This is for Rosesareforever/rosesforever94 (hope you like it!), for the Christmas exchange organized by BadBoysAreBest.
Prompt: Elena goes buying Chrismas presents for her friends when she gets stuck in the elevator... but she's not alone! I want to read tension between the characters and some hot smut ;) Oh and to make it a bit more interesting, there's no light, so only Damon's able to see something.
"Good afternoon, Sir. I see you're admiring our selection of necklaces. Today, we have some excellent bargains. Fifty percent off…"
Damon tuned out. Money wasn't an issue for him. He wasn't interested in a bargain, and he really shouldn't be interested in buying Elena Gilbert a necklace. Just because she was no longer wearing the necklace that his brother had given her, didn't mean she would want to wear a necklace from anyone else (least of all him). She had been ignoring his phone calls, and completely avoiding him for the past few days, so buying a necklace for her was probably a pretty stupid idea.
Yet here he stood, in Harris & Koote's right now, looking at the necklace he'd seen several months ago. He was surprised but pleased to see that someone hadn't bought the stunning piece, and given it a home already. Under the lights the two marquis shaped diamonds, linked by a single bezel set diamond, caught the light and reflected it, shooting fire every which way one looked at it. Below the bezel set diamond, dangled a pear shaped Ruby gemstone, surrounded by tiny white diamonds. It was an exquisite piece that would look even more exquisite once it was fastened around the neck of a beautiful woman. Elena qualified as that and much, much more.
"That one," he told the store clerk. He looked at her badge. "Please, Lola."
She smiled at him, no doubt sensing she was about to make a very large sale.
"You have exceptional taste," she said to him, unlocking the display case, and removing the necklace to show him.
"I want to see it out of the light."
"Of course," she said, only slightly taken aback by his request.
These wouldn't be the first diamonds he'd bought. He knew that how beautiful a diamond looked in the dark was just as important as the four Cs. He ignored the voice in his head telling him to abandon this idea of the necklace immediately, and instead followed the clerk to the end of the display case, where she held the piece out of the light. It was still dazzling, even without the store lights working their magic.
"May I assume it meets with your approval?" Lola said to him, seeing the self-satisfied smirk on his face.
To be honest it had been a long time since he'd felt inspired to buy a piece of jewellery, but now that he was here, he felt slightly smug about finding a piece worthy of his money.
"You assume correctly, Lola."
Lola wrapped it up for him, while attempting to engage him in polite conversation about how far through his Christmas list he was. He could have compelled her to give him the necklace for nothing, or to shut-up and stay quiet, but the influence of the person he was buying it for stopped him from doing either. He visited several more stores to purchase several more gifts, all the while putting up with more superficial conversation from the sales staff.
Once he was finished, he stepped into the elevator, thinking Elena would be impressed with him for his unending patience, even if she wasn't impressed with the necklace he'd bought her. He tried to picture her face when he gave her the necklace but instead of seeing her pleased, or happy, all he could see was her polite acceptance because she didn't want to hurt his feelings. Awkward. It would be nothing but awkward. Why on earth had he thought buying her a necklace was a good idea?
He had allowed himself to get caught up in some romantic notion of surprising her; of dazzling her, but now that he had the necklace in his hand – or rather, in his shopping bag – he simply felt foolish. It wasn't the first time this week that he'd felt like a fool, either. With every conversation, and touch, and smile she'd given him, he'd grown surer and surer that she'd been getting ready to act on the feelings she had for him. Well, the feeling he'd thought she had for him. He'd promised himself a while back that he would wait for her to be ready; that he would let her make the first move – but he'd broken that promise and kissed her.
He could blame Caroline, and her Christmas party, for that one. When he'd found himself standing under the mistletoe with her, a few days back, it had felt right to lean in and kiss her. It was only supposed to be a soft kiss on the lips, but then she'd kissed him back for half a second and he'd been gone. Instead of pulling away like he should have, he'd lost himself in her, and gotten greedy, and demanding. He'd let her feel, and know, how much he wanted her. When Jeremy had walked into the room to ask her a question, she'd pulled away quickly, and then left the party. They hadn't spoken since, despite his many attempts to reach her. That really should tell him everything. He was a delusional idiot. He had to take the necklace back immediately.
