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Brushing a soft kiss across her mouth, he discerned a whimper. Pulling back, he could not resist what he saw in her expression. Taking her hand he began pulling her towards a small copse. As they passed a large oak, he whirled around, pressing her against the trunk and capturing her mouth in a torrid kiss. When she moaned and arched into him, he shrugged off his coat and feverishly began to unbutton his waistcoat, letting it drop to the ground without quitting the kiss.

His hands slid up from her waist to her breasts and explored their softness. Not satisfied, he pulled her hard against him, away from the tree trunk, which allowed him access to the buttons on back of her gown. He began slowly unbuttoning them. Still lost in the kiss, he pushed the gown off her shoulders, caressing their softness. His shaft immediately hardened, and his resolve not to go this far instantly evaporated.

Need drove them—the need to touch, to possess. As his tongue slipped inside her mouth and she began a duel with her own, he slid a hand inside her décolletage, grasping one soft mound. The feel of her breast in his hand, the nipple hardening against his palm, was his undoing. Immediately, he pushed the gown further down and dipped his head, taking one hard bud into his mouth and running his tongue over and around it, completely absorbed in the pleasure he was experiencing. Her hands were in his hair, pulling him closer as she writhed. First one nipple, then the other, were privy to his kisses, nips, and suckles, until she could bear it no longer.

Sighing softly, she murmured, “Oh, my love, I am terrified that this happiness cannot last. Please make me yours while we have the chance.”

Her pleas brought him back to the present, and he began pressing soft kisses around each dark circle before sighing and pulling her garments back into place. Their breathing was erratic as they came down from the peak of desire, and he leaned in, placing his forehead against hers. Once calmed, he gathered her back into his embrace, while he buttoned her gown. Having completed the task, he whispered into her hair.

“I understand how you feel. I cannot help but think something or someone will take you away from me, but I want you to consider me as your husband, not just your lover, when we consummate our love. I truly believe the vicar to whom I have written will agree to conduct a small commitment ceremony for us.” He kissed her nose. “And despite my inability to restrain myself,” another kiss on her forehead followed, “I want you to know I truly love you ... not just desire you.”

She smiled wanly. “I know that you want to protect me, though I think it is you that needs the protection from me.”

His eyes were serious, concern shining out of their depths. “I look forward to lowering my guard, then.”

After leaning in for another soft kiss, he took a deep breath. “I hate to go to London without you, but I cannot take the chance of having anyone see us travelling together, since you, my dear cousin, are supposed to be recuperating at Pemberley.”

Returning his kiss, Elizabeth murmured against his mouth, “Though, rumour is that your cousin grows stronger and more wanton each day.”

Chuckling, he feathered soft kisses across her cheek, and nuzzled her neck. As she placed kisses in his hair, she sighed. “You have not yet departed, and already I am missing you. Please come back to me as soon as possible. I am only alive when I am in your arms.”

William cupped her face. “And I am only alive in yours. I promise to return as fast as is humanly possible.”

As he pulled her hard against him, another passionate kiss sealed his promise. With a sigh, he pulled her close and held her tenderly. Tomorrow, Richard would come down from York and they would leave for London. This one special moment would have to endure them until his return.

~~~*~~~

Chapter 28

London

Darcy House

Early Afternoon

As Richard preferred, there were no footsteps, creaking hinges or butler to give him away as he gingerly opened the door to the study. He often took the opportunity to examine his cousin off guard, as Darcy was prone to assume a mask in company—even in his company. Seeing the sombre expression on his cousin’s face, the precise look William had worn since they left Pemberley, Richard felt completely justified in what he did next.

“Good Lord, Darce, you have not been this subdued since Father reprimanded you for trying to shave Mother’s favourite cat!” William jumped at the sound of his cousin’s voice, but Richard continued undeterred. “You hardly said two words on the journey here, and you have been isolated in this study since our arrival. You know what they say—all work and no play.”

Now irritated at being startled, William laid down the papers he had been trying to read, to study Richard. He was leaning against the door frame, his raised brow an indication that he expected an answer. Though William appreciated that his cousin was only trying to cheer him, he simply could not find it in himself to be very jovial at that moment. This was his first full day in London, and already he missed Elizabeth so desperately that he could barely concentrate on the matters at hand.

“I did not try to shave Balthazar,” William challenged, trying to assume a happiness he did not feel. “You did the deed and placed the blame on me!”

“Oh, wait! You are correct.” Richard smirked, pushing away from the door and walking over to stand in front of William’s desk. “But it was your comment that it was uncomfortably warm and that he would be much cooler without so much hair that gave me the inspiration. Thus, inadvertently, you were to blame.”

William shook his head in wonder at Richard’s convoluted reasoning. “As I recall, I often bore the brunt of your father’s wrath, though your ideas were almost always the provocation.”

“Well, of course, you did. I had to deflect the blame to someone. You were younger, and Mother felt sorry for you after Uncle George died, so she would not let Father apply the strap to your backside. Now, me? She clearly had no qualms about allowing Father to whip me into shape! So you should be proud to have served me so well as to have saved me from some of his fury.”

“‘Proud’ is not the word I would have chosen.”

“Pleased?”

“Puzzled is more like it.”

William stood and stretched soundly before taking his seat again. “Usually, I had no earthly idea what Uncle Edward was talking about. It was only afterward, when you would confess to me exactly what you had done, that I would understand. But I think that somewhere deep inside his heart, he knew all along that you were the perpetrator.”

“Nevertheless, you always watched out for me, Darce, and for that, I am profoundly grateful. That is why I try so hard now to share your burdens and make you laugh.”