Page 59 of Third Time is the Charm (Passion and Perseverance #3)
Every day for the rest of the week the same florist dropped off a single, black rose at the front desk.
None of them made it up to her office, of course.
Each tossed immediately upon receipt. The florist had no information to give about who purchased them – even though Beth and Darcy knew full-well who it was; Caroline had sent a separate person each day, recruited from Craigslist, and paid in cash.
There were no notes accompanying the solitary blooms. Caroline knew that they would never directly reach Beth anyway; she also knew she didn’t need to send a note after the first one – her intentions were crystal clear.
Her bodyguards followed her into work each day, their silent solidarity a welcoming presence. There had been no sign of her – no feeling of being watched, no other little clues that Beth was still in her crosshairs.
It meant nothing.
They knew something was coming and Caroline was enjoying making them squirm.
Darcy took her to work and picked her up, going into his temporary office throughout the day.
He’d been having to do a lot of video conference calls with his associates back in New York since Fitz was in the process of acquiring a few smaller publishing firms in the city.
Beth felt a small twinge of guilt whenever he had to take a business call around her, knowing that the process would be much easier if he were there to handle the business in person.
But he would never think to leave her alone right now – and she wouldn’t want him to.
It had gone unsaid, but they both knew that whatever Caroline was planning would happen on Saturday – the day of the Contest and the subsequent, celebratory ball. But what could they do except wait?
Security had been tightened. The guest list had been verified – for the ball at least. It was unlikely – at least they hoped – that she would do something at the actual race; there were too many people.
It would be difficult to find Beth in such a crowd; the evening ball would be much easier.
Darcy had added security to the hotel and insisted that they stay there the night before and after, to eliminate any opportunity for Caroline to get to her as she entered the building that evening for the event.
Beth had cut back her presence at the smaller events that had gone on throughout the week – the dinners, meetings with potential donors, etc.
– letting Colin handle most of it. Darcy hadn’t asked her to – she’d insisted.
The last time, she’d taken Caroline’s threats lightly, hardly believing that someone could really do anything that terrible; she knew better now.
She and Colin had jointly given tours of the Dempsey Center to the many high-profile guests, so she made sure that she still met with them. But she left all of the after-work schmoozing to Colin; he enjoyed it.
Darcy came up behind her, leaning over her shoulder to kiss her cheek, jarring her from her thoughts. He reached down to pick up her overnight bag.
“You ready?” he asked softly.
She gave a slight nod of her head – not like she had much of a choice.
With a wary glance over her shoulder, Beth followed him out of her apartment, locking the door behind her.
They made their way down to the car that was going to take them to the hotel.
It was late – almost nine; they’d waited until after dinner before deciding to leave, hoping Caroline would assume that Beth would still be in her apartment that night.
Darcy grabbed her hand once the car started moving, squeezing her fingers within his.
He would keep her safe.
From what… now that was the question.
Her head tipped onto his shoulder, eyes closing as she tried to relax.
As the days had gotten closer to the event, the quality of her sleep had been less and less.
When she closed her eyes, all she kept seeing was Caroline coming after her, hurting her, or hurting Darcy – and there was nothing that she could do about it.
“Beth,” Darcy murmured into her ear. Her eyes blinked open to see that they had arrived.
John and Arnie escorted them right to the elevator – the lobby still pretty bustling at this hour, probably with guests arriving last minute for the event tomorrow.
Beth glanced around as they passed through the open space, quickly examining the limited decorations and posters that had been put up for the Contest. Pat and Colin’s faces plastered on several of the larger ones.
She hadn’t even told Col that they were staying here tonight; trying to keep her location as undisclosed as possible.
None of that would matter tomorrow. She could hide up in their room all day during the race if she wanted, but she would be at the ball tomorrow night; it was her idea – her project – and she couldn’t miss it.
Especially when they’d done everything that they could to stop Caroline from being able to intrude.
She wasn’t going to live like a hermit.
