The crowd absorbed me, and the music became my world. Lydia was dancing with someone within seconds of hitting the dance floor. Knowing her, she'd either have the whole club dancing with her by the end of the night or have the entire security team throwing her out. I hoped it was the first. I could see enough bouncers that I wasn't worried about her safety. She was safe here in Charles Bingley's club.I started dancing, letting the champagne and music loosen my hips. I wasn't anywhere near drunk, just tipsy and loose. I felt good, and I knew that in this dress, I looked good too. I was going to enjoy myself. It wasn't often that I got to dance.Someone tapped my shoulder. Thinking I was in the way of a person trying to get by, I turned and prepared to move to the side. A short man in khakis and a polo shirt with a work logo stood unmoving in front of me.“Can I help you?” I asked over the music when he didn't try to get past me.“Do you want to...” The music drowned out his voice.“I
I pulled away, the spell he'd woven over me broken. I couldn't believe what I was doing. I was going to kiss the man who bragged about me being an easy shag? It had to have been the champagne or the fact that he'd saved me. That was it. He'd saved me, and I wanted to kiss him because of that.Sure. I could believe that.I looked over at the broken glass to find my sister the cause of it.She was up on the bar, dancing and knocking over drinks with every wobbly step. Two security guards were in the process of trying to get her down, but she was fighting them.My heart sank. Why did she always have to go so far overboard to be noticed?“Lydia!” I managed to get over to the bar just as the two guards set her on the ground. “What are you doing?”She pulled her arms away from the guards and smoothed her hair. “What? How else am I supposed to get noticed? Have you seen how hot the people are here?”Mr. Darcy pulled the guards to the side as I yanked my sister away from the broken glass.“Yo
The only good thing about leaving the club early was that the next day I didn't have a hangover. Unfortunately, neither did Lydia, so the experience taught her very little. Jane, on the other hand, was sick as a dog.Charles had texted me during the night that she was going to sleep at his apartment. Jane didn't want me to worry about her, so she was having him text me. She was sick, and he didn't want to bother Lydia or me. He was going to make sure she was taken care of.I had texted him back that I was happy to come up and get her, but he told me she was already settled and finally asleep. I wasn't about to interrupt their time together, even if Jane was sleeping through it.I loved that he was so protective of her. They were a cute couple, and I knew he made Jane happy. The little bit of new love in the world made me smile. It was nice to know that there were still some good men out there, and even better to know that my best friend had found one of them.I decided to go for a run
“I can't believe that we get to go to the grand opening of the new hotel!” Lydia exclaimed, dancing around the kitchen in her little black dress.“Considering that Jane is dating the owner, it's not that crazy. It's really sweet of Charles to invite us, though,” I replied. I looked around, trying to find my shoes. “Lydia, did you borrow my black heels?”“No. They're in the front closet,” Lydia replied.“Instead of in my closet where they belong?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips. She flashed me a big grin that told me she had totally borrowed them. I sighed.“It's just too bad that Wickham couldn't get the night off,” Lydia said with a sigh. “It would have been so nice to have an agent with me at the party. I can feel it in my bones that I'm going to meet a producer tonight.”"Remember, tonight is about Charles' new hotel, not finding a producer. Or an agent, or being discovered," Jane warned. "I don't want this night to end up all about you."“Fine. You two act like I have no so
Mr. Darcy caught me as I bounced off of him, making sure that I didn’t fall. He wore his trademark dark suit that fit him to perfection. His face was freshly shaven, and he smelled amazing because of course, he did. Memories of our dance and the passionate dreams that followed surged through me despite my best efforts to forget them.“Oh, hello,” I said once I regained my balance. I wasn't sure how to talk to him now that I knew the truth. I wanted to slap him again, but I knew that wasn't appropriate. I needed to pretend to be civil. For the sake of Charles and his opening, at the very least."Elizabeth," he greeted me. The way his accent curled on my name made me sound far fancier than I actually was. "Would you like to look around the hotel with me? I was hoping you would join me for a drink as we looked it over.""Sure," I replied without thinking. My smile was brittle as I realized I just agreed to spend time with him. I didn't want to get a drink or anything else with him, but i
Mr. Darcy held my hand in his as he hurried up the stairs. I could barely keep up on my heels as we went, but there was no way I was letting go of him. Not now. Not with this heat and need coursing through my veins.Anger and fury had transformed into need and lust.The second floor of the hotel was deserted. Everyone was downstairs and in the ballrooms enjoying the festivities, so no one was up here. Mr. Darcy looked up and down the length of an empty hallway before pressing me up against the wall and kissing me.The kiss exploded into me as a hot, intense tangle of tongues and teeth. Everything was raw desire as my mouth found his. One hand gripped my hip as the other tangled in my hair, pulling me into him. I wanted more than this, but it was a good start.My hands slid into his jacket and started undoing the buttons on his shirt. I could feel the muscle and tension beneath my fingers. I fumbled with the tiny buttons, unable to focus with the onslaught of all the emotions: hunger,
"I feel stupid, oh so stupid, it's amaaazing how stupid I FEEEEL," I sang softly to myself. No one on the subway even looked at me strangely. People singing on the subway wasn't considered weird in New York City. I half expected someone to throw me a dollar.I pressed my forehead into the cool glass of the window and watched the dark brick walls of the subway pass by. I felt so stupid.Why in the world did I sleep with him?I couldn't wrap my head around it. I could understand that he was the most attractive man I knew. I could see how that might make me do something I now regretted. I wanted to pretend that I'd had some whiskey and some champagne, so I probably wasn't in full control of my faculties. I knew that was a lie.I'd known exactly what I'd been doing when I slept with him.I'd wanted it.And now I was paying for my stupidity.I checked my phone again, but there wasn't a single message from him. He'd slept with me, walked out on me, and then didn't even have the decency to
“That one makes your butt look amazing,” I said to Jane, checking out her form in the mirror. “Seriously, your booty is out of this world in that dress.”Jane laughed and turned so she could see herself better in the mirror of the dressing room.“I do have a pretty fabulous ass,” she admitted with a giggle.“That's the spirit,” I said with a grin. “You should try on the pink one next.”“You mean the one with the slit down to here?” She pointed to her bellybutton. “No way.”I raised my eyebrows at her. “You know you want to.”She rolled her eyes. “I'd never actually wear it.”“And you'd wear this one?” I pointed to her current dress. It was bright red satin and hugged every inch of her so tightly that only her skin color was left to the imagination.“Good point,” she conceded. She picked up the pink dress and headed toward the changing room. She paused at the door, turning to look back at me. “Thank you for this, Lizzie. I'm having fun.”“Good. My evil plan is working,” I teased, dry w