Part 21

"Careful, my lord," Dafne said as she helped Lucien to take a seat. She felt bad for causing him trouble after everything he had done for her. Elijah or Klaus had no doubt sent those vampires. That made Dafne angry and she truly hoped it hadn't been Elijah. She wanted to believe that he at least respected her enough to honor her decision. Or maybe not. Maybe she was nothing more to him than property he had misplaced.

She had been his loyal pet for the last few centuries; maybe he didn't want to give up the services she had offered him. The problem was that if she would actually face him now, she wasn't sure at all would she be able to just walk away. If he would tell her that he missed her and needed her… Oh lord, she was so pathetic. Maybe so, but the sad truth was that she would probably return to him if he would ask her to. She hated herself for it and a part of her also hated him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked when Lucien was sitting on the haystack. The barn wasn't the most comfortable place to spend the night, but at least it offered some kind of shelter.

"I believe I will live," he replied smiling.

"That's good," she sighed and sat down beside him. "I truly am sorry…"

"Would you stop that already, you have no reason to apologize. Or does your previous employer have some reason to chase you? Did you steal from him or something like that?"

"No! No, I have never…"

"I was kidding," Lucien chuckled. "I can recognize a thief when I see one and I dare to claim that there is nothing dishonest about you."

Dafne wasn't sure what to say, she appreciated his words.

"I think we should stay here until the morning," he continued after a moment of silence. "We can walk to the tavern then. How does that sound?"

"Good," she replied. "You should rest; I can stay awake in case someone comes…"

"No, no, what kind of a man would I be if I would let you do that?"

"A smart one?" she suggested smiling. "You were poisoned, my lord, you need to rest."

"I am fine," he assured. "I will be fully recovered in no time."

"I hope so, but I still think you should rest."

He was quiet for a moment before replying.

"You seem worried about me. Why is that?"

Dafne was a little confused by his question. Taking care of others was natural to her; she had done it her whole life.

"I work for you, you pay me to take care of you," she replied.

He shook his head.

"No, I pay you to work as my scribe. None of this is a part of your work."

"You think I would have simply left you?" she asked disbelievingly.

He smiled.

"No, I do not, but I do not believe that this is just work for you either. I think you are a kind and caring woman, Dafne. And I think that perhaps you care about me a little bit. Or am I mistaken?"

Dafne lowered her head, she felt uncomfortable.

"My lord…"

"I apologize if I was too bold, you do not have to say anything."

"No, I… You have been kind to me, my lord, and that is not something I take for granted. I do care about you and of course I will help you in a situation like this, whether it is a part of my work or not."

They were both quiet for a while before he spoke.

"Well… I certainly chose the right scribe."

She couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes, you did, I am a good scribe."

"No doubt." He paused and touched her hair. She was just about to ask him what he was doing when he leaned closer and kissed her. It took a moment before she managed to react.

"My lord, this is not a good idea."

"Why not?" he hummed and touched her neck with his lips. The soft touch made her shiver, she couldn't help it. "Do you find me unattractive?"

"No, but I do not wish to make things complicated."

"Tell me to stop then," he whispered seductively and touched the sensitive spot under her ear with his tongue. Something about his touch made her think about Elijah, as wrong as that felt. It had been a long while since she had been touched like this. Elijah hadn't wanted her in his bed after meeting Katerina Petrova and the night she had spent with Klaus hadn't been pleasant.

He hadn't been too rough or anything like that and he had made her body to react to his touch, but her mind hadn't been there. She had felt like a cheap prostitute and the fact that he had forced her to feel pleasure had made it even worse. He had probably wanted to prove to himself how much she wanted him.

Sure he was a skillful lover and he hadn't thought about only his own pleasure, but she didn't think that she needed to be grateful for that. It hadn't really been her he had wanted; he had simply been obsessed with having something that had been denied from him. Dafne didn't think that Lucien really wanted her either, but she didn't think that he would force himself on her.

He would stop if she would ask him to. She should ask him to stop, but the truth was that she didn't really want to. He could offer her something she wanted right now, why would she deny that from herself? Just sex, nothing more. He could use her and she could use him.

"Just this night," she murmured.

"What?"

She pulled away and cupped his face, although she could barely see him in the dark.

"As I said, I do not want to make things complicated. Just this one night, nothing more."

"Alright."

"Good. "

He immediately wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and pressing his body against her. She curled her fingers around the hair at the back of his head as he kissed her again, this time more deeply. It felt nice; he really knew how to use his tongue. She moaned in contentment as his tongue stroked hers. Her reaction made him to press himself tightly against her.

"You are beautiful," he breathed as his fingers came up and brushed her hair out of her face and neck. "Beautiful," he repeated low in her ear, his hand sliding up and cupping the other side of her neck. She closed her eyes as he began kissing her neck, working the skin with his lips and teeth. She had to admit that he was even better at this than she had expected, he got her on her back with him hovering over her in the span of only few breaths.

He kept his mouth on her neck as his hands started to wander, carefully exploring her body. Finally his hand slid up and cupped her breast through her dress. She let out a gasp, her fingernail dug through his shirt, into his skin and she felt him smile against her neck.

"Beautiful and feisty…"

His head was slowly moving down, towards his hand. She was breathing faster and a part of her thought that she could still stop this. Why would she? Why couldn't she do this if she wanted to? Just one night when she didn't have to think. She could just feel. Forgot everything else. He licked the dip of her collarbone, making her gasp again.

His hand was lifting the hem of her dress and he managed to undress her before she had time to even realize what he was doing. It was so dark that she couldn't really see anything anymore; she only felt his thumb working her nipple when his lips covered the other one. He really was good with his mouth; her body was eagerly reacting to his touch and she felt herself getting wet.

"That's it, darling, let go," he hummed, clearly satisfied with himself. Men and their egos… Her fingers were clenching into his shoulders as he returned his head to her breasts, switching sides until she was whimpering with pleasure. She barely felt him pulling her knickers down and parting her legs with his knee. What she did feel was his arousal against her thigh.

His size brought her back to reality and she was just about to ask him to go easy on her when his mouth suddenly covered her most private part. She cried out with surprise and arched her back. His hands pinned her hips back down and stroked her calmingly while spreading her legs wider. Once again she learned how good he was with his mouth, he made her squirm and moan with pleasure.

As she finally climaxed, she felt tears filling her eyes. Yet she didn't cry, not before satisfying Lucien's needs. He had most certainly earned at least that much. When she finally lied there in his arms and felt him sleeping, she cried. It felt purifying. She felt that she could finally say goodbye to Elijah.