Vampire Darcy's Desire

Darcy, unwillingly, followed her with his eyes. Elizabeth Bennet set his heart pounding in his chest. Her tempting way of displaying the jeweled crucifix he had given her shot straight to his groin. If she held any idea of his desire—his dreams of her—she would never speak to him again. Drawing a steadying breath to release the tension, Darcy stopped the images that were creeping into his mind. If he were normal, he would apply to her immediately and satisfy himself in her body. But he would never know such pleasure; and to continue their entanglement would not be fair to Elizabeth. He had already involved her enough in this quagmire. Tomorrow, he would return to Pemberley, leaving Elizabeth behind to find a husband and to have children of her own—children not cursed by a Scottish vampire two hundred years old.

As the number of party-goers in the receiving line dwindled to a trickle, Darcy excused himself.“I will check the service, Charles. Mr. Hurst is headed towards the game room.” Charles Bingley nodded his agreement.

Caroline Bingley reminded him of her earlier request: “You will keep your promise and stand up with me for the first set, Mr. Darcy?”

“Of course, Miss Bingley. I shall not be long.” He made a polite bow before heading towards the service entrance. Darcy intended to stay out of sight as much as possible this evening. He would stay on the periphery and watch for Wickham’s appearance. Although unsure Wickham would come, Darcy intended to take no chances. If luck were on Darcy’s side, his enemy would remain in London.

It took only moments to check on the serving staff and the food presentations, but the task was a good excuse to be away from the crowd, where he could think. However, only one thought consumed him: his Elizabeth was in the house once again. He caught a glimpse of her talking to Charlotte Lucas in the drawing room; he stayed behind her as she made her way to the refreshment table for lemonade; he delighted in watching her provoke some of the military officers and then spin away from them. She captivated everyone with whom she came in touch—including him. Darcy swallowed hard, forcing the increasing hunger away.

Strains of a melody played by musicians tuning their instruments brought him out of his reverie. Dutifully, he found Caroline Bingley and escorted her onto the dance floor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Elizabeth accept Mr. Denny as a partner, and irrational jealousy coursed through him. She was his; her attentions belonged to him. When the music finally started, he counted the steps and the changes in partners until he came to her. He would have only two chances to speak to her during this form, and he would make the most of each.As he took Elizabeth’s hand in his for the first time, he gave a little tug to pull her closer, and then he murmured, “Vixen, I am happy to see you hold me close to your heart.”

She reddened with his boldness, but recovered quickly enough to challenge him. “Your eyes take liberties, Mr. Darcy.” Elizabeth heard his laughter as he moved on to the next woman in line.That woman and Caroline Bingley both probably thought he enjoyed their company. But he called no one Vixen except her.

As they wove their way towards each other for the second time, she prepared for his teasing, but this time all he did was lick his lips slowly, as if tasting her. Impulsively, she pursed hers in a pretend

Afterwards, he returned Caroline to her place of honor while keeping track of Elizabeth’s presence. Seeing her head towards the ladies’ retiring room, Darcy slipped out a side servant entrance, making his way to the upper floors.

When Elizabeth came through the dimly lit hallway, she thought of nothing but Darcy. Consumed with thoughts of him, when a hand clamped over her mouth to stifle her scream and another wrapped around her waist to pull her backwards, a heartbeat passed before she began to fight. Kicking his legs and biting the hand that smothered her, it took a few more heartbeats before she heard his voice next to her ear:“It is I,Vixen.”

Immediately, she relaxed into him and allowed Darcy to pull her into the nearest empty room. Inspecting his hand for puncture wounds, he growled, “I should have known you would put up a fight.”

“Oh, Fitzwilliam,” she said as she caressed his face. “I am sorry. Did I hurt you?”

She leaned against the door, and Darcy pinned her between his arms, fencing her in. Wolflike, he leaned down to speak to her lips: “I might forgive you if you kissed me,” he taunted her.

Elizabeth slid her arms about his waist and intuitively massaged the firm muscles of his back. “I might forgive you for frightening me if you kissed me.”

Darcy grinned, the corners of his mouth turning up in a smirk. “You missed me,Vixen?” His warm breath caressed the side of her neck, lingering over the spot he most desired.

“No more than you missed me,” she said and giggled as she stroked his chin line.

“Then you have had a powerful void in your soul.”The depth of his admission made her shiver, and Elizabeth moved in closer to feel his warmth. His head lowered, and Darcy dissolved into her. Nothing else mattered at this moment except holding Elizabeth to

When they parted, Elizabeth rested her head on his chest, breathing as heavily as he did. “Fitzwilliam, I do not want you to leave,” she whispered.

“I must, Sweetling. It is the only way to protect you. I can offer you nothing, Elizabeth—nothing but darkness. If things were different.…

Elizabeth balled her hands into fists as she stepped away in an act of defiance. “If things were different, you would be married to some lady of the ton by now, but you and I both know she would be your wife in name only.You would take her to your bed to produce the required heir.Yet you cannot tell me you want that kind of life, Fitzwilliam, any more than you want the kind of life you have now. I do not believe you dream of nothing more than that.”

“I dream of you, Elizabeth. Are you satisfied? I dream of you every night. I will always dream of you.” He turned away from her in defeat.

“Fitzwilliam,” her voice came softly behind him. He heard the tears in her words. “I will not mention it again. I know you must go; you must do the responsible thing. I will stay here.You can fight better without me.”

“Nothing is right without you, Elizabeth.” His words soothed the hurt she felt knowing he would do what he said—he would leave her behind.

“Do you know that when I first accepted your scandalous proposition of a midnight conversation in the library, I wanted only to prove you to be a womanizing rich man who used women for his own pleasure—and sent them to their death? My aunt was so sure you were at fault in Vivian’s death that I had to find out.” She circled around to stand in front of him.“I thought to flirt with you to see what type of person you really were, but the more I was with you, the more I knew how wrong Aunt Gardiner was.You are a fine man, Fitzwilliam