The One: The Complete One Series Collection (12 page)

William stretched lazily. “My sister.”

I turned to him in confusion. “I thought your sister’s name was Toni?”

“That’s my younger sister.
Cessily is my older sister.” William smiled fondly. “She’s the crazy one, but in a good way.”

“Good crazy?” I wondered if he also thought his mother was a good kind of crazy. “Any other siblings I should know about?”

William ignored me and pulled some clean clothes out of his closet. I took a seat on the bed as I watched him strip down to his boxer briefs. I had to remind myself that this was a non-erotic strip down. “You’ll like Cess. She has no problem calling my parents out on their bullshit. She kind of reminds me of you, actually.”

“Your crazy sister reminds you of me?” There had to be a compliment buried in that insult. “Thanks, William.”

“Good crazy, remember?” He pulled on a faded pair of jeans and an old University of Chicago t-shirt. He flashed me his dazzling smile and a sly wink. “God knows you drive me crazy.”

“Is that so?” I pretended to be offended. William took my hand and pulled me to my feet.

With his hands resting on my hips, he gently kissed my lips and whispered, “You drive me crazy in bed…” Another kiss. “And in the shower…” A longer kiss. “And on the kitchen floor…”

“Your mother is waiting for us,” I said as his hands moved over my hips and began to caress my ass.

William winced. “Yep. Cock definitely blocked.”

“Only temporarily. I promise.” I jabbed him in the side. “Now man up. We can’t hide up here forever.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.” William led the way to the stairs and I followed reluctantly. Like it or not, his family scared me. Especially his mother.

“I think that’s him now.” Just the sound of Jean’s voice gave me chills.

“Will is that you?” This voice was younger and higher pitched. I could only assume it belonged to Cessily.

“Hey,
Cess.” William braced himself as a burst of red hair and bright clothes collided against him. He choked out a laugh as he hugged his sister. “Good to see you, sis.”

“Damn right.”
Cessily released him. “You look good, little brother.”

“Damn right.” William gave her a quick once over. “New hair color?”

“Mother hates red hair. I couldn’t resist.” She gave him a conspiratorial wink and then her eyes widened as she noticed me for the first time. “So what mother said is true. You brought home a whore?”

“Jesus,
Cess.” William’s face turned a bright shade of red. “You could at least pretend our family isn’t a bunch of assholes.”

“Sorry.”
Cessily turned to me. “I’m sorry if I offended you. That was supposed to be a joke, but my brother isn’t exactly known for his sense of humor.”

“I’m not offended.” In reality, I was sure Jean had said much worse things about me. “At least she didn’t say ugly whore.”

Cessily laughed, a deep laugh that came from her gut. It was a wonderful sound. “I think you might be a keeper,” she said and turned back to William. “It’s a shame though. I was really hoping you would turn out to be gay. It would have so pissed off our mother.”

“He could always get his whore knocked up,” I suggested. “That would probably piss her off even more.”

Cessily grinned a wicked smile. “I like it. And I like you. Come. Let’s go do some damage.” With that, Cessily grabbed my arm and pulled me into the devil’s lair.

CHAPTER TWO

“So anyway, that was the third time I got arrested,”
Cessily said as she filled up her wine glass for at least the sixth time. “That was also when mother started seeing her therapist.”

I glanced across the room to where Jean was sitting, knitting a purple scarf and passing judgment on me with her beady eyes. She had already called me both a whore and a gold digger, so I was glad to have the space between us.

William was seated next to me on the couch, his eye focused only on his phone. He had been answering work emails all afternoon, in between defending me from his mother’s barbs. On more than one occasion, he had tried to drag me away but Cessily wouldn’t allow it. She was determined to share her life story with me.

“So what about you? What did you do to drive your parents insane when you were a teenager?”
Cessily kicked her feet up onto the coffee table.

William had the presence of mind to realize that his sister was treading on sensitive ground. He tossed an arm around my shoulders and frowned at her. “
Cess, I thought you were making dinner tonight. Shouldn’t you get started on that?”

“
Pssh. There is plenty of time for that. I’m bonding with your girlfriend.”

William glared at her. “Stop being so much like our mother,” he said.

“It’s okay, William.” It was true that she was being nosy, but she was also the only member of his family that had acknowledged that I was anything more than the woman that was screwing William.

“Yeah, calm down, bro. I only asked an innocent question about her childhood. She doesn’t have to answer.”
Cessily nudged her brother’s foot and turned back to me. “Back to you, Livs.”

“There’s not much to tell. I didn’t get into much trouble back then. I never got arrested, or even a detention.” In fact, sleeping with my boss was probably the most scandalous thing I had ever done.

“Your parents were very lucky to have such a perfect child,” Jean snapped from across the room. “But I’m sure they told you all the time how wonderful you were.”

