A Bid For Love

for a long time. I know how he looks when he's...hot for someone. And you didn't back off even a little bit. I've never seen you so...okay with being touched. Your laser glare didn't show up once. Not once, Asher. If you aren't into Scott, is there a particular reason you've gone all mellow on us? I'd bet my next paycheck if it had been me doing that to you, you'd have had me by the chest hair inside of two minutes, telling me to back off."
    Asher raised a brow at such audacity. "First of all, had it been you, we'd have been made inside of thirty seconds. As for 'going mellow,' might it simply be I'm an excellent actor, which is one reason the Bureau hired me in the first place?" The thought settled a tight band around his chest. Guilt beckoned, even though he and Scott had already discussed how they'd handle these early confrontations. Play it very cool until Asher's transfer went through, then they'd worry about the rest. "We were less than ten feet from the mark, Noah. Those situations generally call for the better quality acting."
    "You aren't that good." Noah turned his attention back to the surveillance. "Look, I'm not going to say anything to anyone else. I've never said a word about Scott, have I? I just... Be careful, okay? Tell him to tone it down. I'll do what I can to keep assignments like last night from happening again. There's no sense in putting temptation in his way."
    "And who the hell else would you have pick up an assignment like that, Noah? You?" He pointedly ignored the revelation. He'd have ignored it before Italy. Honestly... "Just because your gaydar meter is stuck on overload doesn't mean the rest of us can't handle a little affection in the name of a cover. And you've already made your opinion of me perfectly clear on those matters, on a number of occasions, so I think you've said all you need to."
    Noah rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just put a leash on Scott before he starts kissing you in the bullpen."
    "Oh, good Lord." Asher understood now why Scott kept his bisexual preferences to himself around Noah. "We're both adults, Noah. We can manage a little decorum and restraint."
    Another eye roll greeted him. "Well, shoot for it, why don't you? Because Scott didn't manage it on the stakeout last night."
    It took a considerable effort not to laugh out loud and give away their position. "We were playing a gay couple in a gay bar, Noah. Are you trying to tell me we were..." He had to swallow over the laugh again. " Too gay? How the hell would you know, anyway?"
    "I'm saying you were too authentic!" Exasperation tinted Noah's voice now. "God! Look, it's bad enough my best friend has gay spells, but now he's decided to date you. And yeah, the whole of Hoover pretty much knows you like guys as much as girls, so no shock there, but rumor is one thing and having it confirmed is something else. So if you want to keep moving up the ladder, tell him to knock it the hell off in public." He pulled up Expression Number Three--Wounded Puppy. "I'm just trying to help, for Christ's sake!"
    Okay, playing it cool was one thing. Allowing this jackass to spout off innuendo about Asher as fact and make such sweeping insults was something else. It didn't matter they were true; Noah didn't know that. Asher felt his temper start to simmer. Best say what he was thinking now before it hit boil. "First: I'm ever so glad the lot of you knew something so deeply personal about me, when I only truly discovered it myself during my weekend in Italy. Second: you haven't got a clue what my career ambitions are, so stay the hell out of it. And third..." He paused, clenching his fist to keep from slapping the man upside the head. "Considering how long you've been friends with Scott, I find it rather disturbing you can discuss his intimate life with such alacrity. It's under control, we're capable of discretion, and your assistance is not required. Do I make myself clear?"
    "Perfectly." Expression Number Five surfaced--Pissed Off. Sulky silence accompanied it. Really, Noah was far too old to pout. Especially when he had no reason. Asher felt no urge to make nice at the moment, and if Noah was sulking, at least he'd shut up. Asher focused on waiting for their mark rather than giving in to the itch in his palm.

    * * * *
    Scott had hung around the van as long as he could, waiting for Asher to pull in to the parking garage at Hoover. The fact his cell phone hadn't rung on the way back from the sting had his nerves strung tight. Why