“Why?”
“The orphanage. You and Jane represent the orphanage. Mr. Luc warned me not to put your reputation, and the orphanage’s, in danger with my behavior. He alluded to what happened between Wickham, you, and me that night at Merry Bar. And also afterward, when I spent the night in your room.”
“Your behavior? How can he talk to you when I was the one who got drunk?”
“When I first saw you with Wickham, I should have controlled myself and calmly approached you. I should have acted more decisively when I returned. I should not have just stood there, jealously thinking you were on a date and just let him buy you drinks. It was my fault, what happened that night.”
“You take on too much blame that’s not yours,” she chided. “I was responsible for my poor judgment that night.”
“Of course you’re not blameless,” he soothed. “I’m only admitting my part. I should have called your sister, instead of spending the night in your room.”
“I thought my… uh… rubbing against you that day disgusted you.” The redness returned to her face and her bottom lip disappeared.
He rubbed the soft pad of his thumb against her bottom lip to tease it to reappear. He whispered huskily, “I was very aroused by your enthusiasm and what you did.”
Her mouth parted. “Oh.”
He suppressed the urge to slip his tongue in between her lips to show her how much he liked what she did that day, and how much he fantasized her doing more of the same.
His phone rang. He looked at the caller ID. “My cousin,” he said to Elizabeth before answering, “What do you want, Richard?”
“Hey, Cuz. How’s it going? Aren’t you proud I woke up early to call you? Some of us have to work hard, you know, to make up for those lazing around refusing favors from beautiful women.” Richard’s voice boomed loud enough to drown out the sound of the waves.
Darcy cringed and held the phone a few inches away from his ears. “Do you have some urgent news about work to tell me, or are you calling to annoy me again?”
“But annoying you is almost as much fun as doing it to Anne. Neither of you have a sense of humor.”
“No, don’t go.” Darcy grabbed Elizabeth when she made a motion of moving away to give him privacy.
“Go? I’m not going anywhere. Darce?”
“I wasn’t talking to you.” Darcy kept one arm around Elizabeth.
“Are you talking to the maids? Supervising their cleaning again, eh? You need to get dirty, Cuz. Stop worrying about being clean all the time. Stop spending your time brushing and flossing yourself to death.”
Embarrassed Elizabeth could hear his cousin’s revealing comments about how Darcy had spent the first few days of his vacation, Darcy’s tone was brusque. “If this is about the new company you wanted me to look at in Holland, the answer is no. I don’t want to work with them. I want you to focus on that company we talked about last week. Check to see if they’re willing to work with me long-term. They already have a big presence in New York.”
“I’ll give up convincing you the Holland company is better if you send me a picture of you and a beautiful babe or two at the beach, all wearing thongs. Them, not you.”
Elizabeth tapped Darcy’s arm and motioned for the phone. Enticed by the impish gleam in her eyes, he handed it over.
“Richard, I’m afraid Mr. Darcy can’t talk business anymore.” In a sleepy, sexy, low voice, she breathed, “I need him to floss his teeth…”
“What?” Darcy exclaimed.
“What?” Richard echoed. “Who are you?”
“…with my thong. I’m his paid escort,” Elizabeth finished and hung up on Richard.
Darcy’s mouth dropped open. Richard’s mouth probably was too on the other side of the world.
She winked at him. “I always thought those thongs felt like butt floss.”
The image of her in a thong sent his pulse on a roller coaster ride. He closed his eyes and groaned. “Please, could we not talk about you and thongs right now?”
“You need to return to New York soon?”
Reminded, he sobered. Anne and Richard had been covering while he and Bingley took an extended vacation, but Darcy knew he needed to return to New York soon. He nodded. “I do need to get back.”
Her face fell.
He touched her cheek. “I hope not to be gone long. I’ll check out this company and some others Richard wants me to look at, get everything settled, check in on my sister, then I will come back here.”
