Taking Shots (Assassins) (55 page)

“
Oh, my God,” she muttered as her hand came up over her mouth. She was wearing the dress from the shop that Grace had her try on. Her hair was done up in pin curls with pearls holding in each curl. Her makeup was done so soft that it was hard to tell she even had any one. The dress, oh, it was masterpiece, beautiful, stunning; Elli could go on for days describing the beauty of it.

She looked like Elizabeth Bennet, and Elli had a feeling that when she walked out the door, she would be stepping into the Nethierfield ball. A nervous giggle escaped her lips as she looked back the large white door.

With every step she took to the door, she got more and more excited as questions filled her head.

Would it be just like the movie?

Would everyone be there?

Where was she?

And the biggest one, would Mr. Darcy be there?

Well not the real Mr. Darcy, but Shea as Mr. Darcy.

Elli opened the door and took a step out, walking down the hall, taking in the exquisiteness of the place that she had no clue she was at. The walls were covered with beautiful gold paper that had white swirls on them. Vintage furniture was everywhere, along with large floor candle stick holders. It was beautiful.

When Elli came to the end of the hall, coming to some stairs that led down, her last question was answered.

Shea stood at the bottom of the stairs, smiling up at her, in a black waistcoat with a white under coat. The cravat that covered his neck to his chin was white, the pants that came down to below his knees were black and, bless his heart, to complete the outfit he wore sheer socks.

Elli couldn’t help but laugh when she saw he didn’t have the traditional shoes of the 19
^th
century, but his chucks.

“
My Mr. Darcy, Adler style, huh?”

“
Oh, yeah, and Grace is livid about it,” he said taking her hand as she made it to the last step.

“
I bet, even though I love it. It’s totally you.”

He gave her a sheepish grin, “I felt like a sissy in those princess shoes.”

Elli giggled as she pressed her lips against his. When they parted, she smiled as she looked up into his eyes, running her hand down his cheek, “Thank you, Shea.”

“
Oh, you haven’t seen nothing yet, come on.”

He took her hand, leading her down the long staircase. When they reached the bottom, Elli heard people talking and laughing as Shea placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her to a pair of French doors.

“
Ready?”

“
Sure am,” she gushed as he pushed open the door. Everyone turned, looking back at the door, before a chorus of “Happy Birthday” rang through the filled ballroom. Elli’s face lit up, seeing all her friends, Shea’s friends, and her daddy, dressed in her favorite era. The ballroom was spectacular. It looked like Elli had step onto the set of Pride and Prejudice, with the gold drapes and candles that covered every square inch of the beautiful ballroom.

As Shea led her through the room to greet everyone, Elli took in every detail. She wanted to remember this night for the rest of her life, so she remembered the candelabras that hung on the walls, the way the gold swirls twisted so finely on the walls, and how the violists that sat in the corner by the piano looked exactly like the ones in the movie. But most of all, she took in how gorgeous Shea was.

It wasn’t any surprise that Shea would look good even in the 19
^th
century. Some of the other guys that also had dressed up looked dorky in their dress coats, but not Shea. He looked regal, established, perfect, and he had done all this for her. He slid his hand into hers, leading her to the middle of the dance floor. He stood her on one side, as Harper, Jodi, Reese, and Piper came to join her. Then he went to the other with Jakob, Derrick, and two guys Elli didn’t know.

When “A Postcard to Henry Purcell,” started Elli’s mouth dropped. “No y’all didn’t.”

“
Oh, yes we did, now go!” Harper exclaimed basically pushing Elli to go.

Of course, Elli knew the dance well. She had watched the movie so many times that she could do it in her sleep. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but she used to make Adler be Mr. Darcy, and carry the overweight pup through the living room as they watched the movie. What surprised Elli the most was how perfect Shea knew the dance. He moved with ease around her, taking her hand when needed, while keeping in time.

“
I love this dance,” Elli said just for shit and giggles, since it was the first line that Elizabeth Bennet said in the movie, but when Shea said, “Yes, it’s most invigorating,” Elli couldn’t breathe. On they went, going back and forth the way Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy did in the movie. Shea was astonishing and surprised her every day.

“
You memorized the dance and the script?” she asked with a cheeky grin as they moved around each other.

“
I did.”

“
Why?”

“
Because I love you.”

It was that simple.

The song ended just as the words left Shea’s mouth. Everyone awed as Elli turned deep red at being caught at what should have been a private moment between them. Elli came to him, wrapping her arms around him as some soft music started again. Shea wrapped his arms around her, taking her close into his arms, nuzzling his nose into her neck. She had taken his breath away with her beauty. Of course, she was the most beautiful person on earth to him, but tonight she was picturesque. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

They held each other as the song went into another one, and then another before they parted, smiling at each other. “Are you hungry?” he asked.

“
Kinda.”

“
There’s a buffet.”

“
Let's go, then.”

He nodded, taking her hand in his, leading her through the dancing couples. When they reached the other ballroom, Elli looked up at him, “Where are we? The Belmont?”

“
Yup,” he said with a grin.

“
I thought so.”

“
There are your parents,” Shea said when he spotted Michael and Olivia.

“
Why in the good Lord’s name did you invite my mother?” Elli asked in horror as she looked up at him.

“
I wanted your whole family here to share you special night,” he said with a shrugged as Michael and Olivia made their way over.

“
Daddy,” Elli grinned, kissing his cheek, “Mother.” Elli didn’t move to her, though. She watched as Olivia put an awkward kiss on her cheek and then smiled over at Shea.

“
This is beautiful Shea, you outdid yourself with this.”

“
Thank you, but it’s my sister’s work. I just came up with the idea,” Shea said as Elli looked up at him, smiling.

