Eternal Flame ~ A Pemberley Fairy Tale

Chapter Ten - part 2

Liz gasped as her heart jumped in her chest. It felt like she’d just fallen into a barrel of freezing water, stealing her breath away. She instinctively tightened her hold on him as his soft lips teased and tasted, caressed and worshipped, and everything suddenly felt right, as though she’d discovered the reason for her existence.

After a minute or two William lowered her to the ground, her body sliding against his until her feet touched the grass below. He held her gaze with a kind of wary caution, as though unsure of her reaction. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop myself.”

Her heartbeat sounded loud in her ears, and much faster than when they’d been walking. “It’s okay. You don’t have to apologise.” She reached out to touch his jaw, her thumb grazing over the hint of stubble on his chin. “I wouldn’t mind if you did it again.”

Needing no other encouragement he leaned her back against the rock, one arm braced on the granite as his other hand lifted her face towards his. He seemed eager to recapture her lips, his mouth sliding over hers as they both lost themselves in a perfect moment.

They might have stayed there for the rest of the afternoon had the cold wind not sent a chill between her shoulder blades, making her shiver.

William pulled away then, smiling, and she realised she’d never really seen him smile until now. He brushed his fingertips against the spiky ends of her short hair. “Your hair is softer than I imagined.” Gaining confidence from her silence he buried his hands down to the roots, cradling her head with his palm as he pulled her closer.

His lips explored along the line of her jaw to her ear. “I keep expecting to find this is all a dream. If it is, don’t wake me.”

For Liz it was less a dream and more of a miracle. Apart from a few awkward dates at university, she’d had precious little time in her life for relationships. Long hours of work and study had kept her too busy for a meaningful social life and she’d never felt an overwhelming desire for a boyfriend. It had only been in the last few months that Nat had encouraged her out of her shell and down to the local pub on Friday nights, after work. Even then she’d never met anyone she had felt drawn to; at least, not until she met William.

She felt herself blushing, partly because, inexplicably, he was attracted to her but also because his hand, locked in her hair, still held her close and he didn’t seem in any hurry to let go. She felt safe and protected in his arms and didn’t want to leave, but she knew they couldn’t stay like this forever. “Should we be getting back? We’re a long way from the house and the days are getting shorter. It’ll be falling dark soon.”

“It’s not that far.” William trailed his fingers down the back of her head, lingering over the sensitive skin of her nape as he kissed her again. “You know, I’ve wanted to kiss you ever since I first saw you,” he whispered against her lips. “From the moment we met you made me curious. I wanted to know more about you.” He leaned back and took her hand in his, turning it over and tracing the lifeline down her palm with a fingertip. “I’ve never felt comfortable with people I don’t know, not until the day you arrived at Pemberley. For a while now I’ve sensed a connection to you. It’s as though we’re joined together by a chain and every time you walk away from me I feel a tug.” He brought her hand up to rest against his chest. “Just here. Can you feel my heart? It’s beating for you.”

Her stomach danced and her heart fluttered as though it was full of butterflies. Overwhelmed by the beauty of his words, tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Liz looked up and found him staring back at her. What had she done to deserve this? She opened her mouth, longing to describe how he made her feel, but didn’t know where to begin. “I … um.”