Elena shivered as the winter wind blew around her. She clutched her long fur-trimmed coat closer around her and rubbed her gloved hands together, trying to preserve warmth. Her blond hair, a mesmerising pale gold, was carelessly swept back and her blue eyes searched the dark forest for signs of movement.

Why was she here? The reason was that Damon had talked to her – not face-to-face, but through telepathy – and asked her to meet him here. Elena would have rejected the offer, but something in Damon's voice aroused her curiosity.

He had carefully masked his feelings and kept his voice neutral when he talked into her mind. That was very un-Damon-like, as she was the only person he was open to.

A flap of wings made her look up. A black crow landed in front of her, before transforming into the black-clad figure of Damon. Elena was already moving forwards, her boots crunching in the snow.

Damon's eyes filled with warmth as he met her halfway, gazing down into her gold-flecked lapis lazuli eyes. His arms embraced her tightly and she breathed into the rich, earthy scent of him, with hints of spice woven in between. He always smelled so delicious.

"Why did you call me here, Damon?" She questioned, her head against his muscled chest.

"A diversion from my brother?" Damon replied, his black eyes dancing mischievously.

"Oh, Damon, you couldn't!" Elena adopted a shocked tone, which quieted into a murmur as Damon stroked her hair and crushed the ends gently.

Damon knew her weakness. He knew how to make her feel very pleasurable indeed. It was because that before, when he had trained her to circulate her Power, he had taught her to feel to the tips of her hair. His gentle crushing on the hair tips made her feel like he was caressing her inside, and she clutched the back of his leather jacket as she tried to stifle her moans of pleasure.

"Hmm…didn't you say earlier that you wanted to escape from him, just for a moment?" Damon whispered into her ear. His breath tickled her ear, making her shiver, though not from the cold or fear.

Damon mistook this as that she was cold and offered with concern, "Shall we go to my place? It's much warmer there and you look like you're freezing your boots off." Elena merely nodded mutely in agreement and gasped as Damon swung her body into his arms and sped swiftly through the forest, back to the Salvatore warehouse.

"Damon, you can put me down now…" Elena said, withdrawing her arms from their tight hold around his neck. Damon seemed reluctant to put her down, but eventually complied, setting her feet on the maroon carpet that covered the attic floor. They had been in this attic once before, and the memory of what happened here coloured Elena's cheeks.

She removed her coat briskly and turned her face to he window to hide her flushed face from Damon, but she knew it was futile. He sensed her change in emotion through their telepathy, but didn't move towards her. Instead, he dropped into a spare leather chair and threw his head back, closing his eyes.

Elena turned back towards him and saw dark shadows under his eyes, implying the fact that he was tired – or thirsty. The tension in the air grew thicker and thicker, as she took one step at a time, each bringing her closer to him. When she was within touching distance, Damon murmured, "Stop, Elena, please."

She ignored him and moved to stand in front of the vampire, and brushed her finger lightly upon those dark shadows, asking lightly, "Are you tired, Damon?"

"Stop it, Elena. Don't touch me." Damon spoke through gritted teeth, his long elegant fingers digging into the handles on the chair.

Elena ignored him again and leaned even closer. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He snapped, his eyes flashing.

Elena straightened up and took a half-step back. She spoke with a slight tremor in her voice. "I don't understand, Damon. One moment you're all nice to me, the next you act like you don't know me at all, like I'm a stranger." She was about to move away when Damon's hand shot out and grasped the front of her sweater, pulling her towards him as he stood up.

"Damon…?" Elena breathed, a little out of breath because of the sudden physical intimacy, and she became acutely aware of how little separation distance there was between their bodies.

She put a hand out to steady herself, which was then caught in a firm grasp in Damon's other hand. Elena pulled on her hand, trying to loosen his grip but failed.

He took a deep breath and touched his forehead to hers. "Look, I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier…it's just that I haven't fed for the past few days."

Elena placed her hands on his chest and leaned her head against his shoulder. "It's okay, Damon. I forgive you."

They stood there in a comfortable silence before Damon smirked playfully and pulled her even closer to him, making sure that the hard line of his body was touching hers completely, not leaving a single millimeter's room. His hand rested on the small of her back, adding a little pressure.

"My Princess of Darkness…" Damon murmured in her ear, saying it so gently that Elena inhaled sharply, shocked by the tenderness in his voice.

"I'm…not…your…Princess…" Elena gasped out weakly and attempted to free herself once again.

