Page 51 of Third Time is the Charm (Passion and Perseverance #3)

Darcy stood, unmoving, in the doorframe, watching her as she walked towards him, drawn to him by his trance.

His sleeves were rolled up, one arm holding the door open, the other propped against the doorframe, both flexed as he pushed against those objects.

His leg muscles, too, were firmly outlined in his pants, the front of which growing more taut with every step closer that she took.

He’d taken his shoes off, his socked feet one in front of the other as though he were poised to break from the door as soon as the whistle blew.

He was resisting.

Everything about his body language told her that he was restraining himself; the doorway an invisible barrier in his mind separating him from her.

His feet anchored to the floor while his hands, instead of ready to push off, were holding him back from going to her and wrapping her in his arms, locking her to him as a comfort to himself that she was his.

His jaw flexed, the muscle twitching along the side of his cheek, trying to keep the words he wanted to say at bay – the ones that demanded to know about Col, what had happened, if he had touched her, why he had kissed her.

He was resisting, waiting for her to set him free.

Beth walked boldly up to him, confident in where she stood, in her ability to read his feelings for her, and more importantly, in her feelings for him.

“Hello,” she said softly, staring into his deep, brown eyes as she melted into their warmth.

“I missed you,” he rasped. Nothing else in his body moving except his lips to utter those words. He furrowed his brow, gathering the strength to release his arms that were blocking her entrance into her own apartment.

Just as he began to step back and let her step inside, both of her hands reached up, grabbing the sides of his face and pulling his mouth down to her.

She missed him, too.

Darcy growled, instantly responding to her kiss.

His tongue plunging into her mouth as his arms changed course, wrapping themselves tightly around her.

One hand reaching down to grab her ass over her skirt, picking her up and stepping them both back into the apartment, kicking the door shut behind him.

As they slowly stumbled backward into the short entryway, Beth fueled their kiss with every ounce of desire that she felt. It was a potent drug that she’d abstained from all week and now was eagerly craving her Darcy-high.

She bit down forcefully on his tongue as it entered her mouth, causing him to growl again and thrust his hips against hers, his erection digging into her. His hand on her ass began to move, bunching up her skirt as his fingers searched for what was hidden beneath.

Her mouth smiled against his kiss as his hand found her bare ass cheek, squeezing the soft flesh firmly in his grasp. Those exploring fingers made their way along the crevice, down between the backs of her thighs. His whole body froze when the tips touched the molten heat seeping from her core.

His head jerked back. “No underwear?” he asked. His voice hard and harsh with pent-up desire.

She knew what he was thinking though.

“For you.” Not for Col.

“ Christ,” he swore, his lips engulfing hers again. Darcy angled his hand slightly, pushing two fingers completely inside of her with a groan that vibrated right to her core.

Then he was gone. His mouth. His fingers. Everything disappeared for a split second before she was hoisted over his shoulder.

“Darcy!” she gasped, the position causing her skirt to drop, completely baring her lower half; she knew first because she felt the cold air rush over the dampness, sending a shiver through her body.

Or maybe the shiver was because Darcy didn’t waste any time returning that hand to her folds and those fingers inside of her, massaging the muscles of her passage.

His name on her lips morphed into a moan as he carried her expediently into her bedroom and released her long enough to toss her onto the bed.

Her gasp was overwhelmed by the bumping and rumbling of the bed as it absorbed her weight.

She’d barely landed on the soft mess of sheets by the time he’d partially undone his pants, freeing himself just enough to be able to climb between her thighs and sink completely home inside of her.

Her mouth opened, but no sound, no oxygen came in or out; the feel of him filling her sending ripples of exquisite pleasure throughout every cell in her body. Beth felt his forceful breathing against her neck as he took a second to adjust to the warmth and tightness of her.

His teeth sunk into her soft skin as he began to move his hips, her rising instinctively to meet his and the delicious friction that he generated deep inside of her. Beth closed her eyes, letting her body give over in that delectable rhythm.

In and out - a pattern that was more instinctual to her than breathing.

She cried out his name as her orgasm swept over her. Darcy swallowed her cries with his kiss as he joined her. His hips pressing into her as his body began to relax from all of the tension built up inside of it; his release marking her as his own.

