Page 17 of First Impressions
Beth chuckled as Jane made her way down the hall to her room.As if one mind-altering surprise hadn’t been enough tonight, now she was going to have to see Mr. Intolerable tomorrow.She had planned on at least having through the weekend before having to see him again, although at least this was in a public setting. If you had asked her this morning if she was ready to confront him, she would have unwaveringly replied ‘yes’; now though, she wasn’t sure.
This morning, she comforted herself knowing that while Darcy was attracted to her physically, he clearly didn’t like her – that scenario she could handle. Now, with his admission to Jane, everything had changed; all her emotions she had been able to justify suppressing were now flooding her brain and all she could think was,he likes me.
I want him to like me.
Chapter Fourteen
As if dinnerthat night wasn’t going to be interesting enough, when Jane got home from work she informed Beth that Bill Collins had come into the office earlier that day – they hadn’t been expecting him back until Monday. He had stopped in to pick up a few things that afternoon, so Mr. Bennet had to revise his plans on how to break the news to him. Thankfully, Charles and Mr. Darcy left after lunch to deal with a couple of other matters, so there was no immediate confusion or confrontation. However, their father decided that it would be a subject best approached in a more personal environment, and so had invited Bill over for dinner tonight to join the party. He told Bill to come at six o’clock with everyone else expected at six-thirty, that way it would give him some time to have a private discussion with Bill and break the news gently.
“How do you think he’s going to take it?” Beth asked as she put on some make-up next to Jane in the bathroom. She was trying to accomplish a smoky-eye but she felt like she was just making herself look like a raccoon.This is what happens when you try too hard.
“I’m not sure. He’s a very unpredictable man when things don’t go according to his plan; his temper can get the better of him. I’m hoping that being at our house with our family around will motivate him to react calmly to the news, but I honestly don’t know.”
Beth hadn’t interacted with Mr. Collins more than a handful of times. She was rarely at the firm when he was there, and he wasn’t related closely enough to them to be invited to their family functions - not that they had that many. She remembered him being very awkward, unable to decipher social cues, and very temperamental. She could distinctly remember walking down the hall to Jane’s office one day, able to hear him yelling from the floor above, at his secretary for double-booking a meeting that afternoon. Her father had told her later that night (this was still when she was living at home), that the woman had come to him in tears and he hadhad to reprimand Bill for such an unprofessional outburst. If such a minor thing as a scheduling mishap could set him off, Beth wasn’t sure that a change of environment would be able to contain his anger. That incident was many years ago though and she hadn’t heard any similar stories lately; hopefully he had matured a little since then.
Finally deeming her make-up acceptable, she chose to wear a teal jersey wrap dress with nude flats. It had a low v-neck and the material really clung to her chest; that, in combination with her best push-up bra, helped give the impression that she had breasts. It was just short enough to show her toned legs and while very modest when she was standing still, she knew it would cling to her butt when she walked.
I’m not trying to impress him, I swear.
She kept repeating that in her head as she stared at herself in the mirror, making sure she looked good from every angle. Jane lightly knocked on her doorframe to let her know that she was ready to go. She had chosen to wear a beige shirt dress with brown wedge sandals. As usual, Jane appeared effortlessly beautiful, while Beth looked good for an hour’s worth of work.
The girls ran a little behind leaving their apartment and arrived at their parents’ about fifteen minutes late. As they ran up the steps and walked inside, it was clear that their night wasn’t the only one not going according to plan. From the moment they walked in, they could hear their mother’s voice over all the rest. As they began to walk down the hall, they realized the study door was still closed and they could hear Bill’s raised voice yelling at Mr. Bennet; which meant that Irene Bennet was left alone to entertain two of the country’s most eligible bachelors. Alone.
“Jane, why don’t you go in the dining room with mom and keep her in line? I’ll interrupt dad and Mr. Collins and try to get them to wrap things up,” Beth suggested, unsure which situation was making her more nervous at the moment.
Trying not to make it too obvious that she was delaying seeing Mr. Darcy for as long as possible to steel her nerves.Jane nodded as she walked toward the dining room with a big smile lighting up her face, clearly anxious to see Charles.
Beth began to head towards the study. As she rounded the corner, she found herself running directly into something tall, hard, and very male. Her hands quickly came up to his chest to stop her momentum and she felt his hands on her hips, steadying her. She didn’t need more than a split second to realize that it was Mr. Darcy whom she had crashed into. Not prepared to have to face him like this, she hesitantly looked up to meet his gaze. His lips were pursed and his nostrils flared as he looked at her with the same angry hunger that seemed to characterize most of their close encounters.
“What are you doing?” he asked tightly, not releasing her from his grip.
“Going to check on my father. What are you doing?” she countered.
“Leaving him to talk to Mr. Collins alone.” His tone suggesting that she should do the same.
“Ok, well I’m going to go let them know dinner is ready,” she said defiantly.
“They will come when they are done. Let them finish their discussion in private.” To emphasize his command, his fingers tightened on her hips and she let out a small gasp, as heat fired through her and her nipples hardened.Here we go again.
“No. I’m going to let them know that we are all here and waiting.” She was not going to let him push her around.
“God. Why can’t you just do what I say, obstinate woman?” His frustration finally releasing into words.
“Because I don’t want—” She was cut off as his mouth crushed hers, wanting to silence her retort.
She wasn’t shocked by it this time. Her tongue immediately engaged his as they fought for control, devouring each other. Her hands moved up around his neck, digging into his hair, as his left arm clasped her tightly to him while his right arm grabbed her right ass cheek and squeezed. He maneuvered her up against the wall, his leg driving between her thighs, putting pressure on her core. She moaned into his mouth, the pressure inside her building as she began to rubherself against his thigh. He let out a feral growl as both his hands snaked up her front to grab her breasts, thumbing her swollen and aroused nipples. His right hand pulled aside the accommodating fabric of her dress to expose her naked breast to him. He groaned as he kneaded the swollen flesh, lightly pinching her nipple. She gasped and struggled to breathe as she climbed closer to her orgasm.
Suddenly there was a loud bang that came from inside the study and they heard raised voices. His mouth immediately broke from hers, his hand quickly covering up the flesh he had exposed. For once he didn’t instantly break away from her, his forehead rested on hers as they both struggled to catch their breath.
When she opened her eyes, she saw that his were still shut, his forehead drawn tight. As if realizing she was looking at him, his eyes opened and that familiar anger was there; anger at her or himself, she wasn’t sure.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck” he cursed as he pulled away from her and shoved his hands through his hair.
She stood speechless, again, for the moment it took for him to right himself but she wasn’t going to be left stranded again. Just as he turned to walk away and leave her there, she reached out and grabbed his elbow.
“Darcy…”
He spun, looking at where her hand was holding his arm and then up at her, pain and frustration covering his face. He stared for a moment and then came the words that would crush her, yet again.
