A Case of Seduction

by Melody Lewis

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  Sebastian stood up and followed Zachary out the door, locking it behind him. They had hardly turned a corner, though, when they heard approaching footsteps. Thinking that there was no way they could explain their presence since they were both, after all, not supposed to be at the ball, much less at the second floor of the Viscount’s mansion, Sebastian hastily looked around for a place to hide and seeing the broom closet, turned off the lamp and pulled Zachary along.

  No sooner had they closed the door of the broom closet did they hear a voice, one belonging to a woman.

  “What in the devil are you doing?” the woman asked, clearly annoyed at whoever she was speaking to. “Was the note not clear?”

  “I had to talk to you.” Surprisingly, the other voice belonged to the Viscount, rousing both the investigators’ interests.

  “You simply are a fool, aren’t you? If only you had used your head a little more, you wouldn’t be…”

  “I would be more careful with my words if I were you,” the Viscount interrupted, his words sounding like a threat. It seemed they were effective, though, since the woman paused before continuing.

  “You just have to do as I say,” she told him firmly. “And do not meet with me in private until all this is over.”

  There was a turn of the heel and some footsteps going in the opposite direction of the broom closet, which stopped momentarily.

  “I will return to the ballroom now,” the woman said. “Wait a while before you follow.”

  The sound of the light footsteps disappeared and after a few minutes, the soft thud of Hessian boots followed, which Zachary guessed meant the Viscount was heading back to the ballroom.

  He sighed, filled with relief, though it immediately vanished when he felt something pressing behind him.

  “Bloody hell, Sebastian, what do you think you’re doing at a time like this?” he asked through gritted teeth.

  “It is quite the normal reaction, I assure you,” Sebastian said, shrugging. “In case you have failed to notice, the closet is quite cramped. Given the close contact, my body simply reacted on its own.”

  Zachary snorted at the excuse. “Are you telling me you have no control of your body, Mr. Jones?”

  “I’m afraid not when it comes to you, Mr. Williams,” Sebastian confessed, whispering in Zachary’s ear. “My body seems to take a mind of its own where you’re concerned.”

  Before Zachary could form a clever retort, Sebastian pressed his hips forward so that his arousal rubbed against the back of Zachary’s thigh, at the same time tracing his earlobe with his tongue, causing Zachary to shiver in spite of himself, a reaction which Sebastian did not miss.

  “It seems your body, too, has formed a mind of its own,” Sebastian said, one of his arms circling around Zachary to explore the muscles on his chest. “Why don’t we listen to what it has to say?”

  “Damnation, Sebastian, you…” Zachary was cut off as Sebastian’s mouth claimed his, his left arm tightly wound around Sebastian’s waist while his right hand held Zachary’s chin firmly. Panicking, Zachary made an effort to get out of the closet but found he was unable to with Sebastian in the way, kissing him. To his surprise, he did not find the kiss unpleasant and as Sebastian’s tongue scraped against his, he felt a surge of heat flooding through his body, setting him on fire.

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  A CASE OF SEDUCTION

  - A Gay M/M Erotic Historical Victorian-Era Mystery from Steam Books

  Melody Lewis

  Copyright © 2015 Steam Books Erotica & Romance

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author or publisher except for the use of brief quotations in critical articles or reviews.

  The case was going to be tough.

  Zachary Williams looked around the bed chamber that had once belonged to Lady Rosalind, a room which resembled any other bed chamber with a four-poster bed against the wall, a tall oak wardrobe across it, a bookshelf and a lowboy near the window. In fact, the only thing that stood out was an ornate jewelry box on the bedside table, which, according to the Earl of Pembridge had been an heirloom from his first wife’s family, and as such, his daughter’s most prized possession—one she would never get the chance to pass on.

  Two days ago, the body of Rosalind Deveraux had turned up in the river, solving the mystery as to why she had been missing for three days and causing a stir among the members of polite society. The Earl of Pembridge, after all, was one of the wealthiest nobles in the ton, and had no known enemies. His wife, too, was a paragon of virtue, while his firstborn daughter, Rosalind had been a bluestocking with a kind heart.

  As far as the Earl was concerned, there was no reason why his daughter, who was set to wed the firstborn son of the Marquis of Elmsmoor in three fortnights, should turn up dead, and yet she did, with a gunshot wound to her chest and nothing to point to the murderer.

  The lack of clues, however, was not what bothered Zachary the most. Rather, it was the man standing across the room.

  Sebastian Jones was his former business partner, an efficient private investigator just like him. They had been friends for a long time, too, before parting ways nearly five years ago, the reason being that Zachary had found out Sebastian’s preference for men, which the other man had unintentionally revealed in the midst of his drunken stupor. What perturbed him more, though, was the revelation that followed—that Sebastian was actually attracted to him, which was proven when the other man attempted to kiss him, almost succeeding.

  Since then, Zachary had not spoken to Sebastian, establishing his own firm, which quickly prospered, and taking a wife for himself. He still wouldn’t be speaking to him now, much less be in the same room with him, if not for the fact that the Earl of Pembridge had required both of their services to solve his daughter’s murder, stating that he wanted them to work together to bring the murderer to justice as quickly as possible, a goal for which he would spare no expense.

