between them. It was physical desire, pure and simple, nothing more than wanton lust, and that made it absolutely indefensible.

The trouble was, when she came creeping to his room at night and slipped her robe off her shoulders, and he would see her naked body gleaming in the candlelight, all reason simply left him. He could not control himself at all and, afterward, he would lie alone in bed, so overwhelmed with guilt that his chest would ache as if a huge weight were upon it.

He had been raised to cultivate self-discipline and patience, yet he had become a slave to his own baser instincts. He could see no way around it. He was doomed.

After several weeks had passed since their first tryst on the tower, Aedan was a nervous wreck. He would flinch if someone merely called his name, expecting that at any time his treachery would be revealed.

For it was treachery: he was conducting an illicit affair with a princess of the royal house in her future husband’s home. It preyed on his mind to such an extent that he was beginning to feel as if he would welcome being caught.

One morning, as he was saddling up the horses in the stables for himself and Michael to go hawking, he felt a light touch on his shoulder and practically

jumped out of his skin. He spun around as he heard a throaty giggle and saw that Laera had sneaked up behind him in the stall.

“Laera! By Haelyn, you scared me half out of my wits!”

As he tried to catch his breath and make his heart stop hammering, she began to loosen the laces on her bodice. “I see the grooms have changed the straw,” she said, with a sultry little smile. “It’s nice and fresh.”

“Are you mad?” he said. “Michael will be here any moment!”

“He slept late this morning and is still getting dressed,” she replied as she slipped out of her gown.

“We have time for a quick one.”

“Laera, for pity’s sake, the grooms!”

“Are all outside, exercising the horses,” she said, pulling him into an empty stall. “We are all alone. So hurry, get your clothes off. I want you.” She reached for his breeches.

He somehow found the strength of will to back away. “Laera, please! I beg of you, listen to me! This cannot go on! It would be worth my life if we were caught!”

“Then that should make it all the more exciting!”

she said, reaching for him. “Besides, it is your duty to serve the emperor and his family. So … serve.”

She put her arms around him and kissed him passionately.

“Aedan?”

It was Michael! Aedan quickly pulled Laera down inside the stall. She giggled and he pressed his lips to hers, desperately trying to silence her.

“Aedan, where are you?”

Laera loosened the drawstring of his breeches and started to pull them down. Her eyes were alight with excitement. Michael was but a few feet away, just outside the stall. The only thing separating them was a five-foot-high wood partition. Aedan stared at her with alarm, soundlessly mouthing, “Stop!” He tried to pull his breeches back up, but she grinned and fought him, pulling them back down. He was certain Michael would hear the rustling sounds they were making in the straw.

“Aedan, are you there?” Michael called out. “I see you have the horses saddled. Well, I am ready to go!”

So was Laera. She was squirming underneath him, wrapping her legs around him to prevent his escape.

“Laera, please, I beg of you!” he whispered frantically into her ear.

“Make love to me,” she whispered back, a wild look in her eyes. “Make love to me right now or else I’ll scream!”

“No!” he whispered harshly. “Laera, this is insane ” She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to scream. He hastily covered her mouth with his own and she chuckled deep down in her throat.

“Aedan! Aedan, I’m going! I’m not waiting any longer!” Michael called out.

Neither was Laera. She was breathing heavily, moaning as she moved beneath him. Aedan did not see how Michael could possibly fail to hear.

Panicstricken, he covered her mouth with his hand, looking over his shoulder and expecting Michael to open the stall door at any second. In his anxiety, he failed to notice that he had covered not only Laera’s mouth, but her nose, as well.

Unable to breathe, she struggled to remove his hand, but he held her down with determination, pinning one arm with his free hand and the other with his knee as he watched to see where Michael was. Laera bucked and thrashed beneath him, but Aedan cursed her silently as he looked over his shoulder and gritted his teeth, watching the stall partition.

He heard footsteps, then the clip-clopping of hooves as Michael took his horse out of its stall.

Pressing down on Laera in an attempt to keep her still, he continued to watch the stall door, holding his breath and listening. He heard Michael’s horse snort and wicker just outside the stable doors. Then came the soft creak of the stirrups as the boy mounted up and hoofbeats as he trotted off.

Aedan closed his eyes and let out a long sigh of relief. However, he wasn’t safe yet. The grooms could return at any moment. He had to get Laera dressed and out of here. “Laera-” She had stopped her struggles and lay still beneath him, her eyes closed.

“Laera?”

With a shock, he suddenly noticed that he had been covering both her mouth and nose. He jerked his hand away.

“Laera!”

She gasped for air, reflexively, and Aedan almost sobbed with relief.

For a dreadful moment, he had thought he might have killed her. Her eyes fluttered open, and she coughed, gasping for air.

“Laera! Laera,

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