Cricket (Cricket Kendall Book 1), page 4
He crouches down, ready to pounce. I squeal and start running over the water away from him. He lunges and splashes into the water only a couple of feet away, completely soaking me again. I keep running and he follows behind me, crashing his enormous body through the water. The lake must not be deep, because he doesn’t seem to have any trouble touching the bottom. Only in the very center does it seem like it’s deep enough that he has to doggy-paddle, which I find ridiculously adorable.
I’m having so much fun that I completely lose track of time. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so lighthearted, or so completely free to truly be myself and to test my power without limits.
Eventually, I feel myself slowing down. I think I might be getting close to using up my magical energy. I’ve never pushed it this far before. Before I can tell Theo I might need a break, he lunges up from the water and tackles me. I’m pulled down into the water so suddenly that I get water in my nose and mouth. When I break the surface, I spend several seconds coughing and spluttering. Theo instantly shifts back into his human form again, and he holds me up while treading water.
“Oh fuck, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He stares at me with wide, horror-stricken eyes.
Once I catch my breath, I give him a small smile. “It’s okay, you didn’t hurt me.”
He presses his forehead against mine. “Cricket,” he says, his voice sounding like he’s physically in pain. “I just fucking body slammed you into the water.”
I brush a lock of his hair out of his eyes. He looks terrified. I keep my eyes locked on his and say, “Theo, listen to me. I am not hurt. You just caught me by surprise, and I breathed water into my nose.”
He bites his lip and shakes his head, eyes still locked on mine. “But I could have—”
“Yes,” I cut him off. “You could have hurt me. We both need to be more careful next time, but I trust you. And I want you to trust me.”
He looks like he wants to argue, but after a few moments, he breathes out deeply and says, “Okay. I trust you too.”
I smile brightly, and it only takes a second for him to smile back. He’s still holding me up in the water, and I realize how exhausted I really am.
“Can you swim back to shore?” he asks. We’re nearly in the center of the lake. It’s not that far, but I’m embarrassed to admit I’m not sure if I can make it or not.
Theo notices my grimace and chuckles. “It’s okay. I’m going to shift again, and I can carry you on my back. Alright?”
Before I can respond or even nod in acknowledgment, Theo shifts back into a wolf. His feet can’t touch the ground here, so he starts doggy-paddling in a circle around me and whines until I’ve pulled myself onto his back. He quickly swims up to the shore and leaps up onto the ground with me still clinging tightly to his fur.
He crouches low, so it’s easier for me to get down. Once both my feet are on the ground again, he shifts back into his human form. We’re both dripping wet, so I use the air to quickly dry myself and shake out my tangled hair.
Theo pouts. “Hey, what about me?”
I give him a small smile and shake my head. “I don’t know what it will feel like for you.”
Theo flips his wet hair out of his eyes and gives me a wild grin. “Like I said, I trust you.”
I bite my lip since I’ve never really used my magic on somebody like this before, not even my brothers. But Theo is grinning like a maniac, so I quickly wave my hand and dry him using my magic too.
“Thanks! That’s actually pretty fucking practical. And in case you were wondering, it feels warm and sort of tingly.”
I laugh, and I automatically lean against him when he throws his arm around my shoulders. He smiles and asks if I’m ready to go home. I sigh sadly, but nod. I had so much fun today, and part of me never wants to leave. Theo offers to give me a piggyback ride, and I’m tired enough that I don’t object.
We slowly make our way back to the jeep, a comfortable silence between us. When I get into the vehicle and see the time on the dash, I clap a hand over my mouth. It’s just after five, which means we were playing in the forest for nearly four hours.
“Holy crap, it didn’t feel like we were out there for that long.”
Theo grimaces down at his phone. “Sorry, I didn’t realize. No wonder you’re so worn out.”
A few seconds later, he’s still frowning at something on his phone. I tap my fingers lightly against his thigh. “What’s wrong? Do you need to go home?”
