The One: The Complete One Series Collection Read Free Page A

instantly invaded my nose. I could see the dark waves of the ocean lapping against the beach and sounds of the party downstairs drifted up to me.
    “Beautiful,” William said. I hadn’t even heard him join me on the balcony, but now he was standing there holding two glasses of champagne.
    “Sorry?” William’s presence had instantly flustered me. His shirt was untucked and his tie hung loosely from his neck. I thought he looked even better slightly disheveled.
    “The view. It’s beautiful.” He handed me one of the glasses and our fingers grazed in the transfer. My fingers burned as if I had held them to a flame. William hadn’t looked at anything but me since he began talking.
    “The ocean? It’s not bad.” I took a sip and knew that this was probably the most expensive champagne I had ever had. This must have been what William had been discussing with the concierge.
    “Yes, the ocean. And other things.” William was still watching me.
    His staring was making me uncomfortable so I took another drink. I felt the need to explain myself to him. “I don’t usually do this.”
    “Do what?” A smile played at the corners of his lips.
    “This.” I gestured to the two of us and then the bedroom waiting for us on the other side of the doorway. “Guys like you.”
    “You don’t even know me, Livy,” he said, the playful smile fading.
    “Exactly. This isn’t me.” But even as I said it, I knew that it was. At least for tonight.
    William’s eyes narrowed as he said, “I didn’t make you come up here.”
    “I know.” I did know. Boy, did I know. “That’s not what I’m saying. I just don’t want you to have the wrong idea about me.”
    “Why do you care so much? We’re never going to see each other after tonight. Why does it bother you so much what I think about your character?’
    I thought it over and couldn’t come up with a good reason, so I shrugged. “I have no idea. But it does bother me.”
    “Well if it helps, I can tell you exactly what I think about you.” William waited until I nodded for him to continue. “Contrary to what you might think, this,” he gestured around us, “isn’t really me either. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I’m a saint. I have a lot of money, and when I was younger I used that to my advantage. In business, and with women. But that was a long time ago. You might say, I’ve grown up.”
    Now it was William’s turn to drink. He looked out over the ocean as he continued. “I don’t do this type of thing anymore. One-night stands, hook-ups, whatever you want to call it. But there’s just something about you.
    “Like I said earlier, you intrigue me.” He turned back to me. “I don’t think you’re the type of woman I used to take home at the end of the night. I think you’re smart and witty. I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve seen in a long time, maybe ever. I think I’m lucky that you agreed to come up here with me. And I want to have sex with you very badly, right now, and I think you want the same thing.” This time he didn’t offer me a smile. His bluntness made my heart flutter and I felt a warmth invade my body that had been missing for a long time. “Am I wrong?”
    He wasn’t wrong.
    Maybe he was just a charmer. One of those guys that knows the exact right thing to say to get a woman to spread her legs. It was very possible. But I didn’t care. I wanted William Connor, and I wanted him right then.
    I willed my hand not to shake as I sat my glass on the balcony ledge. I took William’s glass and placed it next to mine. “You’re not wrong,” I said, staring directly into his eyes.
    He paused for a just a beat before pulling my body to his. William was tall- even with my three inch heels he was still a few inches taller than me. I lifted my head to meet his lips, reveling in their warmth and urgency. I could taste the champagne and a faint hint of salt water. My head was beginning to spin and it wasn’t from the