AN: Sorry for the delay. Life is a bitch sometimes! All is well now though. Thank you so much for the reviews and such. I got some really nice ones. I appreciate it it so much! MWAH! Continue to show me the love and review please! This chapter is pretty light in it's content, wanted some normalcy for a chapter haha. The lyrics at the beginning are from the song Empty With You by The Used, for which this story is named. Check it out, it's great! Enjoy!
Chapter 11
I haven't lost anything except my mind
Expect a thousand confessions that you will not find
I try to take off my head sometimes,
because I can't escape the memories
I haven't lost anything except my mind (except my mind)
You could be empty
and I can be right here empty with you
or you could be hollow
and I can be right here hollow with you
If you want to say goodbye to everything,
I could say goodbye too
I can be right here empty with you.
Layla's POV
I wonder if every time I sleep in Damon's bed will be because I fall asleep crying in his arms?
Last night was…I don't even know. It was too many things. He's too much. He drives me crazy. I wonder how long I'll last being this close to him? What are we now anyway? I fell asleep in his arms not long after our odd confessions. Nothing more was said. He just stroked my hair and held me to him like I might run at any moment.
I'm again being held a little too tightly as I open my eyes to the bright morning light. I never would have pegged Damon as a cuddler but he holds me pretty often. I can't believe I fell asleep in my expensive club dress. Damon some how managed to strip down to his pricey underwear.
I shimmy away from his embrace. His face scrunches slightly, nose crinkling, eyebrows almost meeting. His peaceful expression returns a moment later. I impulsively reach for my phone. I take a picture of his achingly beautiful face. Yea, maybe I'm a creep. Something tells me he wouldn't let me take a normal picture of him.
I toss my phone to the side and scoot closer to him. Blue eyes snap open with a start. Damon looks scared for a moment then relaxes almost instantly.
"Nightmare?" That infuriatingly sexy smirk returns to his face.
"Yea, I was dreaming that this really hot girl had slept in my bed for the umpteenth time and still hadn't put out. Definitely a nightmare." I roll my eyes dramatically.
"You are such a pain in the ass." He grins widely and pulls me back against him.
"Did I tell you how sexy you are in that dress?" He breathes hotly into my ear. I shudder, goose bumps rising on my skin.
"No. You've been too busy breaking and biting necks to pay me a compliment." He chuckles and nips at my neck with blunt teeth.
Damon shifts behind me. The bed moves slightly and I know he's gotten up. I roll over to watch him as he stretches and cracks his neck. Such normal things for someone who's so abnormal.
He walks into the bathroom and starts the shower without a word said. He's whistling some tune I don't know. I lie and stare at the ceiling for a moment. I wonder what the days to come will bring. How will Damon and I be now?
I'm sure he hears me as I stand and pull my dress up and over my body. I step out of my black lace thong and walk fearlessly towards the shower. He's seen me naked plenty of times now. He's always dragging me to his tub. I'd never seen him below the waist though. He always would step out behind me and dress so quickly I never had the chance to sneak a peek. He's way too proud to be embarrassed about being naked; I think he just doesn't want to make me uncomfortable.
Damon's back is to me, he's lean and muscular and perfect, just like the rest of him. I walk into the shower, I run my hand down a wet arm and he jumps as if he's startled. He gives me an appreciative look up and down. I can't bring myself to look over his body, I'm nervous.
"Well this is entirely unexpected and very much appreciated." He pulls me flush against him. I can definitely feel how much he appreciates it. That was a quick reaction.
The spray of the shower hits me full in the face. He laughs as I sputter.
Damon leans down and kisses me with a genuine smile on his face. It starts out innocently of enough. But the whole fact that we're naked and wet soon turns things heated. His tongue is rough in my mouth. I'm soon pressed against the cold wall of the shower. I moan when one of his large hands tweaks my nipple. He groans and pushes his obvious arousal against me.
I don't mean for it to happen. But fear suddenly hits me. I'm suddenly very cold and shivering. He must feel my body stiffen because his hand drops and pulls away. I almost scream when his hair looks blonde and his eyes are hazel for second but I blink and he's back to himself. He's not Terrin. Why is this happening?
