A/N: first, I want to get down in one knee and beg for forgiveness from any sweetie who has been waiting for me to update my other stories _especially sweet October_ I am really sorry! I was in a bad place and lost all kind of willpower to do anything but now I am back and rollin' ;)
I am back for good *fingerscrossed*
A/N: hope you enjoy this one. This is AU/AH
Chapter One: Runaway Bride
The page is still blank.
I haven't been able to write a single word for three weeks. Writer block, it happens, no biggie, it will pass.
I want to pull my hair out.
I have never ever ever had a writer block, it only heard of it and I always thought it was a poor excuse for non-talented writers. A real writer never runs out of words because words are my life. A real writer should have an endless flow of words and thoughts floating inside his brain. A real writer never ceases to put those thought into a beautiful masterpiece of words and sentences.
And here I am.
The page is still blank.
I have tried everything in the book.
Still, nothing worked.
I left the office and drove the car with no destination in mind. And yet, I found myself here. Here of all places. The place of my sin. The place I vowed to never come back to, the place I never stopped thinking about since I have been in it.
It is not actually someone's home or a park or even a public place. It is a really old, really beautiful house. It has been in the market for years but no one dared to buy it. And despite the rumors about it being haunted, I find it kind of comforting here.
Must be because of him.
A weak whine catches my attention and I feel soft fur glazing my bare feet.
Sparrow.
My face breaks involuntary into a wide smile as I welcome my new company. He attacks me with kisses and licks and I find myself giggling.
I haven't giggled for a long time.
"So, you remember me, buddy" I rub him between his ears as he settles on my lab. "I missed you too" I say softly and he leans into my touch letting out a whine. "What is it? Are you hurt?" I ask worried about him and I almost roll my eyes on my stupidity as I check his fury body for injures but he seems fine. "What is it?" I am asking myself now but he glances up at me and the look in his wide puppy eyes are sort of sympathetic. Or maybe I am imagining it.
"I am fine, buddy. Don't worry about me" I tell him just because I want to believe someone feels that there is something wrong. That someone understands. I let myself believe that and it is also kind of comforting. Sparrow struggles into my chest in, I am guessing, his idea of a hug and I hug him back.
I blink and swallow back the tears threatening to stream down my face. I will not cry. Oh, if only I knew what is wrong with me. There must be a reason why I came to that place. I try to stop my brain from replaying that night but I fail….
Two months ago:
Here's to the bride!
I throw the bourbon down my throat and it does serve me good as I feel the burn down there to my stomach. Oh, if my fiancé could see me now! Someone is gonna be super angry!
Yes, I am the bride. The so called bride whose bachelorette party is tonight. Caroline did well in that one. She worked so hard and created the prefect bachelorette party in the history of weddings and parties. A bachelorette party bus for the girls with a private driver who must have swore secrecy, reservations in the best bars and clubs in the city and even a two floors reservation in the Four Seasons.
And I ran away from all that.
It is not that I don't appreciate Caroline's hard work. I do and I love her for that. And it is not also that I didn't like the party because it was all kind of fun. Then it must be the groom? Nope, nah, no. I love him. I want to marry him. I will marry him tomorrow.
Then why am I here in a dirty bar drinking cheap bourbon and feeling all kind of chicken.
I consume the next glass of bourbon in one gulp and I hear a deep chuckle so close to my ears. So close that I feel its breath on my hair. My first reflex is supposed to be pulling away, putting a distance but the liquid in my veins making me lazy with slow reflexes so I don't move until I hear words.
"Easy, love. Whoever told you that you can find a solution in the bottom of your glass should be charged for your death"
"I am not dead" my voice is husky and hurting my throat as I try to speak. I turn my head to tell my imposed company to get lost but once I meet his eyes I am frozen.
He has the most intense eyes I have ever seen. They are ocean blue with heavy eyelashes and a heavier eyebrows but that is not what capture me. It is the look in his eyes, so deep, so intense, a combination of amusement, curiosity and a hint of pain. It is the most memorizing thing I have ever seen. I can't look away for a few seconds but I force myself to drop my eyes which is a bigger mistake since they fall on his lips. They are curved on a one sided smirk and looking all kind of kissable. A voice inside me is telling me that I should never have such a thought about another man but my man but hey, I am engaged, I am not dead!
"Of course you are not. You are very much alive" his voice is illegal! It is low and hoarse; such a voice should belong to only the bedroom. "I am just saying that if you keep it up with that bourbon, you will be very soon. Alcohol poisoning and all. How old are you anyway? Should you even be drinking?"
The last words are like cold water on my head as I find them very familiar. I am so sick. I am sick of people telling me what to do, I am sick of people treating me like a little girl who needs to be looked after, I am sick of being a good girl who never complain, never over-drink, never do wrong, never argue. I am sick of all and I am taking it on him.
