PART 39
Katherine felt all the breath leave her chest, and she found she couldn't breath. She hadn't noticed the water running, but it must have been. He stood in front of her fresh from the shower. His hair was wet and the strands hung in various directions on the side of his face, falling onto his ears. His back was to her and she could see water drip down the curve of his neck. But the first thing she noticed was the same reason why she couldn't breath. Elijah was not clothed in his usual dress shirt. In fact, he was literally naked from the waist up. He wore only his pants, and his feet were bare.
Katherine watched as he moved. The strong muscles on his back flexed and rippled. She was in a daze as her eyes followed him, her lips parted slightly. He wrapped a towel around his neck and rubbed his hair. The action successfully succeeded in messing his hair into what she could only call, an adore fashion. She closed her mouth quickly as she felt her throat go dry. She couldn't blink, and she couldn't look away. She didn't even move as he turned towards her. Katherine's eyes fixed on his chest and she swallowed. The movement scratched at her inner throat, and she felt a knot form in her stomach.
He was quire literally drop dead gorgeous with his shirt off. She knew this because her heart actually stopped. Then, just as suddenly as it had ceased beating, it started again. Katherine felt it running rampant in her chest, and she struggled to not start heaving her breaths. The muscles of his arms were as she had imagined them, strong, long, lean, and beautiful. Katherine followed the path of water droplets as they traveled down his chest, stopping at the waist band of his pants. Drop dead…indeed she reaffirmed. She'd never known a man could be so mouth-watering with their shirt off, and she'd seen quite a few.
He reminded her of the Statue David. His pecks looked almost as if they were carved from marble, and his abs were perfectly sculpted, drawing down into the start of a "V" just below his belly button. Katherine's hands started to sweat and she fisted them into the comforter below her. God, she wanted to run her hands over his skin. To feel his muscles beneath her fingertips. And good God, she wanted him. Her skin was on fire and she was helpless to the desire coursing through her very veins.
Elijah smiled at her and her heart stopped again. He was torturing her, and he had no idea. She nodded her head slowly in acknowledgement, but she still couldn't speak. She also couldn't blink, and her mouth hung open like a fish. She knew she must look the picture of ridiculous. Okay, control yourself Katherine, she told herself. He's just a man, and you can handle that. Katherine knew how to handle men. Point in fact, she'd had hundreds of years of practice. But she could not make herself function.
Elijah watched her with amused eyes as he crossed the room and stopped at the dresser by his bed. Katherine's eyes followed him as he moved and she felt her skin grow more and more fevered as each step he took brought him closer and closer to her. Elijah stopped in front of her by his bed. Katherine put her hands back and scooted more onto the mattress as his legs brushed hers. "Excuse me," Elijah said before he opened the drawer by her. He pulled out a black dress shirt and Katherine's first thought was, thank you Lord. Elijah turned to look at her and she looked away quickly. He was bent over at the waist and his position provided her an excellent vantage point to stare at his neck. He had a very tempting neck. She found herself asking what he would do if she moved forward just a little bit and placed her lips against the completely desirable patch of skin. She snapped out of her thoughts as he shut the dresser drawer. The sound was loud to her ears and Katherine shook her head.
Elijah smiled at her as he moved away from her, laying the shirt over the back of a chair. He grabbed one end of the towel and rubbed the hair at the back of his neck, watching her as he did so. He tossed the towel onto another chair and ran his hand through his hair. Elijah looked at her and tilted his head, smiling down at her. For a moment she questioned whether or not he was stalling on purpose. Did he know what he was doing to her, and was he delighting in it? How could he possibly not know, she questioned. There's not a strip of fat on him.
Katherine shook her head again as Elijah tilted his head, and she watched his lips move. He'd said something, but she didn't catch it. "What?" she asked, surprised that her voice came out understandable, and not breathy. Elijah smiled, and chuckled a little, "There is still hot water if you wish to bathe." Katherine doesn't answer him as she watches him slowly button his shirt. "…Katerina?" he questions. She notices that he didn't fully dry off because there's wet spots on his collar and around the opening of his shirt. He finishes the last button and she lets out a heavy relieved breath. "I'm sorry…what?" she asks again, Elijah takes a few steps towards her and extends a finger in her direction. "There's blood in your hair," he points out, dropping his arm.
