The One That I Want
By Misha
Disclaimer- Not mine. I’m just borrowing them for a while and will return them when I am finished.
Author’s Notes- So this is a modern AU for The Crown & The Flame. It came about when violetflipflops and I were sharing GIFs of DJ Cotrona and I commented I needed to write a modern AU just to use some of the pictures in an inspiration board. Then we started to discuss it and an idea came to me. I was really worried it was going to be a massive idea, but in the end, I was able to make it a one-shot (though I might return to this setting later). All you really need to know is that Kenna inherited a business after her parents’ were killed and that Luther was a long time business rival of her father. This is also a response to the kissing prompt “A kiss on the hand before asking them to dance”.
Rating- NSFW
Pairing- Kenna/Diavolos
Summary- Kenna never intended to get involved with the son of her biggest rival, but then she hadn’t been prepared for the way Diavolos made her feel. Modern AU.
Words- 2146
Kenna was bored. She hated these kinds of functions. Boring speeches, pretentious people. But at the same time, she knew it was her responsibility.
“You are the face of your company,” her friend, and silent partner, Annelyse was constantly reminded her, “which means you need to be seen.”
Kenna knew she was right, which was why she was wearing a fancy dress, holding a glass of champagne and making small talk while desperately wishing she was at home eating pizza.
“You look like you’d rather be anywhere else,” a smooth voice said from behind her. Kenna turned around to see a handsome man in a suit.
“Diavolos,” she acknowledged, hoping her voice sounded appropriately casual, “I didn’t know you would be here.”
“My father was detained on the West Coast,” Diavolos explained, “so I’m here in his place.”
Kenna tensed at the mention of Luther Nevrakis and said a little silent prayer of thanks that she’d be saved having to make small talk with him this evening. She and Luther co-existed, but there was a mutual animosity that lurked under the surface of all their interactions. She would never forgive him for attempting to steal her company and she had a feeling he’d never forgive her for saving it.
“May I have this dance?” Diavolos asked her, nodding to the dance floor.
“Of course,” Kenna said politely. She put her empty glass down on a nearby table and then took the hand Diavolos offered. He brought her hand to his mouth, placing a gentle kiss on it that made her skin tingle, before leading her to the dance floor.
He placed his hand on her back as they moved in time to the music. “You look beautiful in that dress,” Diavolos told her in a low voice. “But not as good as you look with nothing on.”
“Diavolos…” Kenna warned. “We agreed…”
“You agreed,” he corrected, “And I know why, but I can’t stop thinking about you, Kenna. About what you looked like in my bed, naked and gasping with pleasure.”
His words sent a shiver through her. She’d had a time forgetting that night as well.
“We both agreed that we can’t be together,” Kenna reminded him.
“We’re already together, we have been for months,” Diavolos rebutted, “and maybe it would be best if we forgot about it, but I can’t do that. I can’t get you out of my mind.”
“Diavolos…”
“Come home with me,” He urged as the music ended, “we can forget all the reasons why we shouldn’t be together and I’ll remind you just how good it can be between us.”
Kenna bit her lip, desire warring with common sense. “Ok,” she agreed as the exited the dance floor, “but we can’t leave together.”
There were a dozen reasons why that would be a bad idea. She could see the irritation cross Diavolos face, but he didn’t protest. “My place?”
Kenna nodded wordlessly as they left the dance floor.
“Thank you for the dance, it was nice to see you again, Kenna,” Diavolos said politely before disappearing into the crowd.
Kenna watched him go and forced herself to stay put for a few minutes, wandering the room and making small talk before slipping out of the function. She hesitated for a moment and then gave the driver Diavolos’s address.
A short time later, she was entering the building, the doorman giving a silent nod of acknowledgment before pressing the elevator code for her. Kenna rode up to the penthouse floor, trying not to remember how many times she’d made this journey. Each time she told herself it would be the last.
When she got to his door, she took a key out of her purse. It’s presence in her purse proof of her lack of willpower. She had tried giving it back when she’d left the last time, but Diavolos wouldn’t accept it back the last time she was here and she hadn’t been able to bring herself to just leave it. After a moment, Kenna opened the door.
Diavolos was already inside, obviously waiting for her. He’d discarded his suit jacket and tie, the top buttons of his shirt undone. He crossed the room as soon as he saw her and as soon as the door closed behind her, she was in his arms.
His lips were insistent against hers, his hands working on the zipper of her dress.
“I’ve been waiting for this all night,” he whispered pressing kisses against her bare skin as her dress slid to the floor. “I was watching you, you know. Knowing that if I went and talked to you, I would have a hard time not touching you, so I kept my distance until I couldn’t take it anymore.”
“Diavolos…” Kenna murmured, not sure what to say to that. Instead, she claimed his mouth in another kiss, her hands finding the buttons of his shirt. It was always better when they didn’t talk.
After a moment, Diavolos lifted her up and carried her into his bedroom, her arms around his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist. He walked them over to the bed and set her down and then reached for the clasp of her bra. He tossed the garment to the side and then sank to his knees in front of her placing kisses all along her bare chest, his tongue teasing her nipples into hard points as she sighed against him.
“You are so fucking gorgeous,” he told her, slipping his hand between her legs, pushing the lacy fabric of her underwear to the side. “I love that I’m the one that gets to see this side of the cool, collected Kenna Rys.” He pushed her underwear down her legs, leaving her completely bare to his touch.
“Diavolos…”
“What do you want?” He asked, his hands gripping her hips.