He shakes his head and gives me a lopsided smile. “Nah, it’s just Cas and Hollis. They’ve been blowing up my phone. I don’t really want to tell them about you just yet.”
I pick up my flannel that I’d left folded on the floor of the jeep with my sandals earlier and thread my arms through it. While I’m buttoning it up, I frown and ask, “Why’s that?”
Theo suddenly seems extremely focused on my fingers, and his eyes follow all the way up my shirt until they stop on my chest.
I laugh and snap my fingers in front of his face. “Seriously?”
He grins and meets my eyes again, not looking ashamed in the slightest. “Sorry, what were you asking me?”
I roll my eyes playfully, but I bite my lip as I rephrase my question. “Why don’t you want your friends to know about me? You don’t think they’ll like me?”
He shakes his head quickly. “No, that’s the problem. They’re going to fucking love you. And I know you’re going to be crazy about them too. I just...” He gives me a shy smile and softens his voice. “I want to keep you all to myself for a little while.”
I grin and lean over to rest my forehead against his shoulder. “Ugh, why do you have to be so adorable?”
He gives me his scrunchy-nose smile and laughs, nuzzling his face into my hair. It reminds me of him in his wolf form, and I can’t help giggling.
He pulls back and raises his eyebrows at me with a goofy smile. “So, do you like my wolf?”
I widen my eyes and laugh in delight. “You’re fucking huge! I really don’t know what I expected, but seriously, you’re magnificent.”
“Cricket, you are fucking magnificent. I’ve never seen anything so amazing! When you made those books fly around the shop yesterday, I was so impressed. But today, holy shit, I can’t even...” He grins excitedly and bounces around. “I had no idea you could do that.”
My excitement mirrors his. “Honestly, neither did I. I’ve never done any of that before!”
“What! But you made it look so natural. Throwing a fucking tree across a field...” He laughs. “And you were flying so fast around that lake I couldn’t even catch you.”
“It was fucking nuts! I’ve never used my magic for so long before though. I’ve never really had the freedom to test it like that.”
Theo ruffles my hair playfully. “Well, we can play with your magic any time you want. That was so much fucking fun.” His smile softens, and he runs his eyes over me quickly before asking a little apprehensively, “I mean, you’re okay, right? Do you feel like you overdid it?”
I spread my fingers out and look down at my hands. I can still feel my magic vibrating just beneath my skin. It’s a little fainter than usual, but it’s still there. I shake my head and smile up at him. “No, I think I’m mostly just tired.”
He sighs in relief and starts the jeep. “Okay, good. Let’s get you home.”
Chapter Six
The drive back to Aurora’s place is peaceful. Theo has the radio playing quietly, and he’s tapping his fingers on the steering wheel along to the music. Every couple of minutes, he glances over and smiles at me. My heart feels so full and happy. I’ve never felt so connected to somebody before. Not my family, and not even Aurora. I don’t know why, and I can’t really explain it. But my magic feels like it’s somehow bonded to Theo.
When he parks outside the bookshop, he hesitates before getting out. He finally looks at me and opens his mouth, but his phone rings before he gets a word out.
He grunts in annoyance and answers the call with a bark. “What?”
The person on the other line is so loud that I can hear them clearly. “Where the fuck have you been all day? You haven’t answered any of our texts!”
I lean forward, being nosy. Theo gives me an exasperated look, but then he smiles and puts the call on speakerphone.
“I’ve been busy,” Theo answers vaguely and gives me a dopey smile, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
I accidentally giggle and slap a hand over my mouth. It’s quiet for a few seconds, and the guy on the phone blows up again.
“Are you shitting me right now? Hollis, this motherfucker is blowing us off for a fucking girl.” There’s some mumbling in the background that I can’t make out, and the caller shouts, “I just heard a girl laugh. He’s with her right fucking now.”
