your mother on the phone, Anne.”
Elizabeth shivered at the cold rage she heard in his voice. She turned to see Charles, Jane, and Caroline all looking worried and puzzled.
“What happened, Lizzy?”
Elizabeth sighed disgustedly. “I don’t know, really, I came in to tell Charlotte about dinner and I found her in the bedroom making out with Collins.”
“What?”
“Oh my God!”
“Richard is talking to her now,” Elizabeth reported in resignation.
“Where is Mr. Collins?” Jane asked.
Elizabeth shrugged.
“I saw him leave when I came in,” Darcy said in a soft voice as he put away his phone. “Elizabeth, may I speak to you?”
Elizabeth nodded. A feeling of numbness had come over her. She walked into her bedroom, knowing he would follow.
Darcy closed the door firmly behind them. He turned to see Elizabeth pacing the room, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.
“Lizzy?” he said in a gentle tone.
Elizabeth’s eyes closed and her face crumpled into a mask of pain as she put a hand to her forehead. “It’s all my fault!” she said shakily, her breathing labored and quick. “I knew! I knew exactly what he was, and I didn’t tell anyone.”
“You told me,” he said, standing as still as a statue.
“But I should’ve told them! I should’ve told her!” she cried. “Damn it! I was glad he was paying attention to Charlotte because it meant he would leave me alone!” She broke down into sobs and suddenly he was there, his arms wrapped around her as she cried out her guilt.
Her tears soon slowed and stopped. Elizabeth pulled out of his arms to turn to the window, her face hidden in her long hair.
“Elizabeth?” he said, his voice hardly a whisper. “It wasn’t your fault.”
Elizabeth was filled with shame and embarrassment. That he of all people should know of her failing. She couldn’t look at him. She found herself conflicted, wanting both to flee and to go to him, to let him protect and hold her.
“Elizabeth, listen to me.” He moved so that she was in front of him, her eyes staring up at his face, her expression one of loss and pain. “It wasn’t your fault.” For a moment, Elizabeth couldn’t understand his words, because she was distracted by the fullness of his lips. They looked so soft she wanted very much to kiss them.
She stared at him with eyes wide and dark, and without thinking, he kissed her. It was the light, gentle kiss of one angel to another. He pulled his mouth away, and she made the softest sound of protest and he fell back to her.
Elizabeth opened her mouth to him, knowing nothing more than how good it felt. Darcy kissed her with a passion that burned her soul. He explored her mouth, skillfully teasing her into entering his. She tasted him, lost in the feeling of pleasure that only made her want more.
Kissing Darcy was everything she had wanted it to be, and much more. She sighed as she felt his strong hands on her back, pulling her body tightly to his. She could offer no resistance, nor did she want to. Her hands grasped his shoulders as she struggled to maintain her equilibrium. Yet somehow she knew that if she fell, he would catch her and hold her up.
She opened her mouth wide, offering more of herself to him while she tried to possess as much of him as she could. Back and forth the hungry tide went: tasting, teasing, probing, then submitting to the sweet bliss of the other’s penetration.
Elizabeth felt a need growing large within her. Stirrings of desire that made any lust she had felt before seem like a passing caprice. Unknowingly, she cried out as his lips left hers to travel to her throat, as he kissed the line between her ear and shoulder, murmuring her name over and over. She shifted herself closer to him and was relieved rather than shocked when she felt his hand cup her full breast. Her body pushed itself into him, without any awareness on her part, seeking what it needed so badly.
Any thoughts or questions in her mind were drowned away by the strong masculine scent of him that washed over her as she pressed her face into his neck. She licked him, trying to capture the delicious taste of his skin. Desire she dared not acknowledge before drove her on as she felt him bury his fingers in her long hair and move her head back so he could once again plunder her mouth.
Moans of impatient pleasure were the only sounds in the room, until a knock on the door thundered in their ears. Elizabeth froze then hurriedly stepped back as Caroline’s voice came to them: “Darcy, Lizzy, we need you.”
With a rush that almost knocked her off her feet, everything came back to Elizabeth: Charlotte, Collins, everything. She paled then flamed as she remembered her situation, even as her fingertips were tracing over her swollen lips.
Darcy looked at her, his dark eyes a one-way mirror, which she could not see through to his feelings. “Are you okay?” he asked with obvious concern.
Elizabeth nodded, not yet having found her voice.
“We better go back,” his voice was soft.
Elizabeth closed her eyes and nodded in agreement as her hand unconsciously soothed her hair back into place. He watched her, his eyes drinking in the sight of her, then turned forcefully away and walked out of the room.
Elizabeth, still in a daze, followed him to the living room, where Caroline, Alex, Jane, and Charles were waiting for them. She sat down next to Jane with a weak smile, which Jane returned. “Where’s Charlotte?” she asked softly.
“Charlotte needs some time alone,” Alex answered quietly, his face one of shock and barely controlled anger.
“Did Richard leave?”
Alex nodded once.
“Now that everyone is here, I think it’s clear we need to do something,” Caroline said in her authority voice. “It’s obvious that Collins is a problem.”
Darcy interrupted her. “I’ve taken care of that.” He cleared his throat and continued. “Bill Collins is no longer LBS’s A and R. Anne de Bourgh will now be handling both bands.”
Elizabeth came out of her daze with his words. She questioned for a moment if she heard them correctly, but Caroline was already speaking.
“Good. That takes care of a huge worry. Thank you, Darcy.” She turned to the rest of the group. “Okay, why don’t we go and get dinner. I think we all need to get out of this hotel room for a little bit, and food will help.”
“I’ll stay with Charlotte,” Alex told the room. Caroline nodded.
Elizabeth stood up with the others and gathered her bag. She was silent, but inside her mind was reeling. She wanted to stay with Charlotte, but when she thought back to their last meeting, she feared she would not be welcomed.
Then she brushed against Darcy as they entered the elevator, and a new wave of questions overcame her. What had she just done? She glanced out of the corner of her eye at Darcy, but he was looking straight ahead. She wished she knew what he was thinking. Her lips were still tingling as the group traveled to the pair of limos that were waiting for them in the front of the hotel. She forced her hands to keep from touching them.
There was small talk in the cars, but Elizabeth didn’t hear any of it. Her thoughts were too full. She kissed Darcy, oh God! She struggled to make any sense of it. She knew she desired him, almost since their first meeting. She never tried to deny it. At first she thought he was completely uninterested in her. Clearly that presumption was incorrect. She shivered as she remembered the feel of his mouth working against hers.
But what did it mean? If he was attracted to her, why did he pick this time—when she was feeling horrible for her friend—to show it? A cold, still feeling overcame her as a dark part of her mind whispered, “Because he
