What Nobody Knew

Part 39

At exactly 6 o'clock the door to the hotel suite swung open.

I was busy putting on my heels when William entered the living room area. I saw his black dress shoes in front of me while I was busy slipping on the last heel.

I rose from the couch, the heels gave me extra height and I was now nearly at eye-level with William. 

When I looked up at him, his eyes were still making their way upwards from his usual inspection. His attention was on my chest for a beat longer than was deemed professional before his eyes met mine again. Anyone else would not have even noticed the slight delay, but I did. During the time that I've been working for William, there were certain things I have learned about him. One of them was that everything he did was deliberate and the current situation was no different. Many other men out there were pigs who couldn't control their stares. William could, he was all about control. His eyes did not linger by accident and yet, there was nothing off-putting about his stare.

My whole body was already on fire from his gaze, without the hunger that was apparent by the time his eyes reached mine. 

"Turn around." He demanded.

"What?" I stuttered, unsure whether I heard him correctly.

"Turn your back to me Elizabeth." The demand was clear in his tone, he wasn't leaving room for arguments.

A part of me wanted to object and demand to know the reason why first. The less sensible part of me won the internal argument and I turned with my back facing towards him.

A few seconds passed before I finally heard William take a step towards me. I could feel his breath brush the naked skin of the back of my neck causing a shiver to run from the spot all the way down my spine. His hands reached forward as he gently placed a necklace around my neck, connecting the two ends at the back. His fingers lightly brushed the skin that was already on edge from his exhales, causing goosebumps to spread from his touch.

I cursed my body for the effect that he had on it. It felt like I was being betrayed as if my body was letting him in on a secret that I was not ready to accept yet.

I hate this...

So move away...

Yet, I couldn't, not even if I wanted to. Which I didn't.

He ran a finger gently from my hairline, travelling slowly down to the small of my back. Apart from the plunging neckline, the gown that William had chosen also exposed my entire back. 

I arched into him as his hand finally rested on my lower back. I turned around in his arm, his hand never leaving the spot it was occupying.

Our eyes connected once more, his as intense as ever and mine searching for meaning. I couldn't make out his actions. Did he feel this same pull that I was feeling? Or was all of this something completely different to him?

His face gave nothing away. This is what made him such an exceptional businessman. I do, however, pity any woman who tried to get close to him. 

"Do you like it?" He asked huskily.

His eyes travelled down to the pendant that was now resting on my chest.

I looked down for the first time to admire the jewellery. It was beautiful and understated, which was strange. It was something I could see picking out for myself and not at all as flashy as I would've expected from him. 

"It's beautiful." I admitted truthfully, "Thank you."

He stroked the pendant once with his other hand that was not on my back. "You're welcome."

His eyes met mine again and it was as if he was trying to communicate something through them which he could not put into words. There was unspoken longing there.

This woke me from the trance. All of it felt too much all of a sudden and I couldn't help noticing how close we were once again.

How did this happen? I was just putting on my shoes a few minutes ago, how was I once again right back in his arms?

I cleared my throat and averted my eyes away from him. I took a step back from William, causing both of his hands to fall away from me. It felt wrong not having his hand on my back anymore as if it provided me with a form of comfort and security.

Sounds like a pretty damn good reason to avoid said hand at all cost...

"We should probably get going," I said as I picked up my clutch and made my way to the door.

I waited in the hall as William locked up after us and we walked towards the elevator together.

I saw from the corner of my eye as he lifted his one arm behind me as if to repeat his previous gesture. But I simply hastened my stride slightly and his arm came swinging by his side again as if nothing happened.

Trust me, William, it's better this way. We shouldn't get too comfortable, there's still a long night ahead of us after all.