Page 35 of Sutton's CEO

Sutton

I turned and looked at my reflection in the mirror, “Nico, you are a lifesaver!”

I heard a sharply inhaled breath from the open doorway and turned to see Mark poking his head into my bedroom. Nico went over to Mark and straightened his already perfectly straight cravat. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Mark.

They say that you should dress for success. Mark was already one of the richest men in the world and knew everything there was to know about being successful. Nico had confided that he too had crushed on Mark when he first started dressing him.

What wasn’t to love? Mark worked out regularly, ate healthy meals, and always looked like he just stumbled out of fashion magazine.

Suddenly I didn’t feel as spectacular as I had moments before. I knew nothing about success. My eyes dropped down and I studied the studded clutch in my hands. What was I doing here?

Fear and doubt swept over me, and suddenly I was finding it hard to breathe. I was stupid to think that I could do this. Bethany the Bitch was better suited to all the glitz and glam of this world. I was Sutton from Otterville Falls. I lived in a trailer and worked at a bar.

I felt the warmth on my open back and leaned into it, still gasping for air.

Mark’s finger lifted my chin so that he met my gaze and I saw the concern laced with worry in his gray eyes.

“What is going on, Sutton?”

His deep voice was comforting, but I couldn’t tell him the truth. The last thing I wanted to see on his face was disappointment. When had that begun to matter to me? When had his opinion come to mean so much?

I tried to smile. “Nothing.”

Nico excused himself and left the apartment, leaving Mark and me alone together in my bedroom. But it wasn’t really my bedroom. I was still living in his apartment.

“I can tell you are upset.” His eyes searched my face. “What is going through that beautiful head of yours?”

I felt color tinging my cheeks, “Nico did well, didn’t he?”

Mark’s brows came together. “You are a beautiful woman, Sutton. You don’t need a special dress for me to see that.”

Now my cheeks really were scarlet. “You look hot—I mean handsome, as well.”

His full lips widened into a delighted smile. “I look hot?”

“It’s hot in here,” I continued to babble. “That’s what I meant to say.”

He laughed, and the rich tones washed over me. “You are something else, Sutton Landry.”

Suddenly verbal diarrhea wouldn’t stop, “I don’t think I should go to this event. What if I make a mistake? Your most valuable clients will be there, and I don’t know enough yet. I think I will just stay in if that is alright. It will be better this way. You will have a better…”

His lips cut me off, and for a moment, I was frozen in time.

Mark Williams was kissing me.

Mark Williams had his lips smashed up against mine.

And fuck, Mark Williams could kiss.

His large hand cradled my face while the other touched the naked skin on my back exposed by the low-cut dress. Heat infused my body and I felt like I was burning up for his taste and his touch. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had kissed me.

A year, maybe more—some drifter coming through town that didn’t give two shits about me. He had tasted like beer and cigarettes and I regretted every second of the sloppy mess.

That was nothing like this kiss. Nerve endings were firing synapses all over my body as I fairly melted into his arms. My core ached and flooded with moisture. My breasts became hard and craved his touch. I stepped closer to him of my own accord and opened my mouth even further.

His low growl coming from the back of Mark’s throat was the sexiest thing I had ever heard, and I wanted to hear it again. He kissed me harder. His tongue sweeping against mine as he claimed my mouth for his own.

My hands were against his crisp white tuxedo shirt. The heat from his body inflamed me. I wanted to touch his skin, feel his muscles flexing underneath my fingertips.

---