And he’d reached out to Johanna’s mother.A woman desperate for money, who would keep quiet, if she even realized what she’d unwittingly become a part of.Perhaps it had not even been his idea.Perhaps he’d been directed.
“Will your friends blame her?”
“I…” Matthew’s voice trailed off.He wanted to reassure Johanna and tell her that, of course, none of them would, but he could not be sure.If he had his coin, he wouldknowwhether or not it was safe to tell them.But he did not.“I do not think so.”
He could feel her burrow her face against him.
Matthew slid his hand to cradle her head, pulling it back so he could brush his lips over hers, so she could feel him even though they could not see each other.
“I will protect your mother, kitten,” he whispered in the darkness.“My word on it.”
“Thank you,” she whispered back.
When she kissed him, he could taste the salt of her tears, and he internally vowed to see that she never had cause to shed another over worry for her mother.As long as that was in his control.
As they kissed, she clung to him in the dark, and he felt his cock begin to thicken again.Rolling her onto her back, they moved together as one.It was achingly intimate, almost painful in its intensity, lovemaking that left him gasping in more ways than one.
He did not have his coin to give him a definitive answer, but Matthew was beginning to suspect that he very well may be in love with his wife.
ChapterThirty-Seven
Matthew
It was a rather sleepless night, even after his wife fell asleep in his arms, but it was worth the tiredness in the morning because he had come to several decisions.All on his own.It had taken him much longer than he would have with his coin, but he felt fairly confident of them after such a long period of contemplation.
“I need to talk to your mother,” he told Johanna after she woke.Because of the light coming in through the cracks in the curtains, he could see her frown, then the fear that lit up her eyes.“That is the best way to protect her.I need to talk to her and ask her some questions, then if she is able to give me anything useful, I can bring the information to my friends, and I do not have to tell them exactly who I got the information from.”
“I do not know if she will talk to you,” Johanna admitted.She tilted her head back so she could look at him better.Her teeth dragged over her lower lip.“She is very afraid.”
So was his wife.But she trusted him.Enough that she’d told him the secret, even though she was frightened of what would happen to her mother.
“You can be there with her.So can Rose if she wants.”
“Rose does not know yet,” Johanna confessed.
Perhaps it was petty of him to feel good about knowing something that Rose did not.The cousins were so close, he’d assumed Johanna must have told her.He had not minded thinking that Rose knew before him.Still, he could not help but feel chuffed at hearing she did not.Puffed his chest right up.
“Well, she can still be there if you’d like.”
Johanna laughed, almost reluctantly, and poked him in the side.
“Do not sound so pleased that she did not know.”
“I cannot help it.I am pleased.”He slid his hand up to cup her face, running his thumb along her soft cheek.“I am pleased that you trust me, and I will not betray that trust.I will do everything in my power to protect your mother.She has nothing to fear from me and mine.Consider me your Knight of the Round Table.I will fight any other knight, slay any dragon, complete any quest you set before me, for no other reason than to see the fear wiped from your eyes and a smile upon your lips.”
Her hand pressed against his chest.
“I do not know what to say to that,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes.
These were the kind of tears Matthew did not mind, though.
“You do not have to say anything,” he told her.“Except ‘yes, Matthew’.”
“Yes, Matthew.”
He pressed his lips to hers for a kiss, holding her tight against him.Despite the desire that swelled from holding her naked body, Matthew ruthlessly pushed it away.He did not need a coin to tell him that this was not the time.
Besides, the sooner he talked to her mother, the more time he would have to plan out what to do next.Another decision.Without his coin.
