Chapter Twenty Two

The Moment

Nobody understood what made Kassandra so special to Elijah. She didn't even understand why he was sticking around for so long. He was willing to slaughter an entire werewolf pack for her, forget about the life threatening situation he and his family were in when he was with her. Elijah reacted to threats against Kassandra's life like they affected him.

Elijah cared about her. He didn't know when he started to, but he did. He was allowed to think of her as a friend, that was allowed by Kassandra. But it was so much more than that. He didn't understand how he could be just friends with someone he had sex with on a regular basis.

It was more than friendly feelings he felt for Kassandra, and it was more than lust. It was something he couldn't quite explain, a feeling deep in his chest that really only came out in small moments- after sex when she would always press her face into his neck without even realizing she was, when she laughed, really laughed, and would toss her hair back and hold her sides as she shook uncontrollably. When she got drunk, really drunk, and would let something slip out about how lonely she really was.

Whenever Kassandra allowed herself to be vulnerable in front of him, he felt this protectiveness and this need to preserve that Kassandra, to protect her. Maybe it was because she was just another person in his life who needed him but would never admit it, that feeling existed. Maybe it was because she was the first person, outside of his siblings, he ever considered keeping around. Maybe Kassandra was special because Elijah relied on her, in a way, when he had never relied on anyone else.

Kassandra could tell Elijah was in a mood as soon as they stepped out of her apartment. She wasn't sure where he planned on taking them, but just followed him without any question. He wasn't in the type of mood where he'd enjoy their usual banter.

It wasn't until they walked out of her apartment building and Elijah hailed a cab that Kassandra finally asked him. "Where are we going exactly?" she asked as he opened the door of the yellow taxi for her.

"New Jersey," he answered, sliding in after her.

He gave the driver an address to a bar she had never been to, because it was Jersey. Since she had been a New Yorker for a century- give or take- she despised New Jersey like any good New Yorker would. Still, she didn't mention her loathing to Elijah.

"What's the plan?" she asked him, leaning an elbow against the window. "Why Jersey?"

"I was thinking about the fake name she gave us," he said almost distractedly, looking out the window of the cab. "And about how when you gave a fake name, it was your mother's. Maybe there's no connection, but I think it's worth a try to look into it."

"You think Lenore's sentimental enough to use her mother's name?" Kassandra asked cynically.

"You were."

Kassandra didn't have an answer for that. It had been the first name to pop into her head, the first thing she thought of. But, Elijah was right. It was worth a try. If they could find Lenore's family, they could use their lives as leverage to get information out of her.

"Lenore isn't a very common name, thankfully," Elijah continued. "And the only one that lives anywhere near the city is Lenore Nelson, owner of a bar just outside New York City."

"Are we just going to ignore that we're walking into a witch bar to threaten the witch owner?" Kassandra asked, eyebrows raised.

The driver was giving them strange looks, but both of them ignored him. He could easily forget their entire conversation with a little compulsion. "That won't be a problem, Kassandra," Elijah said, shifting to look at her finally.

"Oh, really? And why not?"

"The only daughter of Lenore Nelson is Amy Nelson," he told her. "And she was adopted."

Kassandra nodded slowly. "Yeah, that makes things a lot easier."

~SYH~

"Just let me go in first," Kassandra said, as she and Elijah stood outside the bar. It was about two in the afternoon and the bar was completely deserted. "It's safer."

"Not happening," he deadpanned. "You have no idea what you're walking into. It's not safe."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm nine hundred and seventy two years old," she said dryly. "I can take care of myself. But I appreciate the concern."

"I'm well aware of that, Kassandra," he told her. "But you die very easily compared to me."

She shifted, not missing the concern in his voice. She didn't know why he cared. She never meant for him to care about her, it hadn't been her intention. She thought about if the situation was reversed, if she was the original and he was the ordinary vampire. She wouldn't have let him walked in there, not when he could be killed by anything wooden with a sharp edge.

She never meant to care about Elijah either.

"Look," Kassandra started again, her voice losing its edge this time. "If you walk in there, it's more than likely that they'll know who you are, and then this entire plan will go to hell. But they won't know who I am. It's a safer bet, if I walk in there by myself."

He listened to her, but his jaw didn't relax.

"You'll be right outside, Elijah," she reminded him. "If anything goes wrong, you're in close enough proximity to ride in and save the day."