  If not for the large amount of money at stake, the interesting nature of the case and the fact that the Earl was a high-profile client, Zachary would have turned down the offer, too. As it was, he could not resist working on the case, even if it meant working with a man he resented, although of course, that did not change his opinion that he could have solved the case himself.

  As if hearing his thoughts, Sebastian spoke. “Just so you know, you’re not the only one resenting this arrangement. I would have been perfectly capable handling the case myself.”

  “Indeed?” Zachary adjusted his glasses. “I seem to recall you saying that you preferred working with someone else.”

  “Ah, so you have not forgotten me, after all,” Sebastian said, grinning mischievously. “Should I be honored?”

  “Still a pompous ass, I see,” Zachary countered, taking a book from the shelf beside the wardrobe.

  “And yours is still quite fetching,” Sebastian answered, winking.

  “With that conduct of yours, it’s no wonder you haven’t been able to get a new partner all these years,” Zachary said calmly as he flipped through the pages of the book in his hand, determined not to let Sebastian fluster or get a rise out of him.

  “Perhaps I was not seeking a new one,” Sebastian said as he looked through the top drawer of the lowboy. “After all, I’ve learned that without you to distract me, I have been able to work quite efficie
ntly.”

  Zachary simply snorted.

  Sebastian held up a sheet of paper from the drawer, squinting. “If I recall, you have never taken a partner yourself.”

  “I was never looking for one either,” Zachary answered, returning the book on the shelf and taking another. “Thanks to you, I have acquired a penchant for working alone.”

  “Ah,” Sebastian muttered as he placed the sheet of paper back in the drawer. “And is it also my fault that you married?”

  Zachary frowned. In truth, part of why he had gotten married was because he had wanted to assure himself that he would never feel the same way towards Sebastian, and to make him aware of the fact, although of course he would never admit it to the other man. “I was greatly fond of Beatrice,” he said.

  “Didn’t you just meet her after leaving the firm?”

  “Have you been investigating me, Mr. Jones?” Zachary asked, no longer able to contain his annoyance. “Well, I’m afraid you have not been thorough, since in truth, I had been corresponding with Beatrice for many years.”

  “Indeed?”

  “If you don’t mind, I would much rather not discuss her,” Zachary said, returning the book before proceeding to check the contents of one of the wardrobe drawers. “Her loss is still quite painful.”

  “Of course.” Sebastian nodded as he began searching the bottom drawer of the lowboy, then went on to say sincerely, “Forgive me for being rude.”

  Zachary shook his head as if to say that no offense had been taken.

  “Do you intend to marry again?”

  Zachary sighed. “If you don’t mind, Mr. Jones, I would rather focus on the case, and it would help me greatly if you did the same.”

  “Certainly, Mr. Williams,” Sebastian answered. True to his word, he no longer spoke, his attention wholly on his task, momentarily reminding Zachary of just how efficient he was when he was serious and how Zachary had missed watching him work, a thought he immediately pushed away as he, too, concentrated on his task.

  “Ah, finally, something that could lead us in the right direction,” Sebastian took out a ring from the drawer, holding it up towards the light.

  “It certainly looks like a man’s ring,” Zachary agreed, coming closer to view the object.

  “I am quite certain I have seen this crest before,” Sebastian said, inspecting the ring before handing it to Zachary.

  “The crest of the Viscount of Westbury, if I am not mistaken,” Zachary said.

  “And what do we have here?” Sebastian took out a folded piece of paper from the bottom of the shelf bearing a seal that was akin to the crest on the ring, opening it. “A poem by Byron, I believe.”

  “Lady Rosalind did seem quite fond of his writings,” Zachary said, remembering some of the books he had seen on the shelf.

  “This one, though, was written by someone for Lady Rosalind.” Sebastian pointed to the words at the top of the letter which read ‘To My Dearest R.D.’ and then to the words at the bottom ‘Affectionately yours, T.W.’.

  “Isn’t the current Viscount of Westbury named Theodore Woodville?” Zachary asked.

  Sebastian grinned. “It seems we owe the Viscount of Westbury a visit.”

  ~ ~ ~

  “I’m sorry to disappoint you gentlemen, but I fear that I cannot help you,” Lord Theodore said as soon as he heard what Zachary and Sebastian had to say, shaking his head. “My father had many rings made with the Westbury crest some years ago and I fear most of them had gone missing. As for Lady Rosalind, apart from having danced with her at a ball once or twice, I fear that I am not really acquainted with her.”

  Afterwards, the Viscount of Westbury had given his opinion on the case, suggesting that there must be some impostor involved and hoping that whoever it was would be brought to justice soon so that he, too, could give the scoundrel a piece of his mind.

  All in all, the Viscount had not been of any help, which was why Sebastian and Zachary had decided to get the answers on their own by searching his study. Thankfully, there was a ball being held at the Viscount’s mansion that night to celebrate the engagement of his cousin, which meant that the Viscount and all his servants would be occupied, giving both investigators the perfect opportunity to do their job.

