“I’mfine,”she whispered, pulling her hood back up and hiding herself under it.
“Are you sure?” I wasn’t giving up, this time keeping my hands to myself. I forced them into the pockets of my gym shorts, hoping that made her more comfortable.
Free from the leash, I lowered my head, peering around the massive hood, unable to help myself. I wanted another look at those brilliant eyes and needed to make sure my idiot elbow didn’t leave a lingering mark.
She nodded. “I’m sure.” She gathered the leash and reeled her dog back toward her, despite his tireless efforts to reach me.
“Do you live around here? Can I get you some ice?” I kept pushing, as is my nature.
The hood shook.“No,”the small, melodic voice assured. She was starting to sound annoyed. “I just need to get past you?” She gestured in the direction I’d come from.
I stood straight, feeling dumb.
Women rarely enjoyed being approached by strangers at two AM on the streets of New York, let alone getting asked where they live. I was terrifying her.
“Right, sorry. I just wanted to be sure I didn’t hurt you.”
“Really,I’m good,” she rushed out, bringing up a sleeve-covered hand as if to physically stop me from asking yet again.
I caught another brief glimpse of her face as she chanced a look up. Both her cheeks were red now, either from a blush, ormy stupidity, I wasn’t sure.
Damn,I couldn’t help it; it was impossible to look away.
She glanced down.
This was not your typical straightforward New Yorker. I could feel the air of panic billow out around this little thing. Her dog’s attitude had changed, eyeing me more warily. Dogs were smart; Border Collies among the smartest. It was probable that he could smell her fear, and his protective instincts were kicking in, demonstrated by a low but angry whine escaping his jaw.
Dammit,I was messing this up.
“Okay.” I put my hands up and backed away. “I really didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, let alone assault you. I’m—” I trailed off, taking another dramatic step back and to the side, toward the street. “I’ll let you go.”
Retreat was my only option.
Her coral-colored lips parted, a gentle breath escaping and fogging the cool fall air.
I couldn’t see her eyes, but I knew they were tracking me as I gave her a wide berth. It felt like circling a stray cat—a beautiful, mysterious stray cat I didn’t want to frighten away.
Taking another measured step back, I noticed how the streetlight framed her silhouette. I held tight to the shape of her. I was so panicked that I’d never see her again, but there was nothing more I could do to stop her.
CHAPTER 4
Sybil
The man moved to the middle of the quiet street, walking around me in a wide circle. Bill was at my side, jumping after him like he was his new best friend.
Bill was not making this any better. He, in contrast, loved people. That might explain why Dr. Cat assigned him to me. Another sneaky move on her part to encourage me to leave home, and literally, run into people.
My gaze followed the man under the safety of my hood. He possessed considerable bulk, not just in his height, but in muscle as well—the kind of muscle I thought only existed on the pages of a book or movie screen.
With his arms held in the air, there was no unseeing his toned physique and the tattoos that wove across his exposed arms. They seemed beautiful, though it proved difficult to identify them from this distance. I wondered if they wereblack and white or colored. I would never know, but they looked good on him.
Bill barked, a sharp pitch that made me wince.
“Bill!” I reprimanded, giving him a gentle tug.
The man looked as though he’d been at the gym. His skin seemed dewy with recent sweat, black hat slung over his black hair, and a large gym bag suspended over his broad shoulder. He had a firm jaw that was accentuated by a goatee, and prominent eyebrows that framed his shadowed eyes below the bill of the cap.
“Nice meeting you,Bill,” the man followed up, winking at my dog, then at me.
