Chapter 3 ~ wherein we learn about Charlotte's decision to forego her career for her man.
She was sitting on the warm sand with her sketch book on her lap. The weather was perfect: a hot, sunny day that was kept just this side of scorching by the cooling breeze that came off the water, bringing with it the smell and taste of salt. She had succumbed to the lure of the sun and had taken off her t-shirt, and was now wearing only a red bikini top and white denim shorts.
Funny, she didn't own a pair of red bikinis.
She felt his presence before she heard him. She tried to ignore him for as long as she could. The gall of the man! He knew she came out to these dunes to sketch and it was clear that he was here just to distract and annoy her. Just because his friend's house was on this beachfront did not mean that he owned this beach. She had as much, or more, right to be here as this rude, arrogant man.
She could feel him behind her, and she stiffened as he kneeled on her beach towel. He didn't say a word to her, but reached out and ran his fingers lightly along her shoulder then down her arm. She continued sketching, refusing to acknowledge him as his fingers grew bolder and more assured, tracing her shoulder blades, back up over her shoulders, along her collarbone and finally combing through her loose, windswept hair.
Strange, she always kept her hair in a ponytail when she was drawing.
Without realizing it, she sighed deeply, closed her eyes and dropped her charcoal on the sand beside her. He continued stroking her back, pausing to untie her bikini at her neck and then at her back. As the tiny garment fell away, she opened her eyes and looked directly into his intense, smoldering gaze.
When did he move from behind her to in front of her?
He wore no shirt and she reached out to touch his chest as if she could not help her fingers' curiosity. His skin was smooth, but the muscles underneath were rock hard, and she was instantly aware of the latent energy they stored. She ran both hands over his skin, around to the back of his neck, along the line of his jaw and as she tangled her fingers in his thick, dark hair she pulled his face closer bringing his lips toward hers.
Now he was sitting on the beach towel and she was on his lap, straddling him. The feel of his bare skin sparked electric jolts across her breasts and she rocked against him, owning his lips with hers. She paused for breath and he used the moment of separation to direct his attention away from her mouth, down her neck, propping her higher on his thighs so that he could reach her nipples. She felt an instant tingling response begin to warm her crotch and she rubbed against him to relieve the sensation. He licked and teased at her hardened buds and she responded by grinding harder against him.
She reached between them and undid the button of her shorts, raising herself up off his legs to ease the fabric down. His hands were around her waist, lifting her...
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"Lizzie! Charlotte is on the phone for you. ...are you awake, Liz?"
Elizabeth woke with a start, shocked out of her dream by Jane knocking on her bedroom door and calling again to her. She was breathing hard and as she ran a hand through her hair, she realized she was shaking.
"Uh, just woke up Jane. Can you tell her I'll call her back in 15 minutes?"
Rolling over in her bed, Elizabeth sighed, struggling with the typical Monday morning blues, and pondered her very sexy dream. It wasn't often that she dreamed at all, let alone something as intimate as that. She didn't even try to analyze why her subconscious had chosen Will Darcy to gratify her.
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He had worked late at the office again. He unlocked his door and entered the darkened apartment. He didn't bother to turn on any lights, but headed left down the hall directly to his bedroom. She wasn't there, but he saw light escaping under the bathroom door, and smiled to himself. Crossing the room, he loosened his tie and shed his jacket on the floor behind him.
Entering the bathroom, he was engulfed in the steam from the shower. He completed undressing, opened the shower door and stepped inside. She was waiting for him and as he stood under the running water she silently began soaping him, rubbing her hands all over his body. She attended to his chest, lowered her focus to his abdomen, and then moved lower again, and he leaned back against the tile wall as she dropped to her knees in front of him.
She dug her fingers into his buttocks as she ran her tongue along the length of him. He groaned as he felt the pressure building inside him with her deliberately slow rhythm. He loved the sensation but he needed to take back control so he turned off the water, lifted her up and out of the shower and carried her across to the vanity. He sat her on the countertop and spread her knees apart. She responded willingly, wrapping her legs around his waist and pulling him close.
