A/N Alright we're getting down to the home stretch…this one is a bit long and I hope that I did okay… let me know what you think. I don't normally write fight scenes so I'm hoping I did it justice. Let me know because I have to admit I was a bit nervous. Enjoy! And remember reviews are like kisses from Damon! ;)
Elements of an Ill-Fated Romance
Chapter Eleven: Salvation
Playlist: Prelude 12/21 by: AFI, Amazing Grace by: Judy Collins & Breathe Me by: Sia
~It is in our Darkest Hour that true Salvation appears at its Brightest~ By: Me!
He groaned as he felt his body being pulled, hauled across the frigid ground. His arms felt as if they were being yanked from their sockets as he was lifted, hoisted up against his will. His arms raised above his head, wrists tied together, the rope cut into his flesh. His vision blurred as he tried to focus on the faces that floated in and out of his sight; indistinguishable hushed voices echoed inside his head. He blinked once, twice… his head lolled from one side to the other as he took in his surroundings. They were inside… a dilapidated building… wooden beams above his head, cracked under his body weight as he hung precariously from his bindings. Broken jagged shards of stained glass that once made up windows decorated the walls. Oil lamps barely lit up the room and created an eerie glow around the room. Rows of stone-made pews lined the space in front of him and he realized that he was in a church. Somehow the location didn't offer comfort.
He could hear the sound of voices off to the side. Hushed heated tones that filled the cavernous space and bounced off the walls and reverberated in his ears. Two shadowy figures stood off to the side. He cocked his head slightly but he could only make out their silhouettes in the candlelight.
"You told me you had the witch!" The voice was lower than Trevor's, more masculine and impatient.
"She will be here, Elijah." Trevor insisted. "As long as we have him she can't be too far behind. And then she can lead you to the Moonstone."
"You better hope so… for your sake." The warning in his words were clear.
There was a slight hesitation before Trevor spoke again. "Perhaps…perhaps this will please Klaus… gain me his favor?" He asked.
There was a pause, and Damon strained to hear what was happening and then suddenly there was someone right in front of him. The cool air that only another vampire could emit was hitting his face. "Seems our visitor has awakened; Damon Salvatore… I've heard so many things about you." Elijah stared him down, giving him a slight smirk. He was dressed in a neat and crisp dark brown suit with a matching tie and white collared shirt.
Damon exhaled a ragged breath. "That's funny… because I haven't heard shit about you."
Elijah gave him a smile that never reached his light brown eyes. Tilting his head slightly a few brown tendrils of his hair fell across his forehead. He made no move to push them away. "I'm not surprised… I like to keep a low profile… unlike you. It seems you've been really busy…" He remarked looking over Damon's face as he clasped his hands in front of him. "You look thirsty; would you like something to drink?" He offered with such an air of decorum that it sent chills up Damon's spine. "Trevor…get our guest something to drink." He ordered never looking away from his captive.
He could feel the power radiating off of him. "Who the fuck are you and what the hell do you want with Bonnie?" He choked out.
He smiled, pearly straight white teeth that gleamed in the candlelight. "Now that's interesting… I would have bet my life on you asking about Katarina first… wondering where she is… how I got that ring." He chuckled darkly as he pulled the small object from Damon's pocket. He fingered it between his thumb and index finger, the metallic black coloring shined amidst the flickering flames. "She gave it to Trevor… a bargaining chip for her life and he was foolish enough to let her go. But then again… Katarina was always good with her mouth." The innuendo in his words was evident.
"We've been chasing Katarina for quite a while…"
"We?" Damon interrupted.
"Yes, we. You can just call us the Originals..." He remarked before continuing. "You see she took something that didn't belong to her. A Moonstone… Something that she never quite understood the power of… and I want it back… we want it back." He explained patiently even as his eyes stared at the ring. "When Trevor found her… she told him that she no longer had the Moonstone. That she bartered it over a century ago, for her pathetic freedom."
"I don't understand."
"You see I've been looking for it… over a hundred years of searching for something of extreme importance to me that, that bitch just handed over to someone else because she was too ignorant to know what it could do. But not before having that lackey of hers, Emily Bennett place a locating spell on it." He exhaled deeply. "Probably the only clever thing she has ever done." He smiled as he placed a finger to his lips giving the impression of being in deep thought. "Now only another Bennett Witch can locate it … which is where you come in… she said that you could help get us a Bennett to retrieve what she so carelessly gave away!" His tone was light but the harsh gleam in his eyes stated that he meant business. "She told Trevor all about your little stake-outs… how you've been growing closer to Miss Bonnie Bennett…" He smirked and arched an eyebrow seeing the confusion in Damon's eyes. "Does it surprise you…to know that the woman you loved sold you out? Was so willing to trade your life for her own?" He taunted and took a step closer, crowding Damon's space. "I bet you thought she really loved you." He shook his head with mock sympathy. "I almost feel sorry for you." He whispered.
