Author's Note: Thank you so much for the incredible response to the first installment. It made me so motivated to watch the second episode and dive right into the second installment. Having said that, episode two was a little lacking in good Damon/Elena moments, so this scene gets inserted after the Jeremy/Damon/Jeremy's poorly whittle stake scene, and Stefan coming to take Elena to the top of the ferris wheel (which for the purposes of this story never happens).

If you are interested to know where my mind was at during the writing of this slightly angstier installment - I was listening to Florence and the Machine's 'No Light, No Light" over and over (which, btw, was a perfect song to have as the background to Adam and Cassie's first time in The Secret Circle last week). I love this song, and I feel like it's a great Damon/Elena song.

I hope that you all enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always read, and review, because it makes me happy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Damon, Elena, Jeremy, his poorly whittled stake, or anything else to do with the Vampire Diaries.

No light, no light in your bright blue eyes

I never knew daylight could be so violent

A revelation in the light of day

You can't chose what stays and what fades away

And I'd do anything to make you stay

No Light, No Light by Florence and the Machine

Season 2, Episode 2: Brave New World

Elena snuggled down underneath her covers, desperate to find some sleep after the disaster that this day had turned out to be. All she had wanted was a normal day. One normal day with no vampires, no witches, no doppelgangers, and especially no D-word. Clearly that was too much to ask for in the town of Mystic Falls – her day had been impacted by every one of those things, and now all she wanted to do was sleep and pretend that the past week hadn't happened to her.

"Goodnight, Elena," Jeremy called out, peeking his head inside her room. She rolled over to look over at him standing in her doorway – he looked just as exhausted as she felt, and he was holding what looked like a stake in his hand.

"Where were you, Jer?" she asked, the corners of her mouth turning down in a frown, "I was really worried…"

"I, uh," he mumbled, clearly not quite sure what to say, "I was at the Boarding House, with Damon."

"What?" Elena exclaimed, pushing herself upright in bed, "Why the hell would you hang around with Damon, Jeremy? After what he did to you?"

"Relax, Elena!" Jeremy responded, holding his hand out to slow down her outburst, "Nothing happened. I was waiting for him when he got home, we talked, that's all. He's not going to do anything to hurt me, I know he won't."

Elena looked at him skeptically. "You talked. You and Damon Salvatore just…talked."

"Well, I went over there to stake him," Jeremy said, chuckling to himself, "But I had a while to think before he got there, and then when he did, we just talked. I mean, I know you're angry with him, Elena, and I get it. I do. I was angry too, but there's more to him than we know, and deep down, he's just a guy who's really hurting right now. Don't be too hard on him, sis, hear him out. He was there for you when Stefan wasn't, and your opinion of him means a lot to him. It might be the only thing that means anything to him. Think about that."

Jeremy crossed the room to give her a hug, and she wrapped her arms around him tightly, mind still focused on the insightful words of wisdom that her kid brother had just shared with her. Was he really telling her to give the psychotic vampire who had snapped his neck a chance? To hear him out? Her little brother was wiser than she had given him credit for. Or had a death wish. "I love you, Jeremy."

"I love you too, Elena," he responded, pressing a kiss on her cheek and then leaving the room.

Elena sank back down into her bed, so emotionally and physically overwhelmed that it didn't take more then a few minutes for her to fall into a fitful sleep.

Elena rolled over in her sleep and stirred awake at the innate sense that something was out of place in her room. She blinked in the dark a few times, trying to gain her bearings and see what brought her out of her sleep. Her eyes adjusted to the dark after a few seconds and she could make out a figure sitting on her window seat, legs up on the seat as well, their head resting in their hands.

Before Elena could say anything, the figure spoke, clueing her in to their identity. "You brother came to my house to stake me tonight, Elena. He's a smart kid, that one. Knows I'm an abomination, knows I don't belong, knows I don't deserve to live."

Elena sat up in her bed, wiping the sleep out of her eyes, completely unsure of how to respond to the despondent vampire on the window seat. "Damon…"

"It's okay, Elena, I'm leaving, leaving you, leaving here, leaving Mystic Falls," he whispered just loud enough for her to hear, "I know that you hate me."

