As she watched the stranger turn away, Julia cursed under her breath. What was wrong with her? The man had been kind enough to try to get her out of the ditch and when that failed, he’d offered her shelter from the storm. Was she going to compound the stupidity of being out in this weather by refusing shelter when it was offered?

The wind blew in her still open car window and a shiver shook her. He might look like a hulking beast in that heavy coat, but there had been something gentle in his silver colored eyes. Those eyes assured her that she was safe with him. The voice of caution, which sounded just like her father, asked how she could be sure.

“For Christ’s sake. Do you think he’s an ax murderer who’s been lying in wait for some hapless victim out in this weather?” If he was, he was just as stupid as her for being out in this. She was getting to be as bad as Gerard, seeing monsters everywhere she turned. What would she imagine next? That he was a dragon waiting to devour her?

She pushed the button to put the window back up and shut off the car. One thing was certain, she would be buried alive in the snow if she stayed here. Even if she got out of the ditch, he was right, she would only get herself stuck again a few miles down the road. She could take her chances but she wasn’t sure where the hell she was and had no idea if the cottage was close. It could be yards away or miles, and she had no way of knowing for certain in these conditions. She’d have to take her chances with the stranger. It was either that or freeze to death.

She gathered her purse, pulled the keys out of the ignition and shoved against the door. The wind shoved back against her and it was a struggle to get the door open. Once she’d managed to squeeze herself out of the car, the wind snapped the door from her hands and slammed it shut. The stranger had not traveled far but she had to squint against the blowing snow in order to see him. How had she thought she would get anywhere in this?

“Wait.” Even as she yelled, she doubted he would hear her. She thought she would have to catch up with him, but some how her voice must have carried to him on the howling wind because he paused for a moment. He stood facing away from her, as if engaged in an internal debate. A decision must have been made, because he’d turned around and trudged back in the snow to where she stood.

She swallowed as he loomed over her. He was bigger than she’d reckoned when she’d been sitting in the car.

“What are you waiting for? Do you want to get out of this snow or not?” He didn’t appear to be the most patient of men, but she was grateful to him none the less. She didn’t know what would have happened to her if he hadn’t come along when he had.

“I’m coming, only I have to get my stuff out of the trunk. Just the bag with my clothes.”

He didn’t say a word as he gave a nod of his head and she took that to mean that he was going to wait until she had her stuff before he took her to his cabin. She turned and hurried back to the car as fast as the heavy snow would allow. It was up to the middle of her calves but she knew she had to hustle before he changed his mind about helping her out.

The snow was heavy on the trunk of the car and she swooped her arm out in an arc to clear some of it off. She lifted the lid and it took some work but she managed to get it open despite the strong wind. She gasped when his huge gloved hand reached past her and pulled out her duffle bag.

“You startled me.” She hadn’t exactly expected him to follow her and the snow had silenced his footsteps. She didn’t know what it was about him that made her so flustered.

She shook it off. There would be plenty of time for analysis once she got out of the snow.

“The sooner we get your things, the sooner we can get out of this.” His voice was deep and accented. What was a man like him doing out in the middle of nowhere? “Is that everything?”

The crossbow case sat where she put it and after a split second of thinking she reached for it. On the surface this man seemed like a good samaritan, but how could she know for sure? Her father had taught both his girls to be cautious of strangers and that lesson had stuck with her. The time spent looking in to suspicious activities, as part of her father's dragon hunts, had shown her some of the worst examples of what people could do to each other. She’d never met a dragon but she’d seen plenty of humans who were worse than any monster she could imagine. It would be better to be safe.

She grabbed the case and shut the trunk. If he’d turned out to be an ax murderer, at least she would be able to defend herself. She doubted that it would come to that but the crossbow made her feel more secure.

She gripped the case’s handle tight as she turned to face in the direction he’d been going before she’d stopped him. The snow was cold and heavy against her boots and she had to tip her head forward to avoid the stinging cold that buffeted against her face.

“Follow behind me, it will block of some of the wind.” He did not wait for her to respond to the command he shouted as he turned to march away from the car.

She did as he instructed and his hulking body blocked a good deal of the wind and blowing snow from her face. She tried to follow the deep furrows made by his boots. She stumbled forward and fell against his back when her boot found a particularly deep hole. It was like hitting a wall and he stopped for a moment to turn his head to look at her.

“Sorry.” She straightened up and put her hand on his back to steady herself for a second. “I’m okay, let’s keep going.”

