Page 33 of First Impressions (Passion and Perseverance #1)

Chapter Twenty-Three

The smell of fresh coffee and the sunshine on her face pulled Beth from her sleep.

After trying unsuccessfully to curl further underneath the covers, she gave up and slowly opened her eyes.

For a second, she forgot where she was, then the memories of last night flooded back into her mind: the ball, the dance, Darcy hitting George, her choice to stay the night…

her cheeks flushed as the rest of the events danced in front of her eyes.

Maybe she dreamt it?

She went to roll over to face the side of the bed and winced as her inner thighs protested the movement, her butt tender as it slid across the mattress.

Oh God, her virginity. He hadn’t said anything to her, that she remembered, about it but she knew he had realized it the moment he entered her and saw the pain he had caused her.

If he hadn’t, washing her private areas afterward would have been a dead giveaway; she peeked on top of the covers and saw the small, faint reddish-brown stain near the bottom of the bed. Great.

She groaned as she turned over to the nightstand where her phone had been placed on the charger.

How thoughtful. She picked it up and hit the home button.

Nine o’clock in the morning; she couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept until nine.

Of course, she had notifications waiting for her: two texts and a missed call from Charlotte, two texts from Jane, and a missed call from her mother.

She started with the easiest first. Char had texted her around eight saying that she tried to call and she was wondering how the rest of her night went; also, that she had something to tell her.

That text ended with a winking emoji so at least Beth knew it was a good something.

She switched over to her conversation with Jane.

Hey. hope you had a good time last night.

Maybe we can talk sometime today ?

She did need to talk to Jane, especially after last night; not that she knew how she was going to tell her all this, but she needed to be honest with her sister so she decided she would call her as soon as she got back to her own room.

Since her mom hadn’t left a voicemail, that translated into whatever she needed to tell her was not important so she ignored her mom’s call; they could chat another day.

Beth was too drained to deal with her today.

She looked around the room for her clothes and saw only a white robe with slippers laid out on the chair.

Pushing back the warm covers, she slipped out the side of the bed and pulled on the plush robe, securing it around her waist.

She gingerly opened the door to the bathroom and stepped inside.

The face she saw in the mirror, almost gave her a heart attack.

Her makeup was everywhere; mascara and eyeshadow smeared on her eyelids and down her face; her hair, which she’d loaded with hairspray, was knotty and matted even though Darcy had taken it down last night.

She quickly used the toilet, wincing as tender flesh protested the weight.

When she stood up, she frowned at the reddish tint she saw in the bowl; he hadn’t even brought up her virginity last night, which meant there was an awkward conversation coming this morning.

Just thinking about everything they had done last night made her body warm with arousal.

Moving back in front of the mirror, she grabbed a washcloth and did her best to clean off the makeup that had stained her face.

Her hair calmed down as she ran her fingers through it, finally making her look presentable.

She went back into the bedroom and saw no evidence of her dress or other belongings.

Looks like the robe it is. Tightening the sash and making sure everything was covered, she opened the bedroom door slowly, unsure of what to expect.

That door only opened into a small entry room, the exit from which was to her left, an open doorframe that led into the rest of the apartment.

Since that entryway was off to the side, it obscured her ability to see very far into the rest of the apartment; she only really could see part of a hallway.

She quietly moved to the side of the doorway and peeked around the corner; her eyes squinting at all the light inundating them from the living room windows.

As her eyes quickly adjusted, she took in her surroundings.

There was a large living room off to the left, complete with a grand piano.

Across the hall was a dining room, the table filled with breakfast food that she could smell from there; her stomach grumbled loudly at the sight.

Past the dining room, all she could see was mostly just the main walkway and a few closed doors.

Moving to the center of the doorframe, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, preparing to search out the man who infuriated and impassioned her.

No searching necessary. When her eyes opened, Darcy was standing in the dining room doorway staring at her.

Her mouth parted and went dry as she took in the sight of him: shirtless his tanned body would make a Greek God jealous; he had loose sweatpants on that sat tantalizingly low on his hips.

He stared at her, hunger igniting in his eyes as his jaw clenched in restraint.

“Good morning, Miss Bennet.”

“I think it’s probably ok to call me ‘Beth’ after everything…” she trailed off, realizing the unintended attitude in her tone.

At least she wasn’t standing there speechless at the sight of him.

His eyebrows raised in surprise at her unconscious attempt to provoke him knowing how that made him react and knowing how sore her ass must be this morning.

“So, you get to be called Beth and I get to be called ‘Mr. Intolerable’?” He asked with a smirk.

Her subsequent silence and deep blush indicated that she recognized her mistake; Darcy gave her a half smile.

“I ordered everything on the breakfast menu. You should eat something.” He moved so that she could see behind him into the room to the table covered in food.

Of course, he did. Beth sighed and rolled her eyes at his commanding tone.

What about him? Had he eaten? He looked like he wanted to eat her for breakfast, that was for sure; his thin sweats not concealing well his arousal.

She couldn’t comprehend how he could desire her like this, her hair and face a mess, covered in a giant, unattractive hotel robe.

Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that he was right. She did need to eat something.

Giving her a stare that said that he had heard her body, he turned and walked into the dining room, taking a seat at the head of the table and picked up the Wall Street Journal that was waiting for him.

Beth followed him into the room, looking at the buffet laid out on the table.

He wasn’t kidding. He really had ordered everything on the menu: eggs cooked in every possible way, bacon, sausage, toast, pancakes, fruit, smoked salmon, yogurt, and granola, cereal, muffins, croissants.

Her mouth was watering. She picked up a plate and loaded it with scrambled eggs, some bacon, 2 pancakes, pineapple, and a chocolate croissant.

Darcy looked over from his newspaper at her plate and nodded approvingly.

Not that she cared at this point what he thought of her eating habits; she was starving.

She glanced over at Darcy as he picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip; he looked like a model. As he put the cup back down, she saw his knuckles were split and bruised. Remembering that he had punched George brought back a rush of concern for her friend.

“Is George ok?” She saw his face darken at the mention of that name.

“He’s fine. The doctor checked him again this morning,” he said tightly.

“Oh, good.” Her sigh of relief seemed to irritate him more. “You didn’t have to punch him, you know. He was drunk. I’m sure he doesn’t even remember saying those things.”

The stare he gave her chilled her to the bone. “Do you enjoy provoking me?”

Beth bit her lip.

Ok, Mr. Intolerable, guess that subject is off limits.

She looked away and began eating again when she realized that he hadn’t fixed himself a plate.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

He looked up at her from his paper, his eyes hungry with desire. “What I’m going to eat isn’t quite ready yet.”

His eyes bore into hers, his subtle meaning quite clear as to just what he planned on eating.

If she hadn’t just finished a bite, she probably would have choked at his nonchalant insinuation; her mouth parting and sucking in a gasp of air.

Her whole body was immediately on fire, her face flushing; she shifted in her chair to cross her legs as she felt wetness seep out from between her thighs.

Man, she really wished she could have found her underwear this morning.

“If you mean breakfast though, I had some before I went to the gym this morning.” He took a sip of his coffee and went back to reading his paper.

The injection of anticipation into her veins completely quenched any remaining hunger.

She set her fork down and pushed her plate away, grateful that she had eaten most of the food on it.

Remembering how she looked, Beth stood up from the table suddenly very self-conscious about her appearance and cleanliness.

“I’m going to take a shower,” she responded to his raised eyebrows. “If that’s ok.”

His eyes darkened as he nodded his assent.