Katherine lifts a strand of her hair and picks at it. The blood in her hair is dried, and it's flakey. She must look atrocious. The fact embarrasses her a little. A moment ago she'd been staring at him, and he was just trying to get her to look presentable. Katherine ducked her head, hiding her face. She began to pull her fingers through her hair roughly, when a thought struck her. "It's my blood," she questions. Elijah stops breathing beside her and she looks up at him. Her memories come back in a rush and she remembers everything. Suddenly, she doesn't care about her hair anymore.
Elijah is the first to move again. He crosses the room quickly. His body is stiff and Katherine watches him. It almost looked like the movement was hurting him. He opened a closet and grabbed at a hanger. Katherine heard the small ping as it swung and hit the bar. Elijah turned back to her and handed her one of his dress shirts. Katherine looked down at it. "The wash room is through there," he says, indicating with his hand. Katherine stands and moves past him, clutching the shirt. When she looks back Elijah is sitting on his bed. He is bent over with his head in his hands. She can't see his face through his fingers, but she suspects that at this moment she wouldn't want to.
Katherine closes the bathroom door with a satisfying thud. She puts the shirt onto the sink counter, before she leans back into the door. She presses her head into the wood and closes her eyes, drawing in a long, deep breath. She can breath again, and she's grateful for that.
Katherine pushes off from the door angrily. What was wrong with her? There had to be something wrong with her if she was seriously considering jumping Elijah. The idea didn't sound like a wise one. For anyone to even try to kiss him would be almost certainly asking for death on a silver platter. Katherine turned her head and looked at the mirror. The glass was steamed over from Elijah's shower. His scent hung in the air and she matched it with that of his bed. What did the man use, parfum de rêve humide? She shook her head at her own joke. His scent hadn't changed in 500 years. And she knew that the term wet dream wasn't widely used back then. Katherine chuckled, nope, the scent had to be entirely his own. That fact alone meant she was in big trouble anytime she got near him. Katherine ran an agitated hand through her hair. She was being ridiculous. The whole idea was ridiculous. For one, it was Elijah, and for two, he would never in his life want her. She'd become more than aware of that fact when she'd met him.
She thought about him as she took her boots off. In truth she hadn't even expected a man of his standing to want to converse with her. It wasn't proper in so many ways. But there was never anything awkward about talking with Elijah. He always seemed willing to hold a conversation with her. Of course, now she knew why, she had been a means to an end for Klaus. But had it been really necessary for him to spend so much time with her? Katherine pondered the question as she unbuttoned her blouse and pulled it over her head.
The shirt was completely ruined. Honesty, she never wanted to see it again. Katherine tossed her shirt into the trash bin. What a waste of good Victoria's Secret she thought. The lace of her bra was completely destroyed to. Katherine held up the broken strap in front of her, raising her eye brows. "Thanks Klaus," she muttered. Katherine had to make light of the situation. She couldn't think about what he'd done to her, and what almost happened. If Elijah hadn't been there. Katherine smiled as she reached for her pants button. He always seemed to be there when she needed him. Her bra joined her blouse in the garbage. Her pants would have been there to, but Elijah had only given her a shirt. Someone she didn't count it as a good idea for her to leave the bathroom wearing only his shirt. If he had been anyone else…but he was Elijah.
Katherine was grateful that her necklace hadn't been ruined. It was a part of her. She traced the filigree as she stepped into the tub. The shower curtain was dark blue just as his bed was. "Seems Lord Elijah's favorite color is dark blue," she observed. Like the color of the ocean as night, she added as an afterthought. When Katherine closed the curtain she was instantly over come with the smell of him, all around her, hanging over her skin. Katherine shook her head and turned the water on cold. She gasped when the spray hit her skin, but she welcomed it. She wasn't foolish enough to fight fire with fire.
