Song: "Bad At Love" by Halsey

[unedited]
*Chapter 29*

-

The weather didn't really drop as the end of December slowly approached. It was kind of hard to tell that it was almost Christmas. Especially since Damien was practically a grinch.

He didn't even own a Christmas tree. When I asked him about he responded with "Christmas is for children."

That didn't stop me from buying a tree while he was busy with his work. He seemed pretty pissed off when he saw the whole house was completely decorated, even the outside. Of course, I didn't do it all by myself, I had some help from Juniper and Colton. Although they spent almost the whole time arguing.

The hardest part was finding a Christmas present for him. One that was decent. It Damien didn't really like many things, except for art. That was his only hobby. You'd think for someone who has lived for as long as he has, he'd pick up on quite a few hobbies. Not him. Not Damien.

Despite the fact that Mr. Scrooge seemed to have no Christmas spirit whatsoever, he still made the effort to invite my family over to spend Christmas with us. It warmed my heart really. I was tempted to ask him if he had any family, but I refrained from doing so because I remembered that Damien outlived all of them. All because of me.

If I wasn't his mate, he probably would've found her a lot quicker, meaning his aging wouldn't have stopped.

Nothing peculiar happened since Vincent, the Vampire King, decided it was okay to kidnap me. I had a feeling that it wasn't over yet, but I didn't want to worry about it at the moment. All I wanted to was spend the holidays with my mate and family with no worries.

"Liana? Hellooo."

I heard my voice being called. I shook my head away from my thoughts and glanced down at my phone in my hands.

The image of London and Blake's faces came into view. Oh right, we were doing a three-way video chat.

London shoved her face into the camera. "Are you okay? We've been trying to get your attention for the past minute, and you've been staring off into space."

"Oh yeah, of course. I was just thinking."

London started wiggling her eyebrows but didn't mention anything about Damien. Blake was still completely unaware of everything.

She never questioned me about why I moved or dug deeper into it, even though I didn't think my reason was good enough.

I didn't miss Blake slightly narrow her eyes as she watched the interaction between London and I.

"No let's get back to business. We were just talking about Blake's love life."

"Oh hell no." Blake groaned before she shot a glare at the camera.

"Love life?" My interest was peaked. This was news to me. "With who?"

Of course I had a slight idea. A certain pig-headed demon king who probably didn't really deserve a mate. But hey, everyone deserves a chance at redemption. Maybe Blake would be the one to make everything all better. Cyrus never explained to me about his situation, but I didn't even bother asking.

"There's this guy at school who obviously has a thing for her, but she won't admit it. He practically flirts with her every time he sees her and they text all the time."

"We're just friends..." Blake muttered looking down at her black-painted finger nails. Her dark hair was tied up in a loose bun, a couple strands falling in her face. "Besides, he's only being friendly, and he probably flirts with other girls."

"Have you seen him flirt with other girls?"

"Uh...no?"

"Well then what makes you think he does."

"There's no way someone that hot is not single. And I'm pretty sure he knows that he's attractive, he's so arrogant that it makes me want to punch him in the face sometimes..."

London and I shared a look. "But?"

Blake sighed looking up from her fingers. "I feel like he's the only one who understands me. Even though he flirts a little—"

London gave her a look.

"Ok, a lot. But it's harmless, not like those other assholes we call 'teenage boys'."

"Who is it?" I asked, hopping it was Cyrus she was talking about.

"Uh," she sounded a little unsure as she rubbed her arm nervously. "That guy you introduced me to, Cyrus."

A grin grew on my face. "Hell yeah it is! I knew you to would hit it off."

Blake rolled her eyes at me. "He's kind of creepy. And he seems like he's hiding something."

My smile faltered slightly before I shrugged my shoulders. "I think you two can work it out. If anything happens, please fill me in."

"You'll be the first one to know," London responded with a grin as Blake rolled her eyes yet again.

A light knock against the open door of Damien and my room took my attention away from my phone.

I glanced away from my phone and noticed Damien leaning against the doorframe.

