Chapter 6
Ford spent most of Monday pretending to work, but all he could really do was think about Darcy.
Their first date? Spectacular.
That kiss? Changed him on a cellular level.
Time? Freaking crawling.
Six o’clock couldn’t come fast enough.
His stallion was restless all damn day while he’d spent time in the farmhouse working on the cabinets in Avi and Fallon’s bathroom on the first floor.
His newly mated friend’s mate—a jaguar shifter—was pregnant and the two had claimed a bedroom on the first floor that had an unfinished bathroom, next to another bedroom that would become the nursery.
As the guy who handled this sort of thing, Ford had taken the day off from working on the tractor in the barn to lend his carpentry skills to finishing the bathroom cabinets.
He settled back on his heels and admired his work.
“It looks great, man, thanks,” Avi said, leaning against the open doorway.
“Fallon has great taste. These cabinets look really nice in here.”
“She definitely has great taste, she picked me.”
Ford snorted with a laugh. Gathering his tools, he rose to his feet and turned to leave the bathroom.
“So when are you picking up Darcy?” Avi asked.
“Six.”
The two walked into the bedroom and Ford put the tools in the box he’d brought from the storage barn.
“You’ve been working in the bathroom since before breakfast,” Avi said.
“I wanted to keep myself busy. Otherwise I just sit around smiling and thinking of Darcy.”
“Ah,” Avi said with a knowing smile. “That happens when you find your soulmate.”
“Every freaking thought I have revolves around her.” And that damn kiss. He definitely didn’t want it to end. The heat between them had been palpable, but he wasn’t trying to rush things. She was human and didn’t know about shifters.
Which meant he was also harboring some guilt at having to keep a part of himself secret.
“I’m worried she’ll see something that I can’t explain,” he said finally.
“Your stallion?”
“Yeah.”
“Grey is who you should talk to, since Tatum is human. Remember how pissed she was when he told her about shifters and she thought he was teasing her?”
“Yeah,” Ford said with a laugh.
“You just have to wait for her to fall for you. And I honestly think if you’re already feeling so strongly for her, she’s probably feeling the same way, and you’ll be showing her your shift and swearing her to secrecy soon enough.
And hell, you can probably involve her friend Rhomi, since her mate is a shifter and she can help her come to terms with things. ”
“Good point.” Ford blew out a breath. “I’m so glad I met her, though. You and Fallon wanting to go to the park yesterday was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“So you owe me?” Avi asked, rocking back on his heels.
“Definitely.”
“Awesome. I’ll remember that when the baby’s awake in the middle of the night and Fallon and I want to get some sleep.”
“Just holler, I’ll walk the floor all night with your little one.”
Avi grinned.
Ford felt his chest tighten a bit. He wanted to believe that Darcy would fall for him quickly, because he knew he was going to fall for her fast. That’s the way it was with soulmates.
But she was human, and humans sometimes fought against the love-at-first-sight sort of feelings that accompanied finding the other half of your heart.
He also freaking worried about bringing her into the herd with Colton constantly lurking in the shadows.
“You’re thinking too hard,” Avi said, patting his shoulder. “Stop worrying and just enjoy finding Darcy. Everything will work out as it’s supposed to and you’ll know when the time is right to share the truth of shifters and the need for secrecy, even from her brother and her other best friend.”
“Thanks, man.”
“Anytime. Thanks for putting in Fallon’s cabinets. She’ll be ecstatic.”
“My pleasure.”
He checked the time on his phone and saw it was almost five, so he had an hour to shower, dress, and get to her place.
By the time his truck rolled into the gravel lot of her apartment complex’s parking area, with Crew and Zara in the truck behind him at a discreet distance for security purposes, his stallion had settled down, anticipating spending the evening with the beautiful female.
He wanted tonight to be perfect.
Climbing the stairs to her apartment, he knocked twice, his heart hammering in his chest as he heard the click of heels approaching the door.
She pulled it open, smiling sweetly and looking like a dream come to life in a short, curve-hugging dress and heels.
He wanted to fall at her feet and worship her.
Toss her over his shoulder and race to the nearest bedroom to find out what she sounded like when she fell apart.
And a hundred other mildly inappropriate things ahead of their second date in two days.
Instead of suggesting any of those things, he smiled at her.
“You look amazing, Darcy.”
“You do too,” she said. “I missed you. Is that weird? I know we texted when I had breaks, and talked during lunch, but it was just not enough.”
She pursed her lips like she thought she might have said too much, but he didn’t think she had at all. He stepped close and put a hand in the small of her back. He pulled her gently to him, her soft curves to the hard planes of his body, and whispered, “It’s not weird at all. I missed you too.”
With a soft sigh, she tilted her face to his and he kissed her.
And the whole world dropped away.
* * *
Dinner had gone better than Ford had hoped.