“I want you,” Kenna told him, finding the words came so much easier in this setting. It was easy to admit that she wanted Diavolos physically, it was everything else that was a problem.
“Do you want me to touch you?” Diavolos asked her, slipping his fingers between her wet folds.
“Yes,” Kenna moaned, throwing her head back.
“So you want my hands on you,” Diavolos told her, continuing to pump his fingers inside of her, “but what about my mouth? Do you want me to taste you?”
“Yes, please…” Kenna gasped as his lips trailed down her stomach and then lower. Diavolos licked and sucked at her, working her with both his hands and mouth.
Kenna grasped at his hair, as she arched her hips into him. “Diavolos,” she screamed as he made her come apart under his touch.
“I fucking love it when you scream my name,” He told her possessively, moving up to kiss her deeply. She could taste herself on his mouth and it just made her moan a little bit. “So you’ve had my hands and my mouth, is there anything else you want?” He whispered hotly in her ear, his body pressed against hers.
“I want all of you,” Kenna told him, wondering if she was really just talking about sex.
“Your wish is my command,” Diavolos told her. He pulled away long enough to strip off his remaining clothing and then he pushed her back onto the bed and climbed on top of her, his body pressing her into his soft mattress. He entered her in one powerful movement, his lips claiming her as he began to thrust into her. Kenna moved her hips in time with his, her legs wrapping around his waist to pull him closer as her hands ran up and down his back. Diavolos pressed kisses down her neck and onto her shoulders as he continued to move within her.
It wasn’t long before Kenna felt herself coming part again, clinging to Diavolos as she did, and as she clenched around him she could feel him stiffen and then let go, coming with a guttural cry. Diavolos pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before moving to lay on his back beside her, pulling her against his side. Kenna relaxed into his embrace, resting her head against his chest.
“Stay the night?” Diavolos asked her, running his fingers through her long hair.
“Ok,” Kenna agreed, cuddling up closer. She had no desire to move. She loved being with him like this, just wrapped up together, without any intrusion from the real world. If only they could stay like this forever.
“Are we going to keep doing this, Kenna?” Diavolos asked after a moment and she could hear the weariness in his voice.
She stiffened. Usually, more time passed before they had this conversation. “I tried to end it, remember?”
“I don’t want to end it,” Diavolos protested, “I want to be with you. But really with you, not stolen moments here and there or in secret, pretending it’s not a real relationship when it is until you decide we shouldn’t see each other at all and then I charm you back into bed. We’ve been doing this for months, Kenna.”
She knew that. She had told herself it was a one-time thing all those months ago when she and Diavolos had gone for drinks after a function and ended up in bed together. But it kept happening and it had meant more and more as the months went on, which is why she kept trying to end it. Because if she didn’t walk away for good soon, she wasn’t sure she was going to be able too.
“Your father would never accept it,” Kenna pointed out.
Diavolos shrugged. “So?”
Kenna sighed, “you make it sound so easy.”
“As far as I’m concerned it is that easy,” Diavolos told her, “I want to be with you, Kenna, and if my father objects to that, then so be it.”
“He’d disown you,” Kenna pointed out, they’d had this conversation before.
“Are you saying that you wouldn’t want me if I wasn’t my father’s heir?” Diavolos countered.
Kenna sighed, “that’s not what I’m saying at all. But… If he disowns you, that means there’s no one to stand up to him, and who inherits? Marco? Zenobia? Think about all your employees, they deserve better than either of them. And you’ve spent your whole life working for the company, I can’t ask you to walk away from that for me.”
“We don’t even know that it would come to that,” Diavolos pointed out, “you’re just assuming my father would make me choose.”
“Your father hates me,” Kenna reminded him, “and there’s so much bad blood between our families.”
There was a long silence as they both considered her words. Kenna thought about everything she didn’t say. The years of shady deals and rumors about how Abanthus Corp did business. The long rivalry between Abanthus Corp and Stormholt Industries. The way Luther had tried his hardest to steal her company when she was young and vulnerable. The fact that part of her still wondered if he had been responsible for the car accident that had killed her parents. None of it had anything to do with Diavolos, Kenna knew that, but it still made her question whether they could ever have a future together.
“My father’s not an idiot,” Diavolos said finally, “he’s not going to let Marco and Zenobia ruin everything he has spent his whole life fighting for. My father might never admit it, but he needs me.”
“You really want to do this?” Kenna asked quietly, they’d had this conversation before, of course, but it had always ended up with them at a standstill and Diavolos had never been this insistent.
“I want to be with you,” Diavolos told her, “I don’t want to spend a whole night staring at you across a room, jealous of everyone who talks to you, wishing I had the right to be at your side.”
Kenna was quiet for a moment, processing his words. She thought of all the reasons why this was a bad idea and suddenly they all seemed so trivial. Maybe Luther would disown Diavolos or maybe, he wouldn’t. Yes, there would be gossip and it would mean having to be civil to Luther on a regular basis, but… It would mean being with Diavolos, having a life with him.
“Ok,” she said finally.
“Ok?” Diavolos repeated.
“I’m done hiding,” Kenna told him, “If you aren’t worried about it, then I won’t worry either. You’re right, this is getting ridiculous. I want to be with you, Diavolos.”
He smiled, his whole face lighting up. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Kenna confirmed, raising her face and pressing her lips against his.
A part of her was still uncertain about this, wary of all the potential complications, but… She wanted this man and it was time she admitted that. She had tried walking away and that hadn’t worked, so now it was time to find another way and figure out if they could somehow put all the bad blood between their families behind them and make a life together.
- End
