Tempting Fools by Darien Cox

Author:Darien Cox [Cox, Darien]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dusk Notes
Published: 2020-05-09T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Orion climbed under the floral bedspread I’d bought for Mia. I’d spent a fortune on it, but then she told me she hated it. Hated her room in my house. And said I had terrible taste in decorating. Good memories. I pushed my daughter out of my mind, and focused on getting settled in for what was left of the night.

Orion had already ‘sealed’ the doorway with salt, then closed the door and poured another trail on the inner crack. I didn’t argue about sleeping in the same bed with him. These were extenuating circumstances, and if I protested too much, I’d either appear homophobic, or I’d give myself away. Also…I absolutely wanted to sleep in the same bed with him. If he was surprised that I hadn’t protested the sleeping arrangements, he didn’t show it. Maybe it really was no big deal to him. Or maybe we were both pretending it was no big deal.

But I was nervous. Orion was still in his pajama pants and tee shirt. I’d grabbed a robe before running downstairs after the ghost incident, but underneath, I only had a pair of boxer shorts on.

“You wanna leave a light on?” he asked as he curled up under the covers.

“Yeah,” I said. “You gonna call me a baby if I do?”

Hugging the pillow, he looked up at me. “No. It’s natural to be scared of the dark when you know something’s lurking.”

“You’re not helping.”

“I’m teasing you. Nothing’s gonna come in here, the room is safe. But you can leave a light on anyway.”

“Overhead is too much. I’ll put that lamp on in the corner.”

“Sounds good,” he yawned.

Orion didn’t seem nervous at all. But then, he was probably used to sleeping with men. Either way, he obviously trusted me. But I sensed he knew I was uncomfortable, and by the time I’d flicked the lamp on and got to the bed, he’d turned onto his side with his back to me, facing the wall. I took my robe off and climbed in beside him, then lay on my back, staring at the ceiling. The room was dim, but bright enough for me to relax and not worry about moving shadows or any other spooky shit.

“Close your eyes,” Orion mumbled. “Nothing’s gonna come in here. You need more sleep.”

“How do you know my eyes are open?”

“I can feel it. Go to sleep. I promise there’s no monsters in the closet or under the bed.”

“Just in the bed, right?” I smacked his leg gently over the covers.

He chuckled. “You’re the monster. Go to sleep.”

Sighing, I rolled onto my side, staring at Orion’s back. His hair was tangled, but still sleek and shiny. I wanted to curl one of those little ringlets around my finger so badly I actually reached for him, stopping myself at the last minute.

“You okay?” he asked, probably sensing my movement.

“Go to sleep.”

“Not until you tell me you’re okay.”

I smiled. “I’m okay.” I did it then—reached over and touched his hair, just a quick comb of fingers down the back of his head.

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