Page 60 of Third Time is the Charm (Passion and Perseverance #3)

Only when her body was finally covered did the tension begin to leave his body.

Beth looked up at him, her eyes meeting the dark, desirous depths of his.

She saw the light sheen of sweat on his skin, the stiffness throughout his body, especially against the front of his pants.

She bit her lip, half-expecting him to jump in the tub with her fully-clothed.

A knock at the door echoed through the room, yet his gaze never left hers. His focus remained on her for another few seconds before breaking suddenly as he walked out of the room to answer the door for the wine that he’d requested.

Darcy returned to her private spa a few minutes later holding a glass of wine for her. Beth moaned softly, realizing that she must have dozed off, her head laying back against the edge of the tub.

“Do you want this?” he asked. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Beth smiled at his apologetic tone. “It’s fine, I’ll take it, thank you.” She reached for the glass, enjoying the shiver that crept up her spine as her fingers brushed his.

She sat up further in the tub, the water rolling back and forth, precariously close to exposing the tips of her breasts to his waiting gaze. The water calmed as Beth began to sip the deep red liquid from the glass, letting it heat her from the inside out.

Darcy leaned back against the countertop, crossing his legs in front of him, his eyes remaining locked on her and the seductive picture that she posed – her hair loosely piled on top of her head, her body teasingly obscured by the properties of the water, languorously sipping from her wine glass.

“So, after tomorrow we can start looking at apartments?” he asked deeply, a mischievous smile spreading across his face.

Her eyes opened languidly, turning to his. “Seriously? Are you trying to make me more stressed?” She laughed. “You’re incorrigible. I haven’t decided yet – I haven’t even thought about that yet.”

“Absolutely not,” he began seriously. “I just know that you’ve already decided, no matter how much you are trying to deny it now…” He trailed off, looking at her intently.

She stared back at him, not breaking his gaze.

He was right; it was so annoying when he was right.

There were a lot of unknowns right now, but whether or not Darcy would be in her life after this weekend was not one of them. Whether it was here or New York, her current apartment or a new one… every possibility for her future included him in it beside her.

“I wouldn’t be so sure, Mr. Darcy,” she teased. “I might need more convincing.” With a smile, her head tipped back again along the edge of the tub, her eyes closing to fully enjoy the warmth of the water and wine mixing in and around her.

Beth felt herself drift off back towards that half-sleep stupor that she’d been comfortably resting in.

Just as she began to reach that state, the left side of her body began to warm and tingle.

Her eyes fluttered open to see Darcy kneeling next to the tub, his eyes molten with only a singular ambition reflecting out from them.

She watched as though in a trance as he gently plucked her almost-empty wine glass from her hand, setting it on the tile floor next to him. Next, she watched him slowly unbutton the left cuff on his shirt, rolling the crisp fabric up the length of his forearm, his eyes still trained on hers.

“What are you doing?” she whispered hoarsely.

His hand reached up underneath her chin as he leaned over the side of the tub to kiss her softly. His tongue licked over the soft swell of her lower lip and she sighed against his mouth.

“I’m convincing you,” he whispered against her. As his words brushed over her, his hand slid down from her chin, along her neck, dipping beneath the edge of the water in search of the treasures hidden beneath. “Just relax.”

As if she could do anything else… as if she would even want to…

She tried to hold his steamy stare, but when his fingers closed over her breast, her eyelids could no longer stay open. Her eyes closed taking in every sensation – the water, the wine, and now the tease of his hand kneading her swollen flesh.

He was in no rush, tenderly massaging her flesh underneath the cover of the water; his movements slow and controlled to not overly agitate the calming liquid.

He gently teased her nipple, pulling the silken, firm peak between the pads of his fingers.

He rolled the bud back and forth until she heard the softly insistent moans escaping from her mouth.

His hand slowly released her, moving gradually through the water to her other breast, teasing it in a similar fashion. All the while, his eyes were trained on his hand, his mouth wishing that he could enjoy everything that his fingers were leaving behind.

Beth moaned, her legs shifting underneath the water to try to easy the steady, intense ache that was building between her thighs. Darcy cleared his throat at the swish of water over his arm, his need rising as well, yet painfully unattended to.

One last brush of his thumb over her nipple before his hand began to float down over her stomach, headed for the center of her need, leaving the rolling water to continue to stimulate the sensitized skin of her breasts.

Sinking his arm further beneath the water level, his fingers brushed over her folds. Her legs – already bent – immediately spread wider, welcoming him to her core. Even though she was immersed in water, Darcy knew that she was wet for him.

His fingers slipped into her, diving immediately for the swollen nub that was aching for him. Beth gasped loudly as his fingers rubbed over her clit. Her hips flexed, causing the water to wave against the edges of the tub.

