Turning around, she studied her surroundings. She’d ventured off the path to pick a few flowers. Of course she could now head back to the path but she had a good idea just where she was, so finding her way wouldn’t be a problem.
Instead of heading back to the path, she carefully made her way in the direction of the caller, making sure to stay hidden behind the bushes and trees. She grinned when she noticed Darcy standing in the middle of the path, looking around and calling for her.
He looked very dapper in his pale green waistcoat with the coat in hunter’s green over it. His cravat was perfectly bound and Elizabeth knew that this was one she’d sewn for him. The first of many she hoped to create for him although she’d been a bit surprised when his valet had come to talk to her about the requirements of Darcy’s cravats. She’d sewn her share for her father and some of the servants and Longbourn’s poor, so she wasn’t exactly a novice. But, she’d quickly realized that Roberts knew what he was talking about and had very exacting standards when it came to Mr. Darcy attire and wardrobe. Something she heartily approved of as the results were so pleasing to the eye. If this was the result, she was more than happy to follow Roberts’ instructions.
Prepared to head up to him, Elizabeth hesitated and then smiled wickedly. She made a rustling noise on purpose and waited to see if Darcy would react. When he didn’t, she carefully ventured a bit closer before making another purposeful noise. This time, she managed to attract his attention. She bit her lower lip to stifle her giggle while she watched him carefully. He was studying the woods but obviously not seeing her. He inclined his head as if he was trying to catch another noise.
Elizabeth slowly withdrew. Once she’d had taken a few steps, she rustled some of the leaves again and stepped on a twig. The sound of it breaking sounded extremely loud to her ears, but it definitely caught Darcy’s attention. He took a step forward, a frown crossing his handsome face.
Elizabeth was unable to swallow down the laughter that wanted out, but had the presence of mind to press a hand over her mouth while she hurried between the trees. She knew exactly where she was and if she kept straight ahead, she would be able to reach her favorite clearing. But first she planned to take her beloved husband on a merry chase.
Darcy had this tendency to be too serious and too focused on his duties and his work. She delighted in teasing him into laughter and to reveal the playfulness that hid deep beneath his public facade. Occasionally, it was almost like a challenge to see if she could make him smile or laugh when he was too serious or moody for her liking.
Lady Catherine’s presence right now had dampened his mood considerably and she could see the strain showing around his eyes, deepening the fine lines. She also saw it in his shoulders which were too stiff and tense right now. Stopping briefly, she glanced back and listened intently. To her satisfaction, she could see him following her. His form was easily discernible in the wood, especially his tall top hat. Elizabeth hurried own and hid behind a tree, watching while he came closer, clearly looking for her.
She turned, making sure to move close enough to a brush that it would move and betray her position then ran on. This time she was unable to muffle her laughter. Glancing back, she noticed Darcy following her. It didn’t look as if he was really trying to capture her and was just following her, allowing her to lead the way. With nimble feet she jumped across a small brook, knowing exactly where she was heading.
“Never fear, Madame, I shall catch you,” he called out, a hint of laughter already coloring his voice.
Elizabeth laughed out loud.
“Never!” she challenged him.
She ran faster when she noticed that Darcy was lengthening his strides. He was almost upon her when she twisted left and around a tree, evading him.
Behind her, she could hear him stumble and curse softly. He didn’t sound as if he was hurt, just annoyed at his own clumsiness, so Elizabeth ran on. Up ahead of her, she could see the clearing and a hint of the massive oak that was her destination.
Breaking free of the sheltering embrace of the forest, Elizabeth headed across the clearing to the okay and around it. She giggled when Darcy follow her. He scowled playfully at her while he tried to walk around the tree but Elizabeth made certain that she kept the trunk between them so that he wouldn’t be able to reach her.
“Mr. Darcy!” Elizabeth exclaimed, laughter pearling out of her when he threw his hat to the side. Roberts, his valet, would be very cross with them if he could see how Darcy was treating his hat. He would tut at the poor, mistreated hat and the scowl at them, making his displeasure known.