"Fuck off!" He replied through gritted teeth. "If I'm so pathetic how is it that you allowed Katherine to beat you at your own game? You had her and she still got away. I'm not… the pathetic one you sick son-of-a-bitch! And there's no way in hell that Bonnie will help you!"
"She did say that you were obstinate… stubborn… strong-willed…" He listed off as he casually unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and rolled them up. "You're like a horse I used to have… but you see the thing about horses… every one of them has a breaking point…" He remarked before grabbing Damon's chin roughly in his hand. Squeezing with enough force to crack his jaw he locked eyes with him. "Let's see what yours is!" He stated before he dug his fingernails into Damon's side and closed his eyes when he heard him scream. "Music to my ears." He hummed as he went to work…
Meanwhile…
It took them almost twenty minutes to get back to the Salvatore Boardinghouse and another five to lay out everything she would need. She stood over the map of Mystical Falls, her hands slightly shaking with fear and anxious anticipation. She flipped through the pages of the Grimoire stopping when she came to the spell. She exhaled deeply.
"So how does this work again?" Elena asked pushing her hair behind her ears as she looked down at the long silver dagger that sat on the desk beside the map. The worry in her eyes spoke volumes. Stefan reached out, and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"It's a Scribing spell… I can use some of Stefan's blood to find Damon. It should be really easy to do." She replied pulling the small necklace from around her neck letting it dangle on the very edges of her fingertips as it hovered above the map. The spell required something of hers and something of the person they were looking for and blood of a relative.
"I'm still confused. Why can't we just go to the border and look for him." Jeremy piped in as he stood to the left of Bonnie, Damon's leather jacket thrown over his crossed arms.
"Because the Border of Mytsic Falls runs for miles… that could take over an hour to search even with Stefan's speed… this way is quicker… more accurate."
"And you're sure about this?" Elena asked staring into her friend's eyes.
"It will be okay." Stefan whispered placing a chaste kiss to Elena's temple even as his eyes locked with Bonnie's silently asking her if she were up for this.
She swallowed hard and gave a slight nod. The truth was, she had no idea how complicated or easy this spell was. She had never done it. But what she did know was that there was something innately wrong… there was a weight in the pit of her stomach… and an ache in her side that wouldn't go away and somehow she knew that it had to do with Damon. He was in trouble…she was as sure of it as she was of breathing… he needed help… he needed her.
She picked up the dagger as Stefan offered his hand to her. His palm turned up she locked eyes with him and gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry." She whispered right before she pierced his flesh with the pointed end.
Dark ruby liquid surged from the center of his hand. He turned it over quickly allowing a couple of drops to fall onto the map below. By the time he pulled back the wound had healed as though it had never been there in the first place.
"Now what?" Elena asked.
"Here goes nothing." Bonnie remarked. Raising the necklace with her fingertips, above the map allowing it to sway back and forth she closed her eyes and began to chant.
It only took a moment before the air in the room changed, all of the heat dissipating in a matter of seconds. Elena shivered and stepped closer to Stefan as she watched her best friend lose herself inside the spell.
Her dark brown tresses lifted themselves from her shoulders, her skin beginning to glow as if lit by some invisible flame, and her lips moved rapidly; her words no longer distinguishable to anyone other than herself.
They watched mesmerized and in slight fear as an energy emerged, surrounded and enveloped her. The lights flickered steadily until they went out completely. The silver chain now circling steadily and gaining speed as she continued.
"Look at the map." Jeremy's voice was soft filled with quiet disbelief.
Stefan's blood has begun to move… the drops converging together and making their way across the flat terrain as though it had a mind of its own… moving towards the east border…
Unfortunately there was no time to celebrate as Stefan took notice of Bonnie. Her body had begun to shake, and unless his eyes were playing tricks on him he would swear that he could almost see right through her…
"Bonnie… Bonnie you can stop now." Elena called out to her. Stepping away from her boyfriend she reached out but her hand went right through her… almost as if… as if she weren't all there. "Bonnie!" She reached out again, this time without hesitation, her hand desperately trying to grasp at material that wasn't there… and then all at once everything stopped, the lights flickered once… twice and then lit up the darkened room. Everything seemed to be in order, as the space began to fill with warmth from the roaring fireplace but still no one moved. All eyes stared at the space where Bonnie should have been now vacant…
She was gone… vanished into thin air.
