By Force of Instinct (22 page)

“elizabeth,” he said, his voice edged with frustration, “you are going to be my
wife
, not my chattel!”

elizabeth felt a lightening in her spirits at his words; perhaps he did intend their union to be different from some of the unequal friendships of his she had observed—she did not think that she could ever be as obliging as Bingley, even if she were to bring herself to try. she looked up at him play-132

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fully through her lashes. “I am relieved to hear it, Fitzwilliam,” she said, claiming the familiarity that had eluded her earlier. “I fear that I would make a poor chattel!”

“I have noticed,” he said dryly.

the next day saw elizabeth making her way to the Darcy townhouse to call on Miss Darcy. on her arrival in Brook street, the butler led her to an empty sitting room and requested that she wait within. When the door opened again a few minutes later, she was surprised to discover that it revealed not Georgiana, but Mr. Darcy.

“Mr. Darcy!” elizabeth exclaimed, feeling a flush of pleasure at his presence.

“Miss Bennet,” he replied with a bow, his formal behaviour doing little to disguise the look in his eyes. He closed the door behind him.

she coloured as she recognized his intent. “sir, it is a pleasant surprise to see you today. I had called to see your sister; I imagine that one of the servants is fetching her now.”

Darcy smiled slightly, his eyes darkening as he gazed at her. “I fear that is not the case; I am afraid that my butler had his instructions on what to do should you call, and it will be some time before he recalls the need to inform my sister of your presence.”

elizabeth’s pulses began to flutter. “sir, I begin to suspect a conspiracy on your part!” she essayed mischievously, hoping to lighten the atmosphere somewhat.

“you suspect quite correctly, my heart,” he said, stepping closer to her. “I must seize my opportunities when I find them.”

He really was quite irresistible when he smiled, she thought abstractedly.

The impulses his look produced in her were far from proper, and she found herself aching for his touch.

He reached up and trailed a finger lightly down her cheek. “If you object, Miss Bennet, you need only say so.”

His finger seemed to leave behind a trail of fire. elizabeth knew she should tell him to open the door, but the pressure building inside of her when she saw his eyes fixed on her lips would not allow it. touching her tongue lightly to her dry lips, she made one last attempt to bring humour to bear on the situation. “sir, are you suggesting that you are not to be trusted?” she asked playfully.

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He leaned towards her until she could feel his warm breath by her ear.

“elizabeth,” he whispered caressingly, “I believe you already know the answer to that question.” He could wait no longer; he had been imagining this embrace ever since their engagement, and imagination alone was not enough for him any longer. He caught her lips with his own in a kiss neither gentle nor testing, but full of fire and demanding as much of her as it gave of himself. elizabeth’s lips parted as the sudden heat of desire overcame her, permitting him to deepen the kiss to an intimacy beyond that which she had experienced before. It evoked a degree of response which left her clinging to his shoulders, luxuriating in the warm haven of his arms, and tasting the sweetness of his passion.

Darcy had never before desired a woman with such intensity that it seemed as if his soul depended on her, and that same force of desire could never allow him to rest on his laurels; no matter how much she gave him, it only made him hungrier for more of her. His hands moved to caress the curves of her hips possessively, urging her ever closer to him, and the excitement that the touch of her body against his produced was intoxicating.

Pouring his passion into his kisses, he continued to enjoy her lips until she was breathless with desire.

When he at length with reluctance raised his head, his mind, in one of those odd transports of time, took him back to the very first time he had kissed her among the cherry blossoms at rosings. recalling the sweetness of her innocent response, and then the crushing blow of her withdrawal, he experienced a powerful possessive urge. He held her against him, thanking his good fortune that she was at last promised to him. He wanted nothing more than to somehow mark her as his own, to make certain that no other man would ever so much as look at her except to acknowledge that she was his and his alone. He could not resist claiming her lips again, and her immediate response gave him all the reassurance he required.

