Coal seemed genuinely concerned for her wellbeing. He placed her on the ground and moved so that he could lift one of her feet. Okay. Julie pushed her dress down so that, things, stayed properly covered. She’d told him that they were sore and he was inspecting them. It was sweet. Not savage behavior at all. Then again, he was probably just upset that they wouldn’t be able to make good time back to his lair. Thing was though, he did look really concerned.

There were two frown lines between his eyes as he moved her foot so that he could get a better look. Coal touched her heel and she winced.

“You have some scratches and bruising.” His jaw worked. “Your feet are soft and delicate.” He shook his head, looking angry. Okay, so he was really worried about her. Something warmed in her.

“I’m a human. We normally wear shoes.”

“Foot coverings. It was an oversight on our part. I’m sorry. Dragon shifters do not wear shoes very often. We do not need them. I’m sorry this happened.”

Caring and sweet. This guy was an enigma. She had been chased and hunted down like an animal and now, this. He turned his dark eyes back to her foot which he inspected some more. She took the opportunity to assess him. Short black hair, an angular jaw, full lips. His nose was too thick to be considered good-looking. It did fit with the rest of him. Coal definitely wasn’t handsome. Not in any classic sense of the word but he was attractive. There was no denying it. He licked his lips. Those muscles on the sides of his neck screamed look at me, look at me. His tattoo was even more beautiful in the light of day. The way the golden lines caught the rays of the sun was breathtaking. It had nothing to do with his pecs or his abs… what the hell was that?

Okay, she knew what it was, but what the holy hell was that thing? It didn’t even look like it was properly erect. Not by a long shot, yet… not a chance that was fitting. Maybe in a glove compartment but not in her. She suppressed a laugh. Not that it was funny.

It was a pity. She’d decided that maybe breaking her dry spell while here in dragon land wasn’t a bad idea. Coal was hot and sweet. As sweet as a savage could be. She had planned on seeing if he meant it about not forcing her and looking after her and if he did, well, she planned on making hay while the sun shone. Julie was the kind of person that made lemonade when life threw her lemons. Only, that lemon was too big to make lemonade.