Bonnie walked outside with a huff. She was so tired, but she couldn't sleep. Something kept pulling her towards the backyard of the boarding house. She had tried to fight it…but eventually gave up, as she was now walking towards the center of the lawn. Her thin, silk nightgown didn't offer much protection from the cool night breeze. Bonnie shivered and looked down to her pajamas. The bottom of the gown only reached mid-thigh. She brushed it off and kept walking. She walked under a big oak tree, its thick limbs spreading out all over. As she walked under one of its huge branches, she felt two arms grab her under her arms and yank her up into the top of the tree. She let out a small yelp of surprise, but soon found herself sitting on one of the huge tree branches with none other than Damon Salvatore himself.

"Why, hello, little bird." Damon said, giving her a sexy smile.

Damon sat, leaning, comfortably, back against the big oak tree with one leg bent resting on the branch and the other leg dangling off the side.

Bonnie was still too speechless over his beauty under the moonlight to utter a single word.

"Tell me. What are you doing out here at this time of night?" Damon asked, genuinely curious.

"Umm…well, I-I couldn't sleep, and s-something was just luring me out here." Bonnie tried to explain.

Damon narrowed his eyes at her, "So, let me get this straight. You walked out here alone, in the middle of the night, because something was luring you out here?" he asked in disbelief.

Bonnie's demeanor turned nervous, "Ummmm…yeah." She replied, meekly, knowing that, when he put it like that, it had been a really stupid idea to walk out here alone.

Damon stared at her a moment more before closing his eyes and laughing. "OH, Redbird…..you truly are naïve."

Bonnie felt the anger rise up in her, "I am not!" she countered back, crossing her arms over her chest.

Damon peeked out of one eye at her, "Yes you are." He replied, much more calm than Bonnie was.

Bonnie turned her body so that she was facing him, her legs on either side of the tree limb. Anger flared in her eyes, "I am not, Damon!"

Damon chuckled, which only made Bonnie's anger boil higher. "Keep your voice down. Will you?" Damon said as he closed his eyes again.

Bonnie scoffed, "No, I will not keep my voice down! You started this!"

"And now I've ended it. So stop shouting." Damon responded.

"You insult me, and I'm just supposed to let it go? I don't think so, Damon! In fact-" Bonnie's ranting was cut short by Damon's lips.

She quickly lost her train of thought as all her anger turned to passion and she melted into the kiss. Damon gathered her in his arms and took her with him as he leaned back into his previous position, their lips still locked to one another's. Bonnie was laying against him now as they continued to kiss. Damon pulled away and smirked down at Bonnie's flushed face as he held her tight in his arms.

"W-What was that for?" Bonnie stammered.

"For to shut you up." Damon replied, playfully.

"Oh." Bonnie said as disappointment flooded through her and she looked down at the ground below her.

Of course that had been the only reason Damon had kissed her. Hadn't it? As much as Damon wanted to comfort her and give her another reason for kissing her, he just couldn't, because that was the only reason he had done it in the first place…right?

Damon shook it off and returned his attention to the sad little witch lying against his chest. He took his right hand and brushed it through her soft, red curls and kissed her forehead. This was the only way he knew to comfort her from what he had said.

Thankfully…it worked.

Bonnie latched onto him and scootched herself up so that her face was buried in his neck instead of his chest. Damon traced his fingers lightly, up and down her leg as she cuddle into him.

After a while, Bonnie couldn't help it…she want him to kiss her again…even if it didn't mean the same to him as it did her. She leaned her head back from his neck and reach up and cupped the side of his face with her small hand. She turned Damon's face to his right, towards hers, and then she leaned up a little, and kissed him.

Damon's arm that was holding her up and against him crushed her to him, and his hand tracing her leg stopped on her upper thigh and then took a hold of it a bit roughly. Bonnie's right hand fisted in the back of Damon's dark tresses as she kissed him more hungrily. Something in Damon's mind was telling him to stop, as usual when he kissed Bonnie, but…he just couldn't seem to listen to it this time. He returned the kiss, smashing his lips to hers over and over. Soon, Damon was tired of keeping it mild with their kisses and his left hand left her leg and grabbed her jaw, pulling it down. He crashed his lips to hers once more, this time, giving her a full on, open-mouth kiss. Bonnie was a little frozen at first, this was all new to her, but she quickly caught on and kissed him back, in this new way, with just as much force.

