"Through winning," I said, and she still looked shocked, then lowered her head.
"I've stepped into deep shit, haven't I?"
"Very, very deep," I replied, and she gave me the naughtiest of smiles.
The board was brought over and set up before us, and through it all, I couldn't take my eyes off her.
"Should I assume that you're not taking this very seriously because we don't have a wager?" she asked as she made her quite excellent moves across the board.
I smiled.
"Who says I'm not taking this seriously?"
"Well, going off the millions you've claimed to have made, my guess is that you took those games seriously by actually putting in an effort to win.”
"I am putting in the effort to win," I said, and she shook her head.
"I don't think that's the case at all."
I chuckled quietly.
"Why would you think that?"
"Because we're more or less the same now. I thought you'd be so far ahead, or the game would be over by now."
“Is it because there's no wager?" she asked.
"I'm putting in my best," I assured her until I lifted my gaze to hers. Her expression was dry and unpleased, and I knew then that I had to admit that I was going soft on her.
"You don't feel well," I said. "And this plane is quite small. The last thing I want to have to deal with is a sore loser."
Her mouth fell open at this jibe, and all I wanted to do was kiss her senseless.
"That's not true," she said. "Up till now, you didn't even remember that I wasn't feeling well. You're just trying to find an excuse because you've been so distracted."
"By what?"
Without a word, she started to pull off her jacket, and to say that I was surprised was an understatement.
She flung it away to the couch, and all I could see was the most petite frame and a rack of breasts I knew exactly what they tasted like and was hungry for.
"What?" I asked, and she moved her knight.
"Feeling hot," she said, and then straightened to look at me.
"I know money might be tight for you now, given that you just lost your job—"
"Suspended," I corrected, but she kept going.
"However you want to spin it. My point is that there has to be a reward for there to be apt motivation. So, let's make a wager now."
I looked at her and wondered what she wanted as well as what could make this immensely interesting as well. However, she brought up her ideas first.
"How about ten thousand dollars?" she asked, and I smiled.
"That's not enough incentive to make you feel like shit today, Miss Mercer."
Her expression narrowed darkly at my words.