The Push and Pull of Things, Chapter 3, Give Me Love
I own nothing except the plot… but I would be more than happy if Kol owned me…
~0~
Give me love like never before
'Cause lately I've been craving more,
And it's been a while but I still feel the same
Maybe I should let you go
You know I'll fight my corner, and that tonight I'll call ya
After my blood is drowning in alcohol
No I just wanna hold ya.
~*~I~*~
It was Friday at last and Bella was relieved when she finally got out of school; not because it was the weekend but because thanks to Kol's reconnaissance work she knew that today was when Edward was at last planning to break up with her.
He had been increasingly distant over the last couple of days and while a huge part of her was relieved it would be over and she would be able to stop feigning ignorance, a tiny part couldn't help but think of how much this would have hurt her if she had been truly under his influence.
She wondered yet again how they all could think it was okay to treat people this way. Even if the rest of them were not a part of his manipulations, they had still abandoned her without a word; if that was how they treated someone they called family then Bella wanted no part of it.
Edward had asked to come over after school today for the first time in a couple of days and she arrived home to find him parked in Charlie's spot. Guess he wants to get it over with quick she thought wryly and plastered a nervous smile on her face as she followed him into the woods. She was glad Kol had insisted on her having more of his blood the night after he returned. Even two days on it was helping her keep a clear head.
Not five minutes later and it was finished. Bella had managed to look appropriately devastated as he tried to break her, even forcing a few tears out after discretely pinching the inside of her arm hard enough to make her eyes water. She knew she'd have a nice bruise to show for it tomorrow. As he finally left, disappearing into the trees, she waited a few moments then sagged in relief. It was over.
Kol watched Bella with a proud smirk as she put on an acting master class. If he hadn't known otherwise he would have easily believed her to be utterly shattered by the Cold One's actions.
Of course his blood had helped, and he would be giving her more again soon to ward off any withdrawals she might go through now that the poor excuses for vampires had gone.
He smirked as he considered how best to give it to her this time; in the past he had simply bled into a cup and let her drink it. He had found it incredibly amusing when she would close her eyes and pinch her nose before quickly knocking it back the first few times. It didn't seem to bother her now and he wondered if he should introduce her to the fun way. It would certainly be more enjoyable for him if she took it straight from the vein.
He followed Bella back to the house, thoughts of her drinking from him filling his head. There was some higher purpose to it though. He wanted her to contact his brothers soon and she would have an easier time with them if they could smell him on her when they met her in person.
There was more going on in this tiny town than just a group of Cold Ones and he wanted Bella away from here and being protected as soon as possible.
~*~II~*~
"You did amazing today darling," Kol told Bella later as they lazed together in the field he usually had Bella dream of. Bella's head rested on his stomach while he lay on his back and played with a stray lock of her hair.
Bella shrugged, blushing. "I'm just glad it's finished, only your family to worry about now I guess."
"Hush, you'll be fine. Although that does remind me…" He sat up slowly, helping Bella up at the same time and shifting their positions so that Bella was sat in between his legs with her back to him. As she tentatively leant back against him at his encouragement, he raised his arm and bit into his wrist before holding it in front of her. "Drink up beautiful."
Bella was a little surprised at the change in their routine for this, and though she still hated human blood, she didn't have an issue with his anymore so she just went with it.
She grabbed his arm, holding it in place as she sucked, warmth bursting through her. The eroticism of drinking straight from him rather than from a cup was not lost on her and she squirmed as heat flared up inside her.
Kol fought back a moan as Bella gripped his wrist, her lips pressing against it. Suddenly he was relieved he had not chosen to have her drink from his neck; he had underestimated what his reaction would be and wasn't sure he would have been able to control himself. His restraint was hanging from a thread as it was and it didn't help being able to tell that she was just as turned on by it as he was. He shifted as she wiggled against him and gritted his teeth, almost sighing in relief when his blood stopped flowing and the wound closed.
Needing a distraction before he threw her down in the grass and had his way with her, Kol stood up slowly and plastered on a smirk. "You know, we should be celebrating darling – you are a free woman now after all, and we missed doing anything for your birthday."
Bella grinned at him; she was a little relieved that she wouldn't have to acknowledge the sexual tension between them. "What exactly did you have in mind? It's not like we can go anywhere."
Kol tapped his fingers against his temple and smirked wider. "You know I can manipulate your dreams, taking us somewhere else is child's play. I think I have just the place. Close your eyes for me."
Bella kept them closed for a moment, waiting to feel something happening. After a few moments of hearing and feeling nothing she decided he was joking around and opened them then looked around in amazement at the place he had brought her to.
She was standing in the middle of a huge entrance hall with marble floors and a split grand staircase wrapping around both sides of the room with twinkling lights covering each bannister.
As she glanced down she realised she was now wearing a dress which surprised her, though she had to admit it was gorgeous. The ruby red silky fabric flowed around her just reaching the floor and felt amazing against her skin.
Footsteps echoed in the vast room and she looked around to see Kol walking towards her. It took nearly all her self-control not to gape at him; instead of his usual jeans and shirt he was in black trousers and a black vest and was smiling cheekily as he twirled a black bow tie around his fingers. His white dress shirt had the top few buttons undone and Bella had the sudden urge to bury her face against the revealed skin and just breathe him in.
