Page 51 of Ruthless Creatures

I groan. “Cut me a break, will you? I’m not good at this!”

“I don’t know, you seem pretty good at it. Professional, even.”

I bristle at his mischievous tone. “Are you teasing me?”

“Maybe a little.”

“Well, stop it!”

“Sorry,” he says, not sounding sorry at all. “Teasing is one of my favorite things.”

The innuendo in his voice stops me cold. “Did we, or did we not, just agree that you would dial it down?”

He says innocently, “I have no idea what you mean.”

Yeah, right.“Back to tonight. Are you in?”

His voice turns thoughtful. “I don’t know. It depends. Where are you taking me?”

I put the phone down by my waist, lean my head back, and close my eyes. After a moment, I put the phone back to my ear.

“What happened? Did I lose you?”

“Still here. Just feeling bad for every man who’s ever asked a woman out on a date.”

“No fun putting yourself out there, is it?”

“It’s really miserable. I don’t know how you guys do it.”

“We’re a persistent bunch.” He lowers his voice. “And in my case, relentless.”

The teachers’ lounge has emptied. Lunch is over, and I’m due at a staff meeting in two minutes.

I could honestly care less.

“I noticed that about you. Right after I noticed you have a tendency to do an about-face that could give a girl whiplash.”

“Yes, but have you noticed my biceps? I’ve been told they’re impressive.”

The playfulness in his voice makes me cock my head. “Are you flirting with me?”

“You sound as surprised as I did when I found out you bake cookies.”

“It’s just that you change moods like I change shoes. I’ve never met someone who could go from smoldering to silly so fast.”

“Silly?” He sounds disgusted. “I’ve never been silly in my life.”

“Too macho, huh?”

“Way too macho. As you can tell.”

I have to laugh, because he’s flirting with me again. A lighthearted Kage is not something I expected. “You’re in a good mood today.”

“You called. You asked me out on a date. You’re obviously helpless against my many, many charms—”

“Let’s not get carried away.”

“—which means my plan is working perfectly.”