Crew and Zara had recommended a steakhouse that wasn’t fancy, but was warm and welcoming, with candles on the tables and big windows that overlooked the street.
They’d both had steak and baked potatoes after sharing mozzarella sticks, which turned out to be a mutual favorite.
They laughed over the meal, sharing stories that didn’t feel like small talk, but like two people earnestly wanting to know more about each other.
By the time he paid the check, he was thinking about the rest of the evening and how he didn’t really want the night to end.
“I have a thought,” he said, as he offered her his arm and escorted her from the restaurant.
“Do tell,” she said.
He unlocked the truck and opened the door for her.
“One of my friend’s girlfriends is really good at baking. Like she could have a bakery. And I asked her to make a special dessert for us. It’s at the farm, if you’d like to come back with me for a while? I really don’t want the evening to end just yet.”
She smiled up at him. “I was going to invite you back to my place, but I got a text that Cruz only worked a half shift and is already home, which means we wouldn’t have any privacy. I don’t want the night to be finished yet either.”
“Farm?” he asked, his stallion galloping for joy in his head.
“Absolutely.”
Grinning like a fool, he helped her into the truck and shut the door, then got behind the wheel, discreetly waving at Crew and Zara in the truck a row behind them.
On the drive to the farm, he told her more about his friends and farm life, the few cattle, the coop of chickens, and Daisy the goat that liked to get into everything.
She shared about how her friend Rhomi had met Mercer at the park in the security office when they’d gone to the park with their other friend Reagan on a whim.
“And now they’re having a baby and so happy,” she said, sighing wistfully.
“Mercer’s a good guy. I’m sure he’s over the moon to be with her and starting a family.”
“They both are.”
When they drew close to the farm, he used an app on his phone to open the metal gate that kept the driveway private.
“Oh, fancy,” she said, sitting up a little straighter as the gate opened slowly.
“We had a jackass trying to claim he was the rightful owner of the farm,” he said, measuring his words carefully so he didn’t alarm her while explaining the security features, “and so we’ve done some things around the farm to keep us all safe.”
“Is he still bothering you guys?”
“We haven’t seen him for a while, but he’s just a nutjob who thinks he should be able to take over what we built. And we said hell no, of course.”
She chuckled. “Of course. Well, I hope he steers clear of the farm.”
“Me too.”
He parked next to the storage barn and came around to her side to open her door. The November night was cool with a light breeze, and he was glad he’d thought to turn on the heat in the barn apartment.
“We’re going into the barn?” she asked.
“Yep. The farmhouse can be busy with everyone who lives here, but there’s a studio apartment in this barn that the former owner built for his son.
Our caretaker—Tris—used to live here until she got together with Khyle.
They live a little bit down the road.” He’d told her about working for Dexter and Khyle with the construction company when he wasn’t busy working on the farm equipment.
“Cool.”
He led her into the barn and up the stairs to the apartment. He’d cleaned it earlier, stocking the fridge and putting the special dessert that Zara had made for them inside.
“This is really neat,” she said. “Cozy.”
“It’s nice to have on hand, especially when we need some privacy.”
He motioned for her to sit on the couch and went to the fridge to grab the dessert. Zara had made a brownie with thick ganache frosting, setting it on a plate with fresh raspberries. It looked perfect and delicious.
Grabbing forks and tucking water bottles under his arm, he joined her on the couch.
They toasted the dessert by clinking their forks together, both laughing at the silliness of it all, and then each took a bite. She closed her eyes with a hum. “Oh, this is wonderful.”
“I’m so glad you like it.”
“I like it,” she said, her voice dropping a little. “I like everything about this night. Especially you.”
“I like you too.”
Their gazes locked, and he wasn’t sure he was even breathing.
He wanted so much in that moment. To pull her close and kiss her. To tell her just how much she was coming to mean to him already.
But he just stared at her. Because he wanted her to decide how fast things moved between them.
Then she set her fork on the plate and took his hand. She leaned in and kissed him, soft but certain. He froze for a moment, then groaned low in his chest as his self-control frayed. He kissed her back, savoring the taste of chocolate and fruit on her lips.
When she pulled from the kiss, her cheeks were flushed. “Why do I feel so close to you after two days?”
How the hell was he supposed to answer that without sharing about his shifter nature.
“Do you believe in fate?” he asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
“I wasn’t sure I did until Rhomi and Mercer met the way they did. And now that I’ve met you and it was just so crazy how our lives lined up on Saturday to cross paths? I definitely do. How about you?”
“One thousand percent.”
The air went electric between them, her eyes darkening and the scent of her arousal making his stallion whinny in his head.
“Good,” she said. She rested her hand on his chest, where his heart was pounding in anticipation beneath her palm. She whispered his name and leaned in, and everything fell away except the two of them: the beautiful human and the stallion.