Page 12 of Winter of Passion (Pride and Prejudice Variation)

“Of course…please stay…but you should lock the door…” She smiled.

“I have already done that…”

“You always consider all the details, Mr Darcy,” she teased him. She slowly moved backwards to look at him. Only then did she notice he was wearing nothing but trousers and a shirt, and she shivered when her toes touched his bare feet.

“We have been together all day, yet I missed you so much,” he whispered. His lips touched her ear, and she quivered again.

“As have I… I confess I was jealous of Miss Bingley for stealing so much of your time and attention.”

“I gave her some of my time, but my attention was entirely on you, my love. Even when you were not present.”

Her hands encircled his neck, and her face moved towards his.

“I cannot believe we have only been engaged for a day,” she said, her fingers touching his face. “It feels as though we have been together for months.”

“We have been — though part of that time we were together in quarrels and resentment,” he replied, smiling to soften the gravity of his words.

“I have been starving for your lips all day, my lovely Elizabeth.” His thumb brushed over the objects of his yearning and parted them, while he tantalised her earlobe.

His left hand began a gentle exploration, stroking her through the thin fabric of her gown.

“Please do not worry,” he said. “I shall stop whenever you ask me to.”

“Then we are in real trouble, sir. I do not wish you to stop.” She tried to joke, but her heart was racing, and another quiver ran along her skin.

“Are you cold? Should I put more wood on the fire?”

“No…do not leave…I need nothing else to warm me but you…” she replied weakly, an instant before his mouth captured hers.

His tenderness was soon replaced by unleashed passion, turning into possession.

His tongue daringly tasted her mouth, and his teeth tantalised her lips gently, biting them tenderly.

“I have never tasted a sweeter dessert,” he said hoarsely. “Your flavour is intoxicating.”

Her hands cupped his face, and she resumed the kiss.

“I am pleased to know I am not the only one who is dizzy,” she said, coming up for air.

His mouth left her again and moved down to her throat, then he gently bit her ear while stroking her bare arms before running his hands over her ribs and lingering on a breast.

He seemed eager to taste more of her, and his desire overwhelmed her too.

He traced warm kisses across her chin, down her jaw to her throat, then to her ear, and finally back to her thirsty mouth.

She could hardly breathe, but he held her tightly.

She was afraid to assume what would come next and even more afraid that he might stop before showing her.

His fingers pulled her gown from her shoulders, and quivers overtook her. She moaned, and he stopped, gazing into her eyes. She smiled at him and touched his chest, then his throat. He moaned too.

His fingers — slowly, gently — travelled lower and, while his eyes never left hers, traced a line of fire around one breast, then cupped it in his palm in gentle, tender possession.

“So perfect,” he whispered, and their moans combined.

The exquisite, unique sensation made her back arch against his hand, and his thumb caressed her hard nipple.

She released a cry, which he silenced with another kiss.

His attention moved to her other breast, beginning the sweet, delightful torture again.

Her moans increased with her breathing, and she felt she was losing control of her senses.

“Should I stop?” he enquired, and she held him even tighter.

“Oh no…please…do not stop…”

His face leant over hers, and his body was now half covering her own.

“I never imagined that I might feel so much passion…so much desire…and so much love for someone, Elizabeth.”

“Ardent love?” she asked, as breathless as he.

“I said the word months ago, but I believe I have only just discovered its true meaning.”

“And I have always claimed that I shall only marry for the deepest love, but I did not know its true meaning either.”

“We shall learn and discover together. We have begun tonight, but we have an entire lifetime ahead of us…if I can only control myself until the wedding,” he said teasingly. “I never lost control over my mind, my heart, or my body until I met you, Elizabeth.”

“I could never have imagined you losing control under any circumstances, Mr Darcy,” she teased him back. “We all know that you are a man without fault.”

“We both know well enough that I have too many faults to even count. But I am content that you were well aware of them when you accepted my marriage proposal, so you will have no cause to repine later.”

“Being your wife would give me too many sources of happiness to ever repine. I even told Lady Catherine as much,” she replied, caressing his face and brushing her lips over his. “Fitzwilliam?” she whispered when the kiss threatened to become overwhelming again.

“Yes?”

“I wish to begin tonight… I would not mind becoming your wife now. I trust you…and we shall be married soon.” She heard her heart pounding at such a daring and highly improper confession, but she enjoyed revealing her secret desires to him.

His face brightened with obvious delight, and he leant closer to her.

“My beloved Elizabeth, you cannot imagine how happy I am…but I hope you will not mind waiting until after the wedding. Our love should find its fulfilment in the comfort of our own home, without worry that we might be heard or seen, without any restraint or concern, only pure passion and ardent love,” he ended hoarsely, playing with the hair that lay on her forehead and temples.