"A, it is none of your goddamn business. B, I am pretty sure I am older than the little sluts you invite into your filthy bed, who must be plain stupid if that is how you pick them up, so let's not talk legal. C, I can hold my liquid just fine" my voice is raising with every word until I am shouting the last words. I take a deep breath and I feel somehow lighter. I haven't had an outburst in a really long time and damn did it feel good!
I glance up to see his reaction, with every intention to take joy in his anger but he doesn't look angry. At all. Crap, I can't believe I lost the ability to make someone angry! I just insulted that man very rudely and I don't even know him! I accused him of underage molestation for god's sake!
He looks amused!
His eyes is sparkling like a charismas tree, dancing with mirth.
"Like I just said, very much alive" he murmurs under his breath. "Prove it" he meets my eyes in a challenging look and my first reaction is 'I am in. Bring it on' but I don't know what the hell he is talking about.
"What?"
"You say you can hold your liquid just fine, I say prove it" he shrugs and his blue, blue eyes are daring me. He isn't just looking at me, he is looking through me. I feel bare and not in the dirty fun way. I feel like he sees things in me that I don't even know about myself. I am so freaking curious to see me through his eyes.
"And what if I win?" I raise my eyebrows in a challenge and I don't know if we are flirting or not, I don't care. I am just drawn in, loving the game.
"If I win then you will dance with me, if you win then I will take you a place you have never been to"
"Let me guess, your apartment?" I roll my eyes because that is just really old. He laughs and the sound is music to my ears, real and uncontrolled.
"I like the way you think but no, not my apartment. It is an open place, I promise"
"What makes you think that I would want that?"
"Because you looks like you could use an escape." He answers immediately. "To clear your mind" he adds titling his head and he is so right that I am speechless for a moment.
"And why should I trust you?" I shoot my last protest.
"You probably shouldn't" he shrugs easily. "But I am willing to guess that you are ready to take a risk tonight"
"Two bourbon shots here" I shout to the bartender with my eyes still glued to the beautiful stranger's blue ones. Because damn straight, I am taking a risk tonight. Once the bourbon arrives I grape my glass and he grapes his.
"To Mr. Know It All" I raise my glass toward him in a mocking cheer before I draw the liquid down.
"To Ms. Runaway Bride" he shoots back with a smirk before he drinks his bourbon like a pro. I have to give it to him, he doesn't even flinch.
"You saw that, huh?" I murmur as my hand goes involuntary to touch the ring with the huge stone in my finger. It is breathtaking beautiful but now that I look at it, it is too big for my slender finger, too dominating for my tiny hand. I now realize that the ring doesn't say as much about me as it does about my fiancé.
"It is kind of hard to miss" he shrugs and now I have to roll my eyes on him.
"You think I am marrying for money, don't you?" now, that is getting old. Is it my damn fault that I fall in love with a rich businessman? Now I am doomed to be judged for it for the rest of my life!
"Why would I think that?" he looks totally confused, like the thought never crossed his mind or something but I don't buy it.
"Come on. A young bride with a huge ring? Doesn't take a genius to figure it out" he laughs again and I find myself smiling and getting addicted to the sound even more.
"Oh, honey. If you were marrying for money, you wouldn't be here drinking your feelings and having dear ol' cold foot. You would be busy planning the big wedding where you walk down the aisle to rich boy and rob him of his money slowly and painfully" he speaks seriously but at the end his face breaks into a breathtaking grin that is distracting for a while but once I process what he said, I crack laughing out loud. The laugh is so sudden and involuntary that the sound feels foreign to my own ears. I catch him eyeing me with the same sparkle in his oceans blue shinning even more with curiosity and another emotion I fail to name.
"I am not having a cold foot" I shake my head at him but my face is still smiling. Must be the liquid getting to me.
"Have you set the date yet?" he does that head titling move like he already knows the answer. Like he already won. Oh, I am feeling smug.
"Yes" I almost shout in victory. "Tomorrow, I am marrying tomorrow" and I feel so silly that I have to fight the urge to stick my tongue out at him.
"Then why are you here?" he asks gently and his eyes soften into something that is not pity or even compassion. More like understanding, again like he already know the answer.
I can't meet his eyes anymore. I feel like if he looks at me, I will crack open and all my dark, dark secrets will be out for him to see. I turn to the bar and begin to order another glass although I already feel the alcohol effect on my body. My eyelids feel heavier and my head feels lighter and my body is a little off balance.
"You win" he cuts me off before I order. "How do you take your water?" his eyes serious for probably the first time tonight, determined also.
"Iced" the word escapes my lips before I stop them.
"Iced water for the lady" he orders and once the water arrives. "Come on, drink" he nods toward it.
"I am fine. I told you I can handle my liquid"
"I know" and I believe him, he is not just humoring me. "That is why you won but now I need you to drink that water because I am not a sore loser so I am taking you to that place and I don't want you throwing up on me" he teases. I chuckle and begin to drink the water. "Slowly" he adds.
"I am not a teenager. I know how to drink water after alcohol" I snap because the words are familiar again or because the alcohol is making me cranky. I finish the water and I actually feel better, soberer. Of course, I am not gonna tell him that!
