Carina had been enjoying her book and the peace of the forest, until suddenly the hair on the nape of her neck began to prickle. She could swear she felt eyes on her, but who could possibly be out here so far from the manor? Feeling slightly foolish, she called out in her best stern schoolroom voice."Hello, is someone there?"

Not having really been expecting an answer, she was shocked when a man stepped into the clearing. A man she was positive she had never seen before, for how could she ever forget such a man! He stood there unmoving, almost as if he were afraid she would run away if he so much as breathed. So she just stared for a moment, and who could blame her? He was like no other man she had ever seen, his height alone was intimidating, why he must be at least six and a half feet tall she thought dazedly.

His hair, a dark blond, fell to just past his shoulders in waves, and from there her eyes traveled to his body. His clothing was so far out of the ordinary she was sure she must be gaping, he wore black leather pants with a white linen shirt which had no sleeves, and was laced up with a leather thong from the middle of his chest to gape open at his throat. She had never seen a man's upper body so exposed, his arms bulged with tight muscles, and his shoulders were so wide that between that and his impressive height she felt completely insignificant.

Just as she felt as though her mind was starting to accept this strange man's presence, she looked fully into his face and was lost once more. While not classically handsome by society standards, he was so striking in his masculinity that she was sure any woman would find him irresistible. His firm square jaw, chiseled cheekbones, patrician nose, and high brows gave a stern cast to his features. Yet his mouth was full and inviting, especially if he were to smile she thought, but his eyes were what captivated her the most. His startling dark blue eyes made her feel as though he were looking straight into her secret self, and that were currently staring right back at her in a somewhat bemused fashion.

Suddenly she realized how rude she was being, and even though an inner voice of caution told her she should be more alarmed at being so alone with this man, she tried to regain her composure and manners.

"I beg your pardon sir, I was unaware there was anyone near by." she said as calmly as she could manage.

"I apologize for startling you", he replied while he walked forward slowly."I am Ilarion Konstantinus." He stopped right in front of her, with just the stream separating them now, and looked at her expectantly.

She knew it was highly improper in polite society for a woman to introduce herself to a man, but what choice did she have? And besides it was not as if she was some high society miss, she felt slightly awkward sitting there on the ground so she laid aside her book and stood.

"My name is Carina Drake, and I am pleased to make your acquaintance Mr. Konstantinus." Never before had Carina felt more self conscious about herself than she did at that exact moment, she couldn't keep herself from thinking about what a sight she must look. Normally aside from being a bit disappointed by the way she must dress as a governess, she didn't give her apparel much thought. For after all she had no prospects of finding a husband in her situation, and all pretty dresses would do is garner unwanted attention. At that moment though, looking at this strikingly handsome man, she detested that all he would see is the little mousey woman that she had no choice but appear to be.

Ilarion felt himself at a loss to know what to say next or how to explain his presence, he had very little knowledge of this time period. He was starting to regret being so hasty to introduce himself to her, and he mentally berated himself for not coming up with a good cover story first. She had lowered her eyes and bobbed a slight curtsey when she introduced herself, but now she was looking up at him and from her expression was as much at a loss as he was.

She delicately cleared her throat "Again I am sorry sir, and I really should be getting back so I won't intrude on your solitude any longer."

She bent to gather up her belongings, but before she could begin to bundle things up his large warm hand grasped hers. She gasped, she hadn't even realized that he had moved and in that short amount of time he had leapt across the stream and knelt beside her. She looked up into his eyes, which were much to close to her own for any sense of propriety, and while she knew she should cry out in outrage something kept her from uttering it.

"Please stay," he said in a low voice, "It is I who am intruding, and I didn't mean to chase you off."

Carina felt captivated by his eyes and the mere fact that he was so close to her, she had never felt so small and unsure of herself before. Mentally shaking herself she tried to pull back and he let her go easily which gave her a boost of confidence. She was not some silly little miss, she told herself sternly. She was a woman of seven and twenty years, and would not let herself become dazzled by this man.

"Sir it is highly improper for me to be out here alone with you, and I really must return to the house." Again she reached for her things and again he stopped her, the feel of his hand on hers made her stomach flutter and she felt herself flush.

"Please stay," he repeated, "I am not from around here, as you might have guessed, and I would be greatly indebted to you if you would stay and talk to me for awhile." He was struggling to know what to say, and how to say it, but he just fell back on the things he had learned from his reading over the years. Considering the difficulties of a Were-Hunter in modern times, one jolt of electricity could send him flashing back and forth between dragon and man, he had always preferred to live in the past and in secluded areas.

