Chasing Eliza (5 page)

“
I paid a high price for you.” He wasn’t at all certain he
meant that with any sense of monetary value, but his emotions still
roiled dangerously close to the surface despite knowing she could
really be Jemima and he would be faced with the difficult situation
of having been intimate with one of his relations.

“
Oh God!” Eliza gasped, embarrassment sweeping through
her.

“
It’s not what you think.” Edward replied, holding her firm
against him to prevent her from leaving the bed altogether, or at
least until they had resolved matters between them.
“I-.”

“
Why did you kiss me then?” Her eyes shot hot sparks of temper
at him through the darkness. It was suddenly very important to know
what he really wanted with her. Every feminine instinct she
possessed told her that he wanted her, and would have undoubtedly
made love to her if she had let things continue. His reaction to
her withdrawal was not as she expected, especially from someone who
had seemingly paid Bernard a high price for her.

“
Because I wanted to.” His voice was husky with the remnants
of desire that he hadn’t quite managed to extinguish altogether. He
blinked and drew a breath, meeting her gaze directly. Should he try
and seduce her into compliance again? Or should he drop all of his
poor attempts at subterfuge before they backfired on him
completely, and just question her here and now?

Eliza
studied him closely. He was a masterful seducer who had taken
advantage of her inexperience to rattle her, to weaken her resolve
in order to question her. Whether he had actually intended to make
love to her or not, she wasn’t certain but the knowledge that he
had an alternative agenda to wanting to be with her piqued her
feminine pride. It hardened her resolve not to allow him further
intimacies. Although she had enjoyed the experience and hadn’t felt
the least bit threatened by his kisses, allowing any more was
tempting fate.

“
You paid for my body.” Eliza moaned, feeling a surge of
humiliation that brought tears to her eyes. She had been lost in
the thick haze of passion he had so easily conjured within her,
willing to forget her current predicament to experience everything
he offered and all the while he had been getting his money’s
worth.

“
I paid to be alone with you – there’s a difference.” Edward
knew she wanted to leap off the bed and put some distance between
them and as casually as possible, drew his leg up until it rested
over her thighs, effectively pinning her to the bed.

Her hand
instinctively pushed against the firm muscle of his thigh and she
paused in surprise. His thigh was rock hard and heavy, she had no
way of moving it until he chose to release her. The thought irked
her wayward temper and she felt her blood begin to boil at the
thought of being under his command.

“
Now you have me alone, what do you want?” Despite her wide,
shocked eyes, Edward could see she was curious and knew if he had
any hope of getting the truth out of her, he had to use that
curiosity to his advantage.

“
I want to know what you know about Jemima. Is she your
sister, or are you really her?” Edward murmured, effectively
encasing her in his protective hold by reaching an arm across her
body, ostensibly to pick up a curl from the shimmering mass and
curl it around his finger.

Eliza knew he was toying with far more than her hair, but
couldn’t seem to break free from the sensual web he had woven oh so
easily around her. Had he really only paid for her information? She
frowned and considered the passion they had shared. Had it really
all been about his need for the truth? The idea that she had been
the only one experiencing the jumble of sensations added to her
humiliation and hardened her resolve not to tell him
anything.
Whatever he had paid Bernard had
been a high price indeed
, she thought
harshly and tried hard not to glare at him in feminine fury. Was
she foolish to have expected anything else? She considered she was,
after all men like Edward were probably used to women practically
falling at their feet daily. Given his interest in her sister and
the differences in their circumstance, she knew it was highly
unlikely that in any other situation he would even look twice at
someone like her.

“
I’ve told you, I am Eliza – Jemima’s sister.” Eliza
whispered, feeling the sting of tears she refused to let
fall.

“
Eliza.” He whispered, studying the shimmering moisture
hovering on her long lashes. He was immediately swept with
unfamiliar feelings of such tenderness that all thoughts of passion
were immediately swept to one side. He felt like a fumbling oaf for
upsetting her and regretted allowing the true depth of his desire
for her to show especially given she was still a novice in the art
of lovemaking. Had it been the strength of passion between them
that had frightened her to tears, or the mention of her sister that
had upset her so?

His
instincts warned him that he was a fool for doing so, but
nevertheless he found himself tipping her chin upwards and placing
a gentle kiss on her quivering lips. The heady taste of her sweet
lips lay on his tongue like amber nectar, laying siege to his
senses until he struggled to think of anything but the need to
possess and lay claim to her.

“
I can’t do this Edward.” Eliza gasped, clinging helplessly to
his broad shoulders as she fought to steady her reeling senses.
Unsurprisingly he continued to kiss her for several moments, daring
her to accept the web of desire he so skilfully began to weave
around her once more as his tongue teased and tantalised hers. She
gave herself briefly over to his command, and allowed him to slant
his head to deepen the kiss. She allowed the pressure of his body
as he leant over her, the hard band of his arms securing her tight
against him. They were so close she could feel the heavy thump of
his heart against her breast. The breast that was now under being
stroked softly by his searching fingers. Panic began to sweep
through her as the shock of sensation had the effect of a bucket of
water on her scattered wits and snapped her back to
reality.

He only
had a brief moment to wonder why she was trying to twist out from
beneath him as his lips released hers before the sudden whoosh of
movement caught his eye.

A heavy
weight crashed down on his skull with a resounding thud, rendering
him speechless for several moments as pain exploded in his
head.

His foul
curse rent the air as he immediately rolled onto his back, blinking
fiercely to clear the shower of stars behind his eyelids. He shook
his head in a valiant attempt to clear his vision only to groan
anew when the pain increased tenfold. Raising one eyelid he glared
balefully at her, all remnants of desire vanished in an instant as
he studied her warily standing beside the bed, holding a bundle of
rags in her hand.

