Mess Is Mine | Elijah Mikaelson

Chapter Seven | The Key Moment

I was sinking deeper into the kiss, allowing Elijah's lips to consume my every thought, when I heard the noise.

We pulled apart, my heart pounding as my wide eyes met his. He put his finger to his lips and we listened.

Another scrape of metal against my door had an icy chill zipping down my spine.

"Stay here," he whispered in a husky voice, using his hand to indicate I should hide behind the kitchen counter. I grabbed my kitten, sinking down to the floor with Dolly in my arms.

Elijah crept silently over to the door and pressed one eye to the peephole. I heard him pull open the door.

"May I help you?"

"Uh, maybe? I'm looking for Amelia," came Stefan's intoxicated slur.

I hissed in disgust, climbing to my feet and setting Dolly free to scamper off.

"Stefan, are you drunk?" I stalked over to the door with my arms crossed, angry that my ex interrupted one of the sexiest moments of my entire life.

"Eh, I had a few shots at the fair. But look what I got..." He held up my treasured dragonfly bracelet between his fingers and shrugged in a way I used to find endearing. "I found it on the ground at the carnival and knew you would be looking for it."

"Thank you." I took the jewelry from his hand. "Were you trying to break in to my house?"

"Nooooo," he insisted, swaying a little on his feet and holding out his other hand. "Nope. Look. Still have my key."

"Thank you very much," Elijah said, plucking the key from his palm. "Goodnight."

"Wait!" Stefan held up a hand to stop Elijah from closing the door in his face. "Is this the guy Lockwood said you moved on with? He seems kinda... uptight."

My face flushed as both men turned to me expectantly.

"That's no longer your concern," I reminded him. "Goodnight, Stefan."

"Night, Amelia. Hey, um. Call me sometime?"

Elijah unceremoniously slammed the door, and a laugh escaped my lips.

"I'm so sorry about that. He's a mess."

He frowned, rubbing his chin as if he were in deep thought.

"A mess who is clearly still hung up on you."

I closed the space between us, pressing a hand against his chest.

"You know, a couple of weeks ago, I would have been thrilled to find him outside my door." I ran a finger down the soft cotton of his t-shirt, and peeked up at him. "Funny how quickly things can change."

A smile teased the edges of his lips, which were still swollen from our kisses.

"Well, that's certainly good news." His arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me even closer, before pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead.

"But the truth, lovely Amelia, is that I was so distracted by you that I nearly put you in danger myself. I should have been out in the hallway to stop that Neanderthal from even approaching your door."

I could see where this conversation was heading, and I didn't like it.

"I disagree. You were exactly where you were supposed to be."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and ran my fingers through the hair at his nape. Giving him a sultry smile, I silently prayed he would kiss me again.