One moment of inattention was all it took and suddenly Darcy had his arms around her waist and was pulling her back against his broad chest.
“Caught you,” he murmured into her ear.
She tried to wriggle away, but he only tightened his hold and easily lifted her off her feet until Elizabeth stopped struggling because she was laughing so hard.
*
Darcy smiled while he held his wriggling and giggling captive firmly in his arms. He waited until she’d calmed down a bit then put her back down on her feet before he backed her against the trunk of the tree. Her brown eyes were dancing with mirth and her face flushed. A few curls had escaped the bonnet hiding her hair.
She looked stunningly beautiful and once again, Darcy was amazed that she was really his wife. Today, with the stress of his aunt Catherine’s presence at Pemberley mounting, she’d once managed to find a way to brighten his day. He carefully brushed the back of fingers along the curve of her cheek, then captured one of the errant curls and wound it around one finger.
“It seems, I have caught myself a wood sprite,” Darcy murmured and pressed her harder against the wide expanse of the tree.
Elizabeth laughed breathlessly. Spellbound, Darcy stared at her and finally gave in to temptation. He leaned down to kiss her so that her laughter turned into a surprised gasp and then a muffled moan. The first kiss was just a quick peck but the next one was deep and full of hunger and passion. When he pulled back Elizabeth’s eyes were wide and dark and her lips slightly swollen. She was even more beautiful and tempting. Ha had no idea how that was even possible. And how was he supposed to resist her? Darcy cupped her face and kissed her again, deciding that there was no point in trying to resist.
He cursed softly when Elizabeth suddenly twisted away and was gone.
“I am not that easily caught, Mr. Darcy!” she mocked him softly from a save distance away. Her smile was playful.
Darcy frowned at her while he also kept track of her movements. He fully intended to capture her again and this time she wouldn’t be able to escape.
Carefully, he stalked after her while she danced away and once more tried to keep the oak between. He pretended to speed up and chase after her but in the last moment twisted around so that Elizabeth essentially ran into his arms. Her eyes widened when she collided with him.
“You were saying?” he asked, grabbing her arms gently while he pulled her closer and leaned in to kiss her again.
Elizabeth moaned softly into the kiss. Darcy deepened it and enjoyed the way she leaned into him to kiss him back. He slowly pushed her back against the tree but this time Darcy used his own body to cage her and keep her in place, ensuring that she wouldn’t be able to twist away again.
Elizabeth’s eyes danced playfully while she gazed up at him. There was a clear challenge in her brown eyes and Darcy knew that she would attempt another escape if he allowed it. It was daring, but he knew that the clearing was rarely visited by anyone from Pemberley.
He reached up to undo the strap of her bonnet and pulled it off. Under his hands, Elizabeth stilled and her eyes widened yet she offered no protest. Instead she cocked her head in inquisition. He traced the features of her face gently with his finger tips, mapped the line of her eyebrow, and gently ran his fingers down the line of her nose. Giving in to temptation, he placed a gentle kiss on the very tip of her nose and smiled when Elizabeth wrinkled h
er nose at him.
Carefully, he outlined the shape of her lip and then followed the path his fingers had taken with the tip of his tongue before slipping it into her mouth. She groaned and kissed him back, sucking on his tongue.
Darcy used her distraction to reach for her skirt and pull it up so that he could touch her leg. Elizabeth gasped and stilled when his hand stroked up her leg, over her stocking until he was able to touch bare skin. Her thigh felt silky smooth under his hand and he could feel the muscles in her leg move when she shifted her weight.
“Darcy,” she murmured. “Fitzwilliam?”
“Yes, beloved?”
“What are you doing?” Elizabeth asked, her voice quivering slightly.
The question was silly as she knew exactly what he was doing. His hand wandered higher and then slipped between her legs. The flesh there was already moist and warm. Under his touch it grew even more heated and wetter. In the months since they’d been married, he’d learned how to read her face and her body and how to please her. He moved his fingers until he found that one specific spot at the beginning of her sex. A little pearl that just begged for his touch. Darcy gently circled it until she was shaking and moaning.
