Mr. Darcy's Kiss: A Contemporary Pride and Prejudice Romance Read online

  The icy ground crackled under my feet with every step. The sky glowed red with the upcoming day, but the sun hadn’t yet risen. I took a deep breath, feeling the cold enter me. I held the freezing air inside of me, focusing on it until it warmed.

  That’s when I saw him.

  Mr. Darcy walked along the path. He wore a long, black pea coat that made him look like a hero from the past. It suited him. He walked like he was trying to clear his mind just like I was. Long, steady steps but with no clear destination.

  He looked up and saw me. He paused and his breath frosted the air. My heart sped up as he kept walking toward me instead of turning away.

  “What are you doing out here?” he asked me, looking at the frozen landscape and my light jacket. “You must be freezing.”

  “I couldn’t sleep,” I told him. I wondered if he could hear the thrill in my voice at finding him this morning.

  “Nor I,” he replied. His lips thinned. “Did my COO speak to you?”

  I gave a slow nod. “Yes, she did.” I wasn’t quite sure how much more detail I wanted to go into. Just thinking of her telling me to stay away from him made my blood boil.

  “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “She shouldn’t have done that. I’ve spoken to her about it and sent her back to London. What can I do to fix it?”

  “Fix it?” I repeated. I shook my head. “After what you did for Lydia, and for Jane, I should be thanking you and seeing if you need anything fixed.”

  I smiled up at him and was caught in those blue eyes. They held me and warmed me just by looking at me.

  “You must know,” he said softly. “You must know it was for you. It was always for you.”

  He smiled so sadly that I was afraid my heart might break.

  I reached out and took his hand. He had no gloves, and his fingers were like ice.

  “Did you mean what you said to Catherine?” he asked, his face cautious and words quiet.

  “Yes,” I replied. I wrapped my fingers around him, sending him my warmth. “I meant every word to her.”

  “So I can see you whenever I want?” he asked. I looked up at his face and smiled.

  “Yes.”

  “And that you care for me?”

  My chest tightened and threatened to explode. If I were to run and protect myself from heartache, this was where I should do it. But that was the last thing I wanted to do.

  “Very much,” I whispered.

  He held his hands perfectly still in mine. All I could think about was how good it felt to touch him. To have this connection with him. I looked up, seeing hope and a small amount of fear cross his face.

  “My feelings for you haven’t changed. If you tell me to, I will leave you alone forever,” he told me, his voice low. He swallowed hard and looked me in the eye. “But, if your feelings have changed, I have to tell you that I’m yours. Body and soul.”

  He turned his hand to mine, holding my fingers like I might burn him for a second time but that he was willing to risk it. He was willing to risk everything for me once more.

  “I love you, Elizabeth,” he whispered. His blue eyes shone with the truth of it. “I never stopped.”

  Time froze as the sun came over the horizon and lit the world in brilliant glory. The snow sparkled like a million tiny diamonds, each reflecting my heart’s desire back at me.

  “I love you, too, Mr. Darcy,” I whispered back. My mouth said the words with ease because my heart was singing them.

  “Call me William,” he replied with a widening smile. And then he kissed me.

  Chapter 24

  One Year Later

  New Years Eve

  London stood out before me in all its glory. Every building was lit up in preparation for the new year. In just five minutes, this year, the most beautiful year of my life would end, and the next would begin.

  For the first time in a long time, I was excited and sad for the new year. I would miss this year only because it had been so wonderful, but my excitement over what was coming next made it more than bearable. With William at my side, my world would always be better each and every year.

  “Come get your champagne for the toast,” Jane called to me from the kitchen. Standing with her fiancee, she had never looked more beautiful or radiant. In just two months, she would make the most beautiful bride I’d ever seen. I couldn’t wait for their year-long engagement to be over.

  “Don’t spill it all over my brother’s kitchen,” Georgiana chided, coming up behind her with a dishcloth. Since the doctors had declared her in remission several months ago, her face had filled out, though she still kept her hair in that pixie cut.

  She shook her head. “You Americans have no idea how to pour champagne.”

  Charles laughed and added more champagne to Georgiana’s glass. She grinned at him. “That’s better.”

  “I’ll get yours, Elizabeth,” Mr. Darcy told me. He grinned before heading into the kitchen and Georgiana chuckled as she handed him a glass.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket. Only three minutes to go.

  I pulled out my cellphone out to find a message from Lydia. She was safely in California and on the set for her new movie. She sent me a selfie of her outside with the cast and crew as they prepped to start filming the follow-up to her debut film.

