Disclaimer: I do not claim any rights to the characters or storylines of Covert Affairs. No material gain is to be had from this story.

This is now rated M. Warnings for strong sexual content.

"No. I admit defeat." Annie chewed her lip. "Let's talk about something else. In fact … maybe it's time for me to leave."

Auggie sat his shot glass on the coffee table. "The only way you are leaving here is in a cab, Miss Walker, and that will take 20 minutes to get here at this time of night. So your cowardly urge to flee has been thwarted once again. You said "truth", so now you have to answer the question."

Annie grumbled. "This was a stupid idea. I should have known you were setting me up for pain."

He grinned unrepentantly. "I think the high-end tequila should have been your first clue." He reached out one large hand, palm up. He had to wait for almost a minute before she huffed a sigh and, taking the proffered hand, sat back down beside him on the couch.

"What was the question?"

His answering chuckle was low and throaty. "You know damn well what the question is, you chicken. In fact, for trying to weasel out, I'm adding the stipulation that you have to repeat the question when you answer." He kept a firm grip on her hand, lending that physical restraint to his assurances that she couldn't avoid the question – or him.

He leaned his head against the back of the couch. It had been a long week and an unsatisfying end to their latest assignment. Auggie could feel the tension leaking out of his shoulders and back. Sprawled on the couch with his feet bare, his shirt sleeves rolled up, and Annie Walker leaning against him, he finally started to relax. Part of him, hazily, conceded that the afore-mentioned tequila was doing a fine job of lowering inhibitions and relaxing him. More importantly, though, Annie was relaxing. Or, she had been until his latest question.

"You are a low-down, conniving, sneak, August Anderson."

He didn't even bother to raise his head to reply to that weak-ass jab. "Well documented fact. Now, Agent Walker, the answer, if you please."

"You. Will. Pay," she hissed. Before he could retort, though, she took a deep breath. "Fine. The kinkiest thing I've done in bed is being blind folded."

If it hadn't been for her grudging tone and the way she tried to simultaneously rush the words out of her mouth and mumble, he might have thought she was dodging the question. As it was, he was too shocked by the mundane nature of her "perversion" to respond.

Annie watched her best friend – her well-on-the-way-to-being-drunk best friend - as he finally turned his sightless brown eyes on her. She almost giggled at the look of utter scorn on his features. "I know. It's boring. Sorry." She tried to reach for the tequila bottle but it was on the other side of the coffee table. Reaching it would have meant sprawling across his lap – probably not a wise idea.

"I just… I mean… wow. Your ability to shock me remains strong. Here I thought you were my little rebel…"

"Your little rebel? Excuse me? Give me back my hand, I need another drink."

He pretended to consider this. "Mmm, no." He leaned forward, found the bottle on the second try and handed it across his body, all the while keeping a firm grip on her left hand with his right hand. "I'm "handling" your propensity to flee tough situations."

She tried not to wince at his particular brand of vino veritas. "I call bullshit, and for that you must drink. She thrust a half-full shot glass into his hand. (She'd learned early on that full-to-the-brim shot glasses, or any other beverage container, were especially dangerous to a blind man)

He tossed back the shot. "Fine. Is insurance, though. Lets me know where you are."

She didn't dispute this. Ever since a close call in Guatemala and his latest girlfriend leaving him, Auggie had developed a near obsession with knowing where she was at any given moment of the day. With anyone else Annie would have felt claustrophobic, but with Auggie she just worried. He tried so hard to hide his vulnerabilities and he so often succeeded. So, it was hard when he failed spectacularly and was left exposed and vulnerable. "Not going anywhere, Aug." She whispered the words before leaning her head against his shoulder.

"I no longer find it arousing."

Her head shot back up. "Wh.. what?"

"The blind fold in bed thing," he responded calmly. His speech cadence was the same as when he'd informed her that Stu had gone out for coffee or that there was a forecast for rain. Annie, speechless, blinked at him. "When every sexual encounter is carried out without benefit of sight, being blindfolded just sort of loses its allure."

"Oh. Uh, yeah, I'm sorry I never thought of it that way."

He shrugged. "No need to be sorry. Certainly not your fault." He waived his glass at her. "Empty, again. Also, is my turn."

"Fine, lush. Truth or dare?"

"Dare." He quirked an eyebrow before tossing back the shot. "Any other man would be terrified of saying that to Anne Catherine Walker, but I now know that she's just a prude in kitten heels. Hey!" He tugged on her hand when he felt her try to stand. His mocking outrage turned to surprise. "Uh.. Annie?" It felt like she was… she definitely was, straddling him. Her breath tickled his ear.

"I dare you to let me blindfold you."

Auggie's confusion ratcheted up another notch. "Uh, Annie, I'm blind. It kind of seems redundant."

Her sultry laughter did very bad things to his inebriated body. "I dare you to let me blind fold you and you tell me you are not aroused."

"You're straddling me, Annie. I don't think the blindfold is going to make a difference one way or the other." He instantly regretted his words when she peeled herself off his lap. He clutched her hand like it was a life-line. It surely felt as if he was drowning in unfamiliar waters….

"Do you accept?" Her voice still had that softly slurred, seductive, quality to it.

He was doomed. He swallowed once and nodded meekly.