* * *
Khyle, Tris, Dexter, and Nancy were staying in the barn apartment because it just made sense for the herd to be together instead of having two couples down the road exposed to Colton’s treachery, even with the security systems they had in place.
So after Ford and Darcy ate dinner at a pizza place outside Little River, he asked her if she’d like to come back to the farmhouse for a while and she’d happily agreed.
They went right up to his suite on the second floor and shut the door, then tumbled to the bed, where every instinct in his body told him to tell her that he loved her, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
And that he was a shifter.
But he held back.Because even though things were seemingly back to normal between them tonight, he couldn’t shake the strangeness over the last couple days.
Snuggling under the covers with her as they both came down from the heavens, he asked her what happened.
“With what?”she asked.
“A couple days ago, you seemed kind of distant.I was wondering if I did something wrong or said something that upset you.”
She tilted her head and peered at him in the dark.The lights were off but the blinds were open, allowing in some moonlight.
“I thought you’d changed your mind.”
“About what?”he asked.
“Me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well,” she said, resting her hand on his chest, her fingers digging lightly into his skin.“Things were going really well, and I felt so close to you on Tuesday when you came by for lunch.And then Wednesday, it was like you were a different person.You were distant, distracted.What Cruz said about you being a one-and-done guy got in my head.I talked to Reagan and she said I should tell you what I was feeling, but I was afraid.”
He felt like an ass.He’d been so consumed with worry for the herd that it had spilled over into his relationship with Darcy.Because he’d been worried about bringing her home to the herd to live at some point—soon he hoped—and her getting hurt by Colton and his buddies.
“What were you afraid of?”
“That it was true.That you liked me for a while and were tired of me.I didn’t want to believe it, and I don’t think I really got to that point, but I couldn’t help the way my brain was working.”
“I’m so sorry,” he said.He kissed her gently, his stallion rumbling in his head.“I messed up.I’m so damn sorry.Something happened Tuesday night and I wasn’t sure how to tell you about it, and because of what happened, I was worried about your safety.It must have seemed to you like I was losing interest—which I swear I wasn’t.Not by a long shot.You’re my forever girl, Darcy.There isn’t anyone else I want, just you.Forever.”
“You’re my forever guy too.But what happened that made you worry so much?”
He stared at her, his mind spinning.
How could he tell her about Colton—the real, harsh truth of him—without telling her he was a shifter?
He couldn’t.Not really.It would be half of the truth, and it probably wouldn’t make a damn bit of sense.
“Let’s get dressed.I need to show you something.”
“Wait, what?”she asked.
He grabbed his phone and sent a quick text to Grey.Then he picked up his jeans off the floor.“I need to show you something.”
“Oh.I thought…”
“Trust me,” he said.“I’ll tell you everything, but out in the barn.”
She stared at him for a moment, and then she got out of bed and put on her jeans and sweater.He took her hand and led her from the bedroom and down the stairs to the front door, where he grabbed their coats before they stepped outside.
“I do trust you,” she said while they walked to the barn that the herd used for shifting.