  Presently, the ball was in full swing, the music of the violins masking the creaking of the door as Sebastian slowly opened it, having picked the lock himself. Once inside, Zachary leaned against the door and released the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.

  “Aren’t we getting a little too old for this?” he asked, placing the lamp he had whisked from one of the corridors they had passed on the surface of the Viscount’s desk.

  “Speak for yourself,” Sebastian answered, already working on the lock of the desk drawer.

  Not wanting to be outdone, Zachary, too, began to look around, rummaging through the bookshelf and other unlocked drawers in the room, and checking under the rug and behind the paintings for a hollow compartment. Finding nothing helpful other than the fact that the Viscount did indeed seem to dislike Byron since he did not own any of his books, he turned to look at Sebastian, who, based on the frown he wore, seemed to have similarly failed.

  “Since the Viscount knows we suspect him, he might have burned any letters Lady Rosalind wrote to him,” Zachary said. He knelt down by the unlit fireplace. “Unfortunately, the fireplace seems to have been cleaned.”

  “Or it may have not been used recently,” Sebastian said. “He did say he was out most of the day, after all.”

  “Are you saying you no longer believe he did it?”

  “Nonsense. You know well enough that I do not dismiss a suspicion easily.” Sebastian tapped his fingers on the desk. “Besides, he was reluctant to receive us this afternoon so he might be hiding something, although it might also be because he was simply too busy with preparations for the ball.”

  “That is likely.”

  “He was quite flustered, too, don’t you think?”

  “Well, he did say he had just been out riding.”

  “The weather was not exactly excellent.”

  “It was earlier in the afternoon, though.”

  “Damnation, Zachary.” Sebastian sighed. “Must you oppose me at every turn?”

  “I am simply stating the facts,” Zachary pointed out.

  Defeated, Sebastian chuckled. “I suppose I have missed having you for a partner, after all.”

  Looking away so that the blush that had suddenly coated his cheeks would not be apparent, Zachary decided to ignore the remark and stick to the discussion at hand. “The Viscount seemed to be too keen on the idea of an impostor, though, which is not completely unlikely,” he said. “At any rate, it is best for us to leave.”

  Nodding, Sebastian stood up and followed Zachary out the door, locking it behind him. They had hardly turned a corner, though, when they heard approaching footsteps. Thinking that there was no way they could explain their presence since they were both, after all, not supposed to be at the ball, much less at the second floor of the Viscount’s mansion, Sebastian hastily looked around for a place to hide and seeing the broom closet, turned off the lamp and pulled Zachary along.

  No sooner had they closed the door of the broom closet did they hear a voice, one belonging to a woman.

  “What in the devil are you doing?” the woman asked, clearly annoyed at whoever she was speaking to. “Was the note not clear?”

  “I had to talk to you.” Surprisingly, the other voice belonged to the Viscount, rousing both the investigators’ interests.

  “You simply are a fool, aren’t you? If only you had used your head a little more, you wouldn’t be…”

  “I would be more careful with my words if I were you,” the Viscount interrupted, his words sounding like a threat. It seemed they were effective, though, since the woman paused before continuing.

  “You just have to do as I say,” she told him firmly. “And do not meet with me in private until all this is over.”

&nbs
p; There was a turn of the heel and some footsteps going in the opposite direction of the broom closet, which stopped momentarily.

  “I will return to the ballroom now,” the woman said. “Wait a while before you follow.”

  The sound of the light footsteps disappeared and after a few minutes, the soft thud of Hessian boots followed, which Zachary guessed meant the Viscount was heading back to the ballroom.

  He sighed, filled with relief, though it immediately vanished when he felt something pressing behind him.

  “Bloody hell, Sebastian, what do you think you’re doing at a time like this?” he asked through gritted teeth.

  “It is quite the normal reaction, I assure you,” Sebastian said, shrugging. “In case you have failed to notice, the closet is quite cramped. Given the close contact, my body simply reacted on its own.”

  Zachary snorted at the excuse. “Are you telling me you have no control of your body, Mr. Jones?”

  “I’m afraid not when it comes to you, Mr. Williams,” Sebastian confessed, whispering in Zachary’s ear. “My body seems to take a mind of its own where you’re concerned.”

  Before Zachary could form a clever retort, Sebastian pressed his hips forward so that his arousal rubbed against the back of Zachary’s thigh, at the same time tracing his earlobe with his tongue, causing Zachary to shiver in spite of himself, a reaction which Sebastian did not miss.

  “It seems your body, too, has formed a mind of its own,” Sebastian said, one of his arms circling around Zachary to explore the muscles on his chest. “Why don’t we listen to what it has to say?”

  “Damnation, Sebastian, you…” Zachary was cut off as Sebastian’s mouth claimed his, his left arm tightly wound around Sebastian’s waist while his right hand held Zachary’s chin firmly. Panicking, Zachary made an effort to get out of the closet but found he was unable to with Sebastian in the way, kissing him. To his surprise, he did not find the kiss unpleasant and as Sebastian’s tongue scraped against his, he felt a surge of heat flooding through his body, setting him on fire.