They continued to kiss like that for several minutes. With Damon growling low and seductively and Bonnie moaning softly every so often, their breath coming out faster as they went in for each new kiss.

Their kisses were crossing the line from hungry to extremely passionate as they sloppily took each other's lips in their mouths and sucked, Damon gently nibbling. It was up to Damon to stop them now as Bonnie was completely lost. Damon struggled to open his lust filled eyes as kissing Bonnie this way was making him dizzy.

Damon looked down at Bonnie in adoration as he kissed her slowly, passionately. She was so beautiful as she laid helplessly in his arms trusting him to take care of her and treat her respectfully. Damon closed his eyes for one last hard kiss, letting all his emotions pour into it. They held each other so tight and so close now that any more would be to fuse themselves together.

Damon felt a strange feeling bubble up inside him. IT was one he knew all too well and it scared him as he broke away abruptly. Both of them stared at each other as they tried to calm their breathing.

"I'm sorry." Bonnie whimpered.

Damon reached up and traced over her swollen lips with his left hand. "Let's get you back to bed." He told her.

Bonnie nodded slowly, lost in his dark eyes.

Before Damon could stand, Bonnie cuddled into him and fisted her tiny hand in his black shirt, "I wanna sleep with you…in your bed so you can hold me close." she whined.

Damon didn't say a word. He lifted her up in his arms and jumped down from the branch, carrying her inside. Bonnie only knew she had won when Damon walked past her room and headed towards his.

Damon noticed the small smile of triumph that made its way across Bonnie's lips. "Don't get too happy yet." He whispered to her.

With that, he took an abrupt turn to the left, down a hallway, and away from his room. Damon stopped in front of a room….Meredith's. He knocked on the door and dropped Bonnie to her feet as she opened it.

Meredith rubbed her eyes and then glared at Damon once she saw Bonnie clinging to him, "What happened?" she asked, suddenly concerned.

"Nothing happened. I just need you to take care of her tonight. I would like to go to sleep." Damon said.

"Well…why didn't you just put her to bed yourself?" Meredith asked.

"Well…it seems little Bonnie here is intent on sleeping in my room with me tonight. So, I brought her to you, hoping you would talk some sense into her." Damon explained.

Meredith crossed her arms, "And why does she want to sleep with you in the first place?" she asked with an accusatory glare at Damon.

Damon groaned, "I don't have time for a play by play. Just take her." He said, and shoved Bonnie off him towards Meredith.

Meredith noticed Bonnie's tears and her gaze softened as she took Bonnie into her arms. "It's ok, Bonnie."

Before Damon turned away, she caught the look of heartbreak that briefly flashed through his eyes as he tore his gaze from the crying red-head.

"It's ok, Bonnie. I'm sure Damon didn't mean it in a bad way. You know how he is!" Meredith tried to soothe her. She had been trying to comforting Bonnie for at least an hour now, but she kept on crying.

Bonnie shook her head, "No. He just doesn't want me. That's why he shoved me off to you."

Meredith shook her head, "No! The idiot is just afraid of his feelings for you. The only reason he pushes you away after you've been with him for a while is because the feelings get to strong and it freaks him out cuz he's not used to it!" she finally explained, knowing exactly what was wrong with Damon.

Bonnie, however, didn't believe her and only tried to dry her tears.

Finally…Meredith had had enough, "I'll be right back." She said to Bonnie and then kissed her head before leaving the room.

She stalked over to Damon's room and knocked on the door. Damon answered quickly and crossed his arms over his bare chest once he saw her.

"What do you want?" he asked, annoyed.

"I saw how it broke you to leave Bonnie earlier. You didn't really wanna leave her with me, did you?" Meredith asked, getting straight to the point.

"Does it matter?" Damon shot back.

Meredith took a deep, calming breath before speaking, "Look…I don't care if you don't wanna admit your feelings for her, but I do want you to know that Bonnie has been sitting in my room on my bed crying for over an hour now. She really wants to stay with you, Damon. And I know you want her to. So let's make this simple. I'll go get her and she can sleep in here with you."

"No. She's not sleeping in here with me. That's final." Damon said, sternly.

"C'mon…I know you want her in there with you. Don't lie to me, Damon. You want to hold her all night long as much as she wants you to. You want her in there with you, in the dark, all alone, and you know it! You want her to be clinging to you, crushed against you, tangled up in you..."