Elijah seemed to be arguing with himself, torn between letting Kassandra walk into a possible death trap by herself and finding a way to make Lenore useful. If he hadn't had his conversation with Klaus earlier, he never would've said yes.

"Fine," he said with a sigh. "But if you don't send me some sign that you're okay within five minutes, I'll tear the building down."

She smirked at him. "I'd prefer it if you burned it down- more flair. But that's my personal preference." She started towards the door, before pausing on the heels of her feet. She didn't overthink it, didn't let herself think about what exactly the little action meant and what it might mean to Elijah. Kassandra just turned around on her heels and marched back to Elijah. He barely had time to raise his eyebrows before her lips collided with his, her hands pressing against his chest for impact.

Kissing Kassandra was somewhere between a cross of a hurricane and an earthquake. She was so wild and impulsive in everything she did; he never saw each kiss coming. She always collided against him, wrapping her body around him. One hand would rest on his shoulder as an anchor, and the other arm would snake around his neck. Her fingers would scrape against the hair on the back of his head, near his neck. They would sink into it and pull him closer to her. With Kassandra, he could never get close enough.

Every time she kissed Elijah, he reacted like he was shell shocked, like he hadn't known what a kiss was until that very moment. He would blink down at her, surprised and dazed, as her tongue forced its way into his mouth. He reacted automatically, His hands going to her waist, her ass, her hair. Sometimes they skim across her breasts, but at that moment they were in a public place and Elijah was too much of a gentleman to grope her in the middle of New Jersey. She wouldn't have minded very much if he had, though.

Kassandra pulled away, trying to get a grip on herself and control her breathing. "I'll let you know when you can come in," she told him, an odd fluttery sensation taking her over and making her feel light like she was full of air.

There was an intense expression on Elijah's face, like he didn't want her to walk away from him at that moment, or maybe ever. Kassandra took a step backwards and went to turn around on her heel when she felt him grab her wrist and pull her back to him.

This time, Kassandra was dumbfounded as Elijah's hands held her face and his lips went against hers. It was quick and sweet and easy- the fast food of kisses. It made every cell in Kassandra's body feel alive with energy, and she suddenly realized she had taken kissing Elijah for granted all that time.

"When we get out of here," she told him, breathing heavily. "We're going to do more of that."

Elijah was still composed, and it was something she envied about him. "I look forward to it."

She took one last look at him before leaving for real.

~SYH ~

A country song about broken hearts was being played in the background of the bar, as Kassandra walked in. The only person there was a man in his early twenties wiping down the bar.

"Sorry," he called, looking up. "We're closed-"

He stopped when he saw Kassandra and smirked. "Well, hello there."

She smirked back, pulling down her shirt slightly so she revealed more cleavage. His eyes followed her movements and her smirk widened. Boys were so typical. They loved anything with boobs and found it hard to stare at anything but her chest. At least Elijah had the decency to only check her out when he was sure she wasn't paying attention.

"Hey," she said, glad she had taken the time to do her makeup. "Can I get a beer?"

The man straightened. "Anything for a beautiful woman."

Kassandra sauntered up to the bar and he placed a bottle on the top for her. She took a sip, nose wrinkling as the taste reminded her why she didn't drink beer very often.

"So," he said, leaning his elbows on the bar. "What's your name, Pretty Girl?"

At least the bartender looked at her face while he talked to her. "You tell me yours and I'll consider telling you mine," she said, taking a long sip of her drink and she looked up at him.

He grinned. "I love a demanding woman," he told her. "My name's Noah. What's yours?"

"Kassandra," she told him, crossing her legs. "My name's Kassandra."

She felt someone behind her, and instinct took over. She blurred around and grabbed onto the stake a middle aged woman was about to plunge into her heart.

She looked back at Noah, who was staring wide eyed at her. "You're a vampire," he said, looking more intrigued than afraid.

She smirked at him. "Pretty and smart," she said, before her eyes flicked to the woman. She took her to be Lenore, who stared at her with defiant eyes she had seen only once before- when she met her adoptive daughter.

"Elijah," she said, her voice a little louder than before. "You can come in now. We found Lenore's family."

~SYH~

"How do you know my sister?"

Noah was watching Kassandra warily, though there was still a hint of lust in his gaze. She scoffed inwardly. Human boys were the horniest creatures she had ever met.

