Author: Kerimack
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Cruel Intentions, I just borrow and manipulate them.
Summary: Sebastian bets Kathryn that she can't get a known player to fall in love with her. When she starts to really fall for the guy what lengths with Sebastian go to get her back? Sebastian's POV. Please R&R
Rating: R
Authors Note: This is an alternate universe fic and therefore Annette is not in it. I was just going to update one story at a time but I've gotten good feedback for both Who Are You and Let the Games Begin so maybe I'll continue to update both. I'll update this one as well depending on how well received it is.
Chapter 1: Care To Make a Wager On That?
This is a story about love. More importantly this is a story about how that four letter word severely fucked with three peoples lives. It would seem that my story wasn't too different from the countless other love stories that have been told but it is. You see I am not the typical hero. Point of fact the name Sebastian Valmont tends to evoke anger and vows of retaliation for the latest crime I have committed. The funny thing was this never bothered me. I took pride in my reputation even though to most I was right up there with Nicolo Machiavelli, Claudius, Fernando Mondego and James Spader.
The other people involved in this sordid little love triangle weren't any better as you'll see. We were all severally fucked in out own way and yet we each fell in love. I suppose that's what makes this tale so much more compelling than the rest. We didn't deserve to fall in love but we did and it's one hell of a tale.
It all began at this party thrown by an old friend of mine...
At the time everything in my life was perfect or at least seemed that way. It was the beginning of summer and school at my fascist almamater was officially closed. My parents had left the previous week to another exotic location that they didn't bother to invite me to. Of course it wasn't as if I would have agreed to come anyway. I much rather have staid in the city where I could while away the hours binge drinking and getting laid in my parents fabulous upper east side townhouse.
The only thorn in my side had to do with this party I was more or less being forced to attend. It's not that I don't enjoy a good party, on the contrary. However it was the guest of honor at this particular soiree that I had a problem with. I guess you could say the two of us had a bit of history together. We grew up together in New York and I guess you could call us friends although I prefer the term enemies much more.
His name was Jackson Maguire and he was in my book the definition of the word asshole. Arrogant, self absorbed and worse of all unoriginal he was the benign of my existence when we were children up until the beginning of high school when he left. I had mistakenly believed it was for good.
Why were we friends you may wonder? Well by all accounts we shouldn't have been. However our parents were friends and therefor we immediately got stuck together. Jack was two years older than me so he thought that gave he free reign to pick on me. Then as we got older he began to realize how popular and respected I had become among the upper class children, so suddenly he wanted to be buddies.
Even in junior high school we were competitive. Namely the thing we competed for was girls. You would think because he was older he would have an easier time but in fact it was I who had it easy. The thing was I was much smarter than Jack and I used that intelligence to defeat him many times.
When I joined him at high school I could tell he thought it would be more of the same. However before we could find out Jack up and decided that he would move to Hollywood to pursue acting. At the time I and most others thought it was ludicrous but as long as we would be moving across the country I was all for it.
To everyone's surprise Jack actually did become an actor. He joined some hit TV series about cops, then did another one about doctors before staring in a bunch of lame teen films. After a couple of them bombed I had laughed over his failure but didn't really expect it to impact me any. Then out of the blue I get a call from Mr. Movie star telling me he was coming back to the city for the summer. I had pretended to be thrilled at the news when in fact it was my fucking nightmare come true.
On that particular beautiful summer night Jackson was throwing a welcome home party for himself. I hadn't wanted to go and even though my mother threatened to freeze my bank account if I didn't, I still had no intentions of going. Then I heard from a somewhat dubious source that my current infatuation would be attending so I knew I had to go. Fuck Jackson Maguire.
Her name was Guinevere Carteris and she was a goddess. During fashion week I had attended a few shows if only to check out the merchandise on display and by merchandise I don't mean the clothes. It was there I spotted her up on the runway during a Marc Jacobs show. She was stunning with long blond hair, legs that went on forever and one of those perfect faces that no amount of botox can give you. To top it off the girl looked twenty four but was only sixteen. Needless to say I had done my research.
