Page 55 of The Secret of the Dashing Detective
She lifted her hips up to meet him, and he seemed to understand what she needed as he began rocking into her faster, and while she had felt the pleasure before, now it was another sensation entirely. Then he changed the angle of his thrust so that he was rubbing against her, even as he kissed her with such tenderness that she knew what he felt for her, even if he wouldn’t say it out loud.
The sensations began building within her again, until she was trembling around him, and her entire world exploded in a kaleidoscope of color. She was just coming down from it when he pulled out of her abruptly and she opened her eyes in time to seem him wiping himself off beside her.
Then he was back above her, and he kissed her on the forehead, the nose, the cheek, the jaw, as they stared at one another in complete and utter amazement.
He opened his mouth, but she took her index finger to his chin and closed it before he could say anything.
“Don’t say it.”
“I—”
“Don’t. That was wonderful and amazing and everything I could ever ask for. That Ididask for. Whatever happens, I will remember that for the rest of my life.”
“As will I,” he finally said, the smile she was waiting for finally crossing his face. “As will I. Now, as much as I would like to keep you here in my bed all evening, I think we’ve had enough excitement for one night. I wouldn’t want to stretch our luck.”
He stood, pulling on his clothing before helping her to her feet. “Come, let’s get you fed. Then it’s time for me to take you home.”
* * *
Matthew feltlike he was walking on the sun the next day after his night with Juliana. There was the part of him that kept reminding him that he had made a colossal mistake, of course, but he tried to silence that aspect of his mind, and instead, for one day at least, focus on Juliana and all they had shared together.
He was a fool to care for her, he knew that, but care for her he did – he might even go further than that to say he loved her, although he was not quite ready to admit that to himself.
By the time he entered his office, he was humming to himself, but stopped when he entered the door and found a few of his men staring at him.
“Archibald?”
“Yes, Owen?”
“You have a visitor.”
His head snapped up and he looked to the side of the room where the few guest chairs sat, shocked to find Hudson Lewis standing in front of them, waiting for him.
“Lewis,” he said calmly, “come with me into my office.”
He shut the door behind the two of them, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. Matthew decided to get right to the point of the matter.
“I will not insult you by offering my apologies. I can, however, provide an explanation if that is what you are after.”
Lewis sat calmly and folded his hands over each other in his lap.
“I would appreciate that. It doesn’t take much to shock me, but I was quite taken aback by all that I learned last night, that is for certain. Unfortunately, my mother was not extremely forthcoming about my father and my background. She never has been, and nothing changed when part of the truth emerged yesterday. I was hoping you could fill in some of the gaps.”
“Very well,” Matthew said, leaning back in his chair as he drummed his fingertips on the desk in front of him, trying to determine how much to share with Lewis. Finally, he decided that he had nothing to lose by telling him everything he knew about the man’s own background and family history and went ahead and did so. He told him about how they discovered his connection to the duke’s family through the ledgers, what happened to the duke, and even that they had considered Lewis a potential suspect. He told him that Juliana was never supposed to be a part of it, but she had insisted upon taking part in the scheme because of how much she wanted to meet the half-brother she never knew she had.
“I’m not sure if it means anything, but she never believed that you were guilty,” he said. “She enjoyed the opportunity to get to know you and was greatly aggrieved last night after you left.”
“I see,” Lewis said, steepling his fingers together. “It was quite an unfortunate evening. I cannot say that I enjoy being lied to, although I cannot help but be somewhat interested in learning more about the family.”
“There is one thing that I can tell you,” Matthew said. “From what I have learned, the children are not at all like the man I am told the duke was. I never met him personally, but by all accounts, he was not a good man. I have, however, enjoyed working with the current duke.”
“And the ladies Juliana and Prudence?” Lewis said with a slight, knowing look.
“They are fine people as well,” Matthew finished rather blandly. “The dowager duchess might require some time to get used to the idea of all of you knowing one another.”
“I see,” Lewis said, before standing. “Well, if they would like to know more about me, then I suppose there is no time like the present.”
“The present?”