“When do you need to be back in New York?”
“Last week,” he admitted. “I couldn’t go though, not while Wickham is here. I know you can take care of yourself, but I need to know that you’ll be safe.”
“If he moves on to some other place, you can leave?”
“It’s my paranoia, but I won’t make the same mistake with you as I did with my sister last year. I take the threat of Wickham very seriously now.”
***
Later, as they headed back to their rooms, Darcy said, “How long are you working at the resort here?”
“Only until Hussein arrives, any day now. Why?”
He paused. “Sweetheart, I’ve learned your friend never had any intention of coming to replace you. From the start, you were always meant to be the doctor here the whole month.”
“What?”
“He’s paying for your room and expenses. The only compensation the resort agreed to for you seeing patients was deep discounts on spa services, which I know you haven’t taken advantage of. Not that you need to, by the way.”
“You mean I’ve been working here for free? They charged for my suite?” She gritted her teeth and walked faster now. “I can’t believe it. I get nothing seeing stupid, rich tourists?”
He hoped she didn’t include him in the group and rushed to keep up with her. “You work for free at the hospital.”
“That’s different. Treating poor, appreciative patients is a privilege. Treating rich and ignorant people for free really, really pisses me off. I’m going to kill Hussein.”
“Tell me again about your arrangement with him? How well do you know him?”
She told him about Hussein and admitted he was one of her three previous boyfriends.
Darcy was immediately jealous and suspicious. “I’m expecting a background check report on him any day now. I ordered it as soon as I discovered your odd arrangement.”
“Oh.” She paused in her tracks for a moment. “I wish you wouldn’t waste your money on that. He’s harmless, as you’ll undoubtedly discover.”
Surprised at her calm reaction, he admitted, “I thought you’d accuse me of interfering in your business.”
“I would have with anyone else, I suppose.” She shrugged and resumed walking. “But you need to be in control of your environment. It’s part of your OCD. It’s a normal protective drive to make sure those you care about are safe.”
“You’re not angry?”
“Why would I be angry? It’s not like you did it because you want to control me or make decisions for me. You need to do it to have peace. To soothe yourself. It’s just like your cleaning and your hand washing.”
He had to swallow the lump in his throat. Since his mother died, he’d had an obsessive need for control. He didn’t let many people into the sanctuary of his private life, mainly because the urge to safeguard those he cared about took so much energy he was often left exhausted. Though he didn’t want the people he loved to feel stifled, he couldn’t help his compulsion. Yet, here was this free-spirited, feisty, and fearless woman who loved him enough to allow him to do whatever he needed to feel safe, even if it meant taking charge of certain aspects of her life that she was more than capable of handling. Her love and easy acceptance of him—neuroses, phobias, compulsions, and all—humbled him.
“I’ll call Hussein later and chew his ass out. He’ll probably give me some twisted explanation of why he did it”—she kept walking—“just like he did with his excuse of why he became a Re
publican…”
She had moved on to another topic, Darcy bemusedly noted. Obviously, his shameful hang-up was not a big enough deal for her to discuss further.
He smiled.
CHAPTER 16
Sweet Parting
“How about another egg? I can cook you another.” Elizabeth wanted to stretch their time together. “Or another piece of toast?”
“I’m full, sweetheart,” William said. “I can’t eat another bite.”
Resigned, she nodded and cleared the table. She had no appetite this morning but had forced herself to eat so he would too. She didn’t want him to travel on an empty stomach.
He moved to the front door. “I’m going to test the locks one more time.”
“Okay.” She bit her lip to hide a smile. No one in this neighborhood had locks on their front doors, much less their back doors. After William’s inspection visit last week, the new locks on both the front and the back doors of her cottage would be the envy of any bank.
He returned. “Are you sure I can’t convince Jane to let me put a security system in here?”
“Yes, I’m sure Jane’s firm about that.” Besides the fact that she didn’t want him to spend money, she didn’t want to tell him Jane had threatened to throw away the keys to the house locks the minute he left the country.