“
What the bloody hell did you do that for?” He snarled,
rubbing the rapidly expanding lump on his temple in consternation.
She had been allowing his kiss and had in fact been actively
engaging in it, so why had she hit him?

“
Eliza, wait!” He groaned as he stood and put a hand against
the wall to steady himself when the room immediately whirled around
him in a kaleidoscope of moonlight and shadows.

“
I told you I won’t sleep with you. Whatever you paid Bernard
you need to get back from him, because he has ripped you off too. I
am not a whore and I won’t give you any information about Jemima.”
Eliza snapped in a voice made shrill with the clawing need to get
out but she could do little to prevent the rising tide of panic
that clawed at her, driving her onwards recklessly.

He had
been so masterful at seducing her, she had briefly forgotten where
she – they – were. She didn’t care if she had to beat her way out
of the tavern; nothing was going to stop her leaving. She didn’t
stop to look back into the room, and was vaguely aware of the
sudden shifting of shadows within the room as he lurched towards
the door moments before it slammed shut behind her. From the curses
and thumps emanating from the room, he had either fallen over or
walked into the solid slab of wood so rudely slammed in his
face.

She
didn’t stop to check on him and instead ran down the stairs,
ignoring the catcalls and whistles from the tap room’s occupants as
she swept through the side room towards the back corridor and the
door at the end marking freedom.

Completely ignoring Bernard’s angry shouts behind her, she
ducked into the office taking precious moments to haul out the
small box he kept in his desk and upend the contents on the desk.
Grabbing a handful of coins, she roughly assessed how much she was
owed and tucked them into the pocket of her dress before lunging
back into the corridor.

Her eyes
were wide with anger as she practically ran into Bernard, who was
leaning against the wall gasping for breath, his mouth opening and
closing with rage that mottled his face a mixture of puce and
purple.

“
I’ll take that as payment for the bar work. Now get out of my
way.” She snapped with cold eyes as she hefted her bundle before
her meaningfully.

The hour
was late, and although most of the patrons had gone home there were
some still around, and they were now gathered in the doorway to
watch the spectacle.

“
Give me the money back whore.” Bernard snarled.

“
You owe me several months’ pay. If you think keeping me here
without pay with the intent of turning me into a whore is going to
work, then I am afraid you are sadly mistaken. Now are you going to
move out of my way – or do I have to force you.”

She
ignored his growl of contempt and met his glare with one of her
own. Her chin tilted defiantly, every fibre of her being locked
onto the seething mass behind her. If they took it into their heads
to snatch her, she wouldn’t stand a chance against them but it was
a risk she had to take. Her gaze locked on the hefty bulk of the
man before her, she issued one last warning.

“
Move – or I’ll move you.” She snarled, her amber eyes
flashing in warning moments before she swung the heavy bundle she
carried straight at Bernard’s head. He crumpled to the floor
without a murmur. Eliza turned and shot the men in the doorway a
glare of contemptuous warning before stepping over the unconscious
bulk and heading out of the door, letting it swing closed behind
her with a reassuring thump.

Chapter
Three

Once
outside, she felt panic begin to swell. Getting out of the Tavern
had been the relatively easy part. Now she had to get as far away
from the place as possible. Although rendering Bernard unconscious
had bought her some time, she knew that at any moment the occupants
would spill out onto the streets in search of her.

Her
stomach lurched with sickening nerves as she took a few steps away
from the solid bulk of the inn only to be drawn to an abrupt halt
by the unrelenting grip on her elbow.

“
You hit me with that again and I swear as God is my witness,
I will paddle your arse.” Edward snarled, snatching the hideous
bundle of rags off her and throwing it into the bushes in disgust.
Ignoring her protests he dragged her unceremoniously across the
stable yard into the cavernous barn that accommodated his
horse.

“
Stand there.” He ordered, shoving her roughly against the
stable wall and turning to quickly saddle his horse. He issued her
a hard glare and stood between her and the stable opening, daring
her to try to push past him. The lump on his head throbbed and he
still struggled to clear his blurred vision. Whatever had been in
that bundle had been chosen well; he wondered if they should have
kept it because he had a distinct feeling they were going to need
it before the night was over.

From the
angry murmuring amongst the inn’s remaining patrons, he fully
expected that any moment now the tavern would erupt and they would
have to fight their way out of the stable yard.

“
Where the hell are you going?” He snarled placing one large
hand into the centre of her chest. Ignoring the soft press of flesh
beneath his fingers he pushed her back against the wall, his temper
seesawing wildly between admiration for her determination and anger
for her recklessness.

“
They’ll kill you if you go back in there.” He snapped,
nodding toward the bulk of the inn. Although he was loathed to
admit it, she had been impressive to watch as she had thrashed her
way out of the tavern like Boudicca leading her army. The fiery
glint of daring in her amber eyes had dared anyone to risk coming
closer to face her wrath. It had been enough to keep the men at a
wary distance and allow her escape but he felt relatively certain
would not be enough to stop the angry men from regaining possession
of someone they clearly considered theirs.

He had
his pistol on him, but he had limited shot and certainly not enough
to keep a baying crowd away.

“
I’m not going back in.” Eliza snapped defensively, unsure
whether she was relieved or annoyed when his solid bulk blocked her
from leaving. “I need my bundle.”

Edward
heaved a put-upon sigh at the insanity of females and shoved the
bit into his horse’s mouth. “There is no time. We have to
go.”