“Riley, what if you had broken your neck?”
Then he smelled blood and almost wolfed out from the stress. He
started looking at her head and face, working his way down her
arms. He found the smear of scarlet on her hand where she broke her
fall; her palm was scraped open. He couldn’t believe he allowed her
to be hurt on their first date; he was a horrible mate. He let
Sarah die and now he let his Kismet cut her hand, not to mention
the bruised hip. He wanted to growl he was so distraught. She
wasn’t a wolf; she couldn’t heal as fast as his kind. He had to be
more careful. His wolf was pacing in his head; howling his
frustration.
Riley had no idea what he was so upset about,
but he was clearly on the edge of losing it. She took her good hand
and laid it against his cheek. “Hey, I’m fine. It’s not the first
time I’ve fallen. I’m sometimes a bit of a klutz, but I'm not
injured. This is nothing,” she said as she held up her scraped
hand. As she met his eyes, she saw his fear and self-recrimination.
She could feel his pain and she had no idea where it came from. She
did her best to calm him through her own even breathing and
smile.
“I’m supposed to protect you, and I failed,”
he groaned
“Hey, hey, I’m a big girl and can take care
of myself. You’re blowing this out of proportion. I’ve never been
on a date, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen a guy go ballistic
over a little fall and a scrape. You wanna tell me what this is
about?” He was still holding her in his lap, and frankly, it felt
fantastic. She was thinking, (with a devilish grin) she may need to
fall more often. Then Garrett looked in her eyes and she saw the
fear there, no, she could never make him feel this way on
purpose.
“I was married once before," he
whispered.
She gasped, that was not what she expected or
wanted to hear. For some reason she had an urge to claim him as
hers, but the sadness in his eyes outweighed any feelings she was
having. He was clearly sharing something important. “You’re
divorced?”
“No, not divorced, widowed. I should have
been able to help her, to get her well and I didn’t. I failed her,
and now I let you fall. I know you don’t understand, but you are
important to me. I need to keep you safe.” He was trying to think
rationally, but the scent of her blood was in the air and his wolf
was going crazy. He was having a hard time not saying too much.
“I’m so sorry you went through the loss. I
really am, but what happened with your wife” the word in
conjunction with him made her feel sick, “has nothing to do with
what happened here to me. Do you feel like talking about it? What
did she die of?” Riley knew what it was like to feel helpless as a
disease spread its way through a body. Every doctor did. She
wrapped both arms around Garrett and held him, trying to provide
comfort. Her cheek was up against his, and she could hear him
breathing. His body was trembling, as if he had too much emotion
pent up inside. Then she realized how stupid it was of her to ask
such a personal question. She barely knew him. She was sure he
wouldn’t want to spill his guts to her. “I’m sorry; you don’t need
to talk about it. I’m not sure why I even asked. You don’t owe me
any explanation. I’m just very sorry; you clearly loved her very
much.”
Garrett wanted to shake her. He wasn’t
telling her to relive the past about Sarah; he was spouting the
story - without a filter - because he was a failure as a protector
and was feeling guilty. He needed her to know how seriously he took
his role to keep her safe. How he’d die from a broken heart if
anything happened to her. Yes, he was sad about Sarah, and always
would be, but if Riley was ever seriously hurt… From her point of
view, she wouldn’t understand why he felt the way he did. She
didn’t know anything about a Kismet connection. “Yes, I did love
her, and when she died from a disease no one could diagnose or
cure, it was devastating. Right now, I’m more worried about taking
care of you. I know you don’t understand because we only just met,
but, if something were to happen to you, I feel it would be more
devastating.” He leaned his head back and looked in her eyes;
willing their connection to explain it for him.
She felt an intense magnetic pull from
Garrett when he looked her in the eyes. He clearly wanted to
protect her, so she decided to allow him. She tentatively smiled at
him and said, “Well, maybe we should turn our skates in and get
some hot chocolate, while we watch the other skaters. If we
continue to skate, the odds are high that I'll fall again.”
