...Leo hovered outside the closed bedroom door, torn between curiosity and basic decency. He had the right to open the door and stroll into the room, but he wasn’t sure if the stranger knew that. It didn’t seem so, since he hadn’t once addressed Leo properly, and he didn’t bow when they parted company. And the man did deserve some privacy after everything he had gone through. Leo didn’t know what, exactly, he had gone through, but it was enough to know that he had looked like a frightened, angry, confused, drowned cat.

He closed his eyes, reliving the moment when the man had come out of nowhere. There hadn’t been a warning, or even the hint of his arrival. He was just all of a sudden airborne, his arms waving, his face pulled into comical surprise. And then he was covered in mud. The whole event hadn’t taken more than three or four seconds. But it had been enough to startle a laugh out of Leo.

A real, genuine laugh. Accompanied by a real, genuine smile.

Leo had been instantly ashamed of himself. What would his mother think if she saw him laughing at the poor man? And the stranger had certainly looked pathetic. It was shame that prompted Leo to pull the stranger onto the back of his horse—an action that would give both of his parents a small heart attack. And it was the memory of that shame that prompted Leo to instruct Jax to take the man to his private quarters for his bath and supper.

His guilt was almost assuaged by the concessions. But his curiosity was piqued. Feeling the man pressed against his back had made something stir to life deep within him. He responded physically to Jax, but that had always been more about necessity than any real desire. He couldn’t believe that he had any real desire for the stranger—the boy had been shivering and shaking, cold, and covered in mud. But somehow, none of that mattered when he pressed his chest to Leo’s back.

Almost an hour passed before Leo gave in to his need to see the young man, and he knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Leo opened the door and paused at the threshold, an invisible fist squeezing his chest. It wasn’t just the beauty of the young man—though he was quite stunning with his dark eyes and darker hair—it was the feeling that the stranger was sitting right where he belonged. That this was his bedroom, and Leo was some sort of interloper.

“How…how are you feeling?”

The man smiled shyly. “Better. Thank you.”

“We haven’t been properly introduced,” Leo said, closing the door behind him. “I’m Leopold…”

“Prince Leopold?” The man jumped to his feet, almost toppling his dinner to the floor. “Oh, I should have realized…oh, excuse me, your majesty. I’m terribly sorry. Excuse me, please, sir…”

Leo held up his hand. “No, no. Please. Sit down and finish eating. That’s not necessary.”

“But I’m in your private chambers. Aren’t I?”

“Yes, you are. But that’s only because none of the other rooms were prepared for guests. Now, what’s your name?”

“Dexter.”

Leo approached the couch and offered his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Dexter studied Leo’s palm for a moment before shyly reaching to take his fingers. His grip was nicely firm, and Leo had the feeling that when Dexter didn’t feel completely out of his depths, he would be quite formidable.

“The pleasure’s mine, your majesty.”

“Don’t call me that, please. Nobody calls me that. Not while I’m here.”

“What do they call you?”

“Leo, mostly.”

“Leo. That’s weird.”

“Would it be weird if you didn’t know I was the prince?”

“No.”

“Then just pretend you don’t know.”

Dexter eyed him warily. “That could get me arrested, you know?”

“True. But not here.”