There was a loud banging noise from upstairs and Piper knew immediately that it was Clive, trying to let her know that he was unhappy with the volume of the music playing in her flat. She could picture him upstairs now, banging his broom handle on the floor like Mr. Heckles in FRIENDS. Piper may have turned it back down if she had been listening to obnoxious top 40s music but this was Carole King – who didn't like Carole King?
She ignored the banging and bent forward toward the mirror, pulling at the skin around her eye before pressing her eyeliner to the inner corner, dragging it smoothly along her lash line. It was her superpower – ever since she had been introduced to makeup at 16 by her roommate at MIT, she had been able to apply a flawless line along her lid. It had been her impressive talent for years since.
"I feel the earth move under my feet," she muttered as she did the other eye, singing along with the music. "I feel the sky tumbling down, tumbling down."
Shaking her hips, Piper straightened up, tossing her eyeliner into the terribly unorganized box of makeup on her vanity. She fluffed her hair out, giving herself a once over to see how she was doing. "Lipstick," she said to herself as she ran her hand through her makeup bin, pulling out a tube of deep red that she coveted. Red lipstick was not easy with red hair so once she had found her shade, a magical deep rouge, she had treated it like the crown jewels.
It had been a long time since Piper had put this much effort into dressing up for something. She didn't go on many dates, in part because of her job and also in part because no one seemed to be interested. She was sort of awkward which was par for the course when you start uni at fifteen, and she seemed to repel men more than she attracted them. She still didn't know what Harry seemed to see in her.
She figured if this date was going to be a one off (because Harry would eventually realize how big of a weirdo she was and never want to see her again) then she might as well make the best of it. So she was wearing a brand new LBD (from Topshop – Jenny Packham had turned out to be way above her budget) and she was going for the red lipstick.
She was searching for a lip brush when the door buzzed downstairs. Immediately Piper started to sweat before realizing she was being stupid. She mentally scolded herself (calm down, you crazy!) and slipped out of the bathroom and down the hall to the front room, reaching for the box near the door. She pressed the speaker button and called out a "Hello?" despite knowing exactly who it was.
"It's me," she heard Harry say in his deep, sexy voice, sending shivers right down her spine in a very good way.
"Come on up," she called before pressing the other button that opened the door. She heard it buzz so she skipped back to the bathroom, hoping she could get her lipstick on before Harry knocked.
She leaned in toward the mirror again, a cramp forming in her back which she dutifully ignored for the sake of beauty. She stretched her lips into a wide grin so she could paint red into the corners and then lined her lips with her perfect hand. She was humming along to Carole King, swiping red lipstick on her lips which was not the best idea but somehow worked. She smiled to her reflection in victory and then put the lipstick back into her makeup bin.
"You really shouldn't buzz people up like that."
Piper jumped about a foot in the air, spinning around with her hand pressed to her heart. Harry was leaning against the bathroom doorway, one shoulder keeping his body propped up while his arms crossed over his chest. There was a dangerous little smirk on his lips and his bright green eyes roamed over her body slowly, making her thighs tremble.
"What the hell, Harry?" Piper snapped as she stomped forward to push him firmly on the chest. He didn't move. Not even an inch. And Piper had put a lot behind it. Just like that, she was about ready to melt into a puddle at his feet, so utterly and completely turned on. She tried to get angry again but she was done for.
Harry took one of her hands gently, lifting it so he could press a kiss on her knuckles. It should have been cheesy but it was insanely hot instead.
"Those buzzers have cameras for a reason," Harry continued on his safety tired, letting his hand drop to his side but keeping hers in its grasp so she had to stumble forward a little to stay upright. She nearly crashed right into his chest but kept her balance by some miracle.
"It's broken," Piper muttered breathlessly as her eyes drifted down to his lips which were a little moist, glistening in her terrible bathroom lighting.
"I noticed."
"But the door was locked," Piper tried to defend so she didn't seem quite so inept and pathetic.
"Not even a deadbolt," Harry scolded gently, the smile on his face widening so it was almost as if he was laughing at her. "I didn't even have to pick it. Just jimmied the handle a bit and it popped right open."
That wasn't good. She hadn't been aware it was that easy to break into her apartment. That actually made her a little bit nervous.
She wasn't going to give Harry the satisfaction though so she just shrugged. "I knew it was you anyways."
"You have to be more careful Piper," Harry told her as his thumb began to rub small circles into the back of her hand. She had a feeling a lecture was coming so the thumb thing was sort of stupid on his part because her brain had shut off almost the second he had started up with it. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but there are people out there who are really not nice and the more time you spend with me, the easier it will be for you to pop up on their radar. Deadbolts only cost a tenner. I could even install it for you – s'not too hard. It will make you feel a lot safer."
"That was very patronizing," Piper informed Harry once he had said his piece.
"I protect this country from terrorists and spies every day," Harry said, "I'm allowed to be patronizing. I know what's out there."
"In the big scary world?" Piper prompted, putting on an innocent face and letting her lip wobble for effect.
Harry chuckled, poking her in the side, making her bark out a laugh when he hit a ticklish spot. "Don't be cheeky, Miss. Stone."