Elena looked at her watch. She still had ten minutes before she was supposed to meet Caroline, but she had finished all her shopping. She shivered when she thought about going back outside. She was wearing a thin red dress, with green stripes across it, and had felt ridiculous in it ever since she'd come from the charity auction her class had been hosting here. She should have gone home and changed right away, but it had seemed silly to go home and then come back.
Seeing the elevator doors slide open, and the button indicating it was going down, she made a headlong dive towards the lift. A tall, blond haired man held the doors open for her when he saw her. She smiled at him, and whispered thank you. The button for the basement car park was already lit up, she noted, before standing to face the doors. In the confines of the lift she could smell the same crisp, clean scent Damon usually wore, and it made butterflies dance in her stomach. She was going to have to face him eventually. She was going to have to explain herself. She would get to it, she told herself. When the doors opened again, everyone piled out. Well, almost everyone.
"Damon."
"Elena."
"I didn't see you standing there," she said to him.
Elena was vaguely aware of the doors closing behind her. He must be heading down to the basement too. Her pulse soared the moment she realized they were completely alone. She should have known she couldn't run forever; not from her fate as the doppelganger, not from Klaus, and not from her feelings for Damon. Oh, but she had tried. When his lips had touched hers at the party, she had realized several things at once. One; she had wanted him to kiss her. Two; she was over Stefan, and three; she was absolutely terrified of giving into the feelings she had for him for another multitude of reasons.
She looked at the bags he was holding. "You've been shopping," she said to him, for lack of a better conversation starter; still trying to avoid the inevitable.
"Generally what one does at the mall."
"How have you been?" she asked him, as the lift started moving.
"Great, Elena. Just awesome."
"I know I didn't return your call."
His call, Damon thought. He'd called five times that night alone, proving what a love struck, dumb struck, pathetic fool he was. Now she was playing it down like it was nothing; like it didn't rate a mention. Anger and hurt sliced through him.
"Well, obviously you had better things to do."
"Damon-"
Suddenly the lift stopped.
"We're fine," he said to her, seeing the look of panic on her face.
Elena might have felt marginally better, but then she heard the whir of the motors shut off, and the lights flicker, before they were plunged into darkness.
"Can you get us out of here?" she asked him, standing completely still, and trying not to freak out. She could feel Damon pacing around her.
"I'm a vampire, Elena. Not a magician."
"Can't you open the doors?" she asked him.
Of course he could open them if he wanted to, but Damon didn't want to. This was the first time he'd seen her in several days. They'd been spending every spare minute together up until the party, and he had really missed her. He hadn't even been aware of how much up until now. It irritated him. It frustrated him, and he was damned if he was going to let her out of this elevator until he had an answer for why she had suddenly broken off all communication with him.
"Can't or won't, Damon? I'm supposed to be meeting Caroline in ten minutes," Elena said, reaching for her cell phone. "No reception," she mumbled.
"Maybe she'll come looking for you, and rescue you from whatever has you so afraid to return my call."
"I was going to call you."
"When?"
"We need to make some noise," she said to him, ignoring his question.
"No-one will hear us. We're between floors."
"So we're just supposed to sit here and do nothing?"
He could think of plenty of ways to pass the time, but none that would be okay with her, he was sure. Feeling restless and irritable, he grabbed the bags out of her hand, (ignoring her murmur of disapproval) and sat down so that his back was against the wall of the elevator. He rummaged through her bags, spotting something for Bonnie, and Caroline; a new iPod he assumed was for Jeremy, since her brother had dropped his in a puddle two weeks ago, and a bottle of whiskey.
"Twenty-seven year old scotch whiskey."
"For Ric," she said to him.
"Of course," he muttered.
Just because they'd been spending so much time together; training and hanging out, didn't mean that he'd made her Christmas list. He wanted to pretend it didn't matter, but it did. The familiar sting of rejection had him opening the tin of whiskey, and removing the bottle.