“Fitzwilliam,” Elizabeth sighed, while her eyes fluttered closed. She leaned back against the tree, pliant, almost boneless and utterly beautiful while desire cursed though her and colored her cheeks with the prettiest pink.
“We can’t,” she protested faintly, a faint line between her eyebrows. “Not here!”
Despite her protests, Elizabeth made no move away from his hands, nor did she try to push him away or stop him.
Darcy chuckled. “Who will disturb us?”
Elizabeth’s eyes opened wide, and she shook her head but that was the only kind of protest she made. Instead, after a short moment, she started to giggle.
“Really, Mr. Darcy?” Elizabeth teased him, her eyes bright with laughter. “What would Lady Catherine say?”
Darcy growled softly. “I would rather keep my aunt out of this. Of course, she might approve as I’m taking care of my marital duties,” he added, remembering his earlier talk with his aunt.
He twisted his fingers and laughed gently when Elizabeth gasped and jerked. He used his other arm to hold her more tightly so that she wouldn’t fall once her knees gave out.
She shuddered. “We will not tell Lady Catherine about this. Oh!” Her eyes fluttered closed again. “Do that again!”
Darcy obeyed, keeping most of his focus on her face and the way desire moved across her features, colored her cheeks and darkened her eyes. “On second thought,” Elizabeth gasped while she bucked into his touch. “Maybe we should. Or rather you should. It might be enough to convince her that you are doing your duty, husband, and she might leave me in peace.”
While that plan had merit, Darcy decided not to comment on it. Instead he concentrated on her pleasure and on distracting her from that line of thinking. If she was still capable of making plans, then he wasn’t doing his job properly. At least, not yet.
Darcy rubbed that one special spot more firmly and watched with rapt attention while she started to rock more demandingly into his touch. Her hips moved with growing urgency. Moans pearled from her lips and grew louder and more intense until they turned into faint cries.
Elizabeth reached down and grabbed his hand, pulling him harder against herself. Darcy allowed Elizabeth to control their encounter but then he leaned in and hunted for her mouth, kissing her passionately. He gently nipped at her lower lip and that seemed to be enough to chase her over the edge. She made all kinds of high-pitched gasping and moaning sounds while she shook under his hands. He gentled his touch and pulled her close, holding her against his chest until her breathing calmed down.
He pressed a kiss against her temple and smiled when she turned her head to press a quick kiss against his mouth.
“That was very naughty, Mr. Darcy,” she complained. “Thoroughly wicked.”
“Was it?” he wondered. “What if I’m not done yet and have more wicked things planned?”
Her eyes widened and she gasped while her cheeks flushed enticingly. Instead of continuing to play with her sensitive pearl, he stroked his fingers through her wet and swollen folds until he was able to touch her opening.
*
Her husband was a cruel, cruel man. Thoroughly and completely abominable. Elizabeth would have to find a way to be cross with him once she was capable of stringing more than two thoughts together. As long as he kept touching her, though, all of her thoughts seemed to center on his hands. Then he added his mouth, training fine kisses down the line of her throat, nipping gently at that place where her neck curved into her shoulder and teasing her clavicle with the tip of his tongue. Elizabeth shuddered at the sensations rushing through her. Her whole body was overly sensitized and she was aware of every tough, every brush of his lips on her skin, every caress. Her sex was throbbing and her nipples were stiff and aching.
She’d already had one release but Darcy was merciless. His clever fingers played with her most secret parts, first with her pearl and now with her opening. She shuddered again when he pressed his fingertip more firmly against her without actually penetrating her. He still kept his touch teasing. Desire and lust surged through her like a wildfire.
Elizabeth wanted to feel him inside her. A part of her was still aware that they were outside in the woods and not in the privacy of their bedroom. At any moment someone could walk past and see them. It would be quite a scandal if they were caught. While it was a scary thought, it was also adding to her excitement because it was so deliciously naughty and so unlike her husband. Besides, the more he touched her the less she cared.
