After an unknown measure of time, Talia and Damon separated and they focused on why they came to the gym. Training.
Talia was impressed to see how prepared Damon was. In a matter of minutes, he dispelled her doubts that he won't be able to train her as well as Keith.
Talia wondered, is there anything Damon won't excel in?
They started with stretching and then he put around her upper arm a device that will measure her vitals in real-time, similar to the one Keith put on her at the training center.
Talia picked a movie to play on the TV and Damon set a timer for half an hour with, "We will start with thirty minutes-long sessions, and work our way up gradually. When the time is up, we will stop the movie, and continue during our next session."
It was a day for building her stamina, so Talia started with the treadmill, and then she moved to the elliptical machine.
All machines came in pairs, and Damon was exercising next to Talia, albeit at a much faster pace with more resistance and incline, but she enjoyed the company and the movie helped in distracting her from the ache that was swelling in her muscles.
Other than exercising, Damon was occasionally taking notes on Talia's performance.
They ended their session with another round of stretching that will prevent sore muscles.
At some point, Talia stood straight and lifted her arms above her head, and Damon instructed, "Imagine there is something you want to reach, and you can almost touch it… almost. Get on your toes. Feel the stretch. Hold this for ten seconds. Don't forget to breathe."
Talia closed her eyes and focused on breathing while counting slowly to ten.
Damon looked at the little woman wearing only tight shorts and a sports bra, both red in color, and he swallowed hard a the sight of one bead of sweat that was sliding down her upper arm.
Talia counted until seven when she jolted in fright. Something strange touched her armpit.
Talia looked in disbelief at Damon who was standing right next to her, and she saw his tongue darting a bit. Did he just lick her there?
"What did you do?" Talia asked while holding onto her violated armpit.
Damon had no intention of denying it. "You taste amazing, kitten."
Talia made a face. Amazing? She is sweaty, for crying out loud!
Damon moved closer to Talia, and she took a step back on instinct.
Damon cocked an eyebrow at her. "Am I repulsing because I'm sweaty?"
Talia blinked at his enchanting visual.
The tank top clung onto his muscular body like a second skin, but it was not unpleasant. Not even a little bit.
She shook her head.
"What is it then? Do I smell bad?", he continued probing.
Talia frowned a little. How can he say that he smells bad? Damon always smells good, and the sweat somehow only increased his deliciousness, urging her to lick him all over and maybe take a bite as well.
If Talia was not so shy, she would probably clean him completely with her tongue and he won't need to shower.
He asked her about his scent, and she hesitated for some time before responding, "You smell like the forest and the dark chocolate."
Damon paused. "That's very specific. Was your sense of smell always so good?"
He assumed that her wolf is enhancing her sense of smell just like her superior eyesight.
"No. It's only with you.", Talia admitted.
Damon felt his heart racing. "What did you say?"
Talia thought for a moment before responding. "I can distinguish scents of things and people, but with you is different."
"How different?", Damon continued probing.
"I know your scent in a crowd. It's much stronger than the others. It's like…"
"Like?", he urged her to finish.
"Like it's calling for me."
Damon's face lit up. His scent is calling to her? Doesn't that mean she can feel the bond, at least to some extent? And if she can feel the bond, that means that her wolf is close!
"Was that from the first time we met or did it start recently?", he asked excitedly.
'From the first time we met?', Talia's mood fell.
Isn't that when she saw him with princess Marcy between his legs? At that time, Talia was flustered by the scene in front of her and her survival instincts kicked in, and she fled.
Did he really think that she will stop to sniff the air? Maybe he was enjoying the moment, but Talia feared for her life.
"Uhm… Why does that matter? I'm sure that many she-wolves told you that you smell good." Of course, with so many women chasing after him, they must be attracted to his scent and not only to his good looks, power, or position.
Damon saw that Talia's expression was changing and he swiftly pulled her in his embrace.
He smiled when her arms wrapped around him in return.
"This is the first time I heard that my scent is inviting someone. Werewolves have a keen sense of smell, but when you feel the attraction, it has a special meaning."
Talia looked up at him, unsure where he was going with this.
Damon had the word 'mate' at the tip of his tongue, but then he swallowed it back when he realized that Talia's mood is off. Did he do something?
Damon was oblivious that his mentioning of the first time they met invoked for Talia mental images of him and Marcy. From Damon's perspective, he remembers Talia standing at the door and running away, and he completely filtered Marcy out from that memory.
"Do you like my scent?", he asked.
Talia nodded.
He buried his face in the crook of her neck and took a deep breath.
"I love your scent, kitten…", he murmured. "It's sweet and citrusy, and it reminds me of colorful flowers that my mother used to plant in the garden. Freesia. I can't say that your scent is stronger than the others, it's quite the opposite. If you are not nearby, I can't track you."
Talia bit her lower lip guiltily. Should she tell him that it's because of the herbs she is taking?
What if he tells her to stop taking them?
That's her failsafe, in case she needs to hide or run away so that others can't track her.
Why would she run or hide? She wanted to be with Damon, no matter how much it lasted, and no matter how many she-wolves were eager to get between his legs, like princess Marcy.
But what will happen when Damon gets bored of Talia and finds someone else? Will he discard her or want to keep her as backup? Will she be willing to be his backup? What if…?
Her thoughts were interrupted when Damon spoke again, "I am addicted to your scent."
Talia's skin flashed in goosebumps when he licked her neck.
"And I love how you taste, kitten."
He licked her again and Talia fisted his sweaty tank top because her legs became wobbly.
She didn't understand why her body reacted like that to him.
Why were Damon's small acts of affection able to dispel her dark thoughts?
She was absolutely defenseless in his embrace which had the power to shut down all the alarm bells that are normally always active in the back of her mind.
It didn't make sense. Logically speaking, she should run away from the unstable Alpha as far as her legs carry her, yet her legs were willing to take her only to Damon.
Damon let out a long breath and pecked her lips.
"We should tidy up. Lunch will be ready in fifteen minutes…"
Talia nodded in agreement. She knew that Stephanie mind-linked Damon about the food and Talia was not sure if she should be grateful for this interruption or not because something told her that if they continued, within minutes, she would be down on the exercising mat panting and moaning Damon's name.
