And to top off the day, dinner at La Clarence was romantically perfect right down to the magnificent pink dress she had worn to the Bingley wedding.
He couldn’t take the torment any longer. Breakfast was too many hours away! Throwing back the bed linen, he stormed out of his suite, nearly running down the corridor to her suite.
Once again, he stood at Lizzy’s door, opening and closing his fist before knocking.
Outside, the rain teemed down and lightning lit the sky, mimicking his racing pulse as he paced the empty hallway. His heart ached, needing every day to be like today and to take her into his arms to feel complete. But he needed more than physical intimacy with her. He needed the emotional intimacy that came with life beside Lizzy. It killed him that his orderly existence had been upended and sent into a death spiral. He was a destructive usurper to his own life. Her smile was the sledgehammer he wielded.
With the clock ticking on this Paris sojourn to self-discovery and true love, his window of opportunity was closing fast. The minute he was on the plane back to Manhattan, he needed to know where he stood before proclaiming “I do” to the wrong woman. It hadn’t escaped his notice that Lizzy’s engagement ring was somewhere other than her finger, but he dared not ask where it was or tell her what he knew about the douchebag until he was sure of her feelings. Although, based on the conversation with René, something was fishy about Lizzy and Wickham. Today had not been the day to ask about—or discuss—The Breakup or The Beach.
Swallowing hard, he pushed his fears and old wounds aside. Attempting to summon his willDarcypower to tear down the remainder of his wall, he ran his hand through his hair, then knocked. He waited, heart slamming.
And waited.
“Lizzy?” he softly said, knocking again.
She didn’t answer. Giving up, he walked toward his suite, feeling disappointed yet relieved because amorous professions were far from his forte.
“William?” she whispered.
Turning abruptly, he faced her surreal presence standing at the open door. The epitome of sexy intoxication, her chestnut hair fell to her shoulders in luscious waves. She wore a black lace slip and a haphazardly donned satin robe covering only her back and arms. The sheer panes of mesh fabric in the slip lace offered a tantalizing glimpse of her full bosom and erect nipples. She didn’t appear concerned that he could see all of her below the lace.
He seemed to float to her siren call of his name.
“I ... did I ... wake you?” he asked, tripping over his tongue, nearly panting.
“Yes.” She raised an eyebrow. “Are you drunk?”
Gazing down her beautiful body, he resisted saying, “Only on you,” for the second time when asked on this trip, but damn if he didn’t already need his ritual cold shower or the obvious.
“No. I was lying in bed thinking,” he stated. “I ... thank you for today. I had a great time.”
“Me, too.”
He swallowed. “I was also thinking about all the things I miss.”
“And you had to tell me at three in the morning?”
“That’swhat I miss. I miss whispering your name and sharing in the middle of the night,” he confessed.
Batting her long lashes, she tenderly smiled. “That was always special to me.”
He continued in a breathy, anxious stream of consciousness. “And I miss holding you close and thethingswe did in the moonlight. Man, we were incredible together, Lizzy. I miss ... feeling your lips against mine and your infectious laugh. I misseverythingabout you, and today, you brought me out of the darkness.”
She looked about to cry.
“Please don’t say these things, William.”
He rested his palm on her cheek, gaze softly holding hers. “Why? They’re all true.”
“They can’t be! You’re getting married to a wonderful girl soon, and I—”
“Stop it. After all these years apart from each other, you can’t deny whatinstantaneouslyreignited between us in the Hamptons.”
“I can deny it. I must.” She turned her face from his heated glare, lip quivering.
Battling the impulse to kiss it, he instead opened his heart, unable to stop the words from spilling out of his soul. With passion and truth after years of being denied a voice, he said,“Lizzy, do you think I can’tfeelyour attraction to me? This thing between us never died. It’s still through the roof, despite how you hurt me. I long to hold you again. All I can think about is loving you, caressing you. I want to hear you call my name in your rapture and take you to erotic heights that leave you trembling in my arms afterward. Do you honestly think I want to revisit what nearly killed me but will kill me for sure if I don’t?”
“Why did you come to Paris? You should have stayed away,” she cried.
