Unexpected Chances

Chapter 17

The morning hours come too quickly as she laid in his arms, still wide awake. Her mind racing and her skin was on fire from the moistness of his lips on her overheated flesh. Stefan's arms were wrapped around her tightly as she exhaled deeply, turning in his arms to watch him sleep.

Elena watched as his chest rose and fell and she smiled to herself as she leaned into him and kissed his lips that were somehow turned up in a small smile. He fell asleep happy, thank goodness, she thought to herself as she felt him stir and then he let out a loud groan followed by a rasp is his sleepy voice. "Are you trying to kill me, woman?" Stefan asked her as a wider smile tuged onto his raw and red chapped lips.

She nodded at him as she let out a laugh. "No, babe...I'm trying to make you happy." Elena told him with a grin as she felt Stefan flip them over, his finger tips slowly and achingly taking off the strap of her black tank top with his teeth as Elena moaned into his ear.

"Stefan...please...I need to talk to you.." She uttered suddenly as he licked her exposed and heated flesh and then he laughed. "Sweetheart, I don't want to talk...Elena, all I want to do is this..." Stefan told her as he pinned her wrists above her head and kissed her deeply, all the while his hands traveled under her tank top. But, just when he was about to slip it half way over her stomach and lean into her to kiss her exposed skin, Elena finally spoke up.

"I told Rebekah to leave you the hell alone! I...I...my god! I...switched the checks and...then I met her in your office, I recorded our conversation and I threatened her. I told her that if she doesn't leave you alone, I'll expose her. Stefan...Rebekah's been conning you since the day you met her!" Elena let out in between breaths as she instantly felt the loss of his warm and soft hands on her skin.

"You did what?" Stefan asked out loud, his voice sounding angry as he lifted himself off of Elena and swung his feet over the edge of the bed.

"Stefan, I didn't have a choice...I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to have to deal with it. I mean, you already have so much on your plate and adding a crazy ex-wife to the mix that wants to take everything away from you...your too good of a guy to be so overwhelmed with it all that I just thought I could help you out." Elena explained in a huff as she pulled down the tank top and then watched as Stefan adjusted the waistband on his sweat pants.

"Help me out? Elena, I didn't want you involved in the first place! I mean, you don't know what she's capable of." Stefan argued.

"Oh, I know what she's capable of. She conned you into thinking she was pregnant and then, she made you sign over everything in a check! Stefan, please. All, I wanted to do was beat her at her own game and I won!" Elena told him as she too got up from the bed and walked over to him.

Stefan was now getting dressed, placing his grey shirt over his head as he glanced over at Elena and nodded. "Only problem is that you didn't think about the consequences...about how she'll torment me." He told her in a stern tone.

"Torment you? Stefan, she's going to be in jail! She won't bother you." Elena argued, placing her hands on her hips as she exhaled deeply.

"Look, I appreciate your help. But, this isn't over yet until she rots in a jail cell right alongside Katherine. Once they're both in jail, then I can breathe easily. Elena, baby..I know I should probably be really pissed off that you went behind my back and tried to expose Rebekah. But, I'm not. I know that you're trying to protect me and I love you for it because, I would have done the same if it came down to it with you." He explained as he watched Elena take a step back and then he took one forward. Stefan's arms grabbed her wrist as he pulled her close and held her tight, exhaling deeply as he kissed her forehead and whispered "I love you, Elena and I know that you're trying to protect me. But, I can do it myself."

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He had kissed her on the forehead and left the house without another word. To be honest, he hated the fact that she was trying to help him. Deep down he worried about her and yet he knew that she had just been trying to help.

So as Stefan drove aimlessly around for hours. He hoped that the phone call that he had just made to Katherine would lure her out of hiding and he would be able to finally put her in her place for once. But after driving in what seemed like circles, he turned the car around and was about to head home, when the familiar sound of her ring tone blared into the silence of the car.

"Hello?" Stefan answered, his voice sounding calm and collected as she purred into her cell phone.

"I was wondering when you would call me..I mean, it was inevitable." Katherine told him with a chuckle.

"Where are you?" He asked, ignoring her flirtatious tone.

"Why, you missed me? I'm at a hotel in the middle of Chicago...pretty view." Katherine told him nonchalantly.

"I..wanted to see you...Look, I wanted to apologized for my behavior and maybe we can make up." Stefan told her, trying his hardest to conceal his lying from her.

"Make up? Stefan..what about your little replacement?" Katherine nearly hissed through her teeth when she mentioned Elena.

"We got into a huge fight..I just need to...release some of this tension...this anger..if you know what I mean?" Stefan told her, listening as Katherine laughed and then she agreed without hesitation.

"Alright, Stefan..come alone...all alone. I'm at the hotel Riverwood. It's close to your office. I'm sure you'll be able to find me. I'll see you soon, love." Katherine once again said in a flirtatious tone as Stefan rolled his eyes at the sound of her voice and told her a polite goodbye.

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Moments after calling Katherine and getting her to take the bait, his sweaty palms and anxious body called Damon and told him of his plan.

"I'm taking her down tonight Damon. I don't want you to stop me. Because, if you try you'll regret it." Stefan told him in a huff as he heard Damon exhale deeply.

"Stefan, we have a big problem...and when I mean big..I mean extraordinarily huge!" Damon told him with a sigh as he heard Stefan exhale deeply.

"What happened?" He asked his brother nervously.

"Rebekah was just arrested. It's all over the news...Someone leaked the information that we got against her and they arrested her at her apartment about an hour ago. I'm surprised you didn't see it or get a phone call from anyone...it's all over the news!" Damon informed him.

Stefan parked his car in a nearly empty parking lot as he took a deep breath. "Son of bitch!" He cursed as he listened to Damon apologize and then before he could say anything else to his older brother, the cell phone beeped.

He quickly clicked over to other end and gripped the steering wheel when he heard the man's voice. "Hi, Stefan Salvatore. My name is Sergeant Alaric Saltzman. I found your name in her contacts list. I just thought that you should know that your ex-wife Rebekah Mickealson is in the county jail...waiting to be booked into our facility."