Page 59 of Awakening the Dhampir

“Shit,” I mumbled, picking up another armload of bags. “Don’t do anything!”

I could hear Damon’s laughter as I rounded the corner and rushed through my open door. Bags covered my bed and littered the floor. Damon and Elliott leaned against the door frame leading to my closet. Both wore the same mischievous little smirk.

“What?” I asked, adding my bags to the pile on the bed.

“Nothing,” Elliott replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

I looked over at Damon who also crossed his arms, then winked at me. These two were totally up to something.

“What are you two up to?” I asked.

“Waiting for you to take charge, little d’laej,” Damon replied.

I narrowed my eyes at the two men still grinning at me. “Are you making fun of me?”

“Nope,” Elliott said. “I already told you I thought your bossy was sexy as hell. I just didn’t realize Damon already got to experience it.”

Heat rushed up my neck and consumed my ears. When had I shown my quirkiness to Damon? I thought back to the handful of times we’d been together. It wasn’t our last hotel stay. He’d been asleep and then we’d … well, been too busy to be quirky.

Damon must have realized my confusion. “That first night we spent at the hotel in North Carolina,” he explained. “You sorted out the room, then sorted me and Kenrid.”

Realization dawned on me. Right. I’d made them wait in the hallway while I separated the towels in the bathroom and decided how to split my space from theirs. Neither Kenrid nor Damon had said a thing about my odd behavior. At the time, I’d been too rattled to even care.

“I forgot about that,” I mumbled and turned away.

“So, tell us where all this stuff goes,” Damon said, his voice getting closer, which meant he was too. “It’s my turn to spend the night with you, and I’m not using all my time sorting the closet.”

Several thoughts flipped through my mind at once, each of them making me blush even harder. I was pretty sure I knew what Damon wanted to do with his time, and my body totally agreed. My mind had reservations though. There was no way I’d stop myself from feasting on him, and I worried I wouldn’t be able to stop.

A pair of arms slid around my waist. I interlaced my fingers with Damon’s and leaned back against his chest.

“Kenrid plans to stop by later,” he whispered.

Why do you doubt our mates? Mir chided. They’re here to protect us.

Even from ourselves, I added.

“Alright, let’s get to work.” I gave Damon’s hand a quick squeeze and stepped out of his warm embrace. He didn’t try to stop me. “Elliott spoiled me rotten today, so there’s a whole lot to go through.”

I smiled at my wolf shifter and closed the space between us, kicking off my flipflops along the way. Elliott hadn’t moved from his spot and still didn’t move even as I strolled toward him.

“Thank you for a wonderful day,” I said, stopping a few inches from Elliott. I wanted to wrap my arms around him, but he’d made an effort to keep his distance today. I didn’t want to intrude on whatever promise he’d made to himself.

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity,” he said, uncrossing his arms and looking down at me with so much longing. “I swore I wouldn’t put my hands on you for at least a week, but I’m not sure I can wait that long.”

It was all the permission I needed. I slid my arms around Elliott’s waist and rested my cheek against his wide chest. He only waited a moment before folding me into his embrace. His shifter magic swirled around us, tucking me tighter against the man holding me like I was his lifeline. I didn’t mind. Everything he did made me feel safe, treasured, and accepted.

“I think my job here is done,” Elliott said after several long seconds. “I’ll cherish the time we had today, but I’m not ready to watch Damon flirt. He’s never tried to woo a woman, and it’s painfully obvious.”

I leaned back just enough to meet Elliott’s gaze. I understood what he didn’t want to say.

He winked at me, pressed a kiss on my forehead, then stepped away. His hands slid down my arms, separating me from him. I missed his warmth immediately.

“Next time,” he whispered. “We’re sight-seeing, so no flip flops.”

I laughed, and he smiled with me. “Okay.” I couldn’t manage to say anything else before he slipped out the door. There was so much I wanted to say, but now probably wasn’t a good time anyway.

“He did better than I thought he would,” Damon said.

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