Chapter 19 #2
He kissed her hands while his heart ached. If he had not been such a fool, if he had not misjudged her so wrongly for the second time, if he had not hastened into the engagement with Anne, if he had talked to Elizabeth at Pemberley instead of running away… Their suffering was his fault!
“Come,” he said, leading her to the blanket.
He removed his clothes, except for his trousers and shirt, and hung them on some bushes.
The moon and the stars were bright, offering nothing to shield Elizabeth’s modesty.
Still, she overcame the shame, and she undressed to her chemise.
With her hair down, in the moonlight, she wondered what Darcy thought.
He seemed to not be breathing as she stood there exposed to his admiration.
He offered her his hand, and they walked hand in hand towards the water, each step taking them deeper.
The thrilling chill surrounded her, and she moaned with delight. They stopped when the water reached her chest and his waist. Her hands held onto his shoulders as the water’s buoyancy raised her to his height, while his arms closed around her.
“What would be the third thing?”
“Surely you must know,” she answered, their gazes locked.
“Elizabeth…”
“I shall never be with any other.”
She started the kiss, shy at first, unsure. He accepted the sweet touch of her lips, then he lifted her and placed her legs around his waist. Her hands encircled his neck, and her body rubbed against his.
His patience soon evaded him, and his mouth captured hers, tasting it, savouring her sweetness, trying to satiate an ever-growing hunger.
His hands began to explore her hips, her thighs, her back, her neck…
They kissed and swam, caressed and touched, discovering each other and yearning for more.
After a while, he carried her to the shore in his arms, encircled around him, without even breaking the kiss.
He did not put her down until they reached the blanket, on the soft grass at the top of the beach.
His hands did not need to hold her any longer, so they freely resumed their exploration.
She moved in his lap and gasped as she felt his arousal pressing against her.
Heat built and grew within them, begging for relief.
“Elizabeth, what are we doing?” he moaned between kisses.
“What I asked you for. What I shall never do with any other man,” she whispered, barely coherent.
“Please let me know when you wish me to stop…”
“Do not stop. Not tonight,” she murmured.
“Not tonight. You are mine till dawn.”
He lowered her onto her back, so he was atop her.
A soft breeze tantalised her, while the grass brushed her skin, and she begged for his touches.
He kissed her lips again, while he pulled off her chemise and threw it to the side.
With no obstacle to his desire, yearning for her, with an urge he could barely contain, his hungry mouth and impatient caresses discovered her and conquered her.
Eventually, dizzy in wonder, defeated by sensations she had never dreamt of, she heard him calling her and opened her eyes.
“Elizabeth, what are we doing?”
She stared into his eyes for a while, then moved and unexpectedly climbed on top of him. She unbuttoned his shirt, allowing their naked bodies to brush against each other. She touched his face, and her loose long hair caressed them both.
“I have lost my heart and my mind to you,” she confessed.
“Tomorrow I shall be ashamed and will despise myself, but now, I am happier than I have ever dreamt.
Such pleasure I never imagined, nor such bliss.
I want this night never to end, but I know it will, very soon.
Until then, I wish to be yours. Entirely.
He stroked her passionately, kissing her neck, face, and shoulders.
“Elizabeth, my dearest, loveliest, Elizabeth. Do not ask me to leave without you, now that I have tasted the happiness of being with you. I could stay. Nobody would need to know. I could come only when you send for me. I would settle for anything you wish to give me.”
She cupped his face again, tears rolling down her cheeks, down his cheeks and onto his lips so he might taste her despair.
“My love…” she whispered, “such an arrangement would make us both hate ourselves and each other. Neither of us could live a life of deception and lies.”
Lying on his back, he looked at her and at the sky, thinking that her tearful eyes were brighter than the stars.
“What should we do, Elizabeth?”
“Share this night. Then, when the morning comes, you will leave as you intended, and I shall rip my heart in two and give you the largest piece. But my body will be yours tonight. I cannot give you more than this.”