Meanwhile…
There was wind… so much wind, rushing over her skin, through her entire body, pressing into her from all sides. So much wind but no air… her lungs struggled to breathe, tried and failed to suck in oxygen that wasn't there. Only the steady gust of wind drowning out all sound as it pushed against her, jostled her petite body as if she were caught in the midst of a raging tornado.
For a moment she thought she heard Elena, calling her name but then nothing… no one. Her chest burned with an almost unbearable need and there were tears that dried even before they hit her cheeks. She was going to die…she was going to die…
That's all she could think even as her lips moved without her consent. Her body knew what to do even if her mind had shut down. Her hands still clutched around her necklace she felt the metal against her flesh burning against her skin. And then it all stopped and she hit the ground hard. The force knocking the breath from her lungs as her knees and shoulder collided painfully with the floor…she inhaled sharply as her heart slammed inside her chest and her eyes caught sight of small bursts of light amidst a black landscape… it took her a moment to realize they were stars… stars up above… stars in the night sky.
'Where the hell was she?'
Meanwhile only moments earlier…
There was blood coming from everywhere… his blood. There were trails of it as it flowed over his cheeks, trickling down his nose and into his mouth; seeping from small bullet holes in his chest that refused to heal, coating his shirt, and pants as it created a puddle beneath his dangling feet. Somewhere in the back of his mind he told himself that he would be rescued…that someone was coming for him… but as he cracked an eye open, the other too swollen to see through and watched Elijah give him a dark smile. The thought that he might die tonight finally hit him.
"It's too bad…you might have been useful to me…" He stated before reaching out and removing the Daywalker ring from Damon's broken finger. "I don't think you'll be needing this anymore." He remarked taking a step back even as he admired the jewelry in his hand with mild interest. He shrugged as he tossed it to Trevor. "Payment for a job well done." He remarked lazily not seeing the greedy way in which Trevor clutched the ring to his chest as he slipped it onto his finger.
"Thank-you Elijah…thank you." He muttered.
"I wouldn't thank him just…yet." He coughed…spit blood to the floor and looked up. "That belongs to me… and I plan to get it back. I'll pry it from your cold dead fingers after I run a stake through your heart."
"Still cocky…even now." Elijah mocked. "I thought we got rid of that with the wooden bullets." He smiled but it was short lived as a sudden wind rushed through the church sucking the light from the room and cloaking them in darkness. There was the sound of something hitting the floor, a sharp intake of breath and then suddenly all at once every candle came to life bathing them in orange and red flames of firelight.
And there kneeling right in front of the first pew was Bonnie. Her breath ragged, a steady flow of blood from her nose she looked up at her surroundings.
"Bonnie…" His voice rasped, clogged to the hilt with his own blood. He thought he was dreaming… that his mind had finally broke and he was seeing things…seeing her. But then she looked at him, emerald green eyes that couldn't belong to anyone else and he knew she was there… "Get out of here." He warned. He would not be the reason she got herself killed.
She looked up at him, wiping her nose with the back of her hand she took in his battered form. "Oh my God… Damon." She whispered. Her whole body felt heavy as she tried to stand and stumbled over her own feet as she tried to get to him. Her palms braced themselves in front of her to keep her face from hitting the ground. She was so weak… almost completely drained. The spell… the spell hadn't worked like it was supposed to. It was too much… too much...
"I told you… I told you she would come Elijah." One of them said.
Her eyes snapped up, and the weight of fear that was in the pit of her stomach unfurled and spread through her entire body as she locked eyes with the silent man standing a few feet away from her… his light brown eyes followed her jagged movements but made no attempt to come at her.
Elijah didn't reply, instead his light brown eyes took her in, his expression unreadable. "You did a Transcendent Spell… and it didn't kill you…impressive." He remarked mainly to himself. His voice a mixture of awe and yet slight disappointment.
She smirked. "I aim to please." She snapped back with false bravado. "Elijah…is that what they call you?" She asked as she got to her feet. Her limbs were heavy, and her chest burned and there was a pounding at the base of her skull that made her feel like it was going to explode, but still she stood…Her fingers bent and flexed at her sides as she watched him with weary eyes.
