel stare dissolving into just regular shine, and he smiled his over-the-top smile. He took her hand and turned her toward the crowd, his face splitting even further in prepared elation.

Congratulations abounded as he led her to the elevators. They stayed relatively quiet on the way up to their floor, save for their insatiable making out in front of an elderly couple who'd noticed the ring and remarked on young love, and despite how many times he checked out her swollen-from-each-kiss lips, Max tried not to put too much stock into it. He was good at playing the part.

When they finally reached their room, he disengaged from her and went straight to the safe where she'd placed the hard drive, shrugging off his coat on the way and leaving her to shut the door. She made her way into the bedroom where the wall safe was stashed and waited for his instruction.

"Sorry about that," he started, pulling the drive from the contained safety of the wall and hooking it up to his laptop. He pulled at his bowtie and unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt.

Well I'm not, she thought, remembering the feel of his lips on hers. She feigned ignorance to his statement. "About what?"

He did not look at her as he began decrypting the hard drive. "About that whole scene. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Just thought we needed to get back up here."

"So naturally, you thought the best way to do that is to propose publically?" Max sat on the edge of the bed and removed her shoes. She wasn't sure whether or not this line of questioning or sarcasm would result in insubordination, but she was willing to test the waters.

With his face illuminated by the computer screen, she couldn't help but compare his inattention to what Cale paid her while he was absorbed in one of his crusades. It was frustrating to say the least.

He typed away, apparently multitasking. "You did very well, and I think you would make a great addition to this cover," he said, again, not looking at her as he spoke. He seemed to have found something on the drive, and as he executed the program, he finally stood up and looked at her. "Would you continue to be a part of my cover?"

Without her heels on, she felt even shorter, but the way he talked to her made her feel tall, and she rose to her feet to meet his compliment. He thought she was a good agent; he thought she played the part so well that he wanted her to continue playing the role. It meant future missions as Edward Bruneau's (probably) wife, with the added potential benefit of more PDA. She almost smiled, because it felt like he had just asked her for her hand in marriage for the second time tonight. "Yes."

Noticeably relieved, he exhaled and smiled. He watched her eyes for a moment as she looked away shyly. His smile fell and his lips parted as if ready to say something else.

She walked over to him and turned, sweeping her hair over her collarbone. "Do you mind?"

The dress zipped up in the back and had a hook closure, so as soon as she bared her neck and back to him, she figured he'd get the hint. But when all she felt was the air conditioning lightly breezing against her shoulder blades, she peeked over her shoulder and caught the transfixed look in his eyes.

He stared at her back, fingers twitching toward her dress. His face was serious, a hard stare with no eye contact, clenched jaw, and she felt the heat from his fingertips when he dragged his fingertips along the middle of her back, gently pushing an errant section of hair she'd missed over her shoulder.

She turned back to hide her disappointment that he didn't seem pleased and her embarrassment that she was blushing just from a brush of his fingertips, and Alec he tucked those fingertips under the hem of the dress and pinched the hook out of its closure. He held one side of the dress with his right hand and slid the zipper down agonizingly slow with his left.

The back sides of the dress folded down a bit, revealing her black strapless bra, and she thought she heard him take a sharp breath. He turned on his heel and went back to his laptop.

"Thanks." She made her way to the bathroom, grabbing her bag on the way, and swung the door so it was almost shut.

What is with him? She couldn't help but feel confused. Usually she was pretty adept at reading people, even Manticore soldiers, but this one was an enigma. One second he touched her like she was the softest, most exotic, rare element on this planet, and the next, his face was the epitome of a stone cold sculpture, emotionless save for whatever emotion he was feeling when the sculptor captured him.

She looked at herself in the mirror, letting the dress fall. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes dilated with obvious desire. She was suddenly glad she had turned around to hide her expression from him. What would he do if he found out she was harboring a bit of a crush on her handler? What would the Director do?

Her eyes fell to her satin bra and underwear, and she remembered how he'd kissed her. So hungry. Passionate. Like his body had taken over, consuming her, lighting a fire throughout her body. Was this how he obtained the information he wanted? Was this how he achieved mission success? Was this why he was the best of the best?

She followed her own curves in the mirror's reflection, wondering if Alec would ever look at her the same way. He could start at the curve of her waist, let his eyes rake over the swell of her breasts, lick up past her collarbone and spread up the slope of her neck. Fuck, she was getting hot. She let those thoughts invade her mind until she was staring at her own eyes in the mirror, imagining what he could do with his mouth.

She twisted her arms behind her back and unhooked her bra, bringing her hands around and up to her breasts. She dragged the bra down gently, revealing her dusky, rosy areolas, pencil-eraser hard from her fantasizing, and seeing the effects of those fantasies struck her with lust. Her fingertips picked at her nipples, kept moving down her abdomen until they dipped into the fabric of her panties. That's when she heard Alec.

"I asked you to make her disappear into the crowd, into the background," he said authoritatively, but maybe a little louder than he'd intended.

She pulled her fingers from her panties, covered her chest, and turned, realizing she had left the door open a bit and that he probably thought she couldn't hear him. She eavesdropped from behind the door.

"I specifically asked you to make her invisible, and clearly, you can't follow one simple order. You put her in a shiny silver dress that basically screamed 'I'm a government asset, everyone, look at me!' No one could take their eyes off her all night." He paused, and she thought she'd been caught listening, but whoever was on the other line must have been attempting an excuse, because he started up again, continuing his tirade. "I don't give a fuck. It's a wonder she completed the mission unnoticed at all. Your incompetence could have undermined this op. Consider this your one and only warning."

Quickly, Max pushed the door shut as quietly as she could and stared into her own beaming brown eyes in the mirror. On the one hand, he kind of insinuated that she was barely able to complete her mission, and it was because of wardrobe's mistake.

On the other hand, he'd admitted he couldn't take his eyes off her all night.