I do not own TVD or TO.

I have a clear plan for this and depending on what people think of this first chapter.

I'm thinking that it's going to jump back and forth between the events of this chapter (present) and everything that led up to it. The present chapters will definitely be shorter until we catch up to how she got there.

I can't guarantee when the next chapter will be written, depends on the muse really (that elusive mistress) but the summer gives me all kinds of time.

The Present

Most days she liked to pretend she had no idea how she got to this point in her life. She preferred to not dwell on the choices that landed her in her current 'profession', but there was no possible way she could ignore it anymore.

She had to think about and assign the blame where it was due because there was no way she was going to take the heat for it.

Her goals had been simple. Get the job. Keep a low profile.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

She wanted to ask how she wound up on her knees in a dank alley with Elijah Mikaelson while wearing hundreds of dollars' worth of lingerie, three inch heels, and a short trench coat – that didn't conceal anything, and revealed everything when she bent over – but she already knew the answer.

She knew why the pavement was digging into her skin. She knew why her knees were bruising. She knew why Elijah was looking at her that way, and she knew the reason she couldn't talk; it was painfully obvious.

There were so many things she wanted to say when she looked up at him through the glitter that coated her eyelashes. The words were heavy on her tongue, but they were being forced to the back of her mouth, and since she had no gag reflex they were sliding down her throat.

She could see the word on his parted lips. It's the name that's not her name, and it's getting ready to drip off his silken tongue, but they were not the only ones near the alley. A single sound would grab the attention of the others who were inside and alert them to the presence that they made on the other side of the open window.

She knew better than to be caught so she reached up and covered his mouth.

He grunted against her manicured hand and she placed the blame on a single set of shoulders.

It's was all Damon's fault anyway.

What are your initial thoughts?

I do love reviews.

Just to be clear though. This is not what it sounds like.