11. Talia

11

Talia

T alia spent Sunday cleaning the house, working on lesson plans, and making a couple of casseroles that she could freeze for lunches. The first few days at school were great. All of her lessons went off without a hitch. She was slowly learning the names of the students. The staff was welcoming. Best of all, there hadn't been any sign of Joe Ellis.

She was excited to see Sebastian's truck parked in his driveway when she got home Thursday night. Talia wondered whether she should knock on his door and welcome him home or if that would make her seem too desperate. She was well aware that he was afraid that she would attach too much importance to them having sex when she was still a virgin, regardless of her assurances that she wouldn't.

Sighing heavily, she went inside and dropped her briefcase full of papers to grade and her computer in her room and changed into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Talia hadn't ever been in a real relationship besides Darius, and he didn't count. It wasn't a real relationship.

I don't even know if we're in a relationship. We slept together and had sex. I made him breakfast, but that was just a slumber party with an advanced version of Spin the Bottle.

She laughed at her own joke. Luckily, her problem was solved by a knock on the door.

"Hello, stranger. Welcome back," she said, standing aside, letting him in.

"Thank you. It's good to be home. I wondered if you wanted to go for a run, and then I'll have dinner delivered. I was thinking Indian food."

"Sounds perfect to me. I was getting a little tired of eating leftovers."

He couldn't talk about the mission he had been on, so she told stories about the projects she had going on at school. The STEM students were making bridges out of limited supplies. They had to hold the weight of three Matchbox cars and span a foot over a fake river. Students in one class were working in groups to create a replica of the solar system, and one of the kiddos managed to dump orange paint all over herself.

"It was on her clothes, in his hair, and all over her face. Her hands, hair, and face will wash. I'm afraid that her clothes will be a wearable art project."

He laughed at her stories, and they were soon at the shifting spot on the mountain. Talia made no secret of watching him undress.

"You like what you see?" he asked.

"Yes. You are a work of art all by yourself," she said as she quickly shed her clothes and shifted.

The run was invigorating, and as always, Talia felt the stress drain from her body as she ran. She loved being human, but there was a primal delight that came from being in her wolf form.

As promised, he had DoorDash deliver Indian food after they got home. They cuddled together on the couch. The movie started, but neither of them watched it. He kissed her and their clothes disappeared as they melted into each other's bodies.

Talia cried out in delight as he entered her, filling her with his thick, hard shaft. She lifted her hips up and wrapped her legs around his waist as he moved in and out of her. Talia's hands explored his body, touching him. Her lips pressed against his chest until the fires burning inside of her overwhelmed her and she exploded from the intensity of it. Sebastian reached his peak as the hot liquid poured out of her.

They lay there on the couch for a few minutes, holding onto each other. When he moved off of her, she said, "I guess I'll have to wash this blanket."

"Do you always put blankets on the couch or were you just hoping?" he teased.

"It's always here. Mom always had it on the couch, and it never occurred to me to take it off."

He glanced at the television and said, "It's a good thing I've seen this one a time or two. I know what's going on."

She laughed as she gathered up her clothes and dressed. After taking the blanket to the laundry room, she grabbed a couple of sweet iced teas from the fridge, and they snuggled together on the couch and finished the movie.

"By the way, I will be going to the shifter world tomorrow night and staying the weekend. It's my parents' thirtieth wedding anniversary and they are having a celebration there."

"Tell them congrats for me," he said.

"I will do that." For a brief minute, Talia thought about asking him to go with her but decided against it. She didn't think that he would come. Even if he did, she wouldn't want to give her parents the impression that things were serious between them.

As the ending credits rolled, he said, "I guess I better get home. We both have an early morning."

Talia wanted to ask him to stay again but didn't think he would. He lived next door and had his own comfortable bed to go home to. He hugged and kissed her goodnight, and she locked the door behind him.

Smiling, Talia showered and got ready for bed. He made her feel things that she never thought possible. It wasn't even the sex, which was absolutely incredible. She loved simply spending time with him.

The next morning, there were a dozen roses in a vase waiting for her on her desk. The card read, "To my favorite teacher. J.E." The handwriting definitely wasn't from Joey. She had seen enough of his handwriting samples to know. Joey's writing was a lot better than the chicken scratch on the card.

Talia didn't want to throw the flowers away because it wasn't the flowers' fault they were given to her by a turd. After trying to figure out what to do with them, she threw away the card, headed down to the teacher's lounge, and left them on one of the tables for everyone to enjoy.

She had a minute, so she stopped by the library to talk to Sadie about the situation.

"Good morning, Talia. Here to check out a book?"

"Do you have one on how to get rid of annoying stalkers?"

"No, why. What's up?"

Talia explained Joe's behavior and the roses on her desk that morning.

