LoveBetrayed

Samantha
Kane

Book 10 in the Brothers in Arms series

Portugal, 1811—England and France are at war and Daniel
Steinberg, secret agent for the Crown, is right in the thick of it. Caught one
night in a violent act by handsome young Lieutenant Harry Ashbury, his
assignment is compromised. But Harry isn’t there to expose Daniel. Other
desires drove him to follow the infamous Mr. Steinberg. Desires Daniel shares.
The two begin a torrid affair that night in the woods. Daniel knows it’s folly
to take a lover while at war. Caring for Harry is madness. But, despite his
innocence, his young lover pleasures him more than any other lover the
promiscuous Daniel has ever had. Lies, secrets and old lovers come between
them. In one explosive battle, all is unfair in love and war when betrayal
strikes at the heart.

Inside Scoop:
This book contains broken hearts and a
bittersweet ending.
Betrayed by Love
(book 11) will bring more
complexity—and hope—for Daniel and Harry.

A
Romantica®
Regency gay erotic romance
from Ellora’s Cave

British Lines at Torres Vedras, Portugal

March 1811

“Wasn’t he English?”

The voice came from behind Daniel. He still stood near
Rivers’ body, which sat on the ground at the base of a tree. The body was
leaning over precariously, the cravat and coat stained dark with blood from the
slit throat. Any passersby would know from the unnatural position of the body
that he was dead. Daniel had been debating whether or not he should drag the
body out into the open where the rain would wash the gore away.

Daniel spun around, knife at the ready to face the threat
only to encounter a single young man leaning negligently against the trunk of a
tree about ten paces away. He looked familiar, and decidedly unthreatening. The
night was overcast and the light weak, making it hard to discern his features
clearly. Daniel had chosen this dark evening to finally make his move on the
traitor, Rivers. They’d used a French sympathizer to arrange an urgent meeting
deep in the woods, vaguely threatening to cut off Rivers’ money if he didn’t produce
useful information. Rivers had fallen for the ruse and Daniel had made quick
work of him, after Rivers had handed over documents detailing their defenses
along Torres Vedras.

“Seems unsporting to kill one of our own,” the young man
observed mildly. “I don’t think we’ve got that many officers to spare.”

“I didn’t care for the cut of his coat,” Daniel remarked
carefully, using the preordained code to identify other War Department agents.

“He didn’t care much for yours either, Mr. Steinberg. Or so
rumor has it.” The young man straightened and reached into his coat and Daniel
tensed, ready to throw the knife. Very slowly the stranger removed his hand
from his pocket, revealing a pouch of tobacco. Daniel relaxed, but not too
much. This odd young man had not made the proper coded response to Daniel’s
signal.

“I’m sure his turned coat was more offensive than any I’ve
worn,” Daniel prompted.

This caused the stranger to pause. “Ah, I see.”

Daniel could see the stranger’s lieutenant’s insignia now. A
member of the Fourteenth Light Dragoons. That must be why he seemed familiar.
Daniel often gravitated to that division when he had a moment to rest. He had
old friends in the Fourteenth. He grew impatient. “Did James send you?”

“No,” the young lieutenant said, tamping some tobacco down
into a ludicrous pipe. “But now, of course, I’m quite curious. Why would he
send me?”

“How do you know my name?” Daniel demanded.

At his question the young man barked with laughter, visibly
having to restrain himself from making too much noise. “How do I know the
infamous Mr. Steinberg?” he asked, a note of incredulity in his voice. “Why,
doesn’t the entire camp know of you? Though they know very little about you.”

“Well, that’s good at least. Infamous, am I?” he asked.

“Quite.” The stranger put the pipe to his lips, though it
was unlit. The sight jarred Daniel for some reason and his blood began to pound
in his temple. He was always overly excitable after a foray.

“You are too young to smoke a pipe,” Daniel told him without
rancor. “You look ridiculous.”

The young man looked surprised. “Do I? Well, that’s damn
odd. I didn’t know there were age requirements. And you’ve changed the subject.
Did you mean Sir Barnabas James?” He shook the tobacco out of his pipe onto the
ground and put the pipe back into his jacket.

