Page 60 of Second Chances
Oh, no? Would something happen to him, too? Because he still loves her?
No, shut up, Beth.
She set her fork down and took another sip of wine. The thought wouldn’t leave her alone, causing her doubts and uncertainties about their relationship to take hold of her emotions, and left her feeling nauseous.
“I’m sorry, I can’t understand. So, you’re saying that you’re basically just going to watch and wait and hope she gets bored and leaves you alone. Oh, and if she does do something, you’re just going to let her get away with it because it’s too complicated to put a stop to?” she asked, heatedly, recoiling slightly from the surprising vehemence in her tone.
His gaze would have broken a weaker man; the anger burning in his eyes at her accusations and questions was palpable. Beth swallowed hard, but she couldn’t have stopped the words from tumbling out even if she had wanted to.
“What about protecting yourself and someone you love is complicated? Unless it’s only complicated because you still love her.” Her voice broke on her last words, unable to control the torrent of emotions inside of her. She barely saw his eyes widen in shock at what she had said before it was too much to handle. “Excuse me, I need to go to the ladies’ room,” she said thickly, willing ever fiber in her being to hold in her emotions for just a few seconds longer as she tried to rush inconspicuously from the table.
The tears of hurt and anger broke through her defenses just as she pushed open the door to the ladies’ room, locking it behind her. Even though she let the tears fall, she was unwilling to let herself fall apart.
It was everything that had happened today coming to a head, she knew that. The stalking, the threats, Darcy’s apparent willingness to let things go unchecked, but mostly the seeds of doubt that all of these things had sown had overpowered her and she had lashed out.
There was a knock on the door. Quickly wiping her eyes dry, she took a deep breath, preparing to go back out to the table and finish what she had started. Walking over to the door, she had no sooner opened it than Darcy pushed inside, locking it behind him. She gaped at him as he stalked towards her, backing her up against the wall. His hand came up to grasp her chin, capturing her gaze with his.
Boy, she was in for it now.After what she had said to him, what she had implied, her breath caught, waiting for the hammer to fall.
“Beth Bennet, I love you. I love you beyond all imaginable reason. I would give my life for you, for yours, in a heartbeat becauseyouare the only reason that my heart beats. I will dowhateverit takes to protect you from anyone, includingher,don’teverdoubt that.If anything happened to you,I don’t… I don’t even know.” His heart-wrenching words paused here, his voice catching on the too-overwhelming thought of being without her. “I’m sorry if what I said or didn’t say gave you the wrong impression but I swear to you, everything I’m doing, I’m doing to protect you even if I can’t fully explain it to you right now; I’m begging you to trust me.”
Her tears had begun to fall at his painfully sweet words. His confession was raw with emotion, the type of emotion that he always preferred toshowher rather than to say butdamn,he really did have a way with words when he tried.
This time, when he looked her in the eyes, she saw no anger, only remorse and his need for her forgiveness and love.
“I do trust you,” she whispered. “I just hate feeling like we are helpless pawns in whatever game she is playing.”
“I will put an end to this, I promise,” he said sincerely, wiping away the tears staining her cheeks, “Legally, or otherwise, I won’t let her hurt you. I won’t let her come between us.She means nothing to me, Beth, you have to believe me.”
His tortured entreaty was the healing salve on her aching heart. She heard it in his voice, she saw it in his face, just how much he was desperate for her to believe him. She didn’t think she’d ever seen him so vulnerable to his emotions before.
“I believe you; I love you,” she whispered, still in awe of how vulnerable he was and how unbelievably much her heart and love swelled for him because of it.
“I love you so much, don’t ever doubt how important you are to me.Ever.”His words came out harshly in a show of their significance, his eyes glistening with emotion and a glimmer of unshed tears
“Show me.” The words came, unbidden, straight from her heart, as her love and longing reflected in her gaze.
His eyes widened momentarily, surprised at her request, before he gently tilted her chin up and, acquiescing to her demand, claimed her mouth with his.
Darcy kissed her softly, reverently, mirroring the tenderness of his words. She moaned into his mouth, her arms coming up around his neck. He kissed her, pulling the soft fullness of her lower lip into his mouth, gently sucking on the tender skin; his tongue begged entrance into her mouth, gently caressing hers when she opened for him on a sigh.
There wasn’t the immediate, overwhelming burn of desire; this time, he gently stoked the fire of her passion, making love to her mouth, pouring all that he had promised her into that kiss. She relished it, his tenderness, in those first few moments but, as much as she loved and appreciated his restraint, she didn’t need him to take it slow, she just neededhim.
She could feel the thick, hardness of his erection straining against her stomach. Running her hand down swiftly over the firm planes of his chest and stomach, she grasped his bulging member through his pants. His hips jerked in her hand as his head pulled back, sucking in a sharp breath of air.
“Beth,”he groaned, his eyes closing as the pleasure of her touch rocketed through him. “I can’t hold on when you do that…please...” His gaze burned with barely checked passion.
After such a sequence of tumultuous events, after holding in her emotions all day, she needed to lose herself in him, in her love for him. She didn’t care that they were locked in the women’s bathroom; she needed his exquisitely uncontrolled desire, to be one with him.
“Darcy, I don’t need you to hold on, I needyou.”She emphasized her point by rubbing his erection suggestively, eliciting another strained groan from him. “I need to know that I am yours,” she continued as she leaned in to kiss his jaw line over to his ear. “I need you to fuck me,” she finished, biting on his earlobe.
Darcy growled in response, claiming her mouth once again, this time desire blazing, searing brightly between them as he pressed her back against the bathroom wall. Beth responded with equal fervor, her tongue dueling with his as her hand worked vigorously to free his arousal from the constraints of his pants.
His hand dropped down to squeeze her ass before hiking her one leg up around his hip, her skirt bunching up to accommodate her new position. His movement paused, a shudder racing through his body as Beth finally managed to loosen his pants and work her hand inside to grasp his bare erection, burning hot and hard against her palm. His weakness was momentary as his finger barely moved aside her underwear before delving deep inside her hot, slick folds. She moaned against his mouth, her hips undulating against his hand.
“Shh,” he whispered brokenly, “they can hear us.”
Beth bit her lip trying to muffle her reaction, the act of which only heightened her desire. She felt his thumb against her clit as two fingers worked the inside of her passage, massaging that tender spot until she couldn’t even tell if she was making noise or not.
