QUOTE : Our women—our wives—are the heart of Calberna. Without them, Calbernan males could not function. We would die. Just as you would die without the heart that beats in your chest.”<br /><br />He reached out slowly, laid three fingers lightly on the thin fabric that covered her left breast. Her breath caught in her throat. She stared at him in shocked silence. She made no attempt to move or to remove his hand. There was nothing sexual or teasing about his touch this time. It stunned her all the same.<br /><br />“But for all its strength, the heart is a vulnerable thing,” he continued. “It needs must be surrounded by a cage of bone to protect it. At all cost, at all times, the heart must be protected.” His hand turned over. Now it was the back of his fingers that caressed her skin just above the neckline of her gown, the touch featherlight, impossibly gentle. “Calberna’s sons are those bones. We are the spear, the sword, the unbreakable shield that protects Calberna’s vulnerable heart. It’s why we are born. It’s what we live for.