Darcy's Temptation (2 page)

“You are correct, Mrs. Darcy; I believe my
frivolous sensibilities
are lost to you alone.” Darcy kissed her passionately, his tongue searching her mouth.

“I love you, Fitzwilliam.”

Her words created an immediate need in him, and Darcy's hands began to search the intimate points on her body. Lost to loving her, he groaned,“Lizzy.”

“You know that is the one word which drives me crazy. I love the way you slur the
z
's; it tells me how much you desire me.” Her voice came out in gasps as his assault of her body continued.“Say it again, please.”

“I love you, Lizzy,” he whispered in her ear.

“That is perfect—absolutely perfect.”

 

Darcy lay back in the tub, relaxing in the hot water. Thoughts of Elizabeth clung to his memory; never had he felt so satisfied with his life. So many years Darcy played the role of the dutiful son—lived his life taking care of others. He never trusted anyone else to address the concerns of his estate or to protect and provide for his sister Georgiana. Yet, Darcy always felt
cheated
by his life. He never allowed himself his own moments of happiness. Until he met Elizabeth Bennet, Fitzwilliam Darcy did his duty but ignored his dreams and his desires.

Elizabeth's presence created a quagmire for him from the beginning. A full gamut of emotions possessed him during those months—fear, bewilderment, elation, depression, devastation, happiness, and satisfaction. Now, he could not remember a time when he did not love her and when Elizabeth was not his wife. Yet, in reality, they had only been a couple for three months.

A smile turned up the corners of his mouth as visions of Elizabeth appeared behind his closed eyes. When he first dreamed of her, Darcy only saw her fine eyes or her enigmatic smile.Those images flitted in and out of his subconscious, often distracting and befuddling him because Elizabeth, by his early assessment, lacked all the qualities he
wanted
in a wife. As time progressed, thoughts of Elizabeth's vivacity, as well as his respect for her, grew, and Darcy began to picture her as a part of his life. He often fell asleep with visions of Elizabeth Bennet standing on the steps of Pemberley or walking with him and Georgiana through his estate's parkland.Those dreams of Elizabeth lasted many months, and Darcy feared he would never know the living, breathing Elizabeth Bennet.

Finally, he won her heart; then his dreams took on a more intimate nature. He dreamed of Elizabeth in his bed and the pure pleasure of taking her. However, none of those dreams came close to the actual act of touching and feeling Elizabeth in his embrace. He so needed her in his life. Darcy abandoned all the “restrictions” of love; they shared love as it should happen between a man and a woman—natural desire and respect. He knew not how other gentlemen treated their wives, other than bar talk, which he considered to be the alcohol and false pride speaking. He spent his time with Elizabeth trying to please her before he took his own pleasure, and Darcy welcomed her coming to him when she desired him. Such love could not be contained by the proprieties of the time.

“Do you plan to stay in your tub all day, my Husband?” Elizabeth's voice held strands of amusement as she stood looking at the muscular frame of the man she loved.

“I could not get you out of my mind,” he said before submerging. When he came out of the water, he called, “Would you hand me a towel?”

Elizabeth's eyes traced his frame when he stood. “Maybe I should help you dry off.” Her voice betrayed her real thoughts.

“As much as your offer pleases me,” he began,“we still have a house full of guests.” Darcy took the towel she offered and then stepped forward to kiss her lips gently. “Mmm, so tempting.” He could not take his eyes from hers.“I swear, Elizabeth, when we rid ourselves of these guests, I will never invite another to my house. I want the pleasure of loving you all day—every day.”

“Fitzwilliam, you are so not what I once thought. How could I ever think you to be so proper?” She snickered as she lightly touched the expanse of his chest and dabbed the water dripping from his hair. “I will wait for you in the sitting room,” Elizabeth said with a hesitation. “We will go down to breakfast together.”

“I will only be a moment.” He kissed her cheek while she caressed his chest. As she started to walk away from him, Darcy grabbed his robe and quickly cinched it while he crossed the room and caught her arm. “Elizabeth.” She turned to look at him, and he cupped her face in his hand. “Do you have any idea what effect you have on me?” His eyes searched her face, praying she would understand him.

