Regina Jeffers - Vampire Darcy's Desire

“You served me faithfully.” Wickham finished tying his cravat. He stood in front of the mirror, as if to use it in his efforts, although only a wavy reflection—a blur of colors—appeared. It was a reflex action—a muscle memory—that even after all these years he had never abandoned. It made him feel human.

“My lord,” Mrs.Younge said tentatively,“I have news.”

Wickham folded the cravat so that it might be pinned. “Yes, Amelia? Speak.”The length of material frustrated him.

Mrs.Younge walked to the door and picked up a newspaper she had left lying on a table. “This is the Times —today’s edition. I believe you should see it.”

Wickham snatched it.“What is it you deem so important?”

Mrs.Younge pointed to the third column.“There.”

Wickham’s sight adjusted quickly to the dim light. He read the first paragraph of an announcement:

Monday, December 2, 1811, St. Blaise Church, London, celebrated the union of Fitzwilliam James Darcy of Overton House and of Pemberley in Derbyshire, son of the late Mr. James Darcy and Lady Anne Darcy, to Elizabeth Victoria Bennet of Hertfordshire, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Bennet of Longbourn.

The news visibly shook him, and Wickham shoved the paper back into Mrs. Younge’s hands. “Bloody hell! The woman will be my death!” He grabbed the paper again and began to search for his answer before he asked the question.“Does it say whether they left for the country?”

“It does not say.”

“Well, I know where to find him; Darcy retreats to his ancestral home, the same house where I stalked every other generation. I will stop this before it gets started.” He threw the paper on the bed. “Join me for the day.”

“I will be happy to serve you, my lord.”

“We leave in a quarter hour.”

Sally tapped lightly on Elizabeth’s door before entering the room. She waited, and hearing the Master bid her enter, the maid rushed into the room, only to find her mistress curled up in Mr. Darcy’s arms in the bed.

“Beg—begging your pardon, Sir,” she stammered, stunned to find her employer in his wife’s bed.

When Darcy heard the light tap, he knew what to expect. Immediately, he brought the blanket up to cover Elizabeth and rolled her towards him.The maid discovered “the reality” they created.

“Nonsense, Sally. It is commendable that you are so attentive to your new mistress.”

“I will come back later, Sir.” She started backing towards the door.

“Tell her to return in half an hour.”Their voices had awakened Elizabeth, and she snuggled into his chest.

“I believe you heard Mrs. Darcy.”

“I did, Sir.Yes, Sir.”The woman blushed with embarrassment at her intrusion upon their domestic scene.

However, before she could exit the room, Darcy called to her: “Sally, please lay out Mrs. Darcy’s riding habit, and tell Morris I will need similar attire. And have the staff saddle my horse and also Ceres.”

“Ceres?” Elizabeth was suddenly fully awake.“Ceres is here?”

“I sent for her yesterday. I paid your father fifty pounds for his trouble. I meant to surprise you.” Darcy’s smile told of the pleasure he took in taking her unawares.

“Thank you, my Husband,” she said and spontaneously hugged him tighter.

“Will that be all, Mr. Darcy?”The maid waited to be excused.

“Certainly, Sally. We will ring when we are ready to dress for breakfast.”

“Yes, Sir.” She curtsied and was gone.

Elizabeth kissed him immediately. Surprise and happiness filled

“You are my wife, Elizabeth. I would do anything for you.” Pure joy at seeing her excitement showed in his tone.

“Where may we ride in the city?”

“Hyde Park holds several riding trails, and as the season is over, we should have the park pretty much to ourselves. Once we travel to Pemberley, we can ride regularly. It will give me a chance to show you the entire estate.”

Elizabeth now kissed along his chin line. “You are the most charitable man; I cannot believe I ever once thought ill of you.”

Darcy rolled her to her back and loomed over her.“And when was that, Sweetling?”

“You know perfectly well when that was, Mr. Darcy.” Elizabeth laced her arms around his neck and urged his mouth towards her. “When you thought me only ‘tolerable.’”

“I believe I tolerate you very well,” he said teasingly as he rained light, feathery kisses across her face.

Elizabeth instinctively wriggled her body against his, creating heat and energy between them. Darcy lowered himself across her and drank of her mouth. Her lips parted, and Darcy’s mouth pressed harder. Elizabeth’s hands searched the muscles of his back before he caught her hands in his grip and raised them above her head. Darcy’s lips trailed a line down her neck; he loosened the strings tying her nightgown and pulled it from her, exposing the swell of her breasts. His mouth followed his fingers along the curve of her neck and down the crevice between her breasts.

Elizabeth’s moan only encouraged his efforts, and Darcy cupped her breast in his palm before returning to plunder her mouth. Elizabeth arched into his palm, lost to the pleasures of his hand and mouth.

Darcy’s lips and tongue slid down the length of her neck, coming to rest on the spot he most desired. He kissed it and licked the point, feeling her blood under the surface and knowing it could easily mix with the moisture of his mouth. Gently, he sucked

Without realizing she did so, Elizabeth’s body responded by grinding her hips into him, flooding Darcy with nearly uncontrollable desire as he continued to kiss along her shoulder and returning to tongue and suck at the pulse point. When she begged, “Please,” Darcy’s reason fought for control, and he forced himself to withdraw, although the effort was painful to them both.

