Guys, do you really think I'd bring in Stelena? No! They just had some stuff to work out and Elena needed a slightly unbiased guy friend. No Stelena action, ever. I promise. (In this story anyway). I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 17

One month later

"Stefan! Help!" Elena yelled frantically from the kitchen, her eyes wide as she tried to tame the fire on the stove.

Stefan appeared a second later, picking up the pan and dumping it in the sink before he snuffed out the remaining flames. He looked over at her and practically burst out laughing at her frazzled expression.

"Why are you laughing at me?" She screeched, her mind still in panic mode, "I almost burnt down your apartment!"

Still laughing, he walked over to her and enveloped her in his strong arms, "I don't think you're allowed in the kitchen anymore. This is the fifth time in the past month that you've conspired to kill us."

She finally cracked a smile at his attempt of humor, "All right, all right. I'll leave the cooking to you from now on. I don't think the apartment will survive if I try again."

Stefan bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to the tip of her nose as she sighed, readying herself to say something, but he beat her to the punch, "Elena, it's probably best that you not torture yourself with memories from the past. It's best we both just move on and accept things as they are. A fresh start, remember?"

She smiled and placed the briefest of kisses against his cheek, "I know. A fresh start."

It had taken a few weeks for Stefan and Elena to mend what they could of their friendship, but once they did it was as easy as breathing. They both cared about each other deeply, however they recognized they were past being compatible as a couple, much to Elena's delight.

She didn't want to start seeing Stefan again, not ever. But the feelings she had when she was human were still there, buried beneath the surface of vampirism. She had made the conscious decision to let both Salvatores go, as long as she could remain friends with at least one of them.

Damon hadn't tried to reach out to Elena after everything that had happened. He was aware of her staying with his brother, but he was sure that is was anything but platonic. But Stefan and Elena had developed a new friendship, one that rivaled even hers and Caroline's. Whoever said you couldn't be friends with exes was dead wrong.

"You know, I heard from Care today," Stefan said as he pulled away from her.

She smiled brightly, "Oh yeah? Is she still going on about 'epic love rekindled'?"

"Yup," he snorted, "Even though I've assured her that we're just friends. But, anyway, that's not why she called."

Elena grabbed some cleaning supplies and set to work on the stove before looking over her shoulder at him, "What did she want?"

"She uh-," Stefan stuttered slightly, "She wanted us to go to this thing for Klaus' family."

"What kind of thing?" She narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "Because the last thing we went to together involved almost killing all the vampires on earth. And, now that I am one, I'd prefer to stay undead, thank you very much."

He looked away from her slightly, focusing on a fleck of dust, "They're throwing a dinner for some political reason. Probably to assert dominance over the humans 'running' the city. But I guess your presence was requested."

"By who?" She groaned. Surely Elijah didn't want her there; she hadn't seen him since the night she left.

"Finn asked Caroline," Stefan shrugged, "Better than Elijah, right?"

"Better than Elijah."

"Why are you even coming tonight?" Rebekah drawled as she sat in the drawing room of the Compound, watching Elijah intently as he picked out a tie, "The bloody doppelganger's going to be there."

Elijah huffed in annoyance, "I'm well aware that Elena's going to be there, Rebekah. Isn't it you that invited Stefan in the first place?"

"Of course I did! And since he and Elena," she grimaced at using the girl's name, "Are going to be there, surely you can bring a date as well."

"Stefan is your date, Rebekah," he pointed out as he straightened his tie, "And Finn is Elena's date, whether he's asked her or not. I don't need a-"

Rebekah stood in front of him in a second, her blue eyes glowering at him, "Why are you such a masochist? Are you really going to torture yourself and be alone while you watch the woman you love dancing with our brother?" She huffed in exasperation before her face took on a look of pity, "And here I thought you were the smart brother."

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, "You don't have a smart brother."

"Don't remind me," she mumbled.

Elena sat on her bed trying to think of a way to get out of the party. She really really didn't want to go. Facing Elijah seemed like a fate worse than death at this point. Hell, she'd rather be locked in a room with Klaus on a full moon.

