A Bid For Love

could pull up as he dropped his voice to a whisper. "How badly do I need to hurt him?"
    Asher poured a cup from the coffeemaker and took his time stirring a sugar into it. "Don't. He's not stupid enough to blab it to Eva, and it'll just make things worse if you go all Road Warrior in the middle of the office. I'll tell you tonight when we can both decompress."
    Much as Scott wanted to argue, he knew Asher was right. "Okay. But say the word and I'll remind him I really can kick his ass." He sighed. "Home with you sounds really good about now. How long till quitting time?"
    Asher glanced in Eva's direction and winced. "Too long."

    * * * *
    Four-thirty. God, the day had crawled by, every minute scuttling over his skin, worse than the crossfire of Eva's glances at Asher all day. Scott thought he might well strangle his lover for not making up some very plausible lie for the transfer. But Asher felt there'd be enough gossip going around without a fabrication to boot. Though now, watching the twitch that had settled in the corner of Asher's left eye about an hour ago, Scott wasn't so sure his lover might not have wished the same.
    He glanced over his shoulder at Eva, standing at Holly's desk going over some report or form. God, just let us get through the next thirty minutes. Asher's had enough grief today . And Scott's lover didn't need to be covertly stared at, either.
    A folded sticky note scraped almost silently over the surface of his desk lamp. Scott moved only his eyes to glance at Asher, who managed to smile without actually moving a muscle on his face.
    Damn, I have to get him to teach me how to do that. Just incredible. Since his own body blocked the note from everyone else's sightlines, he retrieved it and had to grin at the bold writing.
    Dinner--Takeout?
    Now how could he refuse such an offer? Takeout meant a quiet evening at home...alone. Which sounded exactly like what they both needed. He wrote a large YES and drew a smiley face on the note before turning it around on his desk so Asher could see it. The glow in his lover's eyes said more than any other expression could.
    Something thumped and he looked up to meet Eva's wide-eyed stare, one of Holly's monitor pets rolling about on the floor at her feet. Horror glowed there, growing by the instant.
    "What?" He checked to make sure everything was zipped and tucked away. And no larger than it should be, considering the thoughts he'd been having about Asher. His gaze flicked to his lover and then back to Eva. The horror reached a new high. "What?"
    "Oh. My. God."
    Holly's eyes flicked wide and she took hold of Eva's arm. "Hey, did you ever find the Ferdenetti file? Remember, it got misplaced in the shuffle we had with DEA. You said you'd narrowed it down to..." She trailed off as she realized her diversion attempt wasn't working.
    "Oh. My. GOD!"
    Scott's stomach dropped. He knew the next words even before they fell from her full lips, crashing onto his desk before ricocheting to bound from the walls with a cosmic echo.
    "You're sleeping with Asher!"
    Heads turned; people in the hallway stopped. Noah became very interested in his reports.
    Asher just looked at her, one more tolerant glance in the longest line of them Scott had ever seen from anyone. After a moment, three soft, calm words crossed those dear lips. "Yes, he is."
    Dear God. It took every ounce of control Scott had not to climb across the desk and kiss Asher blind. He felt the involuntary grin spreading his lips wide. "Yes, I am." Eva didn't matter. Only that glow on Asher's face had any meaning. The smile grew. "Yes." He took a deep breath, cleansing and refreshing. "I am." Proudly, freely. Screw what anyone else thought.
    "But..." At least Eva finally realized her decibel level and lowered her voice from shriek. "But..."
    Holly blew out a breath. "Lord, I never thought you'd actually prove it beyond any shadow of doubt, but it's official. You are the least tactful woman on the planet. Remind me never to tell you anything ever again." She glared out into the hallway. "Beat it."
    The three agents staring wide-eyed into the bullpen started and scurried away. Scott turned the grin on Holly. "I love you. Not as much as I love him, but a really close second."
    "That's Asher ." Eva's eyes didn't plan on contracting any time soon, it seemed. "I mean...that's Asher."
    "Yeah, it's Asher." He didn't attempt to lessen the smile. He didn't want to. "I knew that when I asked him out."
    "You...you