Page 74 of Cozy Prisons
He was gorgeous.
All sorts of questions filled her head. Now that she wasn’t feeling the anxiety any longer and they’d all survived the doom her intuition had warned them about, would he stay close? Or had this whole relationship thing been predicated on helping her? If she didn’t need help, would he go off to find someone else who needed his attention more?
The thought made her inextricably sad.
It made sense. The first time they’d spent any time together was the night she’d passed out from a panic attack, and he’dcaught her before she hit the ground. It hadn’t even been that long ago, but it felt like she’d had Daxus’s sole attention for years instead of less than a month.
Now that she thought about it, that explained why he never even suggested they become more intimate.
He didn’t want a partner; he wanted a project.
“Nataly?”
She was so lost in her thoughts and staring at Daxus’s chest that she didn’t realize he’d stopped eating.
Blinking rapidly, she kept her eyes down. “Yes?”
“What’s wrong?”
She forced a scoff out. “Everyone’s alive, so nothing’s wrong.”
Of course, he didn’t leave it there. “Your expression seemed profoundly sad.”
That was an easy lie. “I was thinking about all the tools and stuff I lost. I wish I could’ve packed more.”
“I don’t think you’re telling me the truth,” he said, turning to straddle the log so he could face her.
She mimicked his move, crossed her arms across her chest, and tried to look annoyed. “I’m not some criminal you need to interrogate.”
“I don’t understand why you're trying to prevaricate. I thought you trusted me.”
His quiet, stoic tone swamped Nataly with guilt. She should probably just be honest with him. It would hurt less when he left.
Dropping her hands to the log, she ran a finger over the swirling bark pattern.
“I was thinking you should hang out with Hale,” she said.
Daxus sounded a surprised rattle. “Hale?”
“Well, it’s obvious that they’re struggling.” She kept her eyes on the log. Why was she doing this to herself? She could’ve kept Daxus to herself a little longer.
“Do you want me to spend time with Hale?”
“Only if you want to,” she answered honestly. Maybe there was something else he wanted as the next project, although she couldn’t think of anyone who needed help more than Hale.
“Hale doesn’t like me,” he said. “Or any of the Talins.”
“I don’t think they dislike you,” she said.
“Fine, they don’t trust me or any other Talin,” Daxus said. “And they aren’t friendly with any of the humans except you. Do you think my connection with you will help Hale learn to trust me and then the other Talins?”
Her eyes burned, and her face felt hot. If they kept talking, she was going to cry. She didn’t want to do that and make Daxus feel obligated to stay with her.
This might be their last night together, and she didn’t want it to include negative feelings.
“I thought you might want to do for Hale what you did for me,” she said. She had to force the words out of a tightening throat.
She was still staring at her hands. Daxus’s hand moved into her field of vision and covered one of hers. “Nataly, will you look up, please?”