"I'll get a deadbolt," Piper acquiesced which made Harry smile wider in victory. She rolled her eyes at how dramatic he could be. "Just so I don't have to hear that lecture again."
"And fix your security camera outside," Harry added.
Piper sighed heavily, putting her hands on her hips. "You, Mr. Styles, are asking a lot on a first date. Plus, getting the security camera fixed means speaking with my landlord which I try to avoid at all costs."
That was the truth. Her landlord, Mr. Curtis, was even more unpleasant than Clive (a truly shocking feat) and he always looked at her inappropriately when she tried to ask him to do things. He would give her greasy grins when she asked for the electrical to be fixed, or the heating, and then would ask what she was going to do in return. She usually had to remind him that she had a lease that allowed her to sue him if he didn't which never pleased him much. She kept as far away from him as she could most days.
"Surely your upstairs neighbour would want it fixed as well," Harry suggested with a shrug. Piper snorted at the mental image of Clive and Curtis going at it, Clive in his bathrobe and Curtis in his ripped jeans. It would surely be a sight.
"I'm sure Clive has already tried to get Curtis to fix it." Piper was pretty sure Clive brought it up every time Curtis came around for rent. He sure liked to complain about it to Piper, despite that fact that Piper could do absolutely nothing about the problem. Clive just liked to complain.
As if on cue, the banging started up on the ceiling. Harry's eyes drifted up lazily and he stared at the ceiling for a moment before glancing back at Piper with his brow raised inquisitorially.
"For Christ's sake," Piper muttered annoyed before tilting her head back. "I'm turning it off you bloody twat," she hollered at the ceiling, hoping that Clive could hear it. "Calm the fuck down!"
Harry laughed loudly and brightly at Piper's reaction and she felt her cheeks flushing, embarrassed at her outburst. Did normal, sane people not yell rude things at their neighbours? Was that just her? "Sorry," she murmured. "Clive and I have a – special relationship."
"I can tell," Harry murmured, amused, before straightening to his full height and towering over her. "We should be off anyways, petal. Wouldn't want to be late for our dinner reservations."
"Let me get my shoes," she told him, pointing toward the front room. "Would you mind shutting off the music?"
"Not at all," he said before stepping out of the bathroom and giving Piper space to breathe for the first time since he had startled her. She let out a long breath through shaky lips, trying to steel herself up a bit. Keep it together Piper.
She checked her reflection once more before slipping out of the bathroom and into her bedroom next door. Her bed was a mess with clothes she had tried on. Mostly undergarments. It had been a big dilemma – sexy underwear in case the evening ended in the bedroom? Comfortable underwear in case Harry brought her to one of those gastropubs where you sit on picnic benches or something equally as idiotic? Or spanx to hold in all the parts of Piper that she didn't want highlighted in her new dress? In the end, comfortable had won out because since when was she lucky enough for an evening of fun in the bedroom? Better off having a nice evening and being comfortable.
Still, when she saw the mess on her bed, her brain thought ahead and let her know how embarrassed she would be if they did come back here. She immediately forgot about the shoes and gathered all of the clothes in her arms, tossing them into her closet and then working to force the doors shut. It took some effort but she managed to get the doors to click shut behind her, letting out a sigh of relief. And then she remembered the heels sitting on the floor inside that she had been planning to wear.
It was an art form being able to dive through the pile of clothes for her shoes without ruining her hair but she managed it somehow. She slipped into the sky-high black heels and remembered to grab her clutch before she stumbled out of the bedroom and down the short hall to the front room.
Harry was waiting for her there, the music off now. He was facing away, looking at one of her books that he had pulled off the shelf. It gave her a moment to rake her eyes over his frame, admiring the way that his suit fit him perfectly. His suit jacket sat comfortably on his broad shoulders before tapering down to his slim waist. Because his arms were lifted holding the book, his jacket was pulled up a bit at the back, showing off the shape of Harry's absolutely perfect bum.
Piper made a sound between a groan and a whimper before she could stop herself, which caught Harry's attention. He looked over his shoulder at her, his lips tugging up into a grin. His normally crazy curls were tamed tonight, brushed back from his head and held in place with a bit of product, so his eyes were bright and on full display. She averted her own gaze, clearing her throat awkwardly.
"I'm ready," she muttered, busying herself with fixing the angle of the picture frame sitting on her side table. Her dad smiled back at her for a moment before she flipped the whole thing to face the other way instead.
When she glanced up, Harry was watching her hand fumble on the frame, a thoughtful look on his face. She let it go immediately, hoping that he wouldn't ask about it.
He didn't. He just offered her his hand instead. "Let's get going, petal."
Piper nodded, wanting to get out of here as soon as possible. With every passing second, it was dawning on Piper just how terrible her small flat was and she was suddenly embarrassed of the little space that she called her home. It had always felt like the right size but now she was feeling practically claustrophobic. Or maybe she was just unsettled because of Harry and the way he was looking at her. Yeah, that was probably it.
She took Harry's hand, letting him lead her gently to the door on the other side of the room. He held it open for her and she stepped through, grabbing the keys from the side table as she did. She locked the door after Harry had shut it for her (pointlessly, if what Harry had said was true) and then walked down the stairs ahead of him.
