Page 35 of Double or Nothing

I take a step toward the door.

“Not you, Kitty Kat. You stay put. Mac, give us a minute? I need to speak with Kat. Alone.”

“Is something wrong with your accommodations?” I ask, knowing damn well there isn’t. This room is perfection. I’ve filled it with everything he loves, including the item he’s holding in his hand.

He holds up a bag of Swedish Fish. “They’re everywhere.”

“I aim to please.” He’s addicted. Terrible for his teeth but a hell of a lot better than other things he could be addicted to. Things he very well may be, and I just don’t know about. How would I know? How could I? It’s been so long since I’ve seen him or even heard his voice. A voice he’s using to yell at Mac.

“Mac, leave.”

Mac’s eyes dart between Sutton and me. I nod my head, letting him know it’s okay. This isn’t Mac’s problem. It’s mine, and I need to be a big girl and handle my shit, not hide behind Mac.

The minute I hear the latch on the door shut, I brace myself for whatever Sutton is about to unleash. Yelling, anger, hatred. I’m prepared for any of it, except for what he does. Sutton stalks toward me, and before I realize what’s happening, his hands reach for me, and his lips press against mine. The kiss is filled with need and hunger. He’s a famished man, dying to finally feast on his favorite meal.

I want him to devour me, to give and take whatever else he wants. I’m famished, too. I’ve wanted this, missing this, for years.

“Fucking hell, Kat,” he says a moment later when he pulls away. “How did you only get better these past few years?”

My head is spinning, and my thoughts are all over the place as he stands with me, his hands on my waist and his forehead resting against mine. It’s everything I want and everything I wish would go away.

I urge myself to leave, to walk away just like he did. If I don’t do something, if I let this continue, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to stop.

“I didn’t. You just want what you can’t have. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.” I break free of his hold and make it to the door.

“You said you’re available to me twenty-four seven.”

My hand freezes on the door handle.

“And?”

“And I need you. Here. Now.”

My shoulders slump as my head drops. What is he trying to do to me? Doesn’t he realize how hard this is for me? Or does he just not care?

“What for?”

Silence fills the room as he tries to come up with an excuse to keep me here.

“I would like a tour of the suite,” he says.

When I look back at him, he’s standing with his arms folded proudly across his chest and a smirk on his face.

“I’m sure you can find your own way around.”

“What the customer wants…”

I curse Jack for always toting that line to customers. Sure, I give them what they want, but him letting them know that? Often it comes back to bite me in the ass… like now.

“Fine,” I say through clenched teeth. Brushing past him, I take the lead, walking through the vast suite and pointing out the obvious in short, one-word sentences. Bathroom. Study. Television. Bedroom.

Sutton’s hand grabs mine and tugs me into the last room. The bedroom. I probably should have skipped over that one.

“Sutton, stop,” I plead with him when he pulls me over the threshold.

“I just want to talk to you, Kat. I want….” He runs a hand through his styled hair. “Fuck, I want you.”

“Yeah, well, that’s too bad. You can’t have me.”