“It’s perfect,” Raoul said, looking at me, not the cottage. “We don’t need anything fancy.”
“Wonderful.” Piper beamed. “Dinner will start at sunset. We’ll have tables set up in the square, and the bonfire should be going strong by then. Don’t feel obligated to bring anything. You’re our guests, and you’re saving our valley. The least we can do is feed you properly.”
She bustled out and closed the door behind her.
Silence fell over the room.
Raoul and I stood beside each other, both taking care not to look at the bed.
“I’ll sleep on the floor,” I blurted out.
“Absolutely not.”
“I’m smaller. The floor makes more sense for me.”
“I’m a dragon. I can sleep anywhere, including on stone.” His voice was firm. “You’re taking the bed.”
“I once fell asleep in a library, half lying across the table, and I didn’t wake for many hours. Floors are fine. Comfortable, even. And I’ll be so focused on tomorrow’s magic that I probably won’t sleep much anyway, so really, the floor is?—”
“Adele.”
“—perfectly adequate for my needs, and you’ve been sleeping on a sofa for almost a week now, so clearly you need an actual bed more than I do, and?—”
“Adele.”
I stopped, meeting his eyes.
“I’m experienced with discomfort,” he said. “You’re not sleeping on the floor.”
We stared at each other, and I realized how ridiculous this was. We were two adults arguing about who got to be more uncomfortable.
“We could…” I paused, my voice dropping off to basically nothing. “Share the bed.”
His jaw tightened, and he sucked in a breath, releasing it. “Ah. Share.”
My heart stopped. Actually stopped.
“We’re adults,” he pointed out, his voice carefully neutral. “Married adults. And we both need rest for tomorrow.The work we’re doing requires focus and energy. It’s a practical solution.”
Practical. Yes. Very practical. The word we kept applying to our relationship.
“Completely practical,” I said. “Professional partners often share limited resources. It makes sense.”
“We’ll stay on our respective sides.”
“Absolutely. Very respective. Each side clearly defined.”
“It’s just sleeping.”
“Just sleeping,” I whispered.
Neither of us moved.
“We should probably prepare for tomorrow.” I was desperate to change the subject. “I need to make a list of the compounds I’ll need from the caves and calculate the optimal distribution pattern for the cloud seeding, and?—”
“And I should review the flight paths,” Raoul said. “Make sure I know the territory well enough to maintain steady speed and altitude while you’re working magic.”
“Right. Yes. Flight paths.”