“Don’t ask questions that people don’t want you to know the
answers to,” Daniel told him, crouching down and wiping his blade in the wet
grass one last time. “You know what they say about curiosity? Well, believe
it.”

“I am not a cat.”

“Then you don’t have eight lives to spare,” Daniel said. He
stood and sheathed his blade and began to walk away.

“Hold up,” the lieutenant said, hurrying after him.
“Shouldn’t we…I don’t know, dispose of the body or something?”

Daniel stared at him, rather bemused. “Why?”

“Well, what if they find him? Won’t they wonder who killed
him? Won’t they suspect you?”

“They can suspect half of Portugal,” Daniel said
impatiently. “Particularly the French half. We are at war, after all. An
officer, out alone in the dark of the woods—which is suspicious enough—would be
easy prey for a French patrol. Someone will come along and discover him and
encourage that idea.”

“Of course,” the young man muttered. “Of course, you’d have
arranged that already.”

“Hmm,” Daniel said noncommittally.

“Why haven’t you killed me?” the young man surprised him by
asking. “I’ve put you in a rather awkward position, haven’t I?”

“Not really,” Daniel said, though it was a lie. He’d been
wondering himself why he hadn’t taken care of him. He was no match for Daniel,
though he was at least a hand taller and a stone heavier. “If you were to try
to implicate me, you’d probably meet the same fate as Rivers. Either that, or
be found guilty by association.” Which was also a lie. He turned the tables.
“You don’t seem overly concerned about Rivers’ fate.”

“I didn’t care for the color of his turned coat, either,” he
replied distastefully.

Daniel turned and confronted him. The young man nearly
toppled into him he’d been following Daniel so closely. “Why were you out here
in the woods? How do you really know my name?”

It was dark as pitch out now, but Daniel sensed rather than
saw the lieutenant’s embarrassment. “I was looking for you.”

“This is a very odd night,” Daniel observed, watching as a
cloud that had been blocking the moon moved off and light filled the clearing.
He finally got a good look at the lieutenant. Yes, he’d seen him before. He’d
only been here a few months. He was young. His eyes seemed to match the gray of
the clouds, his cheeks full as he smiled at Daniel’s perusal. For some foolish
reason Daniel wanted his chin to be weak. It wasn’t. And if he remembered
correctly he had dark hair under his shako. He was just the kind Daniel
preferred. Dammit.

“Yes, it is,” the lieutenant agreed, his smile still in
place.

He had to get back to the camp, to report to James. And he
needed…something. He always did, after. “Do you drink, lieutenant?” he asked.

The other man seemed unfazed by their disjointed
conversation. “I’ve been known to, on occasion.”

“And is this an occasion?” Daniel turned away and began
walking back to camp as quickly as possible, confident the young lieutenant
would follow.

“Isn’t everything an occasion of some sort?”

Daniel grinned at the moon. “Yes, of some sort.”

“My name’s Ashbury. Harry Ashbury.” Harry broke the silence
of the woods after they’d walked halfway back to camp. He couldn’t stand too
much silence, not now that he had the object of his fascination alone. He
wanted to know everything about the slight, silent, dangerous Mr. Steinberg. So
far he wasn’t at all what Harry had expected. He’d thought to be dismissed
outright by the older man. And when he’d caught him in the middle of…well,
killing a man, he’d assumed he’d be next on the list. But it was more
excitement than Harry had ever dreamed of in even his wildest youthful
fantasies. It was obvious Mr. Steinberg was an agent for the Crown, as Harry
had suspected. He’d actually followed him hoping to give him some information
about Rivers’ treachery, which Harry had overheard today. Now it was a moot
point, of course.

“Is it?” Steinberg seemed unimpressed.

“I’m with the Fourteenth,” he volunteered.

“So I surmised from your uniform and insignia,” Steinberg
said dryly. “How did you manage to sneak up on me?”