When they got out onto the road, there was a crowd of people standing around by the street and it wasn't until Harry pushed her through the people that she realized why. Sitting at the curb was probably the most luxurious car that Piper had ever set eyes on. It was an Aston Martin of some kind (Piper had never been into cars enough to tell what kind) and it was sleek and black. It was also the kind of car James Bond would drive and Piper snorted at the connection. Harry caught her eye and gave her a grin.
When he pressed a button on his key to unlock it, the crowd around it jumped a bit, heads swinging looking for the proud owner. All eyes were on them as Harry stepped forward to hold the car door open for her.
"This yours then, mate?" a man, probably around Piper's age, asked as Harry helped lower Piper into the car, his hand curled gently around hers.
"It is," he replied smoothly. Piper glanced back at the lad who looked ready to wet himself in excitement as his wide eyes roved over the car before landing on Harry.
"'S so cool," he gushed. He was like a fanboy, looking about ready to pass out with absolute utter joy.
"Thanks," Harry said before shutting the door carefully for Piper. Instantly she was encased in silence, the quality engineering of the car blocking out the noise from outside. She looked over when the door opened on the driver's side and watching Harry slide effortlessly into the seat behind the wheel, pulling the door shut behind him.
"Buckle up," he reminded her softly as he started the car with a purr, pulling out into traffic. Piper realized she had actually forgotten her belt and hurried to click it into place.
Not that she was worried about her safety because Harry certainly knew how to drive. He was sitting so casually, his elbow resting on the door while his fingers tugged gently on his lip, almost unconsciously. Piper spent a little bit too long watching those long fingers manipulating his perfectly plump lips, wishing it was her own lips in their place. Every so often, his other hand would drift from the wheel to the gearshift, his knuckles brushing against the skin of her thigh when he shifted gears. She felt goosebumps break out on her legs and hoped that Harry didn't notice.
The drive was quiet except for the quiet music playing in the background. Piper was a bit surprised by the alternative station that was playing. She hadn't given much thought to his taste in music but Harry had surprised her by being very open-minded about his taste. She had even heard him humming along to some of The 1975 when one of their songs had been playing.
Harry stopped them at a restaurant across from Portman square, climbing out of the car first and leaving his keys with the valet. Piper waited for him to round the car and open her door for her. She took his hand and let him guide her from the car, subtly adjusting the hem of her dress when she was standing properly.
She stared up at the restaurant, trying not to make a face. This place looked classy, way classier than any restaurant Piper had been to before. It had a fucking valet. She was usually delightfully surprised when restaurants had tablecloths and fabric napkins. She was 100% sure this place had tablecloths and fabric napkins.
"Come along, petal," Harry said as he placed his hand on the small of her back, gently pulling her out of her head and back to the present. When she looked over at him with wide eyes, he was smiling at her like he thought she was just the cutest thing he had ever seen. She huffed, annoyed that she seemed to be an amusement to him. She wished she wasn't so pathetic.
She let Harry lead her into the restaurant, her eyes racing around the room as Harry gave his name to the hostess. It only took her a moment of looking around to realize she was woefully underdressed. Her dress had elegant long sleeves and a modest scoop neck, but it was about four inches shorter than the shortest skirt she could see in the room. She felt like a cheap whore compared to the rest of the room, especially since Harry looked like he fit right in.
She must have been making a face because Harry's hot breath hit her ear and he whispered, "something wrong, petal?"
"I look like a tart," Piper murmured back as she eyed a woman who was wearing honest-to-god furs on the other side of the room. "I didn't think we were going somewhere this nice."
Harry's hand slid from her lower back to her waist, pulling her against him gently as he began to walk. Piper stumbled along with him as their host led them to their table. "You look gorgeous," Harry said to her quietly as they crossed the room. "Good enough to eat."
A shiver went right down through her body and Piper was sure Harry could feel it. She tried to keep it together as the hostess stopped by a table set for two near the windows. Harry, the perfect gentleman, let her out of his hold so he could pull her chair out for her. She sat as gracefully as she could, letting Harry push the chair back in. She received the menu from the hostess with as good of a smile as she could force onto her face, since her mind was currently barraging her with every inadequacy it could come up with.
Piper trained her gaze on the menu as the hostess left and only looked up when she felt Harry's fingers ghosting gently against hers, making her skin tingle. She glanced up and saw that he was watching her with concern in his eyes. "Are you uncomfortable?" he asked her, making her feel even more embarrassed. Was she that obvious?
"No, no," she said quickly. Too quickly. There was no way Harry was going to believe her.
"We can go somewhere else if you'd like," he said.
"It's fine," Piper said in what she hoped was an assuring voice. "I'm just a little out of my element."
Harry's smile was sympathetic this time as he leaned back in his chair comfortably, his hand resting on the table instead of touching her. "This is one of my favourite restaurants," he said as he glanced around. "The food is fantastic. I'm sure that you'll like whatever you decide to get."
Piper nodded, focusing on the menu once more. There were a lot of things she didn't recognize, written in what she knew to be French but still looking like a foreign language. She was fluent in French but not in French food, it seemed. And then there were words she just didn't know at all, looking sort of Scandinavian. She wondered what kind of restaurant that this was.