Theo rolls his eyes. “Yes, I’m with a girl right now.”
“She’d better be the best goddamn lay you’ve ever had if you can’t even text your best friends back, asshole!”
I raise one eyebrow at Theo, silently shaking from giggling so much. He blushes and practically growls into the phone. “She can hear you, Cas, you fucking idiot.”
Cas laughs. “That’s not my fault! Send me a picture.”
“I’m hanging up!” Theo growls.
Theo looks so adorably embarrassed. His blush makes his hair appear even redder than usual, and for the first time, I notice that he has a few faint freckles under his eyes. I’d seriously love nothing more than to count every single freckle. My eyes slowly wander his body, and I wonder if he has freckles anywhere else…
When I realize he still looks embarrassed a few moments later, I feel bad. I should definitely stop checking him out too. I remember he was trying to tell me something before the phone rang, so I give him an apologetic smile and ask, “What were you going to say before he called?”
Theo taps his fingers mindlessly against the steering wheel and hesitantly says, “Well, um, I was going to ask if you still wanted to hang out. But I know you’re still drained. Or, uh, did you have other plans?”
My heart flips over in my chest at how precious he’s being, and I’m ecstatic that he wants to spend more time together. “You can stay. We can just, like, chill out and watch a movie or something? But if you need to go hang out with your friends, that’s okay.”
He immediately moves to get out of the jeep and grins. “No, let’s watch a movie. I’ll see those guys tomorrow.”
I laugh and jump out of the passenger seat onto the street. My legs feel a little wobbly, and I realize I buttoned my flannel up crookedly. I let out a very attractive snort when I realize what a mess I probably look like right now. Oh, well.
Theo doesn’t seem to care or notice my disheveled appearance as he walks beside me to the front door of the bookshop with a giant grin on his face and a skip in his step. I’m carrying my sandals in my right hand with Theo standing on my left. When we step into Flora & Feathers, Paisley is standing behind the counter talking and laughing with two girls who look close to our age.
When the bell chimes, they look over at Theo and me. Paisley’s face drops and her cheeks turn bright red. The other two girls glance at Theo first before looking at me, and they look equally shocked.
I’m excited to see Paisley’s friends, especially since I’ll be going to school with them too. I grin and wave at the three of them and ask, “Hey guys, what’s up?”
Paisley’s friends share a look, and one of them asks Paisley, “Is she serious right now?” When Paisley rolls her eyes and nods, her friends snicker quietly.
My face warms slightly in embarrassment. Girls were always catty and judgmental toward me back home in Florida too, so I should be used to it. It still hurts my feelings, but I try to shrug it off and pretend like I’m not bothered in the slightest.
“Where’s Aurora?” I smile casually, looping my arm through Theo’s. He’s slightly tensed up, but I pretend not to notice that either.
Paisley gives me a look of disgust and clears her throat. “She’s in the garden.”
“If she asks, let her know we’re upstairs? Thanks!”
I pull Theo through the bookshop and shove him through the door that leads upstairs. We only make it a few steps up before Theo stops me. I’m a couple of steps higher than him, so we’re almost eye-level, and he lifts his hand to gently brush a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
“Are you okay?”
It’s sweet that he’s worried about me, but the last thing I want is to put a damper on the amazing day we’ve had. Especially over something as silly as some girls being rude to me.
“I’m perfect.” I smile genuinely while I stare into his pretty brown eyes. He smiles back.
When we make it to the third floor, Theo looks around curiously. His nostrils flare when he says, “You know, this isn’t really what I expected a witch’s apartment to look like.”
I look around. Everything is white, cream, or tan, and there’s a lot of natural light coming through the windows. I laugh. “What, did you expect a dungeon or something?”
He shrugs and offers me a lopsided smile. He doesn’t deny it though. “Where’s your room?”
I lead him up the final staircase to my attic bedroom. My legs are killing me now, and I practically collapse onto the bed. Stella is curled up on one pillow, and she yawns and stretches out when she sees us.
