Thanks for all the reviews! Much appreciated! This chapter is going to be rated M at the end, don't read if you don't want to. Enjoy!
He was soaked to the bone and quite cold. Mr. Reynolds and a stable boy were insistent that they help him into the house, despite his protests. He wasn't injured, physically at least for his pride most definitely was. Mrs. Reynolds was passing out blankets to the men who found him when he heard it.
It was a mix between a strangled sob and a gasp. He looked up to find his wife staring down at him in horror. Her eyes were wide, and quite red. She was still dressed in a dinner gown, even though it was much too late.
"Fitzwilliam!" She cried, running down the remaining steps, and into his arms. He staggered against the sudden weight but righted himself before they both fell. She could feel the dampness of his clothing seeping into hers, but at the moment she didn't care. She sobbed against his chest, thankful that he was truly well.
"Mr. Reynolds, Harris, thank you for your help. I bet Mrs. Reynolds made a delicious meal for my homecoming, please help yourselves and all the others to it" He addressed them. "I have to tend to my wife" He dismissed them looking over Lizzy's head. She was still wrapped about him.
"Come on love" He staggered up the stairs, tired and weak. Together they gently woke Georgiana who hugged her brother tight before disappearing to bed.
"You're shivering" Lizzy noted. "We have to get you into dry clothes" She led him to his chambers, where his valet waited for him.
"I'm all set Adams, go to bed' Darcy told him, clapping him on the back. His faithful valet had filled a warm bath for him. "Lizzy dear, you're quite soaked through. Please, go change into your nightclothes. I won't be long," He told her. She did not relinquish her hold around his arm however, so he wrapped her up into a hug.
"Lizzy?" He nudged her gently, prodding her to look up at him.
"You are bleeding," She whispered. She broke out of his embrace and grabbed a hand towel off the table. She dipped it in the water basin and gently dabbed at his bleeding forehead. "What happened?" She asked after a second.
Darcy smiled. Despite her worry, Lizzy was innately curious. She had to know what happened.
"I made it to the outer limits of Lambton when a tree came down in the path in front of Cavallo. He bayed, and I fell off into the bramble. Well it so happens that I ended up rolling down a small incline. It took me awhile to gather my wits. I had to sit out the worst of the storm in an alcove with Cavallo once I had calmed him down enough. We rode as quickly as possible here, as I know I was late. I rode him to hard; Cavallo is not as young as he once was. He went down just inside of west entrance. I may have hit my head against the stone work there," He told her. "Which is how Mr. Reynolds found me"
Lizzy laughed quietly despite the situation. Mr. Darcy had told her how Mr. Reynolds used to be the stable head, until he retired from that last spring. As a lad, Mr. Reynolds had taught him everything he knew about riding. She stopped laughing as she realized how lucky he had been to only have gotten a small scratch and not a crushed limb from the horse.
"You could have been crushed" Lizzy told him, pressing herself against him again. She buried her face in his chest. She was not accustomed to acting like this, but the thought of him seriously injured caused her fit of nerves.
"I am well Lizzy" He assured her. "But I am wet, and you are quite soaked through yourself" He hinted. She nodded and pulled away from him.
"I will be back soon," She told him before rushing out the door. She hastily called upon Mira to draw her a bath, apologizing for the late hour. She was covered in dried mud. Mira sleepily drew her a bath, before exiting quite swiftly upon her dismissal. Lizzy would have to remember to thank her tomorrow. She soaked for a few moments before scrubbing the dirt from her body.
"And to think I spent so much time this morning doing the exact thing" She said to herself as the water washed away the lilac and rose water she had bathed in earlier.
Once she was clean, she hastily dried herself off before slipping in the nightgown Mira had laid out for her. It was a new one; it looked to be from Town. The material was a dark forest green, with a sheer lace bodice, and thin shoulder straps. She pulled the dressing gown on over it, not that the silky cream material was much thicker. She slipped her feet into the matching slippers, before brushing out her brown curls, letting them frame her face. She had no patience to tame them tonight.
It was barely 30 minutes later that she returned to his room.