Winding his fingers through her hair he tugged her head back and kissed her deeply, possessively, demandingly. She was driving him crazy with her throaty murmurs and sighs. He plunged hard into her, catching her by surprise and causing her to cry out her pleasure. He drew back and then rocked forward again watching her beautiful, expressive eyes as she was lost to her own rapture.
He ignored the knocking on the door, and continued his long, hard strokes in and out of her. But the knocking continued, and as she dissolved in front of him, he groaned, rolled over in bed and yelled his frustration into the pillow.
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"Will? Hey Darcy, this is all the wake up call you're going to get. Come on man, you insisted you wanted to come down to the marina with me this morning."
Will responded to Charlie's pestering by scooping up his shoe from the floor beside the bed and hurling it at the closed door.
Dragging himself out from under the sheets, he headed to the en suite bathroom to shower, unable to shake the image of her compelling eyes or the sensation of having her legs wrapped tightly around him.
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Elizabeth stepped into the restaurant and paused, looking around to see if Charlotte had already arrived. She saw her friend waving at her from a table toward the back of the room and made her way back there.
"Hey there Char, did I keep you waiting long?"
"No, it's fine Lizzie. I came early to get out of the house and away from Mom and Dad's disapproval."
"Uh oh, is this about the big news you had to share?"
"Yes, but I am quite nervous now that you will have the same reaction as my parents." She paused and looked down at her hands for a moment, then back up into Elizabeth's face. "Promise me you will listen to all that I have to tell you before you react."
"Okay Charlotte, of course I'll hear you out. You definitely have my undivided attention now!"
Charlotte had clearly rehearsed this conversation and the words began spilling from her mouth at once, in an obvious effort to get it over with.
"You know that Peter and I have been seeing each other for a long time now," she began.
Peter had been a mutual friend of theirs at college, first showing interest in Jane, then in Lizzie, and finally, after they had all graduated he had turned his attention to Charlotte. Elizabeth pressed her lips together, unable to disguise the reaction she always seemed to have to Charlotte's unaccountable attraction to Peter Collins.
"I see the way you look when I say his name Lizzie. He's not exactly my parents' first choice for me either. I wish I could make you understand how happy we are, but I think you will alway see him as Spotty Pete from our freshman hall.
"You would have heard me say that he is a private chef now and works for Catherine DeBurgh. She and her daughter have special dietary needs due to chronic illness, and she takes Peter with her wherever she goes. She's is quite a Socialite in the Old Style and only spends 6 months of each year in New York. She is planning on taking Peter with her when she summers at her villa in Tuscany, and she usually spends winter at her Napa Valley property.
"Well Lizzie, this is where it gets really exciting! Mrs DeBurgh has made me an offer that will allow me to be able to travel with them and be with Peter all year round. I am resigning from the law firm and I am going to be Mrs. DeBurgh's personal assistant."
Elizabeth began to interrupt before she even knew she was doing it. Charlotte stopped her with a hand on her arm, "Please Lizzie, let me finish.
"I know you've already heard stories from Peter about how particular she is, but well really, I'm trading in three demanding bosses for one, and I get to be with Peter, and I get to spend my summers in Italy." She smiled weakly, which Elizabeth interpreted to mean it was her turn to speak.
Conscious of her friend's unspoken need for acceptance, if not approval, Elizabeth tried to be gentle. "But Charlotte, you're giving up your career in law, to become a... a... well, a glorified housekeeper!" Tact wasn't exactly Elizabeth's strong suit.
"It was never really a career that I wanted though Lizzie. It was just what was expected of me. If you want the truth, I am not particularly good at it, and I have certainly never enjoyed it."
"But isn't it a little crazy to be working for someone like that, when your own parents are probably almost as rich as she is?"
