18. Lyndon

Chapter 18

Lyndon

T he door opened to the bathroom, and I shoved the basket under the table so Darcy couldn't see it. This was stupid. Darcy would think this was stupid. Maybe I should wait? We still had so much work to do, and Mother was coming tomorrow. I shouldn't be wasting time on something silly like this.

"Lyn? What'sss wrong? You feel . . . frantic."

I whirled around, kicking the basket even farther out of view. Good going, that's not obvious at all . Darcy's brow scrunched with concern. The bond was still unpredictable and not very strong, and I wasn't used to it, but Darcy was adjusting much better than I was and had started to sense my emotions. I kept forgetting so I wasn't doing the best job of keeping them in check. Though, I guessed if we were really making a go of this mate thing, I was probably supposed to let Darcy feel what I was feeling. Too bad I still didn't understand what that was.

"Um . . ." Goddess. Why was I acting like this? I could tell I was worrying Darcy, and why?

"I, uh. I want to take you on a date."

Darcy's eyes widened, as he clearly was not expecting that. Why would he? I'd been acting hot and cold since he'd fell into my life.

"You do?"

"Yes. I mean, only if you want to."

"I want to!" he interrupted quickly, and I felt like I could breathe again. "But, uh, where? Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great idea, but I thought I couldn't leave?"

I frowned. See, this was a bad idea. But Darcy was still humming with excitement and his tail was swinging happily behind him like he was a puppy instead of a reptile.

"We'd have to stay here. I'm sorry. But I was thinking we could walk up to the creek at the edge of my property?" I kicked the basket into his view. "We could have a picnic."

Darcy licked his lips. "You made a picnic for me? I alwayssss wanted to do one. I ssssee them in the human movies all the time."

I felt an unexplainable burst of pride. I'd done something right and made my mate happy. I never expected to find pleasure in such a primal instinct, but here we were.

"Okay then, um, let's go."

Darcy smiled that world-brightening smile at me and took my hand. I picked up the basket with the other, and we left the cabin.

It was a nice day out. We'd been lucky and had a string of them. Fall in New England was hit or miss. Sometimes it was nearly as warm as summer, and other times we had snowstorms. Lately, we'd been experiencing some true fall weather.

But the closer we got to the creek, the more I noticed Darcy shivering. "Are you cold, sunshine?"

He smiled sheepishly at me. "Lizard, remember? We're cold-blooded."

Oh. Oh fuck. I'd never even thought of that. "I'm sorry, Darcy. I haven't been considering some of the needs you might have. What can I do to make it easier for you? Do you want to go inside now?"

"No, definitely not. Just, can we set up the picnic in direct sunlight? That will help."

"Of course. And besides that? Anything at the cabin?"

Darcy shrugged and looked away, seeming uncharacteristically shy. "I'm fine, really, Lyn. Thanks."

"Darc," I warned. "What do you need?"

"Uh, maybe some heat lamps? I had a bunch at my apartment back home. And, if you have space for it, anywhere I can make a nest. Just blankets and stuff is fine."

I was a special kind of asshole. I had been so up in my own head, it had never even occurred to me to ask about Darcy's basic needs. He wasn't human, so of course it made sense he might need things that I wouldn't. Especially in a totally different world and, probably, climate than his kind was used to.

"Anything you need, sunshine. I, uh, I want you to feel like this is your home too." We hadn't totally discussed what would happen if Ambrose ever figured out how to open the portal. Darcy kept saying he wanted to be with me, and I believed him, but if he truly had a way to get home, I wouldn't blame him if he took it. Maybe if I started to act like I wanted to be his mate and it wasn't a chore to be near him, then he'd choose to stay no matter what.

"Thanks, Lyn. That means a lot to me." He seemed to genuinely mean that. I squeezed his hand tighter as I led him to the clearing around the creek.

As soon as I laid out the blanket, Darcy plopped down and then stretched out in the sun, looking every bit the lizard he partly was. I had taken some time to find the sunniest spot, and I must've found it. I was probably going to burn, but it would be worth it. Besides, I had a really good burn salve I'd made. It would clear me up in minutes. It was one of my most popular sellers.

