Barely A Memory

Chapter 18

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Stefan chuckled against Elena's lips when she tripped over the threshold. His strong arm against her waist prevented her from falling, and for that, he was grateful. Extremely grateful. Then again, if Elena fell, they'd probably both just end up on the floor and...

Slam. She shut the door behind them hurriedly with a fumbling hand, refusing to pull away from his lips even for a moment. At this point, breathing seemed optional, and Stefan was sure as hell ready to drown before he moved away. Elena's lips were paradise. He felt like a saint and a sinner. He hardly comprehended it all, couldn't make sense of the combination of chills and heat flooding through his body and making the blood in his veins rush. All that he knew, all that mattered, was that the gentle, dull ache in the back of his head as his lungs cried for oxygen, was just as magnificent as it was painful.

This was every dying man's last wish.

Elena's eagerness mirrored his, and Stefan was astonished by the way she would faintly giggle against his lips every few seconds. He wondered what she was laughing at, but didn't bother to ask. Finally, she pulled back for a split second to breathe, and his stomach dropped in disappointment. He quickly went in for another kiss –it was his oxygen right now—but she pulled back, staring deeply into his eyes.

By the curve in her beautifully swollen lips, he could tell that she was amused. He glanced down as Elena began to slowly and playfully unbutton the top of his shirt, never taking her eyes off of his.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. This girl.

"So you think you love me?" she whispered, her breath hitting his cheek like a cool breeze on a summer day.

Eyes wide, Stefan just nodded. Elena chuckled. Then went the next button.

"Well," she began, bringing her mouth dangerously close to his. He was hyper aware of her eyes on his lips and her hands on his chest, his body both frozen and on fire, "I know."

Now, a slow, gentle smile began to form on Stefan's face as he gazed down into Elena's hooded chocolate eyes. "What do you know?" he chuckled, his touch on her waist so light that she could hardly feel it. She stopped unbuttoning his shirt after about the first three, barely exposing his chest.

"I know," she started, gingerly running her fingertips down Stefan's arm until her hands were atop his own, pressing his palms a little tighter to her warm, tingling skin, "that I think I love you too."

He leaned down to press a quick, tender peck on the tip of her nose, causing Elena to crinkle it a bit, and just like that, like a gust of wind, the heavy, hot, desperate air between them cooled. It was so pleasant; Stefan wanted it to stay like this forever. "You know you love me, Elena."

"Well so do you," she offered, trailing her right hand back up his arm.

"Do I?"

Elena grinned, her gaze falling on her hand. Stefan could not make out the expression in her eyes though the light curve of her lips was contagious. He followed her lead, glancing down at her slender fingertips as they danced up his arm to his chest, where the buttons had been opened. Achingly slow, Elena's hand made its way over his chest, right over his heart. Momentarily, she seemed to be awestruck by the discovery that she was making, her lips parted ever so slightly to let out a quick exhale.

"What?" he smiled.

Elena blinked, meeting his eyes once again. "Nothing," she laughed. "It's pounding. Your skin's warm. I'm not used to that."

Laughing, and suddenly bashful, Stefan tried to hide the warmth flooding into his cheeks by tightening his grip on Elena's waist and pressing his lips to hers. Instantly, she responded by pressing her body closer to his; she was so close now that he could feel the warmth radiating off of her. A wave of heat surged through his body, head to toe, as the moment's intensity increased again, and before he could even register what was happening, Elena was pushing the shirt off of his back. The second it landed on the floor, Stefan pulled her even tighter against him and began walking her to -what he assumed was—the bed. When her back came in contact with a wall instead, they both chuckled a bit. Elena smiled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders when he leaned down to kiss along her neck; vampire Stefan would have found the bed with ease, but she didn't mind that human Stefan had a less than perfect sense of direction. He had such a wonder about him now, such a vitality that definitely was becoming on him. Even now, as his lips moved from her neck down to her collarbone, she could sense the sheer wonder he was feeling by the slight trembling of his fingers and the pressure of his kisses. She had to admit, for not remembering where to even begin, Stefan had no trouble bringing Elena to a shaking mess within seconds. She missed him. She loved him. She wanted him.