In the master bedroom on the third floor of the packhouse…
Damon kept the shopping bags on the ground and started peeking into them like a child looking for candies.
"Where is the thing you bought for me?"
Talia giggled and pushed him to sit on the sofa. "Wait a minute. Let me find it."
She didn't want to tell him that girls went lingerie-shopping and if he sees it now, it will spoil the surprise.
Damon was super-excited. Talia bought something for him! Whatever it was, he will treat it as a treasure. "What did you get?"
Talia shook her head helplessly. She realized that Damon doesn't have a neutral state. Everything he does is extreme. Happiness, anger, dejection, playfulness, jealousy, whatever it is, it's maxed out. And right now, Damon was impatient.
She hoped that he will like the coffee mug she picked for him. Girls suggested that she buys Damon a necktie and other clothing items, but she was not sure if he will wear those, so she went with a mug. It came with a matching pen, so it was a set.
Did she really buy so many things? And they were wrapped in colorful tissue paper that made it difficult to find something specific.
The mug was white with a silver outline of a wolf, and when a hot beverage gets poured in, the ceramic will heat up and turn black, emphasizing the outline of a silver wolf howling at the moon that's not visible when the mug is cool and white.
Talia knew that Damon enjoys his morning coffee and she really-really hoped that he will use the mug she got him.
She was nervous.
While waiting for Talia to find the right item, Damon saw on the sofa two plush toys. Blackie and Cinna.
He glared at Cinna. Will he ever be able to get rid of that wretched toy that came with the ghost of coach Keith?
At the sight of all the shopping bags and colorful tissue paper, Damon got an idea.
Cinna is on the smaller side. Would it be strange if she accidentally ends up lost in those bags and colorful paper, and gets trashed? That sounded like something that could really happen. And Omega in charge of the cleaning will take the trash out tomorrow and no one will find her. Ever!
But for that, he needed more bags and tissue paper, and then he will 'accidentally' push Cinna into one of the empty bags and stuff the colorful paper on top. Brilliant!
Damon groaned. "You are too slow! Let me help you get things out."
Talia couldn't believe him.
"Wait! Wait!", Talia exclaimed while slapping his hands away from the bags. "You should learn to be patient."
Damn it! Damon cursed internally. Talia is doing everything neatly and is not allowing him to make the mess that will sweep Cinna away.
"Let me open something.", Damon insisted.
Talia didn't understand what got into him. Why can't he sit tight for a minute?
She remembered that Mindy delivered a mini-mountain of presents and Talia kept them on (and around) the sofa chair. Damon didn't enter their bedroom until they returned from the Shifters nightclub, and the morning was busy so no one paid attention to those presents.
"Why don't you open your gift from Mindy while you wait?"
Damon was alerted. "A gift from Mindy? Why would she give me anything?"
"She got us matching wristwatches.", Talia explained while putting two boxes in front of him. "This one is for you."
Damon was interested. "Matching wristwatches?"
He opened both boxes and hummed in approval. He didn't wear a wristwatch, because it would break (or come off) during shifting into his wolf form, so it was not practical, and if he wanted to check the time, he had his cell phone. However, if it's matching with Talia's, he will find a chance to wear it.
"I told you that Mindy is a good person. We should keep her.", Damon said with glee while keeping two open boxes with wristwatches side-by-side on the coffee table so that he can admire them.
Talia smiled at the silly Alpha. He said that during the party at the Lightclaw pack, but a few seconds later he backtracked.
Damon's eyes moved over other boxes that were there. "What else did Mindy get?"
Talia shrugged. Other than wine, she didn't remember. "Feel free to check."
Damon took one flat box from the top and he hoped that it was sexy lingerie. He would ask Talia to put it on and then he will rip it and…
Nope. It was a golden necklace with matching earrings. Damon's brows came together while wondering if Talia likes these things… jewelry.
Should he buy her some? Definitely. But what should he get? Probably nothing without consulting Maya first. Or he could take Talia to the store and let her pick. Unfortunately, knowing Talia's personality, she probably wouldn't pick anything.
