The two couples spent the rest of the day talking and relaxing in the comfortable loft. Despite the easy atmosphere of the setting, it was clear that all of them had tomorrow’s separation on their minds, as the lovers never moved more than a few yards from each other.
They were just discussing getting dinner when the phone rang, breaking the cozy mood. Darcy answered it, his expression hardening as he listened to the voice on the other end of the line.
“Yes, she’s here. Hold on.” He handed the phone to Elizabeth, who took it with a questioning look.
“Hello.”
“Lizzy, it’s me. I couldn’t reach you on your cell.”
“Oh, hi, Alex.” Elizabeth was relieved that it was someone familiar, but she hadn’t fully forgiven him for the incident yesterday. “What’s up?”
“I’ve been trying to reach you all over. George Wickham wants you to call about tomorrow.”
Elizabeth felt her stomach drop. “Can’t it wait till we get there?” she asked unhappily.
“No, he wants to talk to you today, so he can get things set up for tomorrow. Just call him, Lizzy.”
“All right,” she answered softly. Elizabeth dutifully took down the number and read it back to him. Promising to see him tomorrow, Elizabeth hung up.
She looked up at Darcy, not needing to say anything. Darcy appeared to be made of stone, his face expressionless. Finally Elizabeth said, “I have to call.”
Darcy nodded tightly. “I’ll be back.” He kissed her hair and walked to the elevator, a puzzled-looking Charles running after him to catch up.
When the elevator door shut, Elizabeth found herself alone with her sister. Her finger trembling, she called George Wickham. She tried to keep her voice as calm and as normal as possible as she talked with him, discussing the plans for the video shoot and details that involved her, such as costume. When George was through discussing the shoot, his voice changed and he asked her if she missed him. Elizabeth rushed to get off the phone, claiming that her mother was calling her for dinner.
When she hung up, Jane was looking at her expectantly. Elizabeth sighed tiredly and dropped down onto the couch and let her sister put her arms around her. When Elizabeth had sufficiently regained control of herself, she started talking and told Jane everything. She worried about betraying Darcy’s confidence, but she trusted Jane like no one else, and Elizabeth had to tell someone or she would burst.
Jane watched her sister, listening with growing horror as Elizabeth told the story. “Oh my God,” she said finally. “Lizzy, I had no idea!”
Elizabeth shook her head. “No one had any idea. He’s a con man, and he’s very good at it.”
“You must have been so upset.”
Elizabeth nodded, her eyes closed against that memory. “Oh, yeah,” she sighed. “That was not one of my best moments.”
“And Will?”
Elizabeth found herself tearing up. “Will understood. He understood everything and he forgave me. Hell, he even blamed himself.” She looked at her sister as she tried to hold back her feelings. “Jane, he’s so good. I was so wrong about him. And I love him so much.”
Jane smiled and hugged her tight. “Does he know you love him?”
“Yes.”
“Then I think everything will be okay, Lizzy. I’m pleased for you. I never could have been completely happy with Charles if you weren’t okay with Will.”
Elizabeth smiled. “You look very happy.”
Jane nodded. “I am.”
The sisters smiled as they heard the elevator arriving. But instead of their lovers, Richard Fitzwilliam walked out.
Elizabeth smiled in welcome. “Hi, Richard.”
“Hey,” Richard looked puzzled as he surveyed the Bennets in the otherwise empty loft.
“Charles and Will ran out. They’ll be back soon.”
“Oh, good,” he nodded. “How are you both doing?”
Elizabeth grinned at his obvious confusion. “We’re doing great, Richard. How are you?”
“I’m good. Um, Charlotte wouldn’t happen to be down with you, would she?”
Jane refrained from laughing. “No, she’s still up in Meryton. She’ll come down tomorrow, and we’re meeting her at the airport.”
Richard’s expression darkened. “Right, the video shoot. I hope you are both very careful down there.”
Elizabeth shared a look with Jane. “Richard, we know about what happened with George. Don’t worry, we just want to get this over and be done with him.”
Richard set his jaw. “That’s probably for the best. But be careful anyway.”
The elevator hummed into life again, and Charles and Darcy returned to the loft. Darcy took a long look at his cousin, remembering the last time the three of them were in the building together. He walked over to Elizabeth and kissed her passionately.
When he released the slightly breathless woman, Darcy looked at Richard dead on with an arched eyebrow.
“I get it,” Richard said, holding up his hands. He grinned good-naturedly. “Enjoy the irony, Will.”
“Oh, I do,” he said smugly and leaned down to kiss a laughing Elizabeth again.
Chapter 18
Elizabeth didn’t notice him when she came out of the shower, as she dried herself off and studied her reflection in the mirror, the high-powered ventilation system keeping the mirror from being fogged. Darcy watched mesmerized as she studied her reflection: her face, her breasts, both head-on and in profile, then her waist, and with a dreamy smile, she even twisted to look at her rear in the mirror.
“Very nice.”
She started and smiled at him, even as she blushed. “You aren’t supposed to be up yet. Did I wake you?”
He shook his head, all traces of sleep gone. “I heard the shower.” He walked up behind her, his eyes meeting hers in the mirror. “Besides,” he told her, planting soft kisses on her bare neck, “I’m not going to let you go without a proper good-bye.”
Elizabeth purred low in her throat as his hands brushed her sides. Encouraged by her response, he moved his hands upward, cupping her breasts and massaging the softness he found there.
Elizabeth instinctively rubbed her ass against his erection and found him delightfully hard. She didn’t know if he always slept naked, but he had every time they had been together and she found it particularly pleasing. His hands were making her crazy, stimulating a response that surprised her with its strength. She was shocked at the low moans that were coming out of her mouth, yet she couldn’t seem to hold them back. He felt so good.
“Turn around,” he told her in that low voice that made her burn.
She complied, kissing him hungrily as his hands traveled down to her hips. He lifted her up so she sat on the edge of the vanity, where Elizabeth spread her legs eagerly.
He seemed to share her eagerness, as he entered her immediately, sliding into her hot depths as he lifted her legs so that her feet rested on either side of him on the counter. Grasping her knees, he began thrusting into her as she leaned back, her arms propping her up, to enjoy the sensation and the amazing sight before her.
He watched as her excitement built, the tension in her body matching his own. Her nipples grew hard and pointed and he felt his excitement soar. He needed her urgently to be closer to him.
With a growl he snatched her body up in his arms, pulling her chest against his. Elizabeth’s arms slid under his, her hands on his back, pulling him even closer.
She cried out as his hips worked like a piston, pushing harder and faster into her with every second. The violence of their joining became frantic as they lost themselves to the sensations that were flooding them. Darcy heard her howl even as her fingernails dug into his skin. The tightening of her body in its orgasm was the push he
