Micah glanced up from the computer, just in time to see a grin slowly form on Tessa’s freckled face.

Oh. Oh no. Micah’s stomach clenched.

“It’s because you don’t have an excuse to see Damon again, isn’t it?”

A beat of silence.

“What? No!”

Judging by the fact that Tessa’s grin only grew wilier at his response, Micah didn’t think he’d been overly convincing. (For fuck’s sake, if he ever wanted to get another undercover gig again, he’d really have to work on his lying.)

Unable to contain her laughter when Micah groaned and buried his head in his hands, Tessa cackled freely. “Shut up,” he hissed, glancing around surreptitiously and hoping none of their co-workers were paying them any attention.

“Sorry, sorry,” she apologized, but she didn’t look it at all as she wiped tears of mirth from her eyes. “Though I hardly understand your angst. I mean, you know his name, Micah, and you’re on the police force. You have a whole database of information available to you. It’s easy enough to find out where he lives if you really want another chance at getting in his pants.”

“Not only would that be a highly illegal use of police resources – not to mention, creepy as hell – you’re forgetting one teensy, tiny problem, Tessa.”

“Oh, yeah? And what nonexistent problem has your imagination managed to conjure?”

Micah glowered. “How about the fact that he made it extremely clear he’s not interested?”

Tessa snorted. “Yeah, that’s why he attempted to debauch you on top of his kitchen counter.”

“He was caught up in the moment, but trust me, he snapped out of it quickly enough when he remembered I suck cock for money. Then he couldn’t get away from me fast enough.” Micah’s face didn’t redden at all when he spit the word “cock” out at his friend. Nope. Not one bit.

“Okay, first of all, you balls-to-the-walls ran away from him, not the other way around, and secondly, you don’t actually suck cock for money – just for your own pleasure,” she pointed out reasonably.

Micah winced. It sounded even worse coming from her mouth. “Can we stop saying the word ‘cock’ in the workplace?”

“You said it first.”

Micah glared. “My point is, why would I want to get involved with someone who plays fast and loose with people’s emotions like that? I mean, if I truly was a prostitute, he would have really hurt my feelings.”

Who was Micah kidding? Damon had hurt his feelings.

“Have you considered the reason for his cold feet might not have been because he was disgusted with you? Like you said, he thinks you’re a prostitute. Maybe he was worried he was pressuring you, or concerned you thought of him as just another customer or something.”

Micah frowned. “Even if that was true – which I highly doubt – what am I supposed to do? Randomly show up at his place – which, probably some ludicrous mansion, by the way – and tell him I’m not actually a prostitute, just an undercover detective pretending to be one? And by the way, do you maybe want to bang? Or at least take me out on a date? I mean, it sounds ridiculous.”