Page 41 of Desired By Eros

“Hey,” she said, her voice sounding far more casual than she felt. “What’s up?”

Eros took a few steps closer, but something in the way he was looking at her made her feel even more self-conscious. She tried to keep her focus on her work, hoping he wouldn’t see the turmoil she was feeling inside.

He looked around. “I see you got to work on this site,” he said, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. “It’s the one you’ve wanted to work at, right?”

“Right. What are you doing here?”

“I was flying around and saw you.”

“Oh, okay,” She fell silent after that, feeling the weird tightness in her chest that she couldn’t explain. She didn’t like it, but she couldn’t find the words to voice it, so she just remained quiet.

He seemed to notice her silence and frowned slightly. “Are you okay?” he asked, and the look in his eyes made her chest ache, but not in a way she was used to.

She hesitated, trying to push aside the strange feeling. She couldn’t lie to him, so she took a deep breath. “I felt some pain in my chest earlier,” she admitted, her voice soft, almost apologetic. There. It wasn’t quite a lie.

A look of concern crossed his face. He moved a little closer and reached out as though to touch her but paused, not quite making contact. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked gently. “Maybe you should take the rest of the day off to rest.”

She found herself looking at his hand, wishing that he would touch her. The thought caught her off guard, and she quickly averted her eyes, her chest tightening again. “No, no,” she quickly added, shaking her head. “It’s not that bad. I can still work.” She glanced away, feeling her face heat up, embarrassed by the way her body was reacting.

Eros wasn’t convinced. “Doesn’t seem like it,” he said, making her feel even more guilty.

She bit her lip, struggling to figure out how to get him to leave without feeling like she was pushing him away. But before she could come up with anything, a low growl echoed through the air. They both froze.

Psyche’s eyes widened as she looked past him and saw the massive bear, its gaze fixed on them with an aggression that sent a chill down her spine. Eros swore under his breath and immediately moved to stand in front of her, but Psyche’s thoughts were already racing.

“Okay, stay calm,” she murmured quickly. “You should make yourself look big. Avoid eye contact and back away slowly.” She found herself talking almost automatically, all the facts she knew about bear behavior rushing to the forefront of her mind. But the bear was closing the distance, its growls growing louder.

Every instinct told her to run, but she stood still, her body tensed. The bear’s large paws scraped against the earth, and its eyes locked onto them with unnerving focus. Eros moved slowly, keeping himself between the bear and Psyche, trying to stay calm, but she could see the tension in his posture.

Her breath quickened, and her senses were on high alert—every sound, every movement felt amplified. When the bearswiped at Eros, sending him crashing against the rocks, fear seized her, and for a moment, she couldn’t think straight.

Her mind was a blur of panic.

She shifted into her wolf form almost reflexively, and the air around them seemed to charge with energy as her senses sharpened and her instincts took over.

But as the bear’s massive claws came dangerously close, the terror in her chest nearly overwhelmed her. The bear’s furious eyes never left her as it towered, so much larger than anything she’d ever faced before. She could feel her heart pounding in her throat, her muscles aching to flee, but she forced herself to stand firm, growling at the bear, trying to keep it away from Eros.

The fear in her gut only intensified as the bear charged, and she could feel the hairs on her back stand on end, her body trembling with a mix of fight-or-flight instincts. She didn’t know if they could make it out of this.

She immediately launched herself toward the bear, her fangs bared. The bear was momentarily taken aback, swiping at her, but backed away, like it realized she wasn’t easy prey, and growled as it turned and left them behind.

Psyche ran to Eros, sniffing at him urgently. She could feel his heartbeat, steady and strong, and the absence of blood made her relax, though only slightly. She dragged him to the nearby shed, using her wolf’s natural power to pull him with ease.

Once inside, she shifted back into her human form, her body still shaking with adrenaline. She quickly grabbed her extra jacket and draped it over him, sitting beside him, her heart still racing. She felt so protective, so worried. The emotions were all jumbled, but she didn’t have the time to analyze them.

Instead, she just stayed there, watching him, hoping he was okay.

Her fingers drummed against the dirt floor, the rhythmic tapping filling the silence of the shed. She couldn’t tell how longshe’d been sitting there, waiting for some sign that Eros was okay. Her mind raced with fear and worry, the weight of the situation pressing down on her chest.

It was impossible to stop the gnawing feeling that something was wrong, but she tried to calm herself. She wanted to believe he could heal, that his abilities hadn’t been completely stripped from him, even if he was earthbound now.

The quiet stretched on, and just when she thought she couldn’t bear the tension anymore, Eros finally stirred. His eyes fluttered open, barely focusing as he groaned in pain, trying to move but wincing from the discomfort.

“What happened?” he muttered, his voice hoarse.

She swallowed hard, trying to steady her own voice as she explained the bear’s attack. “You…you were thrown by the bear. I didn’t know if you were going to make it…I—” Her words broke off as the floodgates opened.

She wasn’t able to hold it in anymore. Tears welled up in her eyes, and before she could stop herself, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and crying freely.

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