Mr. CEO(13)

As soon as I turn to face her, everything changes. A spark ignites between us and she takes a hesitant step back, suddenly realizing how close she is to me for the first time. The stool behind her scratches against the floor and her hands fall behind her to grip onto it. As though it can protect her from me.

A heated moment passes as her eyes wander down my body. I let a smirk kick up my lips and enjoy the fact that she obviously likes what she sees. The same is true on my part. Up close, she’s even more beautiful. Her skin is sun-kissed, but also flushed. She has yet to disappoint me.

I wait for her eyes to find mine again. There’s a blush on her cheeks, but the confident woman that took command of the stage is staring back.

“Thank you…” she says, eyeing me warily. “For that.”

I hold her gaze. “No need to thank me, Rose.”

“It’s Charlotte-”

“Charlotte Rose… yes, I know.”

“How do you know my name?” she asks suspiciously. Her breathing picks up, making her chest rise and fall a bit faster and I find my eyes drawn to her gorgeous curves. I quickly lift my gaze back to her eyes, but I know she saw.

“I saw your presentation,” I answer simply and pull the stool out for her to take a seat.

“I saw.” A knowing look crosses her face as she slowly sits down. She parts her lips as if to say more, but the bartender brings a drink and sets it down in front of her. He looks at me and starts to ask if I want a drink, but I wave him off.

She sees and purses her lips. There’s an air of distrust around her and I can tell she’s debating on getting up and walking away. But I can’t let that happen.

Before she can come up with an excuse, I say teasingly, “I think you owe me at least one drink.” I set my hands on the bar as I say, “I’m Logan, by the way.”

“But you aren’t drinking,” she says, still eyeing me with caution.

“I’m not,” I say easily, although the fact that it makes her suspicious pisses me off. “I’m done drinking for the night.” She rests the tip of her finger on the rim of the glass as if debating if she should drink it.

“Your presentation went well,” I say to change the subject. “Have you worked for that company very long?” I already know the answer, but I want to get her talking.

“I actually just started,” she says a bit peppier, but her body language doesn’t match the false tone in her voice. She seems angry, pissed off at me. I don’t know why, but f*ck, it turns me on.

“What’d you do before this?” I ask her easily before signaling the bartender. I was bred into this lifestyle, so if there’s one thing my father taught me well, it’s how to charm women. I haven’t needed it… ever. But I know I can win her over.

“Let’s see...” she pauses and straightens a little as the bartender stops in front of us.

“Could we see the dessert menu, please?” I ask. I’m going to guess she’s a chocolate cake kind of woman. “You were saying?” I ask as the bartender sets down a menu and I slide it over to her. I tap on the picture of the lava cake and raise a brow.

She gives a small shake of her head. “No thanks,” she says, eyeing the cake. “I don’t want anything.”

I grin at her refusal. I’m going to have her eating cake right out of my hand.

I wait for the bartender as she rattles off her past employer, giving me details I’d find on a resume and nothing more. When the bartender catches my eye, I hold up the menu. “The lava cake,” I order and then look back at Charlotte.

“And why did you leave?” I ask with genuine curiosity. I have no idea why she left, but I’m grateful she did. Steamens Marketing never attends conferences, so I doubt I would have met her if she hadn’t left.

“Because my ex is a cheating prick and my former best friend is a whore.” The second the last word leaves her lips, she grips the stem of the glass tighter. I imagine her hands gripping my cock with the same force, and my pants grow a little tighter. “I’m sorry,” she says a moment later, though it’s clear she’s not. I love how anger colors her voice. Makes it deeper. Sexier. “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”

My Rose has thorns.

“Nothing to be sorry about,” I tell her. “I take it you worked with them?”

“Yes, that’s why I left.”

I nod my head and say, “So that means you’re single.”

She pauses for a moment, taken off guard. “I am,” she says finally, her voice on edge.

“Well that’s a win for me,” I say as the bartender sets the cake down on the bar. Two spoons. He’s a good man. Charlotte’s eyeing me with a look that turns me on; half suspicion, half defiance.

“Would you like a bite?” I ask before I take a bite myself and offer her the other spoon.

She stares at the spoon for a moment. “I don’t think so…”

“I insist,” I say, swallowing down the cake. It’s rich and velvety.

“Well, if you’re going to twist my arm,” she says, taking the utensil and scooping up a healthy portion. I watch as she closes her eyes and moans around the small bite of cake. My dick hardens as I picture her on her knees wrapping those lush lips around my cock.