by Krista Lakes
“Oh, hello,” I said once I regained my balance. I wasn’t sure how to talk to him now that I knew the truth. I wanted to slap him again, but I knew that wasn’t appropriate. I needed to pretend to be civil. For the sake of Charles and his opening, at the very least.
“Elizabeth,” he greeted me. The way his accent curled on my name made me sound far fancier than I actually was. “Would you like to look around the hotel with me? I was hoping you would join me for a drink as we looked it over.”
“Sure,” I replied without thinking. My smile was brittle as I realized I just agreed to spend time with him. I didn’t want to get a drink or anything else with him, but it was too late now.
“What would you like?” he asked, sounding like a gentleman, even if he wasn’t one.
“Um, champagne is fine,” I replied.
“I’ll be right back. Stay here,” he said, nodding his head and stepping away. I stared after him. Why in the world had I said I’d get a drink with him? I quickly came up with a plan to just disappear once he brought me my champagne. I’d say something polite, and go find Lydia. It wouldn’t be that hard to get away. I didn’t have to see the hotel with him.
“Are you okay?” Jane asked, coming up beside me. “You look like you might be sick.”
“I might be,” I replied. “I just agreed to a drink and a tour with Mr. Darcy. I can’t believe I said yes.”
“You’re being too harsh,” Jane scolded. “We haven’t learned his side of the story.”
“I don’t need to have his side,” I responded. She gave me a disappointed look, but I didn’t take it back.
“Fine,” she said with a sigh. “There’s someone here I’d like you to meet.”
I followed her to the lobby where a young woman was talking and laughing with Charles. They stood by a small standing table with a single rose centerpiece. It was exquisite and suited the hotel perfectly.
“Lizzie, I’d like to introduce you to Emma Woodhouse. She’s a friend of Charles’,” Jane said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I replied, holding out my hand. The young woman shook it and smiled.
“Excuse me,” Charles said. “Jane, will you come take a photo with me?”
“Don’t go anywhere. I need to talk to you,” Jane whispered to me. “Just stay here.”
I nodded. “Go take your picture. I won’t go anywhere.”
Jane forced a smile but went with Charles for the pictures she hated, leaving me with Emma.
“Jane tells me that you are a nurse?” Emma asked. “Is it anything like the TV shows?”
I smiled. “There aren’t nearly as many good looking doctors. I can honestly say that I have never hooked up in a janitor’s closet.”
“Darn,” she replied shaking her head. “TV falls short again.”
I laughed. “I do love it though. It’s a great job. Hard, but very rewarding.”
“That’s good to hear,” she replied. She took a sip of her drink and motioned to the bar. “Did I see you speaking with William Darcy?”
“I was,” I replied. “Do you know him?”
She shrugged. “A little. We spent some time together at a party in London once. He seemed like a decent person, but very busy with his business.”
“That’s a nice way of putting it,” I said. “I’d say he’s kind of a self-centered ass.”
“Wow.” She giggled. “You don’t like him much,” she noticed.
“He hurt a friend of mine over business,” I replied. “I’m afraid that I’m not his biggest fan at the moment.”
She nodded. “He does become rather cutthroat when it comes to his airline, but I think it’s just because it’s very important to him. When I met him, he was known for his charitable donations as much as his airline.”
“Donations are just money, and he has plenty enough of that,” I replied. “His behavior is inexcusable.”
Emma tilted her head and looked at me thoughtfully. “It’s a shame you don’t like him,” she said after a moment. “The two of you seem like a good match. I would have thought you two would hit it off.”
I laughed. “No way. I have decided that Mr. Darcy and I are mortal enemies,” I announced with a smile. “I think we have very different viewpoints on what is acceptable behavior in business.”
“I can understand that,” she replied with a nod. She waved to someone behind me. “Will you excuse me? I see an old friend.”
“Of course,” I told her. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”
“And you. By the way, here he comes with some champagne for you.” Emma smiled and touched my shoulder. “If you do have an epic battle with your mortal enemy, please don’t mess up the lobby floor. Charles worked really hard to make it look nice.”
I raised my hand like I was taking an oath. “I will not destroy the hotel,” I promised her with a chuckle.
She grinned and picked her drink up off the tall table. She nodded a polite to hello to Mr. Darcy as she went to greet her friend. I wished Emma or Jane would come back and save me from having to talk to Mr. Darcy by myself.
“I didn’t know what you preferred, so I brought my favorite,” he said, handing me my drink.
I attempted a smile as I took a sip. At least it tasted good.
“It’s good,” I told him. “Thank you.”
Silence fell between us, and I could hear a million other conversations in the lobby that sounded better than ours. I looked around for an escape, but there wasn’t one. I was stuck having a drink. I thought about throwing the champagne in his face, but I didn’t want to ruin Charles’ party. I needed to play nice since I promised Jane I would.
“I’m afraid I’m not very discerning in my champagne tastes,” I said after a moment. I needed to fill the silence, or I was going just to end up stewing and then reacting poorly. “This is good, though.”
