Page 2 of Hidden By the Gargoyle

“Time to go.”

I followed her downstairs, carrying my heavy bag in one hand and my backpack, which held my laptop and purse, slung over my shoulder.

Dax Tremaine stood at the base of the stairs, his huge arms crossed over his chest. His pale skin gleamed in the sunlight streaming in through the windows. His dark brown hair was cut short and close to his scalp on the sides but longer on top. Deep blue eyes that were nearly purple locked on me as I came down.

My knees went weak as I reached the last step and I stumbled. I dropped the bag and landed against a hard chest with an oomph. Two hard hands closed around my biceps, keeping me steady even as my backpack slid down my arm to bang against the back of my legs.

“You okay?” Dax asked, looking down at me with concerned eyes.

My heart raced and a blush rushed to my cheeks because I knew he could probably hear the pounding of my runaway pulse.

“I’m fine,” I said, straightening and stepping away. “Thank you.”

His gaze tracked me as I slung the weight of the backpack over my shoulder and went to pick up my bag.

His hand closed over the strap at the same time mine did.

“I’ve got it,” he said, his voice gravelly like the stone he could turn into at will.

My face heated even more. “It’s okay?—”

He didn’t let me finish. His other hand hooked the top loop of my backpack, taking it off my shoulder, and he hefted the duffel bag that held my clothes as though it weighed nothing.

“I’ve got it,” he repeated.

Without another word, he carried them out the door and to the SUV parked in front of Aunt Minnie’s house.

I glanced at her, feeling hopelessly awkward. She smiled at me, her expression reassuring.

“It will be okay,” she said. “Just trust me.”

“I do,” I told her, blowing out a breath.

It was me I didn’t trust. I was nervous enough around Dax the few times I saw him a month. Being around him all the time was going to be much, much worse.

Then again, maybe I would be able to get over this ridiculous crush if I was near him for an extended length of time. Maybe some of his gross habits or personality flaws would come to the fore and I would get over the wild longing that filled me whenever I saw him.

Dax came back to the door and nodded at Minerva. “I’ll text when we arrive at the resort.” His impassive eyes came to me. “Let’s go.”

I gave Aunt Minnie one more hug, taking comfort from her lavender and sunshine scent. Then, I followed him out the door into the unknown.

ChapterOne

The ride was quiet. But that wasn’t unusual when I was with a certain gruff gargoyle.

Since I’d turned seventeen, I hadn’t been much of a talker around Dax. I was always so worried I would say something embarrassing.

As I stared out the window, I remembered the times before I became a teenager and realized that I liked Dax as more than a friend. I’d never been a chatter box, but Dax had always managed to bring me out of my shell just a bit.

When I’d come to Devil Springs at the age of eleven, I’d been in the throes of the deepest grief I’d ever experienced. Both my parents had died in a car wreck. Apparently, all the safety and protection charms in the world couldn’t protect witches from a head-on collision with a drunk driver.

I remembered walking through the days in the fog of sadness and silence, missing my parents so fiercely that I felt as though I was dying.

Minerva had done everything she could to ease my transition but, after six months, I wasn’t getting better.

Until Dax had come over to fix her gutters.

I’d never met a gargoyle before, so the novelty had pierced the cloud of pain hovering over me. Barely.

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