CHAPTER FIVE

Imogen woke up the next morning to find herself lying half-naked next to Mark Brennan, with full awareness of what they'd been doing together for much of the night. In many ways, it was a dream come true. In others, it was a huge complication.

Mark woke up a few moments later, as though disturbed by her movement. He blinked and then smiled at her. "Morning."

Imogen swallowed hard. "We should get dressed."

Mark turned her towards him and kissed her. "Why? It's much more fun like this."

Imogen kissed him back for a few moments, then pulled away and rolled out of bed, gathering her clothes and putting them on. Realising her decision was final, Mark began to do likewise. "Mark, why are you doing this?"she asked him.

"I told you,"he replied simply. "I like you."

"And I like you but is it really worth all this? I mean…people are going to be upset and that upset could be for nothing."

"Does this feel like nothing?"Mark fired back.

"No,"Imogen admitted. "But that could just be hormones getting in the way. All we really know is that we get on well with each other and we're great in bed together. That doesn't mean we should actually be together. It doesn't mean it'd work out if we were."

"So, what do you want to do? Not even try?"

Imogen sighed. "I think if that happened I'd regret it." She thought hard. "How long are you here for?"

"Difficult to say, it depends on the case. Which depends a lot on your firm and your client, so I guess we shouldn't talk about it too much."

"But it could be weeks?"Imogen checked. Mark nodded. "Then I think you should move in with me."

Mark blinked in surprise. "Okay, that was a bit of a sudden swerve."

"It'd give us a chance to test this. There'd be no pressure, it wouldn't be permanent. But it'd give us a chance to see what we'd be like as a couple. Live our own lives but spend time together as well. And if we find we get on each other's nerves, no-one need ever know this happened."

"It's going to be hard to explain to our superiors."

"I don't see why. They already know there's a connection between us, it would make sense for you to stay with me. So long as we don't discuss the case at home, we should be all right."

"I…guess I'm not going to be sleeping in the spare room, though?"Mark ventured.

Imogen gave a coy smile. "No. Maybe we should keep that part to ourselves for now."

Mark came over, put his arms round her and softly kissed her. "Then I guess you've got yourself a room mate."

Imogen led the way into her flat. She was carrying a small bag but Mark was lugging most of his things. She gestured around. "Seating area, kitchen, dining area. Bathroom is through that way." She paused as Mark bent down and stared hard at the nearest surface. She stared at him for several seconds. "Are you checking for dust?"

Somewhat self-consciously, Mark rubbed a finger along the surface and it came up clean. "Carry on."

Imogen headed into the kitchen and opened a cupboard. "Pans, organised according to size." She opened a drawer. "Cutlery." She noticed Mark's look. "What?"

"Knives to the left and forks to the right? Doesn't it make it easier to set the table if they're the other way round?"

"Not if you select items from right to left." She opened an overhead cupboard. "Pasta, sauces, spaghetti. Anything meat-related is kept in the fridge."

"Isn't it a bit too close to the cooker?"

Imogen glared at him. "Mark, you're the guest here, that means you have to deal with my system. If we ever get a place together, then you can debate things."

Mark smiled. "So you think that's an option then?"

Imogen softened slightly. "If I didn't, then you wouldn't be here."

"One thing I don't compromise on." Mark dug in his bag and took out a packet of bed sheets. "I insist on comfortable bed linen."

Imogen gave an amused look. "Oh yes, Paige told me about that eccentricity. So did Naomi. And Steph."

"It's not a deal breaker for you then?"

"No, no, I'm prepared to give it a try."

"Guess you need to show me the bedroom then."

Imogen caught his mischievous tone but played along anyway. "To put the sheets on?"

"Yeah." Mark pulled her towards him and kissed her. "But it's not the first thing I want to do."

They resumed kissing as she led him in the right direction.

Mark flung a tea towel over his arm with a flourish, moments before Imogen came in through the front door. She immediately took in the elaborately-set table. "What's this?"

"Dinner,"Mark replied rather redundantly. Quickly realising it needed more explanation than that, he added, "I thought for our first evening together we'd do something special."

Imogen raised an eyebrow but couldn't keep a smile off her face. He could tell he'd pleased her. "You're certainly trying."

Mark held a chair out for her and she took a seat. "I am supposed to be wooing you."

"Wooing, eh?"Imogen asked with affected amusement.

Mark retrieved their meals from the oven, putting her plate down in front of her. "Courting?"he suggested.

"Mmm…I think I prefered wooing." As Mark took his seat, Imogen took her first bite of the meal. "It's good,"she admitted. "Keep this up and I might let you stay longer. Guess I'll have to do something pretty impressive to keep up or you might decide that I'm the one who's not such a great prospect."

Mark wrapped his hand around hers. "It'll never happen,"he promised. He was surprised sometimes at how much conviction he had about that, but he did.

Imogen smiled and kissed him lightly, then turned back to her meal. "Come on, let's not let this go to waste."