**I apologize in advance that this chapter is so long. I was going to break it up into two parts but couldn't decide exactly where to stop (Just like Will it seems!). Besides, I feared I was going to be lynched if I didn't let Darcy have his time on the stage. Next chapter will be the benefit. I can't for some reason put links in a posting for you to pick out her dress.

Dizzy Lizzy and Julianabr - backless is definitely the way to go. Still looking for the right inspiration, but I have narrowed it down. Instead of black, it is navy. Blue is his favorite color :)

Meralien - Thanks for the wicked idea. I definitely will incorporate it. I immediately thought of a scene where Elizabeth is going to try to teach Will to make his own cookies :) It might be a stand alone after I finish the story, we will see :)

Several of you took my comments in the last chapter in the wrong way. E & D will have their HEA! I've never written any fan fiction w/ them and not given it to them. I wouldn't start with this story.

The Doll Chapter 6 - Day 10 - Day 20 May 27 - June 7

Elizabeth tried not to take it personally when Darcy came home for the third night in a row and went directly to his lab without so much as a word to her. Dinner was progressing in the oven and she had opened a bottle of wine to breathe. The deep aroma of meat and vegetables of her beef stew permeated the entire penthouse and she hoped it would entice him to join her. After the first couple of days together, his presence at dinner had been rather hit or miss. She sighed, nursing her wine, more miss than hit. Refusing to allow morose thoughts to fill her when he might still join her, she lit the candles in the antique candleholders she'd inherited from her grandmother. It had been a shame when she had put them into storage when she moved into her tiny apartment. She'd brought them here as her very own good luck charms.

Her eyes strayed to the locked lab door. Should she interrupt him and ask him to come in for dinner? Maybe tell him that she was feeling lonely tonight? She wondered if he was enjoying the charms of his doll while she sat here waiting for him. She'd never thought it possible, but she realized she was quite jealous of the time he devoted to Xy. Was she really so pathetic? She drank deeply from her glass. She had to remain focused on the carrot he dangled in front of her every day. And, what a carrot it was! Attached to his delectable body. Perhaps, she was looking at this the wrong way. After all, if he was spending so much time with Xy, it meant that he was working on getting them closer to what she wanted.

Her cell phone chimed. "What are you doing, Aphrodite?"

She rolled her eyes. Vince was such a menace. "Drowning my sorrows in a nice Merlot. You?"

"Wishing I was drowning in you." She laughed out loud. Vince was a pleasant diversion. One that did not require the heavy thinking her new roommate inspired.

The over buzzer went off. She smirked, laying her cell phone aside to slide on an oven mitt. Turning, she pulled the homemade rolls from the oven. Turning back, she realized she was not alone. Darcy had emerged from his lab and was propping up the doorway, watching her with the oddest expression on his face. Joy at seeing him blossomed in her chest.

"Dinner is ready. Do you want me to make you a plate to take back to the lab?" She tried to remain ambivalent, "Or, do you have time to join me?"

"I have time to join you." He nodded to her cell phone. "You seem happy. Good news?"

"Not really news of any sort." She gingerly placed the rolls in the waiting bread basket. "Just some silliness."

"Silliness? Must be Garter Guy again." A flush tore through her, like she'd been caught doing something wrong. Like stealing. Or cheating. He sauntered toward her, stopping to lean over the island. Stunned, she watched as he turned her phone so he could check her message.

A ping sounded loudly as another message was received. He frowned. Then in a conversational tone, Darcy let her know. "Garter Guy wants to know if you have plans for dinner tomorrow night."

"His name is Vince, Will." She put the cooking sheet in the sink, the mitt back on its hook.

"Well, let's not keep Vince in suspense." He positioned his fingers over the small keys of her Smartphone. "What should we tell him?"

"I think I prefer to deliver my own messages, thank you." Their contract only specified she couldn't have sex with other guys. It actually gave her room for a lot of suspect behavior if she was inclined to misbehave.

"Don't say no on my account. That is, if you intended on saying no." He consulted the little screen. "After all, drowning in one's sorrows doesn't necessarily smack of your contentment."

He rolled his thumb over the screen accessing the rest of the chain of conversation with Vince. She thought back through her provocative responses to Vince's earlier texts and squirmed. They'd been at it ever since she'd moved in with Darcy. There had to be hundreds of not-so-innocent and flirtatious texts.

