Page 9 of First Impressions
“Doesn’t she want to become a lawyer to take over the firm?”
Beth chuckled at that question. She briefly showed him her father’s office and the adjacent conference rooms before answering. “No, definitely not. Jane loves her job and is very smart, but she’s too nice. She wouldn’t make a good lawyer and she knows that.”
“Unlike you,” he observed again. “You’re still aspiring higher at Gardiner.” His observation was given as a statementof fact and Beth wondered where he was getting all his information about her and more importantly, if that comment meant he knew about the DeBourgh’s being her new client.
She couldn’t assume that and quickly wrote it off as his thorough investigation into her family and their firm. Using this personal comment as an opportunity to tackle her other task, she tried to nonchalantly ask some questions about his personal life.
“So how long are you in the city for?”
His brow furrowed at the new direction of the conversation. “I’m not sure. At least until this business is finished.”
“Oh. Are you planning on attending any summer events while you’re in the city?”
Darcy stared at her for a moment and she wondered if she had gone too far before he answered, “Well, aside from your firm’s charity I haven’t committed to anything.”
“Well the Ball is always a nice event. You’re welcome to bring a date - if you can find someonetolerable.”
Shit.
Why did she say that? She didn’t want to talk about the other night.
Please, please, please don’t make this awkward.
He looked at her with an almost pained expression, but without addressing her comment said, “Thank you, Miss Bennet however, I’m perfectly content without company.”
Incredible.
Her immediate relief was short-lived as she was overcome with the strange desire to cry. The man couldn’t even acknowledge or apologize for what he had said; and why she was so hurt by that fact bothered her. She hadn’t meant to bring up that unfortunate situation, but deep down she was childishly hoping that this incredibly powerful man would admit his fault and ask for her forgiveness. She couldn’t understand why she wanted that, but she did.
As they walked down the hall, she told him facts about the firm’s history and her family’s role in its continued growth. She elaborated on their current expansions, whom they had hired, which larger clients they were retained by, and herfather’s future goals for the firm. There wasn't too much to see though on this floor and since there was no one around to provide Beth with some shelter from her imposing and unnerving companion, she picked up her pace and directed them back toward the main staircase to head back down to the second floor.
“We’ll continue back to the second floor where, aside from Jane’s office, you’ll see that our five senior associates are located on this floor as well as their assistants and paralegals,” she began. As they approached the ornate stair, she half-turned around and said, “I’m not sure who is in today, but I’m happy to introduce you to anyone you want to speak with or ask any questions of. Unfortunately, I’m not as knowledgeable as Jane when doing a tour like this.”
He was staring at her as she spoke - and not in the polite, I’m-listening-to-you kind of way. First, his eyes were focused on her lips and as she finished her sentence they settled on her eyes with an expression she could only describe as hunger. “I have a feeling you are much more knowledgeable than your sister,” was his extremely quiet reply.
Beth wasn’t quite sure what she just heard, if she had actually heard something, or if her brain had just imagined sounds coming from his mouth. So shocked was she by another loaded compliment that she stumbled over her own feet and started to fall down the stairs.
The next instant, she was upright and hauled against Mr. Intolerable’s very hard chest and boy, was he hot; not just in the looks department, she could actually feel the heat of his skin radiating underneath her palms.
Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, or at least that’s what it felt like to Beth. One minute she was falling, the next she was being held up against her sworn enemy and the worst part was she wasn’t sure which incident was making her heart beat faster. As she stared into his chest, trying to catch her breath, she felt her hands acting with a mind of their own; her fingers slowly curling into his shirt, the silky soft texture of which must have been very expensive providing a sharp contrast to the solid muscle of the man underneath it.Her heart still beating out of her chest, she finally dragged her gaze up to his, unsure of what she would find.
Her eyes met fire. His lips were parted and panting and his eyes were a blazing blend of desperation and desire. She bit her lip and his nostrils flared. She could barely breathe, afraid to move a muscle because he looked like he was on the brink of losing control - which up until this moment she had thought an impossibility.
Not breaking eye contact, her brain started to acknowledge her other senses. He had this subtle, earthy smell to him with a little bit of masculine spice, probably from his aftershave. She had felt the heat and hardness of his chest immediately, but now it sunk in that this man definitely took time to keep himself physically fit. She realized that she was not only just crushed up against him, but her feet weren't actually touching the floor, which meant he was holding her up - his arms locked around her back. Everything about him was hard and unyielding, from his strained expression, to his chest, to his arms; as her assessment continued further south, that’s when she felt something else very large and very hard being pressed against her stomach.
Her eyes widened and jerked back up to meet his which were now smoky with lust knowing she had realized the extent of his desire. Her teeth released her lower lip as she sucked in a breath, suddenly desperate for air.
That breath was the straw that broke the camel’s back; his exhaled “Fuck”was the last thing she heard before his head swooped down and her mouth was engulfed by the inferno of desire raging inside of him. It seemed that William Darcy had two modalities: unflinchingly reserved and completely unchecked.
His kiss was an unstoppable conflagration where if she didn’t kiss him back, she felt she would completely disintegrate. She could hardly breathe as he held her even tighter while his tongue ravaged her mouth, dueling with hers as they both fought for control over the kiss. She hadn’t made time for too many kisses in the past few years, but she knew that she’d never been kissed like this before; she was pretty sure that most of Manhattan hadn’t been kissed like thisbefore. Her body was on fire with a hunger that she had managed to suppress for a long time; her skin tingling, her breasts aching as a warm wetness pooled between her thighs. Unable to keep still, her hands started to move up to his shoulders, trying to pull him closer and kiss him deeper. Her rapid breaths tortuously rubbed her nipples against his chest as they ached for attention.
His right arm began to slack, moving his hand closer to her ass as he started to bunch up the fabric of her dress. Just when she was sure he was going to end up taking her on the door of her father’s office, the flame was extinguished. It was the coldness, the loss of the heat from his body, that she registered first. Her breath coming in large gulps, it took a moment for her thoughts to collect as she realized that she was standing on her own again with Mr. Darcy a foot or two away from her. As a look of confusion started to appear on her face, she heard what he must have a few seconds earlier – a conversation that was getting louder as the participants made their way up the staircase.
Beth could just imagine what she looked like, red and flushed with swollen lips, her dress crinkled in the front from being smashed up against him and in the back from his attempt to pull it up. She quickly smoothed down her dress and blazer as best as she could and wiped her lips; thankfully, she hadn’t put any lipstick on this morning. A quick self-evaluation in the glass wall she was standing next to deemed her presentable, which gave her a moment to glance at Mr. Darcy before the conversation participants on the stairs reached them. While she was just barely able to put herself back together in time, Mr. Intolerable on the other hand hadn’t missed a beat. His stoic mask was back in place and he was looking at her like he expected her to continue on with the tour with no mention or recollection of what happened.
Before she could confront him, the voices approaching on the stairs turned out to be Charles and her father. Her father was completely oblivious to her state of agitation, rather focused on impressing his guests. Charles on the other hand, who was a little more astute, looked at her and then over at Darcy with a questioning expression; he was quickly distractedin conversation though as her father brought up Jane. She was with the doctor now who was wrapping her ankle, determining it was just a mild sprain and that within a few days she would be fine. Her father informed her that he would finish up the tour for the two gentlemen, if she wanted to wait with her sister, then they would all meet for lunch. Grateful for the reprieve to settle the hurricane of emotions washing over her mind, Beth smiled and nodded without making eye contact with Mr. Darcy, walking past them back down towards Jane’s office.
Chapter Nine