"OK, I get it!" Damon interrupted. What Meredith was saying to him was true, he did want all of those things. It was torturing him to hear her talk about it, and he had reached his breaking point.

"Go get Bonnie!" he ordered.

Meredith let a sly smile spread across her face as she turned and walked away to retrieve Bonnie. She knew how to get under Damon's skin. Well…she did when it involved Bonnie anyway. She walked back into the room. Bonnie was still sitting there sniffing as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Bonnie. C'mon. Damon wants you in his room." She told her.

Bonnie shot up and looked at Meredith, "Really?" she asked in shock.

Meredith nodded.

She and Bonnie walked back to Damon's room, where he stood with a disapproving glare.

"Get in the room." He commanded to Bonnie as he pointed inside the dark interior.

Bonnie quickly shuffled inside.

Damon shut the door in Meredith's sly smiled face as he grumbled to himself.

He turned in the dark room, which he could see easily in, and walked over to Bonnie, who was standing only a few feet from him, facing him. He stopped inches from her and took her face in his hands and wiped the tears from under her eyes.

"There. You got your way. You're in my room with me. Happy?" Damon said, harshly.

Bonnie sniffed and nodded.

Damon could see her glistening brown orbs staring up at him and it broke him. He bent down slightly and hoisted her up, both his arms under her bottom. Bonnie quickly wrapped her arms around his neck to keep from falling backwards, then she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Damon's head went dizzy as she clung to him, just like he wanted. He planted a loving kiss under her jaw before whispering to her. "Now…just because you're sleeping with me tonight doesn't mean I don't have rules."

Bonnie sighed, "What are the rules?" she asked curiously.

Damon stood, gently twisting them from side to side, as he held a bundle of Bonnie in his arms. He placed another kiss, this time to her jaw line, and then said, "Well…when we get in bed, you have to stay on your side. No talking. No tossing and turning. No cuddling. I don't do cuddling. I don't like to sleep all tangled up with someone else."

Of course Damon wasn't going to give in to his feelings that easily. He was much too stubborn to make things easy on himself.

Bonnie pulled back and looked at him with sad eyes, "But…I wanted you to hold me tonight. Remember?"

"You can't have everything you want, redbird. Just be thankful that I'm letting you sleep in my bed with me tonight." Damon said.

Bonnie hung her head down, "It's because I'm not Elena, isn't it?" she almost whispered in a broken voice.

Damon knew that yes, that was part of the reason. He couldn't deny that. But…another bigger part of it was that, he was just too afraid to let those types of feelings in for Bonnie. He just couldn't.

Damon laid Bonnie down on his bed, gently, and then carefully climbed on top of her. "Don't ask me things like that. It's not fair." He told her as he twisted her strawberry curls around his fingers. "You know how I feel about Elena."

Unwanted tears sprung in Bonnie's eyes as she looked away from him and nodded as she sniffed.

Damon felt her pain as it hurt him deeper than he had expected to see her cry over him. His walls were shattering as he watched her breaking. Then, it happened. He decided to let her in on his true feelings for her, as she had unknowingly torn down Damon's hard walls with her heartbreak.

"You should know though…I feel for you so strongly. I have to be honest with you…is it as strong as I feel for Elena? No. It's not. And I'm sorry for that, redbird. But…I have to tell you, my feelings for you are rapidly rising." He whispered the last part flirtatiously in her ear, making her blush heavily.

Bonnie turned her head back to Damon's and they smiled at each other.

"Ok!" Damon exclaimed, pushing himself off her and standing up. "Let's get you in bed." He said, holding his hands out towards Bonnie.

Placing her hands in his, Bonnie was yanked up off the bed and into Damon's bare chest. Her breath became heavy as she trailed her eyes over his muscled, toned abs and chest.

Damon broke her out of her gaze, "Ok, redbird. I think you've seen enough." He told her playfully.

Bonnie looked up at him, embarrassed, and saw a smirk plastered to his face. He had definitely caught her gawking at him.

Bonnie quickly took her hands from Damon's and crawled under the covers of his huge bed. Damon chuckled and crawled in on the other side.

They were both just about asleep when…BOOM!

A loud crack of thunder sounded just seconds after the room lit up from the lightening.

Bonnie yelped as she sat straight up, clutching the covers to her. On the other hand, Damon just continued laying there, completely at ease, as he stared out the window of his room.

Then it began pouring rain and more thunder sounded close by as more flashes of lightening struck the earth.

"Damon? Are you awake?" Bonnie whisper/yelled to Damon.

