Chapter Thirteen

I nspector Liam Ashton

Everything inside me said taking Moran up on his offer was foolish. He was obviously intoxicated, and I had just betrayed his trust by stepping out with Mrs. Worth. I overstepped my bounds with that impulsive kiss, and I wished I could take it back. But even now, it excited me, and I didn’t want it to. I sensed that she would be perfect for Moran. Neither one of them realized it yet.

He took me deeper into his throat, his fingers tight around my base. We’d begun exploring our passions at sixteen. After the first time we exchanged intimacies, both of us were hooked. Over the years, that hadn’t changed. He knew the right amount of pressure to send me to greater heights. Moran was like coming home, and it felt natural to be with him. While I loved him, there were things I wanted that only a woman could provide. Thus, one day, I would marry and have children. I ’d been positive that Suzette was the woman for me. Granted, she was somebody’s mistress at the time, but I didn’t care. Our hearts and souls spoke to one another, and her leaving still pained me.

My lips clasping his crown, I glanced up at Moran, pleased by his flushed face and neck, his earthy scent drawing me in. The tension of abstaining had been hard on both of us. I took him into my mouth, allowing my tongue to swirl over the sensitive nerves. His grip tightened, his legs flexing. Passion had never been our problem, for we had it in abundance for each other. I relaxed my throat, lips tight against his shaft, working his member. The world outside the bedroom showed us how unsustainable our physical relationship was. I was unable to keep my eyes off his face. The veins in his forehead popped, and the tendons of his neck stood out. He was the only man I had ever been intimate with, and I knew his tells. He was nearing the end of his endurance. I swirled my tongue around his girth. Hips rocking into my touch, his grip tightened on my arse, his finger pleasuring me from within. If we could only reconcile our worlds, but that wasn’t possible. Once I married, I would be faithful to my wife and dedicate myself to her. That was in the future. Moran was now.

Hot lips settled on the head of my cock, and I watched the way his eyelids lowered as he took me deeper into the silky depths of his mouth, his hair tousled, and lips reddened from pleasuring me. I wanted to pump hard into his mouth and spunk, but I wished to prolong the experience at the same time.

Moran had been cautious when we first explored our desires for one another. Being with a man wasn’t accepted in polite society, yet it felt right to us. Fluid leaked into my mouth, the taste of him branding itself in my memory. I didn’t want to think tonight. Raw need emanated from him, speaking to my base side. What would Mrs. Worth say if she could see me now?

Moran released my cock, and twisting his torso, he straddled my thighs, our cocks cradled next to each other. He leaned in, and I nibbled at his neck, inhaling the faint woodsy scent of his shaving soap with undertones of man. He drew me in with a simple look and I was uncertain how wise it was to allow it to continue. Yet my lips traced a path under his jaw, inching forever toward the temptation of his mouth. I grabbed his arse, my cock eager to breach his center. Except he had set the ground rules, and I had agreed to them. He was right, buggering him would be too intimate, and it was better to keep my heart out of the mix.

Perspiration darkened his hair from his exertions, and the flush on his cheeks enhanced his rugged countenance. I encased his cock in my fist, reveling in the pleasure animating his features. Our eyes locked, and he cried out, his seed spilling over my hand and onto my belly. Head back, he bared his neck, the muscles of his chest visible. He was glorious in his pleasure, and I joined him, desire rushing through me in an intense groundswell.

The breath left my lungs, and my body felt like it weighed a ton. He dropped his head to my shoulder, and I draped an arm around his neck until we caught our breath. The music in the background had ended and the silence in the flat was deafening, I resisted the pull to sleep. “I should be going.” I kissed his temple, the warmth of his body addicting. In another time, I would have stayed the night. Our lives weren’t the same anymore.

“You can stay for a while if you like.” He pressed a kiss to my neck and rested on his side, his leg intertwining with mine.

Moran pretended to be staid and standoffish, but over the years, it was apparent he yearned for human touch. I suspected he was lonely, especially after his father died. He would never admit it, of course. In many ways, he was a dreamer who led a rather solitary life with his head constantly stuck in a book. I worried about him at times. “Perhaps for a while longer.”

“Did you see Stark today?” he asked.

I rubbed my forehead, having completely forgotten about my meeting with Stark. It seemed a lifetime ago, yet it had only been that morning. “Yes, I met with him. He went with me to question a witness. He seems a decent chap. Of course, my opinion could change if I found out that his true beliefs aligned with those of his grandfather.”

“Let’s pray he is his own man.” Moran snuggled closer to me.

A decided chill hung in the air from the frigid temperatures outside. Moran was like a furnace.