As if of their own volition, elizabeth’s hand crept up into his unruly curls, the intimacy of this touch causing her to hold him even closer. It caught Darcy off guard, but her hesitant exploration served only to increase his desire for further intimacies. His kisses grew more heated, and in an effort to regain control of himself, he tore himself away from the temptation of her lips to press kisses along the line of her jaw, bringing his lips to rest just below her ear. she gasped at the sensation, hardly noticing as Darcy’s hand 134

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began to slip upwards. As it reached her shoulder, he began to lightly draw his fingers along the neckline of her gown, and her shiver of desire could not be suppressed. He could not resist the overwhelming temptation to slip his fingertips just under the edge of the fabric, even knowing the risk he was running of finding himself without the will to stop.

The strength of the feeling his touch produced in elizabeth both shocked and stimulated her. His caresses made her body long for more, but even as she arched against him, her better sense began to assert itself. “Mr. Darcy,”

she said in a voice which spoke as much of desire as of resistance.

He did not mistake her meaning, however. reluctantly he drew back slightly, though not without allowing himself a few more brief seconds of the pleasure of exploring her hidden curves. Her look of amused reproach provoked no more than a smile in which guilt and satisfaction played equal parts; and, while he permitted her to draw away, it was only within the circle of his arms.

she could not help but acknowledge the attraction of his rakish look.

she knew from her own continuing response to him that she needed to provide a distraction for them both, and quickly. “I really must insist on being allowed to see your sister, or my reputation shall be quite destroyed,”

she said with amusement.

she could see the acceptance in his eyes of her limit, but he was not quite ready to release her. “Kiss me again first,” he said insistently, and with a smile she drew his head down, meeting him halfway with a kiss of teasing deliberation. With an unexpected sense of playful abandon, she brushed her body against his, provoking an obvious response in him. When he finally raised his lips from hers, he said in a voice dark with passion, “oh, yes, it pleases me when you are bold, my heart.”

she flushed becomingly, bringing a look of satisfaction to his face. Gazing at her searchingly, he drew her towards the chair and then settled her in his lap. The shock of this new intimacy momentarily froze elizabeth into immobility, and he took advantage of her lack of resistance to begin scattering kisses along her neck, so temptingly placed in this position for his delectation. The startling sensations this induced in her soon overcame her ability to consider a protest. When he judged her pleasure from his efforts to provide a sufficient distraction, he paused for a brief moment to ask, “so, what was this about wanting to see Georgiana?”

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“Mr. Darcy, I cannot speak of anything while you are doing
that!
” she exclaimed as his lips continued their exploration into the hollows of her shoulder.

He smiled wickedly, not ceasing his attentions. “call me by my name, elizabeth.”

she gasped as he discovered a particularly sensitive area below her col-larbone. “Fitzwilliam,” she said, halfway between a whisper and a plea. A wave of desire rushed through her as she felt the touch of his lips echo through her entire body. she wished for nothing so much as to be able to surrender to the sensations he was creating in her, to allow him to continue to give her this matchless pleasure. It did not even occur to her to object as his hand came up to cup her breast, creating powerful sensations of need and fulfilment which caused her to press herself against him.

“oh, my loveliest elizabeth,” he breathed. The evidence of her response only made him want more, and he permitted his lips to wander downwards until they explored the tender flesh exposed by the neckline of her dress.

elizabeth could not keep a moan of pleasure from escaping her at his alarmingly pleasurable activities. she knew that she must stop him, but at each moment when she almost gathered the strength, the shivers of desire rushing through her would convince her that one more minute would not matter. The potent aching need for him deep within her was growing. The touch of his lips to the sensitive skin of her breasts produced shocks of sensation so powerful that she did not realize for several moments that his other hand was dexterously undoing the fastenings of her gown.

