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"You get dessert only if you join us in the dining room for a meal.", Damon responded.

"That\'s not what I meant.", Talia said quickly. "I thought that you might want cake so you can have it when you go down."

Damon cocked an eyebrow. "Instead of worrying about others, you should think about yourself more. What do you want to do now?"

\'I want you to leave.\', Talia didn\'t dare to say this aloud. "Sleep. I\'m tired."

Damon nodded faintly and his eyes fell on two empty plates. He collected the plates and stood up. "Since you are tired, go to bed."

Talia understood this is the part where they say their goodnights and she gets her privacy. "Thank you for bringing me dinner."

Damon\'s lips lifted into a smile. "You are welcome."

Neither of them moved for a few seconds and then Damon\'s eyes darted from Talia to bed, silently telling her to go there.

Talia moved toward the bed, thinking that once he leaves, she can do whatever she wants, and she wanted to plan her exit strategies. She cursed her luck because she left the tablet in the kitchen. Maybe she can get it later, when everyone falls asleep, assuming that it\'s still there.

She was wearing a childish t-shirt with purple kittens and leggings that used to belong to Lisa, but Talia had no intention of changing into the oversized tank top which she uses as sleepwear. It\'s too revealing and she can change after Damon leaves. That was the plan, at least.

Talia got under the comforter, and she watched Damon as he walked to the door, opened it, squatted, and then he stood up and closed the door.

"I want to rest.", Talia reminded Damon when she realized that he didn\'t leave her room. He only left the plates and utensils in the hallway. And it\'s not that he didn\'t leave, but he was approaching her!

"Rest.", Damon said flatly while climbing on the bed next to her.

Talia was flabbergasted and she shrunk under the comforter. What the heck?!

Damon settled on the bed next to Talia while she looked at him in disbelief. The only thing preventing her from screaming was that Damon didn\'t go under the comforter.

"Your hand", Damon said, and Talia saw his hand hovering above the bed, palm up.

"What…?"

"A-a-a!", Damon interrupted Talia. "The deal was that I get to hold your hand whenever I feel like it, and you don\'t get to ask any questions."

"You want to hold my hand now?"

Damon wiggled his fingers impatiently, indicating that he was waiting for her to put her hand into his.

Talia couldn\'t believe this. But Damon said that she can work in the kitchen in exchange for him eating the food she makes, and holding her hand. She worked in the kitchen, and he ate that food, and… he wanted to hold her hand.

Talia put her hand into Damon\'s gingerly while wondering if she made a mistake by accepting that deal. When she agreed to handholding, she didn\'t think that it will include Damon climbing into her bed.

Damon\'s hand was warm, and his fingers laced with Talia\'s, and she took a deep breath which brought her the scent of the forest and dark chocolate and she didn\'t hate it. Not even a little bit.

He closed his eyes and savored the sparks which shot up his arm, filling his whole body with delightful energy that was amplified by the sweet citrusy scent of freesia.

Damon remembered that Talia said he brings misfortune, and how Stephanie said he should let her go, and that Maya mentioned different living arrangements, but this was the first time in a decade that Damon felt at peace and he didn\'t want to let go.

Since he became the Alpha, Damon sacrificed many things in the name of duty toward his pack. He even put his life on the line more than once.

But this was one sacrifice he was not willing to make. He didn\'t want to be apart from Talia. He couldn\'t.

How on earth was he supposed to let her go? It didn\'t matter if she moves to a different building or leaves the planet. Being away from her was unacceptable.

He knew that he was selfish, but he wanted her next to him because the thought of Talia not being close was suffocating.

"Talia", Damon called. "I don\'t want you to leave the packhouse."

Talia looked at him, and before she could object, he spoke again, "I want you to treat this place as your home. If anyone gives you a hard time, you can put them in place or let me know and I will do it for you, gladly. Just… don\'t leave. OK?"

"Alpha Damon…", Talia said, and her voice trailed when she saw Damon\'s frown of disapproval. She cleared her throat awkwardly before correcting herself, "Damon. I appreciate your kindness, but I don\'t belong here. It\'s too stressful."

"I banned Cassie from here. She will not return."

Talia shook her head. "Today was Cassie, tomorrow might be an Alpha or some other important person that I need to tiptoe around. You said that I should treat this place as my home, but I can\'t feel at home if I need to hide."

"You don\'t need to hide from anyone, Talia. My home is your home.", Damon said, and he saw that Talia was not convinced. He had to try something else. "How about this… Give me one chance. If anyone bothers you again or makes you uncomfortable, I will help you pack."

Talia was confused. "Why are you persistent?"

Because the thought of you not being here is agonizing! "I have a free room and you need one. If you move, this place will stay empty and collect dust, and it will be a chore to find you in order to hold your hand."

Talia\'s intuition told her that was not the reason. What was he hiding? Or maybe he was not hiding anything, but he was just regular Damon with a split personality and right now she was talking to the clingy Damon who wanted to hold her hand.

"I\'m sure you can find someone else to hold hands with."

"You are right.", Damon agreed. "There are many women and many hands, but there is only one Talia Blake and if I hold hands with any woman other than my wife, that would be considered cheating. My reputation is not stellar but I\'m not a cheater."

Well, Damon didn\'t lie. He was not a cheater because he never committed to a relationship, so even when he switched women every night (or a few within the same night), technically, that was not cheating.

Talia felt her face burning and she feared that she will spontaneously combust. "Please, stop talking like we are married."

"Is that bothering you?"

Is it bothering her? No. Not really, because she knew that Damon was joking. But if someone else heard it, they might not take it as a joke, and Talia would become the target of jealousy.

Cassie went mental because she thought that Talia stole a phone, and if Cassie suspected that Talia stole Damon, Talia was confident that Cassie would go for the kill.

Talia let out a slow breath while chanting internally that she should not allow Damon to fluster her. "I\'m confident that you can find someone more willing to be your wife."

"Are you saying that you are not willing?", Damon asked without missing a beat, and his lips lifted into a mischievous smile. "It\'s too late for that, my dear wife. The whole hospital in the human city knows you are my wife, and the waiter in the restaurant also. Did you forget that I licked your wound? Healing wounds in such a way is usually reserved for family members and mates because it\'s considered to be intimate. Look at us, sharing the bed, and it\'s not the first time either. Or am I just a fling to you?"

Talia was exasperated. How much nonsense can he squeeze in ten seconds?

"Can you, please, stop joking about it. Maybe for you, that\'s normal, but for me…" Talia was not sure how to finish this.

"Normal? Do you think that I allow any woman to call herself Mrs. Blake?"

"You don\'t?", Talia asked sarcastically.

"You are the first one." The only one.

Talia stared into Damon\'s icy-blue eyes and searched for something but other than sincerity, she didn\'t find anything else.

Her breath was stuck in her throat.

Is it possible that he gives her special treatment? Why would he do that?

No, not possible. He is playing with her for some unknown reason. Probably because she is so gullible, and he gets a kick from making her flustered with a few words.

Talia gave up. There was no way to prove anything Damon said. Besides, even if he gave her special treatment and she was the first one to get the title of his pretend-wife, it wouldn\'t change anything. It\'s not like he was courting her or proposing marriage for real, and bickering because of a silly game he came up with was a fruitless effort.

"Fine. I believe you.", she said.

"I don\'t think you do."

"Let\'s drop that topic." Talia wanted to discuss something more pressing. "How long are you going to hold my hand? There must be some limit. I\'m not sure I can sleep like this."

She was not sleepy, and Damon\'s proximity combined with teasing kept her on the edge.

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