All that I want
Is to pick you up and out of that dress
Carry it to the depths
And feel the sin of your flesh
It's all that I want

"Elizabeth?"

"Darcy... Hi..." Lizzie waived shyly at him.

William had been swimming for a while until he saw a shadow standing next to the pool. He had stopped, removed his goggles and realized it was Lizzie.

Lizzie was flabbergasted when she saw him getting out of the pool. She remembered to keep her mouth close. Darcy had to work out; he could not have a body like his by just sitting at his desk.

He was not overly built, just the right amount. She had already seen his strong arms. His upper body was equally defined and she could discern the lines of his abs. Her eyes went southwards; his wet swimming trucks were glued to his robust thighs and ... Lizzie had to look away before it became obvious that she was checked him out.

William put his towel around his neck and instinctively walked towards her. He had noticed her examining him and was flattered.

Lizzie got nervous by his proximity; as she never imagined seeing her boss like that, wet and shirtless. She cleared her throat and said as steady as possible, "I thought you were coming back tomorrow."

"I was, but flew back today. I wanted to swim, but the pool at home is not usable at the moment, so I decided to come here. I thought everyone was gone already." He did not know why he was giving so many explanations.

"Well, not everyone."

Lizzie's eyes returned to the drops of water sliding on his neck and chest.

"Clearly."

William took another step in her direction, and he saw that her breathing became uneven and her cheeks were getting flushed, but did not move. He was torn between get even closer or do the reasonable thing and step back. He did the later.

"How was your trip?" she asked, desperate to change the mood.

"Oh… it is always good to see my sister. I missed her."

"I know what you mean."

As much as he wanted to stay with her for longer, William realized that he needed to go before doing something out of place.

"I should, mhmm, probably change and go home. It's getting late."

Lizzie woke up of a daze and responded clumsily, "Yes, I should go too. See you Monday, Darcy." She left as gracefully as possible, trying really hard not to think of Darcy's wet hot body.

William went into the changing room and had a cold shower. Distance had not helped, not at all. As soon as he had laid eyes on Lizzie again, everything that he tried to repress came back to him.

God damn it! He wanted Elizabeth Bennet, badly, and could not help it.

George arrived late the next day, and found Lizzie already in bed. He started to apologize but Lizzie complained that he should have texted or called when he knew that he was not coming back in time for their dinner. Sometimes, he was very unreliable. He then said that she could be very really demanding and hard to please. That night, George spent the night on the couch and Lizzie slept alone on their bed.

The next morning, she woke up with the smell of coffee and French toast. Soon after that, George entered with a tray. He apologized profusely and tried to make amends. However, Lizzie was still mad and spent the rest of her weekend focused on her work.

Every now and then, the image of Darcy at the pool would creep into her mind and distract her. She was surprised by the effect he had had on her and could not explain it. It was not like she did not have an equally attractive boyfriend, even if he drove her crazy.

Monday morning, while she was getting ready to go, George apologized again and even had with flowers. Lizzie thought that maybe their fight had been long enough and accepted the gift. George then kissed and hugged her in response and offered to have lunch with her after the presentation.

When William walked into the conference room, he was not surprised to see Elizabeth already there.

They greeted each other and tried to act as normal as possible after the event in the pool. William had not had a good night of sleep all weekend because Lizzie had been in and out of his dreams; and she felt ashamed by her "immature" reaction.

But as soon as the rest of the people arrived and the meeting started, they put those thoughts behind and focused on business.

The project of the mini series got everyone excited and on board. They were already talking about filming locations, auditions and other things.

"So, everything went as planned, don't you think?", Lizzie asked Darcy, very casual.

"Yes, all thanks to you, Elizabeth."

Lizzie blushed and replied, "No, it was team work, our work. And you can call me Lizzie, Darcy." She stood up and added, "I have a call with Elaine, I should go."

He could not describe how good it felt that he was allowed to call her Lizzie, outside his head.

"Lizzie, before you leave, I need to ask you something. Would you like to present the project to the board of directors with me?"

He had that idea after seeing how passionate she was and the effect she had on other people.

"Yes, of course, if you want me too." Lizzie was flattered by his request.

