Darkness Falls Upon Pemberley by Adriani Susan

Author:Adriani, Susan [Adriani, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: White Soup Press
Published: 2013-08-25T14:00:00+00:00

Eight

In shock he stared at her, unable to completely credit what he’d heard. “Why ever not?” he demanded, his voice harsher than he’d intended.

Elizabeth blinked back tears. “You know very well why not.”

“No. I possess no such answer. I see nothing wrong with wanting to have a life with you; nothing wrong with wanting to make you my wife. I’m in love with you for God’s sake, and judging by your actions throughout the entirety of our acquaintance, I’m certain you care deeply for me as well. Does that count for nothing?”

“It’s true,” she conceded. “I do love you, but what you’re asking of me is not only unrealistic, but dangerous! You are a man, I am a monster,” she said fiercely, swiping at the moisture upon her cheeks, “and that makes any connection between us not only reprehensible, but unspeakable. A union between us would be considered an abomination in every respect, so pray do not make this any more difficult than it already is by speaking of impossibilities.”

“But it need not be so,” he countered. “No one beyond you and I would ever know. My household staff is loyal and trustworthy, the very soul of discretion. Your secret will be as well guarded at Pemberley as it is at Longbourn.”

“My father will know. Miss Darcy and Jane will know, and I daresay none of them would approve, and rightly so. I’m no longer human. My body will never be able to receive yours the way a wife is meant to receive her husband. The risk to your life is far too great. I’ll never be able to give you children, or warm your bed on a cold night. My flesh will always feel like ice to your touch. Should I ever forget myself in a moment of ardency, my kisses could cause your death. I may be innocent, Mr. Darcy, but I’m not so naïve as to believe any man would desire to share his marital bed with a corpse any more than he’d desire to become one himself.”

Darcy clenched his jaw. The illicit references Elizabeth made to husbands and wives and marital beds agitated the master of Pemberley every bit as much as did her bitterness and despair. He would never dream of dismissing any of her concerns, for they were entirely real and valid, but at the moment his mind was so overrun by provocative images that he found it difficult to focus on anything other than the prospect of tasting her lips as they shared a searing kiss, his hands on her body as he loved her in his bed, and her back arching in pleasure as he made her his in every possible way.

Flushed with desire, he held her dark gaze until she finally lowered her eyes and turned away. Her breathing was uneven—as uneven, he noted, as his own harsh breaths. Seeing her thus did little to quell his need for her, and Darcy watched, transfixed, as she padded to the hearth and stood with her back to him.

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