After their kissing session in Talia's room, Damon didn't want to part from Talia but he was aware that his work won't sort itself out. Actually, the more he procrastinates, the more work will pile up, and the number of people who are blocked by Damon's lack of action will increase.
He needed to get some work done, but he desperately wanted Talia in his visual range. Is it possible to achieve both?
Every time they were apart, he ended up finding her with some guys sticking to her. That's not happening!
Damon came up with a solution where both he and Talia can do their tasks and be together, and that's how Talia found herself sitting on the sofa in Damon's office with Travis's book in her hands.
She finally got a chance to read the book, but her brain had difficulty accepting medical information when Damon was right there, behind the executive desk, looking all serious and handsome while working. Breathtaking.
Talia would get dazed by his dashing features, and then she would close her eyes and inhale the scent of the forest and the dark chocolate which filled Damon's office, and her mind would conjure images of Damon being really close, his arms around her, his lips on hers… licking, sucking, nibbling… How on Earth was she supposed to read anything in this condition?
She didn't want to study. She wanted to go there, sit on his lap, feel his warmth, and taste his lips again.
Talia let out a shaky breath. They were only hugging and kissing, and she was consumed with indecent thoughts. What will happen if they go beyond kissing?
Talia caught the exact moment when her face flashed with scorching heat.
Why was she thinking about those things? Ah, it's all Damon's fault! He made her lusty!
If he ends up picking up the scent of her arousal, she will die from embarrassment.
Talia shook her head while telling herself to stop it. For someone like her, just sitting in the room with Damon is a big deal. Kisses and hugs were out of this world, and she shouldn't dream that anything beyond those will happen.
Besides, didn't she freeze when she felt his erection pressing on her leg? And they were fully clothed. If their clothes were off, Talia was confident that she would pass out.
Of course, that's only with the assumption that Damon would want to remove his clothes for someone like Talia.
She didn't see herself worthy. There are so many other she-wolves willing to serve him. Plumper, taller, prettier.
Why did he even bother to spend time with her? Are hugs and kisses really enough for a guy like Damon?
Talia remembered the image of princess Marcy between Damon's legs and her mood plummeted. Damon had an ecstatic expression with Marcy being down there.
Could Talia do such a thing for him? Would she want to do it?
Ah! Why did she allow herself to end up in this situation?
Damon could have sent her to the common building with Omegas on the first day she arrived at the Dark Howlers pack, and none of this would happen. She wouldn't know how warm he is, or how comfortable it is to sleep in his embrace, or how his chuckle makes her insides tremble, or how he tastes… and these pesky feelings wouldn't develop.
Talia looked up and her eyes widened when she realized that Caden was in the study, handing a thick folder to Damon. When did Caden get in?
She was spacing out so badly that even if a bunch of thieves came in, they could steal the sofa with Talia on it, and she wouldn't notice. How careless.
Talia saw that Damon and Caden communicated without a word spoken, and she guessed that they were talking through the mind-link.
After about a minute, Caden gave a small nod to Damon and turned to leave. On his way out of the office, Caden's eyes met Talia's and he showed a stiff smile before stepping out and closing the door behind him.
It was all done silently in a solemn atmosphere, and Talia found that very unusual because Caden is a chatty person and the mood between Damon and Caden is normally livelier.
Talia glanced at Damon only to see him staring at the door with a small frown on his handsome face.
"Is everything OK?", Talia asked.
Damon snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Talia.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure.", Talia responded without missing a beat.
Damon stood up in slow motion and moved to sit next to Talia on the sofa. Talia understood that this is important, so she kept her book on the coffee table and gave Damon her full attention.
"Someone close to me betrayed my trust and I'm not sure what's the appropriate punishment."
Talia assumed that Damon was talking about Caden. Why else would Caden be quiet? This also explained the strange atmosphere between Damon and his Betas.
Talia was uneasy at the thought of Damon punishing Caden. Surely, whatever he did, can't be that bad. "I assume that just forgiving him and moving on is not an option?"
"Forgiving is something a kind Luna, like you, would do. Alpha knows that forgiving a perpetrator makes others believe that Alpha is weak, and they will come at him."
Damon's words about Talia being a Luna were lost in Talia's thoughts that he was dramatic. Why was he talking about Caden like he is a criminal? Aren't they childhood friends who went through thick and thin together?
"You said that he betrayed your trust. Does that mean you don't trust him anymore?", she asked.
Talia was not aware that Damon was talking about Maya.
Damon wondered, does he trust Maya? Did he ever trust her?
Damon was really helpless in this situation. On one hand, Damon couldn't let Maya go without punishment, but on the other, anything he thought of was either too mild to be considered a punishment, or either too harsh and he feared that he will offend Caden. Since he couldn't come up with a good solution, he decided to ask Talia.
Talia spoke about Maya as a 'he', so Damon went ahead with it because he didn't want to disclose that this was about Maya and her setting up Talia to meet random guys.
"I don't like to have people close to me if I don't trust them. If someone worked against you, would you forgive him?"
Would she forgive him? "It depends. Things are not just right or wrong. I'm sure that he had his reasons."
Damon frowned. "His reasons are not important. The important part is that he was supposed to work for me, yet if I didn't interfere, things would end up badly. I expect my subordinates to watch my back and to make my life easier. If I need to clean up after them… I don't need them."
"But you need this person, otherwise you wouldn't have this dilemma.", Talia said, and Damon nodded in agreement.
Sure, Maya did a lot of work, and she was useful, but she was not indispensable. What Damon wanted to avoid was losing Caden if he is too harsh on Maya.
Seeing that Damon was quiet, Talia spoke again. "It seems to me you want that person to know he crossed the line, and you also want him to learn a lesson and not do it again."
Damon confirmed. "Correct. Any ideas how I can accomplish that?"
Talia shrugged and shook her head. "Without more context, I can't be of much help. Actually, even if you tell me all the details, I will probably be useless."
Damon made a face. "Why do you look down on yourself? You are not useless. You are very smart. Now tell me, what would you do?"
Talia exhaled helplessly. How can she solve a problem that was presented by a few generalized hints? But Damon was looking at her expectantly, so she wracked her brain for something, anything.
She got an idea. "People won't understand you unless they walk in your shoes. Can you put that person in a similar situation that caused you not to trust him?"
Damon rubbed his chin for a moment, and then his face lit up.
Before Talia could react, Damon extended his arms and pulled her to sit on his lap.
"Kitten, you are brilliant", he murmured while nuzzling her neck with his nose. "And you say that you are not smart. Look at you, providing the perfect solution to my dilemma in a matter of minutes." Damon chuckled and kissed her neck.
Talia's hairs stood on ends. Why was her neck so sensitive?
In the midst of his happiness, Damon got an idea.
An idea so brilliant that it will solve a lot of his problems.
"I need someone smart by my side. Will you be my assistant?"
Talia was sure that her ears malfunctioned. "Your what?"
Damon lifted his head to look at her face. "My assistant."
"But… but…", Talia stuttered.
She really didn't think that she was qualified.
And how can she do anything if she spends her day with Damon? Talia could see herself only daydreaming about his hugs and kisses and there will be no cooking or book reading. What about her training?
And what will she do if he ends up seeing other women? Is he expecting her to stand in the corner and watch him embrace his future Luna?
"What are you thinking about?"
Damon's question pulled Talia out of her thoughts.
There was no way she will admit to anything. But she had to say something.
"Didn't you say that you need people you trust?"
Damon smiled. "I trust you."
Talia blinked. "You do?"
With my life. With my everything. "I do."