"Well, she tried to kill me once," Kassandra said dryly, as she walked slowly around the chair she had parked Noah in. She hadn't bothered to tie him up- it wasn't as if he could outrun her.

Elijah had taken Mommy Lenore, while she had been put in charge of interrogating Noah, Lenore aka Amy's brother. Elijah hadn't seemed too happy about Kassandra being with Noah, making her think he had heard the flirting going on. It had been one sided- mostly.

"Are you a witch too?" She asked him curiously. Noah shook his head.

"Nah, Amy's the only magical one in the family. We'd know about the supernatural world since she was sixteen or so, but she'd never really played any part in it. But a few months ago she left and ran away, said she met a woman who told her about her destiny in playing a part in ridding the world of vampires," he told her. "She didn't tell us much more, said it wasn't safe. I think she expected that someone would try to use us against her."

Kassandra frowned. Ridding the world of all vampires? Not just the originals? What did Esther have up her sleeve?

"But I wanna talk about you, Pretty Girl." Noah smirked up at her. "Are you seeing anybody? What about the stuffy man in the suit? Is he your boyfriend?"

She rolled her eyes. "Elijah is less of my boyfriend and more of my boy toy," she told him.

"So that means there's an opening in the boyfriend department?" His eyes widened innocently, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"You're about nine hundred years too young for me, Kid," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"So that's a maybe?" Noah asked hopefully.

"If it'll get you to stop bothering me, then yeah, sure," Kassandra told him, running a hand through her hair.

She looked over her shoulder and could just make out Elijah in the other room. She wondered how things were going. Noah clearly didn't know much. He was just a hunky bartender with only a few brain cells to his name.

"Are you sure Suit knows he's just a boy toy to you?" Noah said, bringing her attention back to him. "Because the way he acts seems to show that he doesn't."

She snorted. "What are you talking about?"

"He's clearly jealous of me and you," he said a little arrogantly. "You should see the way he looks at me, like he wants to tear my intestines out. He wants you all for himself."

Kassandra just rolled her eyes. This was Elijah they were talking about. He wasn't the jealous type. He was more in control of his emotions than that.

"Can you really blame him though?" she joked, ignoring him, as she gestured to her body.

Noah smirked up at him. "Not in the slightest."

She frowned. Maybe Noah's flirty little comments were fun at first, but now they were getting annoying. She looked back at Elijah. She wondered how much longer they'd be here and when they could go home.

"Stay here," she told Noah, before strutting back to the other room. She didn't notice Noah stand up as she poked her head into the other room. "Elijah-"

Before she could process what happened, Elijah had pushed her into a counter, hard. She was sure her ribs had cracked. She groaned and stood up. "What the hell was that for-"

She cut herself off and her eyes widened. She watched Elijah pull a stake out of his shoulder like he was ripping a band aid off. At his feet, Noah was laughing humorlessly.

"Sorry, Pretty Girl," Noah crooned, looking at her over his shoulder. "But no one's hurting my baby sister. Not when she's the only one who can save us from vampires like you."

She gritted her teeth, not sure if she was angrier because he tried to kill her or because he ended up attacking Elijah instead. She had half a mind to rip his throat out right there, but one look from Elijah reminded her they needed him alive, as leverage against Amy.

"When we get to torture them," she said to Elijah, though she was looking directly at Noah. "I call first dibs on breaking his ribs."

Then she turned on her heels and stormed out of the room.

~SYH~

Elijah hadn't gotten much out of Lenore, only that Esther had recruited her daughter months ago. Still, they had Amy's family and that meant they might be able to get some real information out the witch now.

He had chosen not to wait around for Kol to come to pick Lenore and her son up personally, instead just opting to compel them not to leave the bar. Especially after Kassandra was almost staked, he wanted to get her back to the city as soon as possible.

He would've been lying if he said it had nothing to do with wanting to separate Kassandra from that human boy he couldn't be bothered to remember the name of. He wasn't jealous. He didn't get jealous. But the way he looked at her, the way he spoke to her, the way he even called her "Pretty Girl"- a nickname that didn't do Kassandra justice in the slightest. She was so much more than just a pretty girl. She was gorgeous and sexy and stubborn and sadistic and dynamic- it all made Elijah want to rip his heart out. But he wasn't jealous.