Flushing at the thought, she looked down nervously as he stopped in front of her but her eyes quickly shot up to his as he reached out and gently ran a finger underneath one of the thin straps of her dress, tugging it lightly.
"I knew this would be exquisite on you," he said quietly, enjoying the blush his words caused.
His hand moved, making Bella shiver as he slowly brushed his fingers down the length of her arm to her hand. Grasping it gently he brought her hand up, pressing a kiss to the back of it. Realising he wasn't helping with relieving the situation he closed his eyes briefly, concentrating, and music started playing as he pulled her into a traditional waltz hold.
"I don't…" Bella began but was cut off as he smirked and began expertly twirling them.
"Yes, you do. It's just you and me beautiful, no one to see us. Dance with me."
He led her in a simple waltz and Bella gradually got the hang of it, finally relaxing enough to ignore what her feet were doing and lean into him, resting her head against his chest as they moved.
"Where are we and how am I dressed like this?" she asked softly, curiosity getting the better of her. Kol smiled bitterly.
"I'm influencing your dream darling, did you not think that it could include what you wear? You really do look stunning by the way. As for where we are, this was my family's house in Mystic Falls; it looked like this for the ball Esther threw." He chuckled as Bella pulled back to look at him, her eyebrow raised. "Yes, the same ball where she wanted to kill us all. This place came to mind all too easily when I was thinking of somewhere to bring you." He shot her a wry smile. "If it makes you uncomfortable…"
"No it's beautiful; really, I'm more worried about it bothering you."
"You worry far too much about others darling, we'll have to change that… Now, we've already mentioned how ravishing you look, how about we talk about how handsome I am?"
Bella laughed. "Maybe we should be talking about how big that head of yours is instead."
"How you wound me darling, just for that I should demand another dance with you."
He tugged her closer teasingly and was suddenly hyper aware of her body pressed against his. If he'd wanted to break the rising sexual tension between them, bringing her here to dance was definitely the wrong idea. No matter how innocent a plan it had seemed, it didn't take much at all for it to ramp back up again almost instantly.
Bella looked up at him, eyes wide as he stroked the small of her back and finally his control snapped. Unable to resist any longer, a low growl rumbled through his chest as he pressed her even closer. A hand tangled in her hair, angling her head as he leant in and kissed her firmly on the lips.
For a split second Bella stayed motionless, too shocked to move, then instinct took over and she slid her hands up over his shoulders and played with the hair at the back of his neck, tugging it lightly. He groaned softly and slid the hand on her back down to her ass, pulling her up onto her tiptoes and further into his embrace.
She gasped at the feel of him pressed so intimately against her, his arousal obvious, and he took advantage of her parted lips to deepen the kiss. Her head spun as he kissed her thoroughly, twisting his tongue with hers and exploring her mouth. Legs threatening to give out, Bella whimpered as he broke off to let her breathe, turning his attention to her neck with soft open mouthed kisses before darting back to her lips.
This time it was softer as he let Bella explore him in return before slowing the kiss and gently pulling away. Bella reached up to brush her fingers across the veins appearing around his eyes, smiling tenderly. Not willing to verbally acknowledge his feelings, Kol instead grabbed her hand and started dancing with her again, holding her close as the music continued to play.
Give a little time to me, or burn this out,
We'll play hide and seek to turn this around,
All I want is the taste that your lips allow,
My, my, my, my, Oh give me love,
~*~III~*~
Bella had woken the next morning with a smile on her face. She would have sworn her lips were still tingling from Kol's kisses the night before.
The smile had barely left her face all day making Charlie look at her oddly before he left for work, as he knew the Cullens had left town. Bella hadn't tried to offer an explanation, nothing she could say would make sense and Charlie, having never liked Edward anyway, wasn't really that interested.
Now though, for the first time today, Bella was frowning as she fiddled with the phone in her hand, trying to gather her courage to dial the number Kol had gotten on his trip to New Orleans and made her memorise. Taking a deep breath and fighting off a sudden wave of nausea she pressed the call button and listened to it ring briefly.
"Hello?" A smooth voice answered cautiously.
"Hello, is this Elijah Mikaelson?"
"It is, and whom am I speaking to?" His carefully polite tone only made Bella more nervous.
"My name is Isabella Swan, you obviously don't know me but your brother Kol asked me to contact you." Nice Bella, real smooth, just blurting it out like that…
She heard his faint growl down the phone and cringed. "Kol is dead."
"I know," her voice was barely above a squeak now. "He's trapped on the other side but somehow he can reach me when I'm sleeping. I know it sounds ridiculous but he said to tell you 'always and forever' and that it was him that stole Finn's bow when you were alive, even though Nik got the blame for it," she took a deep breath and continued. "Please, he needs your help."
There was a long silence before Elijah spoke again, "I'm listening."
~0~
Chapter title and Song lyrics are from Give Me Love ~ Ed Sheeran (In case anyone missed the obvious… yes it's the song from the Mikaelson Ball, but then so is the location of their dance so it just fit too well not to use it!)
Credit as usual to my lightning fast Beta TheCoreConundrum.
Big thanks again to everyone who reviewed or followed, you're all awesome.