Chapter 10:
When I turned around, Damon was standing outside of the shower cubicle with his hands resting on his hips. His towel was, again, in place, and the delicious contours of his chest were dripping with droplets of water. His usually dark hair was now two shades darker due to the wetness and it was dripping down the side of his face.
I wanted to touch him. To feel his supple skin beneath my venturing fingers. I wanted to feel him, all of him. I wanted him to want me. And, most of all, I wanted him.
I took a step towards him.
He mirrored my actions, his bare feet dipping into the puddle he'd made on the tiled floor.
"Were you thinking of joining me?" He purred, raising his eyebrows suggestively and pointing his thumb over his shoulder towards the shower. A flimsy piece of white cloth was all that had separated us before. "Because I'm all for showering again, if that's what you want. It doesn't hurt to be doubly clean and, besides, everybody knows that it will conserve water and help the environment and all…"
"Jerk," I muttered under my breath, but I closed my eyes and shuck my head despite myself. For what it was worth, I wanted to accept his invitation, but I couldn't. I shouldn't. I blinked open my eyes and my mouth fell open at the sight of the glorious adonis before me. "A tempting offer, but I'm gonna have to pass."
He cocked his head to one side and leisurely made his way towards me. A clump of black hair clung to his temple. I straightened my posture and clenched my jaw, fighting the inevitable. The dripping head of the shower matched the tempo of his languid footfalls, and my heartbeat sped up as he neared.
"Stop fighting it, Elena." He said in a hoarse whisper. His fingers tentatively reached out to brush the side of my cheek and my eyes fluttered closed at contact.
I shook my head and opened my mouth to speak, but all that came out was a shaky gasp as his lips found there way to my neck, nipping softly at my jugular. It felt as if his lips were making indentations in my heated skin. I was melting into him.
"Please," I begged, shivering despite the sweaty warmth of the changing rooms, "don't do this, Damon." But as I said it, I tipped my head to one side, giving him a better access to my neck and contradicting my words.
I groaned as he sunk his teeth into my shoulder blade, biting harder at the bundle of nerves there. The texture of his warm lips was sublime on my skin. It felt so odd, yet so erotic to have someones lips trailing my body. Not just anybody, but Damon. He chuckled at my response and looked up at me, his eyes alight. He stood up straight, so the tip of his nose brushed along mine and I shook my head for what felt like the zillionth time. "That's what I thought."
He lowered his head to my neck again and trailed a hot string of nips along my collar bone before sucking gently at the spot there, marking me. I didn't care. At that precise moment I didn't care of the repercussions of our actions or what good could come from this because as he sunk to his knees, his towel barely there, and swept his tongue along the hem of my shorts, I just about died. He sucked at my navel and I was revived again, his hands gripping my hips tightly. My sport crop top provided the perfect access to my skin. Every touch of his feather-light lips brought him closer to my sex and I was a panting, groaning mess.
"This is wrong, Damon. You know it is." I managed to say, trying to push his head away from between my lycra-short clad legs.
But it feels so right!
I don't know what it was, but the thought of Damon on his knees was making it hard for me to tell him to stop.
I pushed at his head, deciding that if he didn't stop now then I wouldn't tell him to stop again. Please don't stop…
He tore his lips from the waistband of my lycra shorts and looked up at me with pleading eyes. He wanted to do this.
"Please stop…" Don't…
Damon simultaneously sighed, minutely shook his head and closed his eyes, when he reopened them, his eyes were doe-like and pleading. It broke my heart. "You know, you're so very confusing."
"It's my middle name." I breathed, my chest heaving. He rose back to his feet and rewrapped the loose towel around his hips.
"I'll give you three seconds." He spoke with pursed lips.
"Excuse me?"
"To leave."
"To…-wait, what?"
"I will give you three seconds to leave, if you're not gone by the time the seconds are up, I'm not going to stop." He smirked knowingly, as if he knew that I would never pass up an opportunity with the Damon Salvatore, as cocky as ever.