"We're old family friends." She offered as his silent inspection continued.

Darcy made an unattractive sound as his mouth screwed upward.

"Give me my phone back, Will." Elizabeth demanded holding out her hand. Guilt was rapidly becoming anger at this invasion of her privacy.

"I am shocked Elizabeth, that you'd associate with a man who misquotes both Whitman and Shakespeare. In today's age, it shows an inherent laziness on his part. Tell me, are you so easily impressed?" He shook his head. "He should be ashamed of himself. Poetry is suppose to be 'the food of love.' Where is his imagination?"

Darcy's criticism of Vince needled her. "Not every man can be a brilliant savant like you."

"He should have chosen Matthew Arnold for you, instead of Whitman." He shut his eyes, reciting, "'Come to me in my dreams, and then by day I shall be well again. For then the night will more than pay for the hopeless longing of the day.'"

Darcy held out her phone. She reached for it, but it had been a ruse. In a swift, sweeping movement of his arm, she was propelled forward against his chest. Her phone dropped unceremoniously to the floor. She pushed roughly against his chest, but he made no move to release her. He told her , "Flirt as much as you want. As long as you realize your old friend isn't going to make you come anytime in the near future. I am." His hand wove in her hair. "You're mine for the next ninety days."

Feeling the effects of the three glasses of wine she'd consumed, she said, "You mean eighty days, Will. You've already burned up 10 days. Tick Tock."

Darcy let her go as quickly as he had pulled her to him. "Since you obviously have someone to keep you company for the evening, I'm going back to the lab. I have important work to do."

Huffing, Elizabeth bent down and picked up her phone. It was thankfully not broken.

Darcy turned in the doorway and seemed, for him at least, agitated. "See, this is why I wanted to create Xy. She is going to do what I want when I want and I won't be in my lab worrying about her being bored or wondering what she is doing and who she is doing it with."

"It sounds as if the two of you will be exceptionally happy together." Elizabeth moved into the dining room. Her festive tablecloth and place settings mocked her. She blew the candles out.

"What are you doing?"

"Since you don't want dinner and I've lost my appetite, I'm putting dinner away."

"You're not going to eat what you made?"

"No, I don't think I am." She grabbed the plates from the table and carried them back into the kitchen stacking them neatly in the cabinets.

"I told you not to go through all the trouble of making elaborate meals - "

"It's no trouble when I love to cook." She grabbed storage containers from the cabinet and started ladling the stew into them from the stove. "The kitchen is my lab, Will. Do you understand? I like to try new things. Experiment. Create new tastes. Just like you try new things in your lab." She sighed, stopped. "My dream has always been to someday open my own restaurant. The money you're giving me is going to make that a reality."

"Is that wise?" He asked from the kitchen doorway, "To invest all the money into a business, when nearly half fail in their first year? You'd be better off investing the money in something worthwhile like stocks or real estate."

Something worthwhile? Elizabeth wondered if he had been so blatantly honest with his sister before she started her company. It hurt her more than she cared to acknowledge that he obviously did not have any faith in her. "Maybe, I'm talented enough to succeed. Like your sister did. Like you did." She'd blame the stress of living with him for the tears streaming unchecked down her cheeks. She was clearly drunker than she thought she was. She sobbed frustrated with the situation, frustrated with him and frustrated with being frustrated in general.

"I was trying to be helpful, Elizabeth."

"Maybe I don't want you to be quite so helpful at the moment." Reaching down, she grabbed a roll from the basket on the counter. She launched it in his direction smacking him squarely on the forehead. Shock spread across his face as he raised a hand to the spot where he had been hit. A reaction. It felt good to see it. She threw another one at him but he dodged it, moving forward to her. Before she could chuck a third one at him, he caught her arm and they struggled.

Eventually, he pinned her on her back like a specimen flat against the island counter. She didn't want him touching her. She told him so.

"Calm down." He ordered. She felt like a child whose parent had to address a temper tantrum. He softly repeated, "Calm down." He did not release her. Instead he transferred both of her wrists into one of his hands. Her arms were stretched high above her head. He made a shushing sound as his finger traced her cheek, erasing the evidence of her tears. Sighing, he lowered himself slowly until they were stomach to stomach. "I never meant to upset you, Elizabeth."

