Chapter 2: Now He Knows

Oh crap. He shouldn't have touched her. Sebastian wanted to run out of the house. Out into the forest to let his beast emerge. He'd thought he'd found his mate in his last girlfriend. Boy had he been wrong.

This time, his fingers tingled. His body wanted to have sex, making him instantly aroused. Oh. Shit.

As soon as he'd touched Sally, he knew. She was his mate. Too bad he didn't want to meet his mate. That was why he usually didn't deal with people, but this woman had called for a carpenter. He was the expert carpenter in the family. Here he was and he'd found the woman he was destined to be with. Forever.

She stared up at him with sparkling eyes. He hoped he hadn't been staring at her or breathing heavily. She must think him nuts.

"Uh. Let's see what's wrong."

If he had a sister, and he didn't, he hoped that she wouldn't let a stranger carry her into her house. Sebastian knew that he was safe. In fact, he'd give his life to protect her.

With a swallow to get his bearings, he took off her shoe and her sock. Her toes were painted a little girl pink. How cute. Completely adorable. No, Sebastian, don't think of her as cute. She's a customer. Don't think of her beyond the business aspect. She is oblivious to what you are experiencing. Take this slowly.

He put his hands on her ankle. She winced a little.

"It's beginning to swell. You might have sprained it," he said.

He hoped she wasn't in too much pain because her discomfort when too his soul. He couldn't get past the fact that this gorgeous woman was his mate. How lucky was he? She was beautiful and he wanted to take her right now.

Down, boy.

"I guess I need some ice. I really don't have time for this. I have so much work to do," Sally said.

Even her frown was adorable. His heart melted. He needed to get away to clear his head. "I think you have no choice. Which way is your kitchen?"

She nodded, a frown creasing her face. He wanted to kiss away that frown. He wanted to kiss away whatever was bothering her and then take her to bed for a week. The beast wanted to emerge, but he tamped it down. No, Sebastian. Even if she was his mate, he wasn't going to pursue her. He couldn't weigh someone down with his curse.

It felt like a curse right now.

No matter how much he wanted to have a mate, he'd sworn off women. He'd sworn to his brothers that he wouldn't do that to a human woman. He'd seen what the pairing of a human and WereBear had done to his parents. Why couldn't his mate be another WereBear?

Now that he wasn't touching her, his head cleared. He must stick with the plan and not get involved. He would fix what needed to be fixed and then never see her again.

Sebastian rummaged around for a plastic bag then filled it with ice. He grabbed a dish towel off the counter to wrap around it. Sally hadn't moved. She was still on the couch with her foot up.

Her adorable little foot with pink toenails. Who knew that could be so cute? Werebear were hard-wired to like bigger women so that way if they did mate with a human, the woman could handle the size of the baby. Sebastian had only been ten pounds at birth, small for a WereBear.

He put down the towel then a bag of ice on top of her foot. It looked bruised and swollen. His heart went out to her, but she wasn't complaining.

"That's cold."

"That's what you need." He grabbed a pillow off of another chair, then lifted her foot to rest on it. "You also need to elevate it."

"I'm keeping you from your work."

She could do that anytime, but the sooner he fixed her porch, the sooner he was gone. Away from temptation.

"I don't know all that you have for me, but I better fix that step first thing."

"Does the porch need to be replaced?" she said.

He had walked on it and the porch could hold him up, it was probably fine.

"It seems solid. I'll crawl underneath to check for termites, but barring those, it should only need some boards replaced and the whole thing stained or painted."

He swallowed. He could sit here with her all day, but she wasn't paying him to do that. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life.

She smiled up at him. "I'll be okay here. Thanks for saving me."

He chuckled. "I didn't save you."

If she only knew where his thoughts were, she wouldn't be looking up at him as if he were a knight in shining armor. He wasn't. He was a bear who had needs. He was a bear who wanted to mark her as best he could so that no one would touch her.

He also wanted her naked and under him for a week. Until she couldn't have sex because she was sore. Not that he wanted to inflict pain, he just wanted her to know who she belonged to.

He sighed. Then smiled at her. Standing, he looked her over, trying not to appear as if he wanted to eat her. He'd do that, too. Whatever she wanted in bed, she'd get. If you were going to spend eternity with someone you might as well make them happy. They'd make you happy in return, too.

"You got me unstuck. That was close enough to saving for me."

***

Sally could see Sebastian working from where she was on the couch. He walked with an air of confidence. He clearly knew his way around carpentry. There wasn't anything sexier than confidence.