Since laying eyes on her I had been trying to find the perfect opportunity to make my move. I attended a few of the same parties as her but never had the time to properly introduce myself. Now, for whatever reason, she was attending Jackson's party. I knew as soon as my old friend saw her he would be after her as well. His reputation much like my own had only grown in the past three years. Still I was determined to get to her before him.
When I arrived in front of Jack's parents park avenue townhouse I got the feeling they weren't home that evening based on the guy out front who tried to sell me some weed. I politely told him to fuck off then went inside. To my surprise the party looked more sophisticated then I would have thought. Everyone was dressed in their finest cocktail attire and there were waiters circling with trays off food and champagne.
I grabbed a glass and casually sipped it as I scoured the room for my pray. Unfortunately I didn't spot her right away but I did see Jackson talking with someone across the room. I'll tell you I have the worse fucking luck.
When I noticed him walking away from the guy I quickly made my way into the other room hoping to avoid him. As I did I practically ran into Blaine Tuttle. "Hey watch the Armani assh...hey Valmont!"
"Tuttle" I replied in a low voice. "Keep it down."
He looked past me and must have spotted Jackson because he gave me that annoying knowing smirk of his. "Don't worry he went into the other room."
I glanced over my shoulder and saw that he was indeed gone. It wasn't that I didn't trust Blaine it was that I REALLY didn't trust him. However I didn't have many real friends (pretty much at my own choosing) but Blaine was probably one of the few I could tolerate. Don't get me wrong me was completely amoral and underhanded but he could be counted on from time to time to help me out so long as his interests didn't run too contrary to my own.
Blaine laughed at the look of relief that washed over my face "do you really think you'll be able to run from him all night?"
"I'm certainly going to try to. You haven't happened to see-"
"Right over there" he gestured towards the living room. I turned and saw Guinevere talking with some dufus in a knock off Prada suit. Blaine clucked his tongue at this "you better get in there before he takes off with your soon to be conquest."
Finishing my drink I nodded "where are you off to?"
Already making his way up the long staircase with a muscular blond guy in tow Blaine called out to me "I have some uncharted territory to cover myself."
Shaking my head at him I grabbed another drink and then took my time approaching my prey. Decked out in a body hugging white dress, with her long hair flowing down her back Guinevere was everything I remembered her to be. She even had that allusive aloof quality about her that I found so appealing. She was almost untouchable. Almost.
The loser she was trying to escape didn't seem to get that though. He was I suppose marginally attractive though I'd probably have to get Blaine's professional opinion on that. Whoever he was, was blocking her against the wall and leaning into her in such a way that he could look down her dress as he spoke. Moving closer I overheard him tell her "I saw that layout you did for French Vogue. It was so hot."
"Thanks" she said coldly but the guy didn't seem to be getting the hint.
"Your boyfriend must be going out of his mind with jealousy. Always wondering who you're with and what you are doing."
She sighed "I don't have a boyfriend."
The guy brightened at this "oh? Well that's good for me then. Maybe you and I could go somewhere a little more...intimate."
I decided this was the perfect time to make my entrance. Coming up behind them I replied "hey guy your boyfriend was looking for you."
The guy turned around angry "what? I'm not a fag, I don't have a boyfriend."
"Well not according to that guy in black over there" I pointed to some random guy talking on a cell phone in the other room. "He was telling everyone about how you two hooked up last weekend at this club."
His face twisted in anger as he yelled "that son of a bitch is dead!"
Immediately he went charging after the helpless guy and as we watched Guinevere laughed. "Is that really true?"
I shrugged giving her a smirk "who knows? But anyone who admits to reading French Vogue has obviously got some homosexual issues."
She continued to laugh "well thank you for the save. He was so annoying. I'm Guinevere by the way."