"Some call me Elijah…others prefer Master." He smiled as if he were telling a private joke.
She shook her head trying to clear the dizziness that had replaced her vision. "How about son-of-a-bitch… I like son-of-a-bitch!" She remarked clutching her side where she had landed and began limping towards Damon.
"Even when you're weak… you push forward…" He watched as she limped towards her intended target, her breaths rasped against her throat and there was the scent of blood…her blood in the air. Potent, sweet… intoxicating; it filled the area around them, made his incisors itch. He wanted a taste… just a taste. "Are all Bennett's like you?" He asked as he countered ever step she made with one of his as though circling one another.
She tried to shrug but the move was disjointed and made her look awkward. "I don't know… and I don't care… neither should you." She winced as she hobbled towards Damon. She just had to get to him. "The only Bennett you should be concerned with… is me!" She exhaled. "Now I don't know what the hell you want and I don't give a damn… but Damon and I are leaving here… and God help the bastard that gets in my way." She warned.
Suddenly Elijah was standing in front of her putting an end to there semi-chase.
His hand clutched her throat decreasing her jagged air supply. His cool slender digits wrapped around her neck, as he applied just enough pressure to bruise the flesh as the tips of his sharpened fingernails dug into her skin. Looking down into green pupils he saw a mixture of emotions… passion, heat, anger… but above all he saw power…unparalleled, potent energy… it sizzled right beneath her surface.… a continuous building that sent delicious vibrations into his palm and made his whole body hum.
"So much power…" He stated as the back of his opposite hand trailed the side of her face. His eyes looking her over with something akin to admiration and reverence… "…but you're not ready… not yet… but you will be." He reached out and brushed dark tendrils from her cheek. Leaning in he inhaled her scent. "Oh the world will cower at your very feet… I can almost taste it." He hissed, his lips brushing the shell of her ear.
"Get away…from her." Damon ordered even as his head lolled back displaying the claw marks against his throat.
The sight caused a shift in the pit of her stomach…and made her chuckle darkly, even as Elijah held her in his grasp. Her fear from a moment ago dissipated as she took in Damon's bloodied form. They had tortured him… beat him…tried to break him. And suddenly she wasn't afraid… her fear transformed into something else… Something hot and powerful...
Her small body tightened… coiled with heat as she locked eyes with Elijah. With great effort she lifted her head. Thick brown locks of hair fell away from her cheeks and her green eyes flashed against the flames. "Last chance…" She whispered.
Elijah only stood there…waiting. "You're not strong enough to kill me… not now. That spell drained you." He remarked. The pressure of his fingernails cutting into her flesh; the sight of her blood made his pupils darken. Blue black veins appeared at the corner of his eyes and his incisors emerged. "Just a taste…" He licked his lips as he moved forward.
"I don't have to kill you… I just need to get you out of the way…" She replied. He pulled back just in time to see several flames from the lit torches fly at his body and set him on fire as his body was yanked back as though being pulled by some invisible force. The last bit of her energy drove him through the wooden doors and out of the church slamming them shut with such force that it rattled the entire church. Her eyes cut to Trevor who stood stationary by the far wall. She arched an eyebrow and all at once the entire building went up in flames. "Do you really want to take me on?" She asked and watched as he dove head first out of the broken window.
She gave a small grateful smile that he didn't call her bluff. Her body fell against the crumbling alter; all her energy gone. She stayed there for a moment taking in the scene. Orange and red flames licked at the walls climbing to the ceiling. The fire no longer under her control blazed with wild abandon. Reaching up she wiped at her nose. The blood flowed steadily; dripping onto her upper lip. She turned just in time to see the ropes that were bound around Damon's wrist give way and his body dropped to the floor. A cloud of dust erupted in the midst of his fall and when it cleared there he lay… buried beneath thick wooden beams that trapped his legs.
She crawled her way to him and placed his head in her lap. With her sleeve she wiped the blood from his face, his nose looked broken, and one of his eyes was completely swollen shut. His bottom lip was split, his face bruised around the chin and cheeks… he was a mess. And she would swear till the day she died that he never looked more beautiful to her… because he was alive…
He opened his good eye and stared. "Bonnie…"His hand reached up, his fingertips just barely brushing her wet cheek.
"I've got you… Damon I've got you." She cried as her heart fluttered inside her chest.
"You… found me." His words were broken and disjointed but were like music to her ears.
Staring down into his face she smoothed the dark locks away from his forehead. "I'll always find you." She whispered… "Every time… anywhere…" She promised.
