By Force of Instinct (28 page)

none of his struggle was apparent on the surface. “to what do I owe the honour of this visit?” he asked politely.

“Do I require a reason to wish to see you?” she teased. “Is it not enough that I miss you when I know I shall not have the pleasure of your company all day?” she felt slightly at a loss; she had anticipated that as soon as he realized she was alone, he would, as he had in the past, not hesitate to take advantage of the circumstance. But he seemed determined to be circumspect, and she cast her mind about for other stratagems.

Her flirtatious tone eroded what little restraint he still possessed. He folded his hands purposefully in front of him where they could cause no trouble. “I cannot say I am sorry to hear it,” he responded lightly.

she cocked her head. “Are you shocked that I came here by myself?” she asked provocatively.

“you never cease to surprise me, my heart,” he said. The manner in which she was looking at him made him feel slightly dizzy.
If I did not know better,
I would swear she was hoping I would kis her! She would never have come, had
she any notion what a struggle it is not to touch her.
He recol ected once more the softness he had discovered as he had loosened the bindings on her dress that day …
Stop that!
he admonished himself. casting about desperately for a neutral topic of conversation, he said, “Is your aunt well? and your cousins?”

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“My aunt is quite wel , but her youngest has a fever and a chil , so she is quite occupied today, between him and my uncle’s guests,” said elizabeth.

she was beginning to feel anxious—could she have misjudged his wishes?

could he be horrified, instead of pleased, by her unseemly behaviour? she would not al ow herself to even contemplate the possibility, and with a surge of recklessness she approached to stand directly before him. Her own daring gave her a thrill of arousal, and as she looked up into his face, she could see for the first time his struggle for self-control. It was al the encouragement she needed, and with a mischievous look, she slid her arms around his neck.

It was more than a man could be expected to bear, thought Darcy desperately. Faced with her obvious invitation, he could not help himself; his lips descended to taste the sweetness of hers. He had intended to allow it only to last a moment, but the willingness he met in her stirred a passion which would not be denied. He pulled her into his arms and deepened the kiss, not permitting himself to consider the consequences.

He was able to forget himself in the pleasures of her mouth briefly, but as she pressed herself against him and audaciously let her fingers wander up into his thick hair, he dimly recognized the danger he was in. Managing somehow to tear his lips from hers, he warned, “elizabeth, this is a dangerous game!”

she ran her hands lingeringly down his chest, looking up at him through her lashes provocatively. “I thought that you said you enjoyed it when I was bold, sir,” she said playfully.

He could deny himself no longer. “I find you quite irresistible when you are bold, my heart,” he said.
If only you knew just how irresistible!
He sought out her lips again in a kiss which expressed all the frustrated longing he had been feeling since his first sight of her at the window. she gasped at his urgency, but soon met it with her own, the denial of the past days only fuelling the fire of her desire. she was in his arms again, as she had needed so desperately ever since their argument, searching for the certainty and the pleasure that only he could provide her. The feeling of his strong body against hers made her breathless as his hands moved to pull her hips against him with an intimacy new to her.

He could not get enough of her. His hands roamed, claiming all of her as his. There was no doubt but that he should stop, and find a way to get her safely from his house—
perhaps a walk to Hyde Park?
he thought des-170

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perately. He knew what he must do, but each moment of touching her and feeling her delightful response was so sweet that he delayed for one more moment yet, promising himself he would find the strength to stop soon.

elizabeth moaned as his hands reached her breasts, caressing the delicate flesh through the fabric of her dress. she had longed for this ever since their previous encounter, and every touch only deepened the need she felt for him. closing her eyes, she arched toward him, only to freeze when a sudden shock of pleasure ran through her as his thumb began to stroke her nipple. Her eyes flew open to see the look of pleasure on Darcy’s face.