Katherine stepped out of the shower, clean. She felt so much better. There wasn't much that annoyed her more than being filthy. She reluctantly slipped her jeans back on and reached for Elijah's shirt. The material was soft and it slid through her fingers as she fisted it. Katherine held it under her noose and inhaled, before she pulled the shirt over her head. It fell gracefully around her neck and she buttoned a few of the buttons. The size gave her plenty of moving room and she felt more comfortable than she'd been in a long time. She wasn't the kind of woman to just slip something on. Skin tight was her poison of choice. But she liked that the length fell way past her thighs. And even though the sleeves hung well beyond her fingertips, she didn't roll them up. Honestly, she liked that she could curl her fingers around the ends.
Katherine stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed, scanning the room for Elijah. He looked up as she entered, smiling. Katherine smiled back, until he held his key out in front of him. It seems she hadn't been as sneaky as she thought. "Sorry," she muttered under her breath. Elijah smiled at her nervousness, shaking his head. He moved to stand in front of her, and eyed her. Katherine felt like she was under scrutiny. "I'm not going to ask what it's for," she said, in defense. "Good…because I won't answer," Elijah said in a serious tone. Katherine looked up slowly and she caught the jest in his eyes. He smiled at her after a moment, and she smiled back, chuckling. He was messing with her, She was grateful that he didn't care that she'd been snooping. He probably had expected it from her.
"We should be going," Elijah says, as he places the key into one of his pockets. Katherine nods as he moves to the other side of the room, grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair. She takes note of the changes in his appearance. The wet spots on his shirt have dried, along with his hair, and it's once again, the picture of perfect. When he turns back towards her she sees the vampire that she recognizes. He's himself again, in his dress shirt and jacket, belt and shoes on, hair flat. This is the him that she can deal with, for the most part.
Elijah crosses the room again, and grabs something hanging in the closet. He turns around and hands her a dry cleaner bag with her jacket inside. She looks at it, unsure if she ever wants to wear it again. But she smiles in thanks all the same. Elijah brushes past her and his side grazes the front of her. Patches of her skin are still wet from her shower and the material of his shirt glides over her skin. She feels that familiar tingle and her skin begins to heat. Feeling on fire is a sensation that she's very close to forever associating with his presence.
Elijah doesn't seem to notice her reaction as he opens the door for her. Katherine stares at him, and she can't make her feet move. His eyes bore into hers and her fingers grip the hanger in her hands. She didn't have much practice with what she was about to do, but they say practice makes perfect. "Thank you…" she begins. "For, for saving my life…again," Katherine smiles as she finishes, chuckling under her breath. She looks back up at Elijah after a moment and watches as his hand drops from the door and he crosses the room to stand in front of her. "The pleasure's mine…" he says as he reaches for her hand. His fingers wrap around his shirt sleeve as he pulls her hand to his mouth, kissing over top the material. "...Katerina" he finishes. He looks at her as his lips touch his shirt, staring deep into her eyes.
If she'd felt naked before, she definitely did now. The shirt might as well have not been there, because she could perfectly feel the heat of his lips touch against her hand. Katherine swallows and she can't look away. She feels her cheeks heat as she blushes. Since when did she blush? She fidgeted nervously in front of him. Elijah smiles and drops her hand. "You're welcome," he says. Katherine flashes a shy smile back at him before rubbing her hand against her leg.
Elijah smiles at her again and she can't breathe. Another feeling that she'd started associating with him. The list was getting longer. Had he always made her feel this way and she'd just ignored it? She thought it better if she didn't answer that question. Because she already knew the answer. Elijah walked back to the door, opening it wider. "My Lady," he gestures, bowing before the door and extending his hand to the opening. Katherine swings her jacket over her left shoulder, and chuckles. It had been a long time since anyone had called her a lady. She locks her gaze with his as she walks through the door, mock glaring at him. It's not long before she's laughing. Elijah's laughter joins hers as he shuts the door behind them.