“I missed you, too,” she whispered with a naughty, half-smile working its way onto her face. Darcy’s eyes pried open to stare down at her flushed cheeks and sated expression.

His breath released with a sigh. “You’re mine,” he said. His tone wasn’t one of hard demand or undeniable fact; no, it was quiet, tender, and almost questioning.

Warmth spread through her, his words caressing, instead of claiming her.

“And here I was going to say that you were mine,” she replied coyly, flexing her inner muscles around his softening cock.

Darcy hissed; his head bending down to grab her lower lip between his teeth, gently biting down before sucking the tender flesh into his mouth for a moment.

Beth could feel him hardening again inside of her, her muscles expanding to accommodate him. As he released her lip, she whispered, “I am yours.” Extending her neck up, she kissed him briefly.

He briefly touched his lips to her forehead before pushing himself up off of and pulling out of her. She groaned, relaxing back on the bed for a moment, wishing he would have continued to round two, but knowing that she needed to talk to him.

She pushed herself up to sit on the edge of the bed, watching as he finished taking off his pants, walking into the bathroom to wipe himself off before pulling on a pair of sweats that he brought with him over his hard cock.

Beth slowly trailed her gaze up from his waist to meet his eyes, raising her eyebrows at him, asking ‘ are you sure you want to put those on?’

“Let’s talk,” he said softly.

She nodded, reaching for her long, night-time t-shirt, setting it on the bed next to her.

With a decisive slowness, she peeled her shirt from her skirt and lifted it over her head.

Biting her lip, she tried not to smile as she caught Darcy frozen, watching her undress.

Unzipping her skirt, she let it fall to the ground, leaving her naked except for her bra.

“Can you help me?” she asked innocently, turning to give him her back, and her ass. She held her breath for a second until she heard and felt him walk up behind her.

His fingers traced briefly underneath the strap of her bra before he unhooked the clasp, the last of the material shielding her now gone. She turned quickly to face him, the tips of her erect nipples grazing his bare chest.

The thrill and electricity that ran through her, seeing how much she could tease him because of how much he wanted her – and she, him – was indescribable.

“Don’t tempt me,” he growled, picking up her shirt off of the bed and pressing it against her chest between them, waiting for her to take it before stepping around her.

Beth smiled to herself.

Being with him made her feel alive again.

“Do you want some tea?” he asked from the kitchen.

Beth walked to the doorway before answering, “I think you’ll want to pour us some wine.”

His eyebrows raised. “That bad?”

“Yes,” she answered, crossing her arms over her chest. “But, not in the way you think. Well, yes in that way too, I guess.”

“What did you tell him?” Darcy asked.

She was going to tell him everything anyway, she might as well start there; the subject of Caroline was going to detour their conversation very far downhill if she started with that.

“I told him that I’m sorry, but I just don’t feel that way about him. I told him that I tried to.” She paused, returning Darcy’s glare. “He needed to know that I made the attempt, because I did, I truly wanted to, and I couldn’t. It wouldn’t have been right or believable to not tell him that.”

“And…”

“He was sad…” she trailed off, taking a glass from Darcy’s outstretched hand. “And also concerned for me and probably a little bit angry at you. But mostly sad.”

“Why was he concerned for you? Did he think I was forcing you or something?” Darcy asked, irritation turning to anger in his voice at the abhorrent thought.

“No, no definitely not. He’s concerned because he knows what you did – or what I thought you did – and he doesn’t want to see me get hurt like that again.”

“Did you tell him—” Beth cut him off with a kiss.

“I did. I told him what I said to you before you left on Monday. I. Am. Yours. And that was enough because he didn’t question me or try to put you down or convince me to change my mind.

He said he knew at the wedding from the look on my face when I saw you that he never truly stood a chance.

I. Am. Yours.” Her words punctuated by her free hand coming up to rest on his chest over his heart.

“That’s all he needs to know and that’s all you need to know.

There is nothing between him and I except a now-strained friendship; one that I hope will heal with time. ”

Even though she saw that he didn’t particularly like that thought, he just nodded and took a sip of wine before saying, “thank you for telling me. He seems like a nice guy.”