Page 10 of Hidden By the Gargoyle

I spent the rest of the day trying to deal with my proximity to Dax and the effect it had on me.

It was one thing I hadn’t considered when Minerva insisted that I stay with Dax. I saw him regularly over the years, but never for hours on end. I was always hyperaware of him when I did see him. Even if all he was doing was sifting through paperwork or tapping away at his computer with his huge hands.

An entire day of that hyperawareness was exhausting.

Now, it was nearly ten p.m. We’d watched a movie after we ate dinner and chilled on the couch, but now it was time for bed. Cue the freakout I’d postponed earlier that day.

I’d gone into the bathroom to change into my sleep clothes, wash my face, and brush my teeth, but, at the moment, I was standing in front of the sink, staring at myself in the mirror.

I was nervous about going back into the bedroom. The thought of climbing into that bed next to Dax made my stomach clench, even though the mattress was huge, and I probably wouldn’t even be able to tell he was there.

I wouldknowhe was there. Which meant I probably wouldn’t sleep at all.

I realized I’d been staring at myself in the mirror for too long and Dax was probably wondering what in the heck I was doing in here.

With a sigh, I turned away, gathered up my clothes, and left the bathroom. The only light in the bedroom was coming from a lamp on one of the nightstands. The rest of the house was dark and quiet.

Dax came out of the closet just after I emerged from the bathroom. He wore a pair of thin cotton lounge pants and a tight grey tank top. We passed each other, me going into the closet and him going into the bath.

I dumped my clothes in the hamper and moved back into the loft area. It was only then that I noticed the pallet on the floor at the foot of the bed.

There was a long, thin pad with a pillow at one end and a blanket folded on top. I stared at it for a minute, unsure of what I felt.

The door to the bathroom opened and Dax came out. He saw me standing next to the pallet and winced.

“That’s for me, not you,” he stated.

I frowned at him. “Why are you sleeping on the floor?”

“Because there’s only one bed.”

“Then, you should take the bed,” I said. “Because it’s your bed. I’ll go sleep on the couch.”

He shook his head. “No.”

“I’m not kicking you out of your bed, Dax. I already feel bad enough that you’re stuck with me until Sommerton and Leona are dealt with. I do not want to feel bad about you sleeping on the hard, cold floor on top of that. The couch is more than big enough for me to be comfortable if I stretch out. I’ll sleep there and you take the bed.”

He kept shaking his head. “It’s not about comfort. If you’re downstairs and something happens, I may not have time to get to you. We’re sleeping in the same room. Period.”

“Then, you take the other side of the bed. You’d be just as far away from me there as you will be on the floor.”

“I’m sleeping on the floor,” Dax repeated.

“Dax—”

“Ally, go to bed. We’re not arguing about this.”

I gritted my teeth. “Dax.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and planted his feet, making it clear with his body language that he wasn’t going to relent.

“Fine,” I said, throwing my hands up in the air. “I hope you sleep well on the hard floor.”

I turned my back on him and tugged the blankets back from the top of the bed before I climbed under them. When I settled, I saw that Dax had already shaken out his blanket and stretched out on the sleeping pad.

Disappointment and relief warred inside me. I wasn’t sure which emotion was the strongest. Okay, that was a lie. Disappointment was definitely the biggest emotion I felt. The relief had more to do with my concerns that I would do something embarrassing in my sleep like try to crawl all over him or have a sexy dream about him and say his name.

Neither of us spoke as I plugged my phone into the charger that Dax must have put there for me (another thing that made me feel shitty about this entire situation because it was a considerate gesture) and turned off the lamp.

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