Part 21

Lucien waited patiently and listened to the sound of running water. Livia had been in the bathroom for a while now; apparently she wanted to make sure that she was clean before returning home. The thought made Lucien to press his lips together. What was going on between her and Tristan? She was one of the smartest women Lucien had met; he couldn't understand why she would ever let someone like Tristan to touch her.

She most certainly deserved much better. However, unlike her brothers, Lucien was aware that she wasn't a child; she had every right to make her own decisions. Patronizing her would be nothing but useless, not to mention disrespectful. Yet Lucien hated the idea of Tristan touching her. She deserved better. She deserved…

"Um, Lucien?" Livia's voice suddenly said. He had been too distracted to notice her opening the bathroom door. "Could I ask you a small favor?"

"Yes, of course," he replied and stood up. "What is it?"

She looked somewhat embarrassed.

"Could you help me with my zipper? This dress isn't something I would normally wear, but Rebekah thought… Anyhow, I can't close the zipper myself."

Lucien smiled.

"I would be happy to help, darling, there's no need to be embarrassed."

"Easy for you to say," she murmured. "I have embarrassed myself more than enough for one day and now I can't even get dressed by myself."

"Well," he hummed as he walked over to her. "I'm certainly not complaining."

"Funny," she huffed and turned around.

He could see her bare back, it looked soft and smooth.

"You have no reason to be embarrassed," he murmured as his hand was reaching for the zipper.

"I appreciate you saying that, but…"

"It's stuck," he cut in.

"What?"

"The zipper, it's stuck."

"Oh no… Please tell me you're kidding."

"I'm afraid not."

"Alright… Could you try again? Pull harder."

"Sure," Lucien replied.

He tried and tried, but the zipper remained stuck. This was just great.

"It's not moving."

"Damn it…"

"Hold on, I'll try again…"

He used some more strength and felt that it was working. Or not.

"I think I almost got it…" he started.

"No wait, I think we should…" she cut in and was just about to turn around.

In that moment he pulled the zipper harder. Way too hard. The next thing he realized was that she was standing in front of him wearing only her panties. What was left of her dress was lying on the floor. It took a brief moment before she gasped and covered her breasts with her arms.

"I'm so sorry…" he started and quickly removed his jacket. "Here…"

"Thank you," she murmured as he wrapped the jacket around her. He noticed that the corners of her mouth were twitching and he thought that she was about to burst into tears.

"Livia, I'm sorry…"

He was stunned when she suddenly burst into laughter.

"I'm sorry," she giggled. "This is just… You know?"

He smiled.

"Yes, I think I know what you mean."

He had never heard her laughing so hard and he couldn't help but to laugh too.

"Alright," she said after she finally managed to stop laughing. "I need to ask you one more favor."

Elijah looked at his watch impatiently. The play had ended 45 minutes ago, Livia should be home already. He should have gone with her. If anything had happened…

"Don't worry, brother," Kol said. "Lucien is many things, but he isn't suicidal."

"Perhaps not, but that doesn't mean he's very smart either," Elijah murmured. "You know how kind Livy is, men like Lucien have always tried to take advantage of her kindness."

Just the thought infuriated Elijah. His Livy deserved much better company than Lucien.

"Has Liv ever dated anyone?" Kol asked.

Elijah looked at him and frowned.

"What?"

"I'm just curious."

"No, she hasn't," Elijah replied coolly. Fortunately.

"Hmm. Has there been suitors? I mean apart from Nik's pathetic lackeys."

"No. And I haven't met any man who would be good enough for her."

"Well… Our little sister is a very special girl. It's good that she has always had you looking after her."

"She has looked after me just as much as I have looked after her," Elijah replied. "I have always admired her intelligence, but I'm afraid there are things she doesn't really understand. She doesn't know what men can be like. Especially men like Lucien."

Kol nodded.

"I think you're right about that. Liv is a sweet girl. An innocent girl. I think she needs us to watch her back."

Elijah certainly agreed.

"Well, Hope is finally asleep," Klaus stated as he entered the living room.

"That's good," Elijah murmured and looked at his watch again.

"Haven't Livia returned yet?" Klaus asked.

"No. I should call her."

"No need," Rebekah said while marching in. "I just talked to her, she's almost here."

"Was she alright?" Elijah asked tensely.

"Yeah, she was fine."

Elijah walked over to the window and crossed his arms. It didn't take long when Livia walked across the courtyard. There was no sign of Lucien, but she was wearing his jacket. No one said a word; they all heard her entering the compound.

"Livy?" Elijah called. "Could you come here, please?"

It took a moment before she appeared at the doorway.

"Oh, hi," she said smiling. "You're all here."

"How was your evening, Liv?" Kol asked.

"It was nice," she replied.

"Hmm. And Lucien acted like a gentleman?"

"Yes, he did. Everything went well."

She was still smiling, but Elijah saw something very clearly. She was nervous. His eyes narrowed.

"So," she continued after a moment of silence. "I think I'll go and get changed now. Good night."

Elijah didn't say anything; he was too upset to speak. His Livy was hiding something from him. Again. This time he was going to find out exactly what that something was.