Page 10 of All My Hexes (Pine Gulch Ever After)
Dain
Shadow’s scent changes from playful and teasing to slightly morose. It sets my teeth on edge, my protector nature rising hot and heavy with the need to take that scent and push it back toward delicious. This is supposed to be a fun night, but something’s obviously got her concerned.
I set down the picnic basket and blanket, bringing both hands to her shoulders. “Hey, pretty girl, what’s goin’ through that head of yours?”
She smiles, although it doesn’t fully reach her eyes. “I was just thinking about how I’m already a little sad to go home.” She waves around at the sunflowers. “This is so beautiful, so special, and I just?—”
I know what she means, though. It’s something I can’t quite put a name to because surely it’s too much, too soon to call her mine. It hasn’t been long enough and we don’t know each other that well. But my parents always told me that one day, when I found her , I’d know.
And here she is.
I smile. “Tonight doesn’t have to be the end, Shadow. Not if we don’t want it to be.”
She nods, but I can tell she’s not fully convinced. While it’s true that the Grand Portal Station makes it far easier to travel between monster havens, it’s still a little bit of a trek, especially from here.
I pull her toward the closest clump of flowers, thumbing the cheerful yellowy orange petals.
“These are unusual,” she says, her tone full of awe, running her fingers along the petals’ outer edge.
“They’re half Moonflower,” I share. “They’ll start changing in a second. Our original keeper, Sipan, was a green witch and the sunflowers were another passion project of his. Turns out they only grow well on this one outcropping. They’ve really taken over, too, in the years they’ve been here.”
Shadow laughs, dark brows lifting as she walks into the field and examines the flowers.
I remain quietly watchful as she looks at the leaves and touches the seed heads in the middle of the petals.
She closes her eyes and touches one of the flower’s stems. I assume she’s doing something with her power, but a moment later she breaks into a smile.
It’s radiant, highlighting a tiny dimple to the left of that smile.
I want to lick my way up her neck and kiss that mouth again. To watch it drop open when she shouts my name like she did earlier this weekend. I need it again, the way I need breath to fill my lungs, the way I need to feel my heart beat.
She opens those shocking green eyes and smiles over at me. “This is extraordinary, Dain. Thank you for this gift.”
I reach down and grab the blanket, laying it out. “Wait until the sun starts heading down and then you’ll really see something.”
She rejoins me, eyeing the picnic basket. “This is like, a for really real date, huh?”
I reach into the picnic basket and withdraw both a bottle of wine and a canister full of margaritas, offering her her pick of either.
“For really real,” I confirm. “I’m taking it a date at a time. When this one’s done, if you have fun I’m gonna ask you for another one. And another one. And another one.”
Her smile falls again. “What are we doing, Dain? You seem to love it here and I love Rainbow. I…I feel the same pull you do but how would this ever work out?”
I love that she says what she’s thinking, not holding back her worries even though this is literally a second date. It should be far too early for serious relationship discussions, but despite that, it feels right.
Grabbing a plastic cup from the picnic basket, I lick the rim and then twirl it in the rimmer I brought just for this occasion. She watches the movement of my tongue just like I hoped she would. I’d bet a million dollars she’s thinking about what I did with that tongue when we got together.
Next I find the baggie of sliced limes, sliding one onto the rim and hand the drink to her.
“I don’t know how this’ll work out,” I admit, pouring a second drink for myself. “But I wanna know, Shadow. Don’t you?”
It’s uncommon to connect with someone this easily. It’s certainly never happened like that for me in the past.
“I’ve been on precisely two first dates in all the time I’ve lived in Gulch,” I offer. “And no second ones.”
She’s quiet for a moment, sipping on the margarita. When that hot, pink tongue peeks out of her mouth to wet her lower lip, I swear I come a little in my jeans.
“Yes.” Her answer’s so soft, so hopeful, it takes everything in me not to steal her away, take her home and start the ravishing now.
If I had any doubt at all before this moment, that doubt is gone with one simple word from her. This might seem like too much too soon to some, but I find that I don’t care, because my heart is helping my mind catch up to what it knows is true—Shadow is my mate.