"Dinner's ready," her murmured, his deep, velvety voice music to my ears.

"Who's that?" Both London and Blake demanded at the same time.

"His voice sounds hot."

I felt my cheeks heat up slightly at London's last comment. I watched as Damien's lips tilted up in a small smirk.

He pushed of the frame and slowly approached me, his eyes holding a mischievous glint in them. I gulped glancing down at my phone again.

The girls both stared at me with curious glances.

"Liana, what's wrong?" Blake asked me. I couldn't figure out the look in her eyes. Did she know that there was a man in here with me? Was she mad at me for breaking up with her brother? For hurting him?

"Uh, nothing." I felt my breath hitch when I felt a light brush of fingers against my bare leg.

I immediately flipped onto my back in order to keep the girls from seeing Damien. I glanced at him over the phone to see the smirk still on his face as he ran his hand up my knee and slowly up my thigh.

I glared at him, trying to ignore the tingling sensation shooting up my leg from his touch. I cursed the mate bond.

"What are you looking at?" The girls demanded scooting closer to the camera, thinking that it would help them get a better look. I cringed when I could see slightly up London's nose.

"Up your nose," I retorted. "Please move it away from the screen."

My eyes widened slightly when the bed creaked and Damien's icy blue eyes appeared above me, his bulging arms trapping me against the mattress.

His smirk widened when he noticed the effect he had on me.

"Liana!"

I shifted my gaze back to the girls.

"What the hell is going on?"

Blake was the one who spoke this time. "Is there someone else in the room with you?" She asked suspiciously.

I immediately shook my head. "No, of course not."

They both gave me a look of disbelief.

"Bullshit."

"There's a man in there."

I froze, my eyes darting up to Damien who gave me a smug look. Both London and Blake gave me expectant looks, waiting for me to say something.

I opened my mouth to say something but London cut me off.

"I knew it!"

"I—" I glanced at Blake who didn't look too upset, instead she looked slightly curious.

Before I could answer, Damien snatched the phone from my grasp.

"Hey!" I protested trying to reach for it but he held it away from me.

He smirked at me before looking at the phone. Both of the girls stared at him with wide eyes.

"Who are you?" Blake was first to speak.

"Damien," he replied, his voice smooth. He glanced at me out of the corner or his eyes. I glared at him and tried to reach for the phone again.

"Give it back!"

Damien rolled over onto his stomach holding it out away from me.

His lips tilted up in a small smile when he heard me curse under my breath.

He looked back at the phone. "And you are."

"Blake."

"London."

I noticed the recognition in his eyes. He probably remembered London from Mom's going away party. I knew he didn't recognize Blake.

When he glanced at me, I mouthed 'she's human'. His mouth formed an 'o' as he nodded.

"Well London, Blake, it's lovely to meet you, but I have to steal Liana."

"Wait—" before I could say anything, the girls bid their goodbyes and Damien ended the call. He tossed my phone to the side before turning to face me.

He gave me a smug look as I continued to glare at him.

"I was talking to my friends."

"Dinner's ready."

I shook my head at him and attempted to stand up from the bed, but his arms snaked around my waist and pulled me back down.

Damien covered my body with his own, his hands resting by my head.

"Your dad made dinner. He doesn't seem like the type to cook."

"Neither do you," I retorted.

Damien playfully glared at me before leaning down barely allowing his lips to graze mine. When I moved to press my lips firmly against his, he pulled away.

I groaned while he just chuckled at me.

"Asshole."

Damien stood up from the bed and backed away to the door, his eyes never leaving my face, except when they briefly scanned my body. His eyes lingered on my chest.

"I'd change first if I were you," he commented before leaving the room.

I glanced down at myself and noticed the short shorts and the tight tank top I was wearing, my breasts nearly spilling out. Good God I needed to change before my parents saw.

I had changed into it after showering without thinking.

After changing into something more presentable before hopping down the stairs. The delicious aroma of the freshly prepared meal wafted throughout the house.

When I entered the kitchen, the table was already set. Mom, Dad, Colton, and Juniper were already sitting while Preston and Damien carried over the last of the dishes.