Caroline was deranged – and deranged people made mistakes.
Caroline would show up, try to get her way, and she would be arrested in the process.
Beth had no doubt that that was how tomorrow night was going to go; her only concern was what collateral damage was going to be involved in achieving that resolution.
They made it to their suite with no problems. John brought their bags inside before leaving her and Darcy to themselves.
Darcy pulled her against him, kissing her deeply. The effect on her was an immediate muscle relaxant as she melted against him.
“I’m going to draw you a hot bath and order up some wine,” he said hoarsely, kissing her forehead.
She sighed, resting her head on his chest, unbelievably grateful for his strength and support.
“Thank you.”
Picking up her bag, she walked heavily into the bedroom, sitting down on the edge of the bed and falling back onto the soft landing of the plush comforter. She closed her eyes, listening to the calming, soft stream of water beginning to flow from the bathroom.
Darcy’s firm footsteps padded out into the living area of the suite. He picked up the phone and Beth heard him order a bottle of red wine up to the room. He kept his voice low, trying not to disturb her.
“Come on, gorgeous. Let’s get you in that bath.” Darcy lifted her up off the bed and carried her into the bathroom.
She sighed against him. “I can walk.”
“I know,” he replied. “It doesn’t change the fact that I like to carry you.”
“Mmm.” He gently set her feet down onto the heated tile floor.
“Arms up,” he instructed. Grabbing the hem of her blouse, he lifted it up and over her head, setting it on the countertop behind him.
Beth saw his eyes darkening as he revealed more of her skin, yet he kept his touch soft and focused.
Next, his fingers moved to the waistband of her jeans, undoing the zipper and tugging the snug fabric down over her hips.
As he bent down to finish removing them from her legs, she placed her hands on his shoulders to steady herself.
Raising one leg and then the other, she let Darcy slip her jeans off of her, leaving her standing just in her underwear.
“Turn around,” he instructed. His voice was tight; Beth could hear the strain of desire in each syllable – desire that he was keeping under firm control. For now.
She did as he asked, giving him her back so that he could unclasp her bra.
His fingers gently trailed up along the straps to pull them off of her shoulders.
Moving her arms away slightly from her body, the material slipped down and away from her, caught only by Darcy’s fingers that prevented it from falling to the floor.
He carefully set it on top of her shirt and pants that were on the counter by the sink.
He stepped around her to turn the water from the tub off since it had filled completely.
By now, the room had steamed to the point where it was hard to see anything in the mirror over the sink and her body shivered in anticipation of the soothing heat of the water waiting in front of her.
She saw Darcy’s jaw muscle flex as he moved back behind her, his eyes catching a glimpse of her naked breasts - her nipples erect from the light tease of his touch.
His hands now seemed much hotter as they came to rest on her waist. His fingertips trailed lightly along the edge of her thong as though he were debating whether or not to take it off.
As though he were debating whether or not he could control himself if he did.
He cleared his throat, a sign of his determination as Beth felt the thin, soft material begin to slide down over her hips. Again, her arm came back to rest on his shoulder as she stepped out of her panties, now standing completely naked in front of him.
His hands on her calves, they trailed lightly up over her legs as he moved to stand.
Pausing as he came up, he lightly nipped on the velvet skin of her ass.
His hands followed his mouth, moving softly over the curves of her body before coming to rest just above her waist – his fingers tantalizingly close to the underside of her breasts.
Beth sighed, about to lean back against him and let him pleasure her into a relaxed exhaustion when his voice rasped in her ear.
“Time to get in.”
He guided her over to the tub, keeping her steady as she stepped into the steaming, hot water.
A loud moan escaped from her lips at the wonderful feeling of submerging her stressed body into the almost-scalding liquid.
She lowered herself carefully into the tub, noticing how intently Darcy was watching her – both because he wanted to make sure she didn’t hurt herself and because he couldn’t take his eyes off of her naked form, jealous of the water that was caressing every inch of her skin.