Page 44 of Third Time is the Charm
She held her breath, hardly believing that it could be true. “Then why was she there – naked?”
“God fucking help me if I know,” he laughed bitterly. “All I know is that I showed up the next morning,with Charles,to find Caroline in my apartment, naked and waiting to ambush me – although she was thoroughly surprised when her brother walked in right behind me…”
“You didn’t… you weren’t…” Beth couldn’t even finish, those deeply buried memories surfacing to see if what he was saying could be true.
She hadn’t seen Darcy there or heard him, she hadn’t seen his clothes,
“All this time…” she whispered in shock, her heart aching for everything that she’d left, all on an assumption. Every wall of wrath that she’d built around her heart, trying to convince herself to hate him for what he did disintegrated the second she realized their foundations were a lie.
“I’m sorry, Beth. I’m so fucking sorry.” His voice wavered, now knowing the truth in why she left and what she’d thought of him these past few months. “God, if I had known that you saw... I explained everything to Charles and I made him swear to me to never tell Jane because I didn’t want you to know that she’d come there right after everything I had said to you. I wanted to apologize to you for what I said, but when we went to Jane’s apartment, she said you were already gone…” He paused to catch a shaky breath. “Maybe, if I had just told Jane…” He couldn’t even finish, but Beth knew where he was going;maybe if Charles had told Jane, Beth wouldn’t have left New York.“I thought you left because of what I said; I thought I’d finally gone too far and broken whatever remained between us…”
“I’d already forgiven you for that; that’s what I came to see you about that morning,” she whispered regretfully, finding it difficult to breathe with how much her heart ached. His thumb brushed the last, lone tear that trickled down her cheek; the subtle movement jarring her more recent memory, puzzlement spreading onto her face. “Why did she kiss you tonight?”
His jaw clenched again at the obviously distasteful reminder. “Because it was the first time she’s seen me in months; she wanted to change my mind on the restraining order.”
Her breath caught. “Are you getting one?” she blurted out.
“I already did – the day Charles and I found her at my place,” he said softly. “I told him everything, and how we had talked about the restraining order before, but with the wedding… He didn’t want to hear it; he took me, and Mrs. Grace, whom she threatened to let her in, down to the station himself to file; Charles was livid.” His eyes closed painfully, remembering how much the act had hurt his friend.
“But how…”
“Charles was furious, he said he didn’t care – that he wouldn’t invite her to the wedding because she’d gone too far. Jane talked him down – ‘Caroline is his sister’. So, I told him that I would be ok with her being there, that I wouldn’t report it if that’s what he wanted to do.”
Beth let out a shaky laugh. “Of course, Jane… ever the optimist, even when her sister-in-law is pure evil.”
“I couldn’t ask for more from Charles, after everything that he’s done for me…” Darcy trailed off as if there was more going on, but needed to finish telling her about what happened with Caro to absolve himself. “I was not expecting… that… from Caroline tonight. I can’t believe she approached me in front of everyone, where Charles could see; she’s so fucking insane. I tried to handle it discreetly – it’s her brother’s goddamn wedding for fuck’s sake and she couldn’t show just a little bit of respect.” He paused again, one hand moving to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Charles followed us in there, and then went in search of his parents who told her to leave, that she was no longer welcome.”
So, that’s what had happened.
“I see…” she murmured. Beth felt like her eyes had been opened directly into the bright sun after being in the dark for so long. The truth was bright, burning, and painful, and she found herself trying to blink through the discomfort because at some point in the future, it would feel better than living in the dark.
“God, Beth,”Darcy rasped, his hand returning to her cheek, his thumb gently rubbing the soft skin of her cheek. “I never wanted her -never,”he finished firmly, lifting her chin so that she could meet his equally emotional gaze – a gaze that no longer contained any sadness or regret, only an unwavering and potent desire. “All I ever wanted was you…”
In that moment, she knew that the past four months had done nothing to heal her heart from what she thought had happened – what either of them thought had happened. She needed Darcy; she needed to be with him – maybe not forever, maybe only for tonight; maybe as a beginning or maybe as the beginning of her closure on his chapter in her life.
After realizing the truth about their devastating misunderstanding, releasing the desire that hadn’t left either of them was the only way to continue to heal the brokenness that should have never been inside of her.
He had wanted her, but did he still…
She felt like she couldn’t breathe, watching him, waiting for him to make a move and decide their fate. His eyes bored into hers, searching in their depths for the truth in her words – whether she could possibly mean them.
That second or two felt like an eternity. She could see –and feel– his desire for her growing, his restraint fracturing exponentially with every second that passed.
“Beth Bennet,” Darcy said, his voice hard and hoarse. “If you don’t walk out that door right now, I will have you and I will have you so fucking hard because I’ve thought of nothing and no one else since the day that you left.”
She met the challenge in his eyes, standing unflinchingly as the need flared in his eyes and burned right through her.
“So then take me because I don’t think I’ll ever feel whole again until you do,” she whispered; she could feel the tension beating around them in time with the hammering of her heart. The thuds slowed, coming to a halt, as Beth held her breath.
His lips came slowly down to hers, giving her one last chance to run. Instead, she raised herself up on her toes, pressing her lips against his, needing to escape the walls she’d built around herself.
The truth set their desire free.
Chapter 14
Beth felt herself jammed up against the wall as his lips took hers. The hardness at her back was nothing compared to the hardness of the man in front of her. Her arms linked around his neck, trying to press herself even closer against the source of her need. His tongue delved into her mouth, conquering every corner of the sweet warmth hidden inside.
“I can’t… go slow…” he said hoarsely into her mouth. “Too long…” The dam of Darcy’s desire had broken, and Beth knew her lips, at the very least, would be bruised in the morning. His torso was on fire, everywhere she touched felt like a furnace.