“Not exactly.” I felt William’s hand tighten on my shoulder. “My parents died when I was fourteen. I moved in with my aunt.”

The room was engulfed by a deafening silence. No one knew what to say. I could’ve easily changed the subject and relieved the tension but I wasn’t exactly in the mood to make Jean feel better.

“I’m not really in the mood for any pity, or further insulting remarks. So I’ll just say this: Jean, I’m not here to steal away your precious little boy. I have no intention of using him, or taking his money. I care about him. I came all the way to Utah because of that. If you can’t accept that, fine. I don’t care. But you might as well get used to me because I’m not going anywhere.”

I have no idea what caused my outburst. Jean had been berating me for hours and I had barely heard half of what she said. She was an angry, bitter woman, and I had been determined not to stoop to her level. But when Cessily had started asking me about my own parents, something had snapped. So I let Jean have it, and then I stormed out of the room.

It was already getting dark outside, and from William’s room I could see the moon through the glass ceiling. I flopped back on the bed and listened to the loud thud of William’s feet on the stairs. I could hear him enter the room but he didn’t say anything.

“To the moon and back,” I said, wondering if I drank more of Cessily’s wine than I had thought.

“What?” William’s voice sounded far away.

“When I was a kid, I used to look at the moon and think that it was so far away. But up here on the mountain, it looks a lot closer.” I stretched my arms above my head and sat up. William was leaning against the doorframe, watching me with open curiosity. “Never mind. I think I might be drunk.”

“You only had one glass of wine. I don’t think you’re drunk.” William was still holding his glass of scotch. I noticed that he was drinking it over ice, something he never did.

“Maybe not drunk. Just nostalgic.” I looked at his glass and raised an eyebrow. “Ice?”

“It keeps the scotch watered-down which keeps me from getting drunk around my family and losing my cool.” William twirled his glass, the ice clinking loudly.

“I find it hard to believe that you’re ever not cool.” Even in his jeans and t-shirt, William looked irresistible. “Why don’t you come over here and prove just how cool you are?”

This time, William remembered to close and lock the door behind him. “I guess that’s only fair since you’re about to show me how hot you are.”

“You are a total dork.” I wanted to laugh at him but even when he was being cheesy, William was still completely sexy.

He very carefully sat his drink on the edge of the bed and then took my hands, pulling me to my feet. I hadn’t expected him to move me away from the bed but the smoldering look in his eyes said he knew exactly what he was doing. “I want to undress you,” he said.

He placed a finger beneath my chin and tilted it up, exposing my neck. His lips were cold against my skin, still carrying traces of his ice-cold scotch. As his lips traveled to my clavicle, his hands moved underneath my sweater. I expected him to tear it from my body but William apparently meant what he said- he didn’t just want me naked, he wanted to take his time and undress me.

His hands skimmed over my stomach and up to my bra. He cupped both breasts in his hands and squeezed them gently. After kissing my neck one more time, he grabbed the hem of my sweater and slowly began to lift it up. Now he bent in front of me, slowly kissing his way up my stomach while continuing to remove my sweater. As I lifted my arms to help his progress, the fabric covered my eyes and blocked William from view. This was part of his master plan apparently because he left it there, my arms helplessly pinned above my head.

William slipped his hands into the cups of my bra and pulled my breasts free, the tight fabric keeping them full and perky. His hands worked a gentle caress that sent a tremor through my body. His hands finally went back to my sweater and he finished removing it. Once he freed it from my body, he took his time folding it and placing it on the dresser.

I let out an exasperated sigh. My breasts were still exposed and my body still humming. William ignored me and picked up his scotch. He took a long sip and eyed me over of the rim of his glass. When he sat the glass on the dresser, it was empty. At last, he moved in on me again. He unclasped my bra and slipped it from my arms while his mouth moved over my right breast in a hurry, stopping only when it reached my nipple. His mouth was cold from the scotch and I could feel my nipple harden as he held it between his lips. Then, suddenly, I felt a shock of cold as he released the ice cube he had been holding in his mouth.

William held the ice between his lips and traced a path from one nipple to the other. I could feel it melting against my hot body, leaving a trail of moisture behind. While his mouth continued its icy assault, his hands slipped down my sides and along the waistband of my jeans. His deft fingers had them unbuttoned, unzipped and around my ankles within seconds. He moved slower removing my panties, sliding them down with his hands flush against my skin.

As he stepped back to admire his work, a soft smile played on his lips and I felt a flush creep across my cheeks. This certainly wasn’t the first time I had been naked in front of him, but never had he spent this much time staring at my body, especially without making a move to touch me.

“Are you done?” I asked, a little miffed.

“Not even close.” His smile grew. “But it’s your turn now.”

