Harry used one towel to wrap around herself and another for her hair. She returned to her bedroom, pulled open the top drawer and looked at the collection of briefs and bras. As she recalled yesterday's conversation about underwear, she pulled it further open and surveyed the neatly arranged sets lying at the back.
Her eye flicked back and forth and she contemplated M&S or Bond Street?
The real question was why on earth she was even debating her choice – she had no interest in him, and obviously neither him with her. She pulled out a pale blue bra and fished around for some knickers but was drawn again to the back of the drawer where she could see three sets of lingerie, each an Italian design in silk.
The doorbell sounded but that only served to confuse her mind and freeze her ability to make a decision. The second impatient ring brought her into reality, she was late and Dempsey was at the door. Inexplicably it was as his name flashed through her annoyance that Makepeace extended her reach and grabbed hold of the Argentovivo bra and briefs and started to dress. As Harry stood in just her underwear making an attempt to blow dry her hair in double quick time she considered that at least Dempsey seemed to have returned to his car to wait for her. She reprimanded herself for being late and decided that she would have to pick up a coffee as soon as they got to the police station. Finally she pulled on some trousers and a pale blue jumper somewhat surprised, but relieved, that Dempsey had not yet hooted the car horn.
She flew out of the bedroom only to find him standing just outside the door.
"What the…"
"I brought you coffee" Dempsey proffered a mug of coffee.
"Why aren't you waiting in the car?"
"It's cold; I've not had breakfast."
"That's…" Harry stopped "You broke into my home!"
"You still have that flimsy sort of lock."
"That is not an invitation" she protested.
"You didn't answer the door Makepeace! Look at it like this - it was humanitarian concern" he watched her cross her arms and wait with a knowing look for what was coming next. It became another one of their flirting games, their eyes locked and he started again "I guessed you were taking your morning bath and the phone rang - it was Spikings" he added the extra detail.
"No, it would have been Chas" she pointed out but let him continue
"Anyway you'd got out to answer it and slipped on the floor and you were lying there with a broken leg, unable to get to the phone; then I thought that maybe it was concussion and you were lying there naked" he shook his head quickly realising he'd started to speak his fantasy rather than his excuse "helpless, helpless I meant to say"
"Hmmm, it may have been what you meant to say Dempsey…" she stopped not really wanting to think about him thinking about her and so she changed subject "and if you want breakfast Dempsey you just need to do a simple thing…"
"I did – I came early"
"Shop Dempsey – buy some food from the supermarket…." Suddenly Harry realised two things at once: she wasn't late, well not that late and she no idea how long Dempsey had been there. She sipped her coffee – it was still hot. She brushed past Dempsey and made her way downstairs into the kitchen. She took another sip of coffee which was still reassuringly hot and put some bread in the toaster. Dempsey followed her grinning happily; the coffee had been a master stroke even if he had had to tear himself away halfway through the hair drying sequence. In fact the whole display had been an unplanned bonus; he really had only hoped to scrounge a slice of toast – which he took straight off the plate before Makepeace even had a chance to cut the slices in half. She slapped his wrist playfully, melted at his grin and put two more slices in the toaster. "So how are we going to play Davis this morning" she asked.
***
Apart from losing track of time Davis was not about to give up any information; Dempsey and Makepeace retreated to their office to formulate a strategy.
Harry was acutely aware that she had lost concentration more than once whilst Dempsey had been pushing Davis in the interview room as she had contemplated how damn sexy Dempsey looked in his hat. She needed to get a grip on herself; wearing that silk underwear was proving a disaster – Dempsey had no idea what she was wearing whilst she was acutely aware of the feel of the silk against her skin and how just knowing what she was wearing heightened her senses.
She sat down at her desk a brushed her hair off her face as she pretended to start making notes.
"Clarendon doesn't seem to care."
"Or he was told not to" Dempsey leaned in, his face now close enough for her to feel his breath;
"Now Davis on the other hand I'm sure does even though he doesn't show it" Makepeace was intrigued as to whether or not Dempsey had any take on the subconscious signals she had picked up on from Davis. She was also acutely aware of her own proximity to Dempsey; their inner wills placing them close into each other's space craving an intimacy that their minds forbade them, involuntarily mirroring each other's movements.
"Which may mean that he really does care" Dempsey wondered what he really meant by care, but he just couldn't stop the chemistry that kept flying between them and in this enclosed space they had created in the middle of the SI10 office the sparks were flying and it seemed ignition was not far off.
Makepeace stalled, trying to decide where Dempsey was pitching his reply. Dempsey was definitely, wilfully playing the same game. "Have you noticed how Davis reacts every time her name is mentioned" she asked displaying her nervousness, hope and desire as she played her pencil around her lips and returned her gaze back to his eyes.
"Hmm he's definitely got the fever" O boy he wanted to run his hands through her hair.............. and he wanted her hands through his.
"He's scared; do you know what I think Dempsey?" Now she was totally distracted by Dempsey. This was why she must never let things happen she reminded herself but her eyes remained locked with his.
"You tell me" Dempsey offered as their eyes refused to avert away from each other.
Makepeace felt her heart thud and hoped that the deafening sound it made in her ears wasn't audible to him. What did she think? Well she knew for a fact they were no longer talking about Davis and Lucy; could she say what she thought?
"I was just admiring the desk work."
His comment wasn't even masked; she flushed and looked down, desperately trying to escape the situation. She was still trying to work out what she thought: He was sexy, alluring, charming, funny, but just how much did he care? Yesterday she had picked him up for the café where he was flirting with the dancer, giving her the impression she was the hottest thing for ages when in truth he flirted and wooed every pretty woman he across like that. She was no prude but she was not going to be a conquest, after all they had to work together. But he was always charming, when he wasn't being chauvinistic, funny when he wasn't flouting the rules, good looking when he wasn't… well he was always good looking. At times like this when the sexual tension rose she worried that others in the office might notice but still she couldn't stop herself replying in an unspoken way. He had the fever; right now so did she! She just hoped to god he would say something to annoy her soon, and then she would be ok again.
Dempsey knew that this was as far as he dare push; he sat back and waited.
"We should let Davis go and see if he'll lead us to Lucy" Makepeace eventually suggested as the results of her comtemplations.
Dempsey sat forward, they beckoned Chas over and organised how trailing Davis could be covered.
"Now all we have to do is sell this to Spikings" Dempsey pointed out.
"I'll take it" Harry said standing.
"No, I'll open - you cover me" Dempsey stood and marched through the inner office door ahead of Harry.
'Sometimes' Makepeace thought 'Dempsey could learn a bit of diplomacy' as she tried to talk Spikings round, but on the other hand she was still picking up bad habits and she couldn't resist the revelation that it was her idea. Nevertheless she cringed when Dempsey called him 'sucker'.
