“I’m an idiot,” she murmured.
“What do you mean? I didn’t take it personally. It was nice.”
Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “You don’t say.” She leaned in and gently pressed her lips to his.
He moaned and lifted his hand to cup her cheek.
His lips were firm and slightly chapped, but softened under her gentle probing. Elizabeth’s hand drifted to his neck, and she pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. She tentatively ran her tongue across his lips and into his mouth.
Darcy groaned, but suddenly pulled away, grasping her shoulder. “Are you sure?” he asked, panting. “Your leg?” She nodded and ran her hand down his arm, tugging him onto the sofa. “Jane and Charles aren’t coming back tonight,” she murmured. She wiggled aside and pulled back the covers, making room for him
“What? Why?” Darcy lay down on his side, his legs carefully avoiding hers, and sank into her with another deep kiss.
Elizabeth shifted, sliding her hands up under his sweater through the fine hair on his chest. He sighed and fell on top of her, ravaging her with his mouth.
“Why are you always in black? I want to see your skin,” Elizabeth said in a low voice. She succeeded in pulling up Darcy’s sweater, trapping his arms. He sat up on his knees and yanked it over his head, then hesitated.
“Where exactly are Jane and Charles?”
“It’s raining. Car trouble. Cute motel.”
Darcy nodded and tossed his sweater onto a chair. He pulled herup, lifting her sweater and T-shirt over her head. Elizabeth didn’t make it easy; she kept her hands busy on his chest, eliciting a moan and a deep hard kiss from him.
His whiskers scraped her cheeks. He gently cupped her breast through her sports bra and started pushing down a strap. When the elastic proved resistant, he paused and stared at it, looking bewildered.
Elizabeth unsnapped the concealed front clasp. As the sides fell away, his eyes were drawn to her breasts. He cupped one in his hand and rolled his thumb across its swell. “Beautiful,” he murmured. “So beautiful…” She reached up, tangling her fingers in his hair and pulling his mouth down to hers.
He kissed her back and rolled her to her side. “Your leg?” he mumbled.
“It’s fine, it’s fine.”
His lips teased hers apart, and she again felt the tip of his tongue on hers as their mouths created their own rhythm. Elizabeth ran one hand through his hair; the other glided across his shoulder blade and traveled lower until she felt more than skin and muscle. There were welts and scar tissue. He slowly raised himself up to look at her.
“Are you okay? What happened?” she asked.
Darcy just stared at her, breathing heavily.
“You have scars too?”
“The accident,” he mumbled. His eyes were wary.
Elizabeth paused, trying to remember what he’d said earlier about an accident, but her head was a little fuzzy.
“Were you there too?”
He looked at her, his face a mixture of lust and confusion. “Please…not now,” he said roughly, drawing closer and dropping kisses on her neck.
“Oh God…” she moaned, pulling him closer. She opened her eyes and, in the dim light, caught sight of his shoulder. Thick scars, some bearing stitch markings, crisscrossed it. His left arm also bore faded marks.Don’t think…
She ran her hand down his chest and reached between them to stroke the hard swelling there. He moaned and suddenly froze. “Uh…no, wait…” he whispered.
She couldn’t. She started fumbling with his zipper.
“Wait, wait. I don’t have any protection.”
“I’m on the pill; it’s fine.”
“No,” he said firmly. “It’s not.” Darcy pulled back and rolled awayfrom her. “Oh God,” he sighed shakily. “This is wrong. We can’t do this.”
