Page 10 of Help Wanted, Vampires Inquire Within
She looked at the one bed in the room. It wasn’t really large enough for both of them, but Mason could almost fit. Being in a bed slightly too small for him had to be better than basically sleeping on the hard floor by the end of the night.
Mind made up, Skyler braced herself to argue when Mason stepped out of the bathroom. “Bedtime!” she declared, pointing to the bed.
Mason blinked slowly. “That’s your bed.”
He started for the air mattress, but Skyler grabbed him and guided him to the bed. It was hard because there wasn’t enough room to walk side by side, so she ended up pushing him from behind.
“You sleep here tonight, and I’ll take the air mattress. I’m a nymph, I’m used to sleeping on the ground. We would sleep outside all the time when I was a kid.”
“I guess this once is okay,” he mumbled. He was wearing boxers and nothing else. As Skyler got him to lay down and tuck him in, she kept her gaze on his face. She wasn’t going to torture herself by letting her eyes wander!
The bed creaked as he curled up on his side with a contented sigh. She tensed, waiting to see if the bed would collapse. Nothing happened, and she relaxed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she ran her fingers through his hair.
“I wish you were a vampire,” she whispered. “Then we could be together.”
He muttered something and then wrapped an arm around her. The next thing she knew, she was the very little spoon tucked up against him.
It felt so good, she didn’t fight it. Just this once, she let herself pretend there was a future for the two of them.
Chapter 4
Mason
Mason woke to find Skyler asleep in his arms. Afraid he was only dreaming, he didn’t move except to put his face a little closer to her head. She always smelled like honey. Normally, he only got a whiff of it as they walked next to each other or on the rare occasion she wanted a comforting hug. In this position, he could breathe in her sweet scent at his leisure.
Unlike wolf or lion shifters, gargoyles didn’t have a superior sense of smell. His senses weren't any better than an average human. That made this moment even more important.
He tried to remember how they ended up in her bed together. It was almost impossible for him to get drunk, so that wasn’t a possibility. Being tired though, that could lead him to fall asleep in the strangest places. When a gargoyle's body decided it was time to sleep, there wasn’t much they could do about it.
That’s where the belief that gargoyles slept as stone came from. If they needed to sleep and didn’t feel like they were in a safe place, they could sleep in their gargoyle form. He’d never done that, but he heard it was common in the past.
He must’ve been so tired he took the bed and hadn’t realized it.
Poor Skyler was forced to share the bed with him because no one in their right mind slept on the torture device pretending to be a bed. The only people who made the deliberate choice to use an air mattress was because they wanted to sleep on the floor, but not right away.
Skyler moved a little, wiggling her butt against his crotch. Normally, he slept naked but while sharing an apartment with Skyler, he’d kept his boxers on. It was good his sleepy mind remembered to keep them on, but unfortunately, the thin cotton material didn’t do much to shield his dick from Skyler’s luscious ass.
Shit, he was getting hard! He didn’t want to wake her up because his cock was poking her in the back.
Mason did his best to pull the covers off himself and slide backwards off the other side of the bed without disturbing Skyler. She didn’t move except when he tucked the covers around her. She mumbled something and tried to tuck his arm under the covers with her.
He smiled, wishing she was aware and doing it because she wanted him. The vampire who won her affection would be the luckiest bastard alive.
The thought of her snuggled up against some vampire that would never deserve her quickly killed his erection. Extracting his hand, he straightened and stretched. For the first time since meeting Skyler and assigning himself as her protector, he felt rested.
Rested and eager to take Skyler out for the day.
He might not remember going to bed, but he had a clear memory of their conversation. She needed more time with the earth, and he was going to give it to her.
Heading into the bathroom, he cleaned up and pulled on some clothes. Skyler was still asleep so he brewed some coffee. Rissahad fulfilled her promise and filled the fridge. He ate several apples as he waited for the coffee maker. Staring at the food gave him an idea for the day. They could hike out and have a picnic. He knew a spot the shifters liked to go because it was easy to find privacy so they could shift and run in their animal forms. It was deep in east county but there was even a small artificial lake. Nymphs didn’t shift, but they did like to lay on the ground naked. He was sure Skyler would love it!
With the plan set, he found his phone and texted Jesse over at the Pack House with a food order. Jesse responded within seconds, giving him an estimated delivery time. Mason texted back quickly.
I’ll pick it up. I’m taking Skyler on a picnic. Could you pack extra of that jam she likes?
He wasn’t surprised by Jesse’s response.
Oh, a picnic? How romantic! We’ll pack all her favorites.