Tension drained from his shoulders and he
flashed a huge smile and said, “Thank you for understanding and
putting up with me tonight. Here, let me set you down and I’ll go
get our boots.” He was feeling more relieved since she seemed to be
accepting with his overprotective nature. Sitting down hand in
hand, with a hot drink sounded like the best plan of the night. On
his way back to the bench with the boots, he caught her gazing at
the sky for the second time. "What are you so enamored with?"
"I love the way the clouds look as they part,
they have a blue glow against the inky black of the sky. I find it
mesmerizing." she smiled.
"I agree. One of my favorite things to do is
lie on my back and look up at the night sky. We'll need to do that
when it gets a bit warmer." He started unlacing her skates and
helping her change into her boots. It felt so natural to be helping
her like this. They were a perfect match.
She couldn't figure out why he was so
attentive. Men didn't act this way in today's world, and he
mentioned doing something when it warmed up - that'd be months from
now. Did he really plan to see her months from now? As he finished
with her boots, she whispered thanks. He then changed out of his
own skates.
He stood up and held his hand out for her.
After returning the skates, he guided her to the truck. She was
disappointed they were leaving. She hoped he'd take her up on the
offer of hot chocolate, but when they reached the truck, he opened
the door to the back seat and brought out a first aid kit.
"Give me your hand. I want to make sure it's
cleaned up and doesn't get an infection."
"I'm sure I'll be fine. I am a doctor after
all," she said with a smirk.
"Well, this was done on my watch and I'll
make sure it's taken care of. Besides, I promised Wolf I'd protect
you. What will he think when you come home with open cuts on your
palm?"
She burst out laughing. "You did not."
"I did." He looked at her with a cocked
eyebrow. "I figured it'd be the only way he'd allow me to be around
you." He grabbed her hand and warned her it might sting as he
applied the antiseptic. He then wrapped a bandage around her hand
and laid a kiss on her palm.
When he kissed her palm and looked up at her
eyes, she felt her vision winking in and out. She must have been
holding her breath. She'd never felt such a strong reaction to
anything before. Doing her best to avoid wrapping her arms around
his neck and tasting his lips, she shook her head to clear it and
said, "Thank you, you did a good job. Maybe I should hire you
instead of Ryan," she laughed shakily.
Where is my libido coming
from
?
I've never felt this way about anyone before; I want
to devour him.
"I wish you could," he said chagrined. "I
couldn't imagine anything better than being near you all day, and
I'm a bit jealous Ryan will be. Now, let's get that hot chocolate."
He led her to the coffee shack with her hand in the crook of his
arm. She ordered a hot chocolate and he ordered a decaf coffee.
She was stunned by what he had said.
We've
been on one date (and it's not even over yet) and he can't imagine
anything better than being near me all day?
She could sense he
was being genuine, which made it even more bizarre. And he was
jealous? Without any kind of history with men, she had no idea if
this was the way they always acted or not. She hadn't heard Sam say
anything like this when she retold the countless stories of her
dating. Usually the men sounded like jerks, and the dates didn't go
very well.
They sat down on a park bench, snuggled
together with Garrett's arm over her shoulders. It would have been
chilly sitting on a frozen bench, but his body seemed to emit some
extra heat and his arm around her kept her cozy. She couldn't help
but lean into him. "You know, I don't even know what you do for a
living. Since I'm pretty sure you're not a vet," she dimpled.
He barked a laugh, "Hardly. I'm a foreman of
a construction company. We're building the new Safeway in
Vancouver, over on 8th St."
"Oh, I know what you're talking about. You
just broke ground, right?"
"Yep, last Monday. I'm there every day in the
little trailer labeled Breck's Construction if you want to stop by.
Call or text first so I can meet you with safety gear. Well,
actually, I'll be out of town tomorrow, but otherwise I'm
there."
"Where are you going tomorrow?"
"Maine. I have an important meeting to
attend." He squeezed her shoulder.
"Work related?"
"No... It's related to my future. Hopefully
I'll be able to tell you all about it when I get back," he winked,
hoping she caught the subtle hint, which implied he couldn't talk
about it now. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he couldn't
say anything yet.