His eyes swept the kitchen.
She waited.
He frowned. “Where’s the fire extinguisher?”
“Here.” Jane had put it atop the refrigerator, behind a box of noodles. He’d bought them one for each room of the cottage and the orphanage.
“It should always be in an accessible spot, especially in the kitchen.” He placed it in a prominent place atop the counter, blocking access to their coffeemaker. “I’m going to check to make sure the carbon monoxide monitors are plugged in correctly in the back rooms.”
“All right.” A few minutes later, while she stood at the kitchen sink soaking the dishes, he returned and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned back against him and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she inhaled his spicy scent. She squeezed her eyes tight and fought her tears.
“I don’t know how I can leave you. It hurts,” he whispered against a spot behind her ear. “I’m afraid something might happen to you while I’m gone and I won’t see you again.”
She turned. He tried to hide his face in her hair. His vulnerability embarrassed him, she realized. “I’m fearful of water, never of flying, but the thought of you on a plane today made me borrow Jane’s rosary for a prayer this morning. And I never pray.” She meant to kiss him softly for comfort, but her lips clung to his.
When they pulled back for air, she held on to him and tried to calm down. A few moments later, his lips sought hers again. This time, desire had replaced despondence. His tongue explored her mouth. His caresses became less tight and tense, more seeking and sensual.
Her body aching with need, she nudged him away from the kitchen. “Let’s go to my room.”
He resisted. “I don’t want your first time to be like this, rushed.”
Frustrated, she snapped, “I want to fool around a little before you take off for god knows how long. Is that too much to ask?”
Taken aback, his eyes rounded. Then he grinned and pulled her toward her room. “No, not too much to ask at all.”
When she stood next to him, inches from her bed, her fingers tensed. Nervousness hit her. She wished she hadn’t missed her sexuality class about foreplay. He gently kissed her cheek. She relaxed, recognizing that he knew what to do.
He trailed his lips down one side of her neck and whispered how he adored her scent.
Though she loved his unhurried pace, she voiced her concern about their shortage of time.
“Impatient, aren’t you?” Chuckling, he stopped his kisses on her neck. Nimble masculine fingers deftly unbuttoned her shirt and expertly released the clasp of her bra.
She frowned and jealously wondered how many times he had done that before. When his hands skillfully cupped and kneaded her bare breasts, she immediately forgave him for his experience.
His mouth closed around one nipple. His tongue! What a wonderful use of lingual muscles! She purred, “Yesssss.”
He pulled at her skirt. While his mouth kept busy at her breasts, his hands discarded her panties.
She pressed against his hand. Her bare legs brushed against his pants. She pulled back and complained. “You’re still dressed.”
He undid his shirt and unbuckled his belt. She slipped her hand into his briefs. Liking the silky feel of his hardness at her fingertips, she tried to grab more of him. At her pulling, he gasped.
Suddenly shy, she whispered, “I want to feel more of you.”
He wasn’t shy with his response. He immediately loosened his pants and grabbed both of her hands and placed them fully on him. Wanting to hear him gasp again, she gave another hard pull at the tip. To her disappointment, he didn’t gasp. He took her hand and moved it lower, showing her how he liked it. She fondled and stroked and tugged.
He threw his head back and loudly gasped his approval.
“I want us to be together,” she paused, “but we don’t have a condom.”
He pulled her hands off him and adjusted their positions. When he was fully on top of her on the bed, he asked with a rakish grin, “Is this what you wanted?”
She eagerly nodded. He wrapped her legs around his hips and began a gentle rubbing. Needing more, she shifted restlessly under him. He intensified his rhythm.
***
“Should we interrupt them?” Jane said. “What time is your flight scheduled to leave?”