It was quiet until a waiter arrived, asking about wine preferences. When Harry looked to her for an opinion, Piper scrambled for something to say. She wasn't a wine drinker. When she drank, she drank for the sake of getting drunk – tequila, vodka and gin. Harry looked like he would be comfortable holding a wine glass, a martini glass, or a tumbler of scotch. He looked like a classy drinker.
The only thing Piper could come up with was "white". While that made the waiter subtly roll his eyes, it made Harry grin. Piper fidgeted with the hem of her dress as Harry ordered a bottle of something or other, only glancing up when the waiter asked for their food order.
"Madame," the waiter said, prompting her when she stayed silent. She had thought she would have more time to decide. She looked at Harry with panicked eyes.
Cool as a cucumber, like always, Harry smiled up at the waiter. "We'll both try out your fish tasting menu for the evening, I think."
"Excellent choice sir," the waiter complimented as he collected the menus before flitting off. Harry watched him leave for a moment before directing his attention back to Piper.
"I hope you don't mind me ordering for you," Harry said, his voice quiet in the buzz of the restaurant. "When you said white, I figured you would be okay with fish."
Piper blinked, wondering how white wine and fish connected to each other, but nodded all the same. "It's fine. I was a little bit overwhelmed by the menu anyway."
Harry, who was sitting back in his chair now, looking completely at home, studied Piper for a moment. "You don't have to feel so self-conscious," he said after a moment.
"I don't belong here," Piper hissed as she glanced around the room before narrowing her eyes at Harry. "I'll be as uncomfortable as I bloody well please."
Instead of chastising Harry, like she had intended, she had just amused him once more. Judging by the grin on his face, she was the funniest fucking thing he'd ever seen. "Suit yourself," he said with a shrug, "but just so you know, I'm not going to feel guilty for bringing you here. I wanted to take you out for the best dinner you'll ever eat and that's what you're going to get."
"I don't want you to feel guilty."
"Sure you do," he replied coolly. "It's why you refuse to relax. You want me to know you're uncomfortable and you're punishing me for bringing you here. Well, petal, you'll have to keep trying because I'm not going to feel bad. It would be better for both of us if you just took a deep breath, got your head back, and made an effort to just enjoy the meal."
"Don't tell me what to do," Piper snapped at him. He just raised his brow, as if pointing out how well Piper was making his point for him.
She felt stupid all of a sudden. Childish really. For the first time in a long time, she felt the age difference between the two of them, even if Harry didn't. He was at least a couple of years older than her, she reckoned, based on his level at the SIS and the way he acted like an actual grown-up. On the other hand, she felt every one of her short twenty three years, throwing a scene just because she was out of her element.
She did as he had said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. She sat back in her chair, crossing her ankles beneath the table and letting her hands rest gently in her lap. Sitting like that, she did feel a little bit more relaxed. "Sorry," she said after a moment, breaking the silence. "Sorry, I – I don't know what's gotten into me."
"Me, I hope," Harry replied in that low, sexy baritone that made Piper crazy. She found herself nodding in agreement and stopped only when Harry chuckled.
"You're good at reading people," she muttered, glancing up at him nervously. His green eyes were practically sparkling as he watched her carefully, observing absolutely everything she was doing with astounding scrutiny. "I was trying to punish you a bit, I think. Subconsciously. Because I was feeling out of sorts. And you picked up on that right away. It's sort of amazing, really."
Harry just shrugged lightly. "It's what I do." Piper frowned, trying to figure that out and realizing she had no idea what he actually did. Sure, he was an agent overseas but that could involve anything. Louis had mentioned something about covert operations, about cover stories and roles he played, but it was all sort of vague.
"My job," Harry continued when he noticed her confusion, "is sometimes about violence and physicality, if that's what it needs to be about, but a lot of the time it isn't. It's more subtle. It's about talking and telling stories and listening. It's about watching. It's about gaining people's trust when it is that last thing they should be giving you. It's about close observation, finding soft spots you can prod and weak points you can push through. I make a living being able to read people."
"I'm doomed then," Piper said breathlessly. Harry's straight face spread into an open-mouthed grin that spread across his face, dimpling his cheeks.
"Yes, Piper Stone, you are very doomed." He looked proud of himself a bit. "You have no chance against me. I'll squeeze every little detail of your life right out of you without you realizing it."
"You and Zayn have that in common then," Piper said sharply, Harry's little speech reminding her about the other agent she had met over the last few days.
Harry finally looked scolded, and also a little bit mad. "I didn't ask them to do that," Harry told her. "They all seem to think that my life is any of their business and they are very wrong about that."
"So you didn't do your homework too?" Piper probed. "You didn't peak at my files at MI6? Didn't hack my computer? Tap my bloody phone or something?"
"Nope."
"I don't believe you." Piper narrowed her gaze at him. "I don't believe that you didn't do any snooping."
"None," he repeated confidently. "I like to get to know people the old fashioned way – conversation. Preferably over a nice meal and a good bottle of wine. Hence, dinner."
"You must know something about me. Niall said you were going to try and recruit me."
Harry's cheek quirked into a smile that made Piper a little bit uneasy. There were moments when Harry looked about as dangerous as a couch cushion and then there were times when he looked absolutely lethal. This was the latter. "Did he?" he said calmly as he tilted his head thoughtfully. "What else did Niall say?"
