Page 43 of Flirting with 40

“Do you doubt my skills?”

Our stares hold, and her eyes darken as her mind goes to the same place mine does with my double entendre. But her perfume is filling my nose, and the subtle scent of sunshine and flowers taunts me to kiss her. I’d blame it on the show, but it’d be solely for me.

“Oh, so now you like lists and bets?”

She’s teasing me, and I flash a grin. “I like anything that has a prize dangling at the end of it.”

“Do you now?”

Nodding, I glance down to her tongue, which just darted out to wet her bottom lip, and say, “I do.” I shift so I’m sitting on the seat of her chair facing her, my hips bumping against hers, and place a hand on the other side of her legs.

“And what prize will we be dangling here?” Her voice is low, husky, sexy. It’s a seduction in and of itself.

“How about whoever wins”—I let a slow smile crawl onto my lips—“gets a night of their choice when this is all done?”

“A night of their choice?”

“Yep.” I reach out and tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, letting my fingers linger. “Whoever loses has to give the winner a night out of their choice.”

“That’s fair.” She looks over to where another of her coworkers has ventured out onto the patio to take in this incredible view. “How exactly would we measure this though?”

“In satisfaction.”

I love the flash up of her eyes to meet mine and the quick startle of her head. The way I can affect her is a heady feeling.

“That’s a rather hard thing to measure, don’t you think?” she murmurs

“Sometimes, but other times, satisfaction is clear as day.” I chuckle. “I’ll leave that up to you. How would you measure satisfaction?”

“I get the promotion.”

“The promotion? And how is getting the promotion a measure of satisfaction?” I chuckle and squeeze her thigh. “I’m beginning to think you’re trying to throw this bet here by giving me something to achieve that can’t be quantified or measured.”

“Getting the promotion would give me the satisfaction of attaining the one goal I’ve worked toward for years—the vice president of marketing position. If I get the job, then ultimate satisfaction is achieved.”

“Essentially, you’re twisting the parameter I set of satisfaction to suit your needs.”

“I’m a girl who’ll do what it takes to get what she wants,” she says, and the playful little shrug and smile she flashes me are a deadly combination for my restraint. She’s fucking irresistible. “And I want the VP of marketing job. All I need is for Heather—”

“You mean Horrible Heather—”

“Shh.” She reaches up and puts her hand over my mouth while I laugh, drawing attention over to us.

“Sorry. Best behavior here,” I say in my nerdiest voice as I grab her hand, all thoughts of Heather gone now that our fingers are linked.

“So, it’s a bet?” There’s a flirtatious amusement in her eyes that’s impossible to ignore.

“I still think you’re putting me at a disadvantage from the start with this immeasurable parameter you’ve set.”

“You afraid you can’t satisfy me?” She trails a finger down the top of my thigh. “I thought you never backed down from a bet, Slade.”

She needs to quit smiling because it just makes me want to kiss her again.

And again.

And then some.

“I don’t.” I lean in closer and lower my voice. “There are a whole lot of things I can’t control, and you getting that position is one of them.”