Chapter 6


His mouth.

His hands.

His long lean body pressed against hers.

He was all consuming in a way Lizzie has never experienced before, not with any man. She felt light headed, but wasn't sure if it was from the wine, or his intoxication, which ever it was, she didn't care. She felt alive. Quickly though, she realized where she was, and what a bad impression she was making, but not wanting to stop, pulled on his lapels and led him towards the nearest door. They were still kissing and stumbling as they got to the corridor separating the kitchens from the ballroom and she pulled him again, this time towards the narrow staircase behind them.

The kitchens were in the ground floor east wing, and she knew that her room was only just above them, and that was her intended destination. He followed her lead without question, but halfway up the small darkened stair case Lizzie found herself suddenly pressed against the wall, his body pushing against her. His lips trailed fire from her lips, across her jaw and down her neck as she gasped for air, she had to bite back a moan and he grazed her pulse point with his teeth. Her eyes fluttered closed and his tongue swept across the fiery mark he had made and she guided his mouth back to hers without needing to look. She wriggled out from beneath his weight and continued their path up the stairs, breaking onto the second floor landing at the far end, closest to her room and farthest from the main stairs. She dragged him towards the door behind them, and she could tell when he clued into their destination because she was suddenly swept off of her feet and into his arms, his lips still crashing against hers, she could feel how swollen they were, but she didn't even care.

His kisses, his touches, were driving her crazy and at the same time felt like they were keeping her alive. She let herself fall into his control as he maneuvered them through the doorway and into the dark bedroom. The only light came from the moon behind the half closed drapes, and it was almost black inside. But as soon as the door swung shut behind them, she was back on her feet and pulling at his bowtie, his red bowtie, as if he had known the colour of her dress and come to match. But she knew he hadn't, she knew it was a coincidence … although some might call it fate.

In the dark room her nimble fingers were quick to shed him of his bowtie, jacket and shirt, all without breaking their kiss, and then those fingers were tracing across his skin, feeling the quiver of his lean muscles beneath her touch. She was almost disappointed that it was so dark, and that she wasn't able to see George's body, because beneath her hands it felt wonderful, and she was sure he would look as delicious as he felt. But with the room so black, all of her other senses were heightened, so this disappointment was quickly overshadowed by lust and desire as his tongue traced her ear lobe. His hands were at the back of her head, pulling the knot from her mask loose. She felt it come away from her head and couldn't help but mutter a warning "Be careful with it!" she said breathily, and she sensed, rather than saw him gently place the mask on the side table at his hand, before his mouth found hers again.

She had never felt so turned on from a kiss, and she trembled as his soft fingers traced up her neck and grasped the side of her face, as if to hold her close to him. She reached up and pulled his mask away as well, not that she could see him any better without it, but she could feel him now. She could feel his hands tracing up and down her back as he reached for the zipper of her dress, and felt him shudder a breath as she dragged her mouth away from his and, just has he had out on the stairs, feathers kissed all the way down to his pulse point, feeling it beating erratically against his skin.

"Elizabeth!" he whispered, his voice ragged and husky with desire.

"Shhh," she chided, then silenced him with another kiss. This was not the time for talking. She was utterly too turned on for anything else, but devouring him, and letting him devour her.

He finally pulled the zipper all the way down and she moved her arms to let the dress fall away, pooling around her feet. She slipped out of her shoes and stepped down. Sinking another few inches from his height, but he immediately bowed to accommodate for it and she couldn't help but appreciate that he was such a responsive lover.

They had moved far enough across the room that his legs were now up against the bed and she gently pushed on his shoulders to encourage him to fall onto it, which he did immediately. She heard his shoes clunk to the floor as he kicked them off and she crawled forward on top of him. She ran her hands up his body, feeling his soft skin, the sprinkling of chest hair and his softly defined muscles. A thought flashed through her mind of Will Darcy, and Jane's voice rang in her head "They're practically identical" she faltered.

No! She mentally chided herself, you will not think about Darcy right now. You're in bed with George, even if they are incredibly similar in physique… wait, was she admitting that they were similar. No!

But that thought was interrupted as George swiftly hooked his leg around her and used his weight to switch their positions. Now Elizabeth was lying on her back, and he was hovering above her, his warmth and a hint of his weight pressing her into the mattress. She reached up and swept her hands through his hair. It felt shorter than she thought it should, similar to... His head bowed and he captured her lips again, and that put death to her thoughts and she was engulfed only by her feelings of desire.