"I know. I'm Sebastian Valmont."
She gave me a seductively coy smile as she responded "I know." Then with a slight tilt to her head she walked off onto the balcony and I waited a minute before following her out.
Coming up behind her I let my finger tips gently caress her bare skin. When I felt her shiver underneath me I grinned and asked "so how is it you know me? Something tells me I would recall meeting you."
Turning around she explained "my roommate Tasha told me all about you. She also said I should watch my back and that you're trouble."
"Hmm Tasha? I don't recall her."
She nodded "yeah she said you probably wouldn't. Hey is it true what you did to that girl Claire?"
I smiled at the memory and at the look of curiosity that was written all over Guinevere's face. Like I suspected she was interested. Girls always like guys who are trouble. Leaning into her I whispered in her ear "maybe."
"Maybe I should keep my distance then."
"What if I told you I came here tonight only to see you?"
Her pretty blue eyes went wide in amazement "really?" When I nodded she asked skeptically "you're telling me you weren't the tiniest bit interested in meeting Jackson Maguire?"
Immediately I scowled at her "not at all. I can't stand the miserable prick."
When I turned and walked over to the balcony I felt her come up beside me suddenly. "Wait a minute, you mean you know him?"
"Unfortunately."
Guinevere might me a model but she was still a teenage girl and I could tell her whole body was shaking in excitement at the idea of meeting such a big celebrity. Touching my arm she asked "how do you know him?"
"We grew up together" I explained not bothering to hide the boredom in my voice.
"Well why don't you like him?"
I figured the truth was too boring for her and I wanted to get laid so I fed her a story. Holding my hand over my eyes as if I was trying not to cry I launched into my tale. "A few years ago I was seeing this girl who I was totally in love with. Jackson was my best friend at the time and he had this awful rep but I still trusted him. Then one day I found them together...you know in bed. He knew I was in love with her but he stole her away from me because he was jealous! Well after that I vowed never to fall in love again which is why I have such an awful reputation."
"Oh my god" Guinevere said wrapping an arm around me. "That's terrible, I can't believe he would do something like that to you."
"Yeah it's pretty unbelievable" I agreed trying to hold in my laughter. The girl might be gorgeous but she was an idiot.
As we embraced I slowly broke away from her and used the intimate moment to kiss her. She didn't back down and in fact practically shoved her tongue down my throat. Then just when it was getting interesting she pulled away giggling "Tasha was right you are a good kisser."
"Thank you."
She looked back at the party and then to me with her coy smile "my agent is making me stay here for at least a few hours but maybe later we can..."
I nodded "tell you what, how about at midnight I meet you upstairs in the third bedroom on the right?"
"All right" she told me as she leaned in to give me one last kiss. "I'll be waiting."
As she broke away she started to walk back inside giving me a sexy look over her shoulder before rejoining the crowd. When she was gone I leaned back against the railing on the balcony and lit a cigarette all the while laughing at how easy that was.
"God damn Valmont what is it with you and blondes?"
At the sound of my name coming from that familiar voice I grinned and slowly turned. There she was, the only person who could both infuriate and fascinate me all in the same breath. Stunning to look at, exciting to be near, and as cold as ice. She was a women full of contradictions and that is probably why I never got tired of her though I would sooner die than admit it.
Kathryn Merteuil stepped out of the shadows wearing a dangerously low cut red dress and a smile to match. With that silky dark hair framing her pretty face I marveled at her beauty. She might not be as gorgeous as Guinevere but she was most definitely a lot more interesting. Not to mention she had more intelligence in her finger tip than the young model had in her whole body.
When she was standing in front of me I reached out and caressed her dark locks. Giving an answer to the rhetorical question she posed I told her "well I have been known to make an exception now and then, for the right girl of course."
"Too bad the right girl was never interested" she laughed as she breezed past me.
