Eliot’s left eye opened. He lay on his right side, almost flat on his stomach. The bedding was soft. Too soft. This was not his room. A soft snuffle of a snore came from behind him. The feeling of utter nakedness arrived along with a hyper focused awareness of exactly where he was, what he’d done, and the sensation of Darcy’s hand on his bare butt.

At least that last one was pleasant. Eliot wiggled a bit, relishing the fact that Darcy’s palm tightened on him.

He couldn’t just stay here, waiting for Darcy to wake up. He shoved his face into his pillow, unable to let out a groan of frustration. He hated the morning after. But the night… that was always fun, and Darcy had been the best he’d had in a long time. Maybe even the best, regardless of his personality flaws. Though Eliot didn’t dare even think that. Darcy probably had a highly sensitive radar for compliments whether they were said aloud or not. A grin teased at the edges of Eliot’s mouth as he eased himself, gingerly, away.

He found his pants and pulled them on, then gathered up his boxer and shirts. The button down was definitely missing some buttons, but Eliot didn’t dare take the time to look for them.

At the door, Eliot glanced back. Darcy lay on his back, his body completely relaxed and fully exposed on top of the covers they’d never bothered to draw up. The hard planes of his face were softened in slumber, giving Darcy a vulnerableness he lacked while awake.

Eliot turned away. He’d made a mistake in looking. All he wanted to do now was crawl back into that bed and see if sober Darcy was just as good as drunk Darcy. Who was he kidding? Of course it would be better. As long as Darcy kept his mouth shut. His body felt the twinges of sore muscles caused by their more acrobatic endeavors and heavy heat in areas that had received Darcy’s full attention.

He spotted a sock hiding under the corner of Darcy’s bed, and darted to grab it, taking a moment to find its mate. Standing, his eyes sought out Darcy’s still sleeping body. Get out before you try and fuck him again, his mind ordered. Not that it helped. He was already getting hard.

Wrapping his dress shirt around all the other items, Eliot eased the bedroom door open, peeked out, then quickly left. He had the door shut and was five paces down the hall when he heard a soft cough behind him.

Eliot spun back. Carter stood in the doorway across the hall from Darcy’s room. “Look at that strut of shame,” he said, his mouth pinched in a sour smile. Carter’s voice was barely above a whisper but the words carried clearly in the silence of the morning.

Much as he might be sneaking away, Eliot refused to be humbled by Carter. He straightened to his full height. “Not at all.”

“He’ll never be yours.” Hateful jealousy filled Carter’s voice.

Eliot knew he should walk away. He should just disengage, and let Carter think whatever he wanted. It wasn’t like this would ever happen again. He should just take the high road. He failed, his lips twisting into a smirk. “Maybe so, but I fucked him good. He won’t be forgetting me.”

The implied “and you’ll never even get the chance” was enough. Carter felt it, if his dropped jaw was any indication. Eliot turned to cross to his own room without another word and without looking back—no matter how difficult it was.

Eliot opened the door to his room. He walked in to lean against the closed door, heaving a huff of air.

Jane stirred in the center of his bed, looking up and mumbling, “Oh, there you are.”

Eliot paused for a moment, thinking he’d entered her room. Nope. That was his plain, tan suitcase, not her bright pink one in the corner. “What are you doing in here?” He crossed to sit on the edge of the bed. “Slumming?”

Jane stretched. “I could ask the same of you. Where’d you spend the night?”

“Would you believe me if I say I fell asleep outside in the garden?” Eliot eyed his sister, noting that she was dressed in her pajamas—not necessarily a good thing if she’d gone to bed with Bing.

“No, because it rained last night and you hate being cold.” Jane reached out to touch his arm. “Please tell me it wasn’t with Carter.”

Eliot gagged on reflex. Jane flopped back. “Thank goodness. Carter’s all wrong for you.”

Eliot snorted, looking away. “On that we agree.”