She knew she should let him leave. She knew that he was a bad idea, that no good could come from him being here, but despite her anger at him she felt her heart break a little at his dejected words, at the thought that he might leave and she would never see him again, and she thought back to what Jeremy had told her earlier in the evening – hear him out, listen. "You, uh, you don't have to go, Damon. You can stay, we can talk if you want."

She saw him look towards her, the moonlight coming through the window reflecting the surprise in his blue eyes. "Why?"

She watched him as he moved off of the window seat to stand at the edge of the bed, looking down into her eyes. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the intense look in his eyes. He looked like man on the brink of despair, a man ready to throw himself off a bridge, a man ready to give up on his life. She didn't know what he was asking, and she didn't know how to answer a question that she didn't know, so she stayed silent, eyes locked with his.

"Why did you save me today, Elena?" he asked, his voice cracking painfully as he spoke, "Why did you stop Bonnie? Why didn't you just let me die?"

"I couldn't let her kill you, Damon," Elena responded without hesitation, "No matter what you've done, no matter how angry I am, you don't deserve to die."

Damon sank to his knees beside the bed, cradling his head in hands again, elbows resting on the bed next to Elena's legs. "I do, Elena. For what I did to you, to Jeremy, I do deserve to die. Can't you see that?"

"No, Damon," she responded forcefully, reaching out hesitantly to stroke his hair gently, "Listen to me, you got lucky, Jeremy's not dead, you have a second chance to be the better man, and you do not deserve to die!"

They were silent for a few minutes as Elena gently stroked his hair, and she could feel his breathing become more even, more relaxed. How had they ended up here, with her comforting the broken vampire that she had sworn to hate forever? In the same room where Damon had snapped Jeremy's neck in anguish? Looking down at the raven hair under her fingers, Elena couldn't find it in herself to hate him, although she knew that she should, that she had every reason in the world to banish him from her life entirely. She knew with complete certainty that she could never bring herself to do that though. What was it about this man, this psychotic, crazy, dangerous vampire that she couldn't shake him?

"On the porch, when I kissed you – kissed Katherine, you know what I said to you?" Damon interrupted her thoughts with his soft voice, looking up to her, catching her hand in his. She sucked in a sharp breath at the unexpected contact, but she surprised both of them by not pulling her hand away. He rubbed his thumb over the palm of her hand in gentle circles, "I said that somewhere along the way, you decided that I was worth saving, and I wanted to thank you for that. You're the only person in the world who thinks that, Elena. Maybe the only person other than my mother to ever think that..."

"You are, Damon," Elena whispered earnestly, "You are worth saving." She pulled her hand away from him, and scooted along the bed, making some space beside her. She patted it hesitantly, and he looked at her in surprise. "I won't bite, just come sit here, Damon."

He rose up from his kneeling spot on the ground and gently lowered himself onto the bed next to her. He lay back, arms behind his head she watched him make himself comfortable. She lay back next to him, careful to keep at least few inches between them.

"What happened the other night, Damon?" she asked quietly after a minute of silence. She wasn't sure if she wanted to open the can of worms she was about to get into, but she wanted some sort of insight into what had happened the other night, what had made him do what he did.

Damon remained silent for a minute before sighing softly, turning to look at her, "Katherine." Elena nodded, having suspected that his outburst must have had something to do with the ancient vampire. No one else could get her Salvatore boys worked up quite like Katherine could. She waited patiently for him to continue his story. "I went home and she was there, waiting for me. I had just left the Lockwood's, and you'd just told me that there was no reason that I should think that there was anything between us, and she was there, and willing, and I made the terrible mistake of giving in to her."

Elena felt guilt and a stab of jealousy start to spread through her at his words, not liking at all where this story was heading. A vulnerable and emotional Damon, made by her own hand, and a manipulative seductress like Katherine were not a good mix, and the thought of Damon with anyone other than her was enough to make her a little green with envy. "What happened, Damon?"

