“No, I definitely paid for two rooms. I’ve got a confirmation email.” I pulled out my phone and showed it to the girl, who studied it with a bored expression.
“Looks like there was an error on the booking system. We definitely only have one room left.”
“Are you sure there isn’t another one you can find us?” I asked helplessly.
“Nah, we’re full all fortnight. You can try somewhere else if you want, but I don’t think you’ll have any luck. It’s the Jane A—”
“Fine, we’ll take it,” I interrupted, swallowing down a growl of frustration.
The teenager made a grunting sound, waved her arm half-heartedly in the direction of the stairs, then moped off.
“Bloody typical,” I muttered under my breath as I turned and beganto lug our case up the stairs. I waited for Darcy to offer to help, but he was still in his own world. At the top, I turned down a dark corridor and felt my way along until I reached room 203. The door swung open, and I braced myself for what I was about to find.
Yep, thought so. Only one sodding bed.
Chapter Nineteen
“Is this my chamber?” Darcy said, pushing past me into the tiny pink-hued room. He sat down on the edge of the narrow double bed, and it let out an ominous creak.
“It’s mine, too, I’m afraid.”
He looked at me in horror. “I beg your pardon?”
I sat down on the bed, keeping a safe distance from him. “There was a mess-up with the booking system, and this is all they have. I’m sorry.”
“But where am I to sleep? On the floor?” Darcy nodded toward the narrow patch of threadbare carpet between the bed and the window.
“Don’t be silly, we can share the bed.”
I saw his cheeks blush as pink as the wallpaper. “Are you certain?”
“I don’t mind as long as you don’t.”
Darcy didn’t say anything, and I suddenly became very aware that it was just the two of us, alone together in a small bedroom. I felt my own cheeks getting hot, and looked away. This was ridiculous. Darcy and I had spent hours alone together over the past ten days, so whydid I feel so self-conscious now? Clearly, something had changed after last night, the unspoken platonic ground rules of our cohabitation broken by the kiss. But that was a good thing, wasn’t it? I didn’t want a platonic relationship with Darcy; I wanted a romantic one—and surely this awkward silence between us now was a sign that we were moving in that direction. After all, Darcy spent the first half ofPride and Prejudicebarely able to utter a word around Elizabeth because he fancied her so much.
I glanced at Darcy, who was studying the floral bedspread. He must have felt me looking, because he turned his head toward me, our eyes meeting. He didn’t look away, and I held my breath. Did this mean he wanted to kiss me again? If so, I was very happy to give it another go and see if we could improve on last night’s awkward attempt. Plus, if Darcy and I were making out in here, then it meant we’d have to spend less time outside, where there were signs of Jane Austen everywhere we looked.
Our eyes still locked, I began to slowly slide my hand across the bed toward him. My plan was to touch him, very lightly, and see how he reacted. If he recoiled, then it would be clear he had no desire to do anything, and I’d know where I stood. I didn’t dare breathe, every nerve ending in my body hyperaware of Darcy next to me. Just a few more centimeters and then…
The tip of my finger brushed against Darcy’s leg, and I heard him draw breath. I froze, waiting to see what he’d do next. The seconds stretched on, both of us completely motionless. And then, just as I was about to pull my hand back, he spoke.
“Miss Knight?”
“Mr. Darcy.”
It was like I’d said a magic word, because suddenly he launchedhimself at me—quite literally, as he threw himself on top of me, knocking me back onto the mattress. It gave an almighty squeak of protest as his lips crashed against my cheek, then my nose, before finally finding my lips. His tongue slipped through my teeth and began to explore my mouth like it had last night, although his hands came nowhere near me. I tried to kiss him back, but this seemed to be a one-man show with no expectation of audience participation.
I wriggled slightly, trying to move my body against his. Darcy’s upper body was narrow and bony against my breasts, but his thighs were strong, no doubt from all the horse-riding, and he was clamping me down so I could barely move. In fact, the only thing in motion right now was his overenthusiastic tongue.
“Miber arsey,” I mumbled, trying to pull my head back to speak. “Arsey!”
He released my mouth. “Are you quite all right?”
“Yeah, fine. It’s just…maybe you could go a bit slower. Less…frenetic?”
“Ah, I see.” He frowned so deeply his eyes were almost closed. “Any other, uh, evaluation?”
“Perhaps you could try using your hands. You know…touch me?”
