Talia woke up with a soft whimper, refusing to open her eyes while trying to get comfortable.
She was lying on something hard and bumpy, and she wondered how she found herself in the forest because the scent around her was definitely forest and… there was dark chocolate as well. Was Damon nearby? Probably.
Something heavy was on Talia's back, preventing her from getting up or rolling to the side, and a rock pressing on her belly was uncomfortable.
She squirmed a bit and reached with her hand in an attempt to move that protruding thing before it leaves a bruise on her stomach.
"Ugh…", a muffled groan sounded from just above Talia and her eyes snapped open.
She was awake in an instant, and the moment she met Alpha Damon's questionable gaze, Talia wished that this was not real.
A dream. Definitely a dream.
Why else would she be sprawled on top of Alpha Damon?
The hard and bumpy surface she slept on was his body, and that rock under her belly… the one she tried to move away… and the same one she was still holding onto… is NOT a rock!
Frantically, Talia tried to push herself away from Damon, but he was holding her in place, and with every move she made it felt like his hold tightened.
"Please, let me go…", Talia pleaded in a small voice.
"Why?" It's not that he didn't know why, but he wanted to hear Talia's answer.
'So that I can find a secluded spot and die of embarrassment!'
Talia whimpered softly. "Please. I want to leave."
There was no way Damon will let Talia leave like that.
Damon was aware that Talia did that in the haze of her sleep, because he watched her as she stirred awake for the last few minutes, and he wished that she didn't remove her hand from down there.
Damon could already imagine Talia curling up into a corner in a desire to be invisible, or worse… running away and leaving for good, and he felt the urgency to flip the situation around.
Damon exhaled loudly and he made his best pitiful expression. "I see. After what you have done, you will abandon me."
Talia thought that some things don't add up. "What?"
"That's fine. I understand."
Talia's confusion only increased, and she lifted her head to look at Damon. "What do you understand?"
Damon pressed his lips into a line and shook his head faintly. "I will be fine. Go on…" He released his hold on Talia. "You don't need to take responsibility."
Talia didn't move. "Responsibility for what?"
"You slept the whole night on top of me, and then you groped me, and now you want to pretend like it didn't happen."
Oh, God! He said 'grope', and that made it more real!
She groped scary Alpha Damon!
She molested him!
Talia really wished to disappear.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. It was an accident.", Talia said with urgency.
"Which part was an accident? Do you think that changes the fact it happened?"
At the thought of what happened, Talia realized that she was still on top of Damon.
Clumsily, she pushed herself off him, but she didn't leave the bed. She wanted to explain even though her face was on fire.
"First of all, you are the one who brought me here to sleep, so you can't blame me for sleeping here. Second, me climbing on top of you happened in my sleep. It was not intentional. And third…" Talia inhaled with difficulty. "Me groping… was an accident. It was big and hard, and I thought it was a rock."
Damon cocked an eyebrow. Big? Hard? A rock? He approved Talia's description of his erection.
He turned to the side, to face Talia and propped his head on his elbow before asking, "So, none of that is your fault?"
"No.", Talia said with confidence.
"But it's just the two of us, so if it is not your fault, is it mine?"
"Well, no.", Talia had to admit. Other than him bringing her to his room to sleep, which is not a big offense, the rest was on her. Accidentally.
Damon grinned. "Alright, Mrs. Blake, since it was no one's fault, we can pretend that it didn't happen. What do you say to that?"
"Sounds good.", Talia agreed immediately. If they can pretend it didn't happen, that would be for the best. "Let's not mention this again. And can you stop calling me Mrs. Blake?"
"I must call you like that because you are talking back to me, Talia.", Damon said matter-of-factly. "Did you forget that only Luna gets to talk back to her Alpha?"
Talia was exasperated. "So, what should I do? Just stay quiet and agree with whatever you say?"
"Don't change in order to please me or anyone else. Blindly agreeing with Alpha is for weak wolves."
Talia wanted to say that she is weak, one of the weakest ones. Even Omegas bullied her!
But before she could say anything, Talia was trapped in Damon's embrace again.
"What are you doing?", Talia asked in disbelief.
"Don't deny me this, my dear wife. There is not much time until I need to start my day, and every second with you is precious. Besides, I'm just holding you innocently, it doesn't compare to what you did to me before."
Talia let out a slow breath. He was talking nonsense again. Didn't they agree to pretend that the unfortunate incident didn't happen?
"You have a busy day ahead of you?", Talia asked while trying to stir the topic to something less uncomfortable.
"Mhm…", Damon hummed in confirmation. "During breakfast, I will check with Caden and Maya if there is anything urgent that they need my inputs on, and then I'm taking my wife out."
Damon gave Talia a knowing look, and it took her a moment to realize that she is 'the wife'. Oh, right! Yesterday, after her appointment with Doctor Travis, Damon asked her to accompany him… somewhere.
"Out? Where?"
Damon inched closer and his breath splashed on her ear, "Se-cret."
Talia was not sure if she can handle any surprises from Alpha Damon. He was too much to handle even when he was not trying to surprise her.
"Can you at least give me some hints? How long will we stay? Is there any dress code?"
Damon thought for a moment before responding. "We will stay as long as we are having fun. A couple of hours, but not overnight. As for the clothing… wear something comfortable. Anything is fine as long as it's not kittens and rainbows that make you look like twelve years-old. I don't want people to wonder if you are my little sister or if I'm a pedophile, because you will accompany me as my wife."
Talia's lips pressed into a line. There was that 'wife' word again. For a guy who is taking his time to get his Luna, he likes to use that 'wife' word.
Talia liked that he said she should dress comfortably, and her heart swelled with excitement while thinking about the mystery of where they will go.
Her mind flashed images related to their walk in the park, and the flavor of the cotton candy, and the restaurant, but she quickly pushed those thoughts away because Alpha Damon is a busy man, and he definitely wouldn't take her somewhere to dawdle for hours.
"We should get ready.", Talia said.
"We should.", Damon confirmed, but he didn't move.
He looked into her honeyed eyes that were clear after a good night of sleep and his sight moved to her lips.
He really wanted to kiss her.
Damon put his hand on Talia's cheek, and he saw her shrinking. He cursed internally at the realization that even though they are in the bed, holding each other, there is still an invisible wall between them.
"Do you want to shower in my bathroom?", he asked.
Talia's eyes widened as his words sank in. "What?"
"You slept in my bed, do you want to get ready in my bathroom? We can take turns or to save time…", his voice trailed, and Talia's face turned red again.
Talia knows that for werewolves nudity is not a big deal, but she never shifted into her wolf form or mingled with others, so she was not used to those things.
Talia remembered that on the previous night Damon slept in her bed, and then in the morning, she saw him getting out of her bathroom. Did he treat this as a sleepover? Maybe.
"No need. My bathroom is fine."
"OK.", he said and reluctantly released his hold on Talia. "I will see you at breakfast."
Talia scooted out of the bed and froze when Damon chuckled.
"Blue. It fits you."
Talia's face fell when she realized that the only blue thing she had on herself was panties. Ah! The tank top hitched higher and exposed her buttocks!
Talia swiftly tugged the tank top lower and dashed out of Damon's room, followed by his hearty laughter.
She closed the door of her room and leaned on it while telling herself not to overthink it because Damon definitely saw much more than a female panty-covered behind. Besides, if they are on the beach, she would be exposed more than that. The fact that she was this flustered, only served for his amusement.
