A.N. I'M SO EXTREMELY SORRY THAT THIS CHAPTER IS OUT SO LATE. Things have been pretty busy and I'm trying to get a schedule back on track, but it's not working haha. I said I would update within a couple of days, but it's been like about a week and two days. I feel like I should explain myself. SO HERE WE GO. I'm OBSESSED WITH SHINEE, has anyone ever heard of it before? I'm sure a couple of you people have at least heard of couple of their songs. Ring Ding Dong. Reply. Lucifer . I've spent the last couple of days scoring the internet for their amazing songs and watching random youtube videos which they star in. Yes I know .. I'm lame. But I'm so in love with Jonghyun. I think I want to marry him. Hahah anyways. I haven't forgotten about this story and I still love the VAMPIRE DIARIES more than I love Shinee. Anyways ON WITH THE STORY. Thanks to Sandra Brown and LJ Smith and The CW. You guy are amazing! Thanks for reading! I hope you like it.
Elena had expected a much older looking regal man. She had expected a stranger. She did not expect Damon Salvatore to be the prospective buyer.
Scattered throughout the last few years there had been numerous account of him in the local newspaper. Only a few years after he had left Mystic Falls, he had earned himself a reputation of driving race cards. However, after two years of winning multitudes of contests and setting impressive records of speed there was a long news article about his retirement. A few months later Elena had heard from the town's biggest gossipers that he had started his own law firm.
Elena didn't care how successful he had become or how many cases he had been though, he was still the arrogant boy he had been in high school.
Did he only come back to Mystic Falls to show off his success to a town that hated him? How typical of him.
Who Cares?
Elena didn't. Why couldn't he have stayed wherever he was and kept his money there. She didn't need his money and Mystic Falls was perfect without him.
Sadly though… that wasn't quite true. Elena DID need the money. She needed the money desperately. As Elena undressed and prepared for bed she recalled the day the local banker had asked her to come see him.
Aghast, Elena listened as Mason Lockwood explained to her in his impressive book-lined office the amount of debt she was buried in.
Mason had told her bluntly, but with a smile that she was, in the most literal sense, broke.
"But… Father never said anything." Elena said in horror.
"John had too much pride to admit he was headed for financial disaster."
Elena's eyes scanned over the sheets of bills and money she owed until she realized the enormity of her difficulties.
"I can't even afford to live anymore."
"We have to use your inheritance to pay for it. I'm sorry Elena."
"At least I still have The Gilbert Estates," Elena said trying to think positively. Mason's awkward coughing brought her head back up. "It's still mine, isn't it?" Elena asked.
Mason covered her hand with his in effort to soothe the petite girl. "You're inheritance only paid off a fraction of the debt. You have no choice, but to sell."
As quietly as possible Elena put the Gilbert Estates up for sale. The town's gossipers said that Elena was tired of being shackled to the house and wanted to travel.
They would never know how wrong they were.
Elena turned off the lights and got into bed, staring at the moon outside of her 2nd story window like always. She needed the money but she'd be damned before she let a man like Damon Salvatore move in her house.
Elena woke up in the morning late and groggily not having slept well.
Waking up with a pessimistic outlook wasn't new to her. Through her father's illness, death and the debt, she hardly had anything to look forward to.
She trudged in the bathroom to take a cold shower in effort to perk herself up.
She pulled on a pair of denim shorts and an old T-shirt that had "Hot naked girls call 1800-573-3333 printed on it. It bad been an old gag a friend had picked up for her on a trip to Las Vegas.
Barefoot, she went downstairs to start a pot of coffee. The sound of the doorbell roused her of the trance the coffeemaker had put her in. It must be Tyler, Elena thought happily. However, when she peeped through the blinds to see who the early morning visitor was, she clenched her fists and groaned.
She pulled open the door and didn't even bother to say anything. The glare she shot him said enough. Damon took in her attire and laughed. No makeup, barefoot, wet hair. Great. Terrific.
And damnit he looked amazing.
"Good Morning Elena, Don't you look stunning today," Damon smirked.
"Hello Damon."
She stood there as he read the slogan on her T-shirt. She wanted to slap that smirk right off his face. Glancing past him she took notice of an impressive dark blue sports car. The make of which she didn't even recognize.
"Can I come in?"
"No."
"May I please come in," Damon asked with puppy dog eyes.
"No."
"What are we? 12?" Damon sighed leaning against the frame of the door.
"One of us is. Why are you here Damon?" My body acted as a barrier for the door.
"I wanted to see the house again. I called earlier .but I'm guessing you were in the shower," Damon winked.
"You saw it last night Damon," Elena glared suspiciously.
"This house is quite an investment." Damon reasoned logically. "Don't you think I should view it in the daylight before deciding whether to buy it?"
