“A bath would be lovely.”

“A bath would be lovely,” says Adella, telling herself that she would only run the risk of offending her hosts and possibly harming the diplomatic efforts. Besides, these men are merely servants, and she would think nothing of having her own servants draw a bath for her. She should just treat them as if she were back home, interacting with her own people.

Cedric bows in response and goes into the adjacent room. Soon, Adella hears the sound of water running. She is about to begin undressing, when she remembers that Franco is still standing there.

“I am about to take my bath,” she says to the young man, expecting him to give her privacy.

“I beg your pardon, Your Highness,” says Franco with a bow. “I did not want to presume that you require my help.” With that, he steps forward and proceeds to unfasten Adella’s clothing.

The princess is too stunned to speak and is about to slap away the young man’s hands, when she again remembers the importance of adapting to local customs and not doing anything that might give offense.

“He is merely a servant,” she tells herself. “That’s how they view males here. There’s nothing improper about this — it is no different than undressing in front of my physician!”

Despite her words to herself, Adella cannot help but feel her face grow warm as Marco helps her out of the rest of her clothing, and she stands naked in front of him. Aside from her physician and her father when she was quite young, she has never had her body seen in this way by a male.

“Your bath is ready, Your Highness,” says Cedric. Adella, grateful for the opportunity to leave Marco’s presence, hurries to the bathroom, eager to retreat beneath the soapy bubbles of the tub.

It is then that she sees Cedric. Gone is his tunic, and taking its place is a white towel, wrapped around his waist. Even in her haste to get to the tub, Adella cannot help but notice and appreciate Cedric’s muscular chest and arms and his finely-toned abdomen.

He takes her by the hand and helps her step into the large tub. It is really more like a small pool, and Adella wishes she had one this large back home. She sinks gratefully into the water, feeling a bit more in control as her nakedness disappears under the soap bubbles.

“Thank you, Cedric. This is lovely.”

“I am glad Your Highness is pleased,” says the young man, who, to Adella’s total astonishment, removes his towel and sets it aside.

No amount of royal training prepares her for this moment, so she could probably be excused for her open-mouthed expression as she looked at Cedric’s naked form. She knew, of course, from her education what the male body looked like, and she had joked with her girlfriends about the specifics of the male features they would most like to have in a future husband, but until now, Adella’s exposure to male nudity had been limited to pictures in a medical book or the slightly-racy statues in the palace courtyard. To see Cedric in all his glory was a sight that seared into Adella’s brain.

As Cedric stepped into the tub, he asked, “Is the water too hot for you, Your Highness? You look quite flushed.”

“Not at all, Cedric,” she replied, hoping she sounded calm and regal. “It feels quite — stimulating.”

She groaned inwardly. “Stimulating” was hardly the word to describe a bath, but it did quite describe how she was feeling in her core.

Cedric retrieved a large sponge and slid next to her. Adella tensed visibly as she felt his leg and his side against hers as he reached over and began to wash her back and shoulders with the sponge.

“Are you quite well, Your Highness?” he asked. “You appear quite tense! Perhaps from your journey? Please.... allow me....”

Without waiting for a response, Cedric guided Adella slightly forward and then slipped behind her, placing one leg on either side of her and reclining her so her back rested against his bare chest.

Adella felt his strong hands on her shoulder, expertly massaging them. Under other circumstances, she would have commented that it was one of the most skillful massages she had ever experienced, but she was aware of something else that overshadowed any thought of the massage. Against her lower back, she felt the unmistakable sensation of Cedric’s manhood touching her, and growing harder with each passing second!

“Just relax, Your Highness,” says Cedric, softly. “I am quite skilled in easing the tension you are feeling.”

Adella attempts to relax and then feels one of Cedric’s hands move from her shoulder to her chest, rubbing directly between her breasts.

“I wonder what Mother is doing right now,” Adella thinks. “She probably found some way to thank her young men and then excuse them so she could sleep. That’s what I should do....”

Cedric stops rubbing her shoulder and chest, and Adella feels both of his hands on her thighs, running firmly and gracefully up and down, working out the tension.

Adella is torn between wanting him to do more and being terrified that he actually might.