Free The Uncatchable Miss Faversham by Elizabeth Moss Page A

control again, remembering that night when he had found her virginal innocence easy to persuade.
        Flushed and trembling, Eleanor knew she must find the strength to call for help, to summon assistance from whatever quarter, however embarrassing it might prove to be discovered in this position by his servants.
        His fingers lifted her stubborn chin, tilting her face towards his. ‘Maybe I am a little drunk,’ he muttered. ‘Because when I first came out here, I meant to punish you. To confront the untouchable Miss Faversham with some hard truths. But all I can think of right now is kissing you.’
        His other arm snaked about her waist, drawing her closer.
        ‘Nell,’ he muttered, his gaze searching her face with earnest intent. Then his mouth descended in a long kiss.
        His lips hard against hers, she was lost, plunged at once into an achingly familiar darkness. She recalled how her hands had to mould themselves to his broad shoulders as they kissed, how their bodies should fit together perfectly as though made for each other. Not for the first time in her life, a sense of propriety struggled hopelessly against physical desire, and for a few dizzying moments desire was winning.
        Once he had kissed her like this out of love. Now she felt his anger, no doubt remembering her rejection five years ago. Everything she had learnt about how to remain free and mistress of her own fate told Eleanor to push Lord Sallinger away and reject his seduction.
        Yet while his mouth moved so demandingly against hers, she could think of nothing but her own physical needs. A white-hot excitement seared a path through her body, encouraging her to rise on tiptoe, twining both arms about his neck and pulling this man closer.
        As though sensing her instinctive response, Nathaniel groaned against her mouth, his words barely comprehensible. ‘Nell – my wild, sweet Nell. I thought I’d never see you again. That we were done forever, that I’d finally mastered my need for you.’
        His kiss consumed her, blazing its relentless fire throughout her blood. Her body felt weak against his, the memory of what they had done together all those years ago suddenly fresh in her mind as though it had been yesterday.
        His hands slid down over her breasts. They found her slender waist under the white muslin gown, stroking the sensuous curves of her body through its concealing folds.
        Her cheeks were aflame from his kiss, her breath tight in her chest. Surely he did not intend to make love to her, right here on the balcony?
        ‘But I was wrong,’ he continued, muttering under his breath. ‘As soon as I saw you again tonight, colder and more beautiful than ever, I knew what I had to do.’
        Abruptly he raised his head and she felt the chill night air on her face. Her body cooled rapidly as he held her at arms’ length.
        Nathaniel paused. His eyes closed for a moment. Then he stared at her again, speaking in a furious, low-voiced rush.
        ‘Unlike you, Eleanor, I cannot forget what we did that night or pretend it never happened. But it’s clear that you would rather it had never happened, that you were still a virgin.’ He jerked to a halt, his breath seeming to catch and snag on that word. ‘Because no man will ever be good enough for the uncatchable Miss Faversham. Especially not a cripple with the face of a gargoyle.’
        ‘Nathaniel,’ she whispered through swollen lips.
        ‘Don’t say my name!’
        He’s going to kill me, she thought hazily. She stumbled backwards, staring up at her accuser in bewilderment, and the balcony rail bit into the back of her legs through the white muslin of her gown.
       
    Nathaniel was angry. He had not felt this angry towards a woman since - since the last time she had rejected him, he realised, bitterly aware of how easily she, and she alone, was able to wound him. He had invited her to call him