Page 21 of Hidden By the Gargoyle

“Thank you,” I whispered to her, hugging her back.

“Any time.”

By the time she’d released me, Dax had hooked my backpack over his shoulder. He looked at Poppy. “Stay here and I’ll be back in a half hour or so. We can finish going over the daily and weekly schedules.”

She nodded and waved a hand. “No worries. I have plenty to do and I can figure some things out on my own.”

“The housekeeping supervisor and the kitchen supervisor can walk you through some of the day-to-day on their end also.”

Without waiting for her to respond, Dax hooked my arm with his hand and hauled me out of his office. I didn’t fight his hold, but I did hold my hand out.

“I need my phone back,” I said.

He glanced down at me but didn’t give me my phone. And he kept walking through the lobby.

“Dax, I need my phone. I have a job and my clients need to be able to get ahold of me.”

He tucked me beneath his arm, pressing me into his side as we exited the main lodge and beelined straight for his SUV.

Once we were both inside and on our way back to his cabin, he held my phone out to me. “I blocked the number that Sommerton used to call you, but you have to let me know if he calls you again.”

“I will,” I responded, tucking my phone in my pocket. “What did Minerva say?”

“She told me not to worry, that she was already coming today to reinforce the wards, and that everything would be fine.”

Considering how tightly he was gripping the steering wheel and the tone of his voice, he wasn’t happy with the conversation they had.

“If Minerva said it will be okay, it will be okay,” I replied, settling back into the passenger seat.

Dax didn’t say anything else. But when he tucked me into his side to walk me into the house, I could feel his heart drumming against my shoulder.

He still hadn’t calmed down.

That’s why I did something stupid when we got inside the cabin. I didn’t move away from him when the door was closed. I turned so that my front was pressed against his side and wrapped my arms around his waist.

I tilted my head back so I could look up at him. “Don’t let Sommerton get to you. He’s always been a horse’s ass and isn’t worth it.”

I gave him a little squeeze with my arms when I said it.

Dax looked down at me, the light reflecting on his glasses so I couldn’t see his eyes clearly. He’d been so upset that he’d forgotten to take them off.

I was just beginning to feel awkward when his hand came to the back of my head, tucking my head into his chest.

The drumming of his heart wasn’t as loud or hard. He might smell of pine and snow, two things I associated with winter, but his chest was warm and hard, not cold at all. I wanted to stay there the rest of the day, but that wasn’t the message I wanted to send to him.

Instead, I released his waist and stepped away, trying to ignore the way his hand felt as it trailed over my hair when I put distance between us.

“What was that?” he asked.

“A hug,” I answered, heading toward the kitchen for a glass of water. “You seemed like you needed one.”

When I looked back, Dax dropped my backpack off his shoulder and set it on the couch. He was still looking at me with an unreadable expression on his face. Our eyes locked and I realized he was looking at me in a way I’d never noticed before. A way that made me shiver…in a good way.

Before he could say anything, there was a knock on the door.

The spell was broken, and he went to let my aunt inside.

ChapterSix

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