“Oh, God, Elizabeth,” he moaned into her hair as he buried his face in shame.

Elizabeth tried to control her breathing, needing to calm her racing heart. “You did nothing wrong,” she assured him. “You did nothing more than what I wanted; it is as much my fault as it is yours,” Elizabeth reassured him. She wanted desperately to keep him locked in her arms.

“As the man, it is still my responsibility,” he asserted.

Elizabeth tried to defend their actions.“We are attracted to each other. Is that terrible? Some marriages are purely business. ”

“If ours were a normal joining, our attraction would have miraculous appeal.” Darcy rolled away from her and prepared to stand.

Elizabeth turned back the blankets and followed him to her feet.“I will not, Mr. Darcy, regret the fact that I desire my husband’s touch, and I will not be portrayed as a wanton because I want to lie in his arms and feel the pleasure of knowing him intimately.” Elizabeth realized she argued for something totally out of their control. “Fitzwilliam, do you not realize how truly exceptional our connection is?”

Darcy wheeled around to face her.“I told you before; you have lived with this evil for a few months; I have known it all my life. Our perspectives are different.”

Tears misted her eyes, but Elizabeth fought to keep her emotions under control. “Well, it is time your perspective changed, because You might have known this curse for eight and twenty years, but we will deal with it for many more than that. So the decisions are no longer yours alone to make.”

Darcy stared at her in disbelief; his authority was rarely questioned. It struck him as amusing, and he started to laugh his rolling laugh—softly, at first, and then loudly. Elizabeth was struck with the absurdity. Were we not just arguing? Darcy came forward, scooped her into his arms, and twirled her around as he let his head fall back in a deep, room-filling laugh. “You, my lovely, are magnificent!”

His laughter was contagious; Elizabeth could not remain angry with him. Automatically, she locked her hands behind his neck and pulled herself closer to him.“And you, my Husband, are a conundrum.”

“Now that that is settled,” he said, still chuckling, “let us begin our day.”

“Did we settle something?”

“We decided we would disagree,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“Well, as long as we are clear on that.” Reluctantly, she allowed him his ambiguous logic. Offering him a full smile, Elizabeth added,“I am happy you see it my way.”

Darcy laughed again as he set her on her feet. “I did no such thing, and you well know it, Sweetling.”

“But I will use all my arts and allurements to win you over,” she warned.

“I will enjoy the battle.” Darcy reached for the bell cord to summon the servants. “I will meet you downstairs for breakfast.” He left her standing in the middle of her room as he crossed to the adjoining dressing rooms. Reaching his suite, he waited patiently for Morris to attend his needs. He replayed the past few minutes, as well as their confrontation the previous evening—his wedding night. Elizabeth was right about one thing—he would protect her reputation as his wife.The Darcy staff would soon know that Sally had found him in Elizabeth’s bed; by midafternoon, neighboring household staffs would know.

Then a horrible thought struck him, and Darcy quickly returned

Elizabeth clasped the garment to her and gasped,“Fitzwilliam!”

“My apologies, but we have only a moment.” He stood immobile, his thoughts distracted by his nearly naked wife’s proximity. “The servants believe we spent our wedding night in that bed.” He gestured towards the rumpled bed linens.

“Yes?”

“They will assume you were no maiden.” He stumbled through his thoughts, which were divided by his need to hurry—his need to act—and his need to touch her.

Elizabeth smiled, realizing perfectly where his thoughts lay. “I took care of it. Actually, I did so last night before you joined me.” She indicated a reddish brown stain on the linens—only a few droplets, but, obviously, proof of their night together.

“How?” Darcy’s thoughts returned to her semiclad body, and his groin swelled. He wondered—almost idly—whether he would spend the rest of his life in a perpetual state of arousal.

“A simple prick of the finger, Mr. Darcy.” She held up her left index finger. “Aunt Gardiner kindly regaled me with details of what to expect on the wedding night. She thought to protect my sensibilities, but I found her tale quite enticing. She cautioned me about the pain and the blood.” She, too, gestured towards the linens.“It creates a nice effect, does it not?” She sat on the bed, still holding the gown to her breasts.

Darcy took in the perfect curvature of her hips and how Elizabeth’s hair streamed down her back and draped over her shoulders. He prayed for her to drop the gown so that he might see all of her. It seemed for a moment that she might do just that, but a light tap on the door told them Sally had returned.

He motioned for her to wait before claiming her maid’s services. Then he bowed and disappeared quickly into her dressing room. Elizabeth smiled at his retreating form.Then she called out, “Come.”

Wickham followed Darcy and Elizabeth to Hyde Park, watching them ride side by side while he hid in a copse of trees near the Serpentine. He noted Darcy’s attentiveness to the woman and Elizabeth’s devotion to the man. Even he, although he was loath to admit it, saw they made a charming couple.