Connectivity

by Aven Ellis

  William leans in closer to me.

  I can’t breathe. My heart is racing faster than it ever has in my life.

  “Mary-Kate,” William whispers, “I know it is probably most inappropriate for a boss to kiss his assistant.”

  “Yes,” I whisper back, my eyes never leaving his. “It probably is.”

  I watch as William lifts his hand. He hesitates for a moment, and then ever so slowly, brushes a finger against the side of my face. Every nerve I have jumps the second his warm skin makes contact with mine.

  “With that being said,” William whispers sexily, his eyes searching mine, “I am asking if I can kiss you.”

  Oh. My. God. His fingertips are dancing against my cheekbone and I swallow hard.

  “You are asking for permission, William?” I whisper back.

  “I am,” William says, tenderly stroking my skin with his fingers.

  “Permission granted,” I whisper to him.

  And then his mouth is on mine.

  First, it is just a brush of his lips. A simple kiss that makes my heart slam against my ribs. Heat sears through me the second our lips meet. Then his mouth is slowly caressing mine open in a slow, sensual kiss. His hands are now on my face, stroking my skin softly, and he continues to kiss me and touch me, and, Jesus, this is the kiss I have been waiting for my whole life.

  William breaks the kiss and then presses his forehead against mine in the sweetest of gestures.

  “May I do that again?” he whispers.

  “You don’t have to ask permission anymore,” I whisper back. “Just kiss me.”

  I melt into him, putting my hands around the back of his neck. I feel the slightest hint of stubble; I inhale the pine scent on his skin. We kiss slowly and sensually and then I feel his hands in my hair, gliding through it, caressing the strands in between his fingers. William removes my headband and his hands are running through my hair as our kiss deepens.

  Now I know what I have been missing my entire life! William is kissing me and caressing me and I don’t ever want him to stop. I feel hot and passionate and desired by the sexiest man I have ever known.

  “My God,” William whispers against my mouth, “why did I wait so long to do this?”

  I respond by lifting my hands to his hair. “I don’t know. But I don’t want you to stop,” I whisper back against his mouth.

  William responds by kissing me harder.

  I respond in kind and stroke his hair. My pulse soars the second I feel his hair in my hands. It feels like silk, just like I thought it would. I moan against his mouth, and William intensifies the kiss.

  Oh my God! Can this be any hotter? Can it?

  As he slides his hands around my back, I decide that, yes, it can.

  We kiss passionately and stay entwined until there is a knock on the door from room service.

  “Bloody hell,” William whispers, breaking our kiss. “Why did we order anything anyway?”

  I laugh and give him a light kiss on the lips. “Go get it. I’m not going anywhere, William Cumberland.”

  He smiles and goes to the door. Our tea is brought in and after William tips, we are left alone. Since we are content to make out like two teenagers, the tea remains untouched for the rest of the night. Kissing and touching and whispering against each other’s lips. William eases me back on the couch, resting on top of me, and we continue to kiss until my mouth goes numb, and then we kiss some more.

  Finally, we stop and I snuggle up against him, blissfully listening to how his heart is racing underneath his Prada dress shirt. He plays with my hair and I fiddle with his tie, wishing this night would never end.

  “What time is it?” William finally asks.

  “I don’t care,” I say honestly.

  William chuckles and lifts my head toward him. He brushes his lips against mine. “I don’t want to care, but I have a meeting early tomorrow.”

  He raises his arm and reaches around me to see his watch. “Damn it, is after one o’clock. I need to go, Mary-Kate. I have an 8:30 in the morning, and I need to look at some stuff tonight.”

  “Okay,” I say, not meaning it at all.

  William gets up and slips into his suit jacket and then his coat.

  I reluctantly follow him to the door.

  He slides his hands up to my face and tilts it up toward him, giving me another hot, sensual kiss before he opens the door.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he whispers, pressing his forehead against mine and linking my hands with his. “Goodnight, Mary-Kate,” he says, going out the door.

  “Goodnight, William,” I say, wishing he would stay. “See you tomorrow.”

  I shut the door and lock it, leaning against it. Electricity flows through me, and I brush my fingers against my lips, reliving every kiss he gave me tonight.

  Then I hear my cell phone ring.

  And I know it is him.

  I go over to my purse and fish it out. And there is a message from William on my iPhone.

  Sweet dreams Mary-Kate. Already cannot wait to see you tomorrow. WC

  “Aaaaahhhhh!” I squeal happily, flopping down on to the couch. I eagerly text him back.

  Be careful going home. Cannot wait to see you, too. MKG

  I put down my phone and grin happily. I know it will be impossible to sleep tonight, not with thoughts of William kissing me running through my head.

  And if there were any matches left in my book, I just blew through them tonight.

  Chapter 14

  I am in a frantic rush to get ready for work. Of course, after a rather delicious night of making out with William, I couldn’t sleep. Until like 4 a.m., and now I’m running late. Way late, which is not like me at all.