Therefore one of the only pastimes available to him had been books, and reading was one of his greatest pleasures. He searched his mind for the few things he knew of this time, and realized that not only must he look like a complete barbarian to her, but he also had no idea how to explain his clothes or what he was doing there. He could sense her slight tinge of fear, but was relieved to note the very womanly response to his presence as well. Moving back to hopefully put her more at ease, he glanced around hoping for some sort of inspiration, then his eyes fell on the still open book.

"Do you come out here to read often?"

"As often as my duties will allow, I find this place very peaceful," she said with a small smile.

He settled himself onto the grass next to her shawl, and with that she seemed to relax. Carina returned to her original seat on her shawl and smoothed out her skirts modestly, then turned slightly to be able to look at him while they spoke. She knew she really shouldn't be sitting here with this man, but she had decided against her better judgment to stay for at least a little while. After all a man like this would hardly have any sort of designs upon her virtue, she practically laughed aloud at the thought.

"And what are your duties if I may ask?"

Carina felt her cheeks flush again at the question, but taking firm hold of herself she replied calmly.

"I am the governess for the Langsdale family, we are staying at their estate here for the summer."

"So are you staying with one of the local families?" she asked in an effort to change the topic.

He seemed uncomfortable and looked away for a moment, as if he was trying to decide what to say. "Not exactly, I have been doing some traveling through the countryside, and I have mostly been camping."

She looked almost shocked so he hastily added, "I know that isn't usual here, but where I come from it is fairly common."

Carina didn't know what to think but decided to move on to her next question since he had already mentioned it. "So where are you from then?"

Ilarion could feel himself starting to sweat, and racked his brain for answer that might satisfy her. "I am originally from Norway, but I have traveled all my life and really don't have a lot of ties anywhere."

She still looked confused but apparently she decided to let it go for now. He quickly changed the subject back to her, "How long have you been a governess?"

"My parents were killed in a carriage accident six years ago, and my father's estates were entailed to my cousin Richard Bradshaw. I received a small inheritance from my mother but not enough to live on for more than a few years, so I decided to save it and started searching for a post as a governess. This is my third post since then and I've been with the Langsdale's for almost one and a half years."

She paused to look at him, praying that she wouldn't see pity on his face. Luckily there was none, his expressive face only revealed interest and sympathy.

"I have also suffered the loss of my parents, though I was quite a bit younger." he said. "I was eight when they died, and not long after that my Uncle Ektor took me in and raised me." Ilarion smiled somewhat bitterly, thinking of the wealth of information he had just glossed over. He told himself not to go there, and returned to studying his mate.

Ilarion was rapidly reevaluating his first impression of this woman. Being so close to her and having his nostrils filled with her lovely scent, a mixture of lavender, vanilla, beeswax and her own unique woman's scent was intoxicating to him. At first glance her hair was just a warm brown but upon closer study he could see the tints of gold and red shining through. The same could be said for her eyes, they appeared brown until you were close enough to see the green and gold flecks. Her face was fine boned and heart shaped accentuated by a delicate widows peak, her cheekbones were well defined and she had a small pert nose. But her lips were most definitely the most appealing feature of her face, not a rosebud nor overly large but somewhere in between. They were lush and full, with the lower one slightly fuller than the upper, and looked soft as velvet.

Her neck was finely arched and lovely, just looking at it made him ache to mark her there showing the world that she was his. He mentally caged that part of himself, and continued to gaze at her. All in all she was lovely, if not the exact type he would have originally chosen for himself. It appeared to him that she was endeavoring to make herself look her worst though. The glasses weren't too bad but couple that with her hair being scraped back into that knot on the back of her head, and the colorlessness of her clothes resulted in her looking severe and washed out.

Carina felt his gaze upon her, and trying to avert his attention decided to unpack her picnic lunch. "I don't have a hearty luncheon for two but the cook Mrs. Gavin always packs too much, and I didn't eat all my scones from breakfast so would you like to join me?"

"I'd love to."

So Carina busied herself with dividing up the crusty bread, cold ham, and cheese between them, then offered him another flask of the mint tea she had brought.

"That's alright, I'll just take a drink from the stream, but thanks."

They ate in companionable silence, and finished their luncheon with the leftover scones. Ilarion stood and went to crouch by the water to get a drink, and Carina watched him fascinated by the fluidity of his movements. Feeling her eyes on him he glanced over his shoulder and smiled at her.

"The water is wonderful, you should try it" he said, and motioned for her to come to him. Standing she slowly walked toward him.

"I don't think I've ever drank straight from a stream before," she said laughingly.

"Well then, you don't know what you've been missing," he said. Then using his hands as a cup he scooped up some water, and offered it to her. Her cheeks flushing prettily she shook her head.

"Oh no, that's alright I'm sure I can do it."

"I insist," he said with a devilish smile. She looked at his large hands and the water droplets escaping between his fingers. Oh for goodness sake, she told herself sternly, it's just a drink! She bent her head down and sipped, unconsciously bringing her hands up to hold his steady.