“I wasn’t trying to,” Harry told him honestly. “I was
surprised to catch you unawares.”

Steinberg sighed. “I suppose I have too much on my mind
these days. I must be more careful in future. I’ve no desire to catch the
attention of any more ill-behaved pups.”

“Ill-behaved pup?” Harry said indignantly. “I am no such
thing, sir. I neither swooned nor cast up my accounts at your business this
evening. Neither did I sound the alarm. I have been nothing if not polite, in
my opinion.”

That earned a laugh from Steinberg that was as unexpected as
the rest of him. It was a delightful laugh, light and beguiling. It entranced
Harry as much as it produced a sort of fascinated dread in his stomach, a
feeling he’d had since the first time he’d seen the slight, attractive civilian
silently observing the camp, looking for something, always looking. “Polite?
Yes, I suppose not calling the guards on me was polite, though I would say
immensely foolish as well.”

“Well, I never claimed I wasn’t foolish. Manners do not rule
out foolishness.” He could see he’d surprised Steinberg. Excellent. He wanted
to give as good as he got.

“Touché,” Steinberg replied lightly, with a playful note in
his voice that had been noticeably absent earlier. He’d been practically
running back to camp, but now he slowed, casting an inscrutable look at Harry
from the corner of his eye. “How old are you, Ashbury, Harry Ashbury?”

“Nineteen,” he told him reluctantly.

“So young.” His comment was accompanied by a sigh.

“How old are you?” Harry asked defensively.

“Twenty-six going on eighty,” he replied, bitterness in
every word.

“Well, you are no great sage yourself, then,” Harry told
him, a little surprised. He’d guessed he was older. Not because he looked it,
but because he acted it. There was a world-weariness in his gaze that one
usually didn’t find in a man so young.

“No indeed, wisdom is not my strong suit,” Steinberg agreed.
“And I very much fear I am about to prove it.”

Without warning he veered into Harry and Harry’s back
slammed up against a tree, Steinberg pressed against him from chest to groin.
Harry’s initial shock turned to embarrassment as his body reacted to the other
man’s closeness in a most unseemly way. This was Harry’s secret shame, and he’d
hoped not to have it revealed here. His father had sent him into the army to
rid him of his unnatural desires. The sheer stupidity of that decision amazed
and chagrined Harry each morning as he arose to the sight of his fellow
soldiers going about their morning routines.

“You embarrass so easily,” Steinberg whispered. He moved
even closer and Harry forgot to breathe. “You see, Ashbury, I have just killed
a man. And now I want to fuck one. So, why did you really follow me into the
woods this evening?”

Harry’s words stuck in his throat. Though the desire had
always been there, he’d never acted upon it. His fears had held him back. Why
had he really followed Mr. Steinberg? To give him information, or because he’d
heard the rumors about his appetites? Appetites Harry shared, though had never
indulged.

“I think you followed me because of this,” Steinberg said,
and suddenly Harry felt a hand cup his hard cock firmly. He jerked into the
hold involuntarily, biting his lip to hold back a groan. “Make the decision,
Ashbury. Fuck me, or go away.”

“What about that drink?” Harry asked in desperation. “I
thought we were going to have a drink.”

With a sigh Steinberg stepped back, dropping the hand that
had been cupping him so warmly. “I must have been mistaken about your intent.
My apologies about the drink. Good evening, Ashbury.”

Harry panicked and reached out and grabbed his arm as he
turned to walk away. “No, wait. Yes. You were not mistaken. That…that’s what I
want.”

Daniel turned slowly, fighting his inclination to keep going
and leave the very tempting Harry Ashbury far behind. Here was trouble, and he
knew it. But as was his wont, he faced it and refused to run.

“Do you?” he whispered gravely. “Make sure. There’s no
turning back, you know, once you say yes.”

“Why not?” Ashbury asked curiously, not in the least bit
intimidated.

He still held Daniel’s arm and the warmth of his hand was
like a brand searing him. He knew it was a trick of his mind and the quiet,
secretive woods, but it burned just the same. “Because I won’t let you.”