"How did he get into your room? Did you lock it last night?"

"I'm sure I did. I always keep my doors locked," she replied. "He's a security guard and works for the prison. Maybe he has a lock-picking set."

"Unfortunately, you can buy those on the internet," Sadie said. "If I were you, I'd hold onto that card. You might need it if he does become a serious problem and you have to report him or press charges against him."

"I would hate for it to come to that. Joey is such a sweet kid," Talia said.

"You might be doing him a favor. If Joe ends up in prison, he won't have custody or visitation with his son."

"True," Talia replied. "Still, I hate drama, and this is my first week of school."

"I understand, my friend. I'm here if you need me."

Talia went upstairs and dug the card out of the trash, put it in a plastic Ziplock baggie that was a part of her school supplies, and stashed it in a supply closet that she kept locked and the students weren't allowed into.

Taking a deep breath, she plastered a smile on her face as the first bell rang. She went outside into the hallway to greet the students as they entered her classroom. She taught astronomy to the ninth graders and the food web to the tenth graders. She was relieved when no one spilled paint on themselves or got tangled up in the ball of yarn they used to do a physical demonstration of the food web. She tried to completely block Joe out of her mind. Joey, who was a sweet kid, seemed to have no idea what his father was up to, and Talia felt sorry for him. She was pretty sure Joey would be embarrassed if he knew what his father was up to.

She thought about talking to Sebastian about the situation but decided not to for now. If it continued or escalated, then she would say something to Sebastian. For now, though, she didn't want Sebastian to say or do anything to make the situation weird or awkward.

Maybe he'll get bored after a while if I refuse to respond and he'll go away. He can't be that infatuated with me since he started flirting five minutes after we met.

Talia hurried home from school, packed for the weekend, and then headed to Howlers' to go through the portal. She hadn't ever used it before. Her parents were waiting for her on the other side.

At dinner that night, Heidi grinned at Talia. "What's going on with you and the boy next door?"

"We hang out."

"Hang out? Really?" Owen laughed. "The connection between the two of you is obvious."

"I'll admit that I like him a lot. You know I had a crush on him when I was younger."

Owen looked at her intently. "Is what you're feeling now something real or is it remnants of an old crush?"

"I think that it's way too soon to tell, but there is something weird," she said. "His scent haunts me."

Her parents exchanged meaningful glances.

"What?"

"When you catch the scent of someone like that it often means that they are your fated mate."

Talia shook her head vigorously. "No way. He wouldn't ever go through the mating ceremony with me, which is why I'm doing my best not to fall in love with him. I'm just spending time with him, having fun, and getting my life started as a teacher."

Her parents just looked at each other knowingly.

Heidi patted her hand and said, "If it makes you feel better, you just keep telling yourself that."

Talia enjoyed hanging out with her parents that weekend. She and her mom went shopping on Saturday and had lunch together. Talia noticed that most of the people in the shifter world walked around naked so they wouldn't have to worry about their clothes when they shifted. There were a few extremely sexy men walking around, but none of them had the same effect on her that seeing Sebastian naked for a few seconds did. Talia blushed as she thought about the last time she'd seen Sebastian without clothes. She thought about what her parents said and then banished the thought. There was no way they could be fated mates.

Sunday night, she hugged her parents goodbye and, after several promises of getting together soon, she went through the portal and headed home. She couldn't help but look at Sebastian's house as she pulled into her driveway. Either he wasn't home or his truck and motorcycle were in the garage.

I really need to clean out the garage so I can park my car in there, she thought. Next weekend.

The problem was that most of the stuff belonged to her parents. The garage was cheaper than a storage unit, although when winter hit in a month or so, she would want to park in the garage anyway. It was already late August, and it could snow in September, so she would have to figure out something soon.

Talia took a shower and got ready for bed. She had just slipped between the sheets when her phone buzzed. Hoping it was from Sebastian, she eagerly grabbed the device and then groaned. Darius.

I miss you so much and I really want to get back together with you. I would move to Angel's Creek to be with you.

She ignored the message and wondered what was so wrong with her that she seemed to attract losers – first Darius and then Joe.

Sebastian was a great guy. She'd had a crush on him for so long and now she'd had sex with him and spent a lot of time with him. Everything felt surreal.

Talia sighed. Honestly, she was waiting for him to tell her that he didn't want to hang out anymore or just simply fade out of her life.

It could mean that you're fated mates, her mom had said.

"There is no way in the world they could be right. Look at him. He's the leader of a motorcycle club, owner of an investigative and security organization that is highly regarded by everyone, including the governments of different countries, and he's an incredibly sexy man," Talia told herself dejectedly. "I'm not exciting. I'm only someone he is passing the time with."