Page 32 of First Impressions
“Ugh. Beth, what happened? My face hurts. And I can’t really see out of this eye.” His left hand had begun to feel around on his face and eye; an eye that was quickly swelling shut from the assault.
Beth looked up again to see Darcy walking towards them with what looked like two security guards and the hotel manager.
“Pick him up and take him to his room. I’ll take care of the bill.” Darcy commanded swiftly as the two men yanked George up off the ground with ease.
“Whas going on?” George said in a confused stupor, “Where am I? Beth is dat you?” The alcohol and the blow to the head compounded each other as George became even more disoriented.
“Shh. It’s ok George. These nice men are going to take you to your room.”
As pushy as he had been, he’d been drunk and Beth didn’t hold it against him. She felt sorry for him as she watched the hotel manager direct the men out of the room and towards the elevator.
God, what a night.
“I’ve also had a doctor called to take a look at him tonight to make sure he’ll be ok.”
Looks like the night isn’t over yet.
Beth had completely forgotten that Darcy was still standing there; realizing that he was, ignited the outrage that she had felt building all night, and no longer had the desire to control.
Smack!Her hand stung with the force she’d used to slap him across the face.
“What is wrong with you?!” she asked angrily, furious at how he had handled the situation.
Who was she kidding?She was furious at him for every situation he’d ever put her in, everything he said to her, how he treated her, and mostly for somehow still making her want him.
They stared at each other in shock, both in disbelief that she had actually slapped him. His hand came to his face as his eyes hardened and his mouth thinned.
Uh oh.
She backed up a few steps towards the door. His gaze locked onto hers as he began to approach her, clearly intent on reprimanding her for attacking him. Her fight-or-flight response kicked in and she turned and ran out of the room towards the elevators, struggling to find her room key. As she impatiently pressed the “up” button for the elevator, she looked to her left and saw him striding towards her and she knew she wasn’t going to be able to escape.
The elevator to her right dinged and she began backing into it with her hands up as a sign of submission as he finally caught up to her. He grabbed both of her hands and forced her against the back wall of the elevator; holding both her hands in one of his, he turned and swiped his key card and hit the button for the Royal Suite.
He stared at her as the dings from the elevator faded into the background. The anger in his eyes slowly evolving into desire; it filled the space, every breath she took she felt it, she felt him against her, in front of her, around her; he consumed her.
“You were right. What am I thinking?”
His mouth crashed down onto hers.
Beth couldn’t move, couldn’t think; all she could do was feel. Her senses were overwhelmed and she felt lightheaded and it wasn’t because of the alcohol. Even though he dominated all of her senses, she fought for some control over their kiss. Her tongue sparred with his; luring it into her mouth so she could suck on it, which elicited a tortured groan from Darcy as he pressed his hip and erection harder against her.
The duel momentarily paused when the elevator doors opened and chimed, announcing their arrival to the private access floor. Hardly giving her a chance to breathe, let alone take in her surroundings, he released her wrists and she let her arms fall to her sides as he stepped back from her. She had a moment to take in the sight of him, completely undone, handsomely disheveled, radiating pure desire that he struggled to contain.
Looking at her with a pained expression on his face he let out a groan and ran his fingers through his face.Oh, God. He’s going to send me away.She felt the color drain from her face and as he looked at her he realized what she was thinking. He took the two steps back to her and grasped her face in his hands, forcing her to look up at him.
“God, Beth…” His forehead dropped onto hers. Then his eyes opened and lust burned from them straight to her core.
“I can’t control myself around you,” he said quietly, “If you step off the elevator, you have to know there’s no turning back. If you step off the elevator, I will have you. I will fuck you and I will fuck you hard; I won’t be able to stop.” His words came out harshly as he could barely control his need for her. “But if you stay here, you can go back to your own room and never have to deal with me again.” His eyes closed again as that thought was too much to bear.
He stood there for a moment before stepping away from her again, letting her make the final decision.
I will fuck you and I will fuck you hard. God, how she wanted him to.
She could forget to breathe, she wanted him so badly but should she really do this? After everything that he had done? She had so many unanswered questions about so many things, how could she commit to this without having the answers? She couldn’t do it. The regret would overwhelm her in the morning. He had made her too fragile and one night with him would break her.
She saw it the moment he realized that she was going to leave; the desire on his face crushed with the raw emotion of failure. Now he was the one who looked broken, having risked everything and been rejected. His mouth thinned as he gave a small nod, acknowledging her decision as he pushed the elevator button down.
There you go, taking a back seat again.
