Fallen

By Ruby Moone

Major Oliver Thornley never expected to see the man who saved his life at the battle of Waterloo again. He certainly never expected to fall over him in the street. When Thornley stumbles over a pile of rags, he is horrified to discover it is the man who dragged him from the battlefield to safety.

Taking the man back to his Mayfair home, Thornley nurses Daniel back to health as he battles with his own forbidden desires. Then he learns Daniel shares his feelings, as well. Though it feels so right when they are in each other’s arms, Thornley knows their mutual secret could see them hang.

Is there a way for them to be together despite the class difference that separates them? Can he admit he’s fallen in love before Daniel leaves for good?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Jun 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9781634861540

Ruby Moone

Ruby lives in the north west of England. In school she was told she would never get anywhere if she didn’t stop daydreaming. Eventually she started to write down the daydreams, and voilà! The beautiful men in her head came to life. Ruby writes Regency and contemporary gay romance. For more information, visit rubymoone.com.

Book preview

Fallen

By Ruby Moone

Published by JMS Books LLC at Smashwords

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2016 Ruby Moone

ISBN 9781634861540

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Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

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Fallen

By Ruby Moone

Chapter 1

Major Oliver Thornley pulled up the collar of his greatcoat against the foul London rain and almost fell over a bundle of rags on the ground when it moved unexpectedly. He danced around it, splashing himself in a freezing puddle as he did so and narrowly missing a passing hackney carriage. He stumbled and grabbed the bundle to steady himself and in doing so revealed a man hidden beneath. He righted himself, and dusted his coat. My apologies, he said. A filthy face peered out at him. Blood and mud daubed over part of one cheek. The man was struggling to open his eyes. Oliver went to tip his hat and foraged in his pocket for a coin when he noticed the man wore filthy regimentals. Old soldiers littered the streets as they were returned from the battlefields in Europe, and more recently from the victory at Waterloo, and as winter approached, it didn’t feel like much of a victory when the men who gave their all were reduced to penury and starvation on their return.

Here you go, Oliver said, gathering what coins he had, and then he stopped. The man was staring at him. Intense, shocked blue eyes locked with his and Oliver could no longer breathe. His heart pounded in his chest.

Simpson?

The man struggled to sit up and executed a shaky salute. Sir, he croaked.

Oliver dropped the coins back in his pocket and grabbed the man by both arms and held him fast. Simpson, dear God, is that you?

Yes, sir.

Oh, my dear boy… he began and had to stop as the pressure behind his eyes threatened to undo him. Corporal Daniel Simpson had served with him in Belgium, fought by his side at the battle of Waterloo, and had searched the battlefield at the end to find his half-dead carcass and drag him to safety. Without Daniel Simpson’s bravery and loyalty Oliver would have died on the field. Oliver had lost track of the man when they returned and had often wondered what had become of him. He had tried to find him, but to no avail. He wanted to thank him, but most of all wanted his company again. Never in all his life had he imagined that the fierce, quietly proud young man would be reduced to this. He