“Does that please you, my heart?” he asked, continuing to tantalize her with his hands.

she nodded speechlessly, not knowing how she was to contain such sensations as he was eliciting in her. With a look of expectation, he began to roll her nipple between his fingers, and she could not help releasing a small moan, to his obvious satisfaction. He bent his head and began to press feather-light kisses along her neck, never ceasing his other attentions, until elizabeth found herself clinging helplessly to his shoulders.

Darcy was intoxicated by the heady sensation of having aroused elizabeth so completely that she seemed not to even consider the possibility of stopping him, yet he knew his danger was acute. He could not risk causing her to hate him for what he would do if this continued. With extreme reluctance, he murmured in her ear, “elizabeth, we must stop this. We are quite alone here, and you must not trust me this far!” He continued to stimulate her nipples for the pleasure of hearing her small gasps, but was aware of his own hypocrisy—
That is right—tell
her
to stop, while making it as difficult as
possible for her to do so!
he told himself with some disgust, but he knew he had no intention of doing otherwise.

At first she barely knew how to speak for the desires raging through her. “Must we stop?” she managed finally to say. “All I desire is for you to make me yours.” Her heart pounded with trepidation as she said the words which committed her.

Darcy could scarcely believe his ears. “elizabeth, my dearest, darling elizabeth,” he said, burying his face in her neck, his hands dropping to circle her waist. “you cannot imagine how much I would like to do just that, but I do not wish to take advantage of you, or for you to do anything that you will later regret.”

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Feeling the absence of his touch acutely, she said, “I will not regret it—it is why I came to you today.”

He went completely still at her words. He knew what he
ought
to do, but knew as well that he would not be able to deny himself what she was offering freely and he wanted so desperately. somehow he found the will to say, “Are you certain?”

A small, slightly mischievous smile came over her face. “For my part, I am certain—the question is as to whether it is what
you
wish.”

His hands moved of their own volition to rest on her hips. “you know perfectly well, madam, just how badly I want you in my bed,” he said, his voice betraying him.

she raised an eyebrow saucily. “Well, then, sir?” she asked, her heart pounding.

A feeling of elation filled him—she was going to be his at last! Darcy bent his lips to capture hers once again in a kiss that was both a promise and a demand, seductively exploring her mouth with a thoroughness that left her breathless. “yes, my heart, I am going to make you mine,” he murmured, claiming her with his eyes as he did with his words. “come with me.” taking her hand, he led her to the door.

“What of the servants?” she said anxiously. “Might not they see us?”

He paused to give her a deep and breathtaking kiss. “Damn the servants,”

he said succinctly. Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, but she held her head high as she followed him up the stairs. His arousal was such that he could not bear the lack of her touch even for so short a time as that, and on reaching the landing, Darcy felt the need already to pull her back into his arms and repossess himself of her kisses for a few moments before proceeding.

Down the hallway they came to a large room dominated by an elaborately carved four-poster bed. elizabeth paused a moment at the door, recognizing the step she was taking by entering the forbidden territory of a man’s bedroom, then resolutely walked in. Darcy, never allowing his eyes to drift from her, closed the door behind them, then rapidly stripped himself of his cravat, coat and waistcoat.

The look of shocked fascination on her face made him pause for a moment. “second thoughts, my dearest?” he said, his voice low, praying that her answer would be in the negative.

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she shook her head mutely. The sight of him in the loose shirt which draped itself revealingly along the lines of his body took her breath away, and the fiery look in his eyes promised many more discoveries to come.

He ran his finger lightly across her lips; they parted involuntarily, causing a flare of satisfaction in his eyes; then he trailed his touch along the line of her jaw and down her neck. He paused for a moment, holding her eyes with his own as his finger drifted downward, coming to rest just above the neckline of her gown between her breasts. she felt a pulse of desire rush through her as he smiled slowly, then dipped his finger lightly inside her gown. How could so small a touch fill her with such exquisite sensation?

Her eyes widened in shock as the slight movements of his finger began to fill her with an urgent need.

