Page 100 of Third Time is the Charm
“Come and sit.” He motioned for her to sit between his legs. She sagged onto the bed, her legs crossed in front of her as she took her first bite. “Now relax.” His voice rolled over her just as his hands reached for her shoulders, beginning to massage her muscles.
She sighed deeply at the feeling of his hands working out the tension in her muscles. Her hand raised the spoon to her mouth methodically while the rest of her body focused on the magic his hands were creating. Finishing her snack, she reached over to set the empty container on the nightstand, looking at the clock; there was still an hour and a half before she needed to be downstairs for the ball.
She raised her eyebrow at Darcy whose hands had paused, holding her sides as she had bent to dispose of the carton.
“Lay back,” he said softly. “I’ll wake you in a half an hour.”
Beth bit her lip, relaxing back against the warmth of his chest and closing her eyes. His arms encircled her, protected and shielded her. And within moments, she was fast asleep in the comfort of his embrace.
As promised, the whisper of her name in her ear pulled her out of her slumber.
“Time to get up.” The deep rumble of his voice suggested that Darcy might have dozed off as well with her.
She moaned, turning her head to the side to peer out at the clock. Sure enough, she had just under an hour to get ready before she needed to be downstairs greeting guests with Colin.
She stilled for one more minute against him, enjoying the simple silence – the calm before the storm – that she felt with him. All she wanted was more days like this – more times like this. His fingers began to lightly stroke up and down her arms, a gentle reminder to stay awake.
“You know I’m more than ok with staying in bed with you all night, gorgeous,” he rasped.
Beth groaned, finding the strength to push herself up off of him to the edge of the bed. “Nice try.” She stood, the towel that had been wrapped around her coming loose and dropping to her waist. She quickly grabbed the fabric, tugging it back up to cover her chest. She peered over at him, unsurprised by the desire that was evident in his eyes, and the devious smirk that had spread over his face.
“Don’t tempt me,” he said. His hand shot out in an effort to grab her ass, but Beth quickly jumped forward and out of his reach, laughing to herself as she darted into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
With that smile still staining her lips, Beth quickly curled her hair with her straightener – not entirely pleased with the result –but that’s what happens when you fall asleep with your hair still wet.
Twisting the deflated curls into a loose knot, she pinned her hair up against the base of her neck. Peeking out the bathroom door to make sure Darcy wasn’t waiting to grab her – and ravish her – again, she walked over to the closet where the dry-cleaning bag hung that held her dress for the night.
The dress was simple and black. It was a work event, which was one of the reasons that she’d picked black; the other reason, well, the other reason wasn’t really a reason anymore and she wished she’d gone with some other deeper tone.
Humming to herself, she dropped her towel, stepping into the floor-length sheath through the opening in the back. She pulled up the front of the dress to cover her chest, reaching behind her neck to hook the halter straps together. From the front, everything about the dress was very conservative – the color, the length, the high neck. From behind though… her entire back was exposed with the deep cowl. The silken material flattered her frame; the open back elongated her torso and the halter straps showed off her arms.
She turned to walk back into the bathroom where the floor-length mirror was and almost ran into Darcy; she hadn’t heard him come in, but she should have known by the way her body was alert that he was there.
“Beautiful,” he said hoarsely, his eyes greedily taking in the sight of her.
“Thank you,” she replied, glancing over him. “You don’t look too bad yourself.” She bit the corner of her lip at her tease; ‘too bad’ was a gross understatement. Darcy was in a jet-black tux. The man looked like a sexier James Bond – and he looked like he hadn’t even noticed.
Beth ducked her head as heat rose into her cheeks. She bent over to grab her simple black pumps that she’d brought along to wear, swaying slightly as she went to slip them on; they were probably seven years old, but they’d held up so well and were such a classic that she could never justify buying a new pair. Darcy was immediately by her side; his hands on her waist to steady her. She felt the hardness of his body against hers as she maneuvered one foot and then the other into the heels.
“Thanks,” she said, standing up again; the movement placing her back flush against him. Beth enjoyed the almost imperceptible moan that escaped his lips, beginning to feel his erection growing against her hip.
A shiver licked up her spine as she felt the light touch of his fingers tracing along the cowl of the dress. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay here?” he murmured against her neck.
Beth turned in his arms, reaching her lips up to his. “You know you want this over with just as much as I do…” He grumbled at the slight truth in her assumption. “Later, you can convince me of whatever you want.” She gave him a brilliant smile before pulling from his arms, leaving him standing in the bedroom, tense with desire and dread.
Taking a look at herself in the mirror, she tossed on some nude lipstick, throwing the tube into her small clutch, and turned back to face him –and the night ahead.
“I’m ready,” she said softly.
“And if I’m not?” He laughed harshly, a thread of truth to his question. “Beth, you are sure—”
“Yes,” she said firmly, walking back over to him. “I’m sure.”
“I just don’t want anything to happen to you,” he said again, grimly.
“Nothing is going to happen to me,” she reassured him even though there was no way she could completely promise that. Her hand moved to rest on his arm, trying to calm his mind. “Darcy, I love you; I will always love your need to be my savior. But this isn’t really about you anymore – she has stalked me, attacked my job, threatened me… I need to face her and handle this once and for all.” She paused, staring into his dark, unconvinced and uneasy eyes. She sighed heavily. “Tonight, I don’t need you to be my knight in shining armor; tonight, I need you to hand me my sword and let me deal with Caroline.”
His eyebrows raised briefly at her words, before he nodded.Tonight, she would be in control – not hiding behind him on the sidelines, fearing the unknown; tonight, he would be there to support and protect her – but only if she needed him to.