“You have a like effect on me, Sir.” Elizabeth went on her tiptoes to nibble on his lower lip.

Both of them found their breath coming in short gasps before they even touched each other. “We are coming back to this room for an early afternoon nap; we are both very tired
today after staying up so late last evening.” He nearly whispered the words because she never released him from her eyes.

A hint of a grin fell upon her face. “I am exceedingly tired today, Fitzwilliam; we may need to spend several hours
resting
, but for now I will be waiting in the sitting room, my Love.”

Darcy released her arm to let Elizabeth leave, but it took several moments for him to move.

Henry finally appeared.“Are you ready, Mr. Darcy?”

Elizabeth sent his man in to help him dress.

“Yes, Henry, I am.”

 

As they descended the staircase to breakfast, Darcy took her arm in his, but his eyes rested again on Elizabeth's face.“I never thought you could be more beautiful than you were on our wedding day, but being with child becomes you, Mrs. Darcy.”

Elizabeth blushed with his attention.“From tolerable to beautiful—that is quite a change of heart, Mr. Darcy,” she teased.

“I was always open-minded, my Love,” Darcy returned the taunt.

“Oh—definitely,” she returned, “how could I have ever doubted you?”

 

“Ah, the newly announced parents have risen for the day,” Mr. Gardiner called as they entered the room.

“Yes, Uncle, we took longer coming down this morning, but we could all use a few extra minutes' sleep after our joyful evening.” Elizabeth walked to him and offered up an affectionate embrace.

Darcy asked from the side bar table, “May I fix you a plate, Elizabeth?”

“Yes, Fitzwilliam, but please remember my delicate constitution.” She moved to greet her aunt also.

“I doubt Mr. Darcy is likely to forget the delicacy of her condition any time soon,” Jane Bingley teased as she carried her husband's plate to the table and returned for one of her own.

“That is true, Mrs. Bingley.Your sister will have to go some to top this gift.” Darcy's eyes fell on his wife when he said these words.“Only twins could outdo this one.”

“Twins!” Elizabeth exclaimed. “May I deal with only one heir for Pemberley at a time, Sir?” Her tone told everyone his familiarity in front of her family members did not offend her.

“Listen to the two of you,” Charles Bingley laughed. “Could anyone at this table ever think Darcy to be so happy? Mrs. Darcy, he is a changed man.”

“I told him something similar just a few minutes ago.” Elizabeth's eyes sparkled, and Darcy's eyebrow shot up, anticipating her remark.“He is not so proper, after all,” she teased.Visions of his body brought a flush to her cheeks.

“Well, I do not know about that,” Bingley chuckled. “But he does seem to have found contentment.”

“My wife is an exceptional woman.” Darcy crossed to place the plate on the table; then he kissed Elizabeth's hand and held the chair for her as she took her place at his table.“Would you like tea, Madam?” He bowed slightly to indicate his attention to her needs.

“May I have chocolate instead?” She grinned with all his regard.

While the others found Darcy's devotion to Elizabeth amusing, he, meanwhile, whispered in her ear, “Anything, Elizabeth.”

 

Georgiana Darcy and Kitty Bennet entered the room together. Kitty anticipated the appearance of Clayton Ashford, the young man who captured her attention the previous evening. Mr. Ashford received a living from the Darcy family; he attended the NewYear's Eve dinner out of respect for his benefactor, but Ashford found himself quickly involved in the celebration of Mrs. Darcy's announcement of an heir for Pemberley. Besides being happy for the Darcys, Ashford realized an heir would bring a sense of stability to the many tenants and businesses, which depended on this great estate for
their existences. Of course, his own existence depended on the Darcys' continuing good standing.

Kitty Bennet's attendance at the dinner proved to be an unexpected pleasure for Ashford. Her hand in his during the dance set gave Ashford his first sense of endearing contentment. He did not know what true effect her presence had on him for he had not acknowledged those thoughts of her yet; however, their relationship invited further possibilities.