The fact that Kassandra didn't seem to mind- that she even enjoyed it enough to humor his flirtations- made it just that much worse. And he was sure he was going to snap when the boy had the nerve to try and kill her. That Kassandra left the bar angry with Noah helped settle his anger, but didn't completely satisfy it.

He didn't mean to be possessive of Kassandra, to want to keep her for himself only. Elijah never set out to be selfish with her, to want to gouge out the eyes of men who noticed her beauty like he did. Kassandra would give him hell if she ever found out. But his blatant jealousy was another thing Elijah had never experienced before Kassandra.

Elijah's mood was even worse than before they had went to New Jersey, even though they had successfully found Lenore/Amy's family. Kassandra kept thinking about what Noah had said, as she and Elijah walked back up to her apartment. "He's clearly jealous of me and you. He wants you all for himself."

Every day she had to remind herself that she and Elijah weren't a couple, there were no real feelings involved. They were friends that were attracted to each other. That was all they were. Their relationship was easy, simple, uncomplicated. But, sometimes, when Kassandra would fall asleep with her head on his chest even though they hadn't had sex or when she was sprawled out across him on the couch, she'd forget. She'd imagine that they were actually a couple, that she was allowed to be possessive and kiss him in public and treat him like he was her boyfriend. Then she'd get angry with herself for forgetting the boundaries she had set up herself.

Every day, those boundaries were crossed more and more by both of them.

Elijah held the door open for her, and Kassandra passed him. She shrugged off her coat and tossed it over a table. "Are you okay?" she asked him, turning to face Elijah. "'Cos you seem a little off-"

Elijah cut her off, kissing Kassandra hard and slamming her against the wall. She lost her breath in surprise, not expecting him to kiss her like that. He kissed her roughly, handled her roughly. He acted like he couldn't get enough of her lips, her skin. It so very unlike Elijah that Kassandra was unnerved yet intrigued at the same time.

She kissed him back, her hands going to his hair, when he grabbed her wrists and pinned them to her sides. His strength easily overpowered hers and struggling was futile. She frowned against his mouth as the kissing got rougher and almost violent. Kassandra was sure her lips were bruised, but she didn't mind it.

Kassandra didn't know where this was coming from all of a sudden, but she liked it. Lately, sex with her and Elijah was soft and slow and sweet and somewhere in the middle they end up making love and it scares the shit out of her. Rough and dominant sex was something she needed, even if it meant letting Elijah take control.

He lifted her up easily, his mouth leaving hers for the first time and Kassandra found herself gasping for air. Elijah brought her thigh up to his hip, while he kissed the sensitive part of her neck that was just above her collar bone.

Unable to control herself, Kassandra grounded her pelvis into his, looking for any kind of friction she could get. But Elijah just frowned into her neck and held onto her hips to keep her still.

Kassandra groaned, her head smacking into the wall behind her. "You're killing me," she whined. "Just give me something, Elijah, please."

His hands slipped up her shirt, skimming the edge of her bra, before easily ripping it off of her. It flew into a corner somewhere, and stayed there, forgotten. Kassandra started to shimmy out of her jeans, and Elijah abided her. Once she was in nothing but her lacy undergarments, Kassandra was pushed against the wall again and his mouth was on hers with a new kind of ferocity.

She wriggled against him, desperate for any kind of contact. But Elijah was taking his time at a sweet, torturous pace, each bruising kiss burning more than the last. Kassandra managed to slip out of his grip long enough to rip his shirt off.

He chuckled against her mouth, trailing back down to the sweet spot in her neck. "You're so impatient," he murmured, pulling her body impossibly closer to him, so that there was no space between them.

"If I had it my way, I'd already be riding you on the floor," she gasped out, Elijah kissed down to her shoulder, pulling the straps down before reaching around and unhooking her bra. She threw it to the side, arching her back slightly when Elijah's fingers ran over her breast.

He didn't spend much time on her chest, instead opting to move down to her underwear. His fingers hooked under the lace and he pulled them down to her knees where she promptly kicked them off.

Instead of moving back to her lips, Elijah moved closer to her center. Then his lips were in her folds, his tongue flicking her clit and Kassandra jolted back, nails digging into the wall. She had had guys go down on her before, but not like Elijah. Only he could be rough with her while going slow, his fingers skimming her stomach and edging closer towards her clit.