  I texted her back that she looked great and to break a leg. I’d see her for the Oscar’s Award Ceremony in just a few months. We were going to rock the red carpet together this year.

  She was favored to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her debut role.

  “Are you ready, my love?” William asked me coming up and wrapping his arms around my waist.

  I sighed with contentment and leaned into him as we looked out at the city together.

  “I am, Mr. Darcy,” I told him. He chuckled and shook his head.

  “You just love calling me that, don’t you?”

  I grinned. “I only call you that because I love you. I fell in love with Mr. Darcy.”

  “And what about poor William?” he asked, spinning me to face him. I loved the way his eyes lit up as he found my face.

  “I love him, too,” I replied. “But, Mr. Darcy is who you are to me. And I love him with everything I have.”

  He grinned as the grandfather clock in the library started to chime. It was midnight and the new year had begun. The sound of fireworks filled the air.

  Mr. Darcy and I tapped our glasses together and took a sip. The bubbles tickled my nose.

  “Look inside,” he whispered, his voice cracking. I frowned, looking up at him.

  “What?”

  “Look inside your champagne,” he repeated. I knew that look. It was the same one he wore that day in the park almost a year ago when he told me for the second time that he loved me.

  I looked down at my glass. There was far more than just champagne in the flute. There was a ring.

  I gasped and looked up at him to find him going to one knee before me.

  “Elizabeth Bennet, will you do me the honor of making me the happiest man in the world?” he asked. His voice shook slightly, and I loved him all the more for it. “Marry me?”

  I nodded, unable to find the words.

  “Say ‘yes,’ or he’ll just keep kneeling,” Georgiana shouted. I looked up to see Mr. Darcy’s sister, his best friend Charles, and my best friend Jane, all grinning at me. They had all known.

  “Yes,” I managed to squeak out. I was too happy to speak. I just kept nodding. “Yes, yes, yes!”

  Mr. Darcy beamed a smile at me as he fished the ring out of the champagne and put it on my finger. I loved how happy he looked. I loved that smile, and I loved that light in his eyes. It was better than the fireworks outside.

  The ring was lovely. A diamond bigger than anything I’d ever seen shimmered up at me from my hand.

  “And, I have a smaller one for when you’re working and need to wear gloves,” Mr. Darcy whispered to me. “Because I know that’s important to you.”

  He to
ok my glass and set it to the side for our new years kiss. The others started to sing Auld Lang Syne in the background, but my world was solely focused on Mr. Darcy, my soon-to-be husband.

  He took my chin between his first two fingers and his thumb, tipping my face up to look at him. Then, he gave me a rare smile that made my heart flutter and my knees go weak, even after a year of being together. It still made me tremble that he would smile that way at me.

  Our lips came together, love and desire mixing in equal parts. It’s passionate and primal, yet so deep that my soul sang with his in harmony.

  I brought in the New Year, and the rest of my life, with Mr. Darcy’s Kiss.

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  He pushed me back until I bumped against the door. His mouth skimmed my jaw, down to my throat, his teeth grazing my skin and his five-o-clock shadow scratching gently. He pressed a thigh between my legs, sending heat through my belly and then south. I whimpered for more, the noise low in my throat.

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  About the Author

  New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Krista Lakes is a thirtysomething who recently rediscovered her passion for writing. She is living happily ever after with her Prince Charming. Her first kid just started preschool and she is happy to welcome her second child into her life, continuing her “Happily Ever After“!

  Thank you for supporting an indie author. Anything you can do, whether it be writing a review, or even simply telling a fellow reader that you enjoyed this, helps me out immensely. Thanks!

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  Further reading

  Kinds of Love

  A Forever Kind of Love

  A Wonderful Kind of Love

  An Endless Kind of Love

  A Hopeful Kind of Love (novella)

  Billionaires and Brides

  Yours Completely: A Cinderella Love Story

  Yours Truly: A Cinderella Love Story

  Yours Royally: A Cinderella Love Story

  The “Kisses“ series

  Saltwater Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story

  Kisses From Jack: The Other Side of Saltwater Kisses

  Rainwater Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story

  Champagne Kisses: A Timeless Love Story

  Freshwater Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story

  Sandcastle Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story

  Hurricane Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story

  Barefoot Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story

  Sunrise Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story

  Waterfall Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story

  Island Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story

  Other Novels

  Hard and Deep: A Football Romance

  I Choose You: A Secret Billionaire Romance

  His Every Desire: A Billionaire Seduction

  Wolf Six's Salvation: A Shifter Love Story

  Burned: A New Adult Love Story

  Walking on Sunshine: A Sweet Summer Romance