And that is why I had never gotten further with her than a peck on the cheek. I had known Kathryn since she moved to New York three years ago. Upon meeting her I had thought her to be just another insipid debutante who would easily flop on her back at my command. To say I was mistaken would be an understatement. Kathryn might have appeared to be sweet and innocent but she was far from it. She saw my act coming from a mile away and quickly let me known it wasn't ever going to happen.
However that didn't keep her from flirting with me whenever the need suited her. It was true I'd give my left nut to get her in bed and I always got the feeling she wouldn't mind but she knew the power she had by holding sex over my head. It was probably best that I didn't get involved with her anyway. Kathryn wasn't like normal girls, to put it bluntly the girl was down right dangerous. If I crossed her god knows what she was liable to do. Plus, even though I had never admitted it out loud, I was secretly worried that if we did go to bed I might not want to get rid of her like I did all my other conquests. Kathryn might be amazing but I had no need for a girlfriend.
Coming up beside her I asked "what are you doing here anyway? I thought you'd be whoring around the south of France this summer."
She sighed "that was the plan but then mother decided she must stay in the city over the summer and I must stay with her for whatever reason."
"Why, is she planning on breaking up another family?" I scowled and Kathryn rolled her eyes in response. When we were in tenth grade Tiffani Merteuil had an affair with my father who was still married to my mother. My mother never found out about it but Kathryn and I did. Eventually my father dropped the bitch and went back to my mother but I never forgot the way he treated her. Needless to say it was a soar spot for Kathryn and me.
"New topic" she said suddenly. "I see you're chasing jail bait now."
I smiled "she's sixteen."
"In how many years? I overheard that little performance you gave. I didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to fall for such bullshit but apparently I was proven wrong."
"Oh is it so hard to believe that I could have fallen in love?"
Kathryn laughed "oh please I known you Sebastian and you don't give in to all that hearts and flowers crap, thank god! Though I am curious about something, do you really know our guest of honor tonight."
I nodded glumly "yeah that part was true. We grew up together and I thought I finally got rid of the bastard..."
"Ooh such hostility"
"The guys a prick all right?" I studied her green eyes a moment but as usual they were unreadable. "Don't tell me you're into the guy as well."
Kathryn rolled her eyes "I don't think so. I suppose he's attractive in a bland sort of way. However I prefer a guy who has an attention span longer than the time it takes to unzip his pants. I suppose that's why I never fucked you."
"Wow Kat I never knew you had such standards. I always just assumed you got down on all fours for whomever bought you dinner."
She gave me a phony smile "well as interesting as this has been I'm going to leave you to chase after your anorexic giraffe while I go find some real entertainment. By the way don't ever call me Kat."
As I watched her rejoin the party I shifted in my pants uncomfortably. She might be a bitch but she was hot and for some reason our little conversations always left me wanting to throw her down on a bed and screw her senseless. Shaking my head at the thought I too went back inside hoping to just pass the time until I could go meet my goddess upstairs. However as soon as I walked off of the balcony I was blind sided "Sebastian there you are! I've been looking for you all night."
I muttered a curse under my breath before turning around to find Jackson who was grinning. In three years not much had changed about him. He was still handsome with her dark hair and eyes but now he was taller with broader shoulders and a tan. Before I could reply he grabbed her and gave me a hug "it's good to see you man."
"Yeah same here" I muttered pulling away. "How have you been?"
He shrugged "can't complain. I mean I still have offers pouring in left and right, my agents are always calling me. I've got a new film coming out this summer, I have two pilots this fall so I'm doing fantastic."
I nodded along like I gave a shit. "That's great, so what are you doing back in New York?"
"Well my parents have been on my case about visiting and their were a couple of directors here I thought I should meet. Anyway I'm really glad I came home. I missed this place and I forgot how great the pussy is here."
"Uh huh"
Leaning into me he asked with a conspirator smile "so how about you? Banging anyone interesting lately?"
