a/n: So this is for the Holiday Author Exchange created by the amazing badboysarebest :) This story in particular was written for lanixo. Happy Holidays everyone!
p.s. This takes place post-Klaus...not really important, just a little fyi.
On One Condition
Elena sat in her car outside the boarding house, staring at the invitation she had received. She had gone back and forth with the idea of inviting someone to go with her, but when she realized there was only one person that she wanted to invite, she found herself wanting to go even more. With the event only a few days away, she knew she didn't have much time to convince him it would be a good idea. And with that thought in mind, she took a deep breath and got out of the car. She let herself in as she always did and headed straight for the parlor room where she knew Damon would be.
He was standing at the drink cart, pouring his scotch into two glasses. "I was wondering how long you would sit out there."
"I had a little bit of thinking to do."
He paused for a second and Elena saw the slight fear that passed across his face. She offered a warm smile and walked up to him. She placed her hand on his arm and shook her head. "Don't worry, I like what we have going. I'm not going to end it."
Damon narrowed his eyes before leaning in until his lips were centimeters from hers. "Good, because I am not finished with you by any means."
His tone sent a shiver down her spine and she had to clear her throat and step back to clear her head. "Anyway," she began, taking her drink when he offered it to her. "I came here to invite you somewhere."
"I didn't think we were at the weekend getaway stage yet," he said, raising his glass to his lips.
She shook her head. "It's something a little more upscale."
He narrowed his eyes again. "I was under the impression you didn't want anyone to know about us. Upscale doesn't exactly sound like a place to keep a secret," she said, watching her carefully to see how she would react.
"First of all, I didn't say I wanted to keep us a secret forever, just until everything sort of blew over. I wanted people to think that I was completely over himbefore I started dating again. I didn't want people thinking you were my rebound because you're not. And second, I want people to know about us now and I think this would be the perfect place to make it official."
Damon was pleasantly surprised by that. It had been a few months since they had completely repaired their friendship and turned it into something more. They hadn't exactly reached the next level yet, but they were getting there. The pace might have been a little slower than he would have liked, but it was progress nonetheless and he wasn't going to argue with it. "Alright, what do you have in mind?"
She cleared her throat again and shifted, all signs that let Damon know he really wasn't going to like what she had in mind. "Mrs. Lockwood is hosting a black tie Christmas charity dinner for the founding families." She knew she didn't have to elaborate. All she had to do now was spend some time convincing him that it would be worth it in the end.
Damon could only stare at her. "Black tie?" he repeated.
Elena nodded slowly as she watched him begin to shake his head. "Oh come on, Damon."
He shook his head even more. "Black tie events are the one events that I do not attend."
"Why?"
"Because they require a tux."
Elena stared at him, trying to decipher whether or not he was serious. "And that's so bad because...?"
"Because tuxedos are the worst ensemble ever made."
Elena couldn't help but grin and shake her head. "It's practically the same thing."
Damon shook his head adamantly. "Tuxes are very different. They're constricting, stiff, and make the wearer look like a penguin."
Elena stared at him. It was only a matter of time before the slight twitches of her lips turned into a full on smile and she couldn't contain her laughter anymore. The thought of Damon looking like a penguin was just too cute. He glared at her as if sensing her mental voice had said the word "cute." "You'll look just as good as you do in everything else that you wear."
"I repeat, no one looks good in a tux. Not even me."
She snorted and folded her arms across her chest. "You're seriously saying no because you don't like the attire?"
He gave a short nod. "Yes."
She sighed and rolled her eyes. She began moving towards him and as she spoke, her hands roamed his chest. "Damon, please. I already told Mrs. Lockwood that I would go and that I was bringing a date. I really want you to go with me. I think this is the perfect way to go public with our relationship. This way people will know we're serious because it's such an upscale event."