They continued to chat and she was able to
glean some information from him while they cuddled on the park
bench, but she could tell he held some things back. Without knowing
why it made her feel uneasy. "Can I ask you an inappropriate
question?" She saw his eyes widen.
He tentatively answered, "OK, I'll answer as
best as I can."
"Well, you seemed to think I went on dates
every week, how about you? You're extremely handsome." Blushing she
continued, "It seems to me you'd have a line at your door, and if
you thought it of me, then maybe it's true for you?" She waited
nervously. He seemed to think she was special, but maybe he said
these things to someone different every week. She was so confused
between the talk of their future dates and his reticence on telling
her everything. She wanted to figure out what she really meant to
him. She could feel her heart falling hard and fast and didn't want
to make a naive mistake by giving it to a man who didn't mean what
he said.
"Actually, this is the first date I've been
on in a very long time; it's been years, in fact."
She could read his hesitance and didn't know
if this was a bad subject, especially after their conversation
about his late wife.
"Wait, actually that's not true. I did go on
a double date last week, which Jessica planned, but it wasn't my
idea, and I agreed without actually listening to the question. I'm
not sure that counts. And it was absolutely horrible." He
shivered.
"Really, that's hard to believe. You seem so
easy to be around; I can't imagine you having a bad time anywhere."
Where is my filter?
He smiled down at her and said, "That's
because you're my Kismet." He kissed her forehead as he squeezed
her shoulders with his arm. He was in heaven. He could scent her
happiness and contentment, along with a little bit of lust. He was
trying his best to control himself and be a gentleman, but it was
difficult. He knew what they meant to each other, waiting for her
to figure it out was killing him.
He wanted to share more with her so she'd
understand him better. "I hadn't dated in a few years, because
Sarah passed away three years ago last week. Honestly, I've been
pretty closed off since then. I'm sure you'll hear about it when
you meet Jessica and my friends, so you should probably know
they'll make a big deal about us."
Us. He just said "us" as if we're an
item.
"What do you mean, make a big deal about "us"?" she asked
brazenly. She couldn't believe she uttered those words, but she
felt they were finally getting to brass tacks, and she was sick of
trying to guess his intentions.
"Can I ask you a question, Riley?" he asked
seriously. "You need to agree to be honest, no matter what you
might be thinking." He turned his body to the side and looked at
her expectantly.
She missed the warmth of his body as he
turned. "I don't know if I can agree to the arrangement, especially
not knowing what the question is. How about this, if I answer,
it'll be honest. Would that be alright?"
"That's fair enough." He looked deeply into
her green eyes. His heart was pounding and his hands were shaking.
Their faces were only inches apart and the white cloud of their
breath mingled together. He hoped all night for this moment, but he
was afraid he'd share too much. He had to make sure she felt the
connection, his heart and wolf was demanding it. "Do you feel that
we have something special? Something that perhaps few people have
ever experienced?" He waited anxiously. His wolf was pacing with
the stress.
She sucked in a breath, unsure if she wanted
to answer that particular question. If she answered honestly, it
would most assuredly make her vulnerable. She looked down at her
hands and took a deep breath. As she met his eyes, the connection
was undeniable and she couldn't imagine him taking advantage of
her. "You know how to put someone on the spot," she laughed
shakily. "I don't have any experience to compare this to, but yes,
I feel there is something special between us. Sam's never mentioned
connecting with someone the way we do and she's had her fair share
of dates. To be completely honest, I don't understand this feeling
and I'm confused half the time." She let out a slow breath, feeling
a blush burn up her neck and face.
He lifted his hand, put it on the side of her
face, and said, "That's because we do have something special. I
know you feel as if we barely know each other, but I feel like
you're the other half of my soul. We fit together perfectly. It may
be scary, but I'm ecstatic I found you." He couldn't help himself
any longer. He knew if he could kiss her, their emotional bond
would be in place, and she would be able to feel how he felt about
her; she wouldn't be able to deny their Kismet. He needed her to
know. It wasn't "love" in the sense that humans thought, it was
much deeper than that, their lives interwoven in a way that could
never be broken apart.