Ilarion tried to keep very still so as not to startle her, but he felt his beast roar within him at the fact that he was caring for his mate. Were-Hunters in general, and Katagaria in particular, have very strong provider instincts toward their mates, be it food, drink, or physical pleasure, they yearn to fulfill their mates every need. He quickly tamped it down, but seeing her head bowed over his hands with the nape of her neck exposed, and feeling the whisper like sensation of her mouth so close to his skin was almost more than the dragon could bear.

It did taste delicious she thought, but the feel of his large hands under hers was distracting. She drank till the water was gone, and she realized that she was practically kissing his palm. She pulled back quickly flushing brighter still, but she had misjudged her proximity to the stream and her foot began to slide down the bank.

She would have landed in an ignoble heap in the water, had Ilarion not caught her firmly around the waist and pulled her back. She let out a little "oomph" of breath as she landed firmly against his chest, both of his damp palms splayed possessively over her back. She felt infinitely small and delicate, being in such close quarters with the raw physical power of his large frame. Carina looked up into his deep blue eyes, and was shocked to see what her woman's intuition recognized as desire. That's just not possible she thought a little hysterically, how on earth could he possibly be interested in me?! Yet as she stood there caught in the spell of his eyes, she realized that impossible or not, there most definitely was desire there, and maybe something even more primitive lurking beneath the surface.

Ilarion looked down at her and saw the confusion and embarrassment in her face, but he also saw the hint of desire in her, and so he decided to take a calculated risk. He slowly trailed his hand up her back and over her shoulder, bringing it up to cup her face gently. His thumb gently grazed her full lower lip, and with that he saw the tiny spark blossom in her eyes, and heard her quickly indrawn breath. Before she could pull back or think better of it he was bending down to take her mouth with his. He brushed his lips over hers caressingly and the first touch was like warm silk, sliding smoothly yet clinging sweetly. Then it was as if the match hit the tinder and they were on fire, his lips came down on hers possessively, and his hand came up to cradle the back of her head.

Carina didn't know what was happening to her, she had never felt anything like this in her entire life. She had never even hugged a man that wasn't a part of her family, yet all she could think to do was kiss him back while she twined her hands behind his neck and let her fingers thread through his silky mane of hair.

He could tell she was unsure of what to do, and though she was kissing him back it was obvious that this was her first kiss. Knowing that his mate was untouched made his beast roar triumphantly, he quickly tried to tame it but it was a struggle. Partially letting it have it's way he let his tongue slide across her lower lip and she gasped. Taking full advantage he darted his tongue past her lips and slid it teasingly against hers.

Carina felt as if she were literally on fire, she couldn't believe that something like having his tongue slide against her own could make her burn and ache like this. She felt his arm lift her higher and tighter against him, and realized that he was completely supporting her weight. She wondered when her feet had left the ground, but then his tongue slid into her mouth again and this time tangled with her's sinuously, and she ceased to care where her feet were.

Ilarion was keeping the beast on a short leash, because every instinct he possessed was clamoring for him to take her, but he knew it was much to soon for that with her. If he did take her it would drive her away, and there would be no chance of her accepting him. Slowly he gentled the kiss and caressed her mouth instead of plundering it, the only concession he gave to his beast was to nip gently at her swollen lower lip as he broke the kiss.

He stood there with his eyes still closed and forehead pressed against hers, their breaths mingling hotly, and realized that he was holding her a good six inches off the ground. Oh way to go dragon, he thought in disgust, way to show self control there! He opened his eyes and saw hers were still closed, she looked completely lovely with the flush of passion in her cheeks, her glasses fogged over, and her lips swollen from his kisses. He took a deep steadying breath and gently set her back on her feet.

Opening her eyes, and finding everything an indistinct blur, she reached up and removed the useless spectacles. When she finally looked up at him he saw the tangle of emotions on her face.

Clearing his throat he said a bit thickly, "I know I should apologize for that, but if I did then I would be lying."

"Well I won't ask you to make yourself a liar then," she said shyly.

Ilarion couldn't have stopped the relieved smile if he had wanted to, and when she smiled back his heart squeezed painfully in his chest. Obviously flustered, her hands went to her hair as if to tuck it back in place, though none had actually escaped her severe bun. A fact which Ilarion found irrationally annoying, he realized he wanted to see her hair loose and disheveled from his fingers sliding through it. He was just beginning to reach out to pluck one of the pins from her hair, when his acute hearing caught the sound of something rustling through the brush.

He didn't stop to think or even to reach out with all his senses, he just reacted as a male protecting his mate. Spinning Carina around he pushed her against the tree so it was at her back and he was protecting her front, facing any danger head on.