At last. I tried to be as patient as William, but it was a struggle. His deliberate removal of my clothes had been completely erotic. I didn’t just want to undress him, I wanted to attack him. But I took a deep breath and steadied my hands. Taking a different approach than William, I pulled his t-shirt off in one fluid movement. His bare chest was before me and I placed both hands on it, enjoying the feeling of his heart racing against my palms. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one all worked up.

I struggled with the button on William’s jeans and he let out a low laugh as I cursed. “It’s not my fault,” I complained. “You’ve got a lot more going on down here than I do.”

“Less talking, more undressing.” William kissed me long and sweet. I went back to work and had no trouble finishing the job. Only one piece of clothing was keeping us apart.

“We should seriously consider wearing less clothes,” I said, letting the tips of my fingers dance over the exposed skin just above his boxer briefs. I slipped my fingers inside and began to inch the fabric down.

“I’m in if you are,” William said, his breath catching in his throat as my lips moved to his newly uncovered skin.

With his underwear gone, my libido skyrocketed. Naked William was something to behold. I was still crouched before him and as I looked up at him, I suddenly thought of the old lady at the airport. I’m sure she hadn’t been thinking of this exact moment when she had advised me to enjoy William, but somehow I also thought she would’ve been a little proud of us, taking the time to just enjoy our intimacy. I let out a laugh and William narrowed his eyes at me.

“Never laugh at a naked man,” he said. “It really kills the mood.”

“I’m sorry.” I kissed him again on the skin just above his pubic hair. As I circled a hand around him, he responded instantly. “I was just thinking about how much I’m going to enjoy this.”

I rose slowly, kissing my way up his torso with my hands working a steady stroke on his penis. After one last kiss on his chin, I looked him in the eye and said, “I want to feel you.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ve got that taken care of,” he said, letting out a groan as I squeezed him tighter.

“I want to feel you inside me. Outside me. Everywhere. I want to feel you all over me.” I wasn’t even sure if I was making sense, but I was overwhelmed by the desire to feel William on every inch of my body.

His hands moved from my shoulders, up my neck until he was holding my face between them. Blue eyes staring directly into mine, he said, “With pleasure.” Then he pressed his soft lips against mine and his arms wrapped around my waist. Without pulling away, he lifted me in his arms and I looped both legs around him, literally riding him to the bed.

William leaned me back slowly and hovered over me, taking another long look at my body. Then he lowered himself on me, his body pressing against mine from lips to toes. He propped himself up with one arm to keep the full weight of his body from overwhelming me but his other hand managed to do that all by itself as he slipped it between my legs. His fingers probed me, fluttering against my clitoris in a way that made me shiver.

“I’m ready, William,” I moaned, in case it wasn’t obvious from the wetness his fingers found. Just to make it crystal clear, I reached down and took his hand in one of mine, then used the other to position him at my opening.

William didn’t move right away. He kissed me again on the lips and said very softly, “I’m ready, too, Olivia.”

In that second, neither of us were talking about what was happening with our bodies in that bed. We were both ready, for something great. Something bigger than us and bigger than mind-blowing sex. That’s not to say we weren’t going to finish what we started though. William grabbed for the condom and pulled it into place.

Protection in place, he slipped into me with breath-taking slowness. Every fiber of my being responded to his movement inside me. I still held one of William’s hands in mine and our fingers entwined and tightened as he pulled away, until his tip was at my entrance again.

I gasped at the feeling of him leaving me, but then he was back inside again and this time he wasn’t going away anytime soon. He thrust so deep it felt like he was reaching unexplored parts of me. At first his thrusts were steady and predictable, a hard push in and a slow retreat out. I met each one of them eagerly. Each one was a tease, a tantalizing torture that his body was inflicting on me. But then he began to move quicker and quicker until I had no choice but to just hold on and enjoy the ride.

I dug the fingers of my free hand into his back as I felt my body start to ripple, coming apart at the seams. The warmth that had been spreading became a burning urgency as I convulsed against him and around him, crying out his name. The aftershocks of my orgasm urged him to finish and he let out an animalistic growl as he released inside me.

I was spent in every sense of the word and William allowed himself to slowly collapse on top of me. The hand that had been digging into his back seconds earlier was now lifeless against his skin. As I began to regain some feeling in my body, I stroked his back with the tips of my fingers and felt him sigh against me.

“That feels nice,” he mumbled against my neck.

“I can’t feel anything right now,” I said with a shaky laugh.

William shifted as he pulled out of me, now satiated and relaxed. “I can feel you. I can always feel you, even when you aren’t around. You’re under my skin, Olivia.”

I knew exactly what he meant. Since meeting William and spending one night with him that wasn’t supposed to be anything more than that, I hadn’t been able to stay away from him. William had enthralled me- I was his. And that scared the crap out of me.