Riggs looked out over Martin’s Bounty Farm from the top of a thirty-foot ladder.

He had planned to be up early so he could help Sage with kitchen duty. But he had awoken earlier than planned and decided to tackle another item on the list of things to be done on the farm.

He had chosen to hang the signs on the barn that advertised the fact the peaches were in season and ready to be picked.

It had seemed like a simple enough task from the ground. He climbed the ladder with relative ease, and hung the beautiful hand-painted sign.

But once he was up so high, Riggs found himself hypnotized by the view.

The berry fields stretched out below and the tree line between the Martins’ land and Dolly Strickland’s farm looked less defined than it did from the ground. His eye traced the path of the paved road curving toward the village of Stargazer.

He could even see the domed roof of the observatory peeking over the slope of the peach orchard and the rhododendron hedge that formed the boundary between the Martins’ farm and Dr. Bhimani’s lab and observatory.

That lab was the only Earth home Riggs and his brothers had known until Drago’s mate, Arden, broke them out and brought them here.

They were still so close to the lab. And yet their lives were very different now.

At the lab, Riggs had lived a passive life. It was not unpleasant, except that his body and mind had craved work, even though he hadn’t known it then.

And of course his mate had not been there.

The thought of Sage sent a shiver of desire down his spine, even as he despaired inwardly.

His intended was wise, hard-working, sensible, and a wild beauty with her full hips and flowing chestnut hair. Her every look made him crazy with the need to hold her and claim her. Every part of his heart, body and mind told him clearly that this woman was his destiny.

And he could see the blush in her cheeks when he came near. She felt it too. He was sure of it.

But she paid no mind to it at all.

He had watched her shiver with desire at his accidental touch, and then turn her head away and set the table as if nothing had happened.

Riggs was convinced she had an iron will. Her incredible discipline would serve them well, especially once they had young to raise.

But for now it was making him crazy.

If only he had his brothers’ gift for endless talking. Then maybe he could convince her that she should be his.

As things were, he had barely been able to speak two words to her.

He had not even told her that he had chosen her as his mate.

Though he had a feeling she wouldn’t want to hear it.

Sage was a good enough talker for both of them. He spent his days working by her side and listening to a flow of her opinions on the farm, the way it was run now, and the way her grandmother had run it. Riggs knew exactly how she felt about politics, the new traffic in the village, the weather, the crops, and even her younger sister, Tansy, who frustrated her and inspired her fiercest love in nearly equal measures.

A woman who narrated her feelings so blithely was the perfect mate for a man who craved company but preferred to speak with his actions. Riggs sometimes felt that Sage sensed this and filled their silences in part to help him understand his new world, and in part to please him.

Or maybe she was just talking to prevent him from saying what they both knew he needed to say.

He spotted movement outside the farmhouse out of the corner of his eye, bringing him out of his reverie.

He turned to see Sage herself, looking out over the farm with a mug of coffee in her hands. Her long hair was still wet from the shower and she wore a pink t-shirt and a pair of cut-off blue jeans. Her expression was pleased - she was doing the same thing he was, enjoying the lay of the land as the dawn slowly illuminated the farm.

She glanced in his direction and he decided to go to her.

Before he could begin his descent, something dashed across the roof of the barn in his direction.

Without thinking, Riggs stepped backward.

The whole ladder tipped and he felt it going down before he could do anything to stop it.

He had just enough time to glimpse a squirrel that seemed almost as startled as he was, then the side of the barn flashed past his eyes and he was looking through the ladder at the sky as he plummeted to the ground.

He could hear Sage’s scream and he was thankful she would not be able to see it when he made impact.

He landed hard on his back and the ladder bounced twice on his chest. As quickly as he could, he slipped out from under it and arranged his limbs naturally.

He was unhurt and felt no pain at all. This was his gift. He was virtually unbreakable.

But Dr. Bhimani had forbidden him from telling anyone about it, except for his true mate once they were bonded. And he had not staked his claim on Sage yet.

She tore down the lawn so fast he could feel the impact of her steps in the ground as she approached.

“Riggs,” she gasped, dropping to her knees at his side.

“I’m okay,” he said softly.

She smelled heavenly, like soap and fresh coffee, and the lighter muskier scent that was Sage herself.

“You aren’t okay,” she half-moaned. “You just fell from a thirty foot ladder. You’re in shock.”

“I wasn’t all the way up,” he said, hating himself for the lie. “I was coming down.”

“You were coming down, alright,” Sage said. “Right on your head.”

He shifted, meaning to sit up and show her he wasn’t hurt.

“Don’t try to move,” she said firmly.

He paused automatically at the authority in her voice.

But then he went ahead and sat up anyway - he couldn’t risk her wanting to call in a doctor.

“See,” he said. “I’m fine.”

She observed him, speechless for once.

Riggs was filled with a desire to fill the silence, but he had no idea what he was supposed to say. Then it came to him. Now was his chance.

“Sage,” he said, emotion welling in his chest. “You are the smartest, most resourceful woman to inhabit the universe. In your wisdom, you already know my feelings, but I wish to speak them aloud to you. I adore you, Sage Martin. I choose you as my mate, the only woman I will ever bond with. Will you accept me?”

She gaped at him for a moment.

“You did hit your head,” she said, recovering at last. “Wow, you are going to laugh later when I tell you what you just said. Let me find your brothers and see if they can help me get you back to the house. I know you won’t want to go to the hospital, but maybe Dr. Bhimani can send over a nurse to check on you.”

“Sage,” Riggs said. He placed a hand on her arm and watched her pupils dilate as the pleasure rushed through her at his touch, just as it rushed through him. “I did not hit my head, and I don’t need a nurse. I only need you. You do not have to answer me now. I just wanted you to know what’s in my heart.”

He hopped to his feet and offered her his hand.

She took it, an expression of wonder on her face.

He hoped it had more to do with his words than his apparent skill at falling.