She turned her head trying to avoid looking at him. "You didn't. I'm drunk."

"Why do you do that?" His free hand cupped her chin, turning it firmly so she had no choice but to meet his eyes. To be so emotional while he remained cool and collected made her feel unequal. "Why do you lie about how you feel? This can only work between us if you are honest with me."

"Fine. Honestly, Will, you are an insensitive ass sometimes. Now get off me." Elizabeth bucked against his weight, but it was as ineffective as an ant trying to move a boulder. The only thing her efforts achieved was to bring her the stunning realization contrary to his calm exterior he was aroused. Seriously aroused. He shifted, obviously trying to find a more comfortable position, but it gave her a whole new appreciation for what he was packing. Carrot? More like a cucumber. A long, satisfying cucumber.

"Oh, Elizabeth, I do so like the feel of you underneath me." He shut his eyes, shifting again. Groaning, he kissed her gently. It was exactly as she remembered from the night at her apartment. His tongue and hers danced. Slowly, sensually. Her toes curled, and the room began to spin. She was grateful she was laying down.

Suddenly, Darcy pulled back gasping like someone who had been underwater too long. He stood up, his shoulders slumped, as if he were defeated. "Xy is nowhere near ready. In truth, I'm a week behind where I wanted to be at this juncture of our experiment do to flaws in her design."

A week behind? He could not be serious. How could he already be behind? She sat up in shock, twisting to face the opposite direction. Her first reaction was to tell him to forget his stupid doll. If she was this much trouble, she clearly was not worth it. But seeing the desperately unhappy look on his face, she stopped herself. He believed he needed Xy in some fundamental way. Demanding he give her up to join her in the real world, in a real bed, was something that was going to require a good deal of finesse.

*(*

The next day, Jane finally returned her call. After teasing her sister for neglecting her, Elizabeth listened with real interest as her sister described the first leg of her honeymoon on Darcy's estate in England.

"Elizabeth, you'd love it here. I've never seen a place for which nature had done more, or where natural beauty had been so little changed."

"Not that I imagine you and Charles spent much time pursuing outdoor activities." She could hear her sister's blush across the ocean. "So be honest, how is married life?"

"Wonderful. More than wonderful." Jane sighed in contentment. "How are things with you?"

"Good." Elizabeth felt better about the Xy situation after a night's rest and breakfast with Darcy.

"Lizzy, you know mom said something I thought was rather odd when I spoke with her this morning." She'd given up a long time ago trying to figure out how her mother's mind worked and said so. Jane laughed, then questioned, "She said that you went out with Will the day after the wedding. I thought she must be mistaken because you dislike him, but she was quite adamant. Did you really go on a date with him?"

"It wasn't a date, Jane. Will had a job offer he wanted me to consider." Elizabeth pause.

"Really? A job? What are you doing for him?"

"I'm cooking for him." It was not technically a lie.

"He hired you to be his private chef ? Oh, that's amazing, Lizzy! I wonder why he never mentioned it to Charles when they spoke this morning." Elizabeth shut her eyes. She couldn't believe that they had not discussed what they were going to tell the newlyweds. "I can't believe all that he has done for me and Charles. And, now this. Will is such a serious man, I sure hope you aren't teasing him too much."

Elizabeth looked at the receiver. She wanted to tell her sister she wasn't the one doing the teasing. As she was thinking about an appropriate response, the door to her bedroom sprang open and the man himself barged in without knocking. "Elizabeth, I've had a breakthrough! I'm ready for the next set of comparison tests. We can get started right now."

Holding up a hand to stop him, she covered her cell phone quickly but the damage was done.

Jane had heard Darcy. "Are you with him right now?"

She glared at him. He glared right back, pointedly. She knew he thought she was talking to Vince again. She mouthed "Jane" and pointed to her cell phone before she told her sister, "No, of course not, Jane. You must have heard the television. What would I be doing with Will in the middle of a Thursday night?"

