Page 19 of Hero Unbound

Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she crumpled in on herself before she even finished the sentence. He muttered a curse under his breath, diving to catch her before she hit the floor. He just made it, lowering her gently the rest of the way down. Damn, her crumpled weight was way too light.

“Eva? Talk to me, beautiful.”The endearment slipped out before he could swallow it.

The dogs started whining and circling around her.“It’s okay, you guys. I think your mom just overdid it.”

At least he hoped that was the case. He brushed a few strands of her dark hair away from her face. Her eyes were fluttering behind her lids. He’d learned enough about triage medical treatment to know that meant she wasn’t very far under.

Exhaustion, probably. And delayed onset stress. She’d been a champ handling the birthing emergency, but now that the crisis had passed, the stress hormones remained.

He reached over and scratched Sugar’s head, glad when the smaller dog didn’t shy away. He even moved a little closer. Spice wasn’t as trusting, but she didn’t run either.

“Eva? Can you come back to us? Open those gorgeous green eyes for us.”

He really needed to stop with the descriptors. Next thing he knew, he’d be spouting fucking poetry. But he couldn’t disguise his relief when those eyes blinked open a few seconds later.

“There you are.”

She immediately tried to sit up. He put a hand gently on her shoulder. “Give yourself a second. You passed out.”

“What?”

She moved again to accommodate the pups as they pushed forward to show their love in the form of licking her face excessively. She wrapped her arms around them. “I’m okay. We’re okay. Don’t worry.”

It sounded like a mantra she was used to saying and the dogs were used to hearing. Theo had to stop himself from pressing for more info.

She moved to sit up again, and this time, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to help her. “Do you feel dizzy? Nauseous?” Both could be a sign of something more serious.

“No, I think I just overdid it. A little too much excitement, too little sleep, and food.”

“Yeah, you definitely need to get some calories in your system.” Getting that foal delivered had taken more than either of them had expected.

She nodded. “I’ll just head out, shower, then grab some food in town.”

There was no way he was letting her drive into town in this shape. Not to mention, by the time she got there, got showered and changed, it would be an hour before she could put anything in her belly.

“How about a meal and shower here? You driving right now isn’t a good idea.”

“Honestly, I’m not even very hungry—” She broke off at the sound of her stomach giving a growl so loud it reminded him of the sounds his own stomach had made back in his wilderness survival days.

He raised an eyebrow. “Care to revise your statement?”

Her half smile was rueful. “I promise I’ll be okay.”

“I can’t let you drive into town in this shape. I can drive you to the hotel, or you can clean up and eat here then drive yourself.”

For a second, he thought she might argue, but then she nodded. “Okay, here is fine. Thank you.”

Her stomach let out another growl in approval of that decision.

He helped her stand, the dogs circling her legs, then walked slowly with her out to his truck. She was still a little unsteady on her feet, and he had to fight the urge to scoop her up in his arms and carry her.

Not because he thought she was weak. God knew he’d been raised by a woman who’d forgotten more ways to kill someone than most people knew their entire lives. Ray could face down all sorts of deadly situations. But she still allowed Dorian to carry her sometimes. Not because she needed it, but because she wanted to be closer to him. The same reason Dorian offered.

Theo wanted to be close to Eva right now. But instead, he settled for carefully watching her out of the corner of his eye as they walked toward the truck.

“Wildfire and the colt seem to be doing well.” Eva’s smile was bright and full as she looked over at both horses, and damned if he didn’t want to sweep her off her feet again. “No sign of foal rejection. That happens sometimes with maiden mares. But Wildfire seems very accepting.”

The mare and foal were out in the fenced field, and the foal was nursing. It was a beautiful picture in the dawn light. “I’ll have Lilah keep checking on them today.”

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