Chapter One: Meeting Elijah
"Oh! I'm so sorry," Kiara said, barely stopping herself in time before walking straight into a man. Her heartbeat was suddenly racing and her hands shook between them, keeping their chests from touching. "I didn't see you."
Of course, she hadn't. He wasn't there a few seconds ago.
Elijah spotted her walking by herself with a far off look in her eyes from across the street. Her strawberry blonde curls were thrown up in a ponytail revealing her bare-skinned face. Her form hidden beneath the oversized hoodie she wore. And he found himself inexplicably drawn to her. Unable to stop himself, he zoomed straight towards her. He stopped steps away from her. They would have collided if she hadn't looked up at him with those striking green eyes at the last second and stopped short. He watched her, breathless, as she took a step back and met his eyes.
He was handsome. Dark hair and eyes with a strong jaw and perfect skin.
"Not at all, my dear," he said. His voice not giving in to his nerves. "This was entirely my fault. I was moving much too fast. I hope you can forgive me, Miss?"
Much to his delight, she flushed at the formality in his voice. "Kiara," she told him. "Kiara James."
"A pleasure to meet you, Miss. James," The last name sounded like a term of endearment coming out of his mouth. She watched him bow slightly and offer an open hand to her. When she took it, he brushed his lips against the back of her hand. The contact left a pleasant tingling sensation on his mouth. "My name is Elijah Smith," he said, giving her the same name he'd been giving everyone since he arrived in town.
"Well," she smiled and pulled her hand back. "you certainly aren't from around here,"
He shot her a sheepish smile. "Is it that obvious?"
"It's like you're straight out of a Disney movie," she laughed. If his old fashioned mannerism didn't give him away, his aura did. Kiara could sense he was something different than the average man. Just looking at him, she knew he was a vampire, like the Salvatore brothers. "Are you new to town or just visiting?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"Visiting."
"Business or pleasure?"
"A bit of both, I suppose."
"Sorry," she looked down at the ground and tucked some curls behind her ear to keep them from falling in her face. "I don't mean to pry."
"You're not," he said. "It's just rather complicated is all."
"I see. Well, it's getting late, I should head home. Maybe I'll see you around?" she said and moved to walk past him.
Elijah understood that was meant to be goodbye and yet, he found himself looking for a way to continue the conversation with her. Before she could get too far away, he said, "I should like to walk you, if that's alright. A young woman such as yourself shouldn't be walking alone at this hour."
She hesitated. Walking with a vampire late in the evening was obviously a risky thing to do, but she eventually turned to smile at him. "I would like that. Thank you."
They made small talk as they walked down the street. Kiara explained that she lived with her mother, Holly, and the two of them had only been in town for a couple of years. The fact that she didn't come from a "founding family" made the likelihood of her knowing about vampires very slim. Still, the way she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye made Elijah wonder if she knew what he was. All too soon, they stopped in front of her house.
"This is me," she told him, pointing to the blue house behind her. It's porch light off.
"Ah." He recognized the area. "You live next door to the Gilbert family."
A knowing look flickered in her eyes before she blinked it away and Elijah couldn't help feeling like he said the wrong thing.
"Yes," she nodded. "You know them?"
"I do."
"Let me guess," she grinned. "It's complicated?"
He smiled down at her. "You could say that."
"What is it with Elena and vampires?" Kiara muttered under her breath.
"I'm sorry?" Elijah's eyebrows shot up.
"Nothing," she shook her head. "They're a very nice family. Jenna brought over a pie when we first moved in. I didn't know people actually did that kinda stuff. Felt like I was in a movie or something."
"Are you friends with her niece and nephew?"
"Elena and Jeremy?" she asked. He nodded. "No," she told him. "I'm not part of their friend group. I'm not really part of any group really. That's what happens when you move to a small town, I guess. Everyone grew up here together so it's hard to find a way in when I'm an outsider, you know?"
"I have a hard time believing a woman such as yourself would have a difficult time making friends, Miss. James," Elijah said.
Kiara looked at him with a playful look in her eyes making him shift on his feet. "Careful, Mr. Smith, or I might think you're flirting with me."
Elijah couldn't find the words to respond. She was suddenly different in a way that was difficult to pinpoint. The subtle shift in her tone of voice and slight twinkle in her eye made him feel almost exposed, vulnerable. It had been years since he felt so flustered. He could only watch as she took a step closer to him and lifted a delicate hand to touch the tie around his neck.
"I might do something I shouldn't." Her words were barely spoken, but with Elijah's vampire hearing they didn't need to be.
"And what might that be, Miss. James?" he asked, leaning toward her subconsciously.
Again, a flicker of something familiar flashed in her eyes. Only this time, he recognized it. Hunger. Her eyes focused on his mouth and he licked his lips. She tilted her head in deliberation before looking back up to his eyes. It seemed like she was searching for an answer to an unasked question.
Sensing her internal struggle, Elijah wanted to tell her to simply ask him. Whatever she wanted, he would happily give her. He didn't know how or why, but he knew in that moment he would do anything to please her. Do whatever she needs him to do. Say whatever she needs to hear. But he couldn't move, much less speak.
