Read Angel's Dance for Free Online Page A

the floor.
“Oh…”
    He nodded to the blankets and pillow
he had set up. “I found these in the closet.”
    “ But…” Clear sputtered,
feeling very bad about him driving all day and then laying out on
the floor. “Isn’t that… uncomfortable?”
    Grant patted the hideous shag carpet.
“Lots of extra fluff.”
    Clear shook her head. “Look I’ll sleep
on the floor. You can have the bed. I mean, you drove all day and
all I did was sleep.”
    “ I’m fine.” Grant sighed.
“Snug as a bug in a rug.”
    “ But you will not be fine
in the morning and you have to drive all day,” Clear pointed
out.
    “ Only a couple of
hours.”
    “ Don’t be ridiculous!”
Clear snapped, pointing fiercely at the bed.
    “ A gentleman wouldn’t let
a lady sleep on the floor,” Grant insisted, setting his jaw
tightly.
    Clear let out a very unladylike guffaw
before clamping her mouth shut on all the thoughts racing through
her head, like the fact that a gentleman would have called after
the last night they had spent together. She instead spun on her
heel and slammed her bag into the chair.
    “ Clear….” When she spun
around he was already standing. “Look, I don’t want to fight.
Please,” his hands were out at his side. “I… I need your help. I
know after everything… well, I know this is hard on both of us. I
am simply trying to make it.. less… difficult. Please, let’s not
fight.”
    Clear nodded that she understood. She
wanted to cry and couldn’t understand that. It felt like he had
regrets too, but she wasn’t sure what he regretted. Not calling
her, or having slept with her in the first place? She desperately
wanted answers, but was afraid of the answers too. All of a sudden
she felt so weary.
    “ I don’t want to fight
either. At your age you can’t possibly sleep comfortably on the
floor. Why are we acting like children? It’s a king-sized bed. We
can both sleep in it.” She bit her lip, hoping he would refuse but
feeling immediately guilty at the thought. He gave her that
detective once over. Cold and professional. She almost felt like
squirming under that gaze.
    “ Alright, if you’re sure
it won’t bother you.” He climbed into bed on the far side. She
looked up in surprise realizing he hadn’t changed from earlier.
Well. The more clothes the better. She turned the light off and
crept carefully to the edge of the bed, hating the unfamiliarity of
it all. Her knee bumped the edge of the bed and she exhaled loudly
then quickly slipped under the blankets and clung to the edge of
the bed. She could hear Grant’s breathing and even though it was
steady and smooth, it made her feel completely wired. She wasn’t
going to sleep a wink.

    Clear unexpectedly awoke to a light
filtering through the shades. She felt slightly disoriented and
started to roll over before almost falling off the bed. A bed that
was not her bed. She clung to the edge for just a moment then
slowly rolled the other way. Grant was still asleep, still above
the covers. The light gently accentuated his sharp roman nose and
highlighted his curls that were a moppy mess atop his head. She lay
there for several minutes watching him sleep. He looked older like
this. The skin around his eyes was all puffy and the stern lines
around his mouth indicating that he rarely smiled. He also looked
vulnerable.
    Clear wanted to hold him and make him
feel better. She wanted to make him smile and laugh. At that very
moment she wanted to run her fingers through his hair and play with
his curls, but she knew that was a bad idea. His silence over the
last few months had made it abundantly obvious that he did not want
a relationship with her. The only reason they were here together
was because he was desperate for his daughter. With that stinging
thought, Clear rolled over and flopped out of bed. She grabbed her
bags and hauled them into the bathroom and pulled everything out to
organize it. Glancing at her watch, she groaned as she realized it
was