Page 34 of Third Time is the Charm (Passion and Perseverance #3)

The thought startled her almost more than the sleep-sex had.

Realizing she had to pee, Beth gently extricated herself from him, shivering as she got out of the warm bed, and the even warmer body still in it.

Wondering what time it was, she hit the home button on Darcy’s phone, the screen lighting up to reveal, four AM.

It also showed that he had a missed call, voicemail, and several texts all from the same person – Megan.

Her brow furrowed, who was Megan? Was that who he was on the phone with the other day? She tried to swallow over the lump in her throat, realizing how dry her mouth now was. The previews of the two messages were visible on the screen,

- Sorry I missed your call…

-Call me in the morning…

If she knew the code to unlock his phone, she would have been sorely tempted to use it. Instead, she hit the lock button to turn the screen off, and walked into the bathroom accompanied by her wandering thoughts.

He couldn’t be in a relationship with someone, could he? There was no way he would have done those things with her tonight if he was, would he?

She wished she knew; she also wished it wasn’t four am, standing in front of the mirror, wondering if she was just making the same mistake over again.

She could see that he had changed since she’d gone to Boston, but if tonight had proved anything besides their unquenchable desire for each other, it was that there were still secrets between them keeping them apart.

You know you had to do it. You know the bravest thing you ever did was run.

Beth splashed some cold water onto her face, grabbing the terrycloth robe from off of the back of the door and putting it on, covering up the part of her that would forsake everything to be with him.

She walked back out into the bedroom, looking at the handsome man who, she was forced to admit, still had a firm grip on her heart.

Even now, her body pulled towards him like a magnet, the force of wanting him – wanting to be back next to him.

Wanting him was like second-nature, even more so than breathing; it was practically impossible to resist.

Five months ago, she’d known they had to say goodbye – known it like the back of her hand – now those reasons, those assumptions, seemed to evade her.

She’d left in anger and instead of working through her issues, she’d buried them under a shield of hurt.

She’d let her emotions control her and even though, at the time, it had seemed justifiable, it hadn’t prepared her in the slightest to actually move on from her feelings for him.

Now that she knew the truth about why Caroline had been there that morning, now that all the anger she used as her last defense against him was gone, she needed to figure out for herself if saying goodbye was really the right thing for her or if forgiving him was; there were more issues between them than just Caroline and more important ones at that.

And being with him… near him… with a desire that overwhelmed her was only going to cloud her judgement. She wanted him; she wanted to get back into that bed and fall back to sleep with the anticipation that the next time she woke up it would be with him inside of her again.

But sex was not going to help her make the right choice in the long run, only space could do that.

Beth grabbed her clothes off of the floor, taking one last look at the handsome, naked man tangled up in the sheets; she shivered at the promise that this wouldn’t be the last time she saw him like this.

Making sure she had all of her things and that the sash to the robe was cinched tightly, Beth walked quietly out of his room and fled back to the safety of hers.

Sighing heavily against the door, Beth tossed her stuff onto the bed and walked into the bathroom, turning the shower on hot.

She needed to clean up and get out of there – not back to Boston, not yet.

She had to handle some things for Jane in the city first before her flight much later tonight, but the more distance she put between her and Darcy right now, the more time she had to process.

She dropped the robe and stepped into the steamy water. Now was not the time to relax though, she thought as she methodically rinsed her hair and washed her body, looking down at her naked form and wincing as the washcloth now tortured her sensitive flesh in a different way.

A few short minutes later, she was back out of the shower tossing on her trusted yoga pants and long-sleeve t-shirt.

Throwing her dress haphazardly back into her bag, she gathered the rest of her toiletries, taking one last look through the room to make sure she hadn’t left anything.

Then, she turned to take one look out of the peep-hole to make sure Mr. Intolerable wasn’t waiting on the other side.

No, she would have heard him by now if he was.

This time, she had a feeling he wasn’t going to let her go so easily; this time, she knew she would be followed.

She knew she had some time – Darcy offered to take Jane and Charles to the airport in order for them to take his private jet to their honeymoon.

How long after that until he came looking for, she hadn’t a clue; she just knew it was inevitable.

She checked her phone for the time. Five AM.

The five AM flee. At least it wasn’t midnight and at least she didn’t have any glass slippers to lose along the way. No, the only thing that she had that was prone to either being lost or shattered was her heart; and she preferred the former.

Opening the door, she stepped into the hallway, walking determinedly down the hall and towards whatever hours of freedom she had left.

Last time, she’d left because of him; this time, she left for herself.

She needed time to process the truths that she’d learned without the distraction and influence of her desire for him.