"Why do you keep saying that?" he said in a low voice.
A fluttering feeling kept distracting me when he touched my arms. "Because you mean a lot to me and I hate that I brought all of this chaos into your life."
His fingers encircled my arms and pulled me into the warm bed. His face was pinched with fatigue, but I looked at his lips and felt my body heat all over. Every time he touched my skin, a jolt of electricity shot through me. The excitement and the strange, pounding feeling in my chest were new.
"You didn't bring chaos into my life. Natalie, you've no idea how empty I was before I met you."
"Me too, Will."
The palm of his hand increased pressure on my upper back and I fell on my arms as Will placed a soft kiss on my lips. I kissed him back hungrily, more urgently, and then his half-naked body turned and fell on top of mine. I caressed his broad back, his shoulder, over the dark bruise beginning to show on his face. He hissed in pain and I pulled away.
"I'm really glad you kneed that prick in the balls. I wish I could have seen it."
He lowered himself and kissed me again, his tongue teasing my mouth, as if he was turned on by the image of me kicking my ex-fiancé.
I felt myself opening up; my skin was extremely sensitive-every touch made me want to moan. What was it about him that made him so irresistible?
"Will," I whispered in his ear.
A small moan left his mouth as he felt my lips moving on his ears. "I like that."
With one swipe of his arms, my t-shirt flew from my head. He grinned as he reached behind my back and easily unclasped my bra. I let out a thin gasp as his hands grasped my breasts and squeezed. His thumb and forefinger found my peaked nipples and squeezed them.
"Ah!"
His fingers already knew all the places where I was sensitive. I bit down on his neck as they shoved through the narrow space between my panties and dipped to stroke my rapidly moistening clit. He chuckled between kissing my breasts as I seized his back and dug my nails in. Ecstasy flooded my senses as his finger probed the heat between my legs until they finally slid inside the tight, wet passage. Two fingers curled like a question mark inside me, striking the hot bed of nerves that longed for something longer-thicker. His tongue played on my chest, exciting me, torturing me.
I seized his head, brought him to my face, and he grinned at my eagerness. I needed more. With his other hand, he pulled my jeans down to my knees and resumed fingering me. My wetness covered his hand and I heard it slipping around him as he pumped his fingers inside me. I cried out when his hands dug inside to the hilt and he curled up to stroke that sensitive spot.
"I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this," he groaned. "You are so wet."
His muscular body glided over me and I grabbed his waist to unbutton his jeans. I paused for a moment to ride my palm over the rigid bulge and his face twitched as I squeezed it.
"Maybe I should tease you."
"Don't you dare," he growled.
I unzipped his pants slowly and reached inside for his long, hard length. I pulled him out of his briefs and watched as a drop trembled over the head. I lifted myself and kissed him, my tongue reaching out to catch the drop. My hands smoothed over his muscular ass and I pulled him closer to my face. My mouth open, I heard his strangled moan as his cock passed my lips. His thickness widened my mouth, my tongue riding on the ridge. Excitement jumped up my thighs as I felt him take control.
He pumped slowly, taking his time as I kept my lips firmly clasped around him. I guided his hips, urging him on-faster. Through his mouth, he uttered a stream of curses and guttural moans. I was fascinated by how dirty it was-and how much I liked it. Will's face, streaked with sweat, crumpled as if he was in pain. He pulled out of my mouth and hovered in front of my lips, before he let out a sigh, like dipping into a warm bath.
Then he pulled out completely and his torso moved down urgently. He ripped off my jeans and flung them across the room and suddenly my legs were wrapped around his waist and he dove forward.
I let out a sharp gasp as he sank inside me, pounding hard enough to rob me of all breath. His hot face met mine with a steaming kiss as I moaned into his lips. The headboard slammed rhythmically into the wall.
Nothing could possibly feel better than his hips driving his rock-hard cock into me. I clutched his head against my breast as his whole body surged forward, every muscle focused on delivering me as much pleasure as possible. My pulse maintained its rapid pace and I clenched myself tight around him, my face screwing up as Will's heavy breaths surrounded me. The pleasure ramped up like the tight coils of a spring, and then suddenly he hammered forward and I convulsed around his cock at the same time that he uttered a low moan and jumped inside me.
"Natalie." He bit down on my neck and squeezed my breast as his orgasm shuddered through his body. "I can feel you."
He reached down and touched my twitching muscles as he slid out. I was too busy focusing on the electricity shooting through my body. He raised himself on his elbows, looking extremely tired but pleased. I wiped the damp locks of hair from his eyes and he lowered himself. His lips were soft against mine, and even though I was exhausted I felt that I could kiss him for hours.
I spent the next few days away from William, hunkering in my cold apartment and refreshing ten different windows on my computer. William said he needed time to deal with all of the negative press, and I understood that. The headlines got worse. A lot worse.
Billionaire and pal kill three with DUI in Redwood City in '11
Battery victim condemns Pardini family for "covering up" DUI
He never said sorry: an exposé into the Pardini DUI crash
Opinion: Pardini family cover-up shows youth that drinking and driving is ok
Is the law lenient on the rich?
None of them seemed to care that William wasn't in the driver's seat. All that mattered was that he was rich. Ben mentioned the deadly crash during one of his interviews and the media ran with it, igniting a firestorm of vitriol and public outcry against the Pardini family.
When I called him, his voice was quieter. It was as if they were slowly draining him of life. He was spiraling.
"When can I see you?"
Silence crackled on the other end of the line. Ten-fifteen seconds.
"Will, are you still there?" A bit of anger crept into my voice, but I stamped it down.
"Uh-what? Sorry."
"I said, when can I see you again?"
"I don't know," he said blandly. "I have to go now."
I bit my lip hard so that he couldn't hear the tears in my voice. "Okay. Bye."
Without so much as a farewell, William hung up and I stared at my empty phone as if it could tell me what was wrong with him.
I couldn't even think about how depressing my life had become. I still had no job, my parents would not stop calling, and it looked like I was going to lose Will. Every time he looked at me, he would be reminded about how my ex got him into this mess. It wasn't my fault, but he would still resent me for it.
I crumpled up the piece of paper I'd been using to sketch a design and hurled it across my too small bedroom. The final designs I had yet to finish glared at me through the computer screen.
A soft knock at my door interrupted my thoughts.
"Come in."
A sliver of Jessica's slight figure appeared in the crack of the door. She gave me a wry smile. "Come here. Luke has something for you."
My eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"
"Just come," she said innocently.
Whatever it was, Jessica looked like she was barely containing her excitement. I followed her into the kitchen where Luke stood, still dressed in his work clothes. He held a folder in his hands and was beaming at me.
What could he possibly have for me? "What's up?"
"Natalie, everyone really loved the approach you took for the campaign." Grinning ear to ear, he walked closer. "The creative director leading the bed and breakfast campaign wants to hire you as a full-time employee. Here's the offer she wants to give you."
Stunned, I took the folder he handed me. Jessica let out a joyous shriek and tackled me.
"You did it! You're going to be working for Pardini Worldwide!"
Luke chuckled. "Well, if she wants to."
I opened the folder and thumbed through the HR welcome packet, still not quite believing it. A surge of energy burst into my veins, followed by a sickening thought. "Did Will do this?"
He raised his eyebrows. "Ah, no. Like I said, our creative director emailed Will and said she wanted you. You're supposed to get an email, but I thought I'd come in person. Will was supposed to, but he hasn't been at work lately."
All the joy I felt at being offered a position at such a great company evaporated into thin air. Luke's eyes hardened at the mention of his cousin.