“Of course,” she whispered, suddenly mortified by her boldness that he had rejected.

“But, Elizabeth, I am too selfish to entirely overlook your suggestion. We might begin now…and end on our wedding night…if you wish…”

Her embarrassment turned into curiosity and slight puzzlement.

“I do not know what you are asking me, but my answer to you will always be yes.”

He smiled and dipped his head to claim her lips.

His chest was now pressing into hers, and her nightgown was gathered somewhere around her waist. Without breaking the kiss, he removed his shirt and leant over her again, their naked bodies meeting for the first time, burning their skin.

The sensation was so overwhelming, so powerful, that another cry escaped from her lips and was fortunately crushed within their kiss.

His caresses returned to her breasts, and her arms encircled him.

“I want to taste you,” he pleaded. She heard little and understood even less, just sensed his mouth abandoning hers and following the trace of his fingers.

Her mind realised what would happen only a moment before she actually felt it.

His lips explored the place where her heart beat wildly, and she moaned at the torturous touch of his mouth, which licked, tasted, and savoured until it finally closed around her nipple.

She pressed a hand to her mouth to repress another cry.

He noticed her distress and lifted his face to look at her, then kissed her lips softly.

“Are you well?” he whispered, while his delicious caresses on her breasts continued. She only nodded, her gaze clouded with passion.

Still gazing into her eyes, his hand slowly moved down, resting a moment on her belly. She sighed, shivering under his stare and caresses.

His hand lowered even more, moving towards her legs, stroking them briefly, then gliding between her thighs and pausing there.

She held her breath, wondering, waiting, arching her back. His strokes resumed, building a fire which soon invaded her entire being. A deep moan escaped her again; she felt her lips were dry and licked them. His gaze burned her as much as his hand moving slowly up her inner thigh.

“Tell me if you wish me to stop…”

“I do not want you to stop,” she answered. The pleasure had made her eyelashes too heavy, and she struggled to keep her eyes open.

“Please look at me, my love,” he begged her. She obeyed and was captured in his intense stare.

His strokes became more daring, tantalising her thighs then moving upwards gently before stilling, pressing on her most intimate place. She gasped and looked at him in wonder.

He stole another brief kiss, tasting her lips, then withdrawing enough for their eyes to lock. His smile widened, while she felt his fingers moving again gently, tenderly, and finding their way into the core of her body. There, the caresses stopped again, his eyes asking another wordless question.

“I can feel you inside me,” she whispered.

“I can feel me inside you,” he replied, and then his mouth captured hers again, possessively, conquering her mouth while his fingers resumed their torturous strokes.

Her body melted under the fire building inside her, and she struggled for air.

He abandoned her mouth, and she caught her breath while his kisses moved down her neck and returned to her breasts, caressing her skin with his lips, his tongue, his teeth, while his fingers conquered the spot — warm and moist — where all her senses seemed to burn until all of a sudden they were blown into countless pieces.

Everything faded around her except for his scent and warmth and the storm of fire and ice he had built inside her.

Elizabeth lost track of time, and for a while, she did not dare open her eyes. She was painfully aware of her naked breasts brushing against his chest. He was lying next to her, his hands still exploring her, his heaving breathing and his soft kisses in her hair.

His arms embraced her, and she rested her head upon his chest, listening to his heart beat.

“Elizabeth…will you not look at me, my love?”

“Not yet,” she whispered back, her fingers stroking his bare chest. “I need a little more time to recover. I still cannot believe what happened…”

He laughed and kissed her hair, entwining his fingers with hers.

“Then take your time. Should I leave and let you rest?”

“No!” she said with a haste that embarrassed her, and he covered her face with more kisses.

“Do not worry, Miss Bennet. I have long promised you that I would by no means suspend any pleasure of yours.”

She heard the amusement in his voice, so she lifted her face to him.

“When we had that conversation, Mr Darcy, I was obviously not aware of the complete meaning of the word ‘pleasure’ as I have only just learnt it. And I am quite sure that you did not have in mind its full meaning either.”

“You are wrong, Miss Bennet,” he answered, leaning in to claim another kiss. “This is exactly what I had in mind every time I mentioned the word pleasure, almost from the beginning of our acquaintance.”

Elizabeth looked at him in disbelief. “Surely you are joking, sir!”

“Not at all. It is also true that, for a long time, I did not imagine that I should ever share that word with you…but I did have it in my mind. And allow me to tell you that you have not yet comprehended the full meaning, my dear Miss Bennet. We have only just begun.”

With that, his lips captured hers for another passionate kiss, which was repeated countless times until dawn, when Darcy finally returned to his chamber and Elizabeth managed to catch a little bit of sleep before the sun fully rose.