He held up three fingers to indicate that he was going to begin the countdown, removing himself slightly from my personal space, "Three…"
I took a deep breath through my nose, willing myself to make my decision. And quick.
"Two…" He continued, waggling his two fingers to flaunt that my time was running out.
Tediously awaiting the ending of his countdown, I thought about what a smart girl would do. She'd walk away without a care in the world, or at least pretend to. She'd play hard to get, allow Damon to fall at her feet as she pranced around his feeble attempts at seducing her. Much the way he'd been on his knees before me…
Damon was a player. He played every girl he desired and, right now, I was his designated victim. If I let him have his way with me, he'd forget about me almost immediately and move on to one of his more desirable girls. I had to decide before-
He leaned towards me, whispering enticingly in my ear, "One…"
His hands fell to my hips again and his thumb delved beneath the material of my shorts, edging towards my sex.
Allowing his hand to slip out of the front of my shorts, I walked forwards toward the bench where I'd discarded my clothes earlier and picked them up, my shoulder colliding with Damon's on my way. He swayed unsteadily on his feet for a second before regaining himself.
As I made my way to the door, his voice interrupted my internal musings, "Is that it? You're just gonna give up like that?" He clicked his thumb and forefinger together.
With my back still to him, I replied with my head held high, "I'm not going to ruin my mum and Giuseppe's relationship for a sleazy one night stand."
"Who said it would be a one night stand?" I could hear the anger in his voice.
"You said it yourself, Damon, you were the one who offered to be my fuck buddy. I'm not like that and I refuse to throw away what they've got because of my feelings for you."
"So you admit it then?" He sounded smug with himself and I was immediately frustrated.
I turned around to face him, throwing my hands up in exasperation, "Yes, Damon, I'm attracted to you. Why do you even have to hear me say it?"
He took a long stride towards me and, suddenly, he was in front of me, his hand caressing the length of my jaw. "Because when you're miserable and lonely and watching them flirt, I want you to think of me and how things could have been different, better. I've never had to deny myself anything, Elena, and I'm not going to start now."
"Well, maybe you should get your head out of your ass and stop being so selfish!" I retaliated, jerking my head away from him and batting his hand away from my face. "Your father and my mum like each other and, unlike you, I don't like denying my mother her shot at happiness. Us being together on an intimate level is only going to sabotage that."
"I'm willing to sacrifice that." His voice was gravelly and croaky; sexy.
"Well, I'm not." I turned away from him again and placed my hand on the door handle.
"You do realise that your three seconds was up about five minutes ago, right? Why are you still here, Elena?" He spoke teasingly, trying to rile me up.
"I'm just about to leave."
"Go on, then. Go." He urged me, "Leave. But just know that I will get what I want, whether it's now or next month. Hell, maybe even next year, but I will have you."
I panicked and then the door was clicking shut behind me and, after stuffing my clothes in my locker, Damon's face through the gap in the door plagued my mind as I jogged home.
"How was school?" Mum inquired, taking a small sip of her water.
I chose to ignore her and continued to swirl the contents of my meal around with my fork. I wasn't in the mood to eat.
Jeremy cleared his throat from across the table and when I looked up he offered me a small smile, "I met a girl. Well, I haven't technically spoken to her yet, but I intend to. She doesn't talk very much and she just keeps her head bowed during our english class."
"That's sweet, honey." Mum said through a mouthful of food. She smiled at him in encouragement and then her eager eyes settled on me.
"How about you, Elena. Anything exciting going on in your life?" She badgered me, raising her eyebrows as she chomped on her stem of broccoli when I didn't reply immediately.
"No," I plastered a smile on my face, but I could feel it faltering, "nothing to report, at all."
"Alright, then, you're dismissed," She sighed, waving her fork in my direction, "Go and get changed for work, I'll drop you off."
"That's okay, mum. Caroline's working tonight and she's picking me up." I climbed from my seat with my full plate in hand. After disposing of it in the kitchen, I bounded up the stairs to my bedroom to get ready. Caroline would be here soon and I didn't want her getting into trouble because of my tardiness.