He kept the box on the side and opened the next one.
No luck with lingerie, but he was getting closer. It was a silky bathrobe with fluffy slippers.
Damon reached for the next box while wondering if it's normal for females to gift each other these kinds of things.
"Do you like what Mindy got you?", Damon asked.
"It's OK.", Talia responded absentmindedly. Actually, Talia thought that it was too much, but she didn't want to say that out of fear of sounding ungrateful.
"Will you use it?"
"It depends."
Talia remembered that among presents from Mindy other than wine there is an assortment of nuts and dried fruits. "I would love to try it with you. Maybe tonight when the things with guests settle and it's just the two of us?"
Damon didn't respond. Putting a wristwatch on in the evening didn't sound like his idea of having fun, and there was no way he could fit in that silky bathrobe.
Talia didn't think much about Damon's silence.
"Found it!", Talia exclaimed while fishing out a cube-shaped box and she paused at the sight of Damon who stared at the half-open box like his mortal enemy was inside.
Talia looked at the box in front of Damon and blinked once, twice… and then her eyes widened in horror when she remembered what was in that box.
It was a women's self-care kit with music, bathing salts, scented candles, skincare products, and there was also a lubricant and a dildo!
"You want us to try this together? Tonight?", Damon asked stiffly.
Talia swallowed a mouthful of air. "Not everything."
Damon's icy gaze locked her in place. "Not everything? Some things you want to use on your own?"
Talia could feel the danger and she cursed Mindy internally. Why the hell did she buy her a set that came with that abominable thing?
Damon stood up in slow motion and Talia took a step back on an instinct.
"Which one of us should use this?", Damon asked, and Talia couldn't stop looking at the purple dildo in his hand.
She bit her lower lip to prevent herself from laughing.
Yes, Damon was angry, and she was in trouble, but he was holding the dildo with the tips of his index finger and thumb, as far as possible from his body, like it was something dirty.
Talia knew that she should be wary of Damon who was royally pissed, but how can she take this situation seriously when Damon was in the same frame with a purple dildo?
Damon sneered. "What is funny?"
"Nothing.", she lied with a straight face.
"I can feel your emotions.", he said matter-of-factly.
Talia's chin shivered and then she burst into laughter.
"Ha-ha-ha… AH!", Talia's laughter turned into a shriek when Damon leaped over the coffee table, straight toward her.
Talia dodged him and ran around the sofa while struggling to catch her breath through giggles.
Of course, she didn't reach far.
After no more than five seconds of Talia's giggles and squeals, Damon's arms wrapped around Talia, and they fell on the floor with Talia on top.
She noticed that his hands were empty.
"Where is it?", Talia asked.
"What do you think?"
Talia raised her head how much she could and glanced around. Her eyes fell on the open window. "Did you throw it out?"
"What if I did?"
"You can't. What if someone sees it? It's a gift from Mindy."
"So, you want to keep it?", Damon squeezed through his teeth and rolled them over so that he ends on top.
"That's not what I said."
"What did you say?"
Talia exhaled helplessly. She had no intention of using it, but she couldn't throw it either. Talia thought about keeping it somewhere in the depths of the closet where it will be lost forever, but now Damon found it and he was acting like she was planning to leave him and live happily ever after with a piece of purple silicone.
Talia knew that there was no point in arguing with Damon when he was like this and he was nuzzling her neck, making her hairs stand on ends. It was difficult to think, and she was not sure if the heat between her legs was hers or from him, probably from both because he was grinding himself, and the sensation of his hard shaft pressing her sensitive spot stirred her into arousal within seconds.
"Damon", she called breathily. "We should get ready for the beach."
"We will." Eventually.
He swallowed her next argument in a fiery kiss that made her mind spin.
"I will prove to you that those gadgets are not necessary.", Damon mumbled between kisses. "Once I'm done with you, you will immediately reject such gifts going forward."
He said something about Talia not accepting any more presents from Mindy, but Talia didn't respond because her mind was clouded with arousal and her hands moved with urgency to unbutton his pants.