"Perhaps I… should start calling you… Ball-Buster Bonnie." He mused with a slight smirk that made his already cracked lips bleed.
She laughed out loud even as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I should bust your balls for coming here without me." She stated. "You could have died…" She stated and there was no mistaking the worry in her voice.
"Oh come on… don't… don't pull a Stefan and… ruin the moment." He sighed heavily.
She gave him a teary smile. Leaning down to place a chaste kiss on his forehead she stopped short when she heard the cracking of wood from above. Looking up she noticed the fire had grown…traveled up the walls to the ceiling and had begun to eat away at the roof… the wooden planks that braced the building groaned and began to buckle. Lit embers fell from the warped roof coming dangerously close to her face and she realized that the whole building was about to cave in.
"Alright… we have to get you out of here." She stated, moving away to his legs trapped beneath the long wooden beams. With all the effort she had she pushed against the debris but they didn't budge. Exhaling deeply she wiped away the sweat from her forehead before trying again. There a slight hesitant creaking but then nothing. "It's…it's too heavy." She stated looking around for some kind of help.
Grabbing a stray piece of fallen wood she attempted to use it as leverage to pry the planks from Damon's trapped legs, cursing beneath her breath when it snapped under the pressure.
"I heard that…" Damon remarked. His voice teasing even as he exhaled deeply. "Potty-mouth…" He joked.
Pushing her hair behind her ears she felt her heart beat accelerate ever so slightly as she tried to stay calm. Closing her eyes she tried to focus on the flames… attempted to make the fire yield to her command… but nothing… nothing was happening. She didn't have the energy…she wasn't strong enough…
He was trapped…
She couldn't move the stupid planks and the building was burning down…
He was trapped…and she couldn't save him…she couldn't save him…
The thought kept bouncing around in her head making it hard to think of anything else. She felt like screaming… she felt like breaking something.
She couldn't save him… she had come so far and still it wasn't enough… she wasn't strong enough…
His voice broke through her silent panic.
Crouching down beside him she looked down into his face. "You're going to have to… to leave me here."
"What?"
"Look there's…there's no point in both of us… dying here today." He coughed violently and she watched as a fresh coat of blood darkened his already stained shirt. "Don't pull a Stefan and… martyr yourself… over me." He groaned as he tried sit up. "We both know…I'm not… I'm not worth it."
"You have no idea… what you're worth to me." She remarked softly.
"Bonnie… don't…" He warned her. He didn't want her loyalty… didn't want her endless devotion… he didn't want it because he didn't deserve it… he didn't want to be another 'Elena' in her life. Always willing to take but never able to reciprocate. They didn't have that kind of relationship…
She shook her head. "Shut-up!" She stated softly. "I'm not leaving you here to die… I'm not."
"Don't be stupid!" His voice was forceful… "I said get out of here!" He tried to push her away but his body only managed to sag against her.
"I'll be…whatever I want to be." She snapped back rubbing the side of her neck. She pulled back and caught sight of her bloodstained fingertips. And the thought hit her… hit her all at once and almost knocked her over. "You can drink from me…" She mumbled softly.
"What?" He asked as though he heard her wrong.
She swallowed hard. "You… you can get your strength back and move these beams." Her voice filled with excitement as it all seemed to make sense. Why hadn't she thought of it before?
"No… no…"
"Listen… I'm not strong enough to move them… not with my body or with magic... and you've lost a lot of blood…but if you take some of mine… you'll be strong enough to move them." She stated.
He shook his head from side to side. "I said no! We can think of something else."
"There is nothing else!" She practically yelled. "This is the only option!"
"I'm not doing it!" He snapped angrily.
"Why not?" She asked hotly. "This could save your life… our lives!"
"Because!" He shouted and there was a desperateness in his tone that she couldn't help but hear. Looking down into his face she locked eyes with him.
"Why… not?" She asked seriously.
"Because… I may not be strong enough… to stop." He confessed softly.
She sat back on her haunches as she saw the fear in his usually stony façade. He was afraid… afraid that he would hurt her… afraid that he wouldn't be able to control himself. "I've lost… a lot of blood Bonnie… and I can smell yours… it's like… a drug… I don't… I don't trust myself…" He whispered brokenly.
Reaching out she grabbed his hand, making sure to be gentle with his bruised fingers. "Well that's too bad… because I trust you."
