That said, it seemed lived in and loved. There were beautiful pictures of flowers on the walls and graceful vases or figurines here and there. And there were warm throws and fluffy toss pillows that made cuddling up with a book or having a gab with the girls feel homey and cozy.

It had a formal sitting room and dining room as well as a big kitchen downstairs. There was also a study that doubled as a library (thank G.o.d, more books!) and a small sewing room. But the best part of the downstairs was the conservatory at the back, made of gla.s.s and filled with plants-on tables, hanging from baskets, the windows dripping with damp.

The upstairs had three bedrooms with the "master bedchamber" having a dressing room, a bathing room and an additional small room (yes, for the chamber pot). It also had a ma.s.sive fireplace with a cream marble mantel that provided a beautiful contrast against the dark wood paneling of the walls. It was decorated in creams and soft yellows with hints of peach and was quite feminine, the down comforter even tipped with dripping scallops of eyelet.

I'd learned that Apollo's mother lived there but not much more as Loretta and Cristiana gave each other big eyes and changed the subject practically before it was brought up.

I didn't push it. I didn't want to make them feel weird or force them to share anything that might annoy Apollo.

And anyway, I wanted him to tell me himself, in his time.

As for Apollo and me, our days had found a rhythm. This being him getting up way early in the morning, waking me to tell me he was going to eat breakfast with his kids, then he'd touch his mouth to mine and leave.

During the day, he'd mostly be away unless he had some free time. If he did, he'd come visit me, but it was never for long.

Still, it was nice he did that.

And in the evening, he arrived just in time for a late dinner, which was after his kids had gone to have a bath then to bed.

Up next was the best part of any day, when we would go to bed and he'd make love to me. We'd spend some time whispering after we made love, these mostly sweet nothings while we cuddled (the second best part of any day). Then he'd either make love to me again or we'd go to sleep.

Tonight, though, he'd sent Alek with the message he'd be late and that I should eat and, if he was very late, go to bed without him.

This I had been preparing to do when I'd heard him hit the room five minutes ago and call, "Maddie!"

To which I called back, "I'm changing."

To which I heard nothing but his boots and belt hitting the floor which meant he was getting ready for bed.

We'd also had one other change of circ.u.mstance since things settled in. This was Apollo getting me pennyrium, which he'd brought along with Loretta and Meeta.

So all was good on that front and sheaths were no longer necessary.

But it wasn't lost on me that we hadn't "explored" the "play" we'd engaged in that night we arrived in Karsvall, deeply or otherwise.

When he made love to me, it was sweet. It was slow. It was taking our time, building it then letting it explode.

It was also awesome.

But I had to admit, that night was hot. As in h-o-t, hot. I also had to admit I wouldn't mind exploring it (at all). Deep or otherwise.

That said, even slow and gentle, every time was good and there was no denying that the adela tea led us to understand each other better, what we liked, deepening the experience, making it richer than any I'd ever had or could even imagine having. There was a freedom to it, no being worried about what he'd think of my body or if I was doing something right. We had a kind of harmony in bed. It was about each other, togetherness, the experience and climax, all of this making the togetherness more meaningful. Even out of bed.

It was amazing.

Actually, Apollo was amazing. Tender, sweet, forthcoming, funny, and tender was worth another mention, especially the way Apollo did it.

And that was to say, the way he did it was just the way he was.

Sure, there was an arrogance about him that I most likely came with his position in society and his family. But also it just came naturally. A man of his looks, wealth, status and intelligence, this could happen. And with Apollo, it did.

That said, this was simply one small nuance of his personality. The rest, or the Apollo he gave me, was so much more.

An example being, it had been three days and he'd made his point about wanting me to meet his kids and he didn't mention it again. No pressure. I was a ten minute horse ride away, but he was a busy guy and he still split his time between me and them and didn't utter a word.

Nothing.

He just did it. He didn't b.i.t.c.h. He didn't push.

I had to admit, I loved that.

Actually, I was realizing there were a lot of things I loved about Apollo and as I smoothed my hands over my nightgown at my hips, I knew I was excited to walk into the room and be with him. I didn't care if we made love, if we just talked, if we didn't talk and just cuddled.

I just wanted to be with him.

I never thought I'd feel that way about a man. Not again. I was done with all men after Pol.

So to feel that way about Pol's twin was crazy.

But as the days slid by, Apollo was making it crazy-beautiful.

On that thought, I wandered out of the dressing room into the bedroom and stopped.

He was in bed, smack in the middle, sitting up. He had the duvet to his waist, his wide chest on display, his dark hair was a mess from riding to the house and he hadn't even bothered running his hands through it to give it some order.

He also had a sheaf of papers in his hands, his eyes to them and there was something about his big guy, muscled, powerful, commanding masculinity amongst all that cream, yellow, peach and eyelet that made my mouth water.

