With Caution

above. “Bloody black hole and imploding stars,” a soft masculine voice hissed.
    Way up in the tree closest to the window, a boy balanced precariously on a thin tree limb. He reached toward a flat computer screen of some sort that had snagged on an adjacent branch. At his unbalanced angle a fall seemed imminent. Likely a shout to be careful would bring the teen plummeting to the ground, so Nate raced to a set of French doors on his left. Hurrying outside, he got to the base of the tree just as the branch the kid balanced on snapped.
    “Whoa.” The boy wobbled and fell against the limb holding the computer, knocking the device loose. “Dust!”
    The flat screen clipped only one bough before falling free. Nate caught it before it hit the ground.
    The young man gasped, his gaze meeting Nate’s.
    Nate started. The boy—no, that wasn’t right, he was young, yes, but not a lad—was absolutely gorgeous. Nate stared into the big gray eyes, mesmerized. The man was simply beautiful. He had a small frame that had, at first, deluded Nate into thinking him a

    child. A mass of ebony curls surrounded a handsome face, and a full bottom lip was caught between even white teeth.
    “Uh, thanks. I, uh— Whoa.” The man’s booted feet slid off the tree, leaving him dangling from his hands ten feet in the air.
    Nate set the computer screen down and held his arms out. “I’ve got you. Drop.”
    “Uh…”
    “Drop.”
    “Okay. Please don’t miss.” The man let go with a reluctant whimper.
    The negligible weight landed in Nate’s outstretched arms. He bent his knee slightly to keep from jarring the young man. Nate glanced at the handsome face and his gut clenched. Up close the man’s eyes were the color of molten steel. He had flawless ivory skin and full lips. The heat of his body pressed against Nate’s chest made his cock stir.
    The man was slim and not very tall, but he had broad shoulders that spoke of nice muscles under the well-tailored clothes. What he wouldn’t give to see this slim body completely bare of clothing and those pretty lips wrapped around his hard cock. Closing his eyes, Nate concentrated on getting his pulse back to normal. He was here on a mission, not to get involved. Besides, this was most likely his hosts’ offspring.
    He opened his eyes in time to see a pink tongue dart out and wet the beguiling lips.
    Nate’s cock—fully erect now—strained against the placket of his pantaloons.
    The man’s gaze roamed over Nate’s face as long, elegant fingers came up to trace his beard. “Who are you?” he asked in a seductive whisper.
    Nate hadn’t even realized he’d leaned forward until the smaller man jerked, nearly spilling himself out of Nate’s arms. Setting the man on his feet, Nate watched him straighten his waistcoat. When he brushed off his trousers, he seemed to realize he had a problem.
    Good, the young lord wasn’t unaffected, just surprised. Not, of course, that it mattered. Nate wasn’t interested. Yeah, right. He bowed. “Nathaniel Hawkins, Earl of Deverell.”
    The younger man’s gray eyes shot wide and he hastily tried to hide his obvious erection. He squirmed before spotting his computer. Picking up the screen, he held it in

    front of his groin and met Nate’s gaze. His enticing mouth formed an “O”, followed by an inhalation of air, then the man blinked and shook his head as if to clear it. “Thank you for rescuing me, milord. I, uh, got my screen caught on the way up.”
    Nate was about to ask the man’s name and why he was in the tree in the first place when an older version of the young man appeared in the window. “What in stars happened to the window? Aiden?”
    The younger man, Aiden, frowned. He darted his gaze to Nate and gave a barely perceptible shake of his head. “I didn’t do it, Cony. I was trying to get a different perspective on the garden.” Aiden glanced back at Nate, his eyes pleading, and bowed.
    “Thank you again, milord.”
    Before Nate could respond the vision bounded off toward the back of the castle. How odd. Apparently the imp didn’t want Nate to mention his fall from the tree. Or did he not want Nate to mention who broke the window?
    “Lord Deverell?”
    Nate dragged his attention from Aiden’s retreating backside and turned toward the window. “Lord Raleigh?”
    Raleigh smiled. “Yes, please come inside. You wouldn’t happen to know what became of the window, would you?”

    In the twilight shadows, nothing is what it