He crossed his arms in front of him seriously displeased. She wondered which had caused the behavior her holding up her hand and asking him to wait or the fact she was lying to her sister. Well, he'd lied to his sister telling her all that nonsense about how he had fallen in love with her. Then, she winced. If Jane and Georgie ever met in the future, their house of lies would come crumbling down. She'd worry about all that later. Luckily for her, Charles evidentially could not bear to be parted from Jane long and her sister told her that she had to go. She'd call back soon.

"You need to learn to knock, Will." Elizabeth threw her cell phone on her bed in exasperation and turned to face him. "You said you had a breakthrough?"

"We can finally start the next round of comparison tests." He actually smiled at her. "Take off your shirt. I need to feel your breasts."

Feel her breasts? Elizabeth nearly whimpered. "Alright." She could do this! She really could. She would be the epitome of professional. Cold and clinical. Like him. Pulling her t-shirt over her head, she reached behind her unhooking her bra grateful she'd put on one of her prettier ones.

Darcy stood looking at her and she could not stop her body from heating up under his gaze. Why had she ever felt his staring was weird? Now that she knew he liked what he saw, it made her feel sensual. Powerful. Vince may have called her Aphrodite, but Darcy was the one who made her feel like she was a Greek Goddess.

Finally, he moved toward her. Her pulse accelerated with each step in her direction. Instead of stopping in front of her as she thought he would, he circled her. Stood behind her. The anticipation built in her.

"Every time I think there is no possible way you could be any more beautiful, I am amazed to find I am wrong."

From behind her, he rested his hands on her waist. His fingers drifted up her sides, fanning slowly over her ribs pausing at each, before sweeping upward over her beasts, cupping them both at the same time. She gasped, overcome by sensation.

Slowly, he turned her to face him. He took possession of her lips. A hand met her waist but then moved to her derriere pulling her tightly against him as the kiss deepened. She gave herself over to the pleasure of him. As quickly as the kiss had flamed, she felt him retreating. His hand slid up from her bottom back to her waist. His hands had returned to their original assignments smoothing and weighing.

After a long and thorough exploration of her chest, he left her to return to Xy. Elizabeth had to sit on her bed before she could get her knees to stop shaking. Finally, she got herself together.

*(*

Darcy rubbed his temples. "Meira, all of the digital samples are terrible."

"Terrible, Dr. Darcy? Please quantify."

"Nothing, Meira. Delete all the sound wave files associated with XY Project."

"All, Dr. Darcy? Are you sure?"

"Meira, delete them all." He ran a hand through his hair. What had seemed acceptable less than a month ago, now seemed disappointing.

"Deleted."

"Where is Dr. Avery's progress with my working notes on his recording devise?"

"Email received two days ago Dr Darcy. Did you not read it?"

His eyes drifted to the lab door. Was she talking to Vince right now? Time, where was it going? Tick Tock. He checked his watch. Dinner would be ready soon.

"Dr. Darcy?"

The desire to be in her orbit was starting to effect his concentration in his lab at home and at work. "Read email from Dr. Avery."

"An upgrade as you are requesting will put the recording project back an estimated four months. I suggest that we - "

"End message, Meira." He yanked on his tie, taking it completely off. "Delete email." He didn't have four months. "Has Dr. Shindler synthesized silk sample fourteen?"

"Sample will be available in three weeks. Will you require more tests on the finished product?"

"No. It is as close as I can get with the timeline I have. I will have to be satisfied with it." Darcy balled his tie on the table. Of the thirty samples he had requested, the fourteenth one had best approximated her hair. Approximated, because, how would anything feel like the silk of the real thing. At least the sample didn't smell plastic. "Where are we with the iris colors I requested two weeks ago?"

"Onscreen, Dr. Darcy."

He swiped his hand over the touch screen. "None of them will work. None meet the specifications I requested."

"Dr. Darcy, my scan indicates you only looked at twelve of the fifteen selections."

He looked heavenward. "Delete them, Meira. I will keep what I have even though I am seriously displeased."

"Iris samples deleted." There was a silence as the computer waited his next instructions. He sighed. "Check the DARPA initiative folder. Has the team created working notes on my latest proposal for the drone?"

"Yes. Would you like them onscreen?"

"No." He glanced at his watch. "They will keep until morning."

Darcy pulled back from his computer station and crossed over to where Xy was kept in her pod. Entering the code, the lid slid up and into the wall. He pulled back the sheet with great reluctance. Xy's breasts, which had been a source of pride, were now a source of agitation.

