Not even a week! So no complaints of waiting too long! XD

I thought I should be nice and post this since I keep teasing Dear4Life about the other stories I'm working on for her birthday. Lolz~ Just to make up for it (a little), an early release of the next chapter! Enjoy~

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Chapter 26

His face came closer and closer as she could hear the faint sound of his breathing. Then it finally hit her, kick starting her brain back into high gear. She could smell the faint scent of cigarettes lingering on his breath, a scent she hated with a passion. Her eyes flashed open and a wrinkle of disgust crossed her features.

"Have you been smoking?" she asked, breaking the moment when his face was only an inch away from hers.

Inwardly groaning, November pulled away and turned his back on her. So much for kissing her… Something he had been slow in carrying out – both because he had this nervous tick overcome him and because he had wanted to savour the moment. Now she broke the spell by asking if he had been smoking.

"Maybe a few hours ago."

"That's really not a good habit," she replied, displeasure evident in her voice. "Now, are we going to get back to the topic of discussion? I didn't come here to play around with you, though I know that is what you would like."

He felt like rolling his eyes as he couldn't think of anyone else who knew how to effectively kill the mood as quickly as she did. They had just been getting to the good part! Why could she smell something like the scent of cigarettes when he didn't have one since supper? And why did it have to be a smell that she disliked? He had been that close!

"What did you want to talk about?" he asked wearily like the weight of the world had been dropped on his shoulders.

"Saitou – you need to leave him alone. Give me your phone."

This time he didn't put up a fuss as he left her by the entryway to enter his room. He returned moments later, phone in hand. Without asking any more questions, he placed the phone in her hand. He watched carefully as his fingertips grazed her palm, but her only response was to raise an eyebrow.

She didn't say anything as she unlocked the keypad and punched in her own number. She didn't tell him what she was trying to do, leaving him to figure this out based on her actions. The phone was put to her ear as she was calling someone with his phone. Then the sound came a moment later when she pulled out her own phone.

"There, now I have your number. This is my last warning. Leave Saitou alone," Misaki stated. "I know you're doing this for fun, but I won't lose one of my best workers for your petty reasons."

"So what are you suggesting?"

"Well, since you seem so keen on being an informant, fine, but no more sneaky tactics and asking about cases through Saitou. Next time, call me directly since you already figured out my phone number."

"Then why do you need my number?" he asked.

"Just in case. You're a hard man to track if you want to be. It's only fair this way."

"What do I get out of it? I mean, if I do leave Saitou alone like you said."

"This was your own plan. Don't ask me," Misaki retorted. "I'm just playing along. And if you do help me like you did with the NJ-629 case, then you shall have my gratitude for your assistance."

"That's not enough of an incentive for me."

"You'd purposely harass Saitou even more when I'm supposed to be your target? I can't believe that you would be so selfish!" she exclaimed. "This is his job, his livelihood!"

"Don't glare at me like that," November answered. "I just meant that I want something from you, for the information I give you – and not just your gratitude."

"That's not the way things work."

"Perhaps not, but to make things fair – a term you used yourself – I should get something out of helping you. In other words, I want a reward."

"What kind of reward?" she inquired hesitantly.

Now they were talking. November grinned as he could think of plenty of things that he would consider a reward. He took his time in thinking of what he wanted. Eventually, his gaze drifted back towards the front door.

"No, absolutely not," she stated vehemently when she noticed where his gaze had travelled to.

"Then, a date," he answered without hesitation.

Misaki stared at him, not sure where this was going. It wasn't like she needed his help, but he was the one being persistent in trying to stick his nose in her business. She was only trying to make the most out of her current situation. The main question she had to ask herself was whether or not it was worth it – a date in exchange for information…

"What if I don't agree to give you anything?"

"Mm… Who knows…? Maybe I will just have to be selfish – since I am a selfish person to begin with. You're the one who came here to negotiate."

"I would hate you even more if you did anything that harmed Saitou," she stated.

"I don't believe that you hate me quite as much as you want me to think," he responded with a grin as he glanced at the front door again. "And you can only blame yourself if anything did happen. I already told you what I wanted in exchange. I don't think I'm being unreasonable."

Narrowing her eyes at him, Misaki tried to think of something to say in response. He was feeling extremely smug, something she could tell from the way he smiled at her. Unfortunately, what he said wasn't entirely off the mark. She chose to ignore her moment of insanity, but if Saitou did lose his job because of this… Above all else, she would feel guilty since she did say that she would deal with him.

"Ugh… Fine," Misaki finally replied reluctantly. "But only if something comes out of the information you provide me."

"Deal!"

She stared at him again as he had agreed surprisingly quickly – something she expected him to try and bargain about. He was up to something, but she just didn't know what. They stayed like that for a few more minutes, one glaring while the other one only smiled.

"So I can call you any time?" November eventually asked.

"Only if you have information, otherwise, I don't want to see your name appear on my phone."