“oh, yes, my elizabeth,” he said softly. “I want you very badly, very badly indeed, but there is no hurry, and I intend to enjoy every inch of you—and to watch your pleasure in it.” He nibbled on her earlobe as his hand left her breasts to travel to the back of her neck. she felt his hands exploring her carefully arranged coiffure, and he began to remove her hairpins, strewing them carelessly on the floor until he could fulfil his fantasy of running his hands through her long dark curls. With his fingers still tangled in her locks, he stood back for a moment to admire the picture she made, her hair dishevelled about her shoulders and her lips swollen with his kisses. “I will ask you one last time—are you certain that this is what you want?” he asked with an intense look, wondering how he would possibly bring himself to let her go if she denied him.

Her eyes were dark with passion. “yes, I am,” she said, knowing that she was beyond the point of being able to stop even if she so wished. “I want to be yours.”

Darcy made an inarticulate sound deep in his throat. “In that case, my heart, you are wearing far too many clothes,” he said. He moved behind her and addressed himself to the fastenings of her gown, tasting the tenderness of the back of her neck with his kisses as he did so.

The sharp arousal elizabeth felt at the touch of his hands was accompanied by a moment of fear—she had never imagined this part, the actual disrobing. she gasped as she felt his hands sliding around her waist inside her gown—the intimate sensation of his touch through nothing but her chemise raced through her, and she leaned back against him, allowing his 173

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hands to travel downwards to her thighs. A deep, throbbing ache grew within her, and she pressed her hips against him.

How was he to be slow and gentle when she responded so urgently to his every touch? He had long dreamt of unleashing the passion he could see within her, and the reality was proving even beyond his dreams. If he could not find a way to control himself, he would not be able to stay himself any longer. reluctantly, he withdrew his hands to her shoulders, and turned her to face him.

His breath caught in his throat as she looked up at him with eyes filled with desire. “Kiss me, elizabeth,” he breathed.

she could almost see the heat of his passion stirring. With a smile, she touched his lips just barely with her own, playfully tantalizing him until he impatiently deepened the kiss. she shivered as she felt his hands easing her unfastened dress from her shoulders, tracing their way down her arms until she was freed from the sleeves.

As the dress dropped unheeded to the floor, he hungrily returned his hands to her breasts. now in a higher state of arousal than earlier, she responded even more fervently to his caresses, her mouth pressing urgently against his, as his fingers on her nipples sent intense shocks of pleasure through her.

He could not wait to touch her. He was intoxicated with the taste of her, the feeling of her, and most of all with the knowledge that he was going to make her his at last. It did not matter that it was too soon, or that there might be consequences—all that mattered was the woman in his arms, and the awareness that they would soon be completing each other in the oldest manner known. God, but it felt right to have her in his arms, to touch her, and to know that he was bringing her to his bed where she belonged, where she had lived in his dreams for so long.

Impatiently he untied her chemise, thrusting his hand within it until the softness of the skin of her breast met it. How he had hungered for this moment, when he could begin his possession of her lovely body! With a surge of impatience, he swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed.

Drawing the open chemise down until he could feast his eyes on her exposed breasts, he lowered his mouth to her neck, where he began to place tantalizing kisses along the sensitive hollows. When she began to move beneath him with a moan, he allowed his lips to move downwards until 174

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they could explore the sensitive skin of her breasts. He could feel her hands gripping his shoulders tightly, and he raised his head just long enough to murmur, “oh, my sweetest, loveliest elizabeth!” before capturing her nipple with his mouth.

Her body stiffened fleetingly in surprise, but it took only a moment until all she could think of was the extraordinary pleasure he was giving her as he suckled her. It created an urgent heat within her. she ran her hands insistently over his shoulders and back, longing for a fulfilment she could not quite understand. But as he continued to stimulate her, it was not long until thought left her entirely, leaving only a deep desire for him.