"All my life, I've been the second choice. I wanted somebody to want me so badly, I wanted someone to choose me, and you were the first person in 150 years who had looked at me like I was someone worth giving a damn about – and when you told me the truth, that there was nothing between us, I was desperate enough to try anything, to feel anything, including letting Katherine back in despite what I knew would happen." He paused as Elena reached out to take his hand in hers, clasping it between them. He was obviously surprised at the contact, but after an encouraging squeeze from Elena, he continued his story. "Before I knew it, I had given in to her, and we were kissing in the parlor, our clothes were coming off, and it was like nothing had changed, like we were desperate lovers back in 1864, and I stopped her to ask her a question – I just had to know."

"What was it, Damon?" Elena asked, wondering what the answer had been that it had made Damon go so crazy that he had showed up plastered and desolate in her bedroom not long after.

"I asked her if she had ever loved me," Damon said, no emotion to his voice, and Elena's heart sank, suddenly knowing where this story was going. "She told me that she had never loved me, that it had always been Stefan, that she was still in love with Stefan. I was nothing but a toy to her."

Elena drew in a shaky breath, suddenly realizing what had made him snap so badly, "And when you came here to talk to me, I said the same thing."

"That it will always be Stefan," Damon said, bitterly, "and then I just snapped. I have no excuse, Elena, just that when I heard you say those things, it was like I lost it, that it didn't matter what happened, because it didn't matter what I did, no one loved me, and I'm so sorry, Elena, so so sorry…"

Elena pulled her hand from his, and wiped a tear from her eye that appeared at the thought of what Damon had done to Jeremy here in her room, just feet away from where they were at that moment. "When I saw Jeremy on the floor, I hated you, Damon. In that moment, I hated you so much, I did want you dead. It was all I could focus on, like if I maybe you died, it would bring him back to me."

Damon nodded, completely understanding, and he wiped another tear from her face hesitantly, "I know, Elena. I deserve to die for what I did, and I could see the hatred flood you, and I hate myself for that just as much. Someone as pure as you shouldn't have to experience such a violent emotion, and it was me that caused it. I can never forgive myself for what I did. I don't deserve to be around you, never mind here, talking to you. And after everything, when you had the chance to be rid of me today, you stopped Bonnie from killing me. I didn't deserve that, I came here tonight to say thank you, again…"

Elena shifted closer to him, turning on her side to look at him. They stared at each other in silence for a few minutes, neither sure of what to say next.

It was Elena who broke the silence first, her voice soft, unsure if she should really say what she was about to. "I lied to you the other day, Damon."

He looked at her with the question in his eyes.

"When I told you that I was surprised that you thought that I would kiss you back, I lied," she admitted quietly. "You're not imagining whatever it is that we had, that we have. I don't know what it is, I don't know where it came from, I don't know what it means, but it's there…"

"What about 'it's always going to be Stefan'?" he asked softly, shocked but still a little hopeful at her admission.

"I said that for my benefit just as much as for yours," she whispered, dropping her eyes from his, "I needed to reassure myself that it was Stefan." Damon looked confused. "How do you think it feels for me to question my love for Stefan because of something that may or may not be between us? I'm not the kind of girl that cheats on her boyfriend, and until recently, I was so sure of what Stefan and I had. How do you think it feels for me to be the girl between you again?"

Damon looked surprised at the questions that she presented to him. "I hadn't…"

"That's right, you haven't thought about where I am in this situation," Elena said earnestly, "Yes, I feel something between us, it's undeniable. I'm not blind! But just because I may feel something for you doesn't mean that I don't still feel something for Stefan. We're still together! I loved him first, and just because things have been strained between us, that doesn't mean that I'll just abandon him. I know you feel something for me, and yes, despite trying to fight it, I feel something back, I really, really do... but to act on that would be betraying Stefan."

"I'm sorry, Elena," Damon replied softly, apologizing for what felt like the hundredth time that night. "What do you want me to do? Do you want me to leave?"