And there was a moment of complete silence as they locked eyes. Each one reassessing the other and what this meant. How everything between them would change. She moved over him, bracing a knee on either side of his torso being sure not to put any weight on his injured chest. She pulled her hair to one side revealing the fresh wounds at her neck all the while they never broke eye contact. His hands came up and rested at her waist as she leaned over him.
He inhaled deeply catching more than just the scent of her blood. He could smell her… and she smelled of lavender and fresh cotton… of newly fallen rain and fire…she smelled of all the things good in this world… and she was offering him a taste… a taste of eternity… a taste of all the things that made up Bonnie Bennett.
He looked up and saw her eyes watching him. There was so much trust and faith that stared back at him and he knew that he would never deserve it… never be worthy of it.
"I trust you." She whispered once more before allowing her face to move to the side of his.
The warmness of her cheek brushing against his cool flesh as her neck came to rest right at his lips. He felt his fingertips tighten, digging slightly into her waist. He shouldn't do it… he wouldn't do it… he wouldn't drink… "Bonnie please…"
He had made up his mind until...
"Bite me." She whispered into his ear.
Just two words… two words that sounded so soft…so sensual…so fucking erotic that it made him growl deep in his throat. The hunger that came over him was a mixture of a primal need to feed and an even more primal need to possess her, consume her…make her his. He pressed his lips to her throat feeling the steady beat of her pulse against his mouth. A rhythmic tempo that reminded him of music. She was his music. She was his salvation… his Religion. His nose brushed against her skin with such intimacy that it left goosebumps across her flesh. He tried not to take pleasure as she inhaled sharply and leaned further into him.
"Damon…" Her voice was soft but there was a clear undertone telling him to speed it up.
And he knew that she was right…that they were under extreme time restraints… but that didn't stop him from wanting to savor this moment… to take his time and truly enjoy what she was offering… what she was so willingly giving to him…begging him to take…especially if he never got this chance again.
Her body was so responsive, so in tune with his that it just made him want her all the more...His tongue slipped over her flesh as he took his first taste. The salt from her skin mixed with the sweetness of her blood and he knew then that nothing would ever come close to this. He needed more…more of this…more of her…
Sharp incisors descended and traced the throbbing vein right beneath her skin. He chuckled darkly as he thought back…a conversation that seemed so long ago…words uttered amidst the rain. "Didn't I tell you that the next time I drank from you…it would be because you begged me to?" He murmured into the crook of her neck and felt the soft vibration of her laughter against his lips. It was just enough…just enough to push him over the edge as he sank his teeth as gently as he could into her.
She stiffened in his arms only for a moment with the initial pain but soon relaxed as he pulled her in. His lips pressed into her, creating a seal with his mouth as he drank her in. The world around them was on fire… going up in a blazing inferno and none of it mattered…absolutely nothing mattered but this moment…this moment with her. She was all he could see…all he could feel… Reaching up with one hand he tangled his fingers in her hair. Soft thick locks wrapped themselves in his palm as her blood flowed past his teeth and coated his pallet. She tasted of sugar and spice…of innocence and purity… she tasted of salvation.
She was his salvation…
His religion…
She was his.
He felt the wounds across his chest close up and heal, the scratches along his neck recede and vanish with each swallow. His opposite hand drifted to the small of her back and pulled her further into him the front of her body now flush against his. He could feel everything… the distinct outline of her breasts as they molded to him, the steady beat of her heart; every breath she took... They were so close… he had never been this close to a woman… not even to Katherine who he had loved with every fiber of his being…
This was so different… so much more…this was true intimacy…he had never experienced such intimacy. Didn't know that it existed… … a woman he's never even kissed…never really touched… they were sharing something so personal…so erotic…more erotic than anything he had ever known… more than just physical… it was emotional…damn near spiritual… he could feel everything…
Her fear…
Her insecurity…
Her passion…
Her devotion…
Her love...
It was like electricity…a lightening bolt that struck him to his very core and pulled him back; made him pry his lips from her throat with a violent force. He watched her head loll back as he cradled her limp body in his arms. Brushing her hair back from her face with gentle fingers he looked down into her closed eyes and sighed. "What have you given me?" He asked softly almost regretfully. He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Don't you die on me Bennett… don't you die on me." He whispered his lips brushing against her frontal lobe.
One thought kept running around in his head even as he kicked the beams from his legs and stood. Even as he maneuvered his way through the collapsing roof… even as he burst through the wooden doors out into the open night… only one thought reverberated inside his head… drowning out everything else…
She loved him…
Without reservation…
She loved him…
Without expectation…
Simply put…
She…loved…him!