Page 20 of Second Chances (Passion and Perseverance #2)

Chapter Ten

She was livid. Then again, so was he.

They sat in complete silence during the car ride back to the Plaza, Darcy brewing over whatever conversation, interaction that had caused him to force her to leave.

She was just so angry, she just didn’t even know where to start, other than with the temptation to tell the driver to take her back to her and Jane’s apartment.

That won’t solve anything.

No, she wasn’t going to let her emotions get the best of her - even if that emotion was justified anger.

Something had happened back there, something that had affected him to his core and God help her, she wanted to know what it was.

She was angry and wanted to punish him, but more than that, she didn’t want to blow up at him because she wanted to know who he had talked to.

Was it someone that he had done business with?

Maybe it was something to do with George.

Or Mrs. DeBourgh. God, I hope not.

A million scenarios ran through her mind as the city lights passed by the window, but for some reason, she had this feeling deep down that this was about someone in Darcy’s past that she hadn’t encountered yet, that it had to do with a personal situation in his past that he hadn’t shared with her yet.

Yes, she was angry that he forced her to leave, but it was true that she technically didn’t have to stay for the entire event; everything was prepared and scheduled, and usually for a scenario like this, she only stayed for the first hour or two except with Renée, as the gathering was usually much smaller and so she had always just stayed the whole time .

She felt her anger rising again, but she refused to look at him, even though she could feel his eyes on hers.

She felt her phone buzz inside her purse and pulled it out to see that she had two texts from Patrick - one asking if she was ok and the second to let her know that everything was fine at the party and that Renée said to feel better.

She smiled at his thoughtfulness; he was such a nice person.

Feeling Darcy’s gaze searing a hole through her back, she knew that he watched her message someone on her phone and she could only imagine who he thought that it was.

As much as she wanted to reassure him that Patrick was just (barely) a friend, she was too pissed to bridge the gap between them right now.

Serves him right. He can stew over it for a little longer.

She typed out a response, assuring Pat that she was just fine and she was sorry for jetting out but not to worry. She hit send just as the car pulled up to the hotel.

Not waiting for the driver, Beth opened her own door and got out of the car, walking purposefully into the hotel and towards the elevators.

She needed space from Darcy, and a drink, before this confrontation that was about to happen.

She reached the elevators just as one was closing and managed to hop inside, glimpsing a livid Darcy stalking towards the doors as they closed.

Using the few quiet moments on the way to the top, Beth tried to organize her plan on how to deal with this situation.

Like most situations involving Darcy, she could kick herself because she wasn’t even mad that he forced her to leave.

Well, she was on some level, but she was mostly upset because he didn’t tell her what was going on before forcing her to leave.

At least have the decency and respect to tell me what’s going on before making me leave an event that I’m responsible for .

She had seen his face, his body language - whatever had transpired was traumatic and she would have left willingly had he just opened up.

Men! She stepped off the elevator and hastily entered the apartment, making a beeline for the dining room and the liquor cabinet.

Pouring herself two fingers of whiskey, she walked into the living room and stared out into the sparkling skyline of the city, lighting up the night.

The door to the apartment slammed harshly as the sound of Darcy’s footsteps became louder with his approach. She didn’t turn, but she could sense that he had stopped at the edge of the couch and was staring at her, waiting for her to make the first move.

One deep breath. One deep drink. Her last-minute fortifications before moving to face him.

Tortured. That was how he looked and it wasn’t what she had expected; she had expected to see the same anger in his face that was present their whole ride home, the same anger that grew more exaggerated as she’d let the elevator doors close without him.

Sure, it was still present, but his expression was overwhelmingly laced with pain.

It was the typical Darcy response: rash actions followed by remorseful apologies.

Why couldn’t he just be open with her in the first place and avoid all of this?

Her mouth thinned as her anger and frustration began to surface again.

“God, you are so beautiful,” Darcy said, as if he couldn’t help the words from coming out of his mouth.

Her mouth parted slightly at the unexpected compliment, anger momentarily dispersing as pleasure filled her. She couldn't help the blush that stole over her cheeks at his words, but she steeled herself from being completely distracted by her desire for him.

“What happened tonight?” she blurted out indignantly, washing her nerves down with a quick sip of whiskey.

“ Fuck,” he said vehemently, running his hand through his hair as he took a step towards her .

“Why can’t you just tell me, Darcy? Why do we have to go through all of this?

If you could just be open with me, this whole situation could have been avoided,” she continued, exasperated, her outrage growing with each question that slipped from her mouth, “why did we have to leave? What happened? I saw you talking to someone and you were so angry, angrier than the time that you punched George. Why couldn’t you just explain what happened?

I would have left if you had just asked. ”

When she had stopped, mostly to catch her breath, she realized how much her voice had risen during her tirade as her frustration found the words to express itself.

Darcy was staring at her, his jaw clenching, as her words sank in. His eyes darkened and she knew that he was hurting, not just from whatever had happened earlier but by how he had treated her as a result.

“Was it something to do with George? I know you were just in Chicago because of him,” Beth forged on, looking for any flicker of recognition in his face. “Was it Mrs. DeBourgh? Has she done something? Has she threatened you, or me, or Georgiana?”