"No," Elena responded without a second thought, "Stay, just let me figure things out on my own time okay? I need to decide for myself what to do about Stefan, and what to do about you. I may have forgiven you for what happened with Jeremy, but that doesn't mean I'm not still angry, because I am, Damon. You're lucky that I'm even talking to you at this point, I just can't seem to bring myself to tell you to go away."

"I know, Elena," Damon said earnestly, "I am so lucky. I'll give you the space you need, I'll give you whatever you need. Just tell me what it is, I'll do it."

Elena threw the covers off of herself, and she watched Damon watch her as she lay back down, resting her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arm around him gently. She felt him relax into the bed, and she smiled to herself, comfortable and content for the moment. Elena knew that she shouldn't have forgiven him so easily, that what he had done was serious, and that she had gotten a one in a million lucky strike that Jeremy wasn't dead at Damon's hand. She knew it was completely irrational and ridiculous, but she couldn't find it in herself to push him out of her life though. When Bonnie had set him on fire earlier that night, she had thought her heart was going to explode at the sight of him writhing on the ground. The night before she had been so hateful, so angry, and she had thought that she had wanted him dead, had told her friends that, but when presented with the actual truth of him actually dying, when she saw him engulfed in flames, she found herself completely not okay with it.

She loved Stefan, she did. But she knew just as much that she had developed really strong feelings for the vampire that she was currently resting against. Damon loved her – she knew that. He hadn't told her that he loved her outright, but Isobel had recognized it, had vocalized it to them all, and Elena could see it in his eyes, had felt it when they danced. What she couldn't figure out though was how she had let him get under her skin to the point where she couldn't see her life without him. Lying here with him, his musky, bourbony smell invading her senses, made it easy to forget about Stefan, but for some reason, when she was with Stefan, it was never easy to forget about Damon. He was always there, in her mind, invading her thoughts, never gone. What did it mean? How could she be this girl, one who couldn't say faithful to the man she was with, even in her mind?

Her thoughts drifted to the kiss Damon had shared with Katherine, and what he had said earlier about the conversation that they had shared when he had thought it was her. It occurred to her that never again would he feel like that around her, that nervous excitement of a first kiss – he had thought it was the first time that he was kissing her, and no matter what happened between them, that experience with him was lost to her, that Katherine had stolen it from her. She found herself desperate to know what had happened between them on that porch. She wanted to see it in her mind. She wanted to create it for herself.

"What was it like, Damon," Elena asked in whisper, barely believing that she was asking the question, "When you thought you kissed me, when you kissed Katherine?"

Damon glanced down at her, surprised at her question, saddened yet again at the reminder that it hadn't been her, "It was amazing, soulful, perfect, beautiful, Elena - until it wasn't you anymore…"

She looked up to him, seeing the sorrowful look in his eyes, "Tell me about it Damon, I want to know."

"You really want to know, Elena?" Damon asked, "Are you really ready to know that?"

"Tell me," she demanded this time, "I want to know everything." Elena knew that she shouldn't be asking for this story, that she was asking for trouble, and that she was going to get herself in too deep, but all she knew was that she wanted to know more than she thought possible.

Damon raised his eyebrows in surprise at her tone, but started his story. "We were on your porch, and you had just gotten home. You looked tired, exhausted, but you still looked beautiful, your hair in soft waves. We talked about why you saved me, and I thanked you for deciding that I was worth saving…" Damon said, giving her a small smile, and she found herself completely captivated at the emotion in his voice, "…and then you said 'you're welcome'. Our eyes met, and god, Elena, it was so intense, and I needed to touch you, more than anything, needed to feel some contact, so I leant down to kiss your cheek…" Damon reached up to brush his fingertips against her cheek softly, "…right here."

