Again Darcy nodded.
“Well, then I’m guessing you’re going to be on the front page of the Enquirer again, my friend. Won’t be the first time.”
“But it will be the first time it’s true,” Darcy growled.
Richard looked on sympathetically. “I know. It sucks all around. Wickham really got us good.”
Darcy sat up and sighed. “I can’t help but feel like I’ve failed her. I should have never let her go down there. And now she is gone, forever. I’ve destroyed her.”
Richard stared, not believing his ears. “Will, will you listen to yourself? Christ, she’s just being held until her arraignment. It’s just one night. She’s not dead!” He lifted up his hands in frustration and dropped them again. “Try to stay based in reality, okay?
“Oh, and you’re one to talk,” Darcy hissed. “What kind of fantasy have you got planned? You and Charlotte living happily ever after?”
Richard set his jaw. Darcy was just lashing out, but he had hit a painful target. “I know. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me. But at least I’m facing it.” He took a deep breath and released it. “I just don’t know what to do about it.”
Darcy stared, his dark eyes piercing Richard’s. “Talk to her,” he said. “That’s where you have to start.”
Richard nodded, and left the room.
***
Richard found Charlotte shaking her head from her encounter with her brother. He held out his hand. “Come on,” he said and drew her up a wooden and steel stair, through a doorway onto the roof.
“Oh!” she gasped in surprise. Before her was a beautiful garden. It was made of long, raised beds that were arranged with wooden screens to form a sort of maze. From the center, a visitor would be completely enclosed, shielded from any sight of the city. On the perimeter were lovely vistas, with benches to take in the spectacular views.
The beds were filled with a riot of bright colors, flowers of every type, blooming wantonly. The heat from the day was just starting to abate, and a cooling wind was blowing, carrying with it lush perfume from the flowers. “It’s beautiful.”
Richard nodded. “My aunt had it made. She loved having a sanctuary in the middle of the city that she could escape to.” He led her along the edge of the garden, stopping with her to watch the sun setting low in the sky. He lightly placed his arms around her as he gathered his thoughts. Absently he noted the way the sunlight brought out the highlights in her hair, reminding him of the orchid he had given her.
After a minute, Charlotte asked, “What are we doing?”
All of Richard’s worry and concerns broke away with the smile that warmed his face. “We’re watching the sunset. Shhh. It’s romantic.”
“I’m not seeing the romance here,” Charlotte disagreed. “I see New Jersey.”
Richard laughed as he turned her in his arms to face him. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”
“I’m not really the romance type,” Charlotte stated. “And you know that.”
Richard sighed dramatically. “Come over here then, my nonromantic one.” They walked into the maze to the elegant wooden benches at the center there. He took her to one that was covered with a large, plain, dark green cushion. “I was going to put out some candles but—” He stopped at the expression on her face.
They sat comfortably side by side in silence. Finally Charlotte pulled out her cigarettes. “I need this,” she murmured before offering one to him. Sitting together, smoking, brought them both a flood of memories, both good and bad. Gently, Charlotte explored them, evaluating again her feelings for the complex man beside her.
Richard struggled for a moment, and Charlotte let him, waiting silently to see what he was going to say. Finally he began, “Char, I don’t know why this is so hard. I can talk to you about anything, but when it comes to us? I’m tongue-tied. What I want to say is I want you, and I want us to be better.”
“Better?”
“I know,” he sighed, dropping his head into his hands for a moment. “That’s not very good. Sorry. What I mean is, I don’t want us to go back to how we were. I want us to be better.”
