Page 84 of Stuck

“And how about your eyes? How am I looking in those?” he asked.

“Even better, now that you’re right in front of me and not on a screen.” I’d missed him more than I thought I would, despite video calls morning and evening and constant texting in between. We were obsessed. And as though to prove it, Darcy didn’t wait for a more suitable time or place; he didn’t take me inside or show me where I’d be sleeping or even allow me to stretch my legs after the long car ride. He dragged me in for a searing kiss right there, the blanket still wrapped around my legs and the door still wide open behind him.

This time I did straddle his lap, the unfamiliarity of the last time we did this—the first time we kissed—a distant memory. It might only have been a short time since we found our way to each other, but we’d arrived there greedy and impatient. Intimacy had come quickly and naturally; being in Darcy’s arms already felt like being home, and by the same token, being so far away from him this week had felt like a part of me was numb. I couldn’t get close enough to him now, couldn’t wrap my arms around him as tightly as I wanted, couldn’t inhale as much of his air as I needed.

He had his arm around my hips and was pulling me hard into his lap with the same urgency. His other hand held the back of my head, his fingers splayed through my hair, holding me in the kiss and in the moment. A welcome home. A plea to never leave. I rocked my pelvis forwards and grinned against his lips when he groaned my name.

“You got even more perfect while we were apart.” He was breathing as heavily as I was, his voice husky with desire.

“That’s not possible. Perfect is a superlative.”

“You are a superlative. Everything you do is flawless.” He slid his hands to rest on my hips and gazed up at me with a dangerously attractive smirk. The sort that could make a girl agree to do bad things. “I missed you.”

“It shows.” I enjoyed his thumbs stroking up and down over my thighs for a few seconds before speaking again. “We should go inside. Or do I have to wait until tomorrow to be introduced to your house as well?”

His smirk grew more wicked. “We should definitely go inside. I actually do want to wait to show you the main house in daylight, but there are other things I want that absolutely cannot wait that long.”

That remark ended up keeping us in the car for longer, but we eventually tumbled into his kitchen, flushed, tousled, and laughing—and came face to face with a smartly dressed middle-aged man who looked as startled to see us as I was to see him.

“Apologies, Mr Darcy, I didn’t realise you were still outside.”

“No problem,” Darcy replied, wholly unabashed to be caught post-make-out session by his… What? Butler? That was very like him; he oozed too much stateliness to succumb to such mortal concerns as embarrassment. I, on the other hand, was mortified, especially when he introduced the man as Pemberley’s house manager, Sam Reynolds.

“What are the chances of him forgetting that ever happened?” I asked Darcy once we’d exchanged brief pleasantries and Sam had left.

“Nil. His attention to detail is unparalleled. Why would you want him to forget?”

“He basically busted us making out in the back seat of the car like horny teenagers!”

Darcy’s eyebrow flicked upwards with interest. “Horny teenagers, eh?”

“I’m serious! What must he think of me?”

His expression softened, and he pulled me towards him, draping his arms loosely around my shoulders. “Sam’s worked at Pemberley since I was four—he’s more like a godfather than an employee. He knows everything that’s happened in my life, and I can guarantee that he will think you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” With his hand on my nape, he pressed a kiss to my hair and rested his forehead against mine. “Because you are.”

I found myself suddenly fighting back tears. He said the most beautiful things. Never mind the fact that I’d been here for less than ten minutes and had already been called perfect, flawless, and the best thing that ever happened to him—it wasn’t just compliments that he showered me with. Barring that one day when he got jealous and briefly forgot he liked me, he’d been a steady source of support and encouragement for weeks now.

The way he’d not only accepted but helped me with both my parents. The way he seemed to genuinely enjoy the way my mind worked, openly admiring my engineering know-how and frequently asking for my opinion. How beautiful he made me feel every time he kissed me as though he didn’t know how to stop.

I reached up to brush away the sexy curl that had fallen over his eyes, awed for the umpteenth time that this man had chosen me to be his person. “Can I tell you something?”

“Of course. I want all your somethings.”

“It might make you want to run.”

He gave a grunt of laughter. “Never going to happen.”

That gave me some much-needed courage to say what I’d wanted to for a while now. “Okay then.” I took a deep breath and still managed barely a whisper. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

He went so still I was worried he was considering running after all, and my stomach began to twist into knots as I waited for his polite rejection. It didn’t come. Instead, he blew out a heavy breath, and I watched, enthralled, as pure delight suffused his face. The biggest, brightest smile I’d ever seen on him crinkled his eyes at the corners and revealed two shallow dimples that I had not known were hiding there. I could hear Kitty in my head, whispering sagely about the purring of lady parts, and I couldn’t disagree with her; this man was a walking aphrodisiac.

“Welcome to the party,” he said altogether too smugly. “You’re late.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve been in love with you since…” His brows drew together, but he couldn’t maintain a frown and returned to smiling even as he shook his head. “It’s hard to say when exactly. I could probably date it from the moment I saw your impression of a crayfish.”

I laughed—out of surprise, out of happiness, out of hope. “You love me.”