My amazing and highly talented beta T.J. Wise edited the first part of this fic. But since I really wanted everyone to have a present from me on Christmas, I decided to post it anyway. For Karen who has been phenomenal in her support of my writing. I never thought I would have the courage to do this.
Life thus far had not been good to Elena Gilbert. Shortly after her parents death and subsequent double funeral, Jeremy, her younger brother, decided he couldn't take the pain of his only surviving relative being the reason that he no longer had parents. His funeral had been the one that pushed her over the edge of the abyss that she had been hovering on. As she stared into the chasm, she knew it was wrong, she knew it was insane for her to do, but she did it anyway.
Running away the night of Jeremy's funeral hadn't been her plan, it certainly wasn't well thought out, but then again what 16 year old thinks these things through after her entire family has been ripped from her grasp?
Elena had known that it was only a matter of hours before social services would show up, so as a preemptive strike she headed to the ATM in the dead of night and withdrew her entire savings, even though it took about 5 withdrawals to do so. Unfortunately, at least for Child Services, she was not there when they knocked bright and early at 9:00 AM to take her to a foster home until her eighteenth birthday. Not the ideal situation for a newly turned sixteen year old girl who, while very bright, was not accustomed to the harshness of the real world.
Elena's life was, sadly, made quite a bit more difficult when her wallet containing all her savings was stolen from her. It happened as she was checking arrival and departure times at the Greyhound terminal.
Elena made it as far as she could by hitchhiking. She made it to the northernmost town in Virginia before her luck ran out. The orphaned girl found herself at a truck stop waiting for the next leg of her journey when the driver went off duty due to an emergency. Left stranded and penniless, she had no choice but to take the ride from a man with an unshaven beard and a leer that she knew she would come to regret.
Sure enough, Elena managed to stave him off until a town with a motel which he had graciously agreed to share with her. The narrow full size bed looked as inviting as her ex-boyfriend after he cheated on her. Not at all interested in his not so subtle intentions, Elena made her excuses and high tailed out of there so fast she was convinced she broke some land speed record. Thank god that greasy slug had to use the bathroom.
Six months later saw tears and a young woman forced into a life she never wanted. Finding a few regulars who didn't care that she was inexperienced had paid off for her. Now she was able to rent by the week at another motel about 30 miles from the "greasy fucking bastard" as she like to think of him.
Exhausted from the stress of prostitution, she went to her usual diner and sat down in the general vicinity of her usual table.
"Hey doll, whatcha havin?" Being so close to the North Carolina/ Virginia border really showed when someone started talking.
"Hey Betsy, I want my usual." Elena smiles at her, always ready for her kindness that reminded her of her old friends in her old life.
"Sure thing doll. Max has been asking about you again, says he's got a friend who wants to meet yer acquaintance, if you know what I mean." Betty leers at Elena in a joking matter. Max was a regular who wanted a deeper relationship than Elena was willing to give. He thought she would be interested in group sex. Big no for Elena. After finishing Elena paid and went back to the hotel to start the night.
Getting a call about an hour later for an off the wall stripping request Elena decided being eye candy for a bachelor party was a hell of a lot better than having to fuck someone to eat the next day. Getting dressed in her prettiest things, she headed over while nervously biting on her lip. Some habits really never change.
Knocking nervously on the door she was shocked by the bluest eyes she had ever been caught by. She was soon after dragged into the roaring party that was well underway, at least if the alcohol was any indication. The man of the hour was a man named Percy, who was, according to party rumor, marrying Stephanie in three short days. The sad part was that Percy was rather handsy and, if he were her fiancee, Elena would have chucked his ass long before the ring. Percy, as it turned out, really liked to try sticking his hands up her panties. She had negotiated the price specifically so she could keep her lady parts to herself that night. Her self-confidence was already in the river.
Later that night, when the party was winding down, she met Mr. blue-eyes' gaze again. Five minutes later, she was approached by him on the way back from the bathroom. He smelled the least intoxicated of all the men present and that for Elena, was a plus.
"Hi." She said, suddenly painfully shy.
"Hey beautiful, how are you tonight?" His eyes smouldered and never left hers.
"Good. Nice tips." She replied honestly.
"I bet. My name is Damon."
"Elena" She replied.
"Drunk men will do anything to impress a lady, even parting with hard earned cash." He teased her. "So what do you do when you're not being paraded as a last chance for someone to try getting lucky before the shackles come down?"
"Oh, you know. This and that." Elena explained, knowing there is no way the truth is warranted in this case. Truth is never a factor when you are dealing with her kind of clients.
"Look, can we be honest?" His eyes showed his nerves, raw and gaping open.
"Ssure." Elena's voice trembled.
"I've been a cop for 4 years now and I know underage when I see it. You're mature for your age, but it's obvious. Why are you doing this?" His voice pleaded with her.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Please excuse me, my time here is up. It was nice meeting you Damon." Elena moved quickly, gathering her things, out the door a minute later with a substantial amount of cash from the original agreement plus hefty tips from the gentleman callers.
Quietly closing the front door, she headed toward the main road, the old country style house sat at the end of a driveway, long by city standards, but really only a few hundred feet. thankfully for her, it was a mild night, but 4 inch heels still really weren't meant for unpaved dirt.
"Elena wait!" Damon called from behind her, obviously intent on the continuing the conversation. "Let me help you!"