Just then Guinevere walked by and smiled at us. "You could say that" I told him waving at her.
Jack leered at her "not bad Valmont. God to known your taste hasn't diminished any."
"How about you?"
"Well I've had my eye of that gorgeous creature all night" he said gesturing across the room. "The girl in red."
"Oh Christ" I muttered when I realized it was Kathryn.
Noting my reaction he asked "what are you two..."
"No we aren't" I replied "but I'll save you the energy and tell you, you're not her type."
The truth of the matter was even though I wasn't involved with Kathryn I sure as hell didn't want Jackson involved with her. In fact I would have been happy if they never had anything to do with one another but judging by the way he was looking at her that didn't appear to be in the cards.
"Why not is she a lesbo or something?"
"No she's about as straight as they come I just don't think she'll be interested."
He chuckled "they're all interested. You obviously know her, what's her name?"
I hesitated telling him but then it occurred to me he might try to go after my young model friend. I was in no mood for competition that night besides Kathryn could handle herself. "Her name is Kathryn Merteuil." Jackson nodded and started over towards her. "Oh by the way she loves to be called Kat."
The moron grinned at me confidently before heading off. As I watched him approach Kathryn I laughed "fucking idiot."
* * * * * *
Just as it was nearing midnight the party started to thin out as the guests started to make their exits. I had spent the majority of the evening trying to ditch Jackson while keeping an eye of Guinevere. I was pretty successful until I lost track of my soon to be conquest right as a majority of the guests were leaving. Still I was quite confident she would be there waiting for me.
Five after twelve I made my way up the stairs and hesitated before entering. Finally I opened the door to find that I had been right, Guinevere was there. She was there all right riding Jackson like there was no tomorrow. Her breasts bounced as she clutched his chest and moaned. When her eyes opened mid gallop she breathed "Sebastian."
Turning his head Jack gave me a lazy smile "hey man I hope you don't mind but I couldn't resist."
I wanted to scream at him, tell me what a supreme asshole I thought he was but instead I coldly replied "no problem." Without another word I left the room slamming the door behind me. I stormed down the hall and went into the closest open room which was Jackson's fathers study. As soon as I was inside I grabbed a nearby vase and chucked it across the room screaming "mother fucker! I'm going to kill you for this!"
The vase crashed into a mirror and shattered it but I didn't care. How much more bad luck could I possibly have? Pushing the pieces of glass away with my foot I went behind the bar and found a bottle of bourbon that apparently was a wedding gift to the Maguires. With a cold smile I opened the bottle and poured myself a large glass even though I didn't like bourbon. Let Jack explain to mommy and daddy why their prized liquor is gone. Holding the glass up I toasted to no one in particular "cheers."
I took a seat on one of the leather couches and lit up a cigarette. Smoking and drinking the nasty bourbon I began to think of all the different ways to torture Jackson. Maybe tell the tabloids he's really gay? Spread it around that he has crabs? The ideas were endless but in the end it didn't seem enough. I wanted to destroy the guy or at the very least see him pathetic and miserable.
My thoughts of revenge were interrupted when the study door suddenly opened and Kathryn came sauntering in. She didn't realize I was even in the room as she made her way over to the desk and pulled something from her clutch. It took me a moment to realize it was that crucifix that she always carried around. I knew Kathryn wasn't religious in the slightest so I never got why she had it until I watched her unscrew the bottom and pull out a coke spoon. Tossing her hair aside I watched as she brought it to her nose and took a bump. There was something so graceful and almost proud in the way she did it that for whatever reason still made her appear attractive to me.
Still I couldn't resist startling her and seeing her cold veneer vanish if only for a moment. "Well apparently the eighties are back in fashion."
At the sound of my voice she jumped and looked over at me her eyes wide in surprise. "Oh it's only you" she said relaxing.
"I think I should be insulted by that."
Walking over to me she asked "what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be boning little miss runway right about now?"
