Chapter 9 #2
He’d been nothing but kind to Ash in the short time they’d spent together, and he’d still obviously been keen for their date to go ahead. But the fact that he’d put his own body on the line for her was on another level entirely! It only confirmed what she’d sensed about him to begin with.
“And you didn’t get hurt at all?” she asked, concerned. He seemed fine, but that branch had been huge.
He shook his head. “I was a bit sore, but the pain’s already gone. Shifters heal fast.” His eyes seemed to burn with intensity. “I would do the same thing a thousand times over for you.”
“Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Diana laughed, feeling a little awed at Calvin’s level of devotion. “The trees around here are generally pretty sturdy, so I think we’d have to be unlucky to encounter a situation like this again.”
“Still,” Calvin said. “If anything ever does happen, I’ll protect you. And Ash and Bella as well.”
There is no way Calvin is real, Diana thought, slightly dazed. He’s too perfect.
“Is there anything else you’d like to tell me while we’re getting things off our chests?” she asked. “Is the whole thing where you make things cold part of being a shifter, too?”
“It’s a wyvern thing,” Calvin said. “Other shifters have their own powers. For example, pegasi can control water, while dragons have the power of good luck.”
“Pegasi?” she muttered, feeling dazed, before adding, “Good luck? I’d love to have that power.”
“It would be handy,” Calvin said, his hand coming up to cup her face, his thumb stroking her cheek. “But I don’t think I could get any luckier than I already have been, meeting you.”
“Oh, stop,” Diana said, feeling her face burn hot.
“It’s true,” Calvin replied. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”
“Well, I guess that would make me the luckiest girl in the world,” Diana said as she leaned into his touch. “And I do think that’s true. I can’t really explain how I feel about you, Calvin – as cheesy and ridiculous as it sounds, it almost feels like we’re fated to be together.”
Calvin froze abruptly, his thumb stilling against her cheek, and Diana felt sudden suspicion building inside her.
“No,” she said. “No way.”
“… Would that be a problem?” Calvin asked, sounding almost sheepish.
“The universe has decreed that we hook up?” Diana said faintly.
Calvin swallowed heavily. “Well… not in those terms, exactly. Each shifter has a mate somewhere in the world – a person who is meant just for them. Most shifters don’t ever find their mate, and they can live happy lives with other people of their choosing. But when you meet your mate, well…”
“It’s like sparks fly when you touch them,” Diana said, realizing suddenly the meaning of the electric hum she could feel under her skin whenever she and Calvin touched. She could feel it now, where his fingers brushed her face. It was a comforting sensation.
It felt like home.
Calvin paused, before shaking his head ruefully, laughing a little at himself. “Well, that went a lot more smoothly than I thought it would.”
“Have you been stewing over this since yesterday?” said Diana with a laugh.
“Not that I can blame you, really – it is a lot for me to take in. Probably I’ll be eating dinner tonight and then suddenly it’ll hit me that I’m – I’m mated to a gorgeous, kind guy who can turn into a scaly beast and make popsicles with his breath. ”
“You make me sound so appealing,” Calvin said, smiling.
“Meanwhile, I’m mated to the most wonderful, smart, beautiful woman in the world, and she has a wonderful child that I’d love to get to know better.
” His expression became more serious. “That is, as long as you’re happy with me spending more time with Ash? And he’s happy with it?”
“He’s happy, believe me,” Diana said, almost deliriously pleased at how well her day was going. “He really likes you.”
Calvin looked relieved. “I’m so glad to hear that. He’s a really good kid. Though I worry he’s going to be running rings around me – I barely even know what a cryptic crossword is.”
Diana’s heart soared. Calvin really was beyond perfect.
She grinned. “Bella loves you too, by the way. She was so sad when you left – she was waiting at the door for hours.”
“Poor Bella,” Calvin murmured. “I’ll have to bring her a treat, to apologize for my hasty departure.”
“I’m sure she won’t say no to that,” Diana said. “She’s very partial to cheese, by the way.” Slyly she added, “As am I.”
“Noted.”
Diana sighed happily, relaxing once more against Calvin’s broad chest and just letting him hold her.
“Okay,” she said, closing her eyes and enjoying his warmth. “So: you can turn into a dragon – sorry, a wyvern. You have the power to make things cold. And you’re fated to spend your life with me.”
She opened her eyes and tilted her chin up, giving him a cheeky grin.
“That sounds like enough secrets to reveal for one day, doesn’t it?
There’s nothing else you’ve got up your sleeve?
No obscure weaknesses that can fell you with a single blow?
No murderous family members who’ll be coming after me because I’m not a shifter? ”
Instead of the expected reassuring laugh, there was silence.
Diana resisted the urge to slap herself on the forehead.
Come on. You’ve got to be kidding me.
“What is it?” she asked, pulling back a little and holding his gaze with her best no-nonsense look. “Spit it out. It can’t be any more of a shock than anything else you’ve told me.”
I hope, she silently added.
Calvin shuffled awkwardly, then cleared his throat.
“I really hate to bring this up after everything else I just told you,” he said, looking way more embarrassed than a man his age had any right to look. “But, well… I think I might be under a curse.”