Thread: In Cold Blood [Mach & Merc]

Before going undercover, Iris had had a very serious conversation with David about what that might mean. She remembered the feeling, sitting down at his dining room table, dinner turning cold before her as they went over the details of her mission. He was her handler. The person she contacted if she was in trouble, losing herself, or needed to get out. But he was also her lover. Her partner. The man she had been with since she first joined the Bureau. He was her anchor to the woman Iris had designed herself to be under the identity WPP had given her. To him, she was Allison. He was who she wanted to marry, to be with. And he had no idea who Iris was. In the span of a handful of evenings, Allison had revealed Iris to David piece by piece. They worked over her history, her thought process, and most importantly what Nicholas Occisor would mean to her. What she would mean to him. The lengths she was willing to go to prove to Nicholas that she was loyal. It had not been a comfortable conversation, but it had been necessary. All possibilities were discussed, even what would happen to them if she ended up pregnant while on the mission, and she had watched the way Davids eyes tightened whenever an intimate relationship with Nicky was discussed or brushed over. How the muscle in his jaw twitched when she said his name. What had not crossed her mind, was the possibility that Iris would want to sleep with Nicholas. That she something in her would be so attracted that the excuse of being undercover would be her all too convenient scapegoat Of course I did, Iris said, all seriousness back in her expression and tone of voice after the two had shared a mutual amusement over her privacy. I appreciated that, by the way. Others would not have been so polite. Sexual abuse was one of the factors she had prepared herself for mentally and emotionally when shed accepted this job. To find that his men had been as respectable as possible given the circumstances, and that he himself would be the only one with access to the surveillance set up in her room, Iris was impressed. Relieved. And perhaps a little excited? She swallowed, turning her eyes around the room again. There was no telling where those cameras were. He wanted an illusion of privacy, for her to get comfortable. It was smart, especially if she was trying to double cross him. To be comfortable meant to make a mistake. She would have to be diligent in reminding herself that this was not where she belonged - no matter how at home Nicky made her feel. As he spoke his final piece before leaving her alone, she could not help but take in how he looked at her. He wasnt shy in where his gaze lingered. On how his eyes raked over her body. It made her feel warm, her stomach churning with butterflies when his gaze lingered on her legs or her chest. She drew her lower lip into her mouth dragging her teeth over the soft pillow before she smirked and approached as he backed into the doorway to leave her alone to get acquainted with her room. Her hand slid up the door jam, her eyes locked with his like a pair of loaded guns as she moved to lay her other hand over the door handle to her side. She hovered there in the threshold, letting her eyes pour into his own as she felt herself smile naturally. Genuinely. Iris thought she would have to fake it, but it wasnt even close. She felt like she was eleven again, with a silly little school girl crush on the bad boy. Nicky can we have dinner later? Maybe take some time to catch up? Just as old friends. That was not a part of the plan. The strategy was to have Nick come to her. To want to join her for dinner, for drinks to bring her in, and not have her ask. Inwardly she cursed herself for the impulsiveness, but she had been unable to stop herself. When hed been exiting the room, ready to go off and do whatever it was he had to do, she felt a pit in her stomach. And it was too late now. The request was in the air between them, and Iris couldnt help but watch the way his lips twisted in amusement before he answered her.