Note: It's an AU where Elena is a vampire and Kai is a heretic, but she wasn't with either Salvatore brother beforehand if that makes sense. He can also come into her house because she's the only one there and has the deed in her name. Personalities may be a bit tweaked, and I'm sorry for that! Warnings for adult-like situations!

It's a birthday gift for my friend Sammy! Hope you enjoy your day and the story darling :)

He loved her. Elena felt that he did when their eyes met. Once before, she would be afraid of looking in his eyes, seeing nothing but the want for revenge.

"Don't touch me, Kai," she spat, wishing she could rip his face off.

Kai paid her tone no mind, like she had said something casual rather than threatening him. "But you're so touchable," he said in a child-like voice. "Why would I deny myself that?"

The back of his finger trailed down her cheek, and Elena closed her eyes as she tried to steel her emotions.

"I'm going to kill you," Elena vowed, but Kai only laughed.

"Not if I kill you first." He sported a cheeky grin, and Elena could only hope that whatever he had planned wouldn't last forever.

Elena knew exactly what she thought of him then. She couldn't hate him, but she was so close in the feeling of it. Though it changed with one simple action.

Kai saved her.

How was it possible that a man who wanted nothing more than to see her dead had saved her from a Vampire Hunter's fatal clutches.

"No one gets to kill you but me," he reasoned.

Elena didn't believe him, not with the way that he looked at her.

It was a light that caught her eye every time they met with Kai's. She would have chucked it up to something wicket, but it didn't look the same since he came after her.

The gleam looked innocent, playful even. Something that one would wish to do at someone close with them. And the closest that they pair had gotten wasn't exactly pleasurable in Elena's eyes.

Until he came to her.

Kai looked determined to say something, but apparently, he couldn't find the words. He paced in front of her, gripping his hair.

"I want to hate you so bad," he said. "I want to watch those around you suffer from your death."

Elena opened her mouth to say something but was quickly silenced by Kai speaking once more.

"Yet I can't!" he yelled. "I can't hate you. I can't kill you…I've developed feelings!" His lips curled into a snarl. "It's your fault."

"How is it my fault?" Elena demanded. "You tried to hurt me, remember?"

Kai shook his head. "You did something to me," he continued. "Faking emotions were so damn easy, yet I can't fake them with you. You've done something to me, Crazy Pants, and you need to fix it."

The brunette couldn't believe her ears. How was she managing a conversation with the man that almost had attempted murder charges with her as the victim? She had to be out of her mind.

Honestly, she didn't know, but something made her stand up and approach him. Elena saw him take a warning step back, and she shook her head.

"You're still a good person, Kai," Elena said. "We may have had our differences, but you still care for people. I know it."

Kai looked away and folded his arms. "You don't know anything."

"I know more than you."

"I'm not sorry to say this, Kai, but you do not know more than me in these situations."

Kai gave Elena a 'touche' kind of look instead of replying verbally. He was still silent when Elena was daring and placing a hand on his cheek.

Elena should have left when she had the chance, but she didn't take it. Instead, she allowed someone who wanted to hurt her close enough to do it again.

"I could kill you," she said, testing him for his response.

"But you won't," Kai replied. "Otherwise you would have tried already."

He was perceptive as always; she'd give him that.

"Why do you see the good in people?" Kai asked suddenly.

The brunette stared at him in surprise, not expecting that. "We weren't born bad," she answered. "and you don't have to stay that way."

There was silence, and it was killing Elena. Any moment he could end her if he chose, use her as a test subject for his powers.

Yet he didn't. He simply looked at her with that gleam in his eye. Elena was positive they were both crazy in that moment.

Why? Because at some point during the stare-off, her back was thrown against the wall, and Kai's lips were pressed against hers.

She wasn't sure when she returned the kiss. His tongue licked at her bottom lip, requesting entry for exploration of her mouth. Elena granted it.

She wasn't sure when clothes were removed. His hands caressed every inch of her body, sending chills up her spine and fire elsewhere. Elena enjoyed it.

She wasn't sure when she screamed his name. His methods were powerful to her core, sending shocks with each move he made. Elena needed it.

She had done all those things, and everything changed because it didn't stop there; they couldn't stop having those moments.

It might have been twisted, but Elena knew he loved her. She could see it in his eyes. He hurt her before, yes, but there was no denying that look. Logic was thrown out the window the minute their bodies became one. No one else knew (God, it was hard to keep away from her friends), and surprisingly her distance was hardly questioned. Apparently it was expected after everything she'd gone through with the recent vampirism and attacks.

They didn't realize someone they blamed for her actions was giving her another reason to do it. And Kai, despite the attention seeking trait he possessed, maintained the stealth and secret of their relationship.

He would take her, and she would let him. There was pain in their past, yet there was passion in their present. Love could be painful, yeah?

Word Count: 961