Page 67 of Third Time is the Charm
“Well, let me help you,” she insisted, trying to take the towel from his hand.
“I’m fine,” he said quickly, holding the towel out of her reach. “Thank you.” Their eyes locked in a stare-down, hers wondering if he was really ok, and his wondering if she was going to let him clean up his mess.
Beth broke the silence first. “Are you –” Her question cut off as his lips dropped to hers, stealing the syllables before they could make their sound. He released her when he was convinced she wasn’t going to ask him again.
Darcy turned to throw away the soaking paper towels filled with water and coffee grounds when she blurted out, “I can’t go to dinner with you on Friday.”
“Ok…” he said, turning to face her, pain and perplexity written on his face. “You can’t go to dinner with me at all or just on Friday?”
That wasn’t the question she was expecting.
She expected him to demand ‘why not’ or something along those lines.
“No, just on Friday,” she clarified. She paused, thinking for a second that she would wait for him to now ask why before she realized that was the cowardly thing to do, hide from the truth. “I’m sorry,” she continued. “I forgot that I have a work dinner with Col that night. The Contest is next weekend and we have to do a test run of the menu that is going to be offered for the after-party. I’m sorry, he just asked me about it yesterday which is why it slipped my mind.” Her explanation came out slightly rushed, trying to inform him calmly and as reassuringly as she could that it really was a work thing.
Beth could see that the thought of her going to dinner with Col was upsetting to him. Even though it was technically for work, Darcy knew just as well as she did that Colin wasn’t looking at it that way. She held her breath waiting for the hammer to fall – for Darcy to tell her that she couldn’t go or that Col was capable of tasting it on his own.
“Ok. Saturday, then?”
Beth blinked twice, staring blankly at Darcy. She heard the words, she saw his mouth move, and yet she was struggling to believe that those two things had happened in sync.
“I… umm… yes,” she stuttered. “Saturday works.”
She watched intently as he just nodded his head, his mouth thinning as he returned to the task in front of him. His calm acceptance of her plans ironically only magnified her guilt about having them and her need to reassure him that she only had feelings for him.
Her bare feet padded softly over to him as he watched the coffee drain into her mug.
“It’s not like that between Colin and I, I want you to know,” she whispered.
“Maybe for you, but are you sure it isn’t for him?” he asked, his tone reflecting nothing but sadness and insecurity.
She bit her lip, unable to deny that it wasn’t like that for Col, because it was and it was partially her fault.
“There was a time in the recent past when I thought there could be something between us. Honestly, I wanted there to be something between him and I so that I could forget about you,” she admitted. His gaze turned to lock with hers. “What he thinks and feels is partially my fault and that’s exactly what I’m going to explain to him on Friday when I tell him that I know that there can be nothing between him and I.”
Darcy’s stare bored into her; she knew the question that was burning in his mind.
“We’ve kissed,” she confessed bluntly, meeting that stare and refusing to cower from him. “I’d hoped it meant that I was, in fact, able to move on from you. The only thing it proved though, is that there will never be anyone but you.I am yours,”she finished, echoing his sentiment from last night.
She stared at him, waiting for him to make the next move, still waiting for the anger to explode. She saw his irritation brewing underneath the surface – his jaw clenching, his hand fisting on the countertop.
“Mine?” he said.
Beth wasn’t sure if it was a question or a statement, but her lips responded anyway. “Yours.”
A harsh breath pushed its way out from between his lips, a storm brewing in his eyes. Still, she didn’t let go of his gaze.
“I need you,” he said hoarsely, his voice cracking with the emotions raging through him; the possessiveness he felt making his entire body tremble.
Beth bit her lip, her eyes blinking back the tears of relief that gathered. What she’d been expecting of this conversation, well… it wasn’t that.
“I am yours to take,” she answered, her heart bursting with the need to reassure him of that in whatever way he needed.
His hands on her waist, he spun her towards the counter, her hands instinctively reaching out to grab the edge in order to steady herself from the sudden movement. A swift flick of his wrist had her towel pooled around her feet so that she stood completely naked bent over the countertop.
One hand reached around her, pinching her nipple, which she heard the other undoing his belt buckle. His finger moved from her breast down to spread her folds, circling over her clit, trying to prepare her for his imminent invasion.
Zipper. Rustle.