I took a seat in between Damien and Juniper, Mom and Dad on the other side, and Colton and Preston on the ends.

I decided to invite Colton and Juniper to join us for dinner because they were practically Damien's family. They were all he had, they deserved to be there.

I smiled down at my plate, thinking about how lucky I truly was. To have a loving family and mate. They may not be perfect, far from it, but were perfect for me. I loved them all.

I felt my heart stop at my thoughts. Love.

Was it to early in Damien and I's relationship to even think about love? We already had sex...and we marked each other.

Before I could ponder more on the subject, my thoughts were disrupted by the voices of my family.

They all chatted happily as they ate the wonderfully prepared meal. It really was as good as its smell. My dad truly had a gift.

I was jealous. I couldn't cook for shit.

After enjoying a lovely meal, we all headed to the living room. My family always spent Christmas Eve watching a movie together. I didn't care what movie was on as I took a seat on the couch next to Damien.

At some point during the movie, Damien leaned over to whisper in my ear. "Come with me."

I nodded my head and we both stood up. No one paid any attention to us as we left the room. I followed Damien up the stairs and down the hallway. We reached the end of the hallway, Damien's hand reaching for the doorknob of the closed door. The gaming room.

He twisted the knob and pushed the door open. I entered the room and felt my eyes widen slightly, my lips parting.

The lights in the room were off, the only source of lights coming from the Christmas lights lining the ceiling and the Christmas tree in the corner of the room. Other Christmas decorations decorated the room. My eyes finally landed on the couch, a fuzzy blanket laid out. On the coffee table sat a plate of cookies and two glasses of eggnog.

Damien placed his hands on my hips pulling my back against his chest. His lips found their way to my ear.

"Do you like it?" His warm breath hit the back of ear, causing goosebumps to rise on my skin. The warmth of his fingers seeped through the thin material of my shirt.

I nodded my head before he stepped away from me and took my hand, leading me to the couch. He sat down, pulling me down with him. I cuddled up next to his side. Placing the blanket over us after he reached over and grabbed the cookies and the glasses.

"Why'd you do this?" I couldn't help but ask before I took a sip of my eggnog, enjoying the cinnamon and creamy vanilla flavor.

"I wanted to spend some quality time with my mate. Is that so wrong?" He asked quirking an eyebrow.

"I guess not."

"You guess?"

I smirked at him, taking a bite of one of the chocolate chip cookies. I hummed with satisfaction. "This is so good. Did you make this."

Damien offered me a small smile before nodding, his eyes shifting away from me.

"Thank Goddess you're good in the kitchen. I probably can't make cookies."

Damien chuckled. "Probably not."

"Hey!" I smacked him playfully on his arm.

He laughed, leaning away from my touch.

The smile didn't leave my lips as I heard the beautiful sound come from his lips. I loved his laugh.

Damien and I just stared at each other, the smile never leaving either of our faces. I didn't realize how close we were until I felt his lips brush against mine.

It was light, gentle, slow. Addictive. I wanted more, especially when I felt his teeth gently pull on my bottom lip, earning a soft sound from me. Damien hummed in response before pulling away just as my heartbeat picked up its pace.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his again, leaning over him in the process to sit my glass and cookie down on the side table, not breaking our kiss.

Damien sat his glass down before clasping his hands around my waist, tugging me closer to his body.

I pulled his lip between my teeth earning a soft groan from him.

"Easy, baby. Your family is downstairs," he breathed, pulling away from me once again.

"You brought me up here, decorated the room, and made me cookies and you expected me not to want to kiss you?"

Damien stared at me, his eyes still misty from our mini make out session. They held a dark, lustful gaze that tempted me along with his red, swollen lips—another dead giveaway of what happened.

"Fuck it," he muttered before closing the distance once again.

-

Yes! Another chapter in! I'm making up for lost time. Plus I had a lot of time today to write this. I was in a writing mood.

This was more of a filler chapter. But I hope you all liked it.

Anybody doing anything exciting for winter break? Because I know I'm not...

~Kira