One Chance(16)

When he saw that I had replied, he smiled but his smile wavered as he read the message. Very slowly, he turned his head to the right, looking right past me at first. It wasn’t until I stood up and waved that he realized it was me.

“Olivia. What are you doing here?” William sounded as though he didn’t really believe it was me.

“Surprise,” I said quietly. From his blank expression, I wasn’t sure if this was a good surprise or a bad one.

One second he was staring at me in utter confusion, and the next he was rushing toward me. I put a hand on his chest and pushed him away. “Wait.”

“Wait?” Again, complete confusion. I had never seen William this frazzled. “You just flew all the way to Rome and you want me to wait before I can hug you? What’s going on, Livy?”

“First, I have a business matter I would like to get out of the way.” I reached into my back pocket and removed a folded piece of paper. “My resignation, Mr. Connor.”

William hesitated before taking the paper. He unfolded it, read the contents, and then smiled. “I quit. My job, that is, not our relationship. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me. I love you.” William shook his head. “You are a total dork.”

“This is true.” Fortunately, William had a thing for dorks.

“Are you taking the job in D.C.?” William folded my resignation letter and tucked it into his interior suit pocket.

“Nope.” I had to take a deep breath before I could plow ahead. “I’m quitting, and I don’t have another job lined up. I can’t stay at Gravity because I’ve lost my credibility and I can’t take the job in D.C. because it’s not what I want.”

“What do you want, Olivia?” William’s blue eyes drilled into mine.

I didn’t have to force myself not to look away as I answered. Being honest with myself had been hard, but being honest with William was frighteningly easy. “You. I want you. Always you.”

“You have me, Livy. Always.” This time when William reached for me, I didn’t push him away- I pulled him close. Maybe it was the intoxicating effect he had on me, or maybe it was the tantalizing allure of being in Italy, but whatever the case, I threw inhibition to the wind. I didn’t care if everyone in the hotel was watching as I threw my arms around him.

William had the good sense to know that we should take our excessive groping to his room. He was staying on the top floor, and when he opened the door to his room I was transported back in time.

“Déjà vu,” I muttered as I took in the wall of windows that revealed an amazing view of Rome at night. William and I had spent our first night together under circumstances not very dissimilar from this one, the key exception being that I could see almost all of Rome in the distance rather than the ocean.

“There’s one big difference this time,” William said, drawing the curtains open even further. I couldn’t help but be awed by the sight.

“What’s that?” I said as he wrapped his arms around me from behind, nuzzling my neck in the process.

“This time there’s no way I’m letting you leave in the morning.”

I turned in his arms and kissed him like I had that first night. I remembered how he had tasted like champagne, and how my body had responded so receptively to his touch, the same way that it still did. So many nights had come and gone since that first night, but my desire for William hadn’t faded in the slightest. In fact, it had grown exponentially.

William had made the first move back then so now it was my turn. I guided him over to the bed and pushed him down on the edge of it. He tried to pull me onto his lap but I resisted. I first moved to turn off the lights and then I took a few steps back toward the window, letting the lights from outside be my guide. Standing in front of the wall of windows while maintaining eye contact with William, I slowly peeled off my shirt. I could just barely make out his face and the playful smile on his lips.

My jeans came off next, very deliberately. What had started as a striptease quickly became more about stripping and less about teasing. I was dying to feel William’s hands on my body. My bra and panties were disposed of without much fanfare. I stood in front of the window for a beat, feeling bold and uninhibited. I was naked to the world, or at least to anyone who might be looking up at that very moment, and I didn’t care. I had nothing left to hide.

William stood up quickly, hastily stripping away his clothing. It wasn’t much of a performance, but anytime William got naked it was a must-see event. Once he had the layers of fabric out of the way, nothing else was stopping him from acting on his desire. He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me against his body. His skin was deliciously warm against mine. His lips were perfectly moist when he touched them to my neck and then trailed them down between my breasts.