Are you out of your mind, man?
Darcy demanded of himself incredulously as his hands seemed to develop a life of their own.
You cannot do this, not
now, not here!
But his desperate need to feel the bare skin of her back would not be gainsaid, and he slipped his hand inside the opening and slid it boldly under the corset.
Her skin is so soft,
he thought,
like a rose petal—and
she is mine!

His actions were enough to tip the balance between helpless desire and fear for elizabeth. she knew that she could not allow him to continue, and somehow found the will to resist the pleasure he was creating so freely in her. she placed her fingers lightly over his lips. “Fitzwilliam, we must stop,”

she said breathlessly.

He raised his head and looked at her ruefully. “Very well,” he said in 136

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a voice which expressed no contrition whatsoever. “I shall endeavour to behave, my heart.”

The expression on his face made her laugh lightly. “sir, your hand,” she reminded him, her voice trembling slightly.

“As you wish,” he said. He removed his hand, but not before tracing a light line up her spine which sent a shiver through her. He smiled with satisfaction as he addressed himself to rebuttoning the top of her gown. “It is difficult with such a temptation before me.”

she could see that it would be an ongoing struggle keeping him in hand, and gave him an amused smile as she said lightly, “no, I shall not permit you to lay the blame on me, sir, by claiming that I tempt you to it!” she attempted to rise, but he forestalled her with a hand around her waist.

“you shall not escape so easily, dearest elizabeth,” he said softly in her ear.

“I will behave, but I would enjoy a bit more of your company, and I have been deprived of the pleasure of touching you for far too long.”

she looked at him in amused calculation for a moment before deciding that the better part of wisdom lay in accepting the situation gracefully and working to control the danger of her own susceptibility to him. “Very well,”

she said lightly, allowing him to gather her closer to him. she could not deny that it was a pleasant situation, she thought absently, realizing that she could still feel the ghost of his intimate touch long after he had desisted.

How strange it was to have reached this juncture after all the vicissitudes of their relationship!

The company which he desired of her seemed to be no more than her presence, as he seemed perfectly content simply to hold her close with her head resting against his shoulder. With a rush of affection for him, elizabeth abandoned herself to the feelings of warmth and safety she found in his arms.

How long they might have sat there was to remain a mystery, as a knock sounded at the door presently. elizabeth jumped from his lap as if she had been burnt, looking at him in shock and distress at their situation.

He did not appear to share her concern; he stood, gazing at her tenderly, and touched her cheek lightly. “How I adore you, sweetest elizabeth,” he whispered in her ear. He motioned her to a chair as he went to open the door.

elizabeth was not surprised to find that the new arrival was Miss Darcy, 137

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and she only hoped that her blushes would not reveal too much of what had been occurring only a few minutes before. she greeted her in what she hoped was a calm manner, and accepted her congratulations and best wishes on her engagement. Darcy seemed to be observing Georgiana closely, but after an interval of pleasant conversation, he excused himself to allow the ladies some time to themselves.

Although Georgiana was perfectly polite, she exhibited less anxiety to please than she had in the past, leaving elizabeth wondering as to her true reaction to the intelligence of her brother’s engagement. she could certainly understand if Miss Darcy, accustomed to having Darcy completely to herself, might be feeling somewhat jealous of an interloper. she was determined, however, to make this visit a success, and she turned her not inconsiderable social skills to being an amusing companion to Georgiana.

The conversation turned to elizabeth’s plans. “I am afraid that we have given no consideration to a wedding date, or anything else for that matter,”

she admitted. “We are still awaiting my father’s formal consent, and that will be soon enough to plan. And I shall be returning home in a few days, so I will no doubt discover then if my mother has particular plans.” she felt a sudden qualm at the idea of being separated from Darcy.

“I hope you will return to London at some point,” said Georgiana, restlessly rising from her chair and going to look out the window in a manner amusingly reminiscent of her brother.

“As I said, we have not discussed it at all. Do you spend your time primarily in London, or at Pemberley?—I do not believe that I have ever heard.”