Love, lust and curiosity
Elena felt her curls sticking to her neck because of the stifling heat outside. The temperature had kept on rising over the last few days, creating an unbearable humidity. Elena longed to go back to the quarry, but her duties had refrained her from doing so. Today she couldn't either. Master Lockwood was coming over; their courtship had to continue.
Elena pouted at herself in the mirror. She felt no desire to spend any time with him today whatsoever. She wanted to relax in a cool bath, cleaning herself of the sweat that was trickling down her body beneath her corset.
Why did women even have to wear these things? They were unbearable and she could hardly breathe in them. Hot days like this made it even worse. But it was a must in society. Woman of class needed to have an elegant figure.
"You look lovely, darling," Miranda Gilbert told her as she entered Elena's bedroom. "You'll have Master Lockwood eating out of the palm of your hand."
Elena wanted to roll her eyes.
"I know you don't fancy him yet. But you'll learn to love and appreciate him."
Elena stared back at her mother in the mirror, their eyes connecting.
"I'm not sure if I'll ever come to love him, mother. I want a man who consumes me and my every thought," she said dreamily.
Her thoughts drifted to a man with piercing blue eyes. But he wasn't a man. He was a demon. But he had taken her breath away with his physical beauty. It lured her in like nothing else. He consumed her.
Miranda chuckled behind her.
"Love like that doesn't exist, my dear. You've been reading too many fairytales. Real love is about acceptance, appreciation for your betrothed. Real love takes time to grow. The kind of love you're talking about isn't love. It's lust. Don't fall into its' trap, Elena. If you give in, no respectable man will ever marry you."
Elena swallowed with difficulty. She had already given in to some things. If anyone ever found out..
"Come. Master Lockwood will be here shortly," Miranda informed her.
Elena followed her mother down the stairs, left in her own thoughts. What exactly did she feel for Damon? Was it lust, like her mother said? Was it a deep fascination with vampires and what they could do? Or was she falling in love?
The thought of falling in love with a vampire sent a shiver down her spine. It certainly wasn't very wise.
"Master Lockwood has come to see you, Miss Gilbert," one of their maids introduced.
Elena stared at the man that was watching her from his place in the hallway. He stepped forward as she approached him.
"Miss Elena. What a pleasure to see you again," he smoothly said, bending over to take her hand and kiss it.
Elena shuddered as his wet lips touched her skin. She didn't care what her mother said; she would never learn to appreciate his touch on her.
"The pleasure is all mine, Master Lockwood," Elena made her pleasantries with a forced smile.
"Shall we take a stroll through the gardens? It is far too hot to stay inside," Master Lockwood proposed.
Elena nodded at him and reached for her fan, before following him through the doors that lead to their greenery.
The sun was blazing, but there was a nice wind outside to cool her down a bit. She took in the smell of the flowers and slightly relaxed. Even though her company was lousy, she loved to be here.
"I have something I want to give you. A small token that I am serious about my affections," Master Lockwood started.
Elena stared up at him from behind her fan as he reached into his pocket to retrieve a small box.
He opened it to reveal an exquisite necklace. It must have been worth a lot of carats, because it was laced with diamonds. At the centre of it hung of the Lockwood's family crest . It made Elena's face fall. This wasn't a token of affection. He was buying her. The family crest would tell anyone who looked at her wearing it that she was spoken for. He wanted to show off his belongings.
Master Lockwood smiled at her.
"Allow me?" he asked, as he picked the necklace out from its' box to put it on her.
Elena didn't have a choice here. If she refused, there would be hell to pay from both their families. She was trapped.
She turned around to let Master Lockwood seal her fate. She almost choked on her bile as he clasped the dreadful thing around her neck.
"There. Now it's official," he said sickly sweet.
Elena turned back around to face him. The thing hung heavily from her neck. Like a stone.
"It's beautiful," she managed to choke out.
Master Lockwood smiled at her and gently kissed her on the cheek.
"Come. Let's walk some more."
Elena wanted to wipe his kiss away. She wanted to scream that she didn't belong to him yet. But she did. There was no escape.
They walked side by side, until Elena froze as she spotted HIM.
Damon was in the gazebo, talking to her father. Grayson Gilbert was wildly gesturing to him about something. He seemed.. agitated. Damon remained impassive in front of him, listening calmly to what he had to say.
It was then that he spotted her. Elena's heart missed a beat when his incredible eyes captured hers. A ghost of a smile teased the corners of his mouth, before he spotted Master Lockwood next to her. Then his eyes darkened.
"So who created this incredible garden?" Master Lockwood pulled her out of her trance.
