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Her eyes widened and her lips parted as if to say so, but in the end, she just pulled away "Lady Danbury has been very good to"There is no way I could ever repay her ruff, outspoken aunt referred to as kind The ton respected her, feared her, even laughed at her cutting jokes, but never before had he seen the love he felt for the woman who had quite possibly saved his soul reflected in another's eyes

And then his body beca forward He wasn't controlling the her power had entered his for his hand to reach out and cup the back of Elizabeth's head, his fingers sliding into the silk of her hair as he pulled her to him, closer, closer, and then

And then his lips were on hers, and whateverforce had caused him to kiss her fled, and all that was left was hi need to possess her in every way a man could possess a woman

As one hand sank ever deeper into her hair, the other snaked around her, settling into the delicate curve at the s to respond to hi, and her heart was beginning to beat faster, and then his heart started to pound

"My God, Elizabeth," he gasped,his mouth to her cheek, and then to her ear "I want I want"

His voicewithin her, because she stiffened, and he heard her whisper, "Oh, no"

Jaround and kiss her until she had lost all reason, but he ined, because he let her go the instant she began to pull away

She stood across fro else One tiny hand was clasped over her ht" she murmured into her hand "I can't believe "

"You can't believe what?"

She shook her head "Oh, this is awful"

That was a bit o could bear "Well, noouldn't say--"

But she had already run off

Chapter 7

Elizabeth arrived at Danbury House the following oal in mind: to stay as far away from James Siddons as humanly possible

He had kissed her He had actually kissed her Worse, she had let him And even worse, she had run off like a coward--all the way home Only once in all her years as Lady Danbury "s companion had she ever cried off work early, and that hen she'd had a lung fever Even then, she had tried to re only when Lady Danbury had threatened to care for her herself

But this time all it took was one kiss fro like a ninny Elizabeth had been so mortified by her actions that she'd sent Lucas back to Danbury House with a note for Lady D explaining that she was feeling quite ill It wasn't entirely a lie, Elizabeth reasoned She'd been hot and flushed, and her stoether queer