They reached the lake soon after they raced away from the ambush. Thane had to help Leighton dismount when it seemed he was still in a state of shock. He pulled him to the water and helped him remove his clothes.

     Expecting Leighton to make a clever remark, Thane opened his mouth to angrily respond. When all Leighton did was stare at him with frightened eyes, Thane swallowed back the pity he began to feel.

     "Come on," he told him softly. "I'll help you in."

     He held onto Leighton to be certain he wouldn't lose his footing, then let him go to wash. He watched to check the water level in case it was too deep. His eyes appraised the porcelain skin marked by freckles and scars. Leighton was a fit man, though smaller than Thane. He was a few inches shorter in height, and his shoulders, though strong, weren't as wide. His waist was narrow and his cheekbones high on his smooth pale face. The muscles in his back pulled at the skin as he stretched into the water.

     "I'll get you some clothes," Thane told him before returning to the horses.

     He cleared his throat and tried to forget the feeling that overcame him at the sight of Leighton's backside and how his muscles made it move as he walked. He quickly brushed his hand across his groin in a futile attempt to calm its growth.

     He shook his head to escape the strange and inconvenient thoughts and looked through Leighton's bag. When he didn't find anything but books, he huffed.

     "You had clothes when we left," he called out. "I checked your bags myself."

     "I didn't think I'd need them," Leighton mumbled. "I gave them to a beggar in the last town when you weren't looking."

     Thane sighed loudly as he watched Leighton finally moving around to bathe.

     "You have a big heart, thief," he said softly before looking through his own bag for a spare set.

     Leighton looked up at Thane pulling out his own clothes to give him. He smiled a little at praise he had never received.

     "You're just being nice because you feel sorry for me," he tried to tease, though the images of the incident were still fresh in his mind.

     Thane shook his head in disagreement as he brought the clothes to the embankment.

     "I don't feel sorry for you," he lied. "I do, however, feel sorry for your mother."

     Leighton couldn't hold back a laugh as he climbed up to dress.

     "My mother was a prostitute, you know," he said and watched Thane for his reaction.

     Thane stopped walking back to the horses and squeezed his eyes tightly shut. He sighed.

     "I'm sorry for what I said about whor ... prostitutes," he apologized.

     He quickly turned around at Leighton's loud laughter.

     "I appreciate your apology, but I was just making fun," he admitted. "I'm sure my mother was a fine woman, but I never met her. She died giving birth to me. She was a seamstress," he went on as he straightened the clothes that swallowed him up.

     "My father hated me because I killed her," he said as he joined Thane at the horses. "He beat me every day until he sent me to live with an alcoholic uncle, who used me to help him cheat at the gambling tables. I ran away and I've been on my own ever since."

     "How old were you?" Thane asked, never having known this much about Leighton's past.

     He straightened the shirt and rolled up the sleeves without thinking what he was doing as Leighton answered.

     "Ten," he replied. "Why are you treating me like a child?" he laughed. "Or is it more like a lover?"

     When Thane glared at him, Leighton raised his hand to grab onto his.

     "Enough!" Thane growled as he slapped his hand away. "We only have a few hours of light. We'll have to sleep out here among the bandits looking for you if we don't reach the next village before nightfall."

     "Yes, your lordship," Leighton grinned with a low bow.

     Thane only shook his head as they mounted the horses. He wasn't angry. Instead, he was relieved Leighton had recovered.