“I daresay if it came to that you wouldn’t have much to do
with it,” Ashbury said pragmatically. “Either I can or I can’t.”

Daniel sighed in resignation. Clearly he wasn’t going to be
able to frighten the young lieutenant away. He was selfishly glad. “Fine. True.
But I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve to make sure you can and that you do.”

“Now that’s the sort of convincing argument you should have
started with,” Ashbury told him with an uncertain grin. “I don’t really know my
way around this, you see. So let’s have your bag of tricks.”

For some reason their conversation was driving Daniel on,
his desire now a steady beat thrumming through his veins, producing a more than
pleasant throb in his cock. He pushed the younger man back against the tree and
this time he was ready for it, leaning willingly against the trunk, pulling
Daniel with him. “Let’s go back to the beginning,” Daniel said. “We were off to
a good start here.” He pressed against Ashbury, feeling a desire that matched
his in the caress of a thick cock against his stomach.

“I rather thought so too,” Ashbury said, his voice a little
breathless and weak. Daniel rubbed against him, clenching his buttocks as a
thrill shot through him when Ashbury moaned quietly.

“Do you know how men fuck, Ashbury?” he asked, rubbing his
hands against the other man’s chest. He began to undo the buttons on his
jacket.

“Yes,” he answered succinctly. He grabbed Daniel’s arse in
both hands and pulled him tighter against that delicious cock.

“Spread your legs,” Daniel ordered. “I can get closer.”

He did as he was told and Daniel tucked himself right up
into that hot space. He was ready to climb Ashbury and sink down on his cock
already and they’d barely begun. Maybe it was because he knew Ashbury was a
virgin. He’d never had one.

Daniel got Ashbury’s coat unbuttoned and began working on
his waistcoat. “Tell me how.”

“How what?” Ashbury murmured, seemingly fascinated by what
Daniel’s hands were doing. He was kneading Daniel’s backside, creating enough
heat and friction to drive Daniel mad. Daniel didn’t even think he was aware of
what he was doing. He was a natural, thank God.

“How do men fuck?” Daniel asked slowly, bringing him back
into the conversation.

“Well, if you don’t know then we’re in trouble,” Ashbury said
with a shake of his head. “I know the general plan, but have yet to execute
it.”

A surprised laugh escaped Daniel. “That much information I’d
gleaned, Lieutenant,” he said, amused. “But what I’m asking is how do you want
to fuck me?”

“Very much,” Ashbury replied with alacrity. Daniel slid his
hand down into the front of Ashbury’s pants. His knuckles brushed a very hard,
good-sized cock and he bit his lip to keep from begging for it. Ashbury jerked
his hips, and repeated in a shaky voice, “I want to fuck you very much.”

“Good.” Daniel yanked Ashbury’s shirt out of his pants and
up and then he bit him on the chest. The young lieutenant gave a muffled yelp
and then he gripped the back of Daniel’s head, pressing his mouth back against
his skin.

“Again,” he begged.

Instead Daniel licked the spot he’d just bitten and
Ashbury’s breath rattled a little. “I want to push you down to sit against this
tree and then I’m going to mount you and ride you hard,” Daniel whispered, his
lips just touching Ashbury’s hard nipple. “Will that be all right?”

“Yes, that will be just fine,” Ashbury said politely, as if
he were accepting an offer of tea.

“First, I’m going to kneel down and suck your cock,” Daniel
told him. He was whispering still, his face turned up now, as he stood on
tiptoe to reach Ashbury’s ear. “I need you to be nice and wet and hard.”
Ashbury had leaned down slightly to hear him, his hands on Daniel’s elbows, and
at Daniel’s words his grip grew almost painfully tight.

“All right,” he whispered back. “Whatever you need.”

Daniel laughed in delight as he went to his knees and
reached for the falls on Ashbury’s pants. As he began to unbutton them he
glanced up at Ashbury. The lieutenant was disheveled, his clothes askew, his
shako knocked to the ground and his dark hair mussed. He was irresistible. “I’m
so glad you said that.”