"Eh, well. My aunt Jenna did. Before she passed away," Elena explained distractedly.
Her eyes kept flitting over towards Damon. She tried to hide it by concealing her face with the fan.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't want to cause you any stress," Master Lockwood apologized.
"It's all right," Elena told him a little breathless.
Damon was turning her to hot lava again. He had her rooted to the spot with his passionate gaze. Elena tried to scramble for her sanity. What was he doing to her? Was this the lust her mother was referring to? The desire that was screaming in her blood, trying to force its' will on her? The desire that made her want to run over towards him and let him have his wicked way with her?
She unconsciously licked her lips.
"Are you thirsty, Miss Elena?" Master Lockwood interrupted her sinful thoughts.
She gaped at him with confusion.
"I'm sorry. What did you say?"
Master Lockwood smiled at her.
"You seem a little flushed. I think the heat is getting to you. Let's go inside and get you something to drink," he said.
Elena almost wanted to laugh at him. Yes, the heat was getting to her. But it wasn't the heat from the sun. Still, she let him lead her back into the house, feeling Damon's penetrating eyes follow her every move…
"This is going beautifully!" Grayson Gilbert said enthused as he eyed Elena's necklace. "He gave you the family crest. That means he will ask you soon. Your future is set, darling. You'll never be short of anything with the Lockwood's."
Elena sighed at her father's words. She understood how this was exciting news for her parents. But to her, this was hell. The thought of letting that man touch her.. A kiss on the cheek was too much for her, let alone him taking her virginity.
She wanted passion with her first time. She wanted to quake with need. Her mother couldn't be right about that not existing.
Again, she thought about Damon and what he made her feel.
It's lust. Don't fall into its' trap, Elena. If you give in, no respectable man will ever marry you.
Her mother's words swirled in her mind.
"I am so proud of you, Elena. You truly are a wonderful daughter," her father continued.
He was proud of her? Of what? For marrying Master Mason Lockwood? That wasn't exactly an accomplishment. But apparently to him, it was.
"It's getting late. Get some sleep, sweetheart. I'll see you in the morning."
Grayson kissed her forehead, before retiring to his study.
Elena sighed and climbed the stairs towards her bedroom, thinking about what her future with Master Lockwood would be like.
Yes, she would be lavished in wealth. But she would be good for nothing else accept hanging onto the arm of her betrothed. That would be her duty from now on. Following her husband and giving him an heir. That was all.
She didn't want that. She wanted adventure, excitement and maybe a little danger.
She opened her bedroom door, letting her eyes adjust to the dark inside. Her window was open, making her room a little chilly. On her bed, was a shadowy figure waiting for her. Her heart jumped, before realising it was Damon. She quickly closed her door.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed at him.
"Waiting for you," he quipped.
Elena rolled her eyes at him.
"Look, I've had a long day. I don't have time for you."
Damon stood up from her bed and stopped directly in front of her.
"Yeah, I can see that."
Elena looked at him in confusion, before she felt him reach for her necklace. Her body shivered as his fingertips ghosted across the flesh of her neck.
"I see you are making progressions with your future husband," he said as he touched the family crest on her necklace.
"Yes. He gave me this. It won't be long now. This necklace means I belong to him," Elena explained.
Damon eyed her necklace impassively.
"Hmm."
Suddenly he yanked the thing right off of her and threw it carelessly over his shoulder.
Elena looked at him in horror.
"What are you doing? If that thing breaks..!"
Damon remained emotionless and reached up to roll a curl of her hair around his finger. He softly tugged on it and Elena felt her heart rate quicken.
She watched as the veins appeared under his eyes and his fangs lengthened. Only this time she wasn't afraid.
She was fascinated.
Her hands slowly reached up to trace the changes on his face. He let her.
"What's it like?" she asked him huskily.
Damon stared at her.
"What's what like?"
Elena traced her right index finger down his cheek to stop at the corner of his mouth. Slowly she drew the finger to one of his fangs. It was razor sharp and sliced her skin immediately.
She watched as Damon's nostrils flared at the smell of her blood.
"What is it like to feed on someone?" she clarified herself.
Damon grabbed her wrist to hold her in place and carefully licked the drop of blood that was beginning to trickle down her finger. Elena's stomach clenched with desire.
"I already told you. I told you about the difference in biting."
Elena nodded.
"Yes, but I want to know what blood does to you. What does it taste like? How does it feel as it slides down your throat?" she asked with curiosity.
Damon's eyes darkened at her words.
"It's difficult to explain. You can only know as you experience it."
Before Elena knew what was happening, Damon bit into his wrist and held it out to her. Blood was smeared on it and Elena stepped back.