"That was a gift, Damon."
"I need a drink," he told her, opening the bottle. "So unless you want to offer me your neck…"
Elena rolled her eyes. They both knew he would never bite her.
"And what if I did, Damon," she said, calling his bluff. "What if I said, 'Hey Damon, we're stuck in an elevator, and I want you to bite me?'"
Elena gasped as she found herself pinned between the wall of the elevator, and his body. "You think it's funny to joke about it, Elena? You think it's funny to taunt me?"
She couldn't see anything in the dark elevator, but that just made all her other senses that much stronger. The scent of his aftershave enveloped her. She could feel his breath on her neck. Her knees trembled, and her insides quivered. It should have been from fear, but it wasn't. The only thing she felt for him right now was desire; the same desire she'd been running from for a long time now. She could feel the throb starting low in her belly; she could feel her nipples tightening into hard peaks. As if he could sense her reaction, his body responded in kind, and she was suddenly aware of his full erection pressing against her.
Nervous and excited energy coursed through her, but so did fear; fear of the unknown – of what was coming and how it would affect her, and everything she knew. Was she ready for this?
"I wasn't," she breathed. "I didn't mean to taunt you."
Damon knew he should step away from her now; show her he could be the better man – that he could wait for her, but if he did all the things he should do, that would make him Stefan. He was not his brother. No, Damon was just the man who ached for her constantly; who was tortured by her kindness, and her beauty, and her unwillingness to take things any further between them.
His lips landed on her neck. He could feel the blood pumping below the surface. He could smell it, and he could remember the taste of it – how rich, and how exotic she tasted. The last time he'd bitten her he'd been out of his mind – delusional. He hated the fact that the he'd hurt her. What he would give now to have that moment over; to bite her and bring her pleasure instead of pain.
"Sometimes I think you enjoy taunting the man in love with you," he whispered against her.
"No," she breathed. "I don't. I wouldn't do that, Damon."
"You do, do that, Elena."
Damon trailed his lips down her neck, to where her pulse was beating far too fast. She shivered as he ran his tongue over the spot, and then he felt her swallow hard. The sweet scent of her arousal filled the air, making him even harder. She wanted him. Her body didn't lie. The knowledge nearly undid him. It wasn't the first time he'd understood she was affected by him, but this was the first time he felt like he couldn't let the knowledge slide.
"Elena," he murmured against her neck.
"I'm not ready for this, Damon," she whispered desperately.
Would she ever be ready? He could hear her heart begin to beat even more rapidly. She wanted him to ignore the fact that she wanted him. She wanted him to ignore the fact that if he slipped his hand between her legs, he'd find her wet and ready for him. His erection throbbed as he thought about just how easy it would be to push her panties to the side, unzip his jeans, and impale her on his length.
He'd had a fantasy for a long time now that she would beg him for that exact thing, but that was the thing about fantasies – they never became reality. No matter how much her body desired his, she wasn't ready to make the emotional connection he craved so intensely. If he pushed her now, he was going to run the risk of ruining everything. He needed to back away, and pretend he didn't mind waiting for her to be ready, but he needed her to acknowledge what was between them even more than that.
"Admit you want me," he said to her. "I need to hear you say it."
Elena could sense his lips were just inches from hers. Instinctively she knew that if she turned her head ever so slightly, she would be kissing him. Her heart was beating so fast now she wondered how she was still standing, and breathing. She wasn't ready to admit it yet, but he wouldn't let her go until she said what he wanted her to say. She licked her lips.
"You know I do," she said quickly.
"Say it," he demanded.
"I just did."
"Tell me you want me."
Her face and her whole body felt heated. Her heart was beating crazily. She was so wet for him now that he had to know already how much she wanted him.
"I want you," she told him breathlessly.
"Say it again," he whispered.
It was easier to say the second time. "I want you, Damon."
It had been Damon's full intention to let her go, but her words had him so excited, that instead of stepping backwards, he kissed her.