"Keep your claws in, kitten" he chuckles. "No need to get all snappy. Now, come on. You wanna see that place or what?" he throws some bills on the bar and stands to leave.
"Alright but I am not getting into your car" I warn as I stand to follow him.
"Sure you aren't. I could be a rapist or a pedophile, for all you know" he throws over his shoulder at me but I don't miss his mocking smirk. I smack his shoulder without thinking better of it.
"I am twenty two, you asshole"
"Ouch" he rubs his shoulder in a mocking pain and I want to laugh or roll my eyes or smack him again because he is so damn adorable and annoying in the same time, it should be illegal. "Now I know you will be the one doing the molestation tonight" he says and my laughter wins.
"Don't you worry, darling. Your virtue is safe with me" I smirk and make sure to make my voice low, husky and kind of suggestive. I see his eyes darken for a second and I feel the air changing between us. For moment I reconsider going anywhere with him. Somewhere in my drunk mind I know he won't hurt me. But his eyes and his aura scream danger for completely different reasons. He could be glowing red with an alarm going on and on as a warning. And god help me, tonight I am feeling adventurous.
"That would be really comforting if my virtue wasn't long long gone" he winks to lighten the air and it works. We are bantering like old friends which is weird since we just met. I grin at him and push him toward the bar exit.
Once we are out, the fresh air almost knocks me on my ass and although I try to hold my ground I sway a little and just before I fall strong arms is wrapped around my waist uncertain but firm.
"You okay?" he asks breathlessly, softly.
"I am fine" I answer a bit harsher than I want. I don't like that like the feel of his arms around me. I don't like the effect he has on me, his voice, his eyes. They are making me mad, angry…furious. He pulls his hands so fast like I burned him, his face apologetic and there is a hint of fear and embarrassment in his eyes. I soften immediately.
"I didn't mean…I am really sorry, the bourbon is making me cranky and…" I try to manage a half assed apology but he takes pity on me and cuts me off.
"It is okay, really" his face is so understanding which feeds my guilt. "You don't know me. You have no reason to trust me. Maybe it is better if we keep touching to minimum…" he is interrupted by a phone ringing he mentions for me a minute as he reaches into his pocket for his phone but I can hear the sound coming from behind me. I turn around and find a cell phone ringing furiously on the ground. Involuntary I bend down to pick it up and my eyes fall on the caller ID.
"It is Katherine" I say without thinking and his head snaps back to me so fast, almost inhumanly. I hold the phone for him to take feeling all kind of guilty again. He takes the phone from my trembling hand gently. I can see his hand shaking as he stands in front of me, doing nothing but staring at the phone screen as it continues to ring. The ringing stops and he is still staring, frozen. You would think he was a statue of stone or steel if it wasn't for the different emotions playing on his handsome face. Hurt, anger, pain, fury, betrayal, regret, he feels it all. I see them crash his face all in few seconds and finally a mask of indifference is placed firmly. I am watching him, gapping, floored. If you see the indifferent careless look in his eyes now, you will never know what kind and quantity of emotion this man can contain.
"I guess I am not the only one who needs an escape tonight" the words are out and I want to kick myself in the ass. Sometimes I should just shut my freaking mouth up.
"I never said I didn't need it" he smiles sadly but he is not meeting my eyes.
"Is she your girlfriend?" I can't help it, I am curious. I want to hurt her for causing him that kind of pain. I want to hurt her so bad. I shake my head to rid it off the violent fantasies.
He nods curtly. Damn it, why the good ones are always taken?
"Do you wanna talk about it?" because he has been there for me tonight and right now I feel like I will do anything just to make him feel a bit better. I want to make a difference. He looks thoughtful for a moment. His eyes narrow as he considers my offer.
"Only if you are willing to talk too" he says finally.
"Me? But I don't have anything to talk about" I give him my best innocent face. He gives me his bitch-please face so ridiculous that I couldn't keep a straight face. I nod grinning widely. "Okay, we both look like we could use a friend tonight"
A/N: This time I was I good girl, I wrote a few chapters before I started publishing so I wouldn't be so late! THAT IF you liked it I am kinda of in love with this storyline and I promise it is not a regular affair DE story. Just wait and see, okay?
A/N: if there are any FSOG (Fifty Shades Of Grey) fans reading this, then yes. I am using Christian as the third angle in this story. I needed a possessive husband and he was just right for the role. But this story and completely Delena! Christian will not be a main character here but he is needed.
And to those who aren't FSOG fans don't worry. First, you don't have to know anything about FSOG to read this story. This is completely different and independent storyline, no BDSM.
Christian is not a Dom here! Just a really possessive and persistent husband and feel free to hate or love him but rest assured he is not winning this! This is Damon freaking Salvatore, bitch!
A/N: I am still still thinking what this story should be rated and I will leave the choice to you, folks! Want smut? Want to read about Damon wearing off Elena? ;) Or shall we keep this T-rated and stop just before he reaches for the condom? :D