Charlotte crossed her arms and then started rubbing her forehead with her hand. She sighed. “Richard, you’re the only one who’s keeping us from being better.” She dropped her hand and looked up at him. “I was doing what people usually do, moving from nonexclusive dating toward exclusive dating.” She tilted her head a little. “You, being the creative soul that you are, went from nonexclusive dating to not dating me, to not dating at all—if your phone calls are to be believed. I think the next step would be to reverse puberty.” She stopped herself, wondering if she had gone too far, and regrouped her thoughts. “My point is, if you want us to be better, then be better.” She touched his arms to emphasize her words. “I don’t need the orchid and candles in the middle of the day and the view of beautiful New Jersey. I haven’t suddenly morphed into Jane. I want us. You and me. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
Richard put out his cigarette and slowly wrapped his arms around her. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
His expression carried the uncertainty he felt. “You know I’m not cured, right? I mean, I want to be. I want to be with you and only with you, but,” his voice dropped, “I might stumble.”
“I know. All I’m asking is that you be honest with me.” She put out her cigarette and placed her hands on his chest. “I can handle stumbles. I won’t like it, but as long as you’re sure that you want to be with me, I can handle it. But I need you to promise to tell me. And if you ever change your mind, and you don’t want to be with me, you have to tell me that too.”
Richard considered her words solemnly. “That’s actually a really big promise.”
Charlotte nodded. “I know it. It just came out, I didn’t mean to…” She ran out of words. Then she took a deep breath and continued, “It’s what I need to be able to trust you again.”
“Can you promise the same to me? Full honesty? No keeping things secret to ‘protect’ my feelings?”
Charlotte paused and thought about what he was saying. “I can promise to do my best. That’s about all.”
“I think that will be enough,” he agreed. “We do pretty well when we’re honest with each other.” He took a deep breath, “And I promise to be honest with you, Charlotte.” He smiled and kissed her, slowly, sealing himself to her.
Charlotte felt like a tight band that had been wrapped around her chest was being removed. She felt like she could breathe again. All the grief and anxiety left her, leaving her rejuvenated. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stretched luxuriously against him, as if her body was responding to the relief in her heart. A smile of deepest joy graced her features. “Thank you,” she breathed softly as she leaned against him, lifting her lips to his.
Richard opened all his senses to her: her beautiful dark eyes against her luminous pale skin, her scent, her taste, the feel of her slender body in his arms, and he was transfixed by what he beheld. “Charlotte,” he whispered in awe. It had been a long time since he had thought of her as anything but beautiful, but in this moment, she was transformed again, almost like magic, to magnificent.
He kissed her, trying to express all the love and wonder that he felt for her. “I love you.”
She kissed him back, long and deep. Smiling, she said, “I got that. I love you too.” She threaded her fingers in his long dark hair, enjoying the silkiness of it. “Promise me you’ll stop being so stupid?”
He kissed her again, longer, using all his skill to pleasure her. “I’m trying.” He kissed her until she moaned. “I was trying to save you from me.”
She hit him, hard, on the shoulder. “Ow!”
“That’s what I mean. Stop being so stupid!” She kissed him again, sucking hard on his tongue as she worked at the buttons of his shirt.
“Okay,” he grinned before kissing her again, his hands slipping under her shirt.
She moane
d as she felt his hands on her bare skin. “Oooooooooh God! It’s been so long.” She hit him again. “Don’t ever keep yourself from me again.” She kissed him again, hungrily, trying to touch all of his mouth with hers.
He grinned wickedly. “You like hitting me, don’t you?” he asked as he nipped lightly along the length of her jaw, before moving to the sensitive curve of her neck.
She cried out as the new sensations assaulted her. “Maybe I do. But I think you deserve it.” She found his hand and placed it on her breast, squeezing hard. “You’ve been a very bad—oh!—man and you should be punished.” She put both of her hands on the sides of his head and pulled him away. “Are we alone here? No one else has access to the roof, right?”
“We’re fine. It’s all ours,” he answered as she quickly removed her top. “Oh Char!” he whispered as he pulled her to him, needing to taste the newly revealed skin.
She curled her arms around his head as his mouth pleasured her, finding a hard nipple and suckling it eagerly. Longing that had been denied for so long flamed, causing an almost physical pain, driving her on like the lash of a whip. Her skin was on fire every place he touched. He was hers, finally, and she intended to possess every inch of him.
