This was going to be too easy; the guy had walked straight into my trap.
"Who are you?" I whispered, my voice sounding weak with faux fear. It was a bitterly cold night and the flimsy nightdress I had opted for to help extricate my plan wasn't particularly insulating. The violent shaking of my body gave the perfect illusion of fear that I needed to pull off my part. There was a part of me that wanted to run inside and lock every window and door, but my determination to succeed was now paired with an overwhelming curiosity. I could see the man was dressed completely in black, but his face was hidden in the shadow of the forest and a burning desire took over me, drawing me closer to the creature I knew would be awaiting me in the darkness. The man suddenly stepped out into the light and my eyes widened at the sight of something completely unexpected.
I quickly fixed my composure and reminded myself to stay focused. It wasn't easy though; I hadn't been prepared for this. The man's face was flawless with a complexion that reminded me of the smooth surface of a moonstone, which was only made more breathtaking in the light of the moon. He had straight hair darker than the night sky and it was unruly and dishevelled as if he had just got out of bed. Looking at it I felt an overwhelming need to run my hands through it to see if it felt as soft and silky as it looked. His lips were the most sensual lips I had ever seen on a man and they beckoned me to taste them; embarrassingly I felt my heart begin to beat a little frantically. And then there were his eyes… my God his eyes. They were the biggest and most impossibly deep eyes that had ever been created; if God was real he had taken his time over these eyes. But what had me instantly breathless was the startlingly bright ice-blue colour of these magnificent eyes that were locked intensely with mine; they reminded me of diamonds. A smirk tugged at the corner of his alluring mouth and I cursed myself as I smiled back.
"Does it matter?" He said softly with a voice of luxurious velvet texture. He stepped closer to me and it was like an alarm going off in my head. I suddenly remembered exactly what I was supposed to be doing, so I tensed my muscles and held my breath so I appeared afraid. "Don't be frightened." He whispered, his voice a caress coaxing me to fall under his spell. He was only an inch or so away from me now and his luminous eyes were blazing into mine when I noticed his pupils dilating to encompass the beautiful diamonds into a black abyss. He was trying to compel me, but he had no idea that the bracelet on my wrist contained vervain to prevent such control. He rested his hands on my shoulders and an electric current struck through my body, knocking the oxygen from my chest. He must have felt it too because his carefully masked facial expression had been overtaken momentarily by surprise and astonishment, which he quickly recovered from. He shook his head quickly and straightened his shoulders and I frowned in confusion at what had just happened.
"Why are you here?" I asked in a shaky voice, no acting required with the heat that was now pulsating throughout my body. I had rehearsed what to say in my head for months, so even in my dazed state I was able to carry out my plan. I relaxed my legs and allowed my knees to buckle so that I began tumbling towards the ground. Just as I had foreseen, I suddenly found myself in the man's arms. I swallowed deeply as my gaze locked with the hypnotising eyes that were now so close to mine, willing myself to not be affected by their beauty.
"You're okay Elena, just tired. Can you invite me into your house so I can put you into bed?" He asked pleasantly, his voice making me feel a little tipsy. I was horrified by how I was reacting to this creature when I knew just how monstrous he was.
"Yes, you can take me inside." I whispered softly. I was repulsed by the idea of him inside my home, but if I was going to succeed then I needed to let him. "Tell me your name." I suddenly said before I could stop myself.
"Damon." For some mysterious reason, I felt my body shudder as he uttered this in his dark velvet voice.
As Damon lifted me and walked towards the porch a strange feeling of warmth and safety washed over me. I quickly shook it off though; I'd be damned if I ever allowed myself to give in to one of them.
Damon sat me down on my bed and then went to stand by the window, completely motionless. "Why are you here?" I whispered, pulling my knees to my chest to make me look small and vulnerable.
"I'm bad Elena. I kill people." He replied tonelessly.
I swallowed deeply and my heart began to race at his outburst; the way he spoke with such painful honesty made me almost feel sorry for him for some completely unknown reason. I clenched my fists in determination as I reminded myself of what he was and what his kind had done to me. "You wanted to kill me." I replied in the small voice of a frightened child. Though I was only seventeen, Damon had no idea what I was capable of after the past few months and that the voice I spoke in was no portrayal of the girl he was dealing with.
"I still do." His voice was cold and icy and I couldn't help the shiver that ran down my spine.
"No, if you really wanted to kill me then you would have already done it." I allowed my voice to take on a newfound strength as I felt the familiar rage beginning to bubble up inside me.
Suddenly I was pressed against the wall by Damon's warm lean body, my arms locked in his iron grip by my sides. I wanted to claw his eyes out. "Why are you doing this to me?" I whimpered, tears budding in my eyes now because my body hurt from the force that I had collided against the wall with. I had been training over the months to make me stronger because I knew the force they were capable of, but it seemed no amount of training would numb you from the pain they could inflict. God I hated them so much.
"It's just what I do. It's nothing personal." A wicked smile flashed across his face and I couldn't help but begin to struggle against his hold on me. I noticed now how his beauty and perfection made him even more monstrous and suddenly I hated myself for how attracted I was to his magnetism.
"Please just get it over with then. If I'm going to die, I'd rather it was quick." His hold was too strong for me to break as I had expected and there was no one here to help me, but I knew this was necessary for my plan. It was definitely risky. Either this was going to give me just what I needed or I was going to be dead, which wouldn't be such a bad thing to be honest.
"I'm not going to kill you. But there is something I want."
I bit down on my tongue to stop myself from smiling; my opinion of this man had very quickly transformed now that it seemed he was going to assist me. "What?" I whimpered, focusing on the pain in my body to disguise my triumph.
"Your blood." He whispered so softly that it felt like ice trickling down my spine. It was a strangely pleasant sensation and I felt almost excited for what was going to happen next. Maybe I really had gone mad like everyone had said. I had been making this plan for months and for it to finally be in action made me feel alive for the first time since that night. The anticipation was almost too much.
"Why would you want that?" I replied with fake confusion, making sure to play along until the end.
"Because I'm a vampire." He whispered in my ear. All of a sudden knives were piercing my neck and the pain was so excruciating that I didn't care if I had to break every bone in my body to escape. I had known that it would be painful, but I had never quite estimated that it would be so agonising that I wouldn't be able to focus on anything else. But as quickly as the pain had appeared it vanished and I began to feel warm as he groaned against my neck. His hands released mine as one moved to cup the back of my head holding it in place, whilst the other pressed against the small of my back to bring my body closer to his. It actually felt quite good. Every small gulp he took filled my body with a strange pleasure and it took everything I had not to moan. I had definitely not prepared for this. I tried to remind myself how much I despised vampires and how they had completely destroyed me, but my ability to think vanished as soon as Damon placed his thigh in between my legs.
Gradually I began to feel weaker and weaker, but I couldn't make myself fight him. Whilst on the brink of consciousness, drunk with pleasure, I felt him retract his fangs and lift me into his arms. My body was laid on something soft and I instantly drifted into the welcoming darkness that was sleep.
