Until This Lie Do Us Part

Chapter 21

"I'm sure" she confirmed, sighing as his lips moved so softly down her neck. But she could not let this continue, because kissing would lead to more touching which would definitely lead to clothes being taken off. Stefan was right. She needed her sleep she supposed. Elena grabbed his hands, causing him to stop kissing her and look at her. "I have to get my sleep, remember?" she smirked.

Stefan groaned as Elena got out of bed and changed. He didn't bother to look the other way as she slid her jeans off and then pulled her shirt over her head and tossed her bra aside. Elena didn't bother to conceal herself. He propped himself up on his elbow and smiled. "You don't have to put your pajamas on" he said.

Elena stepped into her pajama bottoms and pulled a tank top over her head. She turned around and shook her head at him. "I'd get too cold" she informed him.

"Oh, I'd keep you plenty warm" he said, winking at her. Elena picked up her clothes and walked them to the bathroom to put them in the hamper.

When she came back, Stefan pulled the covers back for her. He had already rid himself of his pants and shirt. "Just so you know, it's creepy when you wink at me" she said, climbing in. Stefan rolled his eyes as he got up and shut the light off. When he got back in bed, Elena began thinking that she should say something to him about earlier when she had revealed her true feelings to him. He seemed to be handling it pretty well as far as she could tell. "Hey Stefan?" she asked. She couldn't make out his face in the dark, but she figured it might be easier if she couldn't see him. "I'm sorry, if I freaked you out tonight. You know, telling you I might be in love with you" she said quickly. "It wasn't my intention and I probably never would have told you if I hadn't been so upset with Derrick and everything" she added, just as quickly. "This was a business deal" she reminded. She wasn't supposed to have feelings.

It was silent for a few minutes and Elena half wondered if Stefan had fallen asleep. But then he rolled over closer to her and wrapped his arms around her. Elena closed her eyes as she felt herself being pulled into his chest. He placed a gentle kiss on her temple and sighed. "You didn't freak me out, Elena. It's kind of nice to be loved, believe it or not" he told her, getting a small laugh from her. "And that contract we made?" he asked her. "I don't even know what I did with it. To be honest, Lily probably used the back of it to color on" he added.

"Well that does us a lot of good" she said.

Stefan laughed. "I believe you stated very clearly that I couldn't kiss you or touch you. And clearly you've changed your mind" he said, pulling her even closer and kissing near her ear.

Elena wrapped her arms around his, trying to remember a time when she had felt this content. Despite the issues she was facing right now, namely the Derrick issues, she felt happy. "Still know where the prenup agreement is?" she asked.

"Nope" Stefan said. "Besides, I don't really think you're the kind of girl who would take everything I had" he added.

Elena smiled. "I'm glad you sound so confident" she said, earning her another kiss on her temple. She felt him relax, indicating that he was ready for sleep. "Stefan?" she asked. She wasn't. "I wanted to talk to you about Thanksgiving" she mentioned.

"Yeah, what about it?" he asked, suddenly awake again.

"I was thinking about going to California and seeing my brother and Bonnie" she said, holding her breath and waiting for his reaction.

"Yeah, that's one option" he said, not sounding too thrilled about it. "Or, you could invite them to come stay with us" he offered.

Elena sat up quickly and turned her lamp on, causing Stefan to groan and shield his eyes from the intrusive light. "You want them to come here?" she asked in disbelief.