Page 17 of Hidden By the Gargoyle

After we ate, we argued about the fact that I wasn’t going to sit in the bathroom while he showered. I refused. No way in hell was I sitting in the same room as a naked Dax. That was a step too far. He must have realized he wasn’t going to win because he told me to stay in the house, away from the windows, and that he would be back down in five minutes before he went upstairs to take a shower.

I tidied up the kitchen, loading our plates and cutlery in the dishwasher and giving the pan a quick wash. He was still upstairs with the bathroom door shut by the time I was done. To continue to distract myself from mental images of Dax naked in the shower, I wiped down the stove and countertops.

Dax came back downstairs in just over five minutes, his short hair still damp and his snow and pine scent more intense than usual. I was sitting at the bar, drinking another cup of coffee, and answering work emails. Thank the goddess I worked from home, and I wasn’t going to be jobless while I was staying with Dax.

“Poppy will be here in ten minutes. We should go,” he said.

I nodded, carried my cup to the dishwasher, and gathered up my laptop and backpack, meeting him at the front door.

As he had yesterday, Dax took my backpack, slinging it over one shoulder, and tucked me into his body as he herded me toward the SUV. My entire body was hot and tingling by the time he helped me into the vehicle.

When he shut the passenger door for me and went back to lock the front door, I took the opportunity to take a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm the sensations rioting within me.

The longer I was in Dax’s presence and the more he touched me, the more intense my reaction to him became. I wasn’t sure if I was hiding it well or not, but I knew that soon I wouldn’t be able to conceal it.

I had to get a handle on it and fast.

Before I threw myself at Dax and he inevitably, but gently, turned me down. And broke my heart completely.

ChapterFive

My focus on work was completely shot by ten that morning.

When we arrived at the resort’s main lodge, where Dax kept his office, Poppy was already there. She waited in a lobby chair with a travel tumbler of coffee in one hand and her laptop bag at her feet.

As soon as she saw me, she set her cup to the side and immediately came over to hug me.

“You doing okay?” she asked.

“I’m good.”

She stared down at me, nearly a foot taller than I was in her high-heeled boots. Then, she smiled. “I’m glad.”

And, with that, our discussion about what was going on with me was over. It was one of the reasons I liked Poppy so much. She didn’t want to dissect everything that was happening. If I needed to talk about something, she would listen and do it well.

But if I told her that I was fine or that I wasn’t upset, she believed me.

She was forthright to the point of bluntness, funny, and one of the strongest women I’d ever met, both physically and mentally.

I also secretly thought that the only reason she wasn’t the mayor of Devil Springs was because she didn’t want the headaches that came along with it. But that didn’t mean that she didn’t want things to run smoothly, which was why she and her brother had engineered Daniel Ayres’ nomination and ultimate election. And also why she essentially hired herself as Daniel’s assistant.

Dax led us both back to his office, which was as ruthlessly clean and impersonal as his home. And just like the cabin, the sight of the sterile office made my chest ache. I didn’t completely understand why, but that dull pain throbbed behind my breastbone all the same.

Since Dax and Poppy needed the desk, I set myself up on the couch across the room with my laptop on my lap, eager to get to work and put Dax out of my mind. I knew that once I got my focus and immersed myself in my task list that I would be able to tune him out and concentrate.

Unfortunately, I was as wrong today as I had been yesterday about being able to ignore him.

Every time I would start to sink into my thoughts or a task, the low rumbling sound of his voice when he spoke to Poppy would distract me. Then, I would find myself listening to the things he said. And noting how patiently he would go over information, even if he had to do so two or three times.

And when he pulled out a pair of glasses with thin silver frames, all ability to focus was shot.

Still, I tried to work, even though my speed was glacial. I had to finish Minerva’s bookkeeping so I could get to a project I was doing for Marjorie, who owned the local bakery. She wanted to expand and had asked me to do an assessment of her current income and expenses to see if she could afford it. And if she had enough business to support expansion.

I was already pretty sure that she could, but Marjorie wanted concrete numbers and a totally objective assessment. She didn’t like to take risks unless she was ninety percent certain about the outcome.

However, at the rate I was going, I wouldn’t get to her project until next year because I couldn’t think clearly with Dax only a few feet away.

I realized that I was watching Dax and Poppy again and gave myself a mental smack and a silent order to get my shit together. Then, I looked back down at my laptop screen.

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