"Are you ready yet?" Stefan called from the doorway, his brows furrowing when he saw her expression, "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to go," she whined, scrunching the ivory chiffon of her dress, "I don't want to see any of them."

He sighed and sat down next to her, stilling her hands from pulling the beading off of her dress, "You look beautiful, Elena. Just go and have fun tonight. You said it yourself, you like Finn. You know he won't try anything."

"Oh, shut up. You just want to see Rebekah," Elena smiled, punching him lightly in the shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah," he smirked, standing and offering his hand to her, "Let's go. What's the worst that can happen?"

If only he knew that everything that could go wrong, would go wrong.

"I see you actually decided on bringing a date," Rebekah smiled as Elijah made his way to the bar to grab a drink.

He smiled slightly, "Perhaps your advice was not the worst, sister."

"Although, I don't see why you had to bring one of Nik's previous bedmates. Genevieve? Really, Elijah?" She tutted, annoyed with the woman whom she was once friends with.

"She is nothing more than a date," he defended, "I can assure you that a man and a woman can go out without ending up in bed together."

Rebekah snorted, "You might want to tell her that."

Before he could ask what she meant, he felt arms snake around his torso.

"You took quite a while getting drinks, 'Lijah," Genevieve said, breathing against his neck in a suggestive fashion.

His jaw ticked at the way she had adopted saying his name. In his mind, only one woman was allowed to say it in such a needy way.

Composing himself, he gently pried her arms off of him and turned around, handing her a drink he got from the bar, "My apologies."

The redhead took the drink and smiled, batting her eyelashes, "You can always make it up to me tonight after the party."

"Have you always been such a trollop?" Rebekah spoke up, disgusted with how Genevieve was hanging on her brother, "He won't be taking you home. Perhaps you can ask Kol; he never turns down an easy lay. And you, my dear, are the easiest here."

Elijah looked around uncomfortably, trying to focus on anything but the two woman who were obviously about to rip out one another's throats. His eyes landed on a vision in an ivory cocktail dress. He smiled as he watched the woman he loved interact so beautifully with the officials his family was trying to charm.

"Excuse me, ladies," he said to the bickering women before he made his way towards Elena.

"Elijah, can I have a word, please?"

The Original turned towards the voice and plastered a fake smile on his face, "Of course, Stefan. What can I do for you?"

Stefan stood and squared his shoulders, "I don't want you to hurt her. I won't let you."

"I have no intention of doing so," Elijah said stiffly, annoyed that he was being delayed, "But, if I manage to, I'll allow you a free pass at 'teaching me a lesson'."

The younger man smiled slightly, "She cares about you, she's just tired of being hurt."

Who the fuck is that? Elena thought angrily as she looked at the redheaded woman hanging all over Elijah. At first, she had been worried about seeing Elijah at all, but now she was worried that he had simply moved on and forgot about her.

She watched the man in question walk off the main floor of the Compound and, without a second thought, she excused herself from Finn and followed him.

Elena ghosted behind him until he turned into a dark hallway. She wasted no time as she sped in front of him and forced him against the brick wall angrily.

"Elena," Elijah's eyes widened in surprise as he breathed her name.

Normally the way he said her name would leave her in tingles and excitement, but she shoved those feelings away as she held her forearm over his throat, "What the hell, Elijah? It only took you a fucking month to move on? Really?"

He stared at her in confusion, not even trying to release himself from her hold, "What on earth are you talking about?"

"The redhead that was hanging all over you!" She hissed, her vampire nature coming out slightly, "It's only been a month and I've already been replaced in your bed!"

He growled at her, "And have I not been replaced by Stefan Salvatore?"

"What? Of course you haven't been!" She stated as she jumped away from him as if she'd been burned, "Stefan and I are just friends. If you tried talking to me in the past month, you would've known that!"

"Well, pardon me if I thought we were merely fucking for sport!" Elijah rumbled, his chest pressed against hers.