The object of his attention now filled her plate while distractedly looking for Mr. Ashford to enter the room.When he appeared, a singular thrill shot through her as he wished the room a “Happy New Year,” but kept his eyes on Kitty's face to judge her reaction. She offered him a simple “good morning” and a nearly invisible nod to the vacant chair beside her own, in hopes Ashford would join her.

Georgiana Darcy, on the other hand, knew this day would bring her a deprivation of Chadwick Harrison's attention; therefore, she did not anticipate the day, as did Kitty. Mr. Harrison took an interest in Miss Darcy, but he promised Elizabeth he would not declare his intentions until after Georgiana's next birthday.As Mr. Darcy's only sister, Georgiana held high expectations of a good match, and Mr. Harrison must prove himself to her brother before asking for her hand in marriage. Harrison's presence at Pemberley this last month allowed Georgiana to get to know him, and her regard for this stranger grew quickly.Today, he planned to return to Hines Park, his estate; it would be some time before they would see each other again.

When Mr. Harrison entered the breakfast room, Georgiana (unlike Kitty, who readily met Mr. Ashford's eyes) dropped her glance, fearing she might betray her feelings for the man, not only to him, but also to herself.Therefore, Harrison chose the seat next to Mr. Bingley and across from Georgiana rather than the empty one next to her. Although he promised Elizabeth Darcy he would not approach Georgiana at this time, Harrison
would not miss the opportunity to talk to her and savor the last of their interactions.

“Good morning, Miss Darcy,” he said with more interest than necessary. Harrison did not know whether Georgiana was aware of his arrangement with her sister, but he wanted her to know his interest did not wane.

“Mr. Harrison—I hope you slept well.” Georgiana allowed her eyes to rise to meet his briefly.

He leaned forward to speak to her alone.“I did; thank you, Miss Darcy. It was certainly a momentous evening, was it not?”

Georgiana let her smile rest on her brother and Elizabeth.“I am so happy for Fitzwilliam. He deserves such elation in his life; my brother put his world on hold to run this estate and serve as my guardian. I could wish him such pleasure for the rest of his days.” Georgiana's voice held the pride of and respect for her brother.

“I hope to replicate his accomplishments,” Harrison offered. “Hines Park is not as large as Pemberley, but soon I hope it reflects some of the lessons I learned here, and then I, too, may think of starting a family of my own.” Harrison's words bordered on impropriety, but he felt a need to let Georgiana know his dreams could be found in her.

She offered him a hint of a smile, which was more than he could expect to receive under the constraints placed on him by the Darcys. Yet, it held possibilities; he could set his dreams based on the softness of Georgiana's countenance.

Knowing when her birthday fell, he emphasized, “I would hope to have everything in place by late summer.”

“You will be missed, Mr. Harrison.” Kitty said the words Georgiana could not, and Georgiana shot her new friend a “Thank you” when no one looked at them.

Darcy called from across the table, “When will you depart, Mr. Harrison?”

“I planned to do so early this afternoon, Sir. Hines Park is only a little over a two hours' journey.”

“I am sure you are anxious to see your home again,” Jane Bingley added.

“I am, Mrs. Bingley; yet, I will miss the new friendships I formed at Pemberley.” Again, he hoped Georgiana would understand his double meaning.

“I wonder where Anne and Edward could be,” Elizabeth expressed her thoughts out loud.“You do not suppose Anne is feeling poorly again.”

Georgiana assured her, “I saw her this morning; she and Edward were going to take a short walk through the gardens before they joined us. I am sure they will be here soon.”

Almost as if on cue, Edward and Anne entered the room. “Edward, we began to worry,” Darcy called out to his cousin.

“Anne wanted some fresh air before breakfast.” Edward led Anne to a seat next to Mrs. Gardiner and leaned down to speak to Anne privately.“I will fix you something.”

Anne barely whispered,“Just some toast and some tea.”

Edward spoke to Anne as one might coax an obstinate child.“Will you not try something a bit more than that? Please do it for me.”

“For you,” she agreed and then caressed his cheek.

Darcy joined his cousin at the side bar table. “How is Anne really doing, Edward?” Darcy whispered as he shot a quick glance at Anne de Bourgh.