"Elena-"
"Maybe it would help if you knew what I was wearing," she teased in a lower voice. She saw the way his brows rose and added, "Or rather, what I won't be wearing." She felt the way his body stiffened at her words and it brought even more of a smirk to her lips. Regaining her composure, she took a step back and shrugged, wiping the smirk off of her face. "Well, I guess if you don't want to go it doesn't matter that I'll be wearing onlya dress."
It wasn't until she reached the stairs that Damon uttered the words she knew he would. "I'll go."
"Than-" she started and turned around to face him again.
"On one condition," he interrupted.
Elena's eyes widened and her head canted to the side. She hadn't been counting on this and it made her a little uneasy. "Okay."
"You going commando while I'm stuck looking like a penguin isn't much of a tradeoff unless..." he started and let his voice trail off, a grin taking hold of his lips. Elena realized what he was going to say and she felt a slight blush rise to her cheeks. "My condition is that I get to have my way with you anywhere, anytime during this event."
Elena couldn't help the shudder that erupted through her body. They had gotten close before, rounded a few bases so-to-speak, but nothing like what he was suggesting. The idea was so much like the old Damon that she found herself a little put off by it, but on the other hand, it was too intriguing to turn down. "I do actually want to attend the party. You get that right?"
The fact that he didn't receive a flat out no made him hard for her already. "Is that a yes?" he asked. He didn't want her to know anything more other than at some point during the party he was going to pull her aside and make it a night neither one of them would forget. He wanted her guessing all night long whether this time or that was going to be the one.
Elena took a deep breath and straightened up. "Party starts at seven," she said and turned to leave, a light smile on her lips.
Elena glanced at the clock only to see that she had five minutes before Damon would arrive. Normally, she would figure an extra five minutes, but she knew better. Damon was very strict when it came to being on time. She couldn't remember a time where he had shown up late and it was one of the many things she liked about him. She smiled and shook her head before she went back to applying the last bit of make-up. At exactly quarter to seven her doorbell rang and a rush of anxiety went through her. She checked herself over one last time before presenting herself.
Damon's face made her nerves completely vanish. There was hunger in his eyes along with pure admiration. He was staring at her in a way that made her think back to the Founder's Ball where he had filled in for Stefan. She swallowed thickly as she began to descend the stairs, unable to take her eyes away from his. Once she reached the last step, she did a quick turn around for him. "How do I look?" she asked.
He admired the way the satin emerald dress clung to her every curve and showed off just the right amount of skin. He especially liked the way she had pulled her hair off to one side, exposing the slender column of her throat. "You look good enough to eat," he answered.
Elena heard the double entendre and decided to play along. "Then I hope you brought your appetite," she replied as she pushed past him on her way to the door. She stopped long enough to put her coat on and then opened the door.
As Elena turned around after locking the door, she found herself bumping into Damon. He said nothing as he reached up to cup her face and then leaned down to capture her lips. She closed her eyes and kissed him back in full. When he pulled back, he pressed his forehead to hers and whispered, "You really do look beautiful."
She smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist. "And for what it's worth, I think you look incredibly sexy in a tux."
He returned her smile and kissed her briefly before stepping back and offering his hand out to her. After getting seated in the car, they began the drive to the Lockwood mansion where they were both silent until they arrived. "Are you sure about this?" he asked.
She took his hand in hers and nodded. "If I wasn't, I wouldn't have asked you to come with me in the first place. And if I hadn't, then this thing between us wouldn't be real, now would it?"
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. "I couldn't have said that better myself."
As they walked in the front door, Mrs. Lockwood was there to greet them. She smiled graciously at Elena and took her coat; her smile wavering slightly when she realized Damon was right behind her. She peered around them and then looked at Elena. "I thought you were bringing a date?"
Elena nodded and reached for Damon's hand. "I believe you already know Damon."
For a moment, Mrs. Lockwood's face was frozen in horror, but she shook herself out of her daze and put on a smile. "I believe I do," she said and turned to the next set of guests that were arriving.
Damon squeezed her hand for reassurance. "How about some drinks?"