His hand cupped over her, pausing all movement. “Relax,” he whispered, waiting for the water to calm before he began to pleasure her again.

His fingers teased over her, slowly and deliberately increasing their speed and pressure.

Her moans became louder, her body tensing as she tried to stay still underneath the torture of his touch, not wanting to flood the room with the bathwater.

It became harder and harder as he steadily pleasured the sensitized nub, purposefully – and torturously – not pushing his fingers inside of her; it would have been too much, too fast.

His fingers swirled rhythmically over her, a small whirlpool forming at the top of the water as the only indication that something far more turbulent was going on underneath. Her moans grew louder.

“That’s it, gorgeous. Just relax. Let yourself come,” he whispered hoarsely.

His fingers moved faster, bringing her to that edge.

“ Darcy,” she gasped his name as her orgasm washed over her. Her hips rising uncontrollably underneath the water, causing it to roll and crash against the sides of the tub; some spilling out over the edge, drenching the floor and only partially wetting the clothes Darcy had tried to keep dry.

She floated back down from the high, her eyes opening to see her hands clenched on the sides of the tub. Darcy’s arm was still buried in the depths of the water, slowly stroking over, keeping that fire inside of her still burning.

Her heavy breathing still labored as her eyes, molten with the deeper fire that he continued to stoke, met his.

“I’m still not convinced,” she said breathlessly. His fingers immediately applied a harder pressure to her core, forcing a gasp from her mouth.

“Oh, I’m not done yet,” he promised hoarsely.

He stood abruptly, ripped his shirt off, and grasped her hands from the side of the tub. Darcy pulled her firmly to stand, not caring about the water that continued to spill resentfully over the edge of the tub. Grabbing a towel off of the hook, he wrapped it around her haphazardly.

He picked her up out of the tub, ignoring the water that dripped off of her legs as he carried her back into the bedroom. Gently laying her on the bed, he let the towel unfold around her, letting it stay underneath her in an attempt to keep the bed relatively dry.

Darcy looked down at her. With a groan that said he couldn’t help himself, he bent over, his mouth capturing one of her nipples that had been hidden from him before.

Sucking on the hard bud, his hand drifted back between her thighs.

His fingers returned to their repetitive motions, swirling around her center, stroking her desire back to a frenzied level.

There he stayed, her body arching underneath him in pleasure, begging for more.

With a grunt, he pulled himself away from her.

Standing, his hands roughly undid his belt.

Beth watched him, with heavy and heady eyes, walk around the bed to stand directly in front of her.

He unzipped his fly, pulling his pants over his hips – not bothering to take them completely off – and climbing onto the bed between her thighs.

There was no more prep; the next thing that touched her was the head of his erection at her soaking entrance. With a groan, he pushed completely inside of her.

Beth gasped, her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist to pull him as deep as she could. She felt his body begging to be let loose, to slam into her and find the release he’d been denying himself. Instead, he slowly pushed in and out of her, continuing his focus on building her need.

She moaned as he slid inside of her against her quivering muscles. The heat and friction between them building. With each thrust, he lost more and more of that thin veil of control; each thrust becoming harder, trying to push even further inside of her.

“ Convinced?” Hearing him on the edge of the release had her arching against him for hers.

“ Yes.”

He groaned deeply at her response, all remnants of restraint lost. He plunged into her mindlessly, his hand coming between them to flick over her clit. The brief motion sent her soaring over that familiar cliff.

“ Darcy!” she yelled his name as she came around him. Her muscles squeezed him, pushing him over the edge of orgasm. He groaned her name as his release flooded her.

The friction between their bodies began to slow. Darcy dropped down onto his elbows above her, their breaths mingling between them.

“Convinced, gorgeous?” he rasped again softly, gently biting her lower lip.

“Mmm…” she murmured, flexing her legs pulling him deeper inside of her as the first part to her answer. “For now…”

He laughed and Beth felt the gentle vibration of his body all along hers up and inside of her core.

“Minx.” He kissed her tenderly. “Alright, time for you to go to bed. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

She nodded slightly, her body tensing in revolt when she felt him pull out of her. Darcy stood, removing his pants that had fallen around his calves. Taking the towel that still lay beneath her, he gently dried between her thighs.

Lifting her lightly, he slid the towel out from underneath her, tossing it onto the floor in the bathroom. Pulling the covers down, Beth slipped underneath them, snuggling into the cool sheets, anxiously waiting for Darcy to join her.

A few minutes later, she felt him slip underneath the covers, pulling her back firmly against the heat of his chest.

“I love you, Beth,” he whispered into her ear.

She smiled sleepily, murmuring “I love you, too” just before she faded into her dreams.