"That was about it," Piper said with a shrug. "Of course, Louis said you were only taking me out for dinner because you wanted to fuck me."
Harry didn't seemed phased by her choice of words, simply watching her until she felt the need to squirm in her seat. His gaze was steely and it made her hot all over in ways she had honestly never felt before.
"I brought you to dinner because I honestly wanted to get to know you," he said after a moment's thought. "It was also in part because I want to recruit you. I do have to admit though, seeing you in that dress, that fucking you would be a nice conclusion to the evening."
Piper practically swallowed her tongue, choking a little. She reached forward for the water glass on the table and took a long swallow, taking the time to get a grip. She pressed her legs together tighter, trying to ignore the feelings starting up in her nether regions. The last thing she needed was to soak her panties in the middle of the nicest restaurant she had ever been in.
They were interrupted by the arrival of the waiter with their wine. He went through that whole stupid tasting process, letting Harry swish the glass and then take a sip. Piper was glad when Harry didn't do any of that complicated tasting, the smelling and slurping. He just took a sip, held onto it, and then swallowed it. "Perfect," he said to the waiter afterward, watching as the man poured two glasses before leaving the carafe on the table.
Piper reached for the glass immediately, taking a long swig of the wine. She barely tasted it the first time round, and she certainly couldn't tell if it was good quality. Honestly, she didn't care. Right now, her only focus was on cultivating a nice buzz that would make this evening less awkward.
"I feel like we started out wrong," Harry said after he had set his glass back down on the table. "Let's backtrack and start at the beginning. I want to know everything about you."
"I'm not sure you want to know everything."
"Oh, I do," he replied with a sparkle in his eyes. He joined his hands, letting them rest gently in his lap and giving her his full attention. "I want to know absolutely everything there is to know about Piper Stone."
"I wouldn't even know where to start," she admitted. She took another sip of wine, watching Harry a little warily.
"Start with work," he said. "It's always easiest to start with work. You're in T branch. What do you usually do there?"
"Honestly?" Piper asked, sighing when Harry nodded enthusiastically. "Mostly I supervise the phones at night. I've been working night shifts for ages now." She reached a hand up to scratch her neck nervously, feeling her cheeks heating up. "Sad, isn't it? I have a Ph.D. and I get my paycheque for answering phones every so often."
"You have a Ph.D.?" Harry seemed honestly surprised by this, sitting up a little straighter, his attention focused completely on her. She would have assumed that he would have done a little bit of digging, despite denying it, but he hadn't even checked her credentials, it seemed. When Piper nodded, Harry brightened a bit. "What were you studying?"
"My Ph.D. is in computational science and engineering," Piper explained, feeling a little bit proud of the awestruck look that momentarily crossed Harry's face, "and I also have a Master of Science in electrical engineering and computer science."
"So, you're pretty much a genius," Harry commented. "Wow, I'm really quite impressed."
"I'm sure you've got a couple degrees under your belt," Piper said, feeling a little bit embarrassed at the attention and praise from Harry. "Most people working at SIS are brilliant."
"I have a M.Phil in International Relations," Harry said with a shrug as if that wasn't impressive on its own. "I was working toward a doctorate degree when I was recruited. Never got the chance to finish it."
"Do you wish you had?"
Harry looked off to the side for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face. When he finally looked back at her, he looked almost serene. "Sometimes. I really did enjoy the work. But I'm doing the same work now except more hands-on than my research was."
"It's more dangerous though."
"What's life without a little danger?" Piper let that one sink in. Wasn't that exactly why she had decided to work with MI6, because she wanted more action in her life than a software job would offer her? Maybe she and Harry had more in common than she had originally thought. "We're getting off track," Harry said with a chuckle. "We're meant to be talking about you."
"I'm not allowed to get to know you as well?"
"I'm off limits," Harry joked. "It's part of the job description unfortunately. We have to keep it about you until you've officially accepted the job offer I haven't given you yet." It took Piper a minute to wrap her head around that. "Where did you study?" he asked instead, directing the conversation once more.
"MIT," Piper told him. Harry snorted a laugh, shaking his head lightly and muttering 'of course'. "What? What exactly is wrong with that?"
"Nothing," he assured her. "It's just, you've got all of these fancy degrees from one of the best schools in the world. I guess I shouldn't be surprised really. Despite how easily you get flustered, you're quite bright."
"I'm not easily flustered," Piper defended indignantly, crossing her arms in a huff. She nearly jumped right out of her seat when Harry's foot curled around her chair leg, yanking her chair closer to the table. With her so close, their legs were forced to tangle intimately under the table, his knee coming to rest against her inner thigh.
"See? Easily flustered."
"You're an arse," Piper hissed at him as she shuffled her legs around, trying to get his knee out from between her thighs. He was lanky though and there wasn't anywhere else for his legs to go. She huffed as she sat back, trying her best to look unfazed by all of it.
Harry was laughing when the waiter approached the table with their first course, a large plate of what looked like sliced salmon and rye toast. Not exactly what she had been expecting but also delightfully safe. It could have been something gross like snails or monkey brains. These fancy restaurants tended to be a little generous when classifying what could be considered 'food'.
