state of grace | mikaelson men

11 | DISTRACTING

Never had she seen the man out of a well-tailored suit. But here he was in a simple white shirt and what felt like sweatpants rubbing against her thighs. And his usually so perfect hair was messy in the most alluring way with morning scruff he'd yet to shave that grew overnight.

Elijah Mikaelson was handsome — that was a fact. But the boyish appearance nearly had Lottie weak in the knees, who was thankful she was lying down.

Unlike Kol, who had an almost supernatural knack for knowing when Lottie got distracted by any of her mates' physical appearance, Elijah was practically clueless to her early morning thoughts. Or if he did know, he pretended not to notice how she gripped his shoulders a little tighter and her cheeks grew even pinker.

"My day isn't much if you aren't awake and present in it," Elijah said, continuing the conversation. "Though I fear only another half hour would've passed before my sister stormed in here to wake you up and get you ready."

"Ready for what?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow. She couldn't hear any kind of commotion outside, though that would be because nearly every room in the mansion had soundproofing — it was a necessity with enhanced hearing.

"It seems my mother wishes to introduce us as a complete family to the town. A ball is to be held tonight at seven," he informed her.

"A ball?" she asked, getting a little excited. But then she frowned. "But you can't plan an entire formal ball in such a short time."

"You seem to have forgotten we are vampires," Elijah reminded her playfully. "Invitations were distributed amongst the townspeople well before most were even having breakfast."

"Unbelievable," she breathed out, amused by it all. "I suppose I should find Rebekah before she breaks a door, and Nik yells at her. And you can get ready."

Lottie rolled off Elijah's bed and started for the door, only for the man to appear in front of her before she could open it. She looked up at him in surprise, not expecting the vampire speed so early in the morning.

"Rebekah's downstairs. If you're to go see her, I'd rather you put this on," he told her. Elijah was holding out a simple button-down shirt, which confused Lottie. "There are workers about the house."

It was then she realized he was referring to her sleep attire. Elijah wasn't the only one underdressed. Lottie'd gone to bed in Rebekah's room only wearing a thin white tank top and rather small yellow shorts. For a moment, Lottie was almost disappointed that Elijah was diligently keeping his eyes on her own — if only she'd seen how he watched her as she walked from the bed. It was the reason he got the shirt in the first place.

"Oh," was all she managed to say shyly while nodding. Before she could take it from Elijah, he slipped it over her shoulders for her so that she could slide her arms into the sleeves. She continued to silently look up at him as he carefully buttoned it up, holding in an intake of breath as his fingers brushed her clothed chest. Once he was finished with his task, he took a step back. "Better?"

"Perhaps not quite the word I'd use," he said under his breath. "I'll see you momentarily. There should be some food for you in the kitchen."

The first thought Lottie had as she entered the hallway on her own was that she needed to get ahold of herself — and to take a cold shower because it wasn't the time for such thoughts. After collecting herself, she made her way to the bottom floor, sure that all the vampires could hear her coming as her bare feet hit the hardwood floors.

Just as Elijah said, the first floor was full of people running around and arranging things for the ball. There were flowers and lights being placed all over. And Klaus, who was the first that Lottie found, was instructing some men to take cases of champagne to the kitchen pantry. If he was going to have to attend this stupid thing, at least he could drink.