Sari Robins - [Andersen Hall Orphanage 05] by The Governess Wears Scarlet Read Free Book Online Page A

“Excellent point. But few peers have experienced a hollow belly to make that connection. Obviously you have.”
    Abigail straightened, pushing away any sense of affinity with this man. “Is that some kind of threat?”
    He stiffened. “What sort of man do you think I am?”
    Raising her hands to the heavens in frustration, she cried, “I’ve hardly a clue! One moment you’re kind and considerate of the boys and the next you’re insulting me beyond the pale!”
    “Insulting you? You’re the one who refuses to work for ‘the likes’ of me!”
    Curling her fingers into fists, Abigail tried to rein in this unfamiliar fury. “Look. This obviously was a mistake. Let us simply part ways and be done with it.”
    “You can do that? You can simply desert those two boys? Orphans who’ve already lost so much?”
    Abigail swallowed. “You can find another governess—”
    “They’ve grown attached to you.”
    “Yes, but—”
    “The boys trust you. You know how hard it can be to win over young boys. You’ve already done it and you can’t let them down.”
    “Well—”
    “They need you.”
    “I don’t think—”
    “You agreed.”
    “Yes, I know. But—”
    “What is it, then? Are you positioning for more money?”
    Abigail straightened. “I would never!”
    He stepped forward, toe to toe with her, like duelists at dawn. “Then what the blazes are you about?” His breath washed over her in a pleasant, clove-scented breeze. “You flounce in and—”
    “I don’t flounce!” she cried, glaring up into that chiseled, unnervingly handsome face.
    “Fine, you fence your way into those children’s hearts and then, after they’ve grown attached to you, you forsake them?”
    “I don’t want to leave them!”
    “Then don’t!”
    Abigail was quaking, her face was hot, and her heart was racing. She flushed with an unfamiliar fire surging through her.
    Steele stood so close, she could feel the waves of heat and frustration he emitted. It was mesmerizing, intoxicating, and the way her body hungered for more of him was frightening. The man had to be a sorcerer of some kind to have such an effect on her.
    Swallowing, Abigail forced herself to take a shaky step back. She stared down at Steele’s boots, which caught a gleam of moonlight on their polished surface.
    “Don’t do that.” His voice was a teasing whisper as he stepped to follow her, keeping less than an inch separating them.
    She felt the heat of his flesh and the force he emanated with every fiber of her being. “Do what?” she murmured.
    “Back down. Become that gray mouse once more.”
    She blinked, and her anger flared like a goddess incensed. “You, don’t do that!”
    “What?”
    “Charm me and insult me all in one breath!” She began to pace, sending pebbles flying from under her heels. “What is wrong with you? You’re handsome as sin, and despite your odd notions of propriety, you can be amiable—”
    He straightened. “You think I’m handsome?” Then he shook his head as if to clear it. “What do you mean, odd notions of propriety?”
    Abigail kept pacing, her mind lost to the puzzleof it. “You shouldn’t have difficulty finding women willing enough to bed you. It boggles the mind that you would feel the need to force your attentions—”
    “Now hold on one moment!” Steele grabbed her arm and pulled her to face him. “I’ve never forced my attentions on a woman in my life!”
    She glared at his hand on her arm. “The same way you’ve never manhandled a woman in your life!”
    “Fine.” He released her. “But it’s not the same. I swear on everything I hold dear that I have never been with a woman who didn’t, quite clearly, want to be with me.”
    “I suppose that I’m the first one who’s ever made a fuss about it! And given your appeal, I can understand why, but still!”
    “Can you please explain yourself in a way I can understand? You’re being nonsensical!”
    Abigail met those blazing eyes, glare for