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Elizabeth walked out of the bar and stood in the parking lot, trying to get her bearings. It was raining, but she didn't care; the cool drops were a welcome sensation on her heated skin. As she walked across the lot, she heard the musical sounds of the band as the bar door opened and then it was silent again.
“Elizabeth.”
She knew he would follow.Ignore him.
“Elizabeth.”
He was closer this time, and when his hand lightly grasped her arm, she wrenched it away.
“What?” she said angrily, but kept walking. “What do you want?”
“I just want to talk to you,” he said, keeping pace behind her.
“I don't want to talk toyou.”
“Will you stop for a minute, please?”
She spun on him suddenly and collided with him. He held onto her to steady both of them, but she pulled out of his grasp once again and took a step back.
“How did you find me?”
When he shrugged, she looked at him with a mixture of disgust and ire.
“Forget it, I don't want to know. Is this your big master plan for proving to me that you've changed?” she nearly yelled, and gestured toward the bar. “Showing up out of the blue and singing me a song?”
He looked taken aback. “No, I–there is no master plan. I just–I wanted to see you.”
“Did you ever stop to think about whatIwant? Did that even enter your mind? Don't you think I would havetoldyou if I wanted to see you?” She was unable to pull her eyes away from him as he stood there in the rain, and her voice softened as her anger shifted to a gnawing, raw ache. “My God, Will, why can't you just give me room to breathe?”
She felt overwhelmed suddenly and a sob threatened, begging for release, but she held it in. Tears clouded her eyes, mixing with the raindrops and blurring her vision. Despite everything, despite the pain he’d inflicted, something inside her had warmed and flickered to life at the sight of him, and she didn't want to send him away.
He was standing close enough now that she could detect the scent of the cologne she loved. She could see the stubble growing on his jaw and knew just how it would feel if she caressed it; saw the shadows under his eyes, and knew exactly how his skin would taste if she placed her lips there. Her gaze strayed to his hair, to the drops of water clinging to the dark brown waves, and she knew just how soft it would feel if she ran her hands through it.
An all-too-familiar heat sparked in the pit of her stomach, and at that precise moment, she decided she wasn't going to think anymore; she wasn't going to be angry or empty or heartbroken. She was going to pretend George Wickham and those horrible pictures didn't exist, forget the past two weeks and all that had happened, and live for the moment,thismoment.Shewould be impulsive and take whatshewanted...and what she wanted was him.
Will was caught completelyoff guard when Elizabeth closed the gap between them. She raised her lips to his and kissed him tentatively until he responded, which he tried not to do—at first. He soon stopped resisting and held her waist as he kissed her deeply. He finally pulled away from her and forced himself to take a step back, though it was the last thing he wanted to do; that kiss had ignited his entire body.
“Lizzy—”
“Do you have a car?” she asked breathlessly.
He nodded.
“Where are you staying?”
He looked at her for a long moment before answering. “At the Beaufort Inn. I don't think—”
She cut off his words with another kiss, this one much more confident and hungrier than the first. He became lost in it, lost inher, unaware of anything else. Her arms snaked around his neck while his wrapped around her waist, crushing her against him. She broke the kiss, but only to move her lips to his neck, to suck and bite at him, and he groaned before she moved back to his lips. The rain had picked up and they were soaked now, but both were oblivious to it.
“Let’s go,” she whispered against his ear.
“Elizabeth, we need to—”
She very decidedly bit his bottom lip, making him jump, but soothed it with her tongue before kissing him again. His entire body shuddered, and his arms tightened their hold.
“I want you,” she said against his lips, as her hands worked their way under his wet shirt.