When Daniel’s mouth wrapped around his cock, Harry felt so
far out of his depth he was drowning in sensation. Daniel’s words had rendered
him very near speechless. He absolutely couldn’t come up with an intelligent
response. Now he couldn’t even find words at all. The heat, he hadn’t expected
that. He blindly reached behind him with one hand and gripped the tree trunk.
The bark bit into his palm, a rough caress that balanced the smooth, wet warmth
of Daniel’s kiss. Harry looked down and was mesmerized by the sight. Daniel
Steinberg, kneeling at his feet, sucking his cock. His short, curly hair looked
black in the night, but Harry knew it was dark brown. The moon must have
slipped behind the clouds again. Daniel pulled back, sucking on his cock as he
slipped down its length. His nose was long and sharp, aquiline. His brows were
quite dark and arched gracefully over his soft, brown eyes. Doe’s eyes. They
were incongruous with what he was, what Harry had just seen him do.

Daniel did something amazing with his tongue and then took
Harry’s cock deep into his throat, swallowing around it, and Harry thought he
might pass out. He thumped his head against the tree trunk several times and
whimpered. Daniel chuckled around Harry’s cock and then slowly pulled off. “I
think that’s enough of that, Ashbury. You’re a nice enough chap, but the idea
wasn’t to bring you off in a rush before I got some of my own.”

Harry focused on Daniel’s words. He wasn’t in a rush to finish
before he’d had Daniel, either. Daniel had just taken his cock in a firm grip
and he had to concentrate on something besides how amazing it felt. No one had
ever touched him like that. “Harry,” he gasped. “Not lieutenant. Not Ashbury.
Harry.”

Daniel stood up, placing his hands on Harry’s stomach. He
caressed his midsection before gently pushing down on his hips. “I’ll call you
Ramses or Alexander the Great if you’ll just sit down so I can fuck you.”

“Sitting,” Harry said. He lowered himself down, sliding his
back along the tree trunk since his legs were a little shaky. “But Harry will
do just fine.”

“Harry had best do better than fine,” Daniel said with wry
amusement. “I’m hoping for at least marvelous if not spectacular.”

“In my defense, spectacular is a little much to hope for the
first time I’ve ever fucked in my life.”

“Point taken,” Daniel said. He was leaning against the tree
with one arm while he fumbled with his boot. “Marvelous it is, then.” The boot
fell to the ground and in seconds Daniel had half his pants shucked off and was
straddling Harry’s lap, his back to Harry’s front.

“What?” Harry said, confused. “Turn about.”

“Better this way,” Daniel said, and for the first time Harry
heard the desperation in his voice. Daniel practically fell to his knees and
grabbed Harry’s cock, guiding it to his backside and tapping it against the
tight hole there. “You’re going to fuck into me here, Ash—Harry,” he said
quickly. “Do it hard and fast. I like it that way.”

“Fast is pretty much a guarantee,” Harry mumbled.

Daniel let go briefly to spit into his hand and then grabbed
Harry, getting his cock wet again. Before Harry could grasp what was happening,
Daniel sat down on his cock. There was a moment of pain as his aim was slightly
off, but then Harry was encompassed in the tightest, hottest, most amazing
space he’d ever felt.

“Christ,” he cried out, grabbing Daniel’s coat on either
side in his fists.

Daniel wiggled around, pulling Harry in deeper, and Harry
saw stars. Daniel was panting roughly and he arched his back until his head
rested on Harry’s shoulder. “God, yes,” he hissed. “I needed that.”

Daniel didn’t move for endless minutes, just stayed pressed
down on Harry like that, breathing deeply. It was a welcome respite for Harry,
who had very much feared he’d embarrass himself with a hair trigger. It was
only when Daniel finally sat up and leaned over and rested his hands on Harry’s
thighs that Harry noticed he was trembling.

“You really did need it, didn’t you?” he asked quietly,
laying a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “You weren’t just saying that. You meant
it.”

“Yes,” Daniel admitted. He sounded almost angry. “I meant
it.”

“Because of what happened earlier?”