The areolas were rosy-tipped. All wrong. He now knew Elizabeth's were the color of sweet caramel. Her nipples were eraser shaped nubs that fit under his thumb perfectly. Xy's were way too long. He put a hand to his forehead calculating how long it would take to correct the flaw. It would be two weeks if he pulled the best silicon specialist he currently had assigned to the DARPA project. Three weeks before the breasts could be augmented with the correct coloring if he used anyone else. The right breast should be a fraction larger than the left. He frowned knowing how Meira would react to that request. Unable to avoid it, he touched the breasts realizing that Xy's were too firm. Elizabeth's were more natural and soft.

Aggravated, he pulled the sheet back into place. Every step forward had become two steps back. The lump of silicon before him could only disappoint. How could he have ever believed it would be able to replace her? Nothing could replace the supple, feminine woman he could hear moving around in the rooms next to him. He glanced at the door, then his watch. Fifteen more minutes before he could rejoin her.

That had been his big breakthrough. Xy was a complete and utter failure. She would never be equal to the original so why pour so much effort into trying to make the components perfect.

After returning to the lab with Elizabeth's kiss fresh on his mind the night he found her texting Garter Guy, he had kissed Xy. The lips and the artificial tongue had moved in the pre-programmed way but now it felt all wrong.

He moved to the bank of windows in his lab and looked out. How had it come to this? He was hiding in his lab. Marking the passage of time until it would seem reasonable to return to her. He couldn't let Elizabeth know the project was ruined. He had convinced her it was all in the name of science. That had been the only reason she had signed the contract. Now, without that excuse, she would leave him.

Darcy couldn't have that. He desperately didn't want her leaving. In the few weeks they had lived together, he'd gotten use to having her around. He liked having her close by. He liked being cared for by her. He liked her nagging him. He liked being quiet with her.

Darcy checked his watch. Ten minutes before he could join her for dinner. She had told him when he arrived home from work that she was making them spinach lasagna. She'd bought some sort of pasta machine and she was excited to try it out. She was so alive and vibrant standing in his kitchen; the smell of cheese, garlic and sauce surrounding her. Her face pink from the heat of the stove. If he couldn't join her, she'd leave him leftovers in the fridge. Either way, she looked up smiling, her eyes bright, she couldn't wait for him to taste it.

Darcy groaned. He wanted to taste something alright. He could see it so clearly - lifting her up on the kitchen island, peeling her out of her jeans so he could part her legs, dip a tongue into her red velvet sweetness. He knew she would offer no resistance to him. She'd made it quite clear she was interested in sex. God help him, but he was too! But, wouldn't she suspect something if he just suggested they skip ahead to the sex trials?

Darcy's watch beeped, alerting him that it was finally time to join her. With a sense of relief that was foreign, he left the lab. Sharing dinner with her by candle light was the favorite part of his day. She informed him how Steve, his concierge, and Paul, his partner, had finally been approved to adopt a child. They were going to have a small gathering which she was going to cater for free. It was going to be their gift to the couple. Did he mind? He told her no. Would he go with her? If she wished, he would. She smiled. Oh, did he know that Magda in 4B was dating again. A boy half her age. He had no idea who Magda was, but he hung on her every word.

There was a new stylist at her salon. Elizabeth had an appointment the following morning. She was considering getting low lights whatever that was for his uncle's benefit, but she wasn't sure. He told her to do as she wanted, but he hoped she did not want to cut her hair. She assured him she wouldn't.

After dinner, he followed her to the kitchen where she tidied up from their meal. She refused his help saying he would only be in her way, but if he wanted, he could keep her company. She looked so domesticated in the little apron tied about her waist fluttering around his kitchen.

"How's Xy coming?"

He ran a hand over the back of his neck. She paused wrapping their leftovers. Her voice adopted that sensual huskiness to which he was growing increasingly sensitive. "Is there anything I can do?" She looked so very eager. Eager for him.

A man was only born with so much self-control and his had been exhausted. It had been less than three weeks! How would he feel as they closed in to the end of three months? She put the leftovers in his refrigerator and then came to him. Sighing, she turned and linked her hands around his neck, "Is it time to endure more of your horrible experiments?"