She unbuckled his belt and unfastened his pants, pushing them down his legs until he kicked them onto the floor, leaving him in only his underwear, which she could tell, as she skimmed her hands back up his body, were cotton boxer briefs. He'd somehow managed to remove her strapless brassiere so she lay almost completely naked beneath him, but it still wasn't enough. She wanted to feel his entire naked body against hers. Keeping to her rule of not talking, she lifted her hips from the bed and pushed her own panties down, kicking them off to join the rest of their clothes on the floor. He groaned at her action, and accepting it as the permission she was granting, quickly stood and removed his own remaining garments before falling back down to the bed with her, reclaiming her mouth.

What followed could only be called the most amazing sex of her life, he was responsive and intuitive and she didn't have to direct him or correct him once. He didn't speak, just like she didn't speak, and they filled the room with only the sounds of their bodies and their moans. Hers were unabashedly wanton, his were guttural and rough, and he brought her to the brink several times before he finally let her come crashing down with him.

Come undone, he dropped on top of her, but gently so as not to crush her, and Lizzie sighed in breathless contentment. She'd never expected that George Wickham would be such a selfless lover, never mind being such a responsive one. Rolling off to lay beside her, he drew her body into his arms, pulling her against him. She already felt herself lulling into sleep. She felt him pulling the blanket across them, and felt as he pressed a kiss to her temple, and then she was out like a light. Drifted into a peaceful sleep in his strong arms and he was not long to follow, happy to fall asleep holding her, having her so close to him was more than he'd ever hoped for.

She awoke the next morning due to the sunlight that was streaming in through the slit in the curtains, landing unapologetically right across her face. She was still partially wrapped in the strong arms that she'd fallen asleep in, his warm body was close enough to her that she could feel the heat on her skin as she lay spooned in his arms. She closed her eyes again just to savour the moment before it had to end. Because despite how amazing last night has been, and as much as she wanted a repeat performance, the fact was, she and George were still new to each other, and there was bound to be some awkwardness after they'd jumped into bed together for the first time.

After a few more minutes of enjoying the quiet she felt and heard him stirring, he was waking up. Eyes still closed she rolled over with the loose circle of his arms to snuggle closer to him, and he tightened his grip as she nuzzled closer to his neck. He moaned, as her hand found purchase on his chest, he shifted his head to place a kiss atop hers, before murmuring a good morning, right into her ear.

"Good morning Elizabeth," his sleepy voice resonated, and suddenly she was frozen in his embrace. The voice, now that it was not addled with lust and breathlessness, was not what she was expecting. Cautiously, hoping it was her imagination playing tricks on her she lifted her head, opened her eyes and looked up to meet his face. His strong jaw, chiseled cheeks and warm… chocolate coloured eyes… without warning to his sleepy demeanor she shot backwards out of the bed, grasping at the sheet as she went. She was halfway across the room as she screamed his name.

"DARCY?"

She felt sick, she was beyond confused, and he was just staring at her, as if she were the crazy one.

"Elizabeth?"

"What the hell is going on?" She cried, gripping the sheet closer to her, as she was painfully aware, naked body.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what are you doing in my bed? Naked?" she cried, as if it were obvious. She looked around quickly and took in her surroundings. Things were slightly off in here, the windows were further apart, and the view was slightly off center, the bed was facing the wrong way.

"This isn't even my room!" she cried now. Darcy opened his mouth to talk, but she cut him off with a loud curse, and he stuttered, shocked because in all the time he'd known her, she'd never cursed before. Then, before he could get his bearings, she ran away. Straight out into the hall in nothing but a sheet!

He quickly made to follow her, stumbling out of the bed and grasping for clothes, any clothes! At first he came up with her dress, then her panties before he finally found his pants, pulling them on to follow her. He grabbed the t-shirt from the love seat and chased her out into the hall, straight into the open door of the bedroom next door, but found it empty, the sheet from his bed lying on the floor. He turned on his heel and bolted towards the stairs, whizzing past Charles who was half way down.

"Darce!" He called after him "What on earth is going on?"

But he didn't answer, just continued his path through the kitchens and out the kitchen entrance to the back of the house, just in time to see her car peel around the building and speed away.