Felix always attended Venus upon her little latrinal excursions, holding her, serving her, and making much of all she did. To undo her things, lift her skirts, to wait and watch the coming, to dip a lip or finger in the royal output

This notion of ‘ulterior intent’ is the closest legal term to the concept of ‘motive’ as both share the character of hiddenness. In terms of a reason or motive for an action, you don’t hide something unless you really want (to do) something. So, if your reason or motive for an action is characterized or called as ‘ulterior’, it indicates that what you secretly want cannot be an ‘unwanted (or uninterested) but permitted side-effect’. Instead, it must be the ‘desired main effect’ of your ulterior motive or intent.

Those visiting British A&R men realized that it would be hard to package the Detroit music they were hearing as house: it was colder and more electronicky, its lineage was not disco, and it was more obviously conceptualized […]

He lay tossing restlessly on a dirty old straw palliasse, and was in great pain; but greeted his friend with a dash of the old brio.