Damon will kill me for this.
It's Alaric's first thought as Elena presses her soft lips to his; he doesn't even think of Jenna or Stefan, and she doesn't seem to be thinking of them either, the pressure of her mouth hardening as her kiss becomes almost frantic. His hands settle on her hips, his thumbs stroking the patch of skin between the hem of her shirt and the waistband of her jeans as he pulls her up hard against him. She whimpers and he breaks the kiss, stepping away to give her space.
"Isobel's notes," he says, motioning to the forgotten box of papers on his coffee table. He still isn't quite sure exactly why Elena decided to kiss him-or why he's responding.
"They can wait."
Elena has a purposeful look in her eyes as she steps forward and presses her hands to his chest, pushing him onto the couch and straddling his lap.
"Please, Rick?" she whispers. "I need this. I need to feel normal. Just for tonight."
He's not sure they can be normal, but he just nods and reaches up to brush her hair out of her face.
"Okay."
The corners of her mouth turn into a sweet smile and he's caught, his heart pounding, and he's the one who leans forward this time, capturing her lips as his hands slide under her shirt, skimming over the soft skin of her stomach. She pulls away for a second just to pull her shirt over her head.
"Alaric," she breathes, her voice soft and wanton, and his quickening cock grows harder still. She leans forward again, pressing her mouth to his once more as he grabs her hips, steering her movements as he rubs her against his erection.
Just then the doorbell rings and they jump apart, looking at each other guiltily. She quickly tugs on her shirt and moves to the chair across from the couch, grabbing a few of the documents out of the box and then burying her nose in them as if she were engrossed in them.
Alaric gets to his feet and pulls his shirt down over his crotch, covering his erection as best as he can, and then he heads to the door. His heart plummets when he sees Damon standing there, wondering what his friend has heard, what he smells. Damon, however, seems oblivious for once. If he does suspect, he probably finds the idea too ridiculous. If Elena were to cheat on Stefan, she'd surely do it with Damon himself, not with her aunt's boyfriend, her teacher.
As Alaric turns away from the door, however, he catches sight of Elena, her lips red and swollen and looking just kissed, and almost stumbles. Damon goes very still, but then she unconsciously pulls her bottom lip into her mouth, and the moment passes, her nervous gesture ironically saving both of them from discovery.
Damon turns to Alaric, his brow raised.
"I could do with a drink."
Alaric is surprised by how easily he can feign innocence.
"Of course."
Exchanging a furtive glance with Elena, he gets the bottle and glasses for Damon and himself and then returns to the contents of the box.
Damon will kill him for this. Eventually.
But not tonight.
