Even before she stood up enough for him to see her luscious curves outlined by tight jeans and a low-cut top, he wanted her. More than wanted her. He wanted to take her home, to hoard her like the treasure she was and keep her safe. She wasn’t just a beautiful woman.
She was his mate.
When she introduced herself to Mouse with that sweet, wry smile, Gus couldn’t help introducing himself to her. When she met his eyes, he saw that hers were green with a ring of gold at the center. He felt his dragon stir further. Fire rose in him along with the desire to possess; he saw answering desire in her eyes, quickly followed by shyness and uncertainty.
She was human, of course. She might have heard of soulmates as a romantic fantasy. She probably thought they were no more likely to appear in her own life than, say, dragons.
Gus couldn’t rush her. If she was just passing through, he’d find a way to meet her again. Some way that wasn’t creepy. He’d think of something, as long as he didn’t scare her off in the first minute.
“Are you all right?” Gus asked.
He walked toward her slowly, his hands held out a little to either side to show her he meant no harm.
“You’re on my property, so if you’re hurt you can probably sue me.”
“Yeah?” Cara said, brushing herself off with quick self-conscious motions as she looked down.
“I don’t think I can charge you much for my shirt,” Cara protested with a crooked smile. “Or my dignity.”
“On the contrary,” Gus insisted.
She looked up sharply at that. He was within arm’s reach now, and when she met his eyes, their gazes locked again. He tried to hold down his dragon, lest she get a glimpse of the fire inside him, but he couldn’t look away from the ring of gold at the center of her green eyes. He made himself smile, dragging out words to finish the thought he’d started before she looked up at him with those unfairly distracting eyes.
“Your dignity is priceless. You could charge me anything for it.”
Silently he promised, Everything I have I will lay at your feet.
Cara’s lips parted, almost as if she’d heard that, or sensed it. Gus took another step in, raising his hands. He had to touch her.
“Are you sure you’re not hurt? You didn’t bump your head or anything?”
Cara shook her head slightly, but when Gus looked down he saw red. Literal red, blood dripping from the point of her elbow.
“Cara,” he said, keeping his voice calm.
He reached for her arm with careful hands. He was already calculating how quickly he could shift to carry her down to the walk-in clinic in town if she needed stitches.
“Sweetheart, you’re bleeding.”
***
Cara was so distracted by this handsome stranger calling her sweetheart that she almost didn’t process what he’d said.
Then she twisted her arm, trying again to see her scraped elbow. It stung a little—and now she could see a line of red where blood was dripping down from the back of her arm.
“Oh,” she said, her voice going a little faint. “Hey.”
The red of blood seemed very bright, suddenly, and there was a funny hollow ringing in her ears.
Oh, she thought. No, this is the adrenaline.
Gus put a hand on her unhurt arm, and even through the sudden haze it felt warm and steady. From far off she heard him telling her to sit down. She let him help her down to the grass, and raised her left arm over her head when he gently guided it up.
Gus took out an actual handkerchief, brilliantly white and with a flash of bright embroidery in one corner. She only caught a glimpse of it before he pressed it against the back of her arm.
The ringing in her ears subsided after a few breaths. She was left with the awareness of Gus kneeling close to her, holding the handkerchief to the soft underside of her arm. Gus’s eyes were a pale silvery gray, and he was watching her with obvious concern.
“Sorry,” she said. “I don’t usually swoon. I’m okay, really.”
“You took a pretty hard fall,” Gus said gently. “Of course it shook you up. I’m just glad I was here to help.”
Cara frowned. “How did you…”
“I live near here.” Gus looked up toward the overlook and then away across the ledge. It wasn’t exactly an answer, but when he met her eyes again Cara felt that pull again, that spark of connection.
When she was looking into his eyes, it made perfect sense that Gus had been there just because she needed him.
“I hate to just put you back in your car like this.” Gus looked almost apologetic as he spoke. “If you don’t mind—you could come home with me. I could clean this for you properly and bandage it, and make sure you’re all right.”
Cara started to nod and then hesitated. She wanted to go with Gus—wanted to go anywhere with him, and more to the point wanted her arm patched up better than she could do by herself with the handful of Band-Aids in her little first aid kit. Especially since after a week in the car she wasn’t sure where the first aid kit was.
But Gus was still a stranger she’d met in the woods, and Cara knew better than to go home with some guy she’d just met. Didn’t she?
“If you’d rather not, I can get you back to your car—we’d have to walk almost as far to get a decent trail back to the road, though, unless you’re good at rock climbing.”
Cara looked up at him, but the expression on his face was patient and kind. He wasn’t pushing. When she looked at him, she didn’t feel like she had anything to fear at all. She was only worried when she listened to a lifetime’s worth of advice and rules and safety precautions.
Cara looked over at Mouse. “What do you think? Can I trust him?”
Mouse barked and wagged his tail and came over to them immediately. He pressed up against Gus, who managed not to be knocked over by his enthusiasm. Gus just bumped him with a shoulder when he tried to sniff at the handkerchief Gus was still pressing against her arm.
“Hmm, that seems like a yes,” Cara observed.
“I can offer better references than my brother’s dog, I swear,” Gus said, smiling. “Everyone knows me in town. I could give you phone numbers.”
Cara winced. “If only I hadn’t thrown my phone off a cliff when I fell.”
Gus made a sympathetic face and looked around like he might be able to spot it. “And I don’t have mine with me, or I’d offer it. So I guess I have only Mouse as a character witness.”
“He seems trustworthy,” Cara said. Dogs were supposed to be good judges of character, right? And Gus really did seem like a good guy.
“Okay, yes. Please. Thank you.”
“No need to thank me,” Gus said, giving her a dazzling smile that made her feel hot all over again. “It’s the least I can do.”
Gus peeled the handkerchief away from her arm, far enough for Cara to see a bright stain of blood on it.
“It looks like it’s slowed down, at least,” Gus said. “But we should probably keep it in place.”
“I left my medical tape in the car,” Cara said.
Gus flashed a smile. He was already reaching into the collar of his shirt with his left hand, pulling out a thin gold chain that hung around his neck. She saw at least two others that he left tucked under his shirt. They weren’t ostentatiously displayed, just held close, like they were precious to him.
“This one’s adjustable,” he said, unclasping it gracefully, one-handed. “I can probably get it tight enough to hold this in place for a minute.”
That didn’t seem like it should work, but Cara was willing to let him try. She held the handkerchief in place with her opposite hand while Gus wound the chain around her arm and the makeshift bandage. When he clasped it again it actually did stay in place, wound firmly around her arm but not painfully tight.
“Oh,” Cara said, taking her hand away and flexing her arm experimentally. Everything stayed in place.
“It’s perfect, Gus. Thanks.”