One way or another, Charlie was going to die tonight. He just didn't know if he would die by the stake or from sheer embarrassment.
"So, uh..." Charlie's voice came out strangled. "How do you wanna... like, arrange this?"
While Charlie's mind was running circles, Simon had moved to the closet, pulling something out.
"Back-to-back?" Charlie continued, words tumbling out faster. "Or head-to-foot? That might be better actually, more space, though your feet would be near my face which—do you snore? I mean, I don't know if I do, but?—"
Simon turned around holding a pillow, giving Charlie a look that could've frozen hell.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"The bed! Sharing!" Charlie gestured wildly at the mattress. "You just said?—"
"I'm not getting in there with you."
Oh.
Charlie felt his face go nuclear. "Oh. Oh, right, of course you're not. Obviously. That would be..." He laughed, high and hysterical. "Ridiculous. Why would you—I mean, we're not—you literally tried to kill me last night, so why would you want to???"
Simon dragged a chair from the corner of the room. "You thought I was going to share the bed with you."
It wasn't a question. Charlie wished the mattress would swallow him whole. "No! I just… you said get in, and there's only one bed, and I thought…" Charlie pulled the blanket up to his chin like armor. "I misunderstood."
"Clearly." Simon pulled out a stake from somewhere—seriously, how many weapons did he carry?—and rested it across his lap. He looked like the world's most dangerous babysitter. Or the world's most annoyed bodyguard.
Or just someone deeply regretting his choices.
Charlie lay back against the pillow, stiff as a board, face still burning. The mattress was actually comfortable. Kind of soft, really.
"I wasn't expecting that," Charlie said to the ceiling.
"Expecting what?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all."
Silence stretched between them. Charlie could hear Simon's heartbeat, steady and strong. Could smell him too—leather and something metallic, and underneath it all, the warm scent of his skin.
The scent of his blood.
Drinking from the bottle had definitely been a mistake. Now all of Charlie's senses were turned up to eleven, and they all seemed focused on the hunter sitting six feet away.
"Go to sleep," Simon said without looking at him. "Before I change my mind about where to put this stake."
Charlie pulled the blanket higher, covering his face entirely.
This was fine. Everything was fine. He was just lying in a hunter's bed while said hunter sat in a chair with a weapon, probably planning all the ways to kill Charlie if he moved wrong.
Totally fine.
Through the blanket, he heard Simon shift in the chair. "And Charlie?"
"Yeah?"
"If you actually do snore, I will stake you."
Charlie gulped. "Noted."
Chapter
