[the mills and boon job] for Sophie

Awkward was putting it mildly, but Eliot understood that there wasn't anyway 'in Hell' they were getting Hardison to pull it off. His hair was the right length, he had the build, and Soph had convinced him that his taciturn way of speaking was some sort of turn on. Exhaling sharply he shook his head, running his hands over his hair as he eyed his reflection.

"Housewives," he muttered under his breath.

The hands that rested to his shoulders, tugged lightly at the fabric there. Pulling it taut to his back, before smoothing out the sleeve a bit. Lifting an eyebrow he glanced at Sophie standing behind him, her reflection in the mirror clearly showing the level of care she was taking at making sure this was perfectly executed.

"I do say, you do look the part."

"I look ridiculous. Who the hell wears this stuff anyway?" Eliot eyed her, his fingers flicking at the front of the shirt, open to the middle of his chest. "It's a pirate costume."

"It's an illusion of fantasy Eliot, and you look fine. Stop being so modest."

Her fingers continued to run along the fabric, circling him, like a shark, as she made her way to finish her final inspection. His hair was still pulled back, tight at the nape of his neck, a few strands loose since they hadn't grown out all the way yet. The two braids tucked in, beneath the rest of his hair, and there wasn't any way around it, they were staying. Her final round of inspection hovered at his back, until her fingers tucked into the hair tie, tugging it down the length of his hair, and letting the rest of it fall loose.

Instinctively, his hand ran through it, trying to untangle the small pieces that overlapped in the band, but his fingers met with Sophie's toward the back, and halting his motion he quickly let his hand retreat, resting it to his side. It formed a tight fist, channeling whatever odd feelings he was trying to bottle away up into a smaller compact, easy to manage, size. It bounced nervously against his side, but after a few moments of Sophie fixing his hair, his hand relaxed at his side, his weight shifting a bit in front of the mirror.

"You're not nervous are you?" Sophie clicked her tongue lightly, as she smiled at him, "It's just a little distraction. You've done this before you know, the IT guy was quite different but still the same role. Just be yourself, you'll pull her eyes away from us and it'll be fine."

"It's not the same role, and it's not a gentle touch to her mousing hand Soph, this is an attempt at seducing this woman, and I just don't feel right leading her on."

Sophie laughed, it wasn't meant to be mean, and really she was just amused at the honor of him trying to maintain that sort of air about himself, doing what he does. Smirking he eyed her in the mirror, "What's so funny."

"Eliot, you could lead on a woman with a smile."

"A smile?" It was mostly him teasing, but he took her words to heart, turning around to face her, "How 'bout now, am I leading you on?" The tone his words took, didn't have any real questioning behind them. His voice had a natural seduction to it, the curve of his drawl always hooking the lines in, but there was more than just that and Sophie knew it. The flush that rose to her skin was slight, but it was there and he just smiled.

"You look the part, Eliot. You'll walk past her and she'll swear you stepped out of the pages of her dog-eared copy of The Mayan Cad's Supine Captive."

It was a moment of deflection, even Eliot could pick up on that. Turning the focus back to the job, rather than onto him. His hand swept up against her cheek, tucking behind her ear lightly. A single caress of his thumb to the apple of cheek was there so light, she hadn't even realized she was leaning into it. Stepping closer to her, Eliot closed that distance, feeling Sophie's hand press lightly to his chest.

The openness of his shirt, now something he was actually grateful for, allowed her delicate touch to simply rest to his skin, a cooler feeling against the warmth of him. His gaze rose along her features, leading with is nose, hovering closer to her face. Close enough now that he could hear the slight stutter of her breathing, the inward gasp of anticipation that was making his own smile curve up slightly in the corners of his mouth.

There had always been a slight tension in the air. He had been the last to forgive her for betraying them, and he'd always wondered if she understood how much he had taken that act to heart. Hovering near her mouth he hesitated, wondering if this was the right move, if this had ever been the right move. Complicated wasn't even the first thing to come to mind when thinking about it, Nate had been. Nate was always dropping the ball, taking things too quick or too damn slow, and maybe that was why he was standing a mere inch away from the brunette wondering 'What if...?' and hoping she wasn't going to back away.

It took a single auditory cue for him to lean in and claim her mouth, a soft sigh from her, and she hadn't moved from him. His kiss was slow, nearing gentle as he brushed his thumb against her check, resting his fingertips lightly behind her ear, tilting her head slightly as he deepened the kiss. Her hand, once hovering on the precipice of his shirt, now slipped against skin, tucking beneath the loose fabric, finding contours and planes of muscle that he had seen her noticing earlier in the month.

His footing moved only slightly, framing her in her heels, as his hand lowered on her back, easing to rest just at the top of her skirt. A single touch guided her against him, as their kiss continued.

"Aw... Hell no! Man, I swear I did not just see that!"

Hardison was in the room, and out of it as quickly as he could make that proclamation. Eliot could feel Sophie's eyelashes flutter against his skin as she pulled away, clearly embarrassed for being caught with her guard down. As she stepped back from him, he watched her. The way she pressed her hands against the front of her blouse, the quick glance to him as her fingers made their way to rest gently at her lips. Her eyes met his as she let them drop to her skirt, tugging at the bottom of it, before exhaling to regain her focus.

He simply nodded, knowing that whatever just happened would probably never happen again. It was the nature of the game, and for the both of them, they were just too good at playing it.

"Hardison you're nuts. They're just standing there," Parker shouted over her shoulder to Hardison, who's exclamations could still be heard through the hallway. "Come on, before Hardison starts making up more wild stories just to get you two in the van."

Parker turned and exited the room, laughing slightly at something probably only funny in her own head as Eliot moved to walk out of the room. His hand went to rest to the small of Sophie's back, a gesture he'd made a hundred times before. However, her steps quickened, leaving him with only the brush of silk beneath his fingertips before she was gone.

"I'm not walking under that fan, Parker!" Eliot shouted, trying to pull himself back into the job. Romance novel cover guy was one thing, but a fan... that was drawing a line too far.