“Please,” she whispered against his lips, “I need you.”
And he gave in, removing his finger, guiding himself to her entrance. She was impatient beneath him. She kissed down his throat, gently bit into the strong cords of his neck, over his Adam’s apple.
He held still for a moment, gazing down at her with an expression so affectionate, she could do nothing but frame his face in her hands. “I love you,” she told him again.
It was all the spur he required. Lucien thrust inside her, deep and hard and fast. She was filled, stretched. Completed in a way only he could complete her.
“You are mine,” he told her, withdrawing, then slipping inside once more.
“Yes. I am yours.” She pulled him to her for another kiss, telling him with her lips what she could not bear to say aloud. That she would be forever his. And how she wished he too could be hers. But they were not meant for forever, and she knew it.
They moved as one, their joining wild, almost furious. When he stroked her pearl, she fell apart, seizing on him as a violent wave of pure bliss broke over her. Her climax thundered through her like a summer storm, and she fell headlong into the velvety abyss as he thrust home inside her one last time. He tensed beneath her questing fingertips, his body stiffening, as he reached his pinnacle as well. The hot rush of his seed filled her, and she clutched him to her, sated and spent, their hearts pounding in tandem.
Chapter Twenty
“Have you askedher yet?”
Lucien heaved a sigh and glared at the interloper who had dared to disturb him as he pored over documents in Strathmore’s study. The early light glowed, making his sister look particularly radiant this morning, even if she was interrupting him and poking her nose into his affairs, where it decidedly did not belong.
“Good morning, Lettie,” he greeted wryly. “I did not realize, when your husband offered me the temporary use of his study that it would mean you would trespass whenever you wished.”
Violet smiled at him, imperturbable as ever. Her disposition had always been sunny, and her happiness only heightened it now. It was good, he thought, to see her well-settled with Strathmore.
“You did not answer my question,” his sister pointed out tartly, settling in to one of the chairs arranged before Strathmore’s desk, quite uninvited.
“Have I asked who?” he asked, feigning ignorance. “And what shall I ask her?”
In truth, he knew precisely what Lettie’s query was about. In the aftermath of the warehouse explosion and fire the previous day at the docks, Lucien had returned to Strathmore’s townhome and had promptly spent the rest of the day tending to the woman who loved him.
Yes, Hazel loved him.
And he loved her, but he had found the words strangely difficult to say in return.
Because they terrified him. He had spent his life believing romantic love was nothing but a fiction which led to everlasting misery.
“Miss Montgomery of course,” Lettie said. “After the scandal you created yesterday, you must marry her.”
She was referring to his insistence he accompany Hazel to her chamber and tend to her himself. He did not regret his actions, though he acknowledged the rashness of them. He inclined his head. “I have every intention of marrying her. I already asked her previously, in fact.”
Lettie’s brows rose. “And what did she say?”
“She declined.” He frowned then, recalling her response.
What if she denied him again? He wanted Hazel, and yet, she was forever determined to see the differences between them.
“Did you tell her you love her?” Violet asked gently, ever perceptive.
“No,” he admitted.
“What are you waiting for?” his sister demanded. “You could have lost her yesterday. Do not lose her to your pride.”
Lettie was right, of course. But damn it if the notion of his little sister giving him counsel did not rankle. “Thank you for your unsolicited advice, sister dearest. I will take it into consideration. For the moment, I have work to do.”
He gestured to the papers he had been poring over. Some of the documents in the possession of the Fenians had remained intact, kept inside a strongbox. Winchelsea had tasked him with reviewing them for any information which would be of use to future investigations.
“Always the League,” Violet said then. “Always duty. For once, Lucien, put yourself and your heart first. You deserve to be happy, and so does Miss Montgomery.”
Did he?
