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He kissed her and began moving inside her, thrusting his cock in and out. She arched and moved her pelvis against his, matching his movements. There was a little pain but more pleasure. He retrieved his fingers from between their bodies, and angled his pelvis somehow so that she still felt all the sweet pleasure. Now he was hitting something inside her that brought ecstasy, and she wrapped her legs around his pelvis.
He began moving faster, thrusting harder and harder, and she wanted more of that.
And then finally something was building within her, some pressure, some tension that was like honey and wine, and there was just one name her blood sang.
Nathaniel.
And then, under the stars and the moon, she fell apart in the arms of the man she knew she was falling in love with. She exploded like a starburst, falling down like rain, and he groaned, bucking against her, and she knew he found his own release. She became those stars, and he became them, too. And together they were one. Among the irises and the stars.
She didn’t know how long it lasted, but he collapsed on top of her, and then wrapped his arms around her and brought her to his chest. She felt a slight wind caressing her heated, wet skin, felt the delicious throbbing of her sex, and heard the violent thumping of his heart.
As she listened to it, she realized they had established a small peace between them, a little isle of heaven. She could see how happy they could be together.
He had confided his darkest memory, and she now understood why he was so overprotective of his sisters and her. Because he couldn’t save his mother. That was an incredible burden for anyone to carry, and she wanted to make it easier for him.
Only, she still knew she would never comply with his rule and be locked down in a house. Especially not while her brother was missing and needed her.
Perhaps she was a very bad match for Nathaniel. Did he need someone compliant, someone who would sit at home and be safe, away from all danger? She would never be that woman.
He also didn’t know about her plan to open her own sleuth agency.
And once he found out, would this happiness and this peace be over?
22
Two days later…
“What are the two of you doing?”
The voice that came from behind had Calliope turn around sharply to stare into Hazel’s astonished face, her dark eyebrows drawn together in an expression that looked exactly like Nathaniel’s.
Calliope must have been quite a sight. Dressed in Nathaniel’s old, musty-smelling coat, waistcoat, shirt, and breeches, Calliope stood in front of the mirror. The twins were on either side of her, their hands deep under the shoulders of the coat as they sewed little pads with stuffed rags, which was meant to make Calliope appear more broad-shouldered. Her hair had been gathered up in a tight bun and hidden under a round hat Violet had found in a chest with Nathaniel’s old clothes from when he was an adolescent. Even though Nathaniel had worn these clothes when he was fifteen, they were still too long and too large for Calliope.
Calliope gulped. The twins froze.
“Hazel, please don’t tell Nathaniel…” begged Violet.
“Why are you dressed like a man?” Hazel demanded, her frown deepening, her steps stomping loudly.
“It’s for a disguise, why else?” Poppy rolled her eyes and returned to her task of sewing the shoulder pad.
“For a disguise?” Hazel shook her head, her eyes like saucers, staring at Calliope in disbelief. “Are these our brother’s clothes? And he doesn’t know, does he?”
“He doesn’t, Hazel, and please don’t tell him,” Calliope said. “I know you may not like me—”
“So he wouldn’t approve, would he?” she demanded. “Does this have something to do with that man who tried to attack us?”
“It has to do with her looking for her brother,” said Violet as she knotted her thread. “Don’t be daft.”
“How could you get my sisters to help with that?” Hazel stepped closer. “I thought you were supposed to be an educated, intelligent lady. Have you not more sense than that?”
Guilt churned in Calliope’s stomach. “Hazel, I’m not getting them involved.”
“We’re not going with her,” said Poppy. “We have more sense than that.”
“I’m not being daft,” Hazel said through gritted teeth. “On the contrary, I know you both, and I know what happens to your brains when you get some mad idea. And this”—she pointed at Calliope—“is madness.”
Hazel stormed out of the room, leaving Calliope concerned she may have involved the girls too much.