He was like an immovable mountain in front of her and she was certain that it would take more than wind and snow to keep him from his chosen course. There was reassurance to be had from his solid presence in front of her, even if he was a total stranger. She wasn’t as scared to be out in this with him as she would have been if she’d been alone. Something told her that he would not let any calamity befall her if he could help it.

He gave her a curt nod and turned back in the direction of the road ahead. Apparently he was a man of few words. Hopefully he would be a little more forthcoming when they got to their destination, otherwise this was going to be a long night.

Julia focused on the task at hand and she stuck as close to him as possible when he bent his body against the wind and pushed forward. His broad back was all she could see in the sea of white surrounding them and she hoped he had a better sense of direction than she had. She had no clue where they were going and if he’d left her to her own devices she’d have been going in circles by now.

He veered off to the left and led her to a narrow track surrounded by trees on either side. Now that they were no longer facing the wind she got a faint whiff of woodsmoke and she shivered under her coat in anticipation of finally being warm. She’d only been out to the car for a short period of time and already her body felt like a block of ice. She could only imagine how cold he was, since he’d been out in this much longer than she had. No wonder he’d been impatient to get back to his cabin. She would be too if she was in his place, with a warm fire waiting for her at the end of the journey.

Maybe it was the anticipation of being warm again or the cold seeping into her body, but the journey down the track seemed to take longer than she expected. The deep, heavy snow dragged down every step she took and her legs ached. She struggled against the snow and a distance developed between them as his much stronger body managed to wade through the snow better than hers. Some sixth sense must have told him that she was lagging because he stopped to look back at her.

“I’m coming.” She didn’t want him to leave her behind and as impatient as he’d been so far, that was a distinct possibility. “I’m sorry for slowing you down like this.”

He turned around to fully face her and it must have been the snow blowing in her face that made her think she detected a softening of his expression.

“Let me help you.” He came toward her and took the crossbow case from her. “Put your arms around me and we’ll make the rest of the way together.”

He presented his back to her and she did as she was told, putting her arms on either side of his waist. He moved forward, and even beneath his heavy coat she could feel the strength and hardness of his body. That strength helped her navigate the heavy snow and the smell of woodsmoke got stronger. It was impossible to see past him since he was taller than she was, but she hoped they were nearing their destination. Her legs ached and the cold had seeped into her bones. She didn't think she was going to be warm again.

“It’s just ahead.”

Relief swept through her at the deep rumble of his words. If he hadn't come along when he had, she would have perished in this weather if she’d been forced to go it alone. She let her hands drop from his waist and stepped to his side. The cabin, small and old, looked like paradise now that she was thoroughly saturated with cold and snow.

The cabin was an aging log structure and it looked like it belonged in a fairy tale against the backdrop of falling snow in the thick forest of trees surrounding it. A plume of wood smoke drifted out of the chimney and looking at it she could almost feel the warmth of the fire.

She followed him up the steps of the covered porch and the heat inside hit her as soon as they walked in. Standing inside the cabin sent shivers through her body and she realized just how painfully cold she was now that she had a temperature to compare it to.

“Get your things off and warm up by the fire. Are you hungry?” He set her bags down by the side of the door and shrugged out of his heavy coat.

She glanced at him as she stripped out of her coat. His size had not diminished now that he’d peeled off his outer layer of clothing. He dragged his hat off his head and shook the dampness from from the ends of his ink dark hair. He looked at her with a questioning expression and she realized that she was staring at him without answering his question.

“I would love something to eat, thank you.” She tore her eyes away from him as she turned to hang her coat on the hook beside the one he’d used only a few seconds ago. What was wrong with her? She wasn’t the type of woman to go gaga over an attractive man. What was so different about him that he caused her to stare at him with a funny feeling in her stomach?

“Warm yourself by the stove and I’ll heat up some stew.” He walked away from her as she toed off her boots. She wiggled her frozen toes to get some warmth to them. He dragged a wooden chair closer to the wood stove and inclined his head toward it.

She walked over to it and sat down. The stove was almost too hot at this distance and her joints ached as the warmth of the fire seeped into her body, forcing out the cold. She couldn’t remember being this chilled in her life.

“Thank you for offering to take me in. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come along.” She held her icy fingers toward the stove and flexed them as she looked over at him. He pulled out a tall plastic container from the fridge and put it on the counter.

“What were you doing out there? Did you get on the road before the storm started?”

She didn’t want to get into the drama that was her family with a stranger, especially not one she wouldn’t be staying with for long.

