Page 67 of Courting Elizabeth

He withdrew his hand gently and straightened my clothes. The tenderness of it made the moment even more intimate.

I became aware of his arousal, hard against my thigh.

“And you?” I asked.

“Later.”

“You always say that.”

“Because you are not yet ready.”

I placed my hand on his cheek.

“I think I am getting closer.”

His face shuttered for a second. He received hope the way one receives pain.

“Do not hurry to reward me.”

“It is not a reward.”

“Then say it when you are certain.”

The rain eased. The groom knocked discreetly to announce that the horses could set off again.

We separated, adjusted our clothes, and returned to Pemberley under a still-gray sky.

No one could guess what had happened in the hunting lodge.

I knew that something had changed.

I had not only entrusted my pleasure to Fitzwilliam.

I had entrusted him with my vulnerability, and he had held it with more care than many men held a promise.

Chapter 16

DARCY

Three nights after the rain, Elizabeth opened the door again.

This time, she carried a candle.

I stood at the window in my shirt and trousers, unable to sleep. The light behind her outlined her silhouette through the thin fabric of her nightgown. My breath caught before she even spoke.

“I want to stay with you tonight,” she said.

I did not move.

I had imagined this moment with too much fervor to trust it now that it was finally here.

“Elizabeth.”

“I know what I’m saying.”

“Do you know what it entails?”

She set the candle on the dresser.