The Ending You Least Expect
By Misha
Disclaimer- Not Mine. I’m just borrowing them for a little while and will return them when I am finished.
Author’s Notes- I was little overwhelmed by the positive reaction to Dante, but since I immediately fell in love with him, I’m glad other people did too. This is not the sequel I intended to write. This was just going to be a short fluff piece before I wrote a longer sequel, but Dante is a Nevrakis and that means he has a will of his own. This ended up both longer than I intended and NSFW. I couldn’t resist throwing in The Crown & The Flame references and the comparisons between the two couples.
Rating- NSFW
Pairing- MC/Other, slight Diavolos/Kenna
Summary- Eleanor catches up on the final season of her favorite show and thinks about the parallels to her own life and how sometimes it’s all about the one you least expected. Sequel to “Let Me Take You Away”.
Words- 2360
Eleanor has really missed TV. She assumes there was TV in Cordonia, but there had never been a chance for her to curl up and watch. So when she emerges from her Cordonian whirlwind, one of the things she wants to do was catch up on the shows she’s missed.
“I missed the entire last seasons of The Crown and The Flame,” she tells Dante, pouting a little.
“Well we can’t have that,” he teases, pressing a light kiss to her lips. “We’ll pick a weekend and we’ll watch together.”
She’s been working in his office, helping out as she tries to figure out what she wants to do next and it’s nice to be productive again. It’s nice to feel normal again.
“I’d like that,” Eleanor says, before kissing him back just as gently.
It’s been less than a week since she left Cordonia and she and Dante are still exploring things. She’s living with him, but they have separate rooms. They’re together, at least she thinks they are, but it’s new and she was very nearly engaged, so they are taking it slowly.
Dante assures her over and over that there’s no rush, that this can be a “just friends” thing, but Eleanor’s not sure it’s ever been just friends because she’s been drawn to him since the moment they met.
However, she’s still in love with Liam, leaving didn’t change that, and she knows she can’t just jump into a new relationship but she also knows that she and Liam were falling apart long before Dante came into the picture. If they weren’t, she’d have never been able to leave.
Two weeks after she leaves Cordonia, Liam marries Madeleine. Eleanor knows she made the right choice in leaving when she did, but it still breaks her heart and leaves her wondering what might have been. If she had stayed would he have fought harder or would this have always been the outcome?
“I think today is a good day for that The Crown and the Flame marathon,” Dante tells her that morning and she can see the sympathy and the understanding in his eyes.
“I’d like that,” she admits, “but we need snacks.”
“Of course,” He agrees, his lips brushing hers gently.
It feels odd to be standing barefoot in a kitchen kissing another man on Liam’s wedding day, but it doesn’t feel wrong and she realizes that’s another sign she made the right choice. There are lots of snacks and they curl up together on his (or is it theirs?) couch, her head on his shoulder.
Eleanor’s stunned to find out that The Crown & The Flame threw the fans a curveball in the final season and introduced a new love interest for Kenna. After several seasons of making it seem like it would come down to a choice between Raydan or Dom, suddenly there was a third option: Diavolos Nevrakis, King Luther’s very sexy oldest son.
“A nice Nevrakis huh?” Eleanor teases, her head on Dante’s shoulder.
“We do exist,” he says with a laugh.
They make it halfway through the season that first night, calling it a night just after Kenna ends up sharing a heart to heart, and a passionate kiss, with the son of her enemy.
“That was an unexpected twist,” Eleanor comments as she cleans up.
“Nevrakis men are good at that,” Dante tells her, following her into the kitchen, “we like to come into the story and mix everything up.”
He backs her against the counter, pressing his lips to her and she gives in willingly. It’s only been two weeks, but she’s already discovered how much she likes kissing him. His one hand grabs her ass tugging her closer to him, while the other one runs through her long hair. His lips are firm, his tongue easily parting her lips and seeking entrance and it’s not long before he has her gasping for breath. Eleanor slips a hand under his t-shirt, running her hand over the hard muscle.
“Dante,” she gasps, pressing herself closer.
He continues to kiss her for another few minutes, her back pressed into the kitchen counter and then he pulls back. “Not tonight,” he says and she can tell how much effort that is taking him. “I’m not taking you to bed on his wedding night.”
His words are like a bucket of cold water. It occurs to her that until this moment, she had forgotten that Liam was getting married today. “This isn’t…” She begins.
Dante softens, his arms wrapping around her in a hug. “I know, Ellie,” she wonders if she should object to the short form but she finds that she likes it, “I just… I want to make sure there are only two of us in that bed because once we take that step, you’ll be mine.”
Eleanor wonders if his words should scare her, but they don’t. “I think you’d make it hard to remember anyone else exists,” she confesses, gazing up at him.
“Good.” He tells her and then kisses her one last time, this time softly, but with purpose.
They finish cleaning up and then go their separate ways. As Eleanor lays in her bed, she considers Googling pictures of the royal wedding, but she doesn’t. She doesn’t need to do that to herself.
Besides, it’s not Liam’s face she’s picturing as she lays there unable to sleep, it’s the man in the room next door. Her body is aching for Dante and as she seeks release with her own fingers, she pictures his face, his low husky voice whispering her name and it doesn’t take long for her to come apart on her fingers, wishing desperately they were his.
As she drifts off to sleep she wonders what it says about her that she can move on so easily. After all, a few weeks ago, she thought she and Liam would be together forever and now he’s married to someone else and she’s drifting to sleep dreaming of another man.
She and Dante continue their marathon the next day, except this time Eleanor is more forward. As they cuddle on the couch, she strokes his thigh, causing him to take a deep breath. She licks her lips when she knows he’s watching and cuddles as close as possible.
“You’re the one who wanted to watch,” he reminds her, his voice low in her ear, his breath hot against her neck.
