Chapter 34

Lucian woke with Eliza’s bottom pressed against his hardness and a hand cradling one of her breasts and smiled.

He never wanted to wake alone ever again but feared that she might leave him.

How soon could he make his declaration?

Did he dare?

Eliza mumbled and wiggled back against him and Lucian bit back a groan. If she did not stop…

Did it matter?

It was still early, or at least he believed it to be so as the light appeared to only be dawn.

Why couldn’t they share a morning?

With those thoughts, he first teased her nipple until it hardened beneath his fingertips and was rewarded by a quiet moan of her own coming out of her slumber as he slid his hand down her stomach and to her curls before he found the center of her pleasure.

When he touched her, Eliza gasped and as he brought her pleasure, kissed her neck and shoulder until she shook with her release.

As she attempted to roll onto her back, Lucian kept her on her side, just as she had awakened and opened her thighs. As he probed her entrance, Eliza pushed her bottom back and he filled her again and again while his fingers brought her to release a second time just as he spilled his seed.

“That was a most pleasant way to start the day,” Eliza said quietly after he pulled her close and they were back in the same position as how he had wakened, except both of them were now sated.

“I could not help myself,” he admitted. “Not with your delightful bum pressing and wiggling against my manhood.”

“It does not wiggle,” Eliza argued.

“Ah but it does, especially when you are asleep.”

She laughed and rolled on her back. “I enjoy sharing a bed with you, Lucian.”

He came up on his side, supporting himself with his elbow and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I enjoy waking beside you,” he admitted.

“I always wondered what it was like to have a lover and now I understand why so many people do.”

Except he wanted them to be more than lovers.

“As do I, now.”

Eliza frowned. “Certainly, I am not your first lover.”

He had to think on her words for a moment and evaluated his previous relationships. “I believe that you are.”

“How can that be because I refuse to believe you were a virgin before the other night.”

Lucian chuckled because he had lost his virginity when he was seven and ten. “I have been intimate with other women, and I have had mistresses, but that was for pleasure. A visit, a bedding, and return to home after a need is met.”

“What is the difference?”

“I have never shared a bed with one for over an hour, or slept with them in my arms, or shared my home. You are my first lover, Eliza. Not someone simply to fulfill a physical need.”

She stared up at him as if contemplating his words and slowly smiled.

“I am glad to be your first lover, Lucian, and I am glad that you are mine.”

First meaning that she intended to have others, when Lucian intended that neither one of them ever had another—only each other. He just needed to convince Eliza that is what they should be.

“I am glad you are my first as well.” He kissed her forehead, filled with a contentment he’d never experienced before Eliza.

“Can we go to the last cave today?”

He nearly groaned. The sun was barely up and she was ready to continue searching for the damn mummy.

“I need to go into town and meet with my solicitor, then return to the tailor because he sent word that the alterations had been made and the bootmaker also has completed an order.”

She sat up and frowned at him. “How long will you be gone?”

Her question took him aback. Eliza was the least possessive woman he knew, yet she wanted to know when he would be back.

Except, it wasn’t because she needed him by her side, she wanted to search his estate.

“I do not know, but I will try not to be long.”

“But what if it is too dark, or it rains again, or…”

“He placed a finger against her lips. “If that is the case, then it will still be there tomorrow.”

“But I cannot finish my book until it is found.”

“We will go tomorrow, if we cannot go today, but you will not venture out or even think about strolling about without footmen near.”

She let out a sigh. “I will not go outside without your footman, but I do grow weary of this confinement and all because of a man who is too afraid to face me but watches from the shadows and sends missives.”

“He will not always remain in the shadows, Eliza, and that is what frightens me. What will he do when he finally decides that he wants to meet you?”

She rolled her eyes and sat up. “I am convinced that he will not. He has been watching for several years given the incidents that he mentions in his notes, therefore, I do not fear that he will suddenly find the nerve to meet me.”

As much as he would like to think as Eliza, Lucian could not. That man had watched her sleep, which meant he was getting braver.

However, that man was not his concern right now. It was Eliza’s future with him, and just not that of a lover. He wanted more and he needed to know if there could be and he needed to find out today.

“Get dressed and meet me in the library,” Lucian said as he got out of the bed and retrieved his dressing gown from the floor.

“The library? Why?”

“Because I have something I wish to discuss with you that cannot be done while lying naked in your bed.”

“Why?”

“Because you are too much of a distraction this way.”

“And I am not when properly dressed?” she demanded.

He nearly growled. “You know that you are, which is why I need you fully clothed and, in a room, where a servant could discover us at any moment.”

“You are very mysterious, Lucian.”

He nearly snorted. “That is something nobody has ever accused me of being.”

“Then they did not know you well because I have found you to be a gentleman of many surprises.”

He could only hope that the next surprise was as pleasant as his others.

“I will see you downstairs.”

As soon as he shut the door behind him, Eliza jumped from the bed and went about her morning toilette and chose a sturdy gown and walking boots. This was the day. She knew it was.

She would find the mummy and the stolen items, then she and Lucian would celebrate. They might even be intimate again.

She grinned recalling where he had kissed her last night.

He was definitely full of surprises.

Lucian had shown her four different ways in which they could both find pleasure and she could not help but wonder how many more ways there were. Another thought came to her, one that he could only answer and Eliza quickly dressed and hurried to the library where Lucian leaned against his desk waiting for her.

“I was wondering,” she said as she came into the library.

“I always worry when you wonder,” he admitted.

She drew closer to him and leaned forward to whisper. “Remember where you kissed me last night?”

“I recall it quite clearly. If you enjoyed it so much, I can do so again,” he returned.

Eliza’s cheeks grew hot. “Oh, I would like that very much, but that is not what I was wondering about.”

“What then?”

“Do men like being kissed down there too?”

“Good God! You will be the death of me.”

That was not at all what she was expecting. “Does that mean men do not like that. If so, then I will not do so.”

Lucian sat back on his desk and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. Had the question distressed him so very much?

“Yes, men very much enjoy being kissed there, but would never ask a proper miss or lady to perform such an action.”

“Whyever not, if it brings pleasure.”

“It is not proper.”

“Ah, so you would be scandalized if I did so.”

“Scandalized is not the description I would use.”

“Then what would your reaction be? Unhappy. Angry. Distressed.”

“Fortunate,” he said.

At least he would not be displeased and given how Lucian had shown her so much pleasure, it was only fair that she pleasured him. Besides, he had wanted to be in control. Would this be a situation in which she held the same?

There was only one way to find out, which she would tonight. “Why did you want to meet with me here?” she finally asked.