“I was on my way to my grandmother’s cottage and I thought I could get there before the weather turned bad.” That was as good an explanation as any. She stood and moved toward him with her hand extended. “I feel like I should introduce myself. I’m Julia Robillard.”

* * *

Iszak looked down at her offered hand when the implications of her last name hit him. He took her hand, which was still cold and shook it. He did not know how common the Robillard name was in this time, but it held significance during his time. The Robillard's were the fiercest Dragon hunting family of the medieval age and most of his peers had a healthy wariness of any member of that family.

She cocked her head to the side and Isak realized he was standing there, staring at her. He let her hand drop and took a step back from her. “I’m Iszak. Go back and sit down while I warm up the food.”

He turned away from the soft scuffle of her footsteps. It was just as well that he learned now what family she might be connected to. For a brief moment when he’d seen her in the car, he thought fate had smiled down upon him and delivered the answer to breaking his curse. There was still hope that in this time the family had abandoned its dragon hunting roots. It was much too soon to know if she could be the one to break his curse, but if she was from a dragon hunting family, the possibility was dead before it could even be born.

With a shake of his head he moved toward the cupboard and pulled down a pot. He couldn’t stand there staring at the wall, they’d never eat otherwise. If she was a dragon hunter, he needed to act like a normal human so her suspicions were not aroused. While he was prepared to die if necessary, he wasn’t prepared for it to happen tonight.

He dumped the stew in the pot and put it on top of the stove to heat. She looked up at him as he stood beside her and he was struck again by the deep blue color of her eyes. They stood out against the creamy smoothness of her skin and the deep black of her hair.

His mouth tightened as he looked away. She was a true Robillard woman. The females from that family had the same striking combination of eyes of sapphire and hair of jet. Many a dragon had met with his downfall when a Robillard woman had been used as bait. There was something about them that drew dragons like bees to nectar, and apparently even knowing what she possibly was didn’t make him immune to the pull of her allure.

“Is this the only room in the cabin?” Her honeyed voice startled him from his thoughts and he flinched for a second. He needed to get a grip on himself. If she was on the hunt, he couldn't let anything slip that would allow her to discover his true nature. While he was not the prey that had drawn her out in this weather, she could certainly change her target if he gave her cause.

“There is a small bedroom and a bathroom through that door.” He pointed toward the door at the back. “If you would like to freshen up you’re more than welcome to.”

He turned away from her and gave the stew a stir. With any luck she would go to the bathroom and he would get a reprieve from her intoxicating presence for a few moments. The soft, sweet scent of her, mixed with the smell of cold and snow, was a blend that drew him more than the finest of perfumes. He mentally crossed his fingers that she was not hunter's bait. His hands itched to stroke the silk of her hair to see if it would feel as soft and smooth under his hand as it looked.

“Is there only one bedroom?”

He glanced at her as she worried the ruby red flesh of her bottom lip and the brief thought of what they would feel like under his went through his mind. He shook it off. He’d only just met her and there as a distinct possibility that she was from a family of dragon hunters. He needed to rein in this attraction to her until he knew if it was safe to indulge it.

“Yes. You can sleep in the bedroom and I will take the couch. Do you want me to help you take your things to the bedroom?” He needed to get away from her before the picture of her in the bed he’d slept in last night overwhelmed his common sense.

He went to her small suitcase and duffle bag. Her eyes latched onto the case, and the hair stirred on the back of his neck. He recalled her indecision about taking it out of the car and that would not have been necessary for a bag that held only clothes. He had a feeling, however indistinct, that the answer to what she was lay hidden inside the case. It would only take a moment when she wasn’t in the room to find out if the instincts inside him that screamed of her danger to him were correct.

“I don’t want to impose. I can sleep on the sofa.”

“I wouldn’t feel right about that. The bedroom is this way and you can wash up in the bathroom before dinner.” He turned and walked toward the bedroom with her soft footsteps behind him. The bedroom was small, with only a double bed and a dresser crowded inside. With the two of them in here in such close proximity, with a bed so close, thoughts went careening through his head that he could not act upon until he was certain she was not who he thought she was.

He set her bags down and turned back to the door. He needed to get out of here. Her allure was too strong and he needed to put some distance between them. “I’ll leave you to freshen up.”

He walked out of the bedroom and closed the door behind him, as if by doing that he could shut out the thoughts that were clamoring in his head. There had to be a reasonable explanation for why he was having these thoughts and feelings. It had been centuries since he’d been with a woman and this was a reaction to being in close proximity to one who wasn’t spoken for. He was certain that she didn’t have anyone significant in her life, because what man would let his woman travel alone on a night like this.

