say. “Well this has been one crazy first date huh?” First her face turned shocked then melted into a blush and a shy smile. She bit her lip and looked down at her hands and wrung them a few times together before saying “Yes it is.” After a few more moments she explained “Connor you cannot tell anyone…” He jumped in before she could continue her speech. “Listen Sarah, I will keep your secrets to myself, as long as you do the same for me. Your secrets are your own anyway. I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I went around and told everyone another’s secret. Ok, so don’t worry?” “If someone asks about last night?” She prompted, lifting her head to look at him with concern pleading within her green eyes. There wasn’t a single part of Connor that could deny Sarah of anything she wanted. “I’ll simply say ‘I got worried that my new neighbor was lost in the woods and I tracked her down and made sure she was safe. We decided to wait until morning and I brought her back without difficulty’.” She nodded deciding that was a good and easy story to stick with. “And the Cougar?” Her eyes looked over at the motionless cat. “What Cougar?” Connor grinned meaningfully. “Are you calling yourself that now? You’re definitely the older woman.” Sarah burst into a calm laughter as she tried to stand up. Instead she slipped on the wet grass and fell directly on top of Connor. As she laid on top of Connor they both stared at each other in shocked surprise. He noticed how very light she was. They were thigh to thigh, belly to belly and breast to chest. Most importantly their faces were even closer than when she woke up this morning. She had a very pleasant smell on her; strawberries and apples. It was a faint smell, but it seductive nonetheless. As their faces were so close, they shared each other’s breath and it sent Connor’s senses reeling. She was the perfect size for him. A compliment to his size. Her long and luscious hair fell over her back and on to his chest and neck. Their hand found each other and they instinctively laced themselves together. They were just moments from kissing each other when he felt something in his hands getting wetter. Connor pulled both of their entwined hands up to his face to see liquid crimson. With regret he pulled his face away from Sarah’s and noticed by looking down that her hands were dripping with blood. “Sarah, you’re bleeding!” To his horror he grabbed her other hand and it too had been soaked red. Worry shot through him. “What happened? Did I hurt you? Did the cat do it?” Coming out of her own daze she said “Relax…relax Connor. When the Cougar growled and I tried to flee, you grabbed me and you were also keeping me from falling. When the Cougar and you charged each other, I fell and scraped my hands. That’s all, don’t worry about it.” She said with a sly smile, plus she was still laying on top of him, enjoying the experience. He did not smile back in the least. What Connor did next was grab her soft and very womanly hips with both of his hands and effortlessly picked her up. She felt lighter than he first thought or it was the adrenaline making her seem so. She squealed softly, as he sat her down. He sat up and reiterated “I am your protector!” As Connor stood up Sarah didn’t adjust anything in her sitting position, but her face and beautiful green eyes followed his movement. Saying as sweetly as possible he said “Please stay here Sarah. There are a few things that I need to attend to. Will you wait right here for me?” “I think I can handle waiting for my trusty protector to return to me.” She said it in honesty which truly brightened his dark mood. “I love your smile Sarah, don’t ever stop smiling.” “Thank you, Princess.” At that endearment she blushed again. Connor walked over to the dead Cougar and laid him over his shoulder, he weighed well over two hundred pounds. He also picked up gore