Slowly, he pulled his mouth from hers, planting a few final pecks on her lips, then stared at her face.
“How am I supposed to focus and get any work done when all I can think about is you?” he asked.
Sweet satisfaction washed over her.
“Were you really able to focus before this? Because I don’t know about you, but I’ve been thinking about kissing you sincethe airport,” she said. “Hate-kissing you, of course, but still kissing you.”
“True, but it was easier to get work done when I was competing with you.”
“Who said the competition is over? I still plan on being the first one to hold the knife.” She smirked.
Besides, their friendly competition made the rest of it all sweeter.
“You’re assuming I’m going toletthat happen,” Ford said, his eyes homing in on hers.
“Let it happen? Oh-ho-ho! Dr. Matthews, you’re mistaken if you think I’m going to let you letmedo anything.”
“All right, then. How about a little wager?”
Wager. Hmm... Corrie was beginning to like the sound of this.
“Okay... I’m listening.”
“Well, so we’re not here for the next six months unable to focus, how about we add some skin to the game?”
Corrie waggled her brow. Oh, she was all for more of Ford’s skin, especially the smooth, veiny skin of his cock.
“Dirty girl,” he said. “Anyway, whoever finds the knife and holds it first gets to pick their prize.”
“And what are the parameters for the prize?”
“Whatever you want... within reason of course.”
“Do we have to want the same thing?”
He shook his head. “Like I said, whatever you want. I’ll go first... if I win, I want that bra and panties you were wearing last night.”
That was it? Hell, Corrie would have given him those even without the wager. Not that she’d let him know that. Particularly not with what it was she wanted out of this deal.
“Dirty boy.” She hooked her fingers through his belt loops and pulled him closer. He needed buttering up for what Corrie was about to drop. She rubbed her hand on the outside of his pants and brought her mouth to his ear, sucking on the lobe. “If I win... I want my name listed first on every publication, museum plaque, history book, whatever it may be, as the person who discovered Chimalli.”
He pulled his face back, the strain obvious. Wanting to call her out for being absurd but not wanting her to stop massaging him. “That’s significantly more than what I asked for.”
“I didn’t make the rules, Ford. My proposal is reasonable. You can always ask for something else if you’d like. This,” she said, motioning toward her hand around him, “doesn’t constitute a handshake, so you still have time to change your mind.”
“Fine. If I win... I want you to do an interview where you are quoted as thanking me for giving you the opportunity to come on this dig.”
That. Little. Asshole.
She glared at him and took back her hand. “You realize that goes against everything that I believe in, right?”
“You realize it has nothing to do with the fact that you’re a woman, and everything to do with us and this decade-long grudge, right?”
“Yes, it does. We wouldn’tbein this competition if I weren’t a woman.”
“Okay, and you don’t think that the reason you want your name first doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that I’m a man? It goes both ways, Corrie. But again, it’s the fact that you’rethiswoman.Thiswoman who drives me up the wall and makes me want to rip my hair out at the same time I want to rip her clothes off. Now, are you going to take my wager or what?”
Under any other circumstances, her principles would win out. But Corrie didn’t have any intention of letting Ford win this competition. Meaning the risk of losing the bet was slim to none.