Silence. Eliot looked back, his eyes meeting Jane’s concerned ones. “So it was Darcy?”

He didn’t have to answer. Jane understood and didn’t force his confession. He felt her hand rub his bare shoulder. “What about you, Jane? Why are you in my bed instead of someone else’s?”

Jane sighed. “Who says I wasn’t in someone else’s?” The note of naughtiness couldn’t be missed.

Teasing, Eliot said, “Promise me it wasn’t Carter.”

They laughed.

“God, that’d be awful for both of us.” Jane sat up in his bed, leaning against the headboard. Eliot nudged her aside to sit next to her. They stared about the room.

“This house,” Eliot started.

“I know. It’s surreal, isn’t it?”

“Surreal is one word for it,” Eliot agreed. He looked down at his wad of rumpled clothes. He couldn’t be sorry for the unexpected cost of replacing his favorite shirt. The warm memories would have to be enough. “I’m ready to move back home.”

“I know. Me too.”

Eliot turned his head to look at Jane. “Really?”

There was a pause before Jane nodded once. Firmly. “Yes.”

“Was it, um, not pleasant? He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Eliot wasn’t sure if he truly wanted to know. Bing seemed like a decent guy but, if he’d hurt Jane, Eliot would seriously consider beating him. It might help him work out his own issues with Darcy, if nothing else.

Jane giggled. She reached over to hold Eliot’s hand. “It was wonderful. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to wake him up with my lips and do it again.”

Eliot grinned. He understood that. “Why didn’t you?”

Jane picked at the blanket. “I’m falling for him.”

“Yeah, and?”

“I don’t know if he feels the same.”

Eliot hated that note of insecurity in Jane’s voice. Jane was the epitome of perfection and Bing would be lucky to have her in his life. But Eliot also knew what his siblings thought of her, and they should know Bing best. Eliot wasn’t sure if he should believe his eyes or their description of this relationship as a “phase” that Bing would outgrow.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Eliot hedged, withholding the words of Carter and Louisa. If Bing was just going through a phase, hopefully he’d get it out of his system now that they’d slept together. Poor Jane. She was either going to be thrilled or severely disappointed.

Eliot squeezed her hand. “Wanna get out of here and have breakfast near the office?”

Jane’s head tilted until it rested on her favorite brother’s shoulder. “We have to go meet the new client today.”

Eliot winced. He hadn’t been remotely happy about handling Ms. de Bourgh’s wedding before he’d slept with her son. He’d been looking forward to running away and avoiding all possible future meetings with him. Eliot wasn’t normally a one night stand kind of guy, and there was no way that anything with Darcy could progress beyond… beyond anything.

Jane chuckled. “You aren’t at all happy about the de Bourgh wedding, are you?”

“No.” Just hearing the name made him tense up.

“Why?”

“Charlie sees it as a way into their world. He’s willing to do anything for money and access.”

Jane nodded and turned to kiss his shoulder. “And you’re not?”

Eliot sighed. “I just want to create beautiful weddings.”

Jane straightened to look him in the face. “Then create a beautiful wedding.”

Eliot’s lips twisted. “And an engagement party. And a Christmas themed…”

Jane waved her hand. “Fine. She wants more than just a wedding.” Her eyes focused on Eliot’s. “But, brother dear, you are more than capable of creating beauty under any conditions.”

Eliot fluttered his eyes like Bambi. “Thank you, sister dear.”

“You’re welcome.” She patted his shoulder. “Now let’s clear out before our fuck buddies wake up.”

Eliot snorted. “You have never referred to a guy as your ‘fuck buddy.’ It’s not your thing.”

Jane pointed a finger at him. “Pot.” She pointed at herself. “Kettle.”

Eliot got the reference. Neither of them were the type to have fuck buddies, but, for now, they both needed to protect their hearts and keep their pants on. And get out of Bing’s house before they were tempted to become permanent residents.