"It's my miserable body, not I." "It's all right, it's all right," I reassured her, my arm passing instinctively and protectingly around her.
I shall never forget, in that moment, how instantly conscious I became of my manhood.

The primitive deeps of my nature stirred.

I felt myself masculine, the protector of the weak, the fighting male.

And, best of all, I felt myself the protector of my loved one.

She leaned against me, so light and lily-frail, and as her trembling eased away it seemed as though I became aware of prodigious strength.