We lay in companionable silence. I wasn’t sure exactly how much to disclose about my time with Mrs. Worth. I wouldn’t lie to him, even if it meant he’d be angry with me again. He didn’t need to know about our kiss because that, frankly, was none of his affair. “I actually was on my way home for supper when I ran into Mrs. Worth. There was some chap in the alleyway eyeing her rather suspiciously.”

He snapped his head up. Resting his weight on his elbow, he frowned. “Somebody attacked her?”

“No, nobody attacked her. He was eyeballing her with a bit of interest. I will ask the beat coppers to keep an eye on him to verify that he’s not preying on innocent citizens. However, you will be happy to know that I walked her home. Well, I didn’t walk her home, we caught a hackney, and I took her home.”

“Thank you, I’m glad you saw her safely home.” Worry lines still rested around his mouth as he scratched at his jaw. “Daylight ends rather early right now.”

“She lives on Milk Street, however, all kinds of pitfalls can overcome a young lady walking from here to there alone. You shouldn’t have let her do that.”

Moran’s frown turned into a scowl, and he flopped back on the mattress. He rolled onto his back and draped his arm over his forehead. “I didn’t know. You know there’s a very fine line between what an employer does for his employee versus what a gentleman does for a lady in his charge.”

“Well, you aren’t a gentleman nor are you in charge of her.”

He stiffened the slightest bit at my comment.

During my ten years on the force, I had several run-ins with the gentry, mostly young men causing trouble for hard working members of the working class. My experiences with the upper classes weren’t pleasant.

“That is neither here nor there. It was simply an analogy. Now that you’ve brought it to my attention, I will see she has adequate transportation home. Or better yet, perhaps I will hire Timmy to escort her home nightly, ensuring she gets home safely and her pride is not wounded.”

“Why would you think her pride is wounded?” I asked, even though I knew the answer. She was a proud woman and hadn’t been shy about telling me that, either. I wanted to hear what Moran truly thought about Mrs. Worth. Because if he did like her, then I would back off. Not that it would really matter, considering she had told me politely but firmly that she wasn’t interested in being courted. It stung my pride a bit, but one couldn’t make somebody love you; I’d learned that lesson with Suzette.

“Mrs. Worth is a modern woman,” he replied. “If you’ve been paying attention to what’s been going on in the world, you’ll see that women like her are pushing for equal rights under the law.”

“Another thing you have in common.” Which made Mrs. Worth even more suited for Moran. “After I saw Mrs. Worth home, we had quite a scare. We heard screaming from her flat, and when I opened the door, I was afraid they were being attacked.”

“Bloody hell.”

“Bloody hell, indeed. However, I discovered that their cat had caught a mouse, and the girls were huddled on the couch and out of the way of their sister Violet, who was trying to kill the mouse with a ladle. It was very comical.”

The bed shook with his laughter. “Are you saying it was a game of cat and mouse?”

“You are such an oddball.” I laughed with him, loving his sense of humor. I turned on my side until my head was next to his on the pillow, our faces side by side. I lifted a finger and traced it along the laugh lines around his mouth. “She has five sisters. I was privileged enough to meet four of them, the fifth of whom is a nurse. They are very charming girls, especially her sister Violet.”

“Mrs. Worth has a heavy burden to bear. I assume she is responsible for all the sisters? Did she mention her parents at all?” His interest in her was telling.

“No, she didn’t mention anything about her family. She talked about Frank, who is her husband. Or was her husband, I should say. After the scare was over, Violet invited me in for supper, and I accepted. Violet quizzed me about my exploits on the force.”

“You are a gifted storyteller.”

“Mrs. Worth thinks I should write a children’s story called Chief Inspector Tabby and the Mouse King. If she only knew what I really wrote...” I tilted my chin and brushed my mouth over his, my hand resting on his cheek.

“She’d run screaming from the room.” Moran pulled back and shook his head, the consternation back in his expression.

“There, I think you are wrong. She is made of sterner stuff.” When I kissed her, she hadn’t pulled away. Indeed, she’d given me hope after stepping into my embrace. As a widow, she had experience in matters of the flesh. Had she been a virgin, I would have never even thought to kiss her.

“She is very bold.” Moran yawned, his eyes glassy with the need to sleep. He blinked several times before giving up and closing his eyes.

I pressed a kiss to his forehead, needing to leave. The ongoing chill in the room reminded me of what awaited outside. “I should go.”

“You can stay until morning if you wish. It is cold outside.” He curled more fully into me, his chest rising and falling with each breath. I pulled the covers over us and settled deeper into the mattress, content for the first time in a long time. Tomorrow might prove a challenge, but tonight was perfect.