Alex has removed his tunic and is sitting on the edge of the incredibly comfortable bed, trying to remove his boots when there is a knock on the door.

“Come in!” he calls firmly and, after a few moments the door is opened wide. Three uniformed male servants, each carrying a pair of large steaming buckets filled with water parade into the room and walk directly to the bathroom with the merest of nods towards Alex. They are followed by a fourth, younger and more finely dressed than the rest. He is carrying a pair of fluffy creamy-white towels and a selection of small bottles.

“Do you need help with anything, Sir?” he asks when he takes in the room and Alex’s obvious struggles to remove his boot.

“If you don’t mind. I should have sat in a chair to do this.”

“One moment, Sir.”

The servant walks briskly into the bathroom, passing the three water-carriers as they come back out. He returns as they exit, now with empty buckets in hand, and close the door behind themselves. He moves towards Alex and gestures for him to raise his foot. Expertly, he removes the first boot and then quickly the other.

“Does sir require any further assistance with the bath?” he asks with the tiniest hint of a smile, his hand lingering on Alex’s calf for a moment longer than needed.

Standing close to the sitting Alex, his slimness and delicacy is very apparent. He has the barest hint of colour applied to his lips and just a touch of blue powder that accents his eye-lids. He’s more than pretty enough to be a temptation and making it overtly clear exactly what help he is offering. Such openness is a rarity, but Alex has no intention of accepting such from a stranger when he is a guest of unknown status.

“Ah… No, thank you. I’m sure I can manage fine.”

“As you wish, sir. The bath is sealed with a wooden plug. Just release it when you are done. Someone will be along to light the lamps shortly.” As he walks towards the door to leave, Alex lifts his shirt over his head. The young servant turns at the door and stares at his muscular back for just a moment before turning to leave. Alex, seeing his pause from the corner of his eye manages a rueful smile as he walks in his stockinged feet into the bathroom and closes the door almost fully.

The water is far too hot, but Alex simply turns on the outlet above and allows the required amount of cold water to mix. Checking the bottles that the servant had brought, he pours a little of the second one into the falling stream of water and watches as a milky blanket of bubbles begin to form. He quickly steps out of his heavy trousers and drops his small-clothes onto the floor with them. He turns off the outlet when the mixing water is just at the highest temperature that he can bear and gingerly lowers himself into the warmth.

The hot water is relaxing. This is surely the best bath that Alex has ever had. Perhaps he should have let the young servant – barely a year or two younger than Alex himself – stay and wash his back for him. It’s an enticing thought that causes his body to react in a very predictable way. Within a few moments, Alex is painfully erect. It has been quite some time since he has been fully intimate with another.

While there are lands where two men, or indeed two women being together is tolerated, Taneria isn’t necessarily considered one of them. Granted, it’s not a place that promotes openly harsh punishments for such activities, but it is definitely better to be discreet. Alex, renowned as a fighter of some skill, as well as an honourable man, has always tried to maintain that part of his life as something very private. Whatever the law, what happens in one place has a habit of being known wherever you travel.

Alex has known of his own preferences since before he lost his father. Even as a young teenager, exploring his newly developing body and chatting with his school-mates, he knew he had no interest in any of the girls in the town. In some ways, losing his father before having to explain himself was something of a blessing.

Being a troubled young orphan in a strange new town allowed him to remain aloof from the courting maelstrom that others of his age seemed so keen to enter. Once out and about, working his way quickly from a hired hand up to being a recognised mercenary commander in his own right, his sexual encounters had been few and far between.

Only in Meribor, far to the east, did he have any opportunity to be more open and finally truly enjoy himself without fear or excessive caution. Perhaps the most liberal kingdom on the entire continent at least, Meribor cares little for your preferences, as long as no one gets hurt and you pay your taxes on time. There are places there, known to all, where meeting like-minded people is much easier than it might be elsewhere.

Now, as the bath-water slowly cools and Alex relaxes, he can’t help but stroke himself to a pounding release, ribbons of milky whiteness trailing in the water among the bubbles.