"Yes, I want them to meet who the writer is and witness your enthusiasm about the whole project."

"When is the meeting?"

"Next Monday. I want to thank you again for agreeing to take part in my idea, Elizabeth."

"Thank you for including me, Darcy. I have to go. See around."

"Bye, Lizzie."

The following Monday, Lizzie arrived early to her office. She was looking forward to the presentation despite the nervousness. It had taken her a while to choose an outfit and had finally decided for one of her favorite dresses. She worked on some pending issues, until it was time to go to the meeting.

When the doors of the elevator opened, a deep voice greeted her.

"Hello Lizzie."

"Oh, Darcy, hi!", she said as she stepped in.

Once again, Lizzie tried not to stare but it was difficult. He looked dashing in a light blue shirt, a dark jacket and beige pants.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes. I can't wait", and a genuine smile appeared on her face.

He took a minute to look at her. She was beautiful in a navy lace dress. In addition, her hair was curled and pulled to the side and he fought the urge to touch it.

The rest of the short ride was silent. They walked side by side until they reached the room where the meeting was taking place. Some of the attendees were already there, waiting for them.

"Showtime", William said close to Lizzie's ear and she almost trembled. She breathed deeply and entered the room, followed by him, ready to begin.

William and Lizzie's presentation was a success. It has been a long meeting because the board had been curious and had asked a lot of questions. At the end, the members were satisfied and eager to be updated about the developments of the mini series.

William had a little exchange with his Aunt Catherine before she left. She was always working, like him, and had not talked recently.

After that, it was just Lizzie and William in the room.

"So...", both spoke at the same time and laughed.

"You first", William said.

"I just wanted to say that everything went well and that we can finally start production."

William was delighted to hear that. He had not taken his eyes off her while she presented and had been engaged by her speech, even though he knew everything about the project. She was a natural storyteller and he was proud of having her in Pemberley.

"Your turn, William."

Had she really called him by his first name? He was taken aback.

"William?"

Lizzie lowered her gaze so he could not see her blushing.

"It seems it is about time I call you William, especially with all the work we have ahead of us."

The biggest smile appeared on his face and said, "I appreciate that, Lizzie."

Lizzie chuckled and added, "So?"

William braced himself to formulate his question.

"Do you want to get lunch with me? I think celebration is in order", his voice was only a bit uncertain.

"You read my mind. Let's go," and she smiled to him.

"I... I just need to do something. I will be back soon", and he walked out the room, ecstatic.

Lizzie was looking through the windows when she heard his steps.

"Shall we?", she said as she turned to face him.

He was standing there, with his hands in his pockets, wearing glasses.

Freaking hipster glasses. He looked sexy, even with those. Lizzie did not know if it was possible to blush even more than she had.

"You are wearing glasses…" Lizzie felt stupid as soon as the words left her mouth.

"Mmm, yes. My contacts were bothering me so I decided to take them of. Shall we?"

She nodded, took her purse and walked in his direction. He held the door open for her and then went together to the elevators. They had a light chat on their way to an Italian place close to Pemberley.

She was eating her pasta and trying not to choke because of William's jokes when it suddenly hit her that she liked him, as a man. He was the perfect gentleman, smart, funny and good-looking, among other things and she enjoyed his company and his conversation.

She did her best to conceal her sudden anxiety and behave as normal as possible for the rest of the lunch.

When they returned to Pemberley and each one went to their respective offices, Lizzie took immediate action. She was sure that her bestie would help her and give the answers she needed.

After their lunch, when William was back in his office, he removed his glasses and put his head in his hands as he finally allowed himself to acknowledge the two things he had discovered that day.

First, he liked very much the idea of Lizzie and lace. And second and most importantly, he had hopelessly fallen in love with her.

I have a playlist about this fanfic and the lyrics at the beginning belong to this song that inspired part of this chapter. You can find it here:

conijito dot tumblr dot com/post/52191525287/love-me-tender-love-me-true-c hapter-27-this

And Lizzie's dress is here:

conijito dot tumblr dot com/post/52191519589/love-me-tender-love-me-true-c hapter-27