“It’s not my fault that you’re more interesting,” Eleanor pouts, though she is enjoying the show.
Dante just smirks. “Is that so?”
“Uh huh,” Eleanor says, pressing her lips to his and then somehow they end up making out on the couch like a couple of teenagers. They have the forethought to pause the TV, before Dante presses her into the couch, his lips against hers, his hand traveling her body. Eleanor tugs him closer, slipping her leg between his as they continue to kiss. She doesn’t know how long they stay like that, but the ringing of the phone interrupts them.
“That would be our food,” Dante mutters as he pulls himself away, reminding her that they’d ordered takeout. He gives the doorman permission to let the delivery guy up and then he pays for their food while Eleanor straightens herself up, giggling a little at how distracted they got. They turn the show back on as they eat and Eleanor leans into his comfortable embrace as they watch.
It’s then that Liam crosses her mind. And she realizes they never had this. In all the months they knew each other, they never had a chance to have a moment like this. The date that he prepared for her and their nights in Paris were the closest they ever came to being a real couple, they never managed this type of casual intimacy that she and Dante have achieved in such a short time. It makes her sad for a moment but it’s just another a realization that she made the right choice in leaving.
Dante notices her expression and runs a hand over her face, “are you ok?”
She smiles at him, a genuinely happy smile, “yeah, I’m great.”
He nods and pulls her back into his arms as they watch the last few episodes. Eleanor’s heart is in her throat as Diavolos takes on his own father to protect the woman he loves and she sighs as they end up together. He was the unexpected twist, but he ended up being just what Kenna needed.
Eleanor glances at Dante and laughs, thinking she knows what that feels like. Apparently, Nevrakis men really have a knack for coming into a story and changing the ending.
“What’s so funny?” Dante asks curiously.
Eleanor tells him and he smirks. “Are you complaining?”
She knows he’s not talking about the TV show.
“Not at all,” Eleanor answers, getting to her feet. She meets his eyes, trying to display a boldness she doesn’t feel, “this is exactly where I want to be.” And it is. She can tell him all the ways the last 24 hours have shown her that she made the right choice, but she doesn’t have to.
Dante gets to his feet and crushes his lips against her. “I want you,” he tells her, his voice rich with need.
“I want you too,” Eleanor assures him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
He swings her into his arms and carries her to his bedroom. It’s the first time Eleanor has stepped foot in his private space, but she isn’t really concerned with the décor. She just wants him.
Dante sets her down on her feet beside the bed and then leans down and kisses her again, a long slow kiss. They help each other out of their clothing, taking time to place kisses on the exposed skin as they do so. They are both desperate for each other, but at the same time, neither of them is in a rush.
They get there eventually and they are both naked Eleanor can’t help but admire his naked form. Of course, a few weeks of living with him has shown her that he takes his workouts very seriously and it shows.
Dante seems just impressed by what he sees. “You are so beautiful,” he tells her, his hands resting on the curve of her waist as he lowers his lips to hers once more.
When they pull apart, he leads her to the bed, motioning for her to sit down on the edge while he kneels in front of her.
“I want to taste you,” he tells her, parting her legs. She’s not going to complain about that. He presses kisses to her inner thighs, taking his time and driving her crazy, before moving upward. He teases her with his tongue and lips, kissing and licking and sucking and making her gasp before he plunges his tongue into her, his hands gripping her hips. He knows exactly what he is doing and it’s not long before Eleanor is squirming beneath him, desperately arching her hips into his face as her hands dig into his hair.
“Dante,” she cries out over and over.
“That’s it,” he encourages, “come for me, baby.”
When the pleasure finally starts to ebb, Eleanor tugs him to his feet. “My turn.”
Dante’s eyes darken, “Eleanor.”
“I want to,” she tells him, taking him in her hand.
He’s already so hard and he groans as she adds her lips to her hands, licking and sucking until he is cursing. “Fuck… Oh, that feels good,” he tells her before he makes her stop, “but I want to be inside you.”
“I want that too,” Eleanor assures him.
Dante pushes her back onto the bed. As he positions himself above her, he claims her lips in another deep kiss and then enters her slowly, teasing her until he is finally all the way in.
They begin to move together, instantly finding the right tempo, neither of them in a rush. The kiss and caress each other as their bodies move at a slow, sensual pace, their legs tangled together.
Eleanor can feel herself getting closer and apparently Dante can as well, because he slips his hand between them, massaging her clit and urging her towards completion. She clings to him as she comes, sobbing his name and arching her hips into him.
“You feel so fucking good,” he tells her as he continues to thrust into her as she convulses around him, then it’s his turn, slamming into her one final time as he reaches his own peak, his lips finding her in a deep, possessive kiss.
He collapses against her then, both of them spent, and Eleanor runs her hands over his back, liking the weight of him against her. Eventually, Dante moves away, laying down on his side and pulling her into his embrace, his arms wrapped around her. Eleanor relaxes in his embrace, feeling safe and secure in his arms.
“Sometimes it’s the one you expect the least who makes all the difference,” she murmurs, thinking of The Crown & The Flame finale and her own situation.
She had expected the series to end one way and it hadn’t, she’d expected her story to go in a specific direction but it hadn’t. And yet, the finale of her favorite series had been perfect and left her feeling sad but fulfilled and by the end, she hadn’t been able to imagine Kenna choosing anyone else.
And as she lays in Dante’s arms, Eleanor knows the same holds true for her. This wasn’t the way she had expected her story to go when she had left for Cordonia all those months ago, but she felt happier and more relaxed than she has in months and as Dante presses gentle kisses on her back, he certainly feels like he’s who she was supposed to end up.
Maybe, that’s the point, maybe the best stories are the ones that keep surprising you.
- End