Then again, whenever I saw him, my mouth watered.

And also, there was the small fact that I knew he was naked under that duvet. Apollo never went to bed with clothes on unless he was doing it in the middle of taking them off.

His head came up, his eyes instantly slid down my body then they moved up and when they made it to mine, I said softly, "Hey."

His face shifted to that tender look I felt in my belly and around my heart.

"Come here, dove," he said softly back.

I went there. While he tossed the papers to the nightstand, I lifted my nightgown to my hips and crawled into the bed on my knees. When I got to him, I threw a leg over and straddled his lap. His hands came to rest on my a.s.s as my eyes found his.

"I've changed my mind about preferring you pressed to me, sleeping naked," he declared, his fingers accentuating his point by gliding over the satin at my a.s.s.

"I have a lot of kicka.s.s nightgowns you've been missing out on, sweetheart," I replied.

"Mm," he murmured, this noise also hitting me in my belly but in a different way.

His eyes dropped to my chest and his hands started sliding up my sides.

I caught them at the wrists and he looked back to me.

"Baby, we've gotta talk."

That was when he did what Apollo always did.

He wrapped his arms around me, pulled me close and gave me what I asked for instantly.

"About what, poppy?"

G.o.d, I loved it that he could be this way.

I put my hands to his chest. "About three things. Then we can move on to the good stuff."

His lips twitched, his arms gave me a squeeze and he said, "Go on."

"Well," I started. "It's come to my attention that your boys are kind of..." I hesitated, "active at the main house and in the village."

His head c.o.c.ked slightly to the side. "Active?"

"Very active."

"They are indeed active, Maddie. Though I'm thinking I don't understand what you're truly saying."

"Hans has slept with Loretta."

"And?"

"And, Loretta's my ladies maid."

"Yes?"

I stared at him, then said, "Well, Hans is one of your men and a friend of mine. And he's around the house, not often but he's around."

"This is true," he stated, patient but bemused.

Okay, surprisingly it seemed I had to explain this to him.

I moved a bit closer, sliding my hands up his chest to curl my fingers on his shoulders and I shared, "He's been here twice since Loretta came on board and he hasn't even looked at her. She's crushing on him big time-"

"Crushing?" he queried, his brows drawing together.

"She likes him."

"Ah," he murmured, his brow clearing.

"It's awkward," I told him.

"She shouldn't have taken him to her bed."

I blinked.

Then I said, "Actually, I was thinking you might have a word with the boys so they would be more discreet and by that I mean appropriate and by that I mean they might wish to go further afield when they're selecting their, um...play partners."

This time, Apollo stared at me.

Then his arms convulsed around me and he burst out laughing.

When he was down to chuckling, his arms came from around me so he could frame my face in his hands. He pulled my mouth down to his and gave me a brief, hard kiss with his still-chuckling lips before he wrapped his arms around me again and stated, "You amuse me, poppy."

"I was being serious."

He was still chuckling, but he blinked while doing it. "Pardon?"

"I was being serious," I repeated. "See, it's kind of..." I searched for a word and found it. "Uncouth for the hot guys of the manor to go around having their fun, leaving a trail of broken hearts in their wake. There has to be somewhere else they can go to get their..." I struggled again to find the right word. "Fun."

"And waste time astride a horse when they could be riding something else close to home?" he asked with mild disbelief.

My eyes got big, his lips curved into a smile, and I opened my mouth to speak but he beat me to it.

"This is the way it is here, Maddie."

"I-".

He put his fingers to my lips and whispered, "Quiet. Please?"

I was quiet but only because he said "please," I really liked that he said it and I also liked his deep voice wrapping around that word.

He made sure I was quiet, removed his hand so he could wrap his arm around me again and went on.

"The people of this world are very free..." he paused, "s.e.xually. The Vale, there are more strictures than Lunwyn. Fleuridia, less. But here, men and women enjoy each other openly and frequently. If Loretta has feelings for Hans that are not returned, that's unfortunate. But it happens. Does this not happen in your world?"

Actually, it did.

I bit my lip.

He nodded, correctly reading my non-verbalized answer.

"I'm sorry things are awkward, dove," he said gently. "But she is not under any misconceptions, I'm certain. She knows the ways of this culture. And it is highly probable she will find someone else to turn her attentions to. But this may happen again until she finds the man who...crushes on her as she does him."

This was how it happened in my culture too.

Drat.

"Are we done with that topic?" he asked, knowing the answer from reading my face.

I gave him a different one, however. "Kind of."

"What more is there?" he queried.

I thought about the Fleuridian prost.i.tute and the fact that Apollo was most definitely a man and a man who liked to get him some.