"Is everything meant for sharing?" Piper asked as Harry sorted the food onto each of their individual plates. A piece of salmon slid off the fork and he hurried to snatch it up before it dropped on the table. He popped it in his mouth, sucking his thumb a little to get the full flavour, and Piper thought she was going to explode just watching him.
"That's the joy of a tasting menu," Harry said as if he hadn't just made Piper's brain shut off just by eating, "you get to sample a bit of everything. It'll be fun."
Piper nodded along, mindlessly moving the salmon onto the toast and lifting a piece to her mouth. She was sure that a proper lady would have used a knife and fork but she could barely keep her hands from trembling and had no hope of manipulating cutlery. Plus, it was a bite sized piece of bread. It demanded to be eaten with her hands.
The food was actually amazingly good. The bread was crisp, spread with a bit of mustard and dill, and the salmon was fresh and cured perfectly. Piper literally moaned at the first bite, unable to believe the pure decadence of something so simple. Harry grinned at her around his own mouthful. "Didn't I tell you that you would enjoy it?"
"I will give you that, Styles," Piper said as she constructed another piece on her plate, adding a slice of cucumber this time around. "Now, shut up. I'm eating."
Harry chuckled but did as he was told. They ate in comfortable silence, polishing off the plate very quickly. It seemed that food was all they needed to break the ice between them. Once she had something in her stomach, Piper became a much nicer person.
They chatted as they waited for the next course, mostly about what it had been like for Piper at MIT. Harry was interested in every detail. He asked about her roommate and her professors. He asked about the labs and the kind of work she had done. He asked what it was like being a Brit in America. Piper was actually surprised when the next course arrived too quickly. The time was flying by.
The next course was Norwegian King Crab, flavoured with coconut and ginger. Piper was in heaven and Harry seemed to enjoy her reactions to the food just as much as he enjoyed eating it. He topped up her wine halfway through the course and then let her feed him a piece of crab with extra ginger that made his face scrunch up.
They transitioned to talking about her training at MI6 around the time that the cod arrived, a gorgeous piece of fish topped with avocado and tomatoes. Harry loved her stories about physical training, about how she had always surprised her instructors who were expecting her to be like a proper girl. Instead, she had beat records in shooting and strategy, two male dominated categories. He seemed even more impressed by her success in torture resistance training, especially since her instructor was McCullough who was notorious for being the most ruthless.
The dessert was brought out, a white chocolate mousse that was as good as sex, and Harry let Piper eat most of it on her own. Such a gentleman. Piper didn't even care about how it made her look, dragging the bowl to her side of the table and digging in.
"I should get around to asking you what I've been waiting to ask," Harry said as he sat back, sipping on an espresso doppio.
"You have a job for me," Piper guessed and Harry nodded.
"I do a lot of work overseas and need an operation analyst to do guided missions with me. The gentleman I used to work with has turned out to be a double and needed to be replaced."
"Shit," Piper muttered, her eyes widening. "A double, as in a double agent?" When Harry nodded, she shook her head. "That's crazy. How did that end up happening?"
"I let MI6 recommend an agent to me," Harry explained, his jaw tightening a bit. It was obviously a sore spot for him. "That won't be happening again. I choose my own team now."
"And you want me?" Piper asked incredulously because she was still struggling to figure out how he could want her to do his field missions with him. She was barely qualified. "I nearly got you killed."
"You've got natural instincts, Piper," Harry said seriously, leaning forward a bit in his seat. "You can do all the training in the world and still not have that special something that makes you right for field missions. I knew right away that you had it. You picked up the technique faster than I've ever seen and you obviously have the right working knowledge for the job. More importantly though was that we had a rapport almost instantly."
"A rapport?"
"It's more important than you think. You have to remember that when you're sitting there on the phone, I'm over in some hostile country doing something that I'm not supposed to be doing. It's high stress and it's dangerous. I need to be able to trust the person on the other end of the call with my life. I'm sure even you can admit that we made a fast connection when you did my extraction last week." Piper nodded because it was true. It had been easy to talk to Harry that night, even though she knew absolutely nothing about him. "I've never connected so easily with someone before, I'll be honest. You admitted to me that you were a rookie. Hell, you nearly got me shot through. And yet, it was easy to let you take the reins and leave my life in your hands."
That was sobering. It hadn't really occurred to Piper the kind of risk Harry had taken by trusting her that night and letting her lead him to safety. He was blind, relying on her completely to get him home. She couldn't even imagine how hard that must have been, to hear a strange voice giving directions and to follow them not knowing where it would lead.
"Trust isn't easy in this business, Piper," Harry explained. "I find myself trusting you though, even more so now that I've gotten to know you. I would really like to work with you and have you do my field missions with me."
Piper was flummoxed for a moment, trying to find her words. She had known this was coming and yet it was still taking her by surprise. Harry was watching her intently from across the table, waiting for her response, and she could feel her palms sweating nervously. "I don't – I don't know what I'm doing. I've had some training but, I don't know. There must be someone better than me."
"Don't sell yourself short, petal," Harry said with a gentle expression, reaching over to take her hand in his. "I can understand why you might think you're not ready. You've just barely started training. But if you keep training, I have no doubt that you'll become an excellent operations analyst."
