muttered. Tasted good, felt good, looked good. Her breath shuddered as she remembered how amazing his kiss had been. She’d only intended to prove a point, tease him a little. He’d been the one with the point, though. Hard and long, pressing into her thigh.
God, she was going crazy with wanting him.
“You’re doing it again,” Sierra reminded.
Belle glanced over at her friend, surprised to see she’d pushed aside her seating chart and was unwrapping a butterscotch candy. Sierra only resorted to sugar, and only in tiny amounts, when she was really stressed. Given the half-dozen unwrapped pieces in front of her, she was definitely worried.
“Doing what again?” Belle asked.
“Getting stupid,” Sierra repeated. “It’s like an automatic shutoff button gets flipped whenever you get near Mitch Carter. Your brain goes into hibernate mode.”
Belle rolled her eyes and dropped into the chair opposite Sierra. “Don’t be silly. I’m just hot for the guy. You’ve seen him, he’s gorgeous. Sexy, smart and fun. That doesn’t make me stupid, that makes me horny.”
“I’ve seen you horny before. You don’t blow business deals over horny,” Sierra said, chomping down on the candy with a loud crunch.
Belle winced at the sound. That had to hurt the teeth. Then her eyes went round as Sierra unwrapped another and popped it into her mouth.
Best friends since they were fourteen, the two women knew each other inside out. Belle had never considered anyone else to go into business with. Guilt trickled down her spine. And now she was stressing her friend into a sugar coma.
“I didn’t blow it,” Belle defended. At least, she didn’t think she did. “I might have gotten a bit carried away, but a little flirting won’t affect the deal. He loved my spiel. He was impressed with our ideas. Whether we get it or we don’t will depend on whether he’s open to the sexual angle or not. For the resort,” she quickly added.
Sierra chewed up another hard candy without replying. She gave Belle a long, considering look, then unwrapped another piece.
The look was a familiar one. She’d worn it when she’d talked Belle into taking a chance on their business. She wore it when she told a client their request was over-the-top crazy. She always wore it when she told Belle her outfit sucked or her ideas were lame. It was her truth-at-all-costs look.
Belle hated that look.
For the good of her own ears and Sierra’s dental bill, Belle reached over and scooped up the remaining candy.
“Belle, you barely knew this guy and you were willing to toss aside your principles and beliefs. For what? A piece of ass.”
“I’m not some dumb tramp,” Belle snapped back. “I might have been distracted during that meeting, but I’ll be damned if I gave away a single principle and I sure as hell didn’t ignore my beliefs.”
Whatever that was supposed to mean, she fumed. God, if she didn’t hate confrontation so much, she’d yell at her friend. Tell her to quit being so negative, so mistrusting. Instead she sucked in a deep, calming breath and reminded herself that this was just Sierra’s way.
“I meant six years ago, when you agreed to marry the guy just so you could get in his pants,” Sierra corrected with a roll of her eyes. “You weren’t interested in happy-ever-after back then. But you gave in despite your better judgment. And look how that turned out.”
Belle winced. She’d rather not think about it. “Please, do you think Mitch would be crazy enough to propose to me again? All he wanted was a leg up the ladder, and he doesn’t need that any longer.”
“You don’t say anything about whether you’d be crazy enough to accept a proposal,” Sierra pointed out.
“I didn’t think I had to state the obvious. I gave up believing in fairy tales or happy-ever-after. I’m hot for the guy, okay? That’s it. I know better than to risk anything other than a little time and some sexy lingerie.”
“I hope so. I really, really hope so,” Sierra said, her words dripping with doubt. “Because your history says otherwise.”
A chime snagged her attention and Sierra glanced at the laptop. She clicked the mouse a couple times and heaved a sigh. Belle’s stomach dropped to her toes at the look on her partner’s face.
“Okay, here’s the deal,” the sleek brunette said in her no-nonsense tone. “If we get this contract, I need you to make me a promise.”
Belle eyed the computer, her fingers itching to grab it and see what message had prompted Sierra’s