“It’s Dom Perignon.”
“It’s very nice.” I took another sip. I was going to need more if this was how the evening was going to go.
Mr. Darcy took another sip of his drink and nodded, leaving the silence between us to grow again.
“It’s your turn to say something,” I said after a moment. “That’s how conversations work. I said something about the drink. You should say something about how the lobby is decorated or how well Charles did with this place. You should say something. Anything.”
He looked at me with those mesmerizing blue eyes.
“Of course,” he replied, lowering his glass. “What would you like to discuss?”
“You know, I’m not really sure,” I said. I could hear the lyrics to a love song playing over the lobby sound system. “I guess we could just stand here in awkward silence. That seems to be working just fine.”
Mr. Darcy took a sip of his drink, apparently unperturbed by my remarks. “Do you prefer the silence?” he asked. “Or I suppose we could talk politics?”
The idea of talking politics with Mr. Darcy made me wince. “I have a feeling that talking politics would leave us screaming obscenities at one another.”
“I think we’re probably more alike than you think,” he replied, a knowing smirk crossing his face. I did my best to ignore the impulse to knock it off his smug head.
“What about your business?” I offered. “That seems to be the only thing that interests you.”
A hint of irritation crossed his features. “Why do you say that?”
“It’s all you seem to do,” I replied, feeling self-satisfied in my small victory against him. I’d gotten under his skin with that comment. “You’re always on the phone. It seems like you never stop working.”
He took a slow sip of champagne. I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. He smiled at me.
“How are your patients in the CICU?” he asked. He was obviously avoiding talking about business just to prove me wrong.
I was not expecting that, but it was a nice deflection. Fine. I could play that game.
“They’re doing well,” I replied.
“I actually just discharged one yesterday. He had a triple bypass and was a wonderful man with a kind family.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Mr. Darcy said, almost managing to sound sincere.
I decided it was time to play hardball. I set my drink down on the high table.
“In fact, he says his daughter is an actress and would be happy to give Lydia some pointers,” I continued. “He actually congratulated my sister on acquiring an agent so early in her career.”
“Wickham is lucky to have such skill acquiring talent,” Mr. Darcy replied diplomatically. He lowered his glass, and his eyes hardened. “If he can give her any success, I’ll be incredibly impressed.”
“As long as you don’t sabotage him, he should be fine,” I retorted.
His nostrils flared, and he set his drink down on the table harder than necessary. I’d finally riled him, and it felt good. My heartbeat sped, and I moved closer.
“I do not sabotage. I do not cheat. I do not make false promises that I can’t keep,” he said, enunciating every word. His hand gripped the glass hard enough I was afraid he might break it.
I wasn’t about to back down, though. I wanted this out in the open. I wasn’t going just to let this be. I wanted answers. I wanted him to be accountable for his actions.
“And you say that Wickham does? You say he sabotages and cheats?”
“That is for you to determine,” Mr. Darcy replied. He narrowed his eyes at me. “I will not speak poorly of him. Why are you pressing this?”
“Because I want to know why,” I replied, taking a step toward him. I wanted to get under his skin and annoy him as much as he annoyed me. I wanted him to think of me the way I did him: often and without meaning to.
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. He was close to me now. I didn’t remember taking quite this many steps into him, but I was close enough now to smell his cologne. I could see the blues and grays of his eyes and the small spot he missed shaving near his earlobe.
How did he infuriate me so easily? Why did being near him cause my heart to go crazy and my ability to think disappear? I glared up at him, riled and looking for a fight. I wanted to get a reaction out of him. I wanted him to react to me.
I wanted to knock him down and kiss him, and I wasn’t sure it was in that order. The space at the arch of my legs ached for something only he could give me. I hated him, yet my body wanted his touch. Lust surged through me in hot waves.
I hated that I wanted him, but that only made me want him more.
How did he get under my skin and turn me on?
Without thinking, without my brain’s permission, my body leaned forward and kissed him.
And oh, God, did it feel good.
Every part of my body sang with need and kissing him made it better and worse at the same time. He threaded his hand behind my head and into my hair, kissing me back.
And the man could kiss. His lips were soft, yet demanding. He tasted better than he had in any of my dreams. Sweet, yet rich with hints of champagne.
Before I knew what I was doing, I wrapped my arms around his neck, not letting him go. I needed his kisses, his touch, and so much more. I needed him more than I needed to breathe. I hated him and needed him in equal parts.
What in the world had he done to me? I went from hating him to wanting to screw him in the space of a single kiss.
“We should go someplace less public.” He broke the kiss just long enough to whisper the words, and even then that was too long.
I nodded, hating that he pulled away from me. My body ached to feel him against me, and even though I knew I would get more, I hated that I didn’t have him that instant.
He grabbed my hand. With my lips still tingling from Mr. Darcy’s kiss, he pulled me away from the crowd.
Chapter 10
Mr. Darcy held my hand in his as he hurried up the stairs. I could barely keep up on my heels as we went, but there was no way I was letting go of him. Not now. Not with this heat and need coursing through my veins.