"What's wrong Layla?" His voice has lost the sarcasm. He sounds concerned. Tears sting my eyes. I wonder if he'll know tears streak my face instead of water droplets.
I swallow back my fear. He reaches for a shower poof and squirts a bit of expensive looking body wash on it, it smells like roses. I wonder if he lets all of the girls he's had in here use that. He spins my body away from him. I feel the soft poof on the back of my neck and arms. He's washing me, waiting for me to speak. His kindness and patience makes the tears sting again. Why the hell do I cry so much around him?
"I haven't been with anyone…intimately since him." He pauses for a second but continues to wash down my back and over my butt. He slowly trails down one leg and then the other. "He's the only man I've ever been with in that way. And I guess I'm scared. He hurt me in so many horrible ways Damon." My voice cracks at the end. I'm unexpectedly facing him again. He's staring at me with way too much intensity, as usual.
"He's lucky you killed him. If the piece of shit was still alive I'd torture him. I'd drag his death out for weeks." When friends or boyfriends say things like that to make you feel better you know they're only kidding, Damon sincerely means this.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to freeze up like that. I didn't know I'd react that way." He begins washing my front, being gentle as he grazes over my breasts. My breath hitches and wave of heat shoots through me. His grin is back.
"Well I obviously haven't lost my touch. We might just have to take things…slow." He says it like it's a bad word that tasted bad leaving his tongue. I giggle and roll my eyes.
"Trust me Damon, I want you. I really really do. The first time I saw you I wanted to fuck your brains out. You just have to be patient with me I think." He looks amused as he finishes his washing.
"Fuck my brains out? Why Ms. Aston, what a dirty mouth you have." I take the poof from him and swat at him. I reciprocate his washing.
My mouth goes dry as I reach his waist line. Was there anything about this man that wasn't perfect? Of course he'd be more than well endowed. I guess he's cocky for a reason.
I teasingly drag the poof over his length. This time his breath hitches. I look up at him smugly. The intensity is back in his eyes, it always too much.
I drop the sponge and stand on my toes to kiss him lightly.
"I'm getting pruney, let's hurry."
A couple hours later we're sitting on one of the couches in front of the big fire place. I'm between his legs, we're both stretched out. I talked Damon into reading Memnoch the Devil aloud to me. It's actually pretty relaxing. He does ridiculous voices for everyone, faking a light French accent for Lestat.
I never would have thought we'd be here like this. I'm swelling with happiness and it scares the hell out of me. Damon keeps peppering kisses down my neck every few minutes, making me shiver.
Our peaceful reading session is soon interrupted by a slamming door and an angry looking Elena, followed closely by a disappointed looking Stefan.
Elena's face softens and turns into confusion as she takes in our cuddling on the couch. Damon is holding the book in one hand in front of us. She doesn't say anything, just keeps looking.
"You shouldn't stare Elena, it's rude." Her anger comes back at Damon's sarcastic voice.
"I'm so mad I could kill you right now Damon." He drops the book and wraps his arms around my chest. He lowers his head and hides, peeking out from behind my shoulder.
"You wouldn't hurt Layla to get to me." I elbow him in the ribs and shake free.
"I'm not being your human shield. You deserve whatever she says to you. Last night was really fucked up Damon." I stand and go over to Elena. He puts his hands behind his head, his smirk in place.
"You weren't very mad last night when my tongue was in your mouth, or this morning in the shower." He waggles his eyebrows in that annoying way. I grab a glass off the nearby table and throw at him but he of course catches it easily.
"Did we miss something here?" Stefan doesn't look nearly as gloomy as he did when he walked in.
The elder Salvatore goes over to his decanters and pours a glass of bourbon.
"Oh you know, just Layla confessing her deep, dirty, forbidden desires for me. Kissing and dry humping ensued, followed by a bad case of blue balls." I glare daggers at him but his amusement never wavers.
"I think you were the one confessing asshole! I'm not the one who got so jealous that they killed someone!" He saunters over and kisses me in a way that's way too personal in company. For some reason I can't find it in me to push him away. A pathetic sound's escapes me when he pulls away. He is way too smug for his own good.
A resounding crack fills the room. Elena slapped Damon hard enough that the sound echoed. I stare at them both in shock. They both look extremely pissed.
