Natasha and Damon meet and fall in love.

Natasha sat at her desk listening to "All I Want to Do Is Make Love to You" by Heart on her iPod. The phone interrupted her reverie, but she did not mind. Cricket, Cal, Stefan and Monica were at an offsite meeting going over her performance under their tutelage. She had been doing well in every subject except assassination. She hated killing people; it ran against her moral upbringing. She prayed deeply inside never to kill anyone again.

Who was Natasha? Where did she come from? What was her background? When she first arrived at Wolf’s Head Oil, her appearance surprised the foursome. She was 5 feet 11 inches tall, with long black hair, very intense blue eyes and very trim long legs. She did not walk like an athlete who ran track, but more like the sleek way a leopard stalked its prey on the savannah. When she came to them, she was a junior at the Bard School and at the top of her class. She was born in Romania and ran track competitively until sidelined by a severe muscle injury. She still ran but at a much slower pace and not competitively.

Natasha was born into a family of privilege in Romania. She grew up outside the country attending private schools all over Europe. She ended up at the Bard School because her parents had attended the school. They wanted her to get a very well rounded education in things other than normal subjects. While at the Bard School, she excelled in academics, but had trouble with the other subjects. It was decided that in her best interests to place her with some former students who could train her personally. She had never dated or had a boyfriend, they were unimportant to her. She did not have time to spend frivolously with such things.

Answering the phone was something she did for Cricket and Monica every day. On the other end was Mr. Wagner from the Bard School. He wanted to speak to Cricket and told Natasha to get her. Natasha explained that she was not there. Mr. Wagner sighed, but told her that there was a young man coming to join her in her training. He would arrive shortly. She hung up only to have the phone ring again. It was Security this time. There was a young man in the lobby asking to see Cricket. Natasha told them to send him to the Executive floor.

Out of the elevator, stepped one of the most handsome and beautiful men Natasha ever saw. He was very tall, at least 6' 5" with dark brown wavy hair, intense green eyes, a cute nose and the most kissable lips in the world. Her mouth dropped open and she stopped dead in getting up to greet him. Here was the man of her dreams. She sat riveted in her chair, watching this man approach. His walk was deliberate, but not stiff, sort of casual and unhurried. He approached her desk and a crooked smile appeared on his gorgeous face.

"Hello, I am Damon. I believe Mr. Wagner called about my arrival today. Is Cricket here?"

Natasha sputtered, "Sh sh she is on her way here to greet you. I am to see to your needs until she arrives. I am her Personal Assistant, Natasha. Welcome. Is there anything you would like Coffee, tea, water or juice?" In her head she thought, "me?"

"No thank you. I will wait until she arrives."

Natasha got up shaking, "please follow me to the conference room, where you will be greeted by Cricket and the others."

Damon looked at Natasha and thought, "I would follow you anywhere," as she led him down the hall to Cricket's private conference room. He entered the room and briefly brushed against Natasha. They both felt a spark go between them. She almost fainted at the touch; he slowed his entry, and looked at her curiously. They smiled cautiously at each other. Natasha wanted the feeling to last; she almost grabbed him to her. He hesitated, turned and took her hand. That did it; she looked him in the eyes reached up and drew his mouth to hers in a long passionate kiss. He kissed her back, wrapping his strong arms around her. The kiss lasted a long time, and the two failed to see Cricket, Monica, Stefan and Cal come down the hall.

That was how Natasha and Damon met. They had been students competing for over six months now. They felt very comfortable with each other each anticipating the others needs. It was a very natural partnership, but there was something missing. The spark was still there and they had spent a lot of time together unsupervised. In their minds, they wanted to take their relationship to the next level, but school policy prevented that. Damon thought about violating the rules again. He had a girlfriend at the Bard School, a classmate named Natalia. He liked or loved Natasha. She was the woman for him. He tired of the rules and walked up to Natasha, grabbed her into his arms and kissed her. Her reaction, rather than utter shock and distain, was to wrap her arms around him tightly and kiss him back fiercely. They kissed and hugged for over 5 minutes.

When they stopped Damon said, "Natasha, can I take you on a date?"

"I thought you would never ask me. Where shall we go?"

"Where do Cal and Cricket, or Stefan and Monica go? I am not that familiar with this area and do not want to go into the wrong part of the city."

"Actually, I thought of a place we can go that is close to where we live. That way we do not have to get home early or have to worry about traffic. There is a nice restaurant and better club there where we can be ourselves. I want to go to both places and would be honored to be escorted by you."

It was set; Damon and Natasha were officially a couple. Although the Bard School discouraged fraternization, they never punished anyone for it. In fact, one of the things the school liked was when ex-students married and raised families. It was a very effective way to blend into a community and be well below the radar. Now these two were joining that group. Natasha called the restaurant and made reservations for dinner the following Friday night. She sat at her desk with a smile and warm pink glow on her face, as she thought about Damon being hers. She watched, as he walked away with a spring in his step.