"I suppose do," Elena agreed reluctantly. She wished she hadn't worn such an old clingy T-shirt. Lord, she wished she had put on a bra this morning. In fact with his eyes moving all over her, she wished she was dressed in a nuns outfit.
"I was just making coffee," Elena said edging herself toward the kitchen.
"Thanks I'd love some." Elena's mouth opened slightly in disbelief. Damon Salvatore had absolutely no manners. Any other man would have seen Elena's discomfort and left. She should have known not to expect such politeness from such an arrogant man.
"In the kitchen," Elena said gritting her teeth together. He followed her through the dining room and into the kitchen.
"Won't you sit down," Elena asked ungraciously. Her lips were frozen in a stiff unnatural smile.
"In a minute," he said absently. He was assessing the kitchen. "Will the appliances stay?"
She reached for the cups in the cabinet and became aware of several things at once. How revealing the T-shirt actually was. How short the shorts really were and how good Damon seemed to smell.
"Well?" Damon asked again looking at Elena curiously.
"Well what?" Elena asked. She did her best to fill the two coffee cups without spilling. Her hands were shaking nervously.
"The appliances. Are they here to stay? Thanks," he said taking one of the cups from her hand.
"Oh, I suppose they'll stay," Elena said carefully. "I certainly won't have much use for them. Cream or sugar?"
"None." He sipped his coffee. "Where are you going?" Elena's eyes followed the trail of steam rising from his cup of coffee until it reached his face.
"Where I'm going? When I sell the house?" Damon nodded and stared at her with smoldering eyes.
"Somewhere far away." They studied each other for a few seconds. "As you can see the kitchen is in good condition," Elena said breaking the silence.
Damon went over everything with a fine tooth comb. He picked at a tile with his fingernail.
"I could fix this myself." He looked down at her breasts making no attempt to hide his sexual interest. His gaze went back to her face. "I'm very good with my hands."
She was captivated by his icy blue eyes for a few heartbeats. She turned away angrily. I'll just bet you are, she cursed in her mind.
She couldn't just throw him out. He was Tyler's client. Even though she didn't want him here, Elena had no choice but to hold her breath and endure.
"What would you like to see next," Elena asked gesturing toward the hallway.
"What would you like to show me," Damon smirked. She didn't miss the innuendo in the tone of his voice. Arrogant asshole Elena thought bitterly. Did he ever think of anything else besides sex? His reputation as a womanizer wasn't an exaggeration. It was a miracle that he could even keep his pants zipped.
"What about the basement," Damon asked. Elena's face glowed red. Without realizing it she had been checking out the way his jeans fit so snugly and his shirt just seemed to accommodate his hard flat rock of a chest.
"What about it?"
"Tyler mentioned it last night, but we didn't go see it because it was locked."
"The key is over there by the pantry," Elena informed him getting up to get it. "Do you always keep it locked?"
"Yes."
"Why?" Damon asked. She gave him a dirty look over her shoulder.
"I don't know. It just scares me I guess."
Damon laughed. "Who knew Elena Gilbert would be scared of a basement."
He wedged past her body in order to reach the locked door. His front dragged across hers. Her whole entire body lit up with fire. It was if she was shocked by an electrical outlet.
"Sorry," Damon murmured in her ear. "I suppose I'll go down first." Two steps down; he turned back around a looked her in the eye. "Are you coming?"
"No, I think I'll stay out here."
"Please Come, It's kind of spooky. What if I get lost or have a question,"
"Fine," Elena said irritably. She tentatively laid her bare foot on the wooden step.
"Here, let me help you."
Before she realized what he was going to do, he clasped her hand warmly in his. Fingers intertwined, he slowly led her down the stairway.
"Watch out for the last step," Elena cautioned. Her voice echoed eerily off the walls. "The light switch is on your left."
He found it and reached to switch it on. "I think the bulb is burned out. That's okay though, I can still see with the door opened."
Elena had hoped that without the light he would have given up on the tour of the basement. She had even made a half turn back up the stairs, but he kept his hand firmly intertwined with hers. She had no choice, but to follow him as he examined the empty and dark room.
"I could renovate this into a theater room," Damon acknowledged appreciating the vast area.
Elena didn't comment. The floor was damp on her feet and it smelt like freshly turned dirt. She envisioned spiders and scary vampires and all things bad.
"What's in all these jars?"
"Preserves and Jams. Some canned fruits too. Jenna and Bonnie put them in here before they left."
"I'm sorry you had to let them go."
Elena instantly became defensive. "I didn't have to. It was my choice."
He chose not to comment, but instead asked another question and another question, then another until his curiosity was satisfied. He had held her hand the whole time, but she didn't realize how hard she had been gripping his until they headed back toward the stairs. Light spilled onto them from the kitchen door ahead. Elena loosened her grip on his hand considerably.
"You really don't like the basement," He asked softly.
"No I don't."
"And you're cold."
