Hello, hello! I'm glad you're enjoying reading this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it! I almost thought I had lost my readers when the reviews died down for a while there... Please keep them coming because they keep me going. Don't be shy ;)

CHAPTER 19

Niles hadn't seen CC for the rest of the day. He was glad that she hasn't asked McMann to pick her up after work for their 'second meeting', as CC called it. He wasn't in the mood to see that annoying man.

Niles wondered whether McMann would be getting into CC's... stockings that night. The dirty talk would indicate a blaring 'hell, yes!' But her talk of trust and men that turn her on enough to get to second base with her - that was reassuring.

CC was searching her wardrobe for something to wear. A closet full of designer clothes and none of it seems appropriate, she thought.

She was remembering Damon talk about how much he loved the dress she had worn straight from Nanny Fine's closet and that he couldn't wait to see what she'd wear next. She was worried.

She scanned through her rails until she found what she had been looking for. It was nothing like Nanny Fine's clothes but she always felt sexy in it.

It was her floor-length, strapless LBD. If that pesky butler found me attractive enough to kiss me the last time I wore it, it must make me look pretty damn good.

She smiled as she recalled their feverish kiss in Maxwell's living room a few years before. The dress was bound to catch Damon's attention.

She slid into it easily, relieved that it still fit. Her hair had grown a little but when she looked in the mirror, the image reflected took her right back to that night. She smiled at her reflection while reapplying some makeup and running a comb through her tresses.

She ran her hands over her body, smoothing the dress over her curves and reminiscing about that passionate kiss... She had been so forceful with him. She had almost ravished him!

She grinned at how confident she had felt, even while he was insulting her... Especially while he was insulting her! It got her blood boiling and temperature rising just thinking about it.

She had been the first to turn her head and push her tongue into his hot mouth. She was forced to be a strong woman in business and life and she usually enjoyed taking a back seat in the bedroom but he had brought out a side of her she never thought had existed.

Well, maybe the dress had brought out that side of me, she thought but wasn't entirely convinced.

They had been completely magnetized by each other and probably wouldn't have stopped if Maxwell and Nanny Fine hadn't walked through the door.

She couldn't remember what she had said to them as Niles followed her to the door. She did, however, remember the sudden tremble of arousal that ran through her when he greeted her with the word that had started it all... "Chicken."

She looked into her floor-length mirror to find a smile on her face and her chest slightly risen with the breath she hadn't realised she was holding. Why did this man get to her so much? She forced herself to stop smiling and exhaled quickly.

There was a knock at the door.

She saw the eyes of her reflection widen in the mirror in... worry?

She ignored it and grabbed her purse and shawl before heading to the door. Luckily she was ready because he was very early. She grinned at his eagerness to see her while she tugged open the apartment door and stood seductively with one hand on the doorknob and the other on the doorframe. However, her smile and hand dropped suddenly when she saw who stood before her.

Him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. They never made time for pleasantries and always went straight for the nuts, so to speak.

"Mr. Sheffield sent me to-" He glanced over what she was wearing and seemed to forget what he was going to say.

"To?"

"Um..." He loved that dress on her but hated how distracting it was. "He sent me to drop off this folder." He held it out to her.

She took it and turned to walk inside. She could feel his eyes running over her body. She knew what this dress could do to a man - what this dress had done to this man.

"Ugh. This isn't the one I proofed! What an idiot!"

"All I did was bring it over here! Why am I the idiot?"

"Maxwell is, not you! This time." She smirked. "Come in for a moment while I look for the one I edited by hand."

He remained silent and entered her apartment as she walked away. He sat on the sleek, black, leather sofa in her living room while she disappeared into another room.

When she emerged a few minutes later, she was holding two folders. She was looking through the papers inside as she slowly sat next to him. He looked over at her. The dress was not helping to suppress the memories that were shoving their way through to the surface of his subconscious.

"Okay..." She said as she read a line from a page in one of the folders. She leaned forward suddenly to put the page on the coffee table and scribbled a note on the front.

He took the opportunity to look at her bare shoulders and back. He couldn't deny he had been thinking about her a lot lately. Why did she have to wear this dress for her date with that annoying know-it-all though? He wondered. Was he jealous? Possessive?

She got up and turned to face him, folders in hand. He rose and she put a hand on her hip to appear casual even though this reminded her so much of that night.

She shoved the two folders at his chest and said, "I've marked which one is the edited version. Have Maxwell draw up that copy and you can use the other one to clean windows because that's all it's good for."

"I do many things, Miss Babcock..." He leaned closer, "but I don't..." She held her breath unsure of what he was getting at. "do windows."

She breathed.

"Whatever, bellboy. Just make sure he gets the right one!" She put her hands on his shoulders and turned him around to nudge him towards the door.

As he walked out, she called to him. He turned and came back a few steps.

"Yes?"

She looked as though she was contemplating saying what she had wanted to say.

"Uh, do you think this dress looks okay? Be honest!"

"I always am."

She gave him a look.

"Yes," he said.

She raised her eyebrows as though expecting an explanation or requiring a little more effort from him to convince her. "You barely even looked properly!"

He stepped into the door way where she stood, holding the door open. He looked her up and down and she moved to clasp her hands in front of her as if suddenly self-conscious. He took hold of her hands and lifted them to the sides so that he could get a better look.

"Well..." He said, and then paused.

"What?" She looked down at herself and then back up at him.

He didn't answer but looked up at her. His brows were furrowed but his expression was unreadable. It made her nervous.

"The dress is... fine." He glanced at her lips.

"Fine?" She said sulkily.

"But I'd definitely hit that."

She looked at him, confused.

"With a car?" She said, unimpressed and annoyed.

He shook his head. "No." He smiled and let go of her hands. He turned to walk away and she let him leave because she saw Damon stepping out of the elevator. She left the door open and checked her hair and lipstick in the mirror once more.

When Damon's head poked in, she smiled and moved to kiss him on the cheek but he took her face in his hands and kissed her lips.

"What was that God-awful domestic doing here?" He asked. He hadn't complimented her appearance yet.

"Dropping off some paperwork."

"Ah. For a moment I thought I should be worried." He laughed.

"About Niles? He wouldn't-" She stopped because he had made a move. Right after she had last seen Damon. "No, nothing to worry about." She smiled and closed the door behind them as they stepped into the hallway.

"Good because he made some overly protective comment to me at the elevator about treating you with respect but then changed his tune and told me I should make a move with you wearing that dress." He looked at her. "Which is very handsome on you, I must say."

Handsome? That's it? She thought.

"If you ask me, those domestics sniff way too many detergents in a day. He didn't seem to know what he was trying to say."

CC wasn't listening anymore. She pushed for the elevator and wished she had borrowed another outfit from Miss Fine. Handsome? Really, now!