“Come on!”
She groaned as she yanked on him, trying to get him up and into the bed of the cart. Giving up on the idea of lifting him, Terra draped the blanket over the man’s body and laid the wheelbarrow on its side.
“Get in there.”
Grunting, she shoved him backwards into the cart. Pushing on the top side, she managed to get the wheelbarrow upright, but it scooped both of them up together.
“Damn it!” she cursed as she flailed around, trying to get free. This was just what she needed—to be stuck in a wheelbarrow with a naked man.
Finally, she managed to get untangled from the guy and out of the cart without tipping it over again. “God, you’re heavy,” Terra complained as she sat on the ground, resting.
After a few minutes, she stood up and flipped the blanket back over the unconscious man. It was a shame not to appreciate something so fine, but she needed to concentrate if she had any hope of getting him back to the house. Glancing around the crater, she found something that didn’t belong. A leather bag. Grabbing it up, she tossed it in the wheelbarrow with her load and worked on getting the whole mess back to the house.
Stopping at the bottom of the steps, Terra looked up at the porch. Problem number two. How in the hell was she supposed to get this dumb lug onto the porch? She couldn’t pull the cart close and drag him out—the railing was in the way. And she couldn’t push or pull the wheelbarrow up the steps—they were much too steep.
Pondering this for a moment, she pushed the cart next to the bottom step. Sure enough, if she worked the wheelbarrow up onto the bottom step, the front edge of the bed would almost touch the porch. If she could get it up there, she should be able to just slide him out.
Shoving with everything she had, Terra managed to get the lip of the bed up onto the edge of the porch, she pushed the handles up, expecting him to slide out. A resounding thud sounded from the other side of the bed, and she dropped the empty cart to find her mystery man hadn’t slid out at all; he’d fallen out. Right on his face.
“Oh shit!” She pushed the wheelbarrow out of the way and went to see if he was hurt. “I’m so glad you’re unconscious right now, buddy.”
Pulling him over, Terra grimaced at the huge, red spot forming on his forehead. Ouch! He was definitely going to feel that one later. She touched it gently, feeling the nice goose egg that had already formed.
“Sorry,” she whispered as she pulled him straight again.
Taking the blanket, she shook the dirt from it and laid the clean bedding down next to him. Grabbing a broom, she dusted the soil off the man. Once he was clean, she rolled him onto the blanket, flipped the end over him again, and tossed his bag on top of the pile. Glancing over her handiwork, she smiled. Good. It wouldn’t have been very pleasant if she had left him tucked in the blanket with all that dirt.
Terra grabbed the end of the blanket and dragged him inside. His head only bounced a little as she manhandled him over the threshold.
“Come on.” She gritted her teeth as she pulled his heavy bulk inside.
Stopping for a breather, Terra stretched the muscles in her back. She was going to need a long soak in a hot bath after this workout. Getting back to dragging him inside, she ignored the strained muscles in her back and concentrated on all the calories she was burning instead.
A fire crackled in the fireplace as Terra shoved the rug out of the way and dropped her burden in front of the hearth. A freak storm had passed through the area yesterday and dropped several trees, downing power and phone lines. The utility companies were hard at work fixing the issues, but the power was still out. Thankfully, she had a working fireplace to cut the chill in the air. Terra dropped a new log on the fire before turning to her unconscious guest.
Picking up the leather bag, she tossed it onto the couch, out of the way. She’d get to that later. Right now, she had something more interesting to investigate. Flipping the blanket back, Terra checked the dragon man for injuries.
“Man, you’re fine,” she said as studied him.
In addition to having well-toned muscles, his skin was a beautiful bronze that came from either sunbathing or working outdoors naked. How the hell didn’t he have tan lines?
Lifting his arm, she checked to make sure each joint bent how it was supposed to, and that the bones didn’t bend at all. She also looked for suspicious bruising. There wasn’t any. There was, however, a very interesting tattoo of a figure eight on the back of his shoulder. Terra traced it and tried to figure out why someone would draw a line down the middle of an eight. Weird. Giving up, she laid him back down and pulled the blanket back around him.
Running her fingers through his messy, blond hair, she pushed it back, looking for other wounds. The only thing she found was the lump where his forehead had met with her porch. Pretty sure he would survive, Terra sat back and studied her guest.
“Now what?” she asked out loud, but he didn’t answer.
Of course he wouldn’t answer—the man was dead to the world. Letting out a long sigh, she stood up. She probably should get something for the lump on his head before he woke up.
“Hang on, I’ll be right back,” she said and went into the kitchen to see what she could round up.
Terra thought about calling the police, but the authorities were busy with cleanup from the storm that had passed through the area. The last thing they needed was to have to make a trip way out here. She decided against calling for help. Since the man wasn’t broken or bleeding, he probably didn’t need an emergency crew, and that’s what the police would send. Maybe he wouldn’t be out very long. And if he were, she could always call for help later.
Grabbing a mostly frozen bag of peas and cubed carrots from the freezer, Terra smacked it on the counter to break it up. With the power out, she didn’t want to use what little ice she had. It was probably the only thing keeping her fridge cold. Plus, she could use the veggies in dinner later. Grabbing a dishtowel, she wrapped the bag up and went back to the living room.
The man hadn’t moved, so she rested the cold pack on the lump. Spying one of the throw pillows on the couch, Terra snagged it and slipped it under the man’s head. He didn’t need a crick in his neck to go with the headache she was sure he was going to have.
Terra sat on the couch and watched him sleep for a while. He looked so peaceful. She had never had a gorgeous guy stretched out in front of her fire, all naked and vulnerable. Oh, the possibilities. She shook her head to drive that thought out. Her mind had taken a turn for the creepy, and that just wasn’t her.
Instead, she turned her attention to the bag next to her. Maybe there was something in it that would tell her who he was. The outside of the bag was pretty plain except for a symbol worked into the flap. Terra ran her finger over the sideways eight with a line running across it. It was the same as on the man’s shoulder.
Laughing, she shook her head at her own stupidity. It wasn’t an eight. It was an infinity symbol! But why would someone draw a line through it? It kind of looked familiar, but she couldn’t place where she’d seen it before. Shrugging, she flipped the flap open and looked inside. The contents were disappointing.
The bag was nearly empty. It held a single file with a stack of papers in it and a silver necklace. Reaching in, Terra pulled out the necklace. It wasn’t exceptionally pretty, but it did have some neat scrollwork to the round charm. It tingled against her fingers, like it had a low current running through it. Terra didn’t know much about magic, but this piece was definitely magical. Dropping it back in the bag, she pulled out the file. Things suddenly became a whole lot more interesting. There was a big stamp across the front that read Classified.