Page 11 of If the Shoe Fits (Rainbow Tales #2)

Leo and Xander fell into a routine. Xander would get up and rush out of the house before anyone else was awake.

He'd run through the morning mist to the stable where Leo would be waiting for him, always with a basket full of food.

Leo took great delight in bringing new treats for Xander to try every day.

He made sure that the baskets he brought contained a mix of sweet and savory as well as a hot beverage so that every craving Xander might have would be appeased. Every craving.

Two weeks into this, after breakfast and a long sexual interlude, Leo lay with Xander on a blanket cushioned by hay and stroked a finger over Xander's nipple.

The Prince's manservant, Helpin, and his spy had discovered nothing about Xander.

Nothing more than the awful way he was treated by the Duchess and her two sons.

Only him. Not the other servants. So, who was Xander, and why did they call him Asher?

Why did they abuse him and not the others who worked for them?

Leo had to know, and he felt close enough to Xander now that he felt he could ask. Maybe he'd ease into it.

Leo bit his lip, then asked, “What did you need help with?”

“I think you've seen to all my needs already.” Xander lifted his head to peer down at Leo.

Leo chuckled and sat up. “No, I mean that thing you asked me about a while ago. Something to do with an inheritance? I keep thinking about it, wondering what you wanted help with. Tell me. Please. ”

Xander sighed and sat up. “You won't believe me.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because it's unbelievable.” Xander shook his head. “She played it perfectly, putting me into this role when I was too young to know better. Now, I have no proof. The way I accepted things is proof against me.”

“Xander, why did Duchess Vesmalden call you Asher?”

Xander lifted his chin. “She calls me Asher because I sleep near the fire, and I often wake up covered in ashes. But I think she started using the name not just to insult me and assert power over me, but also to hide who I was from anyone who might visit the house.”

Leo's heart sped up. “Why? Who are you?”

Xander lifted his chin and met Leo's stare. “I'm Xander Vesmalden, firstborn son of the late Duke Vesmalden.”

Leo gaped at him.

Xander grimaced. “I knew you wouldn't believe me.”

“I do believe you!” Leo grabbed his hand. “I do. I swear it. But how did you come to be a servant here, in the home you should have inherited?”

“My mother died when I was young. My father remarried. My stepmother was nice enough at first, though standoffish. She had two sons from another man—her first husband, who died. Then my father died too, and she changed. All of them changed. Or rather, they stopped hiding who they really were.” He sighed and then said, “I asked you about inheritance laws because I want to know if there's any way for me to dispute their claim to this property.

But I don't see how it could be done. No one even . . .”

“No one knows you exist,” Leo whispered, his mind spinning in horror at the evil manipulations that must have occurred. “If she's a second wife with no children by the Duke, she doesn't inherit the property, and neither do her sons. Not unless there are no other heirs.”

“I thought you didn't know anything about the law?”

“Not a lot, but that much is common knowledge.”

“Not for me, it isn't.” Xander bit his lip.

“Xander, I do believe you. I knew there was something strange about you the first time we dined together. Your eating style is too refined for a servant. Someone taught you proper etiquette.”

“Yes. When I was young. I guess it was so ingrained in me that I never stopped.”

“You are the rightful heir to this place! You are the Duke!”

“Shhh!” Xander held up his hands. “You don't know how wicked that woman is. Her sons, too. If they find you here, there will be a beating for me, and you'll be run off the property.”

Leo snorted. “I doubt that very much.”

“I'm serious, Leo! They're awful people.”

“Oh, that much I know. It would take someone truly terrible to steal from a child.”

“You really do believe me.”

“Yes.” Leo took Xander's hand. “This hasn't just been sex for me, Xander.

I thought you knew that. We've talked. A lot.

Connected. Honestly, I've never been interested in talking to a lover before.

But you—I'm fascinated by you. I want to know everything.

So, I've listened and learned. I've watched you.

I know you're a good man. You wouldn't lie about something like this.

Hell, I don't think you'd lie about anything.”

“Thank you.” Xander squeezed Leo's hand. “And I've listened to you, too. I know you're arrogant and you've been very loose with your body in the past.”

Leo snorted. “Oh, do go on.”

“But I see you, Leo.” Xander leaned in and nuzzled their foreheads together.

“I see the man beneath all of that. The man with an insatiable curiosity and a sharp wit.

The man who is considerate enough to make sure I get at least one good meal every day.

Thoughtful. Sweet. You're also funny under all that practiced charm.”

“Practiced?” Leo huffed, but only to hide the pleasure Xander's words gave him. Was this real? Were they . . . was he falling in love at last?

“Yes, practiced,” Xander said. “I imagine you practiced your personality until it felt real. But I prefer the man you truly are. And I'm honored that you let me see him.”

“Xander.” Leo pulled Xander into a kiss.

Normally, kisses led to sex for Leo, but this kiss was about something far greater and more pleasurable than mere copulation.

It was full of feelings. Good feelings. Shivering, twisting, bright feelings that made Leo want to keep kissing Xander forever.

But nothing could last forever. He eventually pulled away to smile at the forgotten Duke.

“I'm going to find proof of what your stepmother has done,” Leo vowed.

“How? If I don't have any proof, how will you find it?”

“I have my ways.” Leo winked at Xander.