Charlotte gaped "Oh, not nearly that rich I assure you. Mrs DeBurgh is old money and you can't begin to fathom just how much of it there is. Besides New York, Napa and her Tuscan villa, she has an apartment in London and still retains some sort of exclusive holiday home in the Caymans. "
"Do it take it that Peter and you are talking about marriage then?"
Charlotte laughed, "Not really. But we've never been in a position where we could. Maybe that's possible now that we know we'll be together."
"But Char, a personal assistant? To someone who you have described to me in the past as a patronizing old witch, I might remind you!"
"Oh, trust you to remember that Lizzie! She really isn't that bad. She's just old enough and rich enough to be in the habit of getting her own way. She's actually being very accommodating, and has even called in some architects to redesign a portion of her apartment for a proper two bedroom servants' quarters for me and Peter."
Elizabeth almost choked as she repeated those words "Servants' quarters! Oh Charlotte, can't you hear yourself?"
Charlottes eyes began to spark with anger as she raised her chin and looked Elizabeth in the eye, "We are not all born with the desire to seek fame and fortune Elizabeth. All I want is a quiet life that brings me contentment and love. I've never been driven about my work like you. I am a boring, average girl who has lived up to every expectation my parents have ever had. I've always chosen the safe path over the unknown one. And I look in the mirror every day and loathe myself!"
"Char, I..."
"Let me finish, Lizzie! I knew I'd get this reaction from my parents, but I really had hoped that you might understand. How is it that you can't see this? Peter makes me happy! He is kind and thoughtful, and all I have to do to be with him all the time is to give up a suffocating, unpleasant job that makes me miserable. It's the least sacrifice I have ever had to make!" She stood from the table then, but before she walked away, she paused and said, "When you have had time to think it over, I hope you will understand and support what I am doing. Your friendship and opinion have always meant a lot to me."
Elizabeth sat in stunned silence as her friend left the restaurant. Eventually, after the waiter had wandered past enough times to make her self-conscious, she asked for the check and then returned to the art gallery.
Entering the gallery's front door, Elizabeth noted that Jane was occupied with a couple toward the back of the room. She collapsed onto the stylish art deco couch in the waiting area and perused an art magazine while she waited to accost Jane with this news.
Eventually, Jane walked the budding art collectors to the door assuring them she would be in touch when she had located a piece matching their description. As she shut the door, she turned to Elizabeth and gushed, "You will never believe what happened this morning Lizzie!"
Elizabeth was too tired and drained from her first piece of news today, and she didn't dare guess at Jane's announcement.
"Just as long as you aren't quitting your job and running off to Tuscany with your man," she replied, "But then again, it does depend on the man I suppose. What's your news Jane?"
"We have been invited by Charlie Bingley to go on a sailing excursion with him. I told you he won that yacht charter from Saturday night, didn't I? Well, he stopped in here after he had been down to the marina working out the details. It is a bit short notice, but it will be so much fun, and I have already asked Mary to work some days here so I don't have to close the store".
"Jane, slow down. What days are we talking about? Exactly what do you mean by 'short notice'? We aren't packing to leave tomorrow are we?"
"You will come then? Oh, I was actually nervous that you might say no, considering Charlie is bringing Will and Caroline."
"Whoa, hold up there a minute!" Jane was well aware of Elizabeth's opinions concerning those two, based entirely on those overheard conversations of two nights ago.
"Listen Lizzie, it will be a great opportunity for you too. Just think of the views you'll see and sketching you can do. We leave on Wednesday morning..."
"But that's the day after tomorrow!"
"...and we are only going to be gone until Sunday. They had to reduce the duration of the trip so that Will could come along. Apparently he has to be back to work this time next week. So Mary is covering here on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday."
The rest of the day and evening were spent with Jane badgering and begging Elizabeth until she finally relented and agreed to go.
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As Elizabeth closed her eyes and surrendered to sleep that night, she was again sitting on the warm sand, wearing a red bikini top, feeling the touch of Will's hands in her hair, on her back, around her waist ...and his lips and tongue on her aching nipples.