I sat down next to him, and he instinctually curled up into my side. I wrapped my arm around him.

"It's so strange, but being out here, I really want to shift into my full form."

"So why don't you? I don't mind." Darcy titled his head up to look at me.

"Are you sure? You packed a whole lunch and —" I kissed his head to cut him off.

"It will still be there when you shift back. Go ahead, sunshine. I didn't really get to see your form last time. I was too focused on everything else."

He scrambled to his feet and started to pull down his pants. "Remember, I shift back naked. I don't want to scramble your brains like last time."

I kicked at his foot lightly. "Oh hush. Excuse me if I wasn't prepared for you to have two dicks."

"They didn't teach you that in human biology class?"

"Considering I went to school at the coven, I never had a traditional biology class, but we never learned that, no."

"What are some of the things that you did learn?"

"Why don't you shift and I can tell you."

Darcy's grin with huge as he took off his sweats and shifted almost effortlessly in front of me. That would be something I'd have to get used to, as most of the shifters I knew had rough shifts with a lot of breaking bone sounds and gross movements. Darcy's was so fluid, it was beautiful.

Soon, Darcy was in his full lizard form and was curled back into my legs. I lightly rubbed my fingers up and down his spine, enjoying the feel of his surprisingly smooth scales, just like in his hybrid form. The sun was beating right down on me, so I lifted my head up to soak it in as I began talking.

I wasn't sure how long I sat there just telling stories about my coven and my childhood, but by the time I was done, the sun was no longer right on us.

"Hey, sunshine," I whispered quietly as I realized Darcy was starting to doze off. "Are you ready to shift back and eat?" Luckily, it was just sandwiches, so nothing that couldn't sit out for a bit.

Darcy nuzzled into my leg in response before scurrying a little bit off the blanket. He had explained to me before that unlike a lot of other hybrid forms, Darcy didn't feel the need to shift regularly. He could stay in one form for years with no issues and vice versa. I wondered what had made him feel like he needed to shift today. Not that I was complaining. Darcy in either form was beautiful.

He shifted as easily back into his hybrid form as he had initially. Once again, I was stunned momentarily by his naked body. Even though I'd seen it a few times now and had been up close and intimate with every part of him, he still took my breath away. It was amazing how my perspective could change in such a short time. Had it been less than a month ago that he'd landed in my garden and I'd wanted him gone? What was this man doing to me?

Darcy scurried back onto the blanket, not bothering with his clothes. I just shook my head and opened the basket. No one else was here, and if either of my cousins did decide to drop by, well, that was a them problem. Maybe they'd finally stop sneaking past my wards.

I picked up the first sandwich and handed it to Darcy. I had also gotten some freshly baked pastries when I'd gone into town to drop off my goods and handed one to him as well.

"Oooh. Oh gods, I haven't had one of these in forever. Rafe has such a thing for bear claws, so we used to pick up some for breakfast almost every day before work."

I smiled softly. I hoped one day he'd be able to see his friends again, even if a small part of me thought he'd go back and never return. I could tell how much his family meant to him, and I didn't want to take that away from him.

We kept the conversation light as we ate. He told me some stories about working on the human military base and some of the funny things that had happened when the monsters had been adjusting to the new human world. I told him some of the mischief Ambrose had gotten into growing up. Or yesterday. He explained more about his reptile instincts, and I talked about my magic and what it felt like. Mine was so different than most of my coven's, and presented itself so uniquely that I got kind of used to explaining it. It was less of a chore talking to Darcy about it though. He was so invested and asked many questions no one ever asked for. I loved seeing the world from his point of view.

By the time the sun started to set and Darcy was shivering so hard we had to go in, I felt connected to him even deeper than I had when we'd finalized the bond. It was insane, but I was falling for this man, and fast. Sure, part of it was the bond, but somehow, I knew I'd fall for Darcy even if the goddess wasn't meddling. He was mine.