  I quickly throw my head upside down and run my brush through it. I flip back up and grab a black quilted headband and shove it into place. I move as fast as I can in my gray wrap dress to my closet and remove my tall black boots. I am pulling them on when there is a surprise knock on my hotel door.

  “Room service,” a male voice announces.

  What? I didn’t order room service!

  Confused, I walk to the door and look through the peephole. Sure enough, there is a cart with a covered dome. And a large bouquet of flowers in a stunning vase.

  Oh. My. God. William must have sent me flowers!

  I open the door.

  “Good morning, Ms. Grant,” the man says. “Per Mr. Cumberland, we are to deliver breakfast and this to you,” he says, handing me the stunning arrangement of flowers.

  I take the flowers, which consist of white roses and hydrangeas, and inhale them before putting them down. Meanwhile, the waiter sets up a table for me with toast, eggs, juice, coffee, fruit, yogurt . . .

  “All of this is for me?” I ask, eyeing this huge spread.

  “Yes, Ms. Grant,” he says. “This is for you, too.” Then he hands me a card.

  “Thank you,” I say, my heart jumping as I take the envelope.

  “Have a good day, Ms. Grant.” The waiter leaves, shutting the door behind him.

  I excitedly tear open the card and read.

  Mary-Kate,

  Good morning. I was not sure what you liked for breakfast, so I ordered a variety of items. Hopefully you will find something that suits you. Please come to the office later if you wish. I am going to be tied up until at least 10:30. But I am very much looking forward to seeing you today. WC

  PS-I hope the flowers smell as beautiful as the perfume you were wearing last night.

  I clutch the card and read it over and over. I am so happy and excited and just blown away by his kindness, his thoughtfulness, and the lovely comment he made about my perfume. My God, William, what are you doing to me?

  Of course, I’m goi
ng to get to the Connectivity offices as soon as I can. One, to prove I am a professional, and second, to hopefully get a glimpse of William through glass panels of his ultra-modern conference room so I can see him in mogul action, which is always a turn-on.

  I nosh on a piece of toast and finish getting ready. Then I bundle up, it is cold and rainy today, and head out to get a cab.

  As I ride through London, my cell phone goes off. At least I know it is not Arabella. She is probably seated next to William in that meeting and assisting him.

  I bite my lip. That annoys me. I should be the one helping William. I sigh as I pull out my phone. But she is the lead assistant here, and whether I like it or not, she gets to be William’s right-hand person.

  Ooooooooh, I am really having a hard time with that idea, especially after last night. But I shove the thought aside. For now.

  I glance down at my phone. Another text from William!

  Please tell me you are wearing one of your headbands today. I rather like those on you. WC

  My cheeks are burning from his flirty little text. I respond.

  It is your lucky day. I am. Thank you for breakfast and the beautiful flowers. You are too generous to me. PS Aren’t you supposed to be running an empire meeting right now? MKG

  My spine tingles as I await his response. Which comes rapid fire.

  I am bored with this meeting and these people. I want to see you. WC

  Ooooh! He can’t focus! Butterflies take off in my stomach knowing he is as distracted as I am. However, I decide to tell him what he needs to do. William likes that about me anyway.

  You, sir, need to focus. Quit texting me. MKG

  I smile to myself and wait. Again, an instant response.

  Bossy American. See you later this morning. WC

  I laugh out loud. Yes, William, you shall see me sooner than you think.

  Shortly, I arrive at Connectivity World Headquarters. I make my way to William’s floor and decide to take the extra-long route to banishment that would require me pass by the conference room. I unbutton my coat so William can see my wrap dress, black opaque tights, and tall-heeled boots.

  Hmmm. I feel like a bit of a seductress. Which is so funny, because I have never done anything like this in my life. I have never wanted to before. But I feel like I know what I am doing, so perhaps watching all those episodes of The Bachelorette did pay off in some form or another.

  I turn the corner and spot the conference room in front of me. I see William talking at the head of the table. Then he puts his fingertips to his lips as he listens to someone respond. He is looking down the table at someone at the other end. I watch as his eyes move, scanning the other people in the meeting to watch their facial responses and assess what they are thinking.

  Then he sees me.

  William immediately drops his hands away from his face and stares at me. The eyes change. They are intense now. I flash him a flirty smile and watch as he completely loses focus. His eyes remain on me, and only me. I turn the corner and grin to myself as a shiver of electricity shoots down my spine. Ah, yes, this seductress thing is kind of fun!

  I get back to my desk and take off my coat, put down my bag, and get ready to start my day. Of course, Arabella has left me a stack of shit to do, like make 3,000 copies of stuff I am not even sure she needs, but provided just to keep me away from William’s office.

  About a half hour into typing labels for Arabella’s new filing system-blah, like I am her assistant—my cell goes off with a text alert.

  Meeting over. Please come to my office. Bring a stack of folders with papers. WC

  Yay! I finally get to see William. I grab a bunch of folders and toss some copies in them. I carry them like I am carrying the most important FBI files in the world, all business, all official, and head toward William’s office.