She spun mid-step. "Help me how? You don't know me, you don't know anything about me."
"I know something after calling into the station you lived about 500 miles from here. I know you are an orphan. I know you have no relatives based on the open social services case. I know you have been missing for about seven months now." His voice was soft but steady.
"You know nothing. I'm not going back. I won't go into foster care. " Elena's strong personality and defiant nature started to show clearly through her fear and rage at being ousted.
Damon took a deep breath. "Look, I know you don't want to hear this, especially because of my job and position of authority. But I had a friend in college who had to resort to selling herself when she hit a bad time in her life. Unfortunately she died because one night she took on the wrong John. and this may sound absurd to you because I have known you for exactly 2 hours, but I know it would shatter me if you were hurt."
"What does that mean?" Elena's posture became withdrawn and her voice barely there.
"Stay with me. Move in with me. I promise will tell no one your life circumstances. No one knows much about me at work since I just transferred from out of state. Live with me and finish school. Go back to being a kid again. Be safe. I need you safe. I barely know you and I know you NEED to be safe."
"No offense, but I don't trust anyone. Call it street smarts learned late, someone stole my life savings and I made some hard decisions, but they are mine. I pay for myself, and I may be a whore, but at least I am a free one." Elena's bitterness was painful for Damon to see on her face and hear it in her tone.
"I didn't mean as a hooker Elena. I understand you have spent months, maybe years, believing all men want from you is your body. I won't deny that I feel attracted to you, but you aren't ready to be with me in the way that I want to be with you, so I will wait. If one day, down the road, you decide that you want that, then we have another conversation. I come from old money and my dad died about a year ago, he left me money and I have no dependents. Please let me help you."
"What's in it for you?"
"Knowing that you aren't coming home to a shitty motel where you have to decide between eating and taking a man for the night." He sighed tiredly "This feeling I have, it's crazy. It's crazy that I feel this, I know that. Still I want to help you. I'm terrified, but I want to." Elena's started to feel wet from the tears. "I'll do it." She whispered brokenly.
"Great, I can sleep on the couch. Then we'll get you a bed tomorrow ok?" Damon asked.
"What about the motel, my stuff?" She asked biting her bottom lip.
"We can go tonight or in the morning. Actually, make that mid-afternoon, since it's nearing morning and, I imagine, that after tonight we could use a sleep in."
"You really don't want to have sex with me?" She asked impulsively. Disbelief echoing on her voice as her throat felt thick with unvoiced emotions.
"Elena," He ran a hand through his hair "I'm a man, of course I want to have sex with you. However, I know you're underage, and probably put off sex for now, if not for life. I want you to heal more than I want to do very naughty things to you." He offered her a sheepish smile " So, No offence, but, for the time being, you're a minor in my eyes. Can you live with that?" Trepidation began coloring Damon' voice.
"Oddly enough yes." She replied, surprised at this unexpected turn of events and at how ok she really was with it.
Damon opened his passenger's door for Elena, taking out the spare pepper spray he kept in his glove compartment for work. Age had it because one could never know when you would need shit like that. "This is to help you feel safe. If you ever feel like I am scaring you and I don't stop, just spray me. You may be living in my house but it's your body."
"Thank you." She said softly as she entered the car, overcome as she was with emotion for this stranger that wanted to save her.
"Anytime Elena. You are safe with me, I hope in time you can feel confident in that." He stated before closing the door for her.
As the car started Elena smiled, detachedly watching the scenery pass as they traveled to his house. Hoping that there could be a reality where she could be saved.
The next morning dawned bright and far too soon for the two residents of the small but nice condo that Damon has rented when he was accepted into this squad.
Elena was buried in his covers and Damon being a jealous bastard about it. The way she clung to the covers and caressed them in her sleep made Damon very happy he decided to give her his bed. He was going to be going to sleep a very happy man for the next week, or until the smell of her on his sheets wore off. He hoped it never wore off. Ever.
He crept around his room, making slow steps as he gathered his clothes for the day and set them in the bathroom for his shower. He was for once grateful that the condo only had one bathroom, and it wasn't in his room. Fortunate that it shouldn't wake her when he showers.
Five minutes later Damon was happily ensconced in the warmth and luxury of his shower and as he massaged the shampoo through his hair he wondered what Elena would like to smell in her shower. Unfortunately thinking of Elena brought some other-than-savory images to his mind and soon enough the tumescence of his dick had taken over his brain.
His hand slid down to wrap around his dick, he had a feeling he would be repeating this scene many a time before the lovely girl in the other room became a woman and was ready for this.
Eyes firmly closed as a guttural groan slips from his barely parted lips as he longingly captures her lips with his own and sinks into her mouth with his tongue. This time it's Elena who moans, relieved that she can feel aroused after the last few months of her life on the street. She grasps the firm chunk of toned ass firmly in her fingers as her nails leave marks in Damon's skin. Damon doesn't care in the least. Seconds later she wraps her legs around his torso and aligns their bodies and with one firm thrust sinks balls deep. Damon is sure this sensation is home.
Gasping Damon opens his eyes in time to see the last of the come flow down the drain.
This. He thought, was going to be the longest year and some change of his life.
Waiting for his girl.
Nearly 2 years later
"Damon, have I mentioned lately how glad I am that you have saved me?"
Damon chuckled. "Baby, you have it all backwards. You saved me. Again and again."
Always and forever.