No, he almost admitted. No experiment. This was a personal request. Entirely personal. There was no point trying to convince himself otherwise. "Kiss me, Elizabeth."

"The things I do for science." She sighed dramatically. When she pulled away, doubt clouded her lovely face. "You didn't like it?"

It wasn't that he hadn't liked it. It was more like her offering had not been enough. It had all the quenching power of a thimbleful of water to a thirsty man. And, he was thirsty for her. So very thirsty. "I want to kiss like we did earlier."

Understanding washed over her. She made the trip again, brushing herself against him like a satisfied cat. Before she united their lips again, she whispered sultrily, "You mean like this."

Minutes later, Darcy surfaced breathless. He knew he was starting to delude himself. Fantasize. Pretend. Both scary premises for a man firmly planted in the hard truths of science. The fantasies were all centered on the same theme, that she was living with him, not for any other reason but because she simply wanted to be. Not for the money. Not for the sex. But, for him.

Space had drifted between them as he was thinking. He framed her face with his hands, meeting her quizzical gaze. She did not speak. It was strange that someone who loved to talk as much as she did seemed to understand he needed his quiet time. After a few moments, she placed her hands on his making the connection between them more solid.

Moved, Darcy rained soft kisses against her. Everything he could touch - her forehead, her cheek, her nose, her mouth, her chin. She arched back giving him access to her neck, the exposed v left by her blouse enticed him lower. It was not enough. These little snatches of skin she bared to him. He slipped a button open on her blouse, then another and another until the garment slid forgotten to the floor. The vibrant red bra filled his field of vision. Like a bull, he bellowed low in his throat.

In his haste, he tore the scrap of cloth from her. He felt slightly possessed as his mouth closed around the harden nub of her breast. Nothing could make him want her more. Then, he heard her cry of pleasure. Desire for her notched inexplicitly higher. He moaned. She made him feel alive, as if he were waking after a long sleep.

"Fuck me, you're good at this."

Elizabeth being vulgar was another turn on. He felt her hands in his hair, tugging at his curls. On and on it went, he was anxious to discover what she liked, what combination of tongue and touch, that made her lose control. She shook in his arms, swaying on unsteady legs. He picked her up depositing her on the island. Their island. Moving from breast to breast not wanting to slight either. Her moans became louder. With a hand, he parted her denim encased legs, moving in between them, then guiding them to wrap round him. He needed to be closer to her. To feel more of her. To have her completely around him.

"Oh, my God." She grinded against him, imitating sex. Her frenzied, whispered encouragement made him dizzy. His eager mouth widened wanting to have more of her. Ever more of her. Her hands were working on his shirt before he helped her by pulling it off. She rubbed her hands over his chest, inching closer to the edge of the counter, "Kiss me, Will."

Darcy could not ignore such a request. The need to please her was paramount. Their bodies pressed together, the weight of her soft breasts against his solid chest an interesting sense of satisfaction all its own. He flattened her back to the tabletop. Memories of the last time they were here merged with the present. Elizabeth moved beneath him, undulating, agile brushes of her body against his felt so natural, so right.

"Fuck me." Her new request caused ripples of panic. Her legs tightened around his waist as if she knew it would. Her hand trailed down between them. Stopped on him. Down there. "Right here. Right now."

Darcy pulled back from her again, watching almost in a daze as her hands went to work on his belt. He was going to stop her. In just a minute. The desire stamped on her face was like a drug to him.

He felt her tug on his waistband, felt his button free, he heard the unmistakable sound of his zipper unzipping. He was going to stop her. Just a moment more.

They'd need a condom. He'd carry her to his bedroom. He had boxes waiting for them.

Her tender search for him in his briefs brought him back to the present. Felt her warm fingers brushed his shaft, before they worked themselves into industrious strokes. Each flicker of her skin against his penis causing his body to tighten, to jut, to jerk.

The pleasure of her face as she smiled up at him. As there was nothing she'd rather be doing but this. As if his sounds of pleasure, excited her too. "I want you inside me, Will."

The suggestion of him buried deep inside of her was too much. It was too much pleasure. Too quickly. And, to his horror, he ejaculated. Right there. In her hand. And, all over her magnificent breasts.

17