I lie back, my legs still dangling off the side as I coo at her. “Hey girl, come here.”
She stares at me for a couple of seconds, and then she hops off the bed and wanders downstairs. I scoff out loud. She’s such an antisocial little brat.
I push myself up on my elbows so I can look at Theo. He’s standing in the doorway, tapping his fingers on his leg while he stares at me intently. His eyes are practically on fire, and I watch as he flares his nostrils yet again. The longer he watches me, the more tingly and aroused I feel. He looks so fucking good standing there, and I know without any doubt in my mind that sex with him would be amazing.
Theo makes a noise somewhere between a whine and a growl, and he clears his throat. “Where’s um, the um, bathroom?”
I sit straight up, startled back into reality. I point at the door that leads to the bathroom, and within seconds, he’s locked himself in there and has the sink running. I quickly walk over to stand in front of my full-length mirror and fix the buttons of my flannel shirt, buttoning it nearly all the way up. I run a brush through my hair too, which doesn’t make much of a difference.
I can’t have sex with Theo. I mean, I really want to. He’s sexy as hell, and he’s also a fucking werewolf, for crying out loud. But the bond I formed with him today is undeniable. It doesn’t matter that we only just met. I want him to be in my life permanently, and my track record with guys isn’t so great. If I sleep with him, that could ruin everything.
I’m suddenly interrupted from my thoughts by a knock at the door. “Cricket, dear, are you decent?” Aurora asks in a teasing, sing-song tone.
I roll my eyes. “Ror, the door’s not even closed.”
She walks in carrying a tray of tea and sandwiches and chuckles. “That never stopped me before.”
“Oh god, please stop.” I groan. That’s definitely not the image I need in my head right now. Of course, Theo chooses that moment to walk out of the bathroom.
“Hey, Aurora. What’s up?”
She smiles innocently. “Oh, I just brought up something for you two to snack on. I also wanted to remind Cricket to drink her tea.”
I have no clue what she’s talking about. Tea is great and everything, but I’m more of a coffee kind of girl. I give her a puzzled look and very eloquently ask, “Huh?”
She gives me a fake-confused look, tilting her head while she furrows her eyebrows. “Your contraceptive herbal tea? You know I want you to feel free to explore, and I’ve heard werewolves make excellent lovers. But still, safety first!”
Oh my fucking god. I’m going to kill her. I force myself to grab the tray from her hands and push her toward the door.
“Thank you very much, Aurora. I’ll let you know if I need anything else.”
She’s smiling like a maniac as I shut the door in her face. I quickly set the tray down on the desk and turn to give Theo an alarmed look. I know my face is probably bright fucking red. His face is flushed too, but he also has a stupidly amused grin on his face.
He laughs after a few seconds of awkward silence. “Wow. I thought my family was bad.”
“I’m so sorry.” I shake my head, at a loss. I’m cringing so hard right now.
He comes over and picks up a sandwich, and he nearly shoves the entire thing into his mouth. I look down at the tray with a sigh. If I don’t drink the stupid tea, she’ll probably give me a lecture about safe sex and do something even more embarrassing next time. Besides, even though I’ve decided not to have sex with Theo, better safe than sorry, right? As soon as I pour the tea into one of the cups she left for us, Theo starts coughing and choking.
“You’re going to drink it?” His eyes positively light up.
I glare at him and set the teapot down hard, making everything else on the tray tremble slightly. “Listen to me. You’re really fucking cute, but I am not having sex with you. If I don’t drink this, who knows what she’ll do next time you come over.”
He deflates, but he’s still smiling, and it seems genuine when he laughs. “Okay.”
I finish pouring the stupid tea and tentatively take a sip. It tastes a little weird, but not too bad. Theo sniffs it curiously and asks if he can try it. I raise an eyebrow at him in warning, but I pour the other cup for him.