He busied himself with warming up dinner while he waited for her to return from the bedroom. When she came out he would go back in there under the guise of washing up and investigate what was in that case. With any luck it would be toiletries and cosmetics and he would feel like a fool that he’d let his paranoia make him invade her privacy.

He got two bowls out of the cupboard and filled them with the steaming stew. The door opened behind him and he tensed.

“Dinner smells good.” She came forward as he turned to set the steaming bowls on the table. She was just as lovely as she’d been when she went into the bathroom. He didn't know what he expected, but there had been some hope inside him that the spell she’d cast over him had broken somehow. It hadn’t.

“Please, sit down and eat while it’s hot. I’m going to wash up but don’t feel like you have to wait for me.” He went toward the entrance to the bedroom before she had a moment to say anything. He needed to know what was in that case. Before his attraction to her overwhelmed his common sense.

She didn’t look like a threat, but he was certain that the dragons who’d perished centuries ago hadn’t thought so either when face with the temptation of a Robillard woman. Perhaps he was being ridiculous, but he needed to know for sure and instinct told him that the case was the answer.

He went through the bedroom and closed the door so that it was only open by the tiniest of slivers. He didn’t want to raise her suspicions by closing the door tightly but he didn’t want her to catch him in the act of rummaging through her things.

The case sat on top of the dresser and he moved over to it. He wrestled with his abhorrence of invading her privacy. He was probably being ridiculous to cast such suspicion upon her. She was a lone female, caught up in a storm and she more than likely had nothing to do with an ancient dragon hunting family.

He couldn’t falter. He had to know for certain. There was a risk that she carried the Robillard legacy. There were dragon hunters in this time. His brother’s mate, Lyssa, had an ex boyfriend, Kevin, who claimed to be a dragon hunter when he’d tried to kill Andor. Iszak wished he’d learned the bastards last name, but it was too late for that now. Kevin was dead at the hands of Iszak’s brother and wouldn’t be causing any more problems for Lyssa or Andor.

He took a deep breath and flicked open the metal tabs holding the case shut. He hesitated for one more second. Did he really want to do this? Invade her privacy on a suspicion that was most likely useless paranoia?

He’d already gone this far, he might as well go all the way. He flipped the lid open and he stared at the contents as the muscle worked in his jaw. Nestled inside the case was a small crossbow, one that could easily be wielded by a woman. What was a lone woman doing out in the middle of a blizzard with such a weapon if she was not part of a dragon hunting family? A gun would be much more sensible as a weapon of self-defense. No one carried a crossbow for casual protection, it was a hunter’s weapon.

The bolts for the bow were stored alongside it and there were five neatly lined up in a row. The tips were made of dull looking metal that looked much older than the wooden shafts. He put his index finger on the end of one bolt and the burning sensation on his skin gave him all the answers he needed.

The bolts were tipped with dragon forged iron and the only creature that necessitated the use of such ammunition was a dragon. Self-defense was not the purpose of this weapon.

He drew his hand away as he cursed under his breath. Apparently the dragon hunting branch of the Robillard family was alive and well. He closed the case and snapped the metal tabs in place. He walked into the bathroom to wash his hands to rid them of the lingering sensation of the iron on his skin.

If he was smart, he would kick her out of the cabin and let her fend for herself in the snow. She brought too much risk with her to keep her in his presence for long. If she discovered what he was, not only would he be putting himself at risk, but his brother and Lyssa as well.

Of course, evicting her from the cabin could rouse her suspicions too. He needed to think clearly. Unless Rickman was a double agent for the Robillard family, there was no way that she would know he was a dragon unless he let something slip. She could very well be what she appeared to be, a woman lost in the snow that coincidence had thrown in his path.

He gripped the edge of the sink and hung his head for a moment. His conscience would not let him throw her out in the blizzard, where she would surely freeze to death, no matter what family she came from. She had done nothing to him, and would do nothing to him unless he revealed his true nature. He was not the kind of man who would leave a defenseless woman to fend for herself on a night like this. She could stay tonight and he would send her on her way tomorrow.

Disappointment settled inside him for a second and he turned away from the sink . She was not the woman fate intended for him to be with, the crossbow in the bedroom told him that. One slip would be all it took for her to realize what he was and for her to try to end his life. He would have no choice but to kill her and he didn’t want to do that. It was going to be a long night and he would spend it on the couch sleeping with one eye open.