"Oh please, can you stop trying to break free?" Damon inquired coolly. Elena glared back, her eyes a piercing blue. "I don't want to hurt you." He added cheekily, "Please?"

Thoughts and her deeply suppressed feelings for Damon whirled about in Elena's head. In the end, her feelings emerged victorious, overpowering her logical thoughts. Elena brought herself together and replied, "Fine."

Damon flashed his rare genuine smile at her and settled back into the chair. "Come here." He patted his lap and Elena sat down, her back to him. He tucked his arms around her waist and made her lean back against him. Her heart skipped a beat when Damon's head rested upon her shoulder, his warm breath tickling her neck.

They sat there for a moment before Damon said quietly, "You must still be wondering about the true reason behind why I brought you out here?" Elena nodded, her head starting to relax on his shoulder. Damon ran his hand through her hair absently before telling her; I just wanted to see you. His voice rang through her mind, tinged with emotion.

Elena didn't say anything, but returned her feelings through their telepathic connection. Damon smiled and stroked her hair soothingly as she turned her head into his neck, savouring his comforting presence.

Damon gently turned her head slightly to the right and pressed his lips onto her neck, then moved slowly north, trailing his lips up her jaw and to her temple. Elena closed her eyes and sent her feelings of pleasure through their connection.

He grinned wickedly at this and moved to her lips, where he kissed her lightly, his cool lips lingering on her warm ones. Elena opened her eyes and found herself staring into Damon's black-on-black eyes. There were warm and open, contrasting with the sharp, detached look he gave her earlier.

She kept still as Damon swept her hair to one side and bent to her neck, inhaling deeply. "You smell so good, Elena." He murmured, stroking her neck with one finger. Elena couldn't hold back anymore. She yearned for their intimate connection while taking in her blood, and most of all; she yearned for him, the arrogant but surprisingly sweet Damon.

The dam broke and her feelings flowed out in a passionate rush. "Damon, please…take my blood. I know you haven't fed recently…" She trailed off as Damon swiftly extended his fangs and bit down into her warm flesh. At that very moment, their minds connected and her vision exploded into stars.

It was hard enough dragging herself out of their blissful telepathic world; Elena had wanted to stay in the safe haven of Damon's care and warmth.

Gradually, Elena became aware of her surroundings, and found herself currently half-reclining on the attic carpet as Damon leaned forwards and kissed her sweetly again and again.

Right now, she didn't care about how she ended up there. Her mind was full of Damon and soon her vision was obscured by his pale chiseled face as he let her catch her breath.

"Guess I wasn't expecting that," she said jokingly, and touched her swollen lips. Damon laughed, a carefree laugh free of restraints, and brushed her mussed hair from her forehead.

"Of course, I am everything but expected!" He replied with mock hurt.

"Arrogant much?"

"Not as much as I love you."

There was a momentary pause as Elena was rendered speechless. "Uhh…what?"

This wasn't the reaction Damon had hoped for and he drew back, confused. "Ah well…nothing. It was nothi-"

"Say it again." Elena interrupted, her eyes flashing.

"Say what again?"

"That you love me."

"I love you Elena, I really do." He repeated, still wary of her rigid posture.

"Damon…" Elena looked up slowly, her expression unreadable. Damon cursed mentally in Italian. He was definitely ready to bolt any second now.

Instead, he found himself falling backwards onto the carpet with a thud, as Elena came flying towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Uhh." He said stupidly, for once not being able to come up with an intelligent response.

He felt warm tears trailing down his neck and realised that Elena was crying. "Merda did I do something wrong? Are you okay Elena?"

She raised her head and patted his cheek endearingly. "No silly, I'm crying happy tears." He cocked an eyebrow questioningly.

"Damon, I never realised how strongly I felt about you until now. You were always there with me when I needed someone, when I was feeling down, when I had fallouts with Stefan…", Elena trailed off, before speaking quietly, "It's almost strange that most of my memories of you two centers around you, Damon. Perhaps it's not as bizarre as it seems, as I love you so, so much as well, and I feel like the luckiest and most happiest girl in the world right now." She finished, her voice thick with tears and emotion.

Damon was in clear shock. Elena always caught him off guard, but her confession threw his mental calmness out of the window. For now, his feelings ruled over his mind, and he was instantly lost to the beautiful women leaning on top of him.

"Kiss me, Elena." He breathed, and groaned huskily as her lips came crashing down on his.