"I'm not ready," Piper stammered, suddenly feeling overwhelmed and pressured. Harry could obviously sense it because he hushed her and patted her hand gently.
"I know you're not," he said before she could stutter out any more excuses. "But you will be. Sooner than you think, I promise." She looked wary and he smiled softly, attempting to reassure her. "There's no pressure Piper. If you want to say no, you can."
Piper gulped, her fingers tightening around Harry's hand reflexively. "Will I lose my agent status?"
"No. God, no, Piper. You earned your agent status. If you say no to my offer, then MI6 will continue training you like they are now. You'll start working an entry level job in O branch, most likely doing strategy research. Eventually, you'll become an analyst for agents at home or overseas."
It was a relief to hear that she wouldn't lose the job she had started working toward. Piper knew that Harry was very much responsible for her promotion. Deep down, her biggest worry was that she was going to be demoted back to T branch working the phones on night shift. She felt a weight off her chest knowing that she had the option to say no.
"If you do take the offer, and I really hope you do," Harry continued earnestly, "then you'll keep training with Ashna Lahiri in O branch, learning the basics of mission operations. You'll also start training with me and my colleagues." Piper assumed that colleagues meant the other members of One Direction, Liam and Zayn and Louis and Niall. Just the thought made her head spin. "You'll get weapons and combat training, you'll be taught techniques in case you need to come into the field, you'll learn information retrieval techniques that aren't generally taught in the agencies. And then, when we think you're ready, you'll come work with us at One Direction exclusively." He paused for a moment, studying her carefully. "How does all of this sound so far?"
"Crazy," she replied automatically. "Unbelievable. Overwhelming." Harry's face had sort of fallen into a frown. He thought she was saying no. So she added, "intriguing, exciting, mind blowing."
"You don't have to make a decision right now," he told her.
She smiled and Harry's brow crunched with confusion (and obviously she was losing her mind because all she could think was that he looked even more adorable like that). "I made the decision a long time ago, Harry," Piper admitted with a light shake of her head because she still couldn't believe she was about to say this. "When I agreed to join up with MI6, it's because I wanted adventure. I wanted to be able to take what I was good at and use it for the good of the country. But in my heart, the real reason I signed up was because I knew I wouldn't be happy just writing code all day. I wanted to make a difference and I wanted to be in the thick of it."
Piper sighed, trying to keep on track with her thoughts and not get carried away because she was getting a bit emotional and she certainly didn't want that to happen in front of Harry. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I accept."
Harry was still for a moment and Piper thought that maybe that whole speech had been made in her head and not actually said out loud, but then his mouth stretched into a grin, his eyes brightening. "I promise you, petal, you've just made the best decision of your life."
"Oh, I have?" she echoed back with a laugh.
"You have," Harry assured her, his voice dropping so it was low and smooth, just how she liked it. "Now, I do believe it is time we left. This has been a lovely dinner but we have some celebrating to do, and it's not the kind of celebrating that is acceptable to participate in while in public."
Piper sucked in a breath, pressing her lips together so she didn't make the squeak that had been just about to slip out. She squeezed her thighs together tight before remembering that Harry's knee was still comfortably resting between them. When her legs pressed around his, he glanced up with a wolfy smirk, immediately putting his hand into the air and calling out, "cheque please."
Piper kept her mouth shut while she watched Harry pull out a card for the waiter, knowing that if she offered to pay, he would just say no anyways. Plus, she was honestly afraid of what might slip out. Her mind was in a really filthy place right now and the last thing she wanted was to say something embarrassing in front of a room full of uppercrust stiffs.
When the bill was settled, Harry rose gracefully from his seat, holding his hand out for Piper to take. Her hand was irritatingly shaky when she lifted it to him but once his hand wrapped around it, she barely noticed. All she felt was his warm skin and the electrical sensation in her own hand. She let him drag her to her feet and then right out of the restaurant.
They had to wait for the valet to bring the car around and the wind whipped around them where they were standing on the sidewalk. Piper hadn't bothered with a coat, figuring that they would be in the car or the restaurant for most of the time. She had to admit that the cool wind on her legs was chilling. It did nothing against the raging heat that was building inside her though. There was only one thing that could put out that fire and he was standing beside her.
"Would you like my coat?" he asked after a moment when a gust of wind cut down the street. He was watching her closely, his hair blowing out of its hold and circling his head like a halo. Piper swallowed hard, trying to catch her breath.
"Trust me," she murmured, her voice coming out lower than usual, "I'm not cold."
The glint in Harry's eyes turned hungry and if it weren't for the valet arriving with the car, Piper was sure he would have pounced right there on the street. As it was, he stepped forward and held the passenger door open for Piper. She slid into the car much easier than the first time around. She had new incentive now. There was no time to delay.
Harry was in on the other side in a flash, revving the engine on the car before shifting gear and zipping away from the restaurant. He kept just within the upper portion of the speed limit, weaving through traffic with expert precision. They made it back to Whitechapel in record time.
The sexual energy in the car was palpable and it was making Piper feel breathless. She was probably panting unattractively but she hardly cared because she was just trying to keep from leaning over and blowing Harry right here in the car. She wanted him to think she was a classy lady. Blow jobs in the car were definitely not classy.