"Please," Elena replied and followed him through the light crowd until they found the bar.
"So how exactly is this a charity event if it's for founding families?"
"Something about a silent auction and announcing the profits that were made from other events. They do this every year, but this is the first one that my generation is old enough to attend," Elena explained as she took a sip of her drink.
"Ah, a bragging party with an expensive catered dinner," Damon summed up. "Perfect."
She playfully swatted his arm. "It won't be as bad as you make it seem."
"You're right, it won't," he said and winked at her. She rolled her eyes and did a double take as she saw one of her father's former coworkers headed their way. It was time to put on a smile and chat up the crowd.
Elena's mind was going numb. Not only did she not have any real interest in anything anyone had to say, but Damon was playing games with her. Every time they had a second alone, he would pull her aside and do something to remind her of the terms of their arrangement. If it wasn't a kiss, it would be a touch or a tease. Even sitting through dinner had been boarding on sheer torture. Just his looks alone had made her aware that she was wearing nothing under her dress. In fact, his stares had been so intense that she had barely noticed Caroline's angry looks from further down the table.
"So I guess this is the part where we go to the silent auction and pretend we like what's there," Damon said as the dinner plates were being cleared off the table.
Elena nodded, but before she could really say anything, Caroline was at her side, looping her arm through Elena's. "Damon, I'm going to borrow Elena for a minute," she said and began tugging her towards the staircase.
"Caroline-" Elena protested, but the blonde only tightened her grip and pulled her into one of the rooms upstairs.
"Damon? Your date is Damon?"
Elena nodded. She had seen Caroline's eyes go wide when she and Tyler had showed up to the party late. She was surprised her friend hadn't pulled her aside earlier. "Yes, my date is Damon."
"Mrs. Lockwood said you were bringing someone you were serious about," Caroline said, looking confused and a little hurt that she hadn't known about this.
"I am serious about him."
Caroline narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I think you better explain yourself and start from the beginning."
Elena let out a little sigh. "Well, we started repairing our friendship and then one day I found myself thinking about him in a different way. I started to think about how much I would regret it if I let 'the one' get away because I was worried about being like her. Well, I realized I was nothing like her, nor would I ever be and one thing led to another and..." Elena let her voice trail off and she shrugged. "We've been together for awhile. I just figured if I went public with our relationship at an event like this people would take it more seriously than just a fling or a rebound."
Caroline stared at her for the longest time before breaking out into a full smile. "Oh my God. You're in love with him."
Elena's lips parted to argue, but nothing came out. Instead, her eyes went wide as she realized that Caroline was right. Before she could say anything, Caroline shook her head and pulled her into a hug. "I may have my issues with him, but as long as he treats you right, I don't care. Besides, I have an eternity to make him pay if he doesn't," she said and stepped back. "I'm happy for you," she added.
"Thanks," Elena said, still stunned by her realization.
"I'm going back down."
"I'll find you; I need a minute," Elena said and watched as Caroline left the room, only to find herself staring at the door.
After a minute or two of standing in complete silence, the door opened and Damon came into the room. He had an unreadable expression on his face, one that Elena knew he heard something he shouldn't have. "Are you ever coming back to the party?" he asked.
Elena straightened up and gave him a small smile. "Do you want to go back to the party?" she asked.
Damon returned her grin and shook his head. "No." With that, he crossed the room and pulled her into his arms before delivering a searing kiss that made her knees buckle. If it hadn't been for Damon's arms around her, she would have fallen to the ground.
All night she had been half heartedly fighting off his advances, having been uncomfortable with the amount of people around them, but at the moment, she didn't care. She was aware of her feelings for him and she wanted to show him just how much she cared about him. This was, after all, one of the reasons he had agreed to come with her in the first place. Elena smirked into the kiss and then shuddered with pleasure as she felt Damon's hands sliding down her hips.