"Maybe just a taste," she told herself as she cupped his cheek.
And their lips collided.
Waves of instant bliss racked his body as a hypnotic blend of endorphins and arousal flooded his system. In all his years, he never felt such instant pleasure from a simple kiss. It felt like she was touching him everywhere, all at the same time. His eyes rolled shut and he moaned, unable to keep quiet. He wrapped his arms around her, desperate to bring her closer to him. He never wanted to part from her. Not if it meant that the incredible feeling would end. It was so intense, he almost didn't notice the sensation of something being taken from him. But the more he focused on it, the more he could feel his strength slowly leaving his body and he had a terrifying realization.
Kiara James wasn't human.
In seconds, he wrapped his hand around her neck and slammed her back against her front door.
"What are you?" he growled in the shadows of her porch, unable to catch his breath or calm his racing thoughts.
Her eyes glowed a fantastic shade of green before she blinked them back to normal.
Elijah might have thought he'd imagined it if he hadn't felt what he just did. The pull. The pleasure. The feeling of his energy being drawn out of his mouth.
Kiara bit her lip. "I don't know what you mean."
"Do not play me for a fool, Miss. James," he said, tightening his grip a little. "my patience is already wearing thin. Now tell me—" His eyes dilated back and forth. "What are you?"
For a moment, she thought about faking it. He would have had no way of knowing that it wasn't really affecting her. But the fact that he was trying to compel her scared her. It meant he felt threatened enough to take away her free will, maybe even kill her
"Sorry," she gasped. "Compulsion doesn't work on me."
His eyes narrowed at her.
"You're not the first vampire I've met," she told him, but she didn't know she was immune to their mind control until she caught Damon Salvatore feeding on Caroline a couple of months back. "But I really am sorry," she said. Her eyes were almost sad. "I didn't mean to upset you. I hope when you wake up, you can forgive me." Before Elijah could respond, she touched her pointer finger to his head and said, "Sleep."
And he dropped to the floor unconscious.
Kiara let out a breath of relief and rushed into her house. She scribbled a message onto a piece of paper and tucked it inside his jacket pocket before locking the door behind her.
By the time Holly came home from her shift at the hospital, Elijah was gone and Kiara was an anxiety-ridden mess. She explained to her guardian what happened over dinner with tears in her eyes.
Needless to say, Holly wasn't happy. She had warned her to stay away from the other supernatural creatures in town. They had no way of telling how they would react to something like her. At the very least, they would come around looking for answers. Answers they simply didn't have.
"Should we leave?" Holly asked, looking over the bruises already fading on Kiara's neck. When the girl didn't answer, Holly put her hands on either side of her face and looked her in the eyes. "Kiki, do you think he'll come after you?"
Kiara shook her head. "I, I don't know. Maybe. I can try talking to him again once he's calmed down."
"I don't want you alone with him," Holly said. "If you must talk to him, stay in public where people can see you. He'll be less likely to attack you again."
"Yeah… maybe," Kiara nodded.
That night, Kiara rolled back and forth in bed unable to get comfortable. She felt better than she'd ever had after a feed. Almost high. She knew she wouldn't need to feed again for a couple of days, maybe even a week, and she'd never gone that long without feeding before. A vampire's chi was more powerful than she anticipated.
The lingering connection she had with the vampire made her anxious. Like she could run for miles and never tire. She was acutely aware of her own heart beating wildly in her chest as she thought about her last feed. How intensely Elijah felt. How he instantly succumbed to her desire. How his pleasure quickly became hers. She could still feel the ghost of his grip on her waist and the taste of him on her tongue. There was no doubt, vampires were highly sexual beings. Which meant Holly was probably right when she told her to stay far away from them.
When she finally drifted to sleep, Kiara found herself dream walking to him.
It was only a couple of years ago when she learned she was capable of entering another person's dreams. It happened after her first feed, only a couple of days after her 16th birthday. A strange hunger had stirred inside her. It grew until one day, she gave in and did the one thing she'd wanted to do since it started. Pull Tyler Lockwood behind the gym and kiss him. The feeding came instinctually to her then. She didn't really know what she was doing, only that she couldn't help herself. She needed to have him. When she finally pulled herself away from him, he was dazed and she begged him not to tell anyone, to just forget it ever happened. And he did.
Now she usually had better control of her dream walking, but Kiara didn't know she had even done it until she saw Elijah talking with an unfamiliar man across a crowded dance floor. His eyes were as intense and thoughtful as ever as he spoke. She watched him, wondering if this dream was fantasy or memory. Although most dreams tend to be a mixture of both.
Typically when she walks into another's dream, the dream just unravels around her like a movie. The person usually isn't even aware that she's there unless she talks to them. Elijah, however, looked right at her. He blinked as if believing she was a trick of his mind and when she remained there, he rushed toward her, pushing people out of the way as he did. Kiara turned to run, but he was so fast. She felt his hand on her shoulder and jolted awake, nearly falling out of her bed in the process. A shudder ran through her.
He'd known she was there.
If he wasn't pissed before, she had no doubt that he was now.
Okay, guys, that's chapter one. Let me know what you think so far.