“
I’ll have to thank her, too,” Elli said, before Michael took Elli’s hands in his.

“
Darlin’, you look striking tonight.”

“
Aw, thanks, daddy,” Elli gushed as heat filled her beautiful cheeks.

“
You do sweetheart, just beautiful.” Everyone looked over at Olivia in surprised. Shea didn’t think anyone was more surprised than Elli was; her mouth was actually hanging open a little.

“
Thank you, mother,” Elli said. Shea could see the surprise all over her face and loved the smiled that formed afterwards.

Shea and Elli wished them a good night and then made their way to the buffet, making plates before sitting down with their friends. They enjoyed the amazing food Grace had ordered and the conversation their friends provided them with. After eating, they made their way through the crowd, greeting more of their friends and for Shea to introduce Elli to some of his friends she hadn’t met yet.

“
So this is Eleanor Fisher. Damn Shea, she’s hotter than you led on,” Damon Thompson, Shea’s agent said.

“
That she is,” Shea agreed as Elli grinned up at both men.

“
It's wonderful to meet you, thank you for coming,” Elli gushed as Damon shook her hand.

“
It’s my pleasure. I love parties, but when Grace said Shea would be wearing some girlie socks, I had to be here. Plus, I wanted to meet you.” Shea narrowed his eyes at his agent, while Damon laughed.

“
You know I can replace you,” Shea informed him.

“
You could, but you won’t, we’ve known each other since we were kids, I’m not going anywhere, you and I both know that, brother.” Damon said with a grin, before turning back to Elli, “Like I said, you are more beautiful than he let on, so when you’re tired of him, give me a call.” Damon left with a wink, and Shea’s blood boiled.

“
I don’t know why I keep that guy,” Shea said, glaring at Damon’s back as he flirted with one of Harper’s sisters.

“
Cause you love him, come on, I wanna dance!”

“
Alright,” Shea agreed as she dragged him to the floor as Duffy sang about syrup and honey. Like always, their bodies move with such ease, such skill. The sexy music made Shea want to be closer to Elli, in the naked sense, but that wouldn’t be happening until later on that night.

They danced all through the night, only to stop to greet someone, or to get a glass of wine. Elli seemed to be happy with the company they went with for the wine too, it was apparently one of her good friends’ family wines and it was delicious. Meeting Fallon Parker was just as refreshing as the wine; she was sweet and smart. She also promised him all the bottles of wine he wanted when Elli said he was a vino. So basically, she was a winner in his book.

Shea and Elli were standing with Jakob and Harper when Grace took a mic, smiling out at the crowd. “I think it’s time for everyone to join in to sing to the birthday girl!” Unfortunately, Grace kept the mic as she sang ‘Happy Birthday’. Shea had always known he wasn’t the best singer, but Grace was worse and now everyone knew it. Shea didn’t think Elli cared, though; she smiled and blushed as the three tiered red velvet cake with white butter cream icing was wheeled out. The cake was topped with a sparkling 28, and twenty eight candles adorned the cake in various spots. When everyone was done singing, Elli blew out all her candles with a “yeehaw” for good measure at the end.

Shea was rewarded with a dazzling grin as Elli wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. When they parted, she was smiling so big at him that it was hard for him to catch his breath. How he could love someone so much and so whole heartily would always be a mystery to him, but he did and was convinced he would for the rest of his life.

As “Make You Feel My Love” filled the ballroom, Shea pulled Elli to the middle of the floor, taking her face in his hands as she placed hers around his waist. He leaned his forehead against hers as they dance together, looking into each other’s eyes.

“
This night is magical, Shea.”

“
It’s not over yet, baby, we still got the after party,” he leaned closer, bringing his lips against hers, but not kissing her, “in my bed.”

Her giggles intoxicated him as they danced, moving closer with each step as nothing was said. When she looked up at him, biting her bottom lip, he smiled. “Could we make it our bed?”

Shea actually stopped moving as he looked down at her, “What?”

“
I mean, is the offer of moving in together still on the table?”

His heart actually skipped a beat as his beautiful girlfriend looked up at him with a nervous smile, “Oh, baby, that offer will forever be on the table for you. Do you really want to?” Elli smiled big, nodding her head. Shea let out a whoop of laughter before pressing his lips against hers, hard, lifting her off the floor.

And he thought he couldn’t love her more.

There was a trail of clothing from the front door of the condo to the bedroom, but they didn’t care. Shea lifted Elli’s naked body off the ground, bringing her mouth to his as she wrapped her legs around his waist, her moist center teasing his growing arousal. He basically kicked the bedroom door open, trying to get her to the bed, since she had complained the island was cold and hard. Plus, Adler could see.

Like the dog knew what they were doing!

He fell on top of her, kissing down her jaw to her neck. She ran her nails up his back, making his mind swirl with lust. He wanted her so damn bad; it had been weeks since he had her like this, he couldn’t wait. His lips made their way from her neck back to her lips as his hand moved down the side of her body, to between her legs. She was dripping with excitement as he slid a finger inside of her. She filled his mouth with a throaty moan as he moved his finger around her aching nub, causing her to squirm underneath him. He moved his hand away, smacking her thighs open, so that she was fully exposed to him. Her eyes went wide when he filled her with one swift motion.

They both groaned in appreciation at being joined in the most fulfilling way. Shea sat up on the back of his hunches, gyrate in slow, insistent circles as Elli let out short little spurts of breaths, her body squeezing him as he pushed himself into her. He looked down at where their bodies were joined, watching as he moved in and out of her before looking up at Elli’s face. She was pink with arousal, looking up at him with her lust filled green eyes. God, she was hot, and he wasn’t going to last.