He picked her up and moved her to the desk. She was glad that there was hardly anything on it because the last thing she wanted to do was explain to anyone how stuff had been knocked off. Damon sat her on the desk and she wrapped her legs around him, causing her dress to ride high up on her thighs. She moaned slightly as Damon's hands began to slide up her exposed skin, getting dangerously close to the part of her body that ached for his touch. From what she could remember of their previous encounters, he was an expert with his fingers and it made her anxious to experience that again.
Damon wasted no time in letting his fingers slip underneath what little material there was covering her lower half in order to touch her. Elena's head fell back and her eyes closed as she savored the moment. Damon shuddered a little as he discovered just how wet and ready she was for him already. It was all he could do not to rush and just take her then and there. Instead, he forced himself to take his time and let his middle finger plunge inside her body. He groaned as her inner walls clutched at him, trying to draw him in further. It made him ache to be inside her the proper way. His thumb found her sensitive bundle of nerves and began to massage it in slow, tender circles.
Elena clutched the desk, her heart nearly skipping a beat as he sunk to his knees. He used his free arm to push her dress up further and then nudge her knees apart until he could lean in to taste her with his tongue. Her body jerked in response and she had to bite her bottom lip to keep from crying out. Her eyes closed and her nails dug into the edge of the desk as she felt his tongue move in complete sync with his finger and thumb. It was quickly bringing her to her release and she wasn't sure she could last for much longer. As if Damon had read her mind, he stopped his ministrations and stood up.
He leaned down enough to capture her lips as they both moved to free his growing member from the constricting tuxedo. "See," he growled between kisses. "I told you things are a pain in the ass."
"Less whining, more undressing," she muttered and gave a sigh of satisfaction when they managed to complete their task.
Damon wedged himself between her thighs and after initiating a passionate kiss, pushed himself deep inside her body. They both groaned at the long awaited union of their bodies and took a moment to revel in the way they felt while connected. Even though Elena had been so close to reaching her climax, with one stroke, Damon knew he would not be far behind. He had been waiting so long that now that the moment was finally here, he was overjoyed.
Once they had adjusted, he set a rhythm that was enough to prolong their releases for as long as possible. While he wanted nothing more than to get to that point, he wanted to take his time and show her exactly what she had been missing out on. Elena broke the kiss in order to get some much needed air. As she tipped her head back, Damon's lips moved down to her neck and Elena found herself wondering if he was going to bite her. What surprised her the most was that she wasn't sure she would try and stop him. That thought caused a shiver to cascade down her body and her nails dug into the edge of the desk even more.
Damon placed his hands on her hips and increased the speed of his thrusts, unable to hold back any longer. He could sense that she was ready to come for him with the way her inner walls were clutching at him. He pulled his head up from her neck and stared down at her. "Look at me," he demanded.
Elena forced her eyes open, but once they were locked on his, she knew it would be impossible to look away. They continued to stare at each other as he picked up the pace even more and before they knew it, they reached their peak at the same time. Elena moaned softly, his name tumbling from her lips as she came for him. Damon released himself inside of her, loving the way his name sounded coming from her lips. He stayed inside of her until he was sure they had both come down from their highs and then pulled away so that they could take a moment before redressing.
"So, now will we be rejoining the party?" he asked, giving her a smirk. He loved the way her skin was flushed and the way her chest rose and fell as she tried to catch her breath.
"I guess," she said and walked with him towards the door. "But we are definitely leaving early so we can do more of that."
Damon grinned from ear to ear and before she knew it, Elena found herself pinned between Damon and the wall next to the door. "Who says we have to leave before we do more of that?"
Elena's laughter turned into a moan as his lips covered hers. As Damon hiked up the skirt of her dress so that he could lift her up to where her legs could wrap around his waist, Elena wondered if she would ever be able to show her face in the Lockwood mansion again. Although, as Damon worked his magic on her, she forgot to care about the walk of shame that would come about later and gave in to what her body wanted. And with that, they entered round two of Damon's one condition.