"You ready?" Caroline panted fifteen minutes later. She was standing on the threshold of my bedroom with her jingling car keys twirling around her finger.
I nodded my head and hastily fastened my hair into a messy ponytail. "Yeah, I'm ready."
Caroline shot me a sceptic look as I grabbed my bag and raced passed her down the stairs. I couldn't ignore the underlying implication in my voice, that I was ready to see Damon. But I wasn't ready. I was far from ready. I didn't know what I'd do if I inexorably saw him.
The ride to Mystic Grill was fuelled with Caroline babbling characteristically about this upcoming football game that she wanted me to attend. I knew Caroline was a cheerleader, but it just seemed so cliche and not-me that I found myself blocking her out. I didn't really have to contribute much to the conversation with Caroline anyway.
"So, what do you think?" Caroline smiled expectantly at me, cutting the engine.
Uh-oh, I hadn't heard a word she's said.
"Sounds great." I propped my leg up underneath my other in the carseat. We didn't have to be in for another five minutes.
"Perfect!" She trilled, pocketing her keys and leaning into the rearview mirror to puff her hair and apply a light coating of lipgloss, "Meet me at 3pm on Wednesday after school in the girls changing rooms. You can help me get ready and get my cheerleading uniform on."
"Cheerleading uniform on?" I echoed, dumbfounded. I sounded like a broken record.
"Yeah, for the game? Mystic vs. Augustine High? Well, there's this boy, Enzo, who plays for Augustine and he's a complete dick. Everybody knows he's only on the team because his Uncle Tripp runs the goddamn thing. We're so gonna thrash them." She droned on, animatedly angry.
"And you want me to go?"
"Gosh, keep up, Elena!" She clicked her fingers in a triangular motion in my face.
"Sorry, I guess I'm just distracted." I muttered lamely, casting my eyes to my fingers as I fiddled with them in my lap.
She heaved a sigh, "Let me guess. This has something to do with Damon."
"Is it that obvious?"
"No, but you two have been hanging out a lot more recently." She shrugged her shoulders infinitesimally.
"I wouldn't exactly call it 'hanging out'."
Her eyes shot to the digital clock on her dashboard before mumbling an expletive under her breath and climbing out of the car unceremoniously.
I followed her lead and slowly unfurled my legs and heaved myself out the car, fishing my handbag out from the floor. I thought of earlier and how Damon had been on his knees, kissing and nipping, biting and licking my heated skin. I thought of how he'd implied that it wouldn't be a one night stand, that he'd said that he'd eventually have me.
I numbly reached out and swiped my keycard across the green 'IN' censor at the back of Mystic Grill and waited for Caroline to sign in, too. She guided me to the employee break room around the corridor, where we disposed of our bags and coats and I fixed my identifier to my t-shirt.
As soon as Matt, Caroline's ex, appeared, she left and dragged me with her. "Have fun waiting tables." She sneered, fetching a red, plastic box filled with cleaning liquids, sponges and clothes from a cupboard at the back of the room. She balanced a mop against the wall besides it for later use and grabbed a pair of yellow gloves from the red box.
"Have fun cleaning tables." I guffawed back as she pinched the ends of her fluorescent yellow gloves to accommodate her fingers. They squelched at the movement and they made her look like the female version of Superman. I could just imagine Caroline with the blue and red costume on, her hands on her hips and her hair billowing in the fan-generated wind on a movie set somewhere. I chuckled at the absurd imagery and grabbed a notepad and pen and stuffed them into my jean pocket.
"Right," She sighed, shimmying the gloves further down her pale wrists, "we better get going."
I nodded my head and with a reluctant farewell we parted ways.
"What can I get you?" I smiled sweetly at the family I was serving. The little girl was overbearingly picky and was finding it hard making a decision. The kid's menu she held in her tiny hands was breaking at the seams and chaffing at the corners.
This was my fourth table of the night, since the bar was reasonably empty, so I wasn't in much of a rush.
"A mozzarella pizza!" She said in a sing-song voice, making it sound like 'mozella', "No, a… uh… chickin crury."
