Narcissus

Challenged by Love 2: Narcissus

,word count: 17,502

Julian Mure has spent his adult life seeking nothing more than passing moments of pleasure, loving only himself. He prefers his own company to that of sycophants and casual liars, so the disdainful nickname of Narcissus holds no sting. Only one person has ever pierced Julian's heart—pierced it and broken it at the same time. Falling in love is nothing he wishes to repeat. He finds the situation perfectly satisfying until the day his favorite hunter fails to clear a hedge-lined ditch, pitching them both headlong and costing Julian his right eye and arm.

Widower Alasdair Hedgeford has never been oblivious to Julian's desire. At fifteen, the lad had shown every promise of beauty and all the dangers of neglect that mark Julian's life at twenty-five. When Alasdair married Julian's sister, he did his best to give the lad the simple affection of an older brother. Over the years, that love has changed into a desire for more. 

Yielding to that desire means breaking two taboos. When chance offers the opportunity to visit for First Foot, Alasdair extends a challenge to Julian—"Come dine with me tomorrow night, to celebrate the New Year."