When they were about a block from her flat, Harry glanced over at her in the passenger seat. "Piper," he said slowly, his voice dripping with arousal that made Piper shiver, "are you sure you want me to come up?"
"God, is that even a real question?" she asked him, squinting at him like he was crazy. He just grinned lazily before focusing back on the road in front of him, scanning for a parking spot. Piper pointed to an alley that ran behind her street. "Go down there," she instructed, waiting for Harry to do as he was told. "I have a parking spot in the back."
"A flat with a parking spot in the middle of London," Harry repeated sounding a little stunned. "How did you manage that?"
"I don't even drive," Piper said with a shrug as she pointed out the space. The garage door was open because she never parked there (there was no real reason to close it) so Harry drove straight in. Piper stumbled out before he had even turned off the car, heading straight for the security panel. She tried to remember the password, attempting it twice before she got it right. The garage door closed behind them, sealing with a squelching noise at the bottom.
"You've got a broken security camera," Harry pointed out incredulously, "but you have top of the line garage security?"
"Curtis, my landlord, parks here when he comes to collect rent. No way would he leave his car on the street around here. Someone would probably nick the tires. Which is why your car is in here and not out there." Piper was fumbling with her keys, trying to find the one that opened the back door to the flats. She hardly ever used it so she couldn't even remember what it looked like. "Fuck it!"
Harry, seeing her obvious distress, pushed right past her. His hand wrapped firmly around the knob, shaking it hard twice, sending the door sailing open. "See?" he said as he pushed it all the way open, letting Piper step through. "This is why you need a deadbolt."
"Oh, shut up," Piper snapped as she grabbed his hand, using it to drag him forward as she scurried down the hall to the stairs. She stumbled up them, nearly tripping and face planting the steps. It was only Harry's quick reflexes that kept her from a bloody nose.
Thankfully, she knew which key opened her own front door so they didn't have to stand there for long (and Harry didn't need to break in again). She threw the door open, wincing when she was a little too vigorous and the door flew into the wall with a bang. She looked back guiltily at Harry but he was just watching her. His pupils were blown and the green was just a small ring around them. He looked practically predatory.
He stalked into the room behind her, shutting the door with just as much force as she had opened it. It slammed shut, shaking in its frame and Piper heard the broom handle banging on the ceiling once more. If Clive was sensitive to noise now, tonight was going to be one long night for him.
Harry took two large steps toward Piper, one arm circling her waist and the other cupping her jaw possessively. Before she could say a word, Harry's head had descended, his lips attaching themselves to hers quite forcefully. Piper's eyes fluttered closed, her hands drifting up to cup Harry's face and hold him close.
His lips moved expertly against hers, smooth and soft and anything but gentle. She gasped as his teeth snagged her bottom lip, tugging on it and forcing her mouth open. His tongue ran along her front teeth before pushing forward to take her mouth possessively. Piper sucked in a breath instinctively and felt herself just breathing in Harry.
His hand drift from her jaw to the nape of her neck, pulling her even farther into the kiss, taking control. If not for the arm holding her body pressed to his, she would have already collapsed onto the floor. She yanked her head back, gasping for breath as Harry took her moment of pause to press a bruising kiss to the underside of her jaw.
"Holy shit," Piper muttered to herself, feeling lightheaded as she gripped onto Harry's upper arms for support.
"Too much?" Harry asked as he breathed quickly against her neck, his hot breath tickling her throat.
"No, no," Piper said hurriedly, ducking her head down so Harry's lips connected to her cheek this time instead of her jaw. "No, it was just right."
Harry chuckled, his nose nuzzling against the skin of her cheek. He didn't say anything, just kissed her once more, gentler this time. She finally had a chance to kiss back, standing on her toes so she could push up into him. He sucked on her lip greedily, soothing the bite with a swipe of his tongue.
"God, Harry," Piper murmured when Harry left her mouth and began suckling the skin on the side of her neck. She was going to be covered in love bites by the time the sun came up tomorrow and something about that made the fire in her burn brighter. His hand slid down her neck and over her sternum before confidently cupping her left breast. Piper moaned lewdly, pressing herself against Harry obscenely.
"Fuck yes," she sighed against him, yelping when his teeth grazed her throat gently. "Oh, fuck, this isn't happening. This isn't me."
She whined when Harry's hand fell from her breast and his lips lifted off of her skin. Her eyes slid open, searching Harry's face for the reason he had stopped. He was frowning at her and then he straightened up, creating even more distance between their mouths. This did not please Piper. Not at all.
"Do you want me to stop?" he asked her.
Her eyes flew open, widening in horror at the mere suggestion that he stop. "Are you fucking crazy? Don't stop."
"You just said this isn't you."
"It isn't," Piper admitted, trying to pull him close once more. He looked wary and she wanted to just hit herself for every saying anything in the first place. "I'm not usually this kind of girl."
"You're not?" Harry asked but this time he was smirking and he looked like he didn't quite believe her. He looked like he thought there was a naughty girl hiding somewhere inside her. She wasn't certain if there was but she was sure as hell going to try and find out.
"Oh, God, I am. I definitely am."