He was sitting on his bed in just a pair of breeches, toweling out his wet curls. She walked into the room unannounced, and again, gasped. He looked up at her, noticing how well she wore the new nightwear he had purchased for her in town, and saw that her eyes were on his chest. He looked down and saw what she did, bruises from the fall, and numerous scrapes.
"Fitzwilliam" She whispered, the second time she had ever uttered his given name fully. He stood and grasped her hands, bringing them up to cup his face.
"I am fine Lizzy," He said for what seemed to be the tenth time that evening. Tears welled up behind her lashes, so he impulsively kissed her.
They kissed until they were both breathless.
"I love you Lizzy," He told her, kissing her softly.
"I love you too Fitzwilliam" She whispered, kissing him back.
Warning, this is where it gets M rated. Never written something like this so be warned.
Tentatively he led her to his bed. She undid her dressing gown, exposing her thin nightgown to his view, giving her silent consent. He sat her on the bed, bending down to take off her slippers. He kissed her ankle as he did so, earning him a surprised gasp. He smirked and kissed a little higher. Her gasp this time was louder.
He stood from his position at her feet, and leaned in to kiss her.
He moved closer to her, kissing her soundly upon her lips, pressing her down against the bed. She kissed back with equal ardor, her arms encircling his shoulders. He gently slid her back against the pillows, looking down into her lively eyes. They displayed an emotion he had never seen before.
She was enthralled with the lusty look in his eyes, the way he seemed be devouring her with his gaze. He broke the trance to kiss her forehead, then her cheeks, down to her neck.
He kissed her neck as his hands caressed her breasts above the silken material of her dress. He kissed down the length of the silky material, until he reached her feet. He kissed and nipped his way up her legs, bringing her gown up with him as he went.
She whimpered against the pillows, warmth spreading like fire throughout her body. His kisses, his nips, his licks, all made her head swim. She twisted her hands in his hair, willing him to return to her lips.
He held her up with one hand as he gently removed the rest of her clothing, leaving her bare to his appraisal.
"So beautiful" He whispered before attacking one breast with his mouth while his hand tended to the other.
"Oh" Lizzy couldn't help the whimper and moan that escaped from her lips. She flushed, but her moans only seemed to push him further into a frenzy. Heat pooled at the apex of her thighs, the warmth growing uncomfortably hot, and her stomach coiled.
"Untie my breeches, love," He told her as he supported himself above her body, again kissing her neck. With shaking hands she struggled to undo the laces. She finally succeeded and pushed them down his thick legs, admiring the fine hair adorning them.
He kicked the rest of the material off, and pushed it off the bed to land in a pile with her own. He trailed kisses down her bare skin, stopping at her most intimate parts. His warm breath upon the sensitive skin had her squirming and whimpering. He slipped one lone finger into her sex, kissing her inner thigh.
She moaned loudly, desperately willing his finger to do something more.
"Does that feel good Lizzy?" He whispered, inserting another finger into her sex, pumping slowly in and out. She withered in pleasure.
"Please" She moaned. Her hands were clutched in the sheets, her husband too far from her reach. He withdrew his fingers slowly, running them up her torso, dripping in her own essence. He positioned himself above her.
"Look at me Lizzy" He whispered, kissing her cheeks, her lips, her nose. She looked deep into his blue eyes as he slid into her.
The feeling was entirely foreign to her. There was pain, but it quickly ebbed away into something more pleasurable. She raked her nails across his back, pulling him closer.
"Oh God, please," She moaned, arching against him. He moved at a steady pace, his hand disappearing into her slick folds, rubbing against her with his thumb, sending dizzying waves of pleasure through her body.
"Lizzy" He moaned against her neck, sucking the soft skin there. "Wrap your legs around me," He told her, thrusting deeper into her. She gasped in delight at the sudden change in angle.
She moaned his name as her muscles spasmed out of control. As her walls clenched around him, he gave in to his own pleasure. She felt the warmth as his seed spilled within her.
He rolled off of her, pulling her sweaty body against his own. She cuddled against his, her hand languidly stroking the taunt skin beneath.
"I love you Fitzwilliam" She murmured, her voice sleepy.
"I love you too, Mrs. Darcy," He told her. She smiled; he had never called her that before.