**3rd Person POV**
Harlin sensed that Charlotte had stopped Reginald from saying something that might have upset him. He wished she wouldn't do things like that. He knew that he had not been a favourite here. He sensed that it had to do something with his mother but he could never tell. He had just known that Lady Tristan had not liked him at all. So Charlotte ending Reginald’s words with a kiss was far from a true story.
“What about the land of the dead? The underworld… if she's there, she could come back,” Reginald remarked in a spooky voice. Harlin thought about this for a minute. If his aunt died and her soul ended up in the underworld, did that mean he could bring her back? He wouldn't be able to do so without her body but if he could just save her body then perhaps when he found her soul he could find a way to bring her back. It was such a wild thing to think about. Harlin had never heard of anything like that before but he was certain that if he read enough he could find precedent and find out how to put her soul back in her mind.
“Perhaps, she's with the prince charming,” returned Charlotte in a sad voice. Prince charming from her childhood had never come to visit them like he had promised.
“He was not a Prince,” refuted Reginald.
“Whatever.”
****
Harlin was lying down in bed, staring at the ceiling trying not to think of anything. The problem with that was that the image of Francesca began to form in his mind. He remembered that the last time they had seen each other he had more or less told her that he regretted being with her. It was not true. No matter how much he had tried to muster regret, he felt none.
There was a soft knock on his door. At first,, he attributed it to the guard brushing up against his door by accident but the knock was persistent. Harlin was forced out of his bed and when he opened the door he was struck by Lady Francesca standing in front of him with a black robe on her body.
He looked right and left but there was no one else in the corridor.
“What do you want? I made it very clear…” She took off the robe right there in the corridor and she was standing before him stark naked.
The word restraint left his mind. Francesca was driving him nuts and he could not resist any longer. He pulled her into the room in a haste and shut the door hurriedly behind him.
His hands were everywhere; her breasts, her stomach, her thighs, in between them, everywhere. His tongue followed his hands; he planted kisses all over her body trying desperately to drink of her as much as he could as though it were the very last time he could do so. His mouth found her navel and then further down.
Her moans encouraged his kisses and soon enough he could feel her tremble in his mouth. He wasted no more time; he shoved her onto the bed and took her.
Hours later, the two lay side by side exhausted from all the panting and groaning of lovemaking.
“You should go,” said Harlin.
He hated himself for being so weak-willed. He knew that Lowell was using her as bait against him and he loathed himself for knowing and walking right into the man's trap.
“Do you really want me to?” she whispered into his ear, biting at them playfully. Harlin was in trouble; he knew this.
“I do. We both know why you're here,” returned Harlin, staring stubbornly at the ceiling to avoid eye contact with her. He knew that even if he confronted her, she would only lie about it.
“I don't understand, Harlin,” she replied, climbing on top of him.
His reaction was instant and he felt embarrassed a little at how his body responded to hers almost as though a reflex. She guided his hardened manhood into her and rode him until he was screaming in pleasure, matching every grind as she gyrated her lower body on top of him.
Then just before he could feel himself explode inside of her she became still. He looked at her alarmed wondering why she had stopped. She had a smile on her face that told him that she had won. She lay flat on top of him and whispered into his ear, “Do you still want me to go?”
Harlin's response to her question was to turn her over so she was lying beneath him. He thrust himself into her and they soon found a rhythm that made them cry in songs of pleasure.
****
When Harlin woke up in the morning, his bed was empty. He was beginning to think that he had dreamed up last night but he could still smell her on the sheets. It had been no dream; she had been here on this bed and they had made love several times. He stood up from his bed grudgingly, he was traveling to Dome today.
Lady Emily was hosting a huge dinner and Harlin found himself seated right in between Charlotte and Francesca. He tried only to concentrate on his food but it was a very hard thing to do especially because he could feel Francesca rubbing her thighs against his under the table.
He cleared his throat a little, signalling her to stop but that only seemed to have emboldened her because he could feel hand fingers wrapped around his cock. It took everything in him not to spill the contents of the food he was chewing.
Who was this woman and what was her deal?
He could feel himself trembling under her expert massage and hoped that no one noticed his dilemma as he had broken into a cold sweat. He was both excited and at the same time worried about getting caught.