needed, and he felt the pressure in him shoot into her with his ejaculation.
He held her close, kissing her damp hair lightly as they recovered their breath. When she finally looked at him, her face red and sweaty, her smile blissfully happy, her eyes glowing with satisfaction, it was an image that imprinted upon his heart, filling him with an intensity of love he never knew was possible. He hugged her tight, kissing her, before releasing her and helping her off the counter.
Elizabeth giggled, feeling light-headed from her orgasm. She held on to Darcy’s hand, as she took stock of her situation. Then she heard a light knock on the bedroom door.
“Darcy, Lizzy, we’re here,” Rebecca’s voice called to them.
Elizabeth looked at him in shock, instantly clearheaded. “Shit!” She looked at the clock and swore again. “Damn! I don’t have time to shower again. I’m going to smell like sex all day.” She hurried to her clothes but not without seeing the guilty expression on her lover’s face. She was halfway dressed before the meaning of the expression dawned on her. “Did you do that on purpose?” she asked, turning toward him.
Darcy had been pulling on a T-shirt and shorts as Elizabeth rushed. “No.” A look from Elizabeth forced him to continue. “I didn’t plan it, but I will admit that a part of me is glad it happened.”
Elizabeth stopped what she was doing and went into his arms, squeezing him tight. “You know I love you, don’t you?”
He hugged her back, rubbing his forehead against hers. “I know. And I do trust you. It’s just a part of me is pleased he’s going to know you came from my bed.” He looked at her, expecting a backlash.
Elizabeth closed her eyes and kissed him thoroughly. “I’m coming from your bed and tomorrow I will be returning to your bed,” she smiled painfully. “I don’t like leaving like this either. But trust me, nothing Wickham can say will change my feelings about you.”
Darcy smiled and looked away. “I actually meant Alex,” he admitted with embarrassed humor.
Elizabeth laughed. “Well, that’s just being petty.” She stopped to kiss him, softening her words. “We are going to have to do something about this possessive streak of yours.”
He looked at her with dry amusement. “I have a few ideas about that.”
“Oh?”
He kissed her slowly. “I’ll tell you when you come back.”
“Bastard,” she swore, before kissing him again and releasing him to finish dressing. She was going to the bedroom when she heard the elevator stop and Jane’s voice reached her. “Fuck!” she muttered as she rushed into the bathroom.
Darcy smiled as the blow-dryer started and he left his room to greet his guests. “Good morning. Lizzy is running a little late. She’ll be ready in a moment.”
“Umm hmm,” Rebecca said knowingly. “Tommy has the limo ready out front.”
Darcy suspected that it was only her respect for him as her employer that kept Rebecca from telling Jane and Charles why Elizabeth was running late. He walked to the kitchen and started making coffee and tea.
A moment later Charles joined him. Darcy could see the concern on his face. “Will,” he paused, uncertain how to continue.
“Did Jane tell you?” Darcy asked flatly, solving his friend’s dilemma.
Charles nodded. “She didn’t want to, but she was so upset, I made her.” He looked uncomfortable.
“I’m glad she did.” Darcy’s eyes left his friends, and he focused instead on the cups before him. “I’m sorry I never told you, Charles. It was just too hard to talk about.”
Darcy stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Charles’s face looking at him with understanding and support. “Thanks,” he said sincerely. “I’d hug you but, you know, rock gods don’t hug.”
Charles laughed softly, understanding his friend’s need to release the tension between them. “So, now that I know, I’m worried about sending Jane and Lizzy to him.”
Darcy sighed. “If you are asking me if we can trust Wickham, the answer is no, not at all. But I do trust Lizzy, and I know you trust Jane,” he shrugged. “That’s going to have to do.”
Darcy finished with the drinks and checked Lizzy’s cell phone, which had been charging on the countertop. He dialed a number on it, and the landline to the loft rang, then he used the landline to call the cell. “I offered to buy Lizzy out of this, but she feels she needs to do it, and I respect that.”
“I offered to do the same for Jane,” Charles admitted. “I just hate this. They’re our lovers, and we are sending them to this—”
“Don’t go there,” Darcy interrupted. “Thinking like that will only make you insane.” He frowned, trying to cope with his own worries. “Besides, what’s the worst he could do? Wickham is not aggressive. He’s lazy. He’s an opportunist. He’s not going to attack or rape them; it would put him at too much risk. The worst he can do is try to seduce them, which won’t work, or fuck up their video, which will ruin his reputation.”
Charles exhaled sharply. “Damn straight it would.”
“And I don’t think he’d bother Jane anyway,” Darcy continued. “It’s me he wants to hurt, and hopefully he doesn’t know about Lizzy and me.”
Charles studied the bitter expression on Darcy’s face. “You hate this, don’t you?”
Darcy’s eyes flashed. “’Course I do,” he said darkly.
“Well, like you said, it’ll be fine. They are going to fly down this morning and be back tomorrow night.” Charles smiled reassuringly. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
Darcy rolled his eyes, hearing his own words used on himself and realizing how weak they sounded. “You want to hang out here today?” he asked his friend.
“Yeah. Maybe we could do some work in the studio.”
Jane and Elizabeth emerging from the master bedroom ended their conversation. Darcy brought Elizabeth her coffee and the cell phone, which she tucked into her bag.
“Is that all you are bringing?”
Elizabeth shrugged. “It’s just an overnight. I’d rather leave my guitars here where I know they’ll be safe.” She shared a look with Darcy that spoke of her trust in him.
“They will be,” he said, kissing her deeply. He looked up to see Jane and Charles embracing and returned to Elizabeth’s lips, knowing he still had time. He kissed her, gathering the sweet taste of her to him and touching every part of her mouth that he could. He wanted to feel her, to lock this moment in his memory. She seemed to share his intent, holding him closely as her mouth made love to his.
All too soon, Rebecca cleared her throat and announced, “We really have to leave if we are going to catch that plane.”
With final words and kisses, the women stepped into the elevator, leaving the two men unhappily behind. Rebecca escorted them out through the lobby and to the limo waiting in the street below.
Elizabeth sighed as she settled into the car beside her sister. She hated doing this, but there was really no choice. She sipped the coffee he had made for her as she thought. Sighing, she told herself that she was just going to do this quickly and professionally and hope that Wickham didn’t know about her relationship with Darcy.
They met up as scheduled with Alex and Charlotte by the security gate. Charlotte rushed forward to embrace them, all the time teasing them about how good the sisters looked.
“It’s vitamin P,” Lizzy explained with a wink.
Charlotte grinned. “Are you finally getting your recommended daily allowance?”
“Oh yeah,” Elizabeth laughed.
“She was deprived of it for so long, Will is making sure she gets extra doses,” Jane piped in, with a wicked grin.
“You’re not looking so deprived yourself, Jane,” Charlotte observed.
Jane blushed a fiery red, causing the other two to erupt with laughter.
They said good-bye to Rebecca and moved through security. Finding their gate, they settled in to wait for their plane. Elizabeth could tell Alex wanted to talk to her. He was sitting on her right side and seemed to be waiting to say something.
“So, where exactly are we going, Alex?” Elizabeth had to admit that since learning the truth about Wickham, she had lost all enthusiasm for this project.
“We’re flying to Tampa. The shoot is taking place on a small island nearby.”
