Page 44 of The Secret of the Dashing Detective
Abigail nodded as Juliana passed her a bag of sweets, which the girl took with great glee.
Matthew waited as they walked deeper through the hedgerows, aware that Juliana obviously wanted to speak to him about what had just transpired.
“That was an interesting conversation,” she noted, to which he nodded.
“It was, although I’m afraid that your mother did not impart any new information.”
“No, she didn’t, but she did prove something.”
“Which is?”
Juliana turned to him now, placing her hands on his chest, and he looked around to make sure they were out of view of the house.
“My mother… she does what she thinks is best for us, but she is not entirely a good person. My father most certainly was not. I love my brother and my sister, and they have always been my world, but they are no better than anyone of lesser status. Neither am I trying and spectacularly failing to say is that youthinkyou are not good enough for me, but that is not at all the truth. I have met your family and they are the most wonderful people. They may not be the family of a duke, but they have hearts that are worth more than any title. If you ask me – and I know you are not asking, but I will tell you regardless – I am the one who is not good enough foryou.”
Her words melted something within him, something that had been holding him back.
“You would always be good enough for me, Juliana, but that doesn’t change certain facts.”
“Such as?”
“You and I would never be allowed to be together. Not by your mother or your brother—”
“Giles can be convinced. I just will not give him a choice.”
“You are going to tell the duke what to do?”
“Do not underestimate my powers of persuasion,” she said with a wink, and somehow, he believed her. Look how far she had convinced him, after all.
She stood on her toes and looked up at him, not kissing him this time, but obviously waiting for him to make the first move.
With a sigh he lowered his mouth to hers, unable to resist her. She certainly knew how to make a compelling argument, and if she were a man he would suggest she become a barrister to argue her case – for he wasn’t sure how anyone could ever deny her anything.
He thought of her work on the pamphlet, of the passion she felt for her society and her cause, and he acknowledged how lucky they all were to have her on their side.
And how fortunate he was to have a woman like her in his arms, on his lips, whether it was for now or forever.
He surrendered to her and to her kiss, and she leaned in closer to him. He couldn’t help his hands from wandering around the back of her dress and up her sides until they were cupping her breasts, even as he knew he shouldn’t touch her, but she dispelled all of his hesitancies.
“Yes,” she breathed into him, and it was all the encouragement he needed to brush his thumbs over her nipples, which hardened at his touch. She arched into him, clearly enjoying it, and he slipped a hand into the bodice of her gown and found her soft skin. Her nipple pebbled even further, and she, likely unknowingly, ground herself against his aching erection as he cupped her and teased her. He left her mouth, his lips nipping her earlobe before tracing a line down her neck to her collarbone. He could only imagine what she would look like underneath him without a stitch of clothing, ready for his exploration. The thought nearly brought him to his knees, especially when it seemed she was ready to make it happen.
She reached for the fall of his trousers, and he wondered if she even knew what she was searching for, but he broke away from her before it could go any further, his breathing heavy as he stared down at her swollen, pink lips and heaving chest.
“Juliana,” he said desperately, and she leaned into him.
“I want more.”
“We cannot.”
“Maybe not now, not here,” she said. “But at some point. I want—Ineedmore.”
“Do you even understand what that more is?”
“I have an idea,” she said with an impish grin. “My grandmother provided me and Prudence with quite a few of the particulars.”
Matthew nearly choked at that piece of information, especially at the thought of it coming from Lady Winchester.
“I’m not sure what to say to that.”