Anger and fury had transformed into need and lust.
The second floor of the hotel was deserted. Everyone was downstairs and in the ballrooms enjoying the festivities, so no one was up here. Mr. Darcy looked up and down the length of an empty hallway before pressing me up against the wall and kissing me.
The kiss exploded into me as a hot, intense tangle of tongues and teeth. Everything was raw desire as my mouth found his. One hand gripped my hip as the other tangled in my hair, pulling me into him. I wanted more than this, but it was a good start.
My hands slid into his jacket and started undoing the buttons on his shirt. I could feel the muscle and tension beneath my fingers. I fumbled with the tiny buttons, unable to focus with the onslaught of all the emotions: hunger, desire, need, and something that made my knees tremble with his touch.
“More,” I whispered, my voice coming out in gasps. “Please, more.”
He groaned, the sound vibrating through my world. He lowered his head so that his breath warmed my neck. Need ached through my core. My anger had turned to lust, but it was still all-consuming and overpowering. All the intensity from the lobby was now here with just the two of us alone in this hallway.
He took a step back and pushed on one of the doors to a room. It didn't budge. He tried the next, but again it didn't move. I knew that if we stopped and we went back downstairs and got a key, we would lose this momentum. We would stop and think about what we were doing and think better of it.
Right now my body was in control. My head was lost to the overwhelming desire and need pumping through me. I didn't want to stop. I knew that this was probably a mistake. We were both angry, and it was translating into something more.
I didn't say a word. I just kept trying doors, waiting for one to open up. I was off balance, and my body was in control. I needed Mr. Darcy. I knew it had to be him. He was the reason I was off balance and doing this crazy thing. He was the one under my skin and pushing all my buttons. He was the only man I'd ever met that made me feel this way.
He did something to me that I didn't understand, but I wanted more of it.
“Here,” he called to me, pushing the door to a room open. I followed him without hesitation.
Inside, he pressed me against the wall again, the door swinging past me and clicking shut. I reached for it, searching for a lock, but couldn't find one. It wasn't a lockable door. Someone could walk in on us.
But, I didn't care. All I cared about was wrapping my legs around this man and releasing the tension building inside of me. I was out of control now. There was no turning back. He kissed me, his hands searching my body and I moaned.
I kissed his throat, flicking my tongue against the sensitive skin there. He tasted amazing, and the groan he let out went straight to my loins. He slid his hands down to cup my ass in his palms, pulling me into him as he pushed me into the wall.
“Elizabeth.” I loved the way my name sounded on his low, gravelly voice. I writhed with smug satisfaction, knowing I was having the same effect on him as he was on me. Out of control lust.
I lifted my head, and his mouth came down on mine again. His hips pressed into mine and I could feel him growing hard. I heated just knowing that I had this effect on him.
“Do you want this?” he asked, those blue eyes holding me still. I was still pinned to the wall, my hands on his chest and panting with desire.
Did I want this? Oh, hell yes I did.
I leaned forward and nipped at his bottom lip, feeling feminine and in control.
“Yes,” I whispered. I undid the button on his shirt, followed by another. I looked up, rocking my hips into his. “I do.”
The words came out steady and sure. I did want this. I wanted this more than anything I could ever think of. Maybe I just hated him because he turned me on and made me lose control of myself. Maybe I didn't hate him at all, and the energy between us was misplaced lust.
Either way, I wanted t
his. I wanted more.
You do this, and you'll fall for him, a small voice said in my head. I looked up into those blue eyes and realized I could deal with that. Jane would be proud of me for giving him a chance.
His eyes stayed steady on mine. He swallowed hard before kissing me again. It started gentle, but then I moaned, and he lost control for a moment. His hands tightened on my hips, and his kiss devoured me.
I undid the rest of his buttons, and he shrugged off his jacket, followed by the dress shirt. He barely broke the kiss to take off his undershirt and toss it to the ground. The man worked out. He was all pecs and abs under his suit, and my mouth went dry.
How was I this lucky?
He kissed me again, this time pulling me away from the wall with small steps and further into the room. It appeared to be some sort of conference room with a large table in the center. There weren't any chairs yet since the hotel was so new. The windows had shades pulled lows but the lights of the city still shined through them.
I reached for the zipper of my dress, stretching and straining to reach it. I didn't care that I probably looked the opposite of sexy. I wanted it off.
“Let me,” he said softly, gently pushing on my shoulder to turn me around.
I shivered as his hand caressed the bare skin of my shoulders as he found the zipper. I put my hands on the conference table just to keep myself steady. His fingers were careful and slow as he tugged on the zipper and exposed my back to him.
The little black dress puddled on the ground around my heels and my breath caught. It was cold in the room without the dress, and my nipples hardened even further. I hadn't worn a bra with the dress, all I had on was a teeny-tiny lace thong and my heels.
I bit my lower lip, unsure if I wanted to turn around or not. He was a billionaire who had been with supermodels. I was happy with my body, but to be honest, I liked my cookies. I wasn't supermodel status.