"Well then… I'll just have to work extra hard," he replied with a chuckle.

Misaki didn't say anymore and made her way back to the door. He didn't try to stop her, again something she had expected him to do. When she finally opened the door to let herself out, she gave him a curt nod and left. She had seen his hand go up in a wave before she closed the door behind herself.

When Misaki was gone, November made his way to the front door to lock it. He couldn't help it as he continued to grin. He knew what she was thinking. He agreed to it much too quickly. What she failed to realize was that they would have to spend time together when he passed along the information in the first place. There was no way in hell he would do that over the phone when he had an excuse to see her. Essentially, based on her own negotiations, he would get to see her twice for each piece of information that he was able to find.

In a way, it was two steps forward and one step back, but it was still progress. Standing by the door, a million thoughts entered his mind. He was immediately reminded of her body so close to his as she stood with her back pressed against the door. If he hadn't hesitated, they would have actually kissed by now… This then led him to thoughts of their supper together and the seductive sounds that had escaped her lips…

Groaning out loud as his body reacted to the memories, he pushed away from the door in frustration. He was going to need a cold shower before he went to bed. But actually, it might have been a good thing that things turned out the way they did.

Quite easily, he could have tugged her into his embrace and pressed his lips to hers when he first took hold of her hand; except he didn't want their first kiss to happen that way. He wanted it to be special – to be something she enjoyed, a reaction not unlike her enjoyment of the food she ate. If she disliked the smell of cigarettes, he was positive she would have tasted it if he had forced her… Even so, that knowledge did nothing to help alleviate the desire.

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Misaki returned to her apartment completely flustered. Despite her act in front of November, her nerves still hadn't settled down. Still, the feel of his lips lingered on her skin; she felt like she had been burnt by the contact. When she had finally reached her car, she had melted into a complete puddle as her emotions battled within her.

It had taken her a few minutes before she was steady enough to actually drive. Even then, the knowledge that they had been that intimate never left her mind. She wasn't even sure who she was angry at more – herself for being the one to create the situation in the first place or November for taking advantage of her like that.

After returning home, she tossed her things onto the couch and made her way to the bathroom. She turned on the cold water and scrubbed her wrist and palm with plenty of soap, hoping to rid herself of the feeling. It was disturbing. She should have thought things through more clearly like she usually did, instead of acting on impulse.

By the time she was finished in the bathroom, both hands were absolutely numb since she had held her hands under icy water for a good fifteen minutes. When she finally looked at her reflection in the mirror, a slight growl escaped her lips. Her cheeks were still rosy. Disgusted with herself, she headed to the bedroom to change.

A glance at the clock told her that it was well into the morning and she would only get a few hours of sleep. Instead of willingly putting herself in such a compromising situation, she should have waited until the morning to seek him out. But now it was too late to do anything about it. She couldn't turn back the clock; she could only deal with the consequences as they came.

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"Damn it," he muttered.

November was lying in bed, entirely too aware of the situation that had just passed. Despite the cold shower, his arousal was still peaked. The moment he closed his eyes, the image of her lips slightly parted as she gazed up at him floated into his mind. Her breathing had been soft, but had become faintly shallow. If it weren't for his stupid smoker's breath, he would have been one step closer. Instead, all he had become closer to was another night of uncomfortable sexual frustrations.

Growling as he shifted, he couldn't help wondering what she was doing now. Was she even thinking about what happened or almost happened? He wished she would because then he would know that he was on her mind, just as much as she was on his. He hated the fact that every meeting of theirs ended up like this. Misaki went on her merry way while he was the only one who seemed to suffer from the lack of progress.

Would she tell her boyfriend about it? Was he supposed to expect a confrontation sometime soon? Damn lucky bastard… Maybe she had gone home to be in his arms. Cursing his thoughts, he didn't want to know. His fingers itched to punch him at the idea of his hands on her. It was irrational since he was the third wheel… But he couldn't help it.

Something about her had gotten under his skin and he was that much more determined to steal her away from him. The only problem was that he wasn't making any progress. If anything, meetings with her only served to make him more aware of her and the sensations she created within him.

Sighing softly, there was no point fighting against it. He had already tried on multiple occasions. The more he fought against it and tried to block her from his mind, the more she surfaced at every unexpected opportunity which only served to perpetuate this vicious cycle of frustration.

Doing what he was starting to use as a coping method, he closed his eyes and let himself remember everything about her. The way she had looked during their date; the angry expression on her face when he had continued to use her given name; the gentleness in her voice when she spoke to the boy; the way she had smiled at her boyfriend. He let himself remember all of it before falling asleep.

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A/N: Ahaha~ I can already hear everyone groaning in disappointment... No actual kiss... Yet! XD November has got to work a little harder before that happens~ :) But he's getting somewhere if Misaki is flustered... hehe~

BTW, please let me know if you spot any errors. I was extra lazy about editing it the final time before posting in my haste to get it up.