“Yes.”

“Is it always like this?” Harry asked sympathetically.

“Yes, dammit,” Daniel ground out. “Now shut up and fuck me.”

Harry knew without asking it wasn’t sympathy that Daniel
wanted. He wanted to feel alive again. Harry had felt this way after his first
skirmish, but he hadn’t known what he needed then. He’d paced and lain awake
for nights on end, nervous and miserable and frantic all at once. And now he
knew that that was what Daniel felt right now and often, he surmised, based on
what little he knew of Daniel’s comings and goings in camp.

“All right,” he said quietly. “I’ll give you what you need.”

Daniel began to move, slowly at first, and both he and Harry
gasped—small, harsh breaths drawn in and released with a shaky moan on Harry’s
part. Daniel grinned into the night, squeezing tightly on Harry’s cock.

“You’d best not do that too many times unless you’ve changed
your mind about being in a rush,” Harry said from behind him with a faint growl
in his voice that made Daniel shiver. Harry gripped his hips, yanking him down
hard, embedding his cock deeper, and it was Daniel who moaned this time.

“You see?” Harry whispered, his lips against Daniel’s nape.
“I know what you need.”

He began to direct Daniel’s movements. His hands were
holding onto Daniel’s hips so tightly that Daniel knew he’d have bruises in the
morning. The thought sent a rush of desire through him that was so potent he
felt dizzy with it. And Harry wasn’t gentle, not at all. He pushed and pulled
on Daniel, yanking him down roughly onto a cock that was big enough to make him
feel thoroughly used, and then he shoved him away, making Daniel almost cry out
at the loss.

But it wasn’t enough. Daniel was panting and fucking
desperately and yet he knew it wasn’t enough to bring him the ultimate pleasure
he sought.

As if he read Daniel’s mind, Harry wrapped an arm around
Daniel’s waist and then shoved him forward with a hand on the back of his head.
He fell over onto his hands and knees and Harry followed, rising to his knees
behind Daniel while trying to stay inside him. It was awkward and clumsy but
Daniel didn’t care. He contorted himself so as not to lose that connection
between them. He needed Harry’s cock to stay right where it was more than he
needed to breathe.

When he was steady behind him, Harry unwrapped his arm from
Daniel’s waist and planted his fist on the ground directly to his left, just
within his peripheral vision. Daniel’s stomach dropped in anticipation. He
could sense Harry settling in and bracing himself. “Are you ready?” Harry
asked, his voice rough and reflecting the same desperate desire that had Daniel
trembling beneath him. “I’m going to give you what you need. Tell me if I’m too
rough.”

“There is no such thing,” Daniel said a little recklessly.
“Not for me.” He went down on his elbows, subjugating himself to Harry’s
unexpected dominance, thrilled at the chance to do so. Even with James it
wasn’t like this. It was as if Daniel had given up all control to his new young
lover, and in return he was getting the fucking of a lifetime.

Harry’s other fist landed heavily on the ground and without
another word he began to fuck hard into Daniel, ramming him forward, forcing
his elbows into the hard ground as his hands fought for a hold on the slick
layer of leaves under his palms.

It was exhilarating. Daniel cried out as Harry’s chest
pressed against his back, forcing him to bow down even lower, until his cheek
rested on the ground. Harry was hitting the sweetest spot inside, and Daniel
was shaking with his imminent release. He closed his eyes and stars danced
before him as he felt a wave of pleasure course through him unlike any he’d felt
before. He bit his lip and tasted the coppery tang of blood as his release
crashed into him. He had no control over it, could only lie there and take
Harry’s cock and his seed as his own orgasm went on and on.

When it was over he was too weak to move. He didn’t protest
when Harry fell down beside him and then pulled him into his arms. He simply
lay in the leaves and the dirt and let this stranger hold him in a way he’d
never let anyone else do in his life. Harry was pressed against his back, his
arm around Daniel’s waist, his lips on Daniel’s neck as he murmured soft,
unintelligible words that made no sense and yet soothed Daniel all the same.