Find Me

Chapter Eleven

Pale orange light shone onto the wall as Persia tried to avoid opening her eyes for a bit longer. She could feel Damon trailing his fingers up and down her arm and it made her feel so comfortable that she didn't want to wake up yet... she just wanted to lay there at peace with the person she cared about the most lying next to her. She could feel Damon smile as clearly as if she was seeing it. His voice floated through her mind then, clear and smooth and darkly sexy.

I know you're awake now Peri... I can hear the rhythm in your breathing change. She smiled to herself and moved to roll over when she realized he hadn't spoken... She rolled quickly and sat up, looking at him with a smile on her lips.

"I heard you," she said quietly. "I can hear you!" He sat up and smiled at her.

"It worked then. Klaus was right." She nodded at him, feeling that this was a good thing; it meant at least part of what he'd said to her had been the truth. Damon's eyes sparkled as he looked back at her. If this was true- if Klaus was telling the truth- Damon just might have a chance of keeping Peri safe!

"What am I thinking now," he asked her, his eyes intent on her face. Persia stared at him, concentrating on his face.

Persia... I'm in love with you. Persia bit her lip and she blinked several times, hoping to blink away the tears that gathered there. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.

"I'm in love with you, too, Damon," she said, her voice little more than a whisper. Damon kissed her then and held her tightly. His thoughts became a jumbled mess in Persia's mind as her lips moved on his and after a moment, she got nothing but bright white light. The kiss grew steadily more passionate, the need for each other burning nearly out of control when Damon slowly started pulling back a little.

"Wait, wait, wait," he said, breaking their kiss. Persia's breath came in jagged waves as she stared at him, confused. He swallowed as his eyes searched hers.

"Not yet, Peri." Her brows knit together as she looked back at him.

"What, really?" He wanted to explain himself in a way that made sense, but he had a hard time explaining this. Hell, it barely made sense to him!

"Peri, I'm connected to you now in a way I've never been joined to another person. You mean so much to me, and I may never be able to make you understand how much I truly do love you, but this is a kind of intimacy I've never had with anyone. I want that intimacy- you have no idea how much I want it- but this is... I can't even guard my thoughts from you anymore now. You know all of my secrets. This is so much more beautiful than anything I've ever felt, so please, just... let's experience this before we move on, okay?" Persia smiled at him and laid a hand on his cheek, her fingers sweeping over the cold lines of his jaw.

"Okay," she said and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "But I'm not very good at being patient." Damon laughed at that, a wide smile on his face.

"Neither am I, but we can learn."

Persia hadn't been back home in a week, except to grab another change of clothes or school books she'd left. If her mother even noticed she wasn't home, she had never tried to track her down. Damon thought it was really odd that the mother of an eighteen year old girl would allow her to just do whatever she wanted without insisting on checking in with her every once in a while, but that was exactly what was happening.

"Doesn't your mother ever act like a parent," he asked her one day out of the blue.

"She hasn't in years. I'm some kind of disappointment to her. Ever since then, she's tried her best to pretend I don't exist." Damon looked at her in shock.

"What happened that caused her to behave like that?" Persia sighed and shifted in her chair.

"I didn't die when I was supposed to."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean," he asked, his voice sounding angry. Persia could hear his thoughts buzzing through his mind. She looked up at him, catching his eye, but looking back down at her English book a moment later. This secret was one that would have to stay a secret for just a little while longer... she just wasn't ready to talk about it yet.

"Can I tell you that story another time? We have our whole lives to get to know every detail about each other's pasts." Damon didn't say another word, but he watched her intently for several minutes, trying not to wonder what she was keeping from him. She gave an exasperated sigh a few minutes later and he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry! I can't turn the thoughts off, Peri, and that just made me even more curious to know! I understand you're not ready to tell me that story yet, but don't blame me for wanting to know." Persia bit her lip.

"I know, Damon. And I know it's probably not fair of me, but I'm really just not ready yet." He came to stand behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders.

"It's okay. I'll wait. Just know that my mind will be running over what kinds of scenarios it could possibly be until you're ready to tell me." She rolled her eyes and tried to focus on her homework again, but Damon had begun rubbing her shoulders and all she was able to focus on right then was the way his hands felt as they worked the tension out of her muscles. She let her head fall back against the chair and closed her eyes, a soft sigh escaping her lips.

"It's a good thing you can't hear my thoughts right now," she said with a laugh then, wishing more than his hands were touching her body just then. Damon gave a sexy laugh.

"I don't need to. Your body language always gives it away. Although, knowing exactly what you wanted me to do to you would be helpful, too." She gave a small laugh, then sighed again as his fingers began working a knot in her neck.

"This is a really bad time to bring this up, but we really need Stefan to find someone who can read that book... then you'd already know." Damon closed his eyes and inhaled slowly. This kind of talk wasn't helping his resolve to wait.

"You stay here, looking as sexy as you do right now, and I'll go ask him how that search is going," he said suddenly, then just walked away. He needed a minute to clear his head, but he was also now more determined to find someone who could read that book than ever!