Burning Desire

Nights In

The following few weeks passed without any more slip ups between me and Rosie. Not that it was easy. If I'd gained a quid for every time that I'd thought about those luscious lips of hers, or the feel of her body pressed against mine, then I'd have re-earned half of my yearly salary. She hadn't wasted time getting into the thick of the mischief with the rest of us either, earning both respect and disapproval from the rest of the Watch, and Tom.

It was a Monday evening that found me sitting at the dining table in Dodger's living room, having been invited for dinner. The cosy area was illuminated with a warm and flickering glow from the numerous candles lit around the room, it bounced off of the ruby red walls, giving the impression of a romantic little restaurant. The delicious smell of roasted chicken filled the air, and we were all grouped around the table that was draped in a clean, white linen tablecloth. A few of the others had already got other plans for the evening, but Sam and Cain had come, along with their wives, and Rosie had joined at the last minute too. As we sat around the table tucking into the delicious dinner that Em had cooked, there was a steady flow of conversation between the women. Eva, Sam's wife, was merrily talking about her pregnancy with their son, and offloading an entire batch of tips on how to deal with various upcoming challenges. Hope soon joined in with added mentions of how the birth of hers and Cain's daughter, Holly, went. Including suggestions of what she would need to prepare for, and need with her for that occasion. Dodger was sitting with Em, his arm wrapped around her shoulder, whilst he rested a hand over her pregnant belly, stroking it softly and listening intently, whilst his dinner lay abandoned on the table. I glanced toward Rosie, who was looking in their direction, her eyes glassy as she absentmindedly toyed with her dinner. Watching her, I could tell that something was on her mind, and it bugged me.

"Are you okay?" I whispered, keeping my voice as low as I could so that the others didn't hear me.

She jolted at the sound of my voice, looking up and pasting a bright and broad smile on her face as she answered:

"Yeah, fine."

She maintained a steady gaze with me for all of a second, before diverting her eyes southwards, back to her plate, combing her fork through the green beans. I continued to study her movement, mentally trying to gauge the situation.

"How about you Bane? Decided to settle down yet?" Hope called down the table, flicking her long black hair over her shoulder and smiling sweetly over at me.

I laughed as Cain scoffed into his glass of red wine, shaking my head.

"No, still single." I answered, lifting my bottle of beer to my lips and taking a mouthful, as Eva leant forwards to look down the table at me.

"How has some lucky young lass not snapped you up yet?" She asked, her amber, doe eyes widening in surprise.

I noted, out of the corner of my eye, that Rosie had peered up at me to tune into this part of the conversation.

"Lucky hey? You forgetting that I'm right here?" Sam asked teasingly, staring at his wife, who simply shrugged, cosying up to him in a side hug briefly, her forkful of chicken floating just before her mouth.

"Like I could ever forget." She smiled back, pressing a quick peck on his cheek, before turning back to the table, "His big mouth would be impossible to miss."

A rumble of laughter ran around the table as she promptly swooped on the forkful of food, chewing it with added relish whilst Sam shook his head with humour and disbelief.

"How about you Lacey? Settled down, or serial dater?" Em asked, filled with intrigue at getting the scoop on the newest arrival.

Lacey looked like a deer caught in the headlights for a moment, before clearing her throat and shaking her head.