Taking a sip of my bourbon I replied miserably "yes well Guinevere is boning someone else at the moment."
"Wait a minute, her name is Guinevere?"
"Yes" I told her and she immediately burst out laughing. "It's not funny."
Curbing her laughter she asked "I take it, it was you then who trashed the room?"
I nodded "she met me just as planned but unfortunately I wasn't the first one there. When I opened the door I found her fucking Jackson."
Kathryn snickered as she reached for the bourbon "oops. So I guess that makes him Lancelot in this little fairy tale, huh?"
"That's cute" I grumbled pulling the liquor back. "The son of a bitch did this on purpose. Whenever I have something he doesn't he has this sick twisted need to take it away. He's been doing it ever since we were kids."
She shrugged "maybe he likes her."
"No" I spat. "He was interested in you."
"Oh yeah he hit on me with some lame line. I politely told him to go fuck himself. I can't believe you're worried about having to compete with that loser over the summer. He's likely to burn himself out before the fourth of July." Letting her head fall back against the leather seat she groaned "god this summer is going to be so boring. I should have just gone to France like planned."
As she rattled on about the summer my thoughts remained on Jackson. "You mean to tell me you really aren't impressed with him?"
"What is there an echo?" she grumbled "No, like I told you Lancelot is just another guy. Sure he might be fun in bed for about a minute but it would only be a matter of time before I'd have him eating out of the palm of my hand just like all the rest."
"That's what you think."
Her green eyes looked at me pointedly "that's what I know. Any man can be trained even Jackson. Give me a week and I could have him totally in love with me."
It was then I got my grand plan. Listening to Kathryn I realized a way that I could keep Jackson away from my conquests and possibly get a reward as well. Leaning forward in my seat I grinned and asked "care to make a wager on that?"
I knew her answer as soon as I saw that devious look appear in her eyes. Shifting in her chair she leaned closer to me until our faces were inches apart "what did you have in mind?"
"You think you can make Jack fall in love with you in a week, I want to see you prove it. Only I'll be kind and give you the rest of the summer to do so."
Kathryn laughed "you can't be serious. Valmont I'll have him confessing his undying love to me as soon as we hit the sheets."
I nodded "I'm sure you would but here's the catch. Jackson has to tell me, his closest friend and rival, that he's in love with you. Now seeing as the guy has never had a steady girlfriend for more than a week and has always been an opponent of love this should prove to be quite a challenge for you."
When I saw the flicker of hesitation cross over her face I knew I was right. Rising from her seat Kathryn started to pace then turned to me with a grin "what are we wagering?"
"What do you want?"
Almost right away she responded "your journal."
I should have known that's what she'd go for. Ever since she found out about my journal where I kept a record of my conquests Kathryn had seemed fascinated by it. I told her I would never let her read it, namely because I did have things in there about her that I rather she not know. However since I had no intention of losing our little bet I agreed "okay if he falls in love with you I'll give you my journal. Now what do I want..."
She rolled her eyes "I shudder to think."
I leered at her standing before me in her sexy red dress and realized this was a golden opportunity to have my ultimate fantasy realized. Taking Kathryn by the hand I pulled her into my lap "I think you know what I want."
Wrapping her arms around my neck she whispered "how very unoriginal of you Valmont."
"Well what can I say the prospect of you riding me at a gallop just does it for me. Now to clarify if Jackson doesn't tell me he loves you by labor day weekend I get you in my bed for one whole night."
"Fine" she sighed "but you are going to loose."
Shaking my head at her I laughed because I had no intention of losing this bet. I knew Jackson a whole lot better than Kathryn and I knew hell would sooner freeze over before he admitted loving anyone. Still I also knew she would keep him busy so I would have no problem landing the girls of my choosing all summer until I got the ultimate girl in the end.
Reaching out I took Kathryn's hand and shook it. "You got yourself a bet bitch."
- to be continued (Please Review)