Kassandra leaned her head against the wall, letting her shoulders fall slack as she allowed herself relax and enjoy the orgasm building in the pit of her stomach. Elijah had never done that to her before, but the way it made her feel- the slow, lazy circles that made her wetter and closer to falling over the edge- she'd make him do it more often.

Elijah's hand slid up Kassandra's spine, and her knee knocked against his face as he continued to focus on applying just the right amount of pressure to her sex that drove her crazy. She was close, he knew it. He could feel it. But he wasn't ready for her come yet.

Elijah pulled away and Kassandra groaned out in frustration, shoulders falling in disappointment. "Why? I was so close," she complained, her chest rising and falling with her heavy breathing.

Elijah pulled off his shirt, tossing it to the floor, before going to unbutton his pants. Kassandra's hands beat him there, and she managed to unzip his pants and run her fingers along his dick before he could stop her. He shuddered at the touch, and Kassandra smirked at his hardness.

"No touching," he reminded her, and she pouted.

"You're no fun."

Elijah spread her legs and slowly entered her, causing Kassandra to lose her breath again. She thrusted her hips into him, gasping out loud at the contact. As soon as he was all the way in her, Elijah held her against the wall, her legs wrapped around his waist, and started pushing roughly into her.

He was ruthless in his thrusts, giving Kassandra no time to adjust at his speed and deepness. She clawed at his shoulders, trying to grasp onto anything her hands touched. Kassandra tried to meet his every move, but she quickly lost herself in the rhythm. Kassandra threw her head back as a string of curse words fell out of her mouth. She felt her orgasm building again, faster than before.

Kassandra ripped her nails down his back, and Elijah barely acknowledged the brief sting. Her fingers pulled at his hair, and he dug his nails into her hips, his grip bruising on her skin.

The "fuck, fuck, fuck" falling out of her mouth turned into a constant phrase of "Elijah, Elijah, Elijah" when he hit the right spot inside of her. His arms tightened around her. He was as close as she was. They were rocking at an inhuman speed now, and both were so close to falling over the edge.

Kassandra lifted his head and crashed her lips against his, biting down on his bottom lip. Elijah pushed into her one last time before they both came undone. Kassandra came screaming, gripping onto Elijah with everything she had Elijah groaned into her throat, his arms wrapping around her waist.

Kassandra's legs felt like jelly when he finally placed her back on the floor. She pressed her face into his neck for a moment, catching her breath. She was still coming down from her orgasm when she pulled away from him, her chest rising and falling as she panted.

She picked up his shirt off of the floor and pulled it on, the fabric skimming her thighs. Elijah watched her make her way across the apartment, a grin on her face. It was mesmerizing, almost, the way she tossed her golden hair back as she poured them both drinks.

"If that's what happens when you get jealous," she said, her back turned to him as he pulled his pants back on, "then I'll be sure to flirt with other men in front of you more often."

He snorted. "I wasn't jealous of that insignificant human boy, if that's what you think."

She smirked up at him. "Yeah, that's why you just asserted your dominance by fucking me senseless."

He shrugged. "That doesn't mean I was jealous."

Kassandra put her drink to her lips. "Don't worry, I think it's cute." Her eyes were full of amusement.

Elijah rolled his eyes at her, and she laughed before standing up on her toes to press her lips against his briefly, sweetly. When she pulled away, she stared up at him with an odd sort of fondness for a moment or two before looking away.

It was that moment, with her wild sex hair and lips that tasted like scotch, that Elijah fully came to realize and understand that he was, in fact, jealous of any man who got Kassandra's attention.

It was that moment he understood why he stayed in New York, why he felt the way he felt.

It was that moment that every other moment led up to, the moment of full realization and acceptance.

It was the moment that Elijah realized he was madly in love with Kassandra.

~SYH~

A/N: sorry for the wait, but I wrote you guys over 4500 words and 10 pages, which included smut, so please accept this as an apology.

Thank you to: LilyMikaelson, sissymac, RHatch89, MadameNini, Egyptian Kiss, TvdLover87654, ehluvr3, purpleXorchid, Guest, lily, delenawolves, Lovely Rain Dancer, SomebodyWhoCares, Luna065, JamieAnnieCarter, and Lady Syndra for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)