Page 14 of Hidden By the Gargoyle

Plus, the silence was something he did when I said or did something a little rude when I was younger. Most of the time, I would immediately say that I was sorry. In this case, no way. I wasn’t a child anymore and I wasn’t going to fall for it.

“I won’t be able to sleep knowing that you’re in pain on the floor,” I said, my voice softer.

“I’m fine.”

Okay, then. We would do this the hard way. For both of us.

“Fine.” I climbed out of bed and grabbed my pillow. There was a fuzzy blanket thrown across the end of the bed, so I snatched it up as well.

I tossed the pillow on the floor right next to my side of the bed. Then, I shook out the throw and crouched down, putting my ass to the rug.

Holy shit, the floor was cold, even with the carpet beneath me. Shivering lightly, I draped the blanket over my body and put my head on the pillow. I rolled over, hugging the soft material to my chest.

I heard fabric rustling and sensed Dax’s eyes on me.

“Ally, what are you doing?” he asked.

I didn’t answer because my actions were clear. If he was going to insist on sleeping on the floor, so would I.

He sighed, but I ignored him, keeping my head turned away and my eyes shut.

Was I still being childish?

Probably.

Did I care?

Hell, no.

“Ally, there’s no use in both of us sleeping on the floor,” he rumbled.

I turned my head and glared at him. He was kneeling at the end of the bed, staring down at me.

“That’s the first sensible thing you’ve said in this entire conversation,” I shot back.

His expression never changed but I could sense his disapproval. It was nearly tangible.

“What I mean is there no reason for you to sleep on the floor when I’m already sleeping there,” he clarified.

“And there’s no reason for you to sleep on the floor either. We’re friends, neither of us is a child or involved with someone. If you’re so concerned with being appropriate, you can put a row of pillows between us. It’ll be like high school again.”

“You slept in the bed with a boy in high school?” he asked.

“That’syour takeaway?” I asked, sitting up on the rug. “Nothing else I said penetrated except that it’ll be like high school?”

“Are you going to listen to sense?” he asked, never answering my question.

“If you’re sleeping in the floor, so am I,” I answered.

Dax sighed again, his eyes going down to the floor. He studied the rug for a moment before he finally looked up at me again.

“Fine. It’s three in the morning and I’m not going to spend what little time is left in this night arguing with you about it. Get in the bed.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “You first.”

Dax grunted, bent down, and grabbed his pillow. He disappeared around the side of the bed. I heard the mattress creak and the bed move when he laid down. Satisfied that he’d done what I wanted him to do, I took my pillow and got to my feet.

I took a moment to drape the blanket back across the end of the mattress before I slipped beneath the blankets again.

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