She pulled away from him and stood up to quickly remove every last remnant of clothing, until she stood before him, proud, her body throbbing.
Richard watched. His eyes were filled with her beauty, but his mind was stunned at what her eyes were telling him. This was completely different from any woman wanting him before; this was his mate demanding him. This was primitive, primal, and yet he was fully aware of the commitment he was making. This wasn’t a promise of words, or even of his heart; this was a promise of his soul. He removed his clothing and prepared himself until he stood like her, naked in that improbable garden, and he held out his hand to her.
With one step she grasped his hand, and with another step she was in his arms, skin to skin, heart to heart. “Take me, now,” she commanded, her voice clear and certain, as she sealed her mouth to his. Holding her close, he sat on the bench, drawing her up into his lap, her legs straddling his thighs. His mouth broke away from hers to find a breast, red, full, and swollen. As he drew her nipple into his mouth, his hand slipped between her legs, stroking her there.
She moaned low in her throat, dizzy with the pleasure that was filling her. His touch was teasing, pleasuring, but leaving her wanting more. “Richard,” she cried, her voice shrill with need. Balancing with her hands on his shoulders, she found him pressed against her, his cock hard and ready. Her nails dug into his shoulders as he drew his tip across her, playing with her clit, making her scream. “Please,” she begged as she ground mindlessly against him.
“Open your eyes, Char,” he said, and once she did, he guided himself to her, watching as she sank down on him, slowly, inch by delicious inch, until he filled her completely. Her body shook equally from both the need for release and from the relief of having him again. Closing her eyes again, she rose and fell on him, savoring every sensation, the sweet fullness that seemed to be growing with each second. She felt wicked and dirty, and she adored it. With every stroke, she worked out every ache and scar that had pained her heart, grinding and polishing every defect from it, until she glowed, bright and hot.
She opened her eyes and took in his expression of wonder and amazement, owning the compliment that it was, even as a deep, aching need filled her. “Richard,” she prayed through swollen lips just as the circuit closed and every muscle tensed and molten pleasure exploded throughout her body. Again and again she throbbed, fresh pleasure filling her each time.
Richard’s voice was frantic as he called her name, pleading, as if for his life. Quick as a thought, he pulled her close and rolled on the bench, drawing his knees up and clasping her hips. “Charlotte, my God, Char!” he roared. “That was so hot. God, Char, that was so hot.” His hips pistoned in and out.
Charlotte smiled wantonly as her hands played at her own breasts, pinching her nipples as her desire rose again. Richard’s thrusts were becoming violent as he lost control he didn’t even know he had and she drew in each thrust and demanded more. She was distantly aware of boundaries of pleasure she had never crossed before. She demanded more than she had ever dared, risking more, taking more.
“Richard,” she said, low and urgent. “You’re mine. Do you understand?” She waited for him to nod, her words breaking through his lust. “You are going to fuck me any time I want, any way I want. Understand?” His eyes rounded in amazement even as he nodded and moaned desperately.
“If I want to spank you, I can. If I want to tie you down and use you like a toy, I can. If I want to watch porn while you lick me off, I can! Understand?”
He nodded rapidly, almost unable to believe what was happening. “Now, I want you to fuck me hard and come like you’ve never come before.” Even before the words were out of her mouth, he was shouting as his release overtook him. Charlotte came with him, her cries joining his as their bodies violently shook and then slowed before coming to an exhausted stop.
Richard rolled to his side to take his weight off her, holding her tight to him. “Char?” he said when his breath returned to him.
“Yes?” she panted.
“That was amazing.” He laughed. “And kinda scary.”
“Want me to do it again?”
“Oh God, yes.”
Charlotte smiled to herself and kissed him. “I love you.”