Darcy let out a quick, harsh laugh, halting Beth’s interrogation instantly. She looked at him waiting for the explanation, assuming she had struck a nerve with one of those suggestions.

“I wish it was any of them,” Darcy began, “hell, I wish it was all of them but, it’s not. It’s her. ”

Her who?

Oh my God.

“Her, as in…” Beth’s voice was barely perceptible as she trailed off, waiting for the confirmation that she knew was coming.

“My ex.” His voice was laced with hatred. “The fucking bitch is back, and I can’t…”

He trailed off, his hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose .

Beth’s heart ached as she watched this strong man struggle to control his pain and anger and immediately, she knew that punishing him was not going to bring them closer together right now.

“What happened?” she asked, softly.

“God, Beth,” he paused again, shaking his head, “I can’t talk about it right now, I’m so fucking on edge. I will tell you, I swear on my life, but I just can’t focus right now. I feel like I can’t breathe. I need you. ”

His eyes bore into hers on that last statement and Beth saw the need burning in them.

His need for her, for her comfort, for her to help him soothe and erase the pain from his past that had come back to haunt him.

He needed her solace, her grounding; she was his physical tether to the world and right now, his mind, his emotions were spinning out of control

“ Please, ” he begged.

Holding his tortured gaze, she set down her glass and held out her hand, signaling her invitation and acquiescence. She was his lifeline, and she would be damned if she closed herself off from him when he needed her most.

She barely even registered his movement across the room before she was crushed against him, his lips on hers.

She kissed him back with every emotion coursing through her body; all her anger and frustration with him mixed and melded with her pain and empathy at his suffering, her fear of what had transpired.

She poured it all out into that kiss until the only emotions she was left with were desire and love.

One arm held her fast to him, while his other hand roamed over her body, clutching her ass, forcing her hips flush to his so that she could feel the hard evidence of his need. It then moved up to grasp her breast, toying with her nipple through the fabric of her dress.

“I can’t go slow, Beth,” he said, strained, his breathing as labored as hers. “I need you now.”

“It’s ok,” she responded, her voice thick with desire, “ I need you, too. ”

Her admission released him, released everything that he had been trying to hold back. Pushing her up against the window, he roughly yanked her dress up, his hand delving beneath the material. He groaned loudly as his hand discovered her soft, unprotected, folds soaking with need for him.

“ Fuck, you are incredible.”

She smiled to herself just before his mouth claimed hers again. She’d been hoping he would appreciate her lack of undergarments tonight.

Her arms around his neck, he grabbed her ass, lifting her and hooking her legs around his waist. She hadn’t even realized when he had undone his fly until she felt his pulsing erection slam inside of her.

Pleasure rocketed through her as her mouth opened under his in a gasp, allowing his tongue to plunge deep inside her lips, just as his arousal was doing to her swollen lips below.

He thrust into her uncontrollably. Beth was momentarily concerned that they were going to break the window, but her escalating climax quickly blurred any rational thought from her mind.

She moaned his name, begging him for release.

“God, you are so fucking warm and tight,” he ground out. “I’m going to come, come with me.”

His thrusts became more frenzied, pushing her right to the edge, when suddenly his expert fingers were on her clit and she went soaring, screaming his name in unison with his shout of release.

His hips continued to jerk against hers; as the waves of their climax began to finally slow, his forehead came to rest on her shoulder and she felt the rapidness of his breathing against the equally rapid rise and fall of her chest .

After a few moments, she felt him pull out of her, allowing her legs to come back and rest shakily on the ground, her dress dropping to cover her as if nothing had ever happened.

Her body fully sated meant that her mind was easily able to shift back into gear, immediately refocusing on the need to know what had happened between Darcy and his ex-girlfriend.

Adjusting himself, Darcy’s gaze finally returned to meet hers - one filled with hazy, yet determined, curiosity.

His mouth thinned, his eyes glazing over as the remnants of pleasure left only to be replaced with hardened frustration as he, too, returned to the reality of the situation.

“Do you trust me?” he asked her bluntly.

Taken aback by his question, she stammered out, “Of course I trust you. I…wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

“I want to show you something,” he responded, cryptically.

Beth prayed that this wasn’t some sort of distraction to delay answering the questions she knew would be painful for him to visit.

She watched as he righted his pants, his cock still semi erect and uncomfortably tucked away.

Taking off his coat and tie, he undid the top two buttons on his shirt before holding out his hand to her.

Grasping his hand with a squeeze of reassurance, Beth followed Darcy as he led them back past the dining room and office, into the hallway, past the spare bedroom before coming to stop in front of the locked door at the end of the hall.

There had been so many secrets, so many questions, that Beth had completely forgotten about her curiosity to know what was behind the locked door.

She’d almost resigned herself to thinking that it wasn’t part of the apartment, that it belonged to some other room, even though, in retrospect, that didn’t make a whole lot of sense.

Letting go of her hand, Darcy pulled out a small keyring from his pocket, a single key hanging from the ring.

Turning the key in the lock, he opened the door, letting it swing wide, even though his body was blocking most of her view.

He didn’t reach for her hand again, but walked into the center of the room and turned to face her.