Page 40 of Exposé

Does this girl ever sleep?

She'd done nothing but stare at her computer and curse since I'd logged onto the new cameras.

Ava sat on her bed cross-legged, her long brunette hair twisted up into a high bun. She wore that damned Tweety Bird t-shirt around her waist, leaving the slightest peek-a-boo space between her legs.

Are her panties pink?

I licked my lips as I sat at my desk, then jotted down her activity, time, and location. Taking a swig of my bottled beer, I leaned back and rubbed my eyes, soaking in her intoxicating beauty.

Dun. Dun. Duuuun.

I sighed at my ringtone, fished my phone out of my pocket, and swiped the green button on my screen. "It's a little late for calls, don't you think?"

The ball of fur I'd inherited with the apartment rubbed against my leg, his heart-shaped name tag clinking against his collar.

"Your attitude is noted." Callie's clipped tone drew up a mental image of her scowling at her computer screen, much like Ava with that beauty mark on her cheek.

I cleared my throat and dug my fingers into my eyes. "What do you need, Callie?"

"This is your check-in."

"A little out of protocol." I opened my eyes, and a flash of light had me staring at the smoke detector. A shiver raced through me as I swallowed. "Aren't I supposed to check in with you?"

"Director Brentwood wants me to keep a close eye on this one."

I stood, put my beer on the desk, and reached for the device on the ceiling. "Then hit the field, but until then, don't call me. You risk blowing my cover." My finger pressed into the test button, and a blazing alarm punctured my eardrum, sending my heart racing and my adrenaline surging.

"It's eleven-thirty, Nate. Unless you're fucking her already, it was a safe bet to assume you were in bed." She paused. "God, what is that noise?"

"Testing the smoke detector." I sat back in my chair, the alarm silenced, and my mind at ease. "I'm moving slower with her."

"Or maybe she's just out of your league."

"Ouch, Callie. I thought we were friends?"

She scoffed. "You wish."

I chuckled with nostalgia.

"Give me something to tell Brentwood."

Sighing, I stretched over the back of my chair, my arm slinking over my head. "Cameras have been installed." Sitting upright, Isnagged my beer off the desk and swigged. "She nearly caught me too. I still need to mirror her phone so I can see and hear everything."

"How did you manage that?"

Ava leaned against her pillow, her legs still crossed, her eyes skimming over the new mail piece from the IRS, courtesy of me.

Definitely pink panties.

"She likes to pull late nights at work, but this time she didn't. I stumbled out the door and broke the handle as she came up the stairs."

"Did she suspect anything?"

"If she did, she didn't say. Your profile is solid. She thinks I'm some random maintenance man."

Ava tossed the paper with a curse, closing her computer screen, and then pulled the covers over her legs and turned out the lights.

I chuckled.

---