"Hope, do you remember what happened last time?" Her mother chastised her. She had a thick Australian accent that suited her tanned skin and mousey brown hair, "You had curry with your Daddy and you didn't eat a morsel of it. It's much too hot for you."
"I want Daddy." The girl whined, folding her arms wholly around her chest. Her pouted lips and the crease in her forehead was adorable.
"Well, Daddy's busy with Uncle Damon, you'll see him later on."
I froze at her words. Damon? Did she just say Uncle Damon?
"Can we see Uncle Damn, as well?" Hope pleaded.
"We'll see."
"I'm sorry if I sound intrusive or nosy, but I couldn't help overhear that you mentioned Damon. As in the owners son, Damon Salvatore?" I inquired feebly.
Instead of scowling like I'd imagined her to, the young woman smiled easily at me, "That would be him. May I ask whose asking?"
"Elena," I replied immediately, "How do you know him, if you don't mind me asking?"
"He's Hope's Godfather," She gestured to the kid across from her.
"Right," I shook my head and plastered another smile onto my face, "I'm sorry, what can I get you?"
Hayley, the woman, ended up allowing Hope to get the curry, although she was thoroughly dismayed and when the meal arrived she raised her eyebrows as the little girl shovelled a forkful into her mouth, opened it and breathed a heavy sigh, fanned her little hand over her mouth and then just about chugged down half of her blackcurrant fruit-shoot.
"Told you so." Hayley sighed, shaking her head in frustration as Hope pushed her plate away from her.
"You won't get any ice-cream if you don't eat up, baby."
"But I need ice-cweam, mummy, my mouth is on fire!"
Mum! Was Hayley her mum? In my opinion, she looked much too young to be a mother, probably around my age. But I wasn't one to judge, not with mine and Damon's predicament.
"At least eat your pita bread." She pleaded. I could see the desperation in her eyes.
Returning a few minutes later with their refilled drinks, I placed them on a mat on their table and smiled at the sight of Hope nibbling on the edges of her pita bread. Hayley looked pleased, too.
She balanced the phone she was speaking into on her shoulder and leaned over the table to wipe the corners of Hope's mouth with a napkin.
"Alright, hurry up please, I need to put Hope down for the night." Hayley was saying into the receiver, to which Hope was shaking her head defiantly. "Sure, tomorrow, yeah. See you soon."
She placed the phone back into her bag and pulled it over her shoulder, "Can I have the bill, please?"
"Coming right up." I grinned and dashed away with their plates stacked in one hand and their empty glasses in the other.
They were seated at a booth near the door and so when I turned around with their plates in my hand and someone swung the heavy metal door into me, the dishes were knocked out of my hands and splattered all over the floor, splurges marring the man's shirt.
"I am so sorry!" I was saying, fussing about the man with the piled plates at my feet. I'd someone retained the ability to keep the cups in my hands.
"It's fine, not something a little washing-up liquid can't fix." I couldn't mistake that heavy British accent anywhere. I distinctly remembered him speaking in the changing rooms earlier, saying that he'd meet Damon somewhere; Klaus Mikaelson.
"Daddy!"
I turned around to Hope who was climbing down from her seat and just about to stand in the smashed plates. I quickly scooped her up in to my arms and deposited her over the other side of the broken shards of glass.
"Thank you." Klaus smiled easily at me and, after rolling the sleeves of his grey long sleeved t-shirt up, he scooped little Hope into his arms and grinned when she planted a sloppy grin on his cheek.
He kissed her fully on the lips, "Is that curry I taste?" He chuckled, licking his lips before kissing her cheek, then her forehead, each of her eyelids, her button nose and then on her lips again, whilst she continuously squirmed and giggled in his arms.
Holy shit!
Klaus was Hope's dad.
A/N- Dun, dun, DUN! I am completely gobsmacked with the amount of reviews I received last chapter -14 in total! Thats a new record for me in one chapter, so thank you so much! In reparation for your kindness and amazingness, I bestow you each a lingering kiss on the lips from Damon! You decide which lips ;)