Elena snorted, "Is that why you're mad? Because I referred to our sex as fucking?" She schooled her features, her face becoming cold as she leaned in so close he could feel her breath against his face, "We fucked. And that's it."

He tried to control himself, he really did. But there was always something about her that caused him to lose his oh so noble façade. In a blink of an eye, he had their positions reversed as he forced her hard against the wall.

Grabbing the hem of her short dress, he pushed it up around her hips before his capable fingers pressed against her lace-covered mound. She whined in need, her hips bucking slightly against him, desperate for that friction that she craved.

His mouth dropped to her neck, leaving punishing bites in his wake before stopping at her ear. "What is it you want, Elena?" He whispered huskily as he increased the pressure of his fingers against her.

She growled in frustration, trying to claw at his clothes, but he grabbed her wrists in his free hand and forced them above her head. She bared her fangs at him making him chuckle slightly.

"Tell me what you want, princess, and I will give it to you," he murmured as he skimmed his nose across her jaw, "You know I can deny you nothing."

Elena focused her eyes on his, rolling her hips slightly, "Fuck me."

His mouth crashed down on hers; kissing her with a passion she'd been missing. He let go of her hands and she instantly moved them to his neck, pulling him as close as humanly possible. She wanted all of him; she needed all of him. She was tired of denying herself what she wanted. She was ready to be selfish and entitled if it meant that she had Elijah.

He worshipped every bit of naked skin that he had access to; he wanted her to feel as if she were the most precious thing on earth. He felt her tug his hair as she forced herself tighter against him.

She couldn't wait anymore. She was tired of being teased and she needed her release. Pushing him away just enough to gain access to his pants, she expertly unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his pants, finally freeing his aching erection. She dropped to her knees gracefully and wasted no time taking him into her mouth.

"Oh, God, Elena," he moaned slightly, reaching down and tangling his fingers in her long chocolate locks. He guided her mouth as he thrust, completely lost in the pleasure that she was giving him.

Elijah felt a familiar tingle in his abdomen and pulled her up. He ripped the lace panties from her small body and picked her up, having her wrap her legs around his waist. She reached between them and guided his hard manhood into her entrance, moaning loudly when he pushed inside of her.

She felt every inch of his magnificent cock stretch her tight walls as she threw her head back against the brick wall, not caring about the pain. He let her adjust to his size before he began thrusting inside her with abandon. His instincts took over and all he could think about what claiming this gorgeous creature as his own.

She tried to move against him, but he pinned her hips against the rough brick, needing to be in control of the situation completely. He didn't even notice her fangs were out before they slid effortlessly into his neck. He groaned at the sensation of being fed off of as he pushed into her harder and rougher than before, needing to complete their orgasms before she was finished.

Reaching between their bodies, her nimble fingers found her swollen clit and rubbed with all her might. As the coil in her belly came close to snapping, she pulled away from her neck and screamed in agonizing pleasure, "Elijahhhh!"

He pressed his lips against hers frantically, becoming even more aroused at the taste of his blood on her lips. She looked at him with lust-filled eyes, wanting everything that he had to offer.

"'Lijah…I'm so close…" she whined, her breathing erratic as she struggled to go over the brink of pleasure.

He nodded, burying his face in her cleavage. He knew exactly what she needed to get her high and he could no longer deny it. He vamped out and slid his fangs into the swell of her breast as he thrust into her as hard as he could, feeling her walls contract around him.

She screamed his name louder than he had ever heard before, her nails digging into his shoulders as her feminine fluid gushed down her thighs signaling her release.

Thrusting into her one last time, he forced himself as deep inside of her tight wet heat as he could, spilling himself inside of her before he removed his fangs from her delicate skin.

They panted against each other, both sated for the moment as he was still buried inside of her. He pressed soft kisses against her throat before licking up the excess blood on her breast.

"Now, that was fucking, princess," he said with a smirk in his voice as he pushed her damp hair away from her forehead.

She nodded, "Let's do that more often."

"It would be my pleasure."

Be sure to leave a review, please!

~Grace