Chapter 1

DAMON Salvatore turned up the collar of his black leather jacket. Tonight he was feeling extraordinarily confident and very much like he wasn't going home alone. The club was heaving and the thick, hedonistic atmosphere suited his mood. Although he had already smiled at several women there was nothing stand-out in this club; nothing to tempt him. But he was still feeling good and enjoying the heady sensation prickling through his undead body.

Damon was a vampire; a blood-drinking; soulless creature who fed on humans and selfish desires. His aims for this evening were to 1) have hot sex; 2) feast on a hot girl and 3) preferably feast on the hot girl after sex. But he wasn't too fussy, there were always plenty to choose from if he wasn't being too picky. Besides, he was sexy. Dark hair, sparkling eyes, defined cheekbones to die for… he knew he had it and this made him even more unscrupulous.

Damon made his way across the club to the bar, eyeing up prospective lovers/meals as he went. Then he saw her straight ahead, dancing and twirling around in the most unbelievably sexy way. She had white blond hair styled long and slightly tousled. She had the most amazing, lithe frame which curved and gyrated in the all the right places. And then there were her eyes: the most enticing and sparkling shade of blue he'd ever seen. She looked focused and so alive in the moment- Damon had to have her immediately.

So he made his way directly to her and started dancing (which really was him holding up his whiskey and swaying side-to-side) next to her. Damon "accidentally" bumped into her and she turned to look at him. Damon smiled. The woman smiled back.

"Hi," he shouted over the music. The girl carried on dancing but moved a little closer. Her eyes were even brighter close up.

"Do you often accidentally-on-purpose bump into people?" She asked with a smile. Damon laughed and noted she had a charming British accent, which made him want her even more.

"OK, you got me there," he admitted. "I needed an excuse to buy you a drink." He flashed another winning smile and she bit her lip provocatively. With a flutter of eyelashes over azure blue eyes she acquiesced.

Over at the bar the girl ordered a cocktail and Damon refreshed his whiskey. He knew she was up for it so it was just a case of playing the game until its conclusion. He was a hunter, after all.

"I'm Damon, by the way."

"Serena," she said, "visiting from England. I'm here to try out the whole American experience."

Serena's eyes were full of excitement and flirtation and Damon had to use his 150-years of experience of controlling his vampirism to its fullest. He wanted to kiss her or completely drain her of blood, he wasn't sure which. It was amazing how often those feelings blurred together.

"And what do you imagine the full experience would involve?" He replied. Serena took a sip of her cocktail through red-painted lips and shuddered from the alcohol hit. She cast her eyes most determinedly at Damon and fixed him with a look.

"I suppose the term is 'get wasted', then dance all night and see where the night takes me. Do you think you know anyone who can show me this?" She asked not even remotely innocently. Damon laughed.

"Well it's your lucky night, Serena, because the full American experience has just come to town."

xx

Serena was giggling merrily as they walked through the dark streets. Damon had suggested he showed her the next part of the 'experience' back at his place and it was to there they were headed. They had steadily drank and drank and were thoroughly drunk and ready to get wild. Through all the dancing and laughing he found her to be lively and even more beautiful. Now he was about to finish his night with a stunning girl to bang and she probably tasted delicious.

"This way!" Damon called as she went to stagger off into a car park, and as he pulled her by the hand she fell into him. Their eyes met and wouldn't let go. Damon felt his body scream out for some gratification so he pulled her to the nearest alley and kissed her. In a second she was kissing back and pushing into him heavily, her lithe frame against his.

Damon felt his body tighten and burn. The passion had made him hungry for blood and before he could reason with himself to hold off exsanguinating her, his face darkened and his sharp teeth protruded. He aimed for the jugular and opened his jaws.

Serena gasped- and then threw his entire body into the brick wall opposite. The force of his body being catapulted at 50 miles per hour against a wall caused a huge chunk of bricks to smash like they were bits of cake. Once the inital shock was over and the broken bones had snapped back into place he gaped at her, hands crossed over her chest and head cocked to one side.

"Seriously? I came here for a night off and now the first hot bloke I meet is a vampire too? Is that what you do, party with girls in clubs and drain 'em?" Serena looked annoyed. Damon extricated himself from the wall and edged towards her. She had her eyebrow raised cynically.

"You… you're..?" He began in confusion. Serena gave a sigh of impatience.

"Well obviously. You think any random girl could throw you like that?"

"You caught me off-guard," Damon defended. Serena laughed.

"The chances are that I'm much stronger than you, too. How old are you, Damon?" Serena asked. Damon stared at her, not entirely sure he how went from a guaranteed shag to being thrown into a wall by this stunningly beautiful vampire.

"Over one hundred and fifty. You?"

Serena's face broke into a grin, all trace of annoyance dissipated immediately.

"Oh, Damon… I'm five hundred!"

Damon stared at her. He'd never even heard of any existing vampires that age, let alone been stood next to one. He was confused and his ego hurt. She smiled again, her dazzling blue eyes and porcelain skin still not giving away any hint of her age.

"But I came out with you because I wanted to bang you. I'm still game if you are," she proffered. Damon ran a hand through his hair and stared at her, but it only took a moment for him to be drawn in by the promise of that body riding him. He gave that winning smile and approached her with lightning speed.

"Well now I can show you the TRUE American experience."