"I though you were over being so reckless Damon! You can't kill people because you don't like what they do! You're the one that pushed Layla away, no wonder she was dancing with someone else! If you hurt her, I'll never speak to you again." I want to hug Elena for caring so much about me.
Stefan looks tense, his hands on Elena's shoulders. Damon downs his drink and turns to get another one. He doesn't say anything to Elena. She grabs my arm and pulls me with her. I look back at Damon apologetically. She drags me to my bedroom and closes the door.
"What's going on between you two?"
I explain the confusion of last night and this morning to her. She listens without speaking. When I finish she engulfs me in a hug.
"I'm happy for you Layla. Damon's a mess, he makes me so incredibly mad sometimes, but he's a good guy deep down. He cares more deeply and passionately than anyone I've ever known. If you guys are really going to try to be together its not going to be easy. Nothing with him can ever be easy. But it will be worth it." She sounds thoughtful, a hint of sadness behind her eyes. "Treat him well. Don't hurt him…like I did." It's the first time Elena has given me any indication that she really cares for Damon. They obviously had something. I want to know what happened but I don't want to push the subject.
"I won't do anything to hurt him. I'm scared he'll hurt me. I couldn't handle it again, not after what Terrin did to me." I slap my hand over my mouth when I see her confused look. She doesn't know anything about my past.
"Who?" I shake my head at my idiotic slip up. I must look alarmed because she reaches out and rubs my arm comfortingly.
"I, uh, don't want to talk about it right now. Sorry." She nods her head in acceptance. A second later she's laughing. I raise my eyebrow in question.
"I'm just thinking how weird it is that Damon's your boyfriend. The words Damon and boyfriend just don't go together." I laugh along with her.
"I highly doubt he'd say he's my boyfriend. I'm sure he's not taking this as seriously as I am."
Elena looks at the doorway behind me; I don't have time to turn around because I'm abruptly tossed over Damon's shoulder. Stupid caveman!
"I'm taking my girlfriend back." Elena's earlier anger is gone and replaced with humor at Damon's actions. I pound my fists on his back.
"Don't listen in with your freak vampire hearing!" Elena laughs when Damon smacks my ass.
"I couldn't resist. I kept hearing my name." He speeds to his room and throws me onto his bed. He plops down next to me.
"I need to look for a job Damon. I can't be lying in your bed all day every day. I already spend way too much time here, and we're not even having sex." He pulls me on top of him and kisses me.
"We can easily change that you know?" He licks the shell of my ear. I slap his chest and sit up, straddling him.
"I'm serious. I need to get a job." His eyes roll and he kisses me again. I bite his lip and pull away.
"Why get a job when you have a rich vampire boyfriend?" He's such an ass.
"I'll lose my mind if I sit around all the time. I don't want to blow through my inheritance." He's looking at me like I'm crazy again.
"I'll get you whatever you need. Hell, I'll get you things you don't even need. And you wont be sitting around, I'm sure I can find something for you to do." I slap his chest again. He looks past me all of a sudden. "Can I help you, you creepy ass lurker?" Stefan walks into the room. I try to scramble off of Damons lap but he holds me firmly to him. I'm straddling him for God sakes! This is kind of awkward.
"She needs some independence brother." Damon huffs.
"Have to get your too cents in don't you Stef? Mr. I always have an opinion."
Stefan must sense how uncomfortable I am. He grabs me by my shoulders, lifts me up, and sets me beside him next to the bed. Damon glares at his brother pointedly. I'm grateful Stefan did that but at the same time I'm kind of tired of the whole vampire strength thing. No one should be able to just pick up a grown woman like that.
"Why are you here anyway?"
"Elena and I are going out to dinner tonight. I was wondering if you'd like to join us." Damon laughs as if his brother's statement is ridiculous. I scowl at him then look to Stefan with a smile.
"I'd love to go Stefan. I don't need a date to have fun." Damon lets out a sigh.
"You do realize it's ridiculous to take your vampire girlfriend out to dinner don't you?" I think it's cute that they still go on normal dates.
"Well brother, I do believe your girlfriend is human. I'm sure she'd appreciate a nice dinner." We both smile widely at Damon. He covers his eyes.
"God save me."