Later, she would need to think of some kind of suitable punishment for her darling husband. Such a naughty thing to do to her. She really had to find out what had caused him to think of it.
When she’d teased him, Elizabeth had expected him to chase after her and demand a few kisses as forfeit for capturing her but not this. It was so unlike Darcy who was always so aware of the rules and insisted on maintaining proper decorum and manners while in public. This was spontaneous and unprecedented. Elizabeth wondered how far he intended to go. Was he only going to touch her and use his hands to pleasure her or did he intend to take her as well?
The irreverent part of her personality couldn’t help but wonder what Lady Catherine would say if she could see them now. Would this qualify as her husband tending to his duty and meeting Lady Catherine’s exacting and demanding nature? Or was this taking things too far?
It was a good thing that Darcy chose that moment to slip one finger into her, otherwise Elizabeth might have broken out into uncontrollable giggles at the prospect of Lady Catherine observing them and offering instructions to Darcy in her rather unique way. It was almost tempting to stage an encounter where they would be observed just so that she could escape another lecture. Instead of mulling over a plan though, her attention snapped to the digit pressing into her. Elizabeth gasped at the sensation. He’d used his fingers before to please her but that first moment of penetration always came as a surprise.
Hungrily, Elizabeth bucked into his touch. She was already wet and sensitive from her earlier climax but that didn’t stop her from wanting more. Darcy’s finger moved deeper into her and became more insisted. Elizabeth’s eyes fluttered closed while she concentrated on the feelings cursing through her. This was just so wicked.
During the first weeks of her marriage, she’d learned that it was possible for her to find release more than once and that her husband enjoyed indulging himself and her by giving her as much pleasure as possible. He was very considerate and an exemplary husband.
“My sweetest Elizabeth,” Darcy murmured while he kissed her again.
Elizabeth moaned deeply when he slipped another finger into her. Her knees almost gave way while desire shivered through her and it was only Darcy’s strong arms that kept her upright. Faint cries escaped her lips and she pressed her
hand against her mouth to stifle them. Darcy just chuckled, his breath a gentle caress on her heated skin. Her heart was beating wildly and her chest heaving while she tried to drag in air.
Darcy twisted his fingers, making her whimper and tremble under his touch.
“Do you like this?” he asked, his lips almost touching her ear.
“Fitzwilliam!” she begged, unable to control herself. “Please!?”
“Please what, my love?”
“More!”
Instead of an answer, he kissed her again and continued to leisurely thrust two fingers into her. Elizabeth clutched at his shoulders, shaking and whimpering. The pleasure inside her was raging, wild and untamed. It burned through her veins and ignited her blood but it wasn’t enough to chase her over the edge. Not yet. Besides, she really wanted to feel him inside her. While she loved the devastation his fingers wrecked, what she really wanted was him. She wanted to feel him deep inside her. Wanted to be taken and possessed by him while she took him deep inside her and claimed him as her own.
Elizabeth shrieked in surprise when he suddenly pulled his fingers free and grabbed her legs to pull her up. She wrapped her arms and legs around him to hold her balance, grateful for the wide tree at her back that also kept her from falling.
She could feel Darcy nestle with his trousers but before she could even think of offering to help him out, his hard shaft brushed through her sensitive and wet folds. It briefly stroked over her opening and she tried to shift so that he would slide into her, but Darcy just chuckled.
“Patience, my sweet,” he admonished her.
Elizabeth growled but swallowed the uncouth words that sat on the tip of her tongue. He had her completely at his mercy. She really would have to think of a suitable revenge. Maybe she should sick Lady Catherine on him after all? A lengthy lecture about his duties would serve him right. Or maybe more than one lecture? A few hints dropped in Lady Catherine’s direction, maybe something worded more strongly once she was alone with the older woman, might lead to a whole series of lectures. Elizabeth’s muffled a giggle which turned into a hungry moan when Darcy finally pushed into her and reminded her forcefully of his presence.
Pemberley Tales Page 9