He began rubbing her upper arms vigorously. For a moment Elena was stunned by his touch. She stood there until she became warm again or did the retuning warmth not stem from Damon's touch, but from embarrassment. Because Damon wasn't looking at her face or her goose bumped arms, he was looking at her breasts and that's how he had known she was cold.
Swiftly she threw off his hands and climbed up the stairs. "I think I need another cup of coffee," she said breathlessly. "How about you?"
"I'm fine thanks." He relocked the basement door and returned the key to its place. "I think I know something that would make you feel a lot better than coffee ever could."
She lowered her cup slowly. His voice was low and deep and hinted at intimacy. Knowing she should run, Elena couldn't move. Not even when he raised his hands and reached for her.
He closed his hands around her throat and massaged the back of her neck delicately with his fingertips.
"Now doesn't that feel better?"
It certainly had. It had also robbed her knees of the strength to support her. It had also built a fire deep in her belly. It was spreading the heat though her middle and melting her thighs.
"Yes, Thanks you."
Elena's primary goal now was to escape before falling victim to his obvious charm. She shook off his hands and forced herself to step around him.
"If there's anything else you want to see I'll show you." Elena said politely.
"Lets go upstairs."
She didn't like the underlying lust of his tone. It was bad enough to lead a man up the stairs to the bedrooms but to lead Damon Salvatore, the man with a reputation of sleeping with 3 girls per day was even worse.
Elena showed him the master suite first, thinking that might appease him. But when they left he merely stood in the hallway, looking at her inquiringly, until she showed him the other two bedrooms which stared a bathroom. She made a beeline for the stairs.
"What's that?" Damon asked.
Without even turning around she knew what he was referring to. "That's my room." She answered reluctantly.
"Can I see it?"
Do you need to?"
"It would be nice."
Why wasn't Tyler here to help her out? God she loved Tyler, but he should be here doing his job and earning that six percent commission.
"I'm sure if you make an offer on the house Tyler will schedule a time for you to come in."
"But I'm here now."
He slid his hands in his pockets and looked as if he were going to stand there all day until he got his way. "Oh all right." Elena said making no effort to mask her distaste.
She led him down the hall and stepped aside to let him pass the door. His eyes stared at the bed. The pillow had a distinct impression of her head and the sheets were rumpled and comfy. He walked straight to it and plopped down like the infuriating man he was.
"I always wondered what Elena Gilbert's bed looked like."
She was tempted to say something like if I weren't flat broke you would die wondering. She swallowed pushing down the thrill of seeing his hands caressing the bed sheets.
"I'm sorry it's not made."
"I prefer my beds unmade." Elena got a feeling he was thinking of something extremely dirty.
"Nice view." He said peering out the window.
"I've always loved it."
Damon glanced at the bed again. "Do you always sleep alone?"
"None of your business," Elena snapped. The apples of her check turned a brilliant shade of red.
"I meant no teddy bear, no dog, no cat." He grinned. "I have Mr. Teddy," Elena said pointing at a teddy bear on her dresser. Damon laughed and picked up the worn out stuffed animal.
"Is that the bathroom?" he asked pointing the teddy bear's paw to the door on the left.
'Yes."
Elena didn't dare follow him as he walked in the room.
A few moments later he walked back. "These were handing on the shower rod, they're dry."
Elena face went white with embarrassment to see a pair of underwear and a black lacy bra in the palm of his hand.
"Thank you," she stuttered reaching for the undergarments.
"Well I think that's all for now," he said putting the teddy bear back on her bed.
He waited for her to catch up with him at the bottom of the stairs.
"You'll be hearing form me or Tyler." Damon said.
"Okay." Other than to make him angry there was no point in telling him that she'd never except his offer no matter how much it was. She doubted he was actually seriously considering buying it. He probably wanted to see the house for pure curiosity. Why would a man like him want the responsibility of owning a historical house?
"I hope you got what you came here for." Elena said snidely.
She regretted it as soon as the words came out of her mouth. He halted on his way out and turned around slowly. He no longer looked like a 30 year old millionaire. He looked 18 again, wild and rebellious, with a smirk etched on his face.
He closed the door he had just opened. "No, not quite."
With one movement he grasped her arms, turned her around and pressed her against the door.
His mouth swooped down on hers. She dodged it slinging her head to the left.
The moment his mouth captured hers, she was defeated. The very heat of the kiss melted her last piece of resistance. He applied just the perfect amount of suction and his tongue exercised a perfect command. It was one of those kisses that only existed in movies. He was hungry and feasted on her mouth like a mouthwatering dessert.
When he lifted his head up her lips were rosy and dewy.
"Baby, you're good," he murmured in her ear.
"Why did you do that?" Elena asked breathlessly. Her whole body filled with rage.
He seemed to be merely amused by her anger. "I thought you needed to by kissed," he taunted.
Before she could offer a suitably scathing comeback he was gone.