ChapterOne
“I’ve heard of shifters.I have a friend or two.I just didn’t realize….”Darcy stared.
The guy stared back at him.
“That they could be so small,” Darcy finished.
“I know I break physics.”The guy looked so proud, and then he leaned in slightly and added, “It’s called magic.”
That made him chuckle because, yeah, shifters were totally magical.Because, well, shifters.
“You’re still?—"
“Naked?That would be because my clothes are back on the beach.”
“I meant—" He waved at the guy.“—rainbowy.”
“Oh!”The guy shook himself and the colors faded away, leaving lightly tanned skin in their wake.“Those assholes thought it would be amusing to put me on a little rainbow flag and make me turn all the colors.Joke’s on them—I love rainbows.”He did a little twirl, looking totally comfortable in his skin.
Darcy could understand why—it was very lovely skin.“You are also still naked,” he pointed out.Not that he was complaining, though he probably shouldn’t be looking as hard as he was.But… well, he was human after all and at the moment, so was this guy.
“Clothes back at the beach—which you’ve taken me away from.”
“Right!Sorry.”He mentally shook himself.“I wanted to get you somewhere safe and figured home was the best option until I could look up how to take care of you.”
“Three squares and lots of petting.”The guy winked.
And Darcy became suddenly aware that he was already semi-hard and in danger of going full-on wood.He cleared his throat and turned away.“Let me go get you something from my closet.”
“I’m not in the closet, honey.”The words were tinged with laughter.
“Clothes.I mean clothes.”And he was probably going to grab them from his little dresser rather than the closet.Semantics.He opened the third drawer down, finding a pair of red shorts with strings and a T-shirt.Which just happened to be rainbow tie-dye.It made him smile—he thought his very unexpected houseguest would appreciate that.
When he returned to the living room, he found the shifter at his window, looking out.The back view of the guy was as enticing as the front, the bubble butt in front of him doing nothing to encourage Darcy’s cock to stand down.
Darcy cleared his throat, and the guy turned, giving him a smile when he saw the items in Darcy’s hands.
“Oh, that looks perfect.I’ll look like an orphan but at colorful one at least.”Eyes twinkling, the guy—Darcy didn’t even know his name—took the clothes and slipped into them.He looked like he was drowning in them, but they more than covered everything up.
“I’m Darcy, by the way.”He held out his hand.
The guy stared for a moment, then grinned and shook.“I’m Charma—with a ch not a k.”
Charma’s hand felt good in his, warm and smooth.And still not encouraging a downturn in his lower parts.Hell, not even the oversized clothing was making Charma any less sexy.
“Charma with achpronounced like ak, eh?”
“Yep, mom is… unique.She said it was either that or Leon.I’m glad she went with Charma.”
“It’s cool.Suits you.”
“Thank you.”Charma gave him a pleased little look.“And thank you for the rescue.I’m pretty sure bad things were going to happen, and I was going to have to shift back in front of a lot of people, and then more bad things were going to happen.”
“Being out on the beach as a chameleon doesn’t seem like the most… prudent idea.”
Charma rolled his eyes.“I was out basking in the sunshine—it’s been so damp and rainy, you know?Anyway, I guess I lost track of myself and shifted to bask even better.”
“You can shift without even realizing it?”Darcy had to admit that he was fascinated, not just because Charma was pretty damn hot, even when he wasn’t naked, but he didn’t know any shifters.Oh, he’d met one at some event or other, but a handshake and a how-are-you-fine-thanks-how-are-you did not constitute knowing.The community as a whole kept pretty much to themselves.Charma might be out as a gay man, but Darcy would bet his ability to shift was pretty deep in the closet.People could be such assholes.
