Page 30 of Without Pride and Prejudice

“That’s a beautiful jacket,” Jane commented, but she looked a little pale.

“Are you all right?”

She bit her lip. “It’s silly, but your jacket sort of looks like a riding jacket and it reminded me we have riding lessons tomorrow. I’ve got this stupid fear of horses from an incident when I was younger. It’s kind of the reason I didn’t want to be Jane. Elizabeth isn’t a horsewoman.”

I felt even worse now that Lady Catherine wouldn’t let me switch parts with Macey. “Well, this Elizabeth is a horsewoman, thanks to Fitz. He has a stable full of prize-winning horses, and he taught me how to ride and how to handle myself around a horse. Granted, I’ve never ridden sidesaddle, but I’ll help you. Wait, that probably isn’t a very comforting thought.” I laughed nervously. Would I ever be able to help anyone?

“You’re so sweet to offer. I’m sure it will be fine,” she said, super pitchy. But I also noted she wasn’t keen on taking me up on my offer for assistance. Not that I blamed her. It proved she had excellent judgment. “Let’s get you ready for your date with Mr. Darcy.”

A date with Mr. Darcy. It had a nice ring to it.

Before I knew it, I was ready and downstairs. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet peeked cautiously out the front door, scanning the surroundings. It was hard to tell if anyone or anything was lurking about because of the thin veil of mist that enveloped thearea. The dim glow of gas lamps struggled to penetrate the low-lying fog. Just standing in the doorway, I could feel the chilly air seeping through my tweed jacket. But not even the chill or eerie weather would stop me tonight.

Mrs. Bennet wrapped me up tight when she believed the coast was clear. “Have fun tonight, my darling girl.” Her British accent was still awful, but I appreciated her motherly warmth. It had been a long time since I’d had a mother’s hug. Don’t get me wrong: my dad did his best to be both father and mother—and he was amazing—but sometimes you just need a feminine touch. Tonight was one of those nights.

“I’ll wait in the parlor to let you back in,” Mr. Bennet offered.

“You don’t have to do that.” I felt awful, especially since this was their anniversary and their romantic pursuits were safe from Lady Catherine’s regulations, given they shared a bedroom.

“It’s my pleasure.” Mr. Bennet waved away my concern. “After all, you’re my favorite daughter.” He winked.

“I suppose I am.” I hugged him. “Thank you. I guess I’m off.” My stomach felt as if I had walked off a step and missed the entire flight of stairs. With a deep breath in and out, I fled into the night, still hardly believing Fitz had romantic feelings for me. Honestly, it sounded as if he was in love with me. How had I missed that?

Carefully, I tiptoed across the well-kept lawns, praying I didn’t accidentally fall into the lake or trip and face-plant before I made it to the stables. It was hard to see more than a few paces ahead of me. I wanted to look pretty and not wet and muddy when I saw Fitz. Normally, I didn’t care how I looked around him—he had definitely seen me in my natural state. We are talking about a just rolling out of bed, hair tangled, mascara-smudged-eyes kind of state.

Every little sound made me jump. If Lady Catherine caught me, she’d for sure send me packing. She was probably hatchinga plot already to kick me out, which made me think she might just be prowling the grounds herself, looking for rule breakers and romantic pursuits. So when I saw the stables up ahead, barely illuminated by two gas lamps, I made a mad dash for it. As I reached the stable gates, they creepily opened, and a hand grabbed me, making me screech.

“Who’s there?” a man’s gruff voice that I didn’t recognize demanded, while I found myself being pulled through the gate.

The hand thankfully belonged to Fitz. He unceremoniously pushed me against the stone wall to which the gate was attached. “Shh,” he whispered low in my ear while his body nuzzled against mine as if he were my lover, not my best friend, shielding me from the chill of the night air and whoever was prowling around the park.

A violent, goose bump–producing shiver went through my body, even though it felt at the same time like someone was pointing a blowtorch at me. I held my breath and gazed into Fitz’s broody gray eyes, which were already searching my own in the dark, murky night.

“I said, who’s out there?” the man bellowed again.

I bit my lip, praying we didn’t get caught.

Fitz pressed me harder against the wall while his eyes drifted toward my mouth. For what felt like an eternity, he stared longingly at my lips, his eyes fixed on me with a mix of desire and yearning. The air around us grew heavy with anticipation as the soft sound of Fitz’s uneven breaths filled the silence. It was as if time stood still, the world fading away, and all that remained was the intensity of his gaze, filled with the promise of what felt like a forbidden kiss.

I gripped his wool coat, aching for his teasing lips to capture my own, to taste the mint on his breath and feel his stubble against my cheeks, all the while fearing the repercussions if things didn’t work out between us.

Footfalls sounded near us. I let out a barely audible squeak, which gave Fitz the last bit of incentive he needed. His mouth covered mine. The magical spark of our lips uniting made me forget the possibility of being caught. Fitz completely enveloped every sense I owned as his lips moved over mine so reverently, as if he cherished me above all. I melted into him, and naturally, my lips parted.

His chilly hands cradled my warm cheeks as he deepened the kiss, the best kiss of my life. He knew all the right things to do, from the way his thumbs caressed my cheeks to how he varied the pressure of his lips, to the way he swirled his tongue with mine, as if we’d done this a thousand times before. In between breaths, he brushed my lips with his and then nipped my lower lip with his teeth. His powerful hands ran up into my hair, his fingers immediately tangled in the strands, damp from the fog, as if holding on for the ride of his life.

At that moment, all my dreams for this trip changed. Forget Mr. Darcy—I wanted Fitz.

Minute after beautiful minute, we tasted and knew each other in ways never known to us before. Passion and love, pure love, flowed between us. So much so, a few tears leaked out of my eyes and trickled down my cheeks. They were the happiest and saddest of tears. How had we missed out on this for so long?

“Monroe,” Fitz whispered ever so intimately. “Why are you crying? Did I do something wrong?”

I shook my head. “No. This feels like the most right thing I’ve ever done.” I knew it with my soul.

Fitz flashed me one of his rare wide smiles.

“I know someone is out here,” the unknown man’s voice called again, interrupting the best moment of my life.

“Let’s get out of here.” Fitz grabbed my hand and ushered us around the stable, housing several neighing horses, to a back gate that led to the forested area of the property. The rusty gatescreeched loudly, assaulting our ears, as we hurriedly dashed toward the safety of the dense trees. I could feel the adrenaline course through my body as we sought refuge in the forest. Though I was afraid to get caught, I’d never been happier or more excited in my life. Lady Catherine could kick me out if she wanted to—I had zero plans to miss out on this romantic rendezvous. Although, the thought of sneaking around all week with Fitz sounded dang sexy. Of course, we needed to talk about what this meant for us, but all I wanted to do for now was kiss Fitz to my heart’s content.

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