Standing at the window of the orphanage office, Bingley stared at the good-bye scene between the lovers in the courtyard. “Let’s give them another five minutes. My flight crew is ready. Darcy normally would have gotten to the airport hours ago and checked to make sure the pilot knows what to do. You had a taste of his inspection process.”
Jane rolled her eyes. He chuckled. Darcy had finally agreed to leave Vietnam, but only after he had checked the safety of all places Elizabeth spent time at: the cottage, the orphanage, and even her office at the hospital. Elizabeth was amusedly patient through the whole process, twice, but Bingley could understand Jane’s exasperation.
“I’m sorry it didn’t work out with the adoption,” she said.
“That’s all right. I knew deep in my heart before we even arrived the adoption wasn’t going to happen. I had half feared for the child who would have my sister and her husband as parents anyhow. I know that’s a terrible thing to say about one’s own family.”
“They’re not ready now, perhaps someday…”
Shrugging, he changed the topic. “How long is George Wickham expected to stay in jail?”
“At least a year before they’re ready to deport him.”
“How did your sister arrange it?”
“She asked her patient Mr. Vinh to check Mr. Wickham’s activities. They caught him trying to lure young girls to go to South Korea to meet his cult’s guru.” Jane smiled a satisfied smile. “He’s either too stupid to realize or remember there’s no freedom of religion here.”
Bingley glanced at his watch. “It’s time to deal with the lovebirds.”
When they approached the couple standing next to the car, Bingley turned away to hide a smile when Jane’s eyes bulged at the rumpled appearance of Darcy’s normally immaculate clothes. Bingley coughed. “Darce, we need to get going. The crew called. They’re ready.”
The couple reluctantly parted. Jane came up to Darcy to give him a good-bye hug while giving Bingley a head tilt in the direction of her sister.
As he hugged Elizabeth, she instructed him, “Charles, take care of him for me, please. Don’t let him push himself too hard. Make sure he doesn’t let his headaches get too bad. Caffeine would do him good at the start of one, and he needs peace and quiet.”
He nodded to her and heard Darcy telling Jane, “Keep your doors locked at all time. Be
careful with cooking and fire. Don’t let Elizabeth near any water, she’ll panic. Make sure she eats healthy and doesn’t work too much. Take care of her for me. I’ll be back soon.”
Bingley met Jane’s eyes; she looked as amused and exasperated as he was. He grabbed Darcy’s arm and pushed him toward the car. Three minutes later, they were on their way.
***
As soon as they were on the jet, Darcy disappeared into the small private cabin, closed the door, and didn’t come out until they stopped in Honolulu for refueling. Bingley ignored the red in Darcy’s eyes, offered him some coffee, and worked to distract him.
For ten minutes, they discussed the difficulties of one of their companies. Bingley said, “What’s Richard think about the Mushatt deal?”
“He thinks it’s not as big of a problem as Anne made it out to be. He may be minimizing, though.”
“He doesn’t want you to return to the stress of your normal life yet. Your cousin is one protective mother hen with you and your sister.”
“I wish he’d stop it. I’m a grown man,” Darcy grumbled.
“He still feels guilty for not telling you about Georgiana’s boyfriend. If he had, it wouldn’t have gotten as far as it did.”
“He shouldn’t blame himself.”
“Have you told them about meeting Elizabeth?”
“Not yet. I don’t want to suffer Richard’s teasing and I want to talk to Georgiana in person. She might want to come with me when I return.”
“What about Anne?”
“Anne? What about her?” Darcy looked surprised. “I suppose if she wants a vacation.”
“No, I meant did you tell her about Elizabeth?”
“You know I don’t share details of my personal life with Anne. She lives with my aunt, remember?”
“Don’t share anything.”
“You usually like everybody.” Darcy leaned back in his chair. “I’ve never understood why you’ve never warmed to Anne.”
“It’s not that I don’t like her.” Bingley’s protest sounded weak even to him. “But it’s odd how focused she is with DDF. It’s all she lives for, the company.”
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