“Oh no. Not yet.” He looked down at her body before bringing his gaze back up to her face. “I have been waiting for this for a very long time, and I intend to make it last.”
Pleasure flashed through her, and she kissed him again. He kissed her back slowly and sweetly until finally his kisses became rougher and his strokes harder. She reached off the bed to meethim, and Darcy wrapped her leg around his hip. Now his every stroke hit her in the right place and she gasped.
His fingers laced with hers, pressing them into the sheets above her head as he thrust deep, over and over. Rapture built as she lost herself in every sensation. The sound of him moaning, lost in pleasure, pushed her over the edge, and she cried his name again. His thrusts quickened and lost all of their rhythm. They had not talked about what to do in this moment, but with a low groan, Darcy withdrew. She pulled him back to her, and he fell against her, calling her his “dearest and loveliest.”
Chapter Thirteen
Darcy missed her the moment he left her arms. He immediately drew Elizabeth against him again, and she came willingly, pressing a leisurely kiss to his lips even though he still had not caught his breath. She then kissed his neck and ran a hand over his chest, and it made him wish they had time to do it again. It was dangerous to stay as they were, naked and wrapped around one another, with Markle and his gang possibly on their way.
He would never forget the sight of Elizabeth from a few moments ago. The most beautiful picture he ever saw: head thrown back, face expressive of bliss, figure exquisite in every way.
The tension had built up inside him over the last day, but he had only been partly secure that she felt the same, or rather that her degree of desire matched his. Seeing her naked in the bath had been the height of the mounting anticipation he had been feeling. He had been afraid that Elizabeth had not wanted the same thing, or, worse, that she could not see a future with him at all.
But then their eyes met; hers were dark, full of meaning. He had felt her intently watching him as he bathed. By thetime he had dried off, the apprehension and excitement were unbearable. He wondered if she would be hesitant, or need more promises first—promises he wanted to offer. Instead, her mouth had claimed his with hunger and purpose, and they had fallen into bed.
“You have not fallen asleep, have you?” a voice whispered in his ear before a pair of lips kissed behind it.
He answered by folding her in his arms a little tighter. They were not out of danger yet, but just another few moments. Somehow, despite the fear and anxiety of what had happened to them, desire and attraction and—he hoped—love had built between them these past two days. In a moment, they would get up to be ready for whatever happened next.
His body had a different opinion than his mind. Elizabeth smiled, sitting up a little with a flash of interest in her eyes that sent his heart racing. “Maybe we could stay a little longer,” she said with the hint of a question.
It seemed to him she already knew the correct answer. “I wish we could, but that would be foolish.”
“We are not out of danger yet,” she agreed. He shook his head ruefully. “Markle could be on his way, but he would have to search the entire inn to find us, and no one here would stand idle as he tried to abduct me again.”
She sat up as she spoke, and Darcy let his eyes wander her body, grateful that he no longer had to hide every longing and appreciative look. “True,” he said, dragging his gaze back to her face to see her satisfied smile, “but I sent a messenger to Fitzwilliam hours ago.”
Elizabeth let out a long breath of dismay, and Darcy laughed. “You should be delighted that rescue is on its way. I have only three shillings left, and it is a long walk to town.”
She got out of the bed and put her chemise over her head before pulling up her stockings. “I am glad for that, and Isuppose it would not do to be caught in a situation that would be difficult to explain.”
As long as they did not need to justify it to each other, he was satisfied. Maybe what they had done would be considered by some a sin, but it did not feel like a moral failing to him. It was not wrong given their feelings for one another, even if hers did not yet match his. They were going on charmingly, she had said.
But insecurity drove away both his confidence and rational thought. “Do you regret it?” he asked.
She took what felt like so long to answer that he began to feel nervous. She came back to the bed, the corner of her mouth turned up in a hint of a smile. “That depends. May I still call you Fitzwilliam when we are alone?”
“Always,” he said through the emotion in his throat.
“Then no.” Elizabeth kissed him quickly and went back to dressing. “When can we expect help to arrive?”
Feeling lighter, he dressed. “I hired a messenger around half six, who probably got to Rosings two hours later. It might take Fitzwilliam four hours if he rode in my coach, which would be sensible if he brought help and planned on bringing us back.” He checked his watch as he put it back into his waistcoat. “But it is just as likely he ordered a horse saddled while my letter was still in his hands, and he will be here himself in two hours.”
Elizabeth struggled with a tie on her gown, and Darcy helped her, running his hands over her hips when he was done and keeping her close. “What time is it now?” she asked.
“Ten.”
“So, he could be here in half an hour?”
Darcy nodded, and Elizabeth brought her hands around his shoulders. “I hate the feel of these filthy clothes, you know. I would like to have kept them off for another half an hour.”
He felt a grin tugging at his lips. “And how might you have liked to spend that time?”
She immediately kissed him. He nipped her lower lip with his teeth, and then his tongue met hers as a hum of pleasure sounded in her throat. And then her stomach protested loudly at the meagre amount of food she had eaten in the past two days.
“Are you hungry?” he asked through a laugh.
“Starving!”
