Page 27 of A Season for Christmas

“No, but I must try.” Samuel sighed. “I promise not to run off again if she tells me nay. If all she wants from me is a lover, then I will be that. If she wants nothing to do with me, then I will still remain in England.”

“That is good to hear.” Gregory lifted his glass in appreciation for the sentiment. “I have missed you.”

“And I you.” Samuel hesitated and lowered his voice. Unlike some members of theton, he did not forget that there were footmen within earshot of his normal speaking voice. “I gather your father is not so missed.”

Gregory snorted.

“Who would miss him?” he asked dryly. He met Samuel’s gaze for a brief moment, then his own skittered away. “I did not wish to speak of it in my letters, but his temperament grew worse and worse while you were away.”

That was saying something because when Samuel had met the man, he would not have described him as having a good temperament. He’d been demanding, cold, and disgusted with a wife who had only been able to bear him a single heir rather than the brood of children he’d felt like he deserved. He’d been self-involved and far too obsessed with appearances. The complete opposite of Gregory’s mother, which was likely why he kept her tucked away in the country while he gallivanted all about town. Gregory’scharm brought him women; his father had used his wealth and position since he’d had no charm.

Gregory rubbed one hand along his leg, shaking his head as his leg bounced, as though he was attempting to soothe its motion but could not manage it.

“I have four half-siblings now.” Gregory’s smile held no amusement as Samuel’s mouth dropped open in shock. “All young enough to be my own children. All from different mothers. My father got the brood he wanted, not that he was doing anything to take care of them. All girls, you see.”

“I presume you are taking care of them now?” Samuel asked, though the hairs on the back of his neck tingled. Abandoning his children could be a motive for murder, though why the other dukes were killed… it would take someone particularly cold-blooded to kill so many bystanders for one man.

“All their mothers are now receiving a stipend from the estate,” Gregory nodded. “My mother sent a massive parcel of clothing to each of them as well as soon as she found out.”

Of course, she had. The duchess was as warm and generous as the old duke had been cold and stingy.

“I tell you,” Gregory continued, musing into his brandy. “If it were not for the other dukes, I would have been looking into my half-siblings’ families for my father’s murderer.”

Samuel stilled immediately.

“You believe your father was murdered?”

“I do. He received several threatening letters before his demise.” Gregory canted his gaze in Samuel’s direction again. “I have not yet been able to track down who they are from or even why he was being threatened. They said, ‘he had better take care of things or else.’”

“A mystery,” Samuel murmured. Certainly something he could report back to Oliver. “Interesting.”

“Very.” Gregory sighed. “As yet, I have not received any communication from whoever sent the letters, so either the sender gave up after his death, or they were the cause of it.”

Samuel hesitated for a moment, then went ahead and asked. Samuel would not have told him this information if he did not want Samuel’s opinion.

“Can I see the letters?”

13

Catherine

“Threatening letters,” Catherine mused as Samuel pressed his lips against her throat, his hands tugging at the laces of her stays. Her skin hummed with anticipation even as her mind turned over the mystery. The duchess had not had very much information—from what Catherine could tell, the duchess had avoided her husband at all costs.

On the other hand, despite all her chattering, she was good at keeping secrets when she wanted to. She had not mentioned her late husband’s other children once. Though, of course, she and Catherine did not have the long history together Samuel and Gregory did. Perhaps it was not so much secret-keeping as not knowing her well enough, which was understandable.

“Vague threatening letters, with no indication as to what the sender wanted him to do.” Samuel scraped his teeth against her skin as her stays sagged. His hands moved up to cup her bare breasts, warming them against his palms as the cool air of the room wafted against her skin. Her nipples, already puckered, hardened further, pulsing against hisfingertips as he squeezed them. “Though, I feel like this conversation means I do not have your full attention.”

Moaning, Catherine leaned back against him, letting him hold up her weight as he played with her breasts. She could feel the hard bulge of his cock pressing against her backside. Shifting slightly, she pushed her skirts off her hips, leaving her standing completely naked and rubbing her backside against him.

She let him play with her breasts, kissing the back of her neck for another few moments before turning in his arms and kissing him back. Moving them back to his bed, she pushed him onto it and straddled his legs. Their joining was rough and fierce, needy in its urgency. His fingers dug into the cheeks of her bottom as she moved atop him, rubbing herself against him in the quest for mutual ecstasy.

She made him beg for his release before she gave it to him, crying out as he surged beneath her, her body clamping around him as she milked wave after wave of pleasure from him. Eventually, she slumped over him, panting, her cheek against his chest to listen to his heartbeat. He sighed, running his fingers over her cheek.

“I am not sure I will survive having your full attention,” he murmured, and she felt his chest lift, vibrating as he chuckled. She laughed softly.

“There is still much more I can show you, too,” she replied, lifting her head to lay a kiss on his lips. “But not here.”

“Mmm.” His hands moved over her back, down to curve around her buttocks again. “Then when we return to London?”

---