“And I adore you, my Charlotte,” he said as his eyes studied her face, contemplating all that had happened. “I’ve lived most of my life being a monster in bed. It’s been my identity.” He voice was soft with wonder. “And here I find you, and you’ve not only matched me but completely overtaken me. You’re a wonder, Charlotte.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “I know.” She kissed him sweetly. “I’ve resolved that if you ever stumble, it won’t be because you’re bored or wondering if someone else could be better.”
“There’s anyone else?” he asked disbelievingly. “Honestly, Char, you keep this up and I don’t think I’ll have the energy to stumble.”
She ruefully shook her head and sat up. “Come on; it’s been a long day and I need to get some sleep.”
“You’re sleeping with me.”
“Where else would I sleep?” she asked as she started dressing.
Without rushing, they dressed, pausing now and then to kiss or simply hold each other close. They stopped a long moment before moving from the area around the bench, each wishing to protect the other from the pain and conflict that was waiting for them back in the loft.
“We’re a team now, right?” he asked.
“I’m yours and you’re mine,” she answered. Satisfied, they joined hands and walked back to the doorway and into the loft. Wordlessly they descended the staircase, and after ensuring that there had been no change, Richard led them to his room.
Charlotte sat on the bed and as he watched, her eyes filled with worry for her friend, like water in a jar.
“Have you ever been arrested?”
She nodded. “Twice.” She smiled deprecatingly. “I’m a bit of a brawler when I’m drunk.”
“Oh, I’d never have guessed that,” he joked lightly as he sat down beside her. “I’ve done the same, plus the DWI,” he admitted. “We’ve been through it and know what’s involved, so why am I so nervous for Lizzy?”
“Because we were guilty?” Charlotte guessed. “Because poor Lizzy didn’t do anything, so just being arrested is wronging her, and because, well, she’s not like us.” She reached out and drew him close to her. “I am worried for her. And I’m glad you punched that asshole.”
Richard kissed her lightly. “So am I.” They lay down together and he cuddled her close, pillowing her head with his shoulder and covering her lightly with a sheet. “Try to rest now, Char. We’ve done enough today.”
She snuggled closer, content to leave her worries until morning, and soon fell asleep in his arms.
> Sleep took much longer to come to Richard as he struggled to understand all that had happened, what he had promised and been promised, the new opportunities that had opened to him, and the astonishing woman in his arms.
Chapter 20
Elizabeth waited in the tiny room, puzzled at how long she had been there. Almost an hour had passed since the two detectives left, promising to “be back in a few minutes.” She wasn’t complaining; she certainly didn’t want to go to a holding cell, but she wanted to know what was going on.
She looked up at Linda, a question in her eyes, and Linda frowned and nodded. “The DA’s office should have called me by now.” Linda stood up. “Let me go and place a call and see—” Her words were interrupted when the door opened and three people entered the room.
There were two large burly men wearing suits, followed by someone Elizabeth knew. “Winnie!”
The woman smiled in recognition. “Hi, Lizzy.”
“Miss Bennet,” the man with lighter-colored hair said, “I’m Agent Austen of the DEA, and this is my partner, Agent Holmes. We would like to have a word with you,” he looked squarely at Linda, “in private.”
Elizabeth drew in a breath to speak, but the sound of Linda’s deep-throated laughter interrupted her.
“You don’t really think I’m going to let you speak to her without counsel, do you?” Linda asked disbelievingly, her eyes locked with Agent Austen’s.
Agent Austen bit back a retort. “Ms. St. Andrews?” Agent Holmes said in a calmer voice. “Miss Bennet is no longer under arrest. She’s free to go.”
“What?” Elizabeth gasped. Linda’s face was more composed, but she was clearly astonished.
“I saw Wickham place the drugs in your bag, Lizzy. The police know that you are innocent,” Winnie said gently.
Elizabeth struggled to comprehend her words. Innocent? Free to go? Just like that? It was what she was praying for, but it didn’t seem possible.
“You’re free, Miss Bennet,” Agent Holmes began, “but we would like to ask a favor of you.” His eyes flicked to Linda’s.
Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star Page 46