"Yes, Bonnie. I'm awake." Damon replied as calm as could be.

"Did you hear that crack of thunder?" she asked, a bit frantically.

Damon smiled slightly in amusement at Bonnie's worried tone. Figures that she'd be afraid of storms, she's afraid of almost everything. "Yes. I heard it."

"Well…didn't it scare you?" she asked, confused by his calm tone. How could that not have scared him?

Damon shrugged, "No. Not really. Just woke me up."

"How did tha-" "Eeep!", Bonnie yelped as another really loud crack of thunder rumbled through the house, shaking it slightly.

Damon heard Bonnie get up and quickly run over to the window on her side of the room and look out it at the sky. Then he watched as she ran over to his side of the room and look out that window.

"Eww! It looks bad outside." Bonnie commented.

BOOM! Thunder rumbled again, and Bonnie screamed a little and jumped backwards toward the bed. Suddenly, she felt an arm snake around her waist and pull her down on the bed. She sat on the edge of the bed with Damon's arm around her. She looked at Damon with wide, surprised eyes and watched as he propped himself up a bit higher. He took his arm from around her waist and pulled the covers from underneath her and down a little bit more.

"Come on." He told her as he nodded down to the tiny space next to him.

Bonnie didn't hesitate to throw her legs up and under the covers and lie down next to Damon. She was practically on top of him since he had left her so little space to lay next to him in the bed. She didn't mind though. Bonnie squished herself against Damon's bare chest as she laid her head in the crook of his neck and wrapped her left arm around her torso. Damon pulled the covers over them and then wrapped his right arm around the tiny red-head. They both sighed in contentment as they snuggly held onto one another.

After a moment, Bonnie lifted her head to look at Damon. "Goodnight kiss?" she asked softly.

"No. Go to sleep. You've already broken almost every rule I set. And I've let you. I think you've gotten enough." Damon shot back. He thought for just a second and then added, "And anyway…don't you think I've kissed you enough, already?"

Bonnie's lips began to pout, "I don't think one more little kiss would hurt anything." She stated rather sadly as she looked down at her hand on his chest.

Damon sighed, "Bonnie, look…what happened earlier…it doesn't mean it's gonna happen all the time now."

"I know, but…it's just a goodnight kiss." She sort of mumbled in the voice of a five year old.

Damon sighed again, loudly, "Will it make you shut up and go to sleep?"

Bonnie looked at him with hopeful eyes and nodded quickly.

"Fine! Give me a kiss then. Quick one!" he added the latter after a second thought.

Bonnie leaned down slowly and gently pressed her lips to his in one of the sweetest kisses either one of them had ever had. It lasted about five seconds and then Bonnie pulled back so that their lips were only inches apart again. She waited for Damon to tell her to go to sleep, but he didn't move, he just stared at her lips. She decided to snatch the opportunity and she pressed her lips to his once more in another gentle kiss. She felt Damon kissing her back this time and then she pulled back just slightly again, ending the second kiss like she had the first.

"I said just one." Damon breathed as his lips brushed against hers purposely.

"I'm sorry." Bonnie breathed back.

"Can you handle one more?" Damon asked, as lust began to cloud his brain.

Bonnie swallowed hard, "Yeah." She squeaked out.

Damon's lips smashed against hers in a passionate but not wild kiss. It was still gentle, just with an added passion. After a few seconds too long, he broke away.

He cleared his throat, trying to ignore the fact that he had just asked to kiss her again after he told her only one kiss. "Ok. Um…goodnight." He told her as he laid his head back down on the pillow and closed his eyes.

"Goodnight." Bonnie replied, softly and then rested her head back in the crook if Damon's neck.

They both fell asleep as it continued to rain outside.

The next morning, they both awoke in the same position they had fallen asleep in. They got up and Bonnie helped him make his bed, then they both stood there awkwardly.

"Well…I'm, um, I'm gonna go change." Damon said as he pointed behind him to the bathroom with his thumb.

He turned and then stopped when he heard, "Wait!"

Turning back around to face Bonnie he asked, "What now?"

Bonnie walked quickly over to him and stood up on her tip toes. Placing either of her hands on his shoulders, she kissed him quickly on the cheek.

"What was that?" Damon asked, confused.

"Thank you for holding me close all night." Bonnie answered shyly, and then ran out the door.

Damon smiled to himself. It was definitely a night they would both hold dear.

THE END