Page 69 of Blood Magic (Ariel Kimber 3)

There had been more bags of things out in the back of the silver SUV. They’d tricked me. They’d lulled me into a false sense of happiness and relief at seeing the pile of clothes on my bed almost nonexistent.

Damien had also lied about only wanting me to try on a few things, just to make sure they’d got the right sizes. This had been a blatant lie on Damien’s part, and not one I’d soon be forgetting. He made me try on absolutely everything. Jeans. Slacks that I would likely never wear. Leggings in several different colors, also things I would likely never wear. Yellow happened to be my favorite color, but that did not mean I ever wanted to wear a pair of leggings that were yellow in color. If it had been a headband, I absolutely could have sported that. But not the leggings. Somehow, that piece of work Damien, well, he convinced me to put them on. It hadn’t been my finest moment. The red ones, black ones and the purples ones had been an entirely different story. I could wear those colors and not look ridiculous.

Half way through the first pile that had been dumped on my bed, I had given up going to the bathroom to change and had simply changed in front of them. Very wisely, neither had made a peep about this.

Strangely enough, neither of them spoke a whole lot. They’d watch me and make quiet comments about what they’d forced me to try on. I would grunt in response before taking it off and moving on to the next one. I would hand it off to Julian who’d either hang it up in my coffin closet or fold it up neatly and place it in a dresser drawer.

It didn’t take long for them to run out of space. Something I was smug about because I thought it meant they would be forced to return the rest of it. My smugness lasted for a whole half of a minute.

Those A-holes had a solution and answer for everything and this time, they’d thought ahead.

That storage unit Quinton had mentioned to me days before? Well, they’d found a trunkanda dresser that they had thought were simplyperfectfor my bedroom and justknewIhadto have them.

I rolled my eyes and gave in like a good girl without so much as even sending a glare in either of their direction.

I didn’t ogle the antique furniture when they carried it up to my bedroom, though I very much wanted too because they were beautiful pieces. I would do that after torture time had ended and I was left alone to my own devices.

The trunk had been placed at the foot of my bed after the two boxes I had left to unpack had been moved aside. The dresser went against the same wall the love seat was against and below the Bad Religion poster.

At that point I have to be honest here and admit, I kind of checked out because this was when they revealed they had hidden more bags in the SUV.

Half way through that ordeal had me checking back in to tell them that I was done. There would be no more, dress up Barbie here. And if they wanted that, they needed to go and find someone else to play with because I was done.

Damien had opened his mouth to protest this, very stupidly I might add because I was not going down without a fight this time around. Julian had said Damien’s name in a sharp voice and that had been the end of that.

Now I was laying atop a small pile of overpriced clothing on top of my bed in only my bra and underwear, utterly exhausted.

This had not been what I’d agreed to or signed up for.

I closed my eyes and blew out a raspberry. I threw my arm up, resting my forearm across my forehead. My legs dangled off the side of the bed. I would have kicked my feet out repeatedly, but I couldn’t rouse up the energy for it.

Never again.

There was no way any one person needed this much clothes. Half of it I would never even consider wearing. I would try to get them to return it but I knew it would be pointless. After spending the afternoon with Damien, I knew he was going to put in the effort to try and get me to wear all of those things he’d picked out for me that I absolutely hated.

I couldn’t even find it in me to get excited over all of the boots I’d seen but had refused to try on. I had tried on one flat, Mary Jane and had called it quits after that. If they were all the same size and that one had fit me, then it stood to reason that the rest of them would fit me as well. Damien had tried to protest this, but Julian had shot him down pretty hard. Thank goodness for Julian because I wouldn’t have known what to do without him on a day like today. I had seen a whole new side to Damien and, frankly, I had found it to be a tad frightening. Damien loved clothes and not just clothes for himself. I guess I should have taken it a bit more seriously when I’d been told about his room at the Alexander house that he kept because he needed more space for all of his clothes. Apparently, he’d found a new subject to shop for and that subject was me.

Everyone needed a hobby. I just didn’t want to be his.

The bed bounced as a body landed beside me. I cracked my eyes open to see the object of my thoughts lying down beside me on his side.

His hair hung in his face and I had to curl my fingers into fists to stop myself from reaching out and brushing his hair out of his face. I would not touch Damien without invitation. I felt that would be too forward a move for me. Yesterday, I wouldn’t have even thought to reach out and touch him. After spending a few hours with him in my personal space, it no longer seemed like such a big deal to me. He was no longer this scary, dickhead I had first met. He was now just Damien, a normal person like the rest of the guys. Well, not a normal-normal person. None of the guys were normal.

My fists unclenched when he brushed his hair out of his face in a thoughtless gesture and I felt myself relax once again.

He propped his head up in his hand and studied me.

I had to give him credit, his eyes never once went lower than my jawline.

“You’re mad,” he stated in a quiet, cultured voice.

I turned my head away from him until I was staring up at my beautiful dreamcatcher.

Was I mad?

I didn’t even have to think about it.

“I’m not mad,” I told him honestly. “Just tired and overwhelmed.”

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