Elena gasped softly as she felt his lips on hers. After the stun passed, she kissed him back. She'd already told him twice she wanted him. She couldn't deny it anymore, and even though she knew Damon could see her, being in the dark somehow made her feel less inhibited. His low moan sent heat slamming through her middle, and when his tongue slipped between her lips, to find hers, it unleashed something primal in her; something she hadn't even known existed in her until now.
His hands moved to her waist. They lingered there for a minute, before skimming down further. When they reached the hem of her dress, he pulled the stretch fabric of her dress up so that it sat around her waist. She wrenched her mouth away from his. She had to protest. The lights could suddenly flick on, and the doors could open, and then she would be caught with her dress up.
"Damon, I think we should…"
She stopped breathing as his mouth trailed kisses down her neck. She murmured something nonsensical as he began to rub circles over her clitoris, through the underwear. Fire spread through her; heat pooling in her tummy, and making her feel hot everywhere else. Her calves were shaking as she stood there in her high heels, and when he slipped his finger inside the elastic to stroke her better, she was trembling so violently she would have fallen were it not for the wall behind her.
"God, I want to be inside you," he whispered in her ear, sliding one finger into her wet heat.
"Yes. Want. That. Too," she panted into the darkness.
Elena had never been so aroused. She hated the fact that she couldn't see his face. She was acutely aware now of her underwear sliding down her smooth legs, and his belt being undone, as he continued to touch her. She heard his zipper go down, and then within the space of a second, he had both hands on her hips, and he was lifting her. Still keeping her pinned against the wall, he kissed her hungrily; the tip of him nudging her entrance. His tongue thrust inside her mouth at the same time as his length surged inside her. He filled her up completely, and then some, and if she hadn't been so aroused, she would have had trouble accommodating his length. Her inner walls greedily squeezed him.
"I love the way you feel around me," he told her, the moment they stopped kissing.
She agreed wholeheartedly, but since she couldn't remember the English language right now, she made a noise she hoped passed for agreement. It must have been good enough for him, because he started thrusting into her tight heat. She wrapped her legs around his waist, while he pushed the strap of her dress off her shoulder. He kissed and nipped her there, while cupping her left breast in his hand.
Sensation after sensation brought her closer and closer to the edge, and when his thumb slid between them, and he found her clitoris again, she came. Hard.
Hearing her chant his name, and feeling the rush of wetness of her climax around him, Damon followed her over.
Almost immediately, the lights came back on. Without a word, both of them sat down next to each other on the floor.
"That was…" Elena started.
"Amazing?" Damon asked, unable to keep the hope out of his voice.
"Yes," she agreed.
Damon felt something close to elation fill him. After two more minutes the doors of the elevator slid open with a loud 'ding', revealing Blondie waiting for them.
"There you are," Caroline said. "I was starting to worry."
"I'm fine," Elena said, walking out of the elevator with her shopping bags.
Damon grabbed the bottle of whiskey, and it's tin, and followed her out. Caroline looked between the two of them, and Damon had the distinct feeling that the lady vampire knew exactly what had happened inside that lift.
"Are you still coming tomorrow?" Caroline asked him.
She had invited him over for Christmas Eve dinner a while back. He had always planned on going, but now he looked at Elena, to make sure she was okay with that first.
"I'll see you there," she said to him, with a small smile.
He nodded, before putting the whiskey back in the tin and handing it to her.
She shook her head. "It was always for you. Merry Christmas, Damon."
Feeling ridiculously pleased, Damon walked with them to Caroline's car. He opened the passenger side door for Elena, once Caroline unlocked it, and when she was seated inside, he closed the door. Elena wound down the window and smiled at him again.
"I'll see you tomorrow," she said to him.
"Or before," Caroline muttered loudly.
Damon grinned. "You will."
"Okay," she said.
"Okay," he said back.
"Okay," Caroline said. "Let's go."
It wasn't until Damon watched Caroline drive out of the car park that he remembered the necklace in his bag. Should he still take it back? He pictured himself giving it to her again, but this time, instead of seeing her polite acceptance, he saw pleasure light up her beautiful face.
Wishing you all a happy and safe holiday. Merry Christmas.