  I turn to enter his office when Arabella sees me coming.

  “Whatever you have, MK, I will take in for you,” she says stiffly from her chair. “Mr. Cumberland has an extremely tight schedule today.”

  Is it wrong that I really want to punch her?

  “Mr. Cumberland asked me to bring these to him,” I say firmly.

  “I shall give them to him,” Arabella says coolly, standing up.

  “Ms. Grant, is there a reason why you are delaying in bringing me those files?” William snaps from his doorway, looking all CEO-like.

  I turn to Arabella and lift an eyebrow.

  She glares at me, which makes me want to laugh.

  “Coming, Mr. Cumberland,” I say, entering his office.

  He shuts the door behind me and then strides over to his desk.

  I glance out of his window and see Arabella craning her neck to see what we are doing.

  “Okay, so I am acting now like I am reviewing these documents for you,” I say, flipping open a folder.

  “Well played,” William says, studying me. “But I do have a serious issue to discuss with you, Ms. Grant.”

  William’s eyes are shining brightly, and I know he is about to tease me.

  “Yes, Mr. Cumberland?” I say, playing along.

  “In regards to last night,” he says, leaning back in his leather chair and putting his fingertips to his lips in that steeple position, “it was not exactly appropriate for me to kiss you, was it, Ms. Grant?”

  I cock my head to one side. “No, it was not, Mr. Cumberland.”

  “It was reckless.”

  “Indeed. Very reckless.”

  I watch as he removes his hands and reveals his handsome face to me. “While there is truth to that,” he says, picking up a silver pen and clicking it, “I have never been so bloody glad to be reckless in all my life.”

  Ooooooh! My heart leaps with that comment.

  “Me, too,” I admit, smiling at him.

  “I want to see you tonight.”

  I flip a page in the folder. “Hmmm. It could be possible.”

  William furrows his brow. “Possible?”

  I give a fake sigh. “My schedule might just be free for you.”

  “I see,” William says, his mouth curving up in a sexy smile. “Well, if you are indeed free, would you like to come over to my place for dinner? We will eat and watch television, if you find that to be an acceptable arrangement.”

  Oh my God. William is inviting me to come over to his place!

  “I find that very acceptable,” I say calmly, my voice betraying the pure elation I feel inside by his invitation.

  “Don’t dress up,” William says. Then he cocks an eyebrow at me. “Wear what you would for The Bachelorette night with the girls.”

  “William, come on! That is a hoodie and yoga pants!” I blurt out.

  “That,” William says, “is who you are. And that is who I want to see tonight.”

  My heart is melting. Seriously melting.

  “All right,” I say, shutting the folder. “I will see you tonight.”

  “I’ll pick you up after my conference call at 6.”

  “No,” I say, shaking my head. “It would be more discreet if I take a cab.”

  William frowns. “I don’t like that. I can send my driver for you.”

  “I know you can, but let’s be smart about this. Just because we didn’t get caught last night doesn’t mean we will always be so lucky.”

  William stands up. “But we are not doing anything wrong.”

  “I know that, and you know that, but you know how it is.”

  William rakes a hand through his waves and lets out a sigh. “Right. You’re right.” He nods toward the window. “Is Arabella still staring?”

  I casually glance out into the hallway. As soon as Arabella sees me, she snaps her head back around. “Oh, yes. She is trying to spy.”

&nb
sp; “You’d better go back,” William says. Then he groans. “And send her in her on your way out so I can give her some stuff to do so it looks like I am being a bloody boar to both of you.”

  “Okay,” I say, laughing. “You can yell at me for good measure on the way out.”

  William grins at me. “Fine. If you insist, I’ll yell.”

  I am about to go out the door when he stops me.

  “And, Ms. Grant?”

  “Yes?” I say, stopping and facing him.

  “You look beautiful,” he says softly. “Rather distracting, actually. I just thought you should know that before I yell at you.”

  I feel my face flame from his compliment.

  “Thank you,” I say, smiling softly at him.

  William gets up and moves behind me. “Okay, ready?”

  I nod and open the door.

  “And, Ms. Grant, I anticipate you will be able to have those reports to me by the close of business today,” William says in his badass mogul tone as we exit. “I realize London might seem like a holiday, but it is not. It is imperative that you focus.”

  Bah ha ha! Focus! William is the one who can’t focus today!

  “Yes, Mr. Cumberland, understood,” I say seriously. I briskly walk over to Arabella. “Mr. Cumberland would like to see you now,” I say, dropping my voice. “And, good luck, he’s in quite a mood.”

  She blinks.

  I shake my head gravely.

  I resist the urge to skip past her right down the hall. I have a date with William tonight. In the intimate setting of his home.

  And something tells me I just better get a new matchbook for this evening.

  Chapter 15

  I step out of the cab and look at William’s apartment building in Mayfair. I take a deep breath and gather myself on the sidewalk, gazing up at the ten-story building, and, in particular, to the top floor, where I know William is waiting for me.