Rhad stood looking down at the curvaceous brunette lying across the front steps of his weather-beaten castle, and with the lacy slip she wore and stiletto heels, she could have no other reason for the presentation of such a gorgeous offering.

He didn't know whether to thank the Fates or curse them for tempting him with such a delicious creature.

His body surged to life, responding to the sight with a joyful leap. He knelt down next to the goddess and pressed his palm to her face. Her cheek was icily cold, her lips blue.

Dear God, the woman was practically dead. With a low curse, Rhad scooped her into his arms and carried her over the threshold and into the dimly lit foyer.

As he moved down the carpeted corridors, he trained his mind to perform the tasks he needed. Run the bath water. Turn down the blankets in the guest bedroom and dim the lights.

The woman weighed no more than a glass of his favorite Merlot, and by the time he reached the upstairs bathroom, he hadn't expended as much energy as it took to walk to the backyard garden.

And the woman hadn't moved nor made even the slightest of sounds. Only the slight rise and fall of her pert breasts outlined beneath the thin chemise assured him she was still alive.

The steam from the hot water coated the mirror, and condensation ran in rivulets down the porcelain tiles. Rhad placed the woman on the vanity stool and checked the temperature in the water.

She stirred and made a mumbling noise. A sense of relief which he didn't understand washed over him, and he turned to look at her, immediately noticing the way the slip she wore had worked its way up her thigh. Her creamy, smooth thigh.

Damn.

With more haste than neatness, he disrobed her and muttering ancient prayers below his breath, lowered her into the water. Warmth coated his forearms and the feel of slippery, wet skin made his cock pound with frantic need.

The petite woman slipped into the water and let out a blissful sigh. As the steam bathed her face, the blue tint began to recede and tendrils of chestnut hair curled against her cheeks.

The bubbles barely covered the outline of her body, but Rhad didn't need to see. He'd already felt, and that alone would be enough to give him sweet dreams.

"Master Valentine!" came the horrified voice of his housekeeper.

Rhad stood and whirled around, feeling like he'd just been caught necking behind the schoolhouse. He grinned at the thought. These days, necking had an entirely different connotation. "Madeline, I found this woman on the front stoop. She was frozen solid, wearing no more than a scrap of lace."

"And you saved her out of the kindness of your heart," the portly woman snapped in response, two spots of color riding high on her cheeks. Scuffling into the bathroom, she shooed Rhad out of the way. "I'll take over from here."

Rhad tossed a longing look over his shoulder and caught a quick, unfulfilled look of full breasts peeking from beneath foamy bubbles.

Conjuring up thoughts of cold showers and icy boxer shorts, he mumbled his way back down the stairs.