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Before she could stop it, he leaned forward and covered her mouth with his own. The cushion of his smooth lips molding against hers sent a thrilling spray of tingles over her skin and a muted squeak escaped her throat.
If this was heaven, she’d found it.
He should stop, but the intoxicating sensation of Eliza’s hot breath on Thomas’s face dominated him, and he could think of nothing else. Nothing but kissing her. The world around him stopped and he moved both hands to cup her smooth cheeks as he continued to taste her lips. She pressed into his kiss, moving her own delicate hands to his face. Sampling the sweetness her mouth was the biggest mistake he’d ever made. Just one would never be enough.
Reluctant, Thomas pulled away, aching for more, but knowing he must stop now or he never would. His rapid breathing matched hers and they stared at each other in bewildered silence while the mischievous fire crackled on, as if glad to be the only voyeur.
Her lips parted, her breath catching, and he wanted to believe she was begging him to lean forward and begin again.
Reality suddenly smacked him across the face. The more probable fact was that she was upset by his forwardness. After all, she’d wanted a friend to talk to, not a lover to ravish her.
Before he could do any more damage, he stood and walked to the fireplace, then dropped two more logs on the dying embers. Trying to calm the raging flood in his veins, he stared and laughed inwardly at the sparks that flew in the air. That kiss had generated sparks a hundred times more numerous than the ones popping before him.
“Forgive me, Eliza,” he said, still facing the flames and in as calm as voice as he could manage. “That was dreadfully inappropriate of me.”
He looked over his shoulder. Eliza gripped the shawl around her with such intensity, her knuckles were white, her gaze in her lap. An emotion swept across her face as she peered up at him. She looked hurt.
Fool! Now he’d gone and made it worse. Why couldn’t he have left his emotions where they belonged? She would be all too glad to get away from him as soon as she could. He must stop allowing his heart to direct his actions instead of his head.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “Just because we’re allowing people to think we’re husband and wife doesn’t mean I’ll treat you as such.” He exhaled loud, trying to expel his self-directed anger. “It won’t happen again.”
Chapter Fifteen
The two weeks following Thomas’s bewitching kiss dragged on as if they were two years. That blissful, fleeting moment all but consumed Eliza’s mind. There were times when she relived it, springing to life the same beautiful passions she’d relished when his lips had touched hers.
Now, he refused to talk to her, except to offer a muted greeting and hardly even looked in her direction. She couldn’t deny the powerful yearning between them and she was sure he’d felt it too. So why did he avoid her as if she was some horrid disease? Samuel’s kiss had produced but a single drop of wanting in comparison to the oceans of desire that Thomas swelled within her.
The days were short now and many of their evenings were spent in front of the fire. Eliza would read aloud while Kitty sewed or mended in the dim light. Thomas kept busy with extraneous tasks far away from their presence.
Eliza craved his closeness but employed her acting skills and kept aloof. She sent him only tiny smiles when he walked by, pretended she didn’t hear him come in the room, and forced herself not to look at him if he joined them by the fire. It took all her strength to not allow her eyes to linger on his kind face, and smile the way he made her want to smile.
One bitter cold evening, Thomas came into the main room and placed a large pile of fresh cut logs near the hearth. He bent and arranged the wood, while the fire made alluring shadows dance across his face. She noticed the evening whiskers that covered his jaw and chin, and how bits of his long dark hair freed themselves from the ribbon that held them in place behind his head.
To her surprise, he started talking. “I’ve asked Nathaniel to join us for a special dinner on Sunday evening. I hope that will be agreeable to you. I think it would be enjoyable for us to have a little change of pace and celebrate your recovery, Eliza.”
What? He’d actually addressed her! She sent a fleeting glance to Kitty. From her wide-eyed expression, her sister could not believe it either. This must be a positive sign. And since they could do nothing but stay in the house every hour of the day, a change would be more than welcome.
So he had noticed she was doing much better. Of course he must have, but he’d never breathed a word of it since he had stopped his constant attentions at her bedside.
Thomas turned from his crouched position in front of the pile of logs and peered at both she and Kitty, an arm draped over his knee. If he had thought about her that much, the least she could do was show him her gratitude.
Meeting his gaze, Eliza allowed herself to smile as wide as she wanted. She thought his sapphire eyes filled with longing, but before she could be sure he looked away and turned his attention to Kitty.
“So what do you say, Kitty? Do you like that idea?”
“Yes, indeed! ‘Tis a marvelous plan, Thomas!”
Thomas turned back to his task with the wood. “What about you, Eliza?”
Why doesn’t he look at me? She pressed her hands in her lap and struggled to keep her voice even. “I’m thrilled as well. Thank you, Thomas.”
“Excellent.” He got up, and moved his head in their direction from over his shoulder. “I’ll be going to bed now. If you stay up, there are plenty of logs to keep the fire going. Goodnight.”
He walked away without another word.
An instant emptiness filled Eliza’s belly. It was from the nervous excitement. Nothing else.
The next morning Nathaniel made an early visit. He burst through the door without knocking, as usual, carrying a large parcel under his arm.
