Page 85 of How to Rescue Your Surprise Baby

Telos’ eyebrows went up. “These are fancy.”

Mav shrugged. “I didn’t want you to think all I got you were cheap gifts.”

“Is this the most expensive one?”

Mav shrugged again. “Keep looking.”

Telos eyed the table that wasstillcovered in gifts, squirming with excitement. “You could bring mountains of gifts every day. I will accept them.”

Mav snorted, but his mouth twitched. “We’ll see. You might run out of space to store them.”

“Never.” Telos tore open the next box. “Wow, a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle.”

“You might want to complete that before Estie gets her hands on one of the pieces and loses it forever.”

Telos scowled. “Don’t jinx it.”

Mav grinned, then looked suspiciously thoughtful the next second.

“Don’tyoudare steal a piece,” Telos growled.

“Of course not.” But Mav’s shrug was too innocent for someone like him.

The next gifts contained more dinosaur-themed items: a pterodactyl plastic brick set, a pair of long-necked brachiosaurus salt and pepper shakers, a necktie with T-rexes patterned all over it, a bomber jacket with a dinosaur identification chart, and even a blanket with a timeline that showed which dinosaurs belonged to which time periods.

“I’m impressed,” Telos said when he held up a pterodactyl shower curtain, then discovered a carefully sculpted lampshade with 3D models of dinosaurs bursting out of it. He unwrapped beautifully carved bookends, a box of dinosaur-shaped shortbread cookies, and a leather-bound notebook with dinosaurs printed on the inside pages.

Right after, he unwrapped a painting—of a pterodactyl with a large cock and balls hanging between its legs. The cock and balls were painted clumsily in purple, by another artist, and it made Telos smirk. “That’s not scientifically accurate.”

Mav coughed, his face turning pink. “I had no idea what color pterodactyl genitals were. The pictures on the internet seem... very exaggerated.”

“I could show you.” Telos grinned.

“I—I guess I should know. For science.” Mav looked wide-eyed, like he wasn’t sure if this was a trap.

Telos cackled. “I like that you went to the trouble of adding a cock and balls for me. This is going in my bedroom.”

“Where you’ll jerk off to it?”

Telos rolled his eyes. “Why would I jerk off to a picture ofmyself?”

“You’re strange enough that I wouldn’t put it past you.”

“Fair enough.” Telos dragged his gaze down Mav’s body. “I have better inspiration, though.”

That made Mav straighten his shoulders, his gaze growing dark.

Finally, there was only the box that Mav had set down last. Mav seemed to tense when Telos looked at it, his gaze tracking Telos’ every movement.

Telos picked up the box carefully, weighing it in his hands. It didn’t rattle. It felt heavy. He untied the black ribbon slowly, lifting the lid and brushing aside the layers of tissue.

Set in the middle of the box was a flat, triangular black tooth, larger than his palm and shaped like an arrowhead. It was serrated at the very edges, with long cracks at the base where the tooth had dried out.

Telos sucked in a slow breath. “This wasn’t found in Utah.”

Mav’s eyebrows jumped. “How did you know?”

“This is a megalodon tooth, largely found on the east coast. Shark ancestor.” Telos checked the certificate of authenticity in the box, then turned it around in his hands, admiring the sheer perfection of it. “They don’t usually show up this complete. Or with the enamel this unblemished. The serrations are fully intact. For a tooth this large, it’s incredibly rare.”

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