"What are you doing?" she hissed. "Are you turning me into a vampire?"
Damon chuckled.
"This won't turn you into a vampire, Elena. Not unless you die with my blood in your system. And I seriously don't think you have a death wish."
Elena contemplated his words, but still didn't understand what he was trying to do.
"Think of it as an experiment, Elena. If you drink my blood, you'll know what it's like. You'll feel what I feel. My blood is a powerful aphrodisiac for humans. It will get you high, it will heal whatever wounds or bruises you have. It will make you feel powerful," he told her.
Elena watched as the wound on Damon's wrist closed again. He was right about the fast healing. But could she do this?
Some dark place inside of her stirred. She wanted excitement. She wanted danger. He offered her a chance to experience it just once. Before all of it would be over when she got married. What did she have to lose?
Just once…
Before she knew what she was doing, she nodded at him.
A dark gleam entered Damon's eyes as he smirked at her. He bit into his wrist again and held it in front of her mouth. At the same time he grabbed her own wrist and waited.
Synchronized drinking.
Was she really doing this?
She turned her lips towards his wound, her eyes never leaving his. Then, she carefully licked a drop of his blood, testing how it would be.
It tasted better than she had imagined it would. It was coppery, yes. But it was also potent, rich and uniquely Damon. She wanted more..
She grabbed onto his wrist and clamped her lips over the wound. She moaned as the sweet taste trickled down her throat. At the same time, Damon tore into her own flesh and suckled greedily. They stared at each other through it all and Elena's knees almost buckled with the intensity of the situation.
Her belly contracted with her building desire.
'You want passion. You want sinful danger. Taste it!' an inner voice inside of her whispered.
A dark and powerful emotion grabbed hold of her, and she pushed Damon into the chair by her bed. Her drinking never ceased, it only intensified as she let the darkness consume her. She moaned loudly with her gulps and climbed into his lap, pinning him to the chair.
Her hips began to ride his leg, but she didn't care about her behaviour one bit. She wanted to feel the freedom. Freedom of the chains that bound her to this life. Freedom to choose her own path. Freedom to choose dangerously, erotic, passionate love.
Elena could no longer look at him, the feelings too overwhelming as she sucked his essence into her mouth. She could feel an orgasm approaching, different from all the others. It was more intense and came from a place inside of her that she didn't even know existed. It was dark.
Her free hand reached out towards Damon's tenting pants and squeezed him for all she was worth. She wanted him with her as she was flung from the edge of her sanity. She could hear Damon groaning beneath her, taking large gulps of her blood. He had been right. She had never felt more powerful than she did in this exact moment.
She had this demon at her mercy. She was dominating him in this very moment. It was exhilarating. A hissing sound escaped her throat as her orgasm ripped through her and her teeth sank into his flesh on their own accord.
She bit him hard and Damon almost yelped beneath her, before bucking his hips and coming in his pants like a school boy that couldn't contain himself.
As her orgasm subsided, so did Elena's dark side and she clambered off of him, appalled with herself. Her face paled and her body trembled.
"What have I done?" she whispered in fear.
Damon just smirked at her.
"This is why I want you, Elena. I see it inside of you. The dark force. You want it; you want to be ruled by it. I want you at my side. You would truly make the most impressive dark creature to ever walk this earth," he said proudly.
Elena turned away from him, disgusted with herself.
"Go!" she snapped.
She didn't want to look at him anymore.
"I'll go. But think about this when that boy Lockwood comes to see you again. You've got fire, Elena. Fire that's ready to be let out. If you marry him, it will extinguish, leaving nothing but a shell of the woman you once were. Your passion will be trapped in the cage that they have already built for you. I want that fire to burn freely," he whispered as he suddenly stood behind her, whispering his words in her ear.
His fingers slid through the curls of her hair, pushing it aside so he could press his lips to her ear.
"Until we meet again, Elena."
With those words he was gone, leaving the curtains in her open window billowing in the wind…
A/N: Yes, I know it's been a while since I updated any of my stories. These past few weeks have been quite the roller coaster ride for me. First, I met Ian Somerhalder on my vacation in Spain. Let me just say that he is everything people say about him! He is so hot up close! And he really takes the time for his fans. People that followed me on twitter saw the pics :) When I got home from said vacation, I really wanted to get back to writing but managed to get food poisoning and landed into a car crash all in the same week! I just needed to recover from this, but I am doing better now. So here is the next chapter! I really hope you all liked a little darker Elena.
Please leave me a review and let me know your thoughts and if you're still reading this. I know I was gone for a long time :(
Twitter: Sandy1983b