Elena gasped sharply at the feather light touch, little electric shocks spreading throughout her from the point of contact on her cheek, and Damon let out a soft chuckle. "Your skin was so soft, so warm, and your breathing picked up, just like that, and I pulled back, eyes locked on yours, and the look in your eyes undid me – it was desperate, I knew that you wanted nothing more than for me to kiss you, like I was the only thing in the world that you wanted, so I leaned in, and you leaned towards me – like we were drawn together by a magnetic force…" Damon brought his hand to cup her cheek, his thumb brushing against her lower lip, and she moaned ever so softly at the soft touch, "…I captured your lips, and you melted into me, opening your lips to mine," Damon's eyes dropped closed as her immersed himself in the memory, his thumb still brushing against her lips. "You tasted like heaven, your lips were so soft, you were pressing yourself into me, hands fisted in my jacket as I twisted my hands into your hair…" Even with his eyes closed, Damon lifted his hand to her hair, wrapping his hand in it, remembering the feel. Elena's eyes drifted closed, tingles spreading through her scalp, and she let herself be overtaken by the feelings he was provoking in her, and the words that he was saying. She imagined that it was her there on the porch, his lips on hers, "…I couldn't get enough of you, you were intoxicating, like a drug, it felt like you were in my bloodstream, like I was drunk off of you, and then the door opened. We pulled back from each other, breathless, and I was so overwhelmed, I couldn't even speak, and you went inside… but then, in the end, it wasn't you, was it?"

Elena's eyes drifted open, and found him watching her intently, eyes dark with emotion. She swallowed hard, "God, I wish it had been me, Damon…" she said, unable to stop the truthful words from slipping out of her mouth, and she reached up to brush her fingers over his lips gently. He went completely still at her words and her motions, unsure of where she was going, "I can't believe that she took that from us…" Elena's eyes dropped to his lips, those soft, utterly kissable looking lips, and she found herself leaning up towards him, the only thought in her mind to experience what she had missed out on.

"Elena…" Damon murmured, sensing what she was moving towards and completely torn between giving in to her, and reminding her that this couldn't happen, that not minutes before she had told him that she needed space.

"Damon, I have to know," she replied softly, dropping a gentle kiss on his jaw, her warm breath caressing his cheek. "I have to know, I want to know what's it like to feel like that, kiss me…"

"I can't, Elena," he choked out, trying to push her away as she kissed his jaw again, a little closer to his lips. Her lips felt like heaven against his skin, and he wasn't sure how he was going to refuse her, "I can't kiss you when I know that it could break me all over again…"

"I won't break you, Damon," she whispered, her hand cupping his cheek, and holding his face to make sure he was looking at her, "I promise… I want you to make me feel like that... just kiss me Damon…"

Elena saw the little will power that he had left disappear at the earnest look in her eyes, and the promise in her words, and he leaned down to capture her lips gently in his. She moaned at the contact, and opened her lips to his, pulling him in deeper, just like he had described in his kiss with Katherine. As she felt his velvety tongue sweep along hers for the first time, she knew within her soul that this was right, that nothing that felt this good could be wrong. He brought his hand up to cup her neck and cheek, holding her to him as his lips moved gently over hers, and she felt herself overcome with emotion at the feeling of being worshipped by Damon Salvatore. She fisted her hands in his hair while she kissed him back as hard as she could, desperate for him to feel some of the emotion that she was feeling.

He pulled away from her, and she almost cried out at the loss of him, "Damon…"

He rested his forehead against hers, his labored breathing matching her own. "You're perfect, Elena…"

She felt a tear slip from her eye at his words, and the reverent tone of voice in which he spoke them. She knew that she should end this encounter while she could, but when she looked into his eyes, she lost any desire to do so. This man wanted her, and she so desperately wanted him, and to make him know that he was wanted. She kissed his cheek gently, and she watched his eyelids fluttered shut at her gentle ministrations. She dropped a kiss on his other cheek, and then one on the corner of his mouth, and he sucked in a soft breath as she kissed her way down his jaw, capturing his ear lobe gently between her teeth, biting down softly. He groaned softly and she repeated the action, watching in fascination as the vampire beneath her came undone by a fraction. When she gently nipped at his neck, she was enthralled by the vision of his vampire features flashing across his face.

"Elena…" he groaned, trying to turn his face from her, but she caught it in her hand, pulling him back around to see her.

"Don't hide it from me, Damon," she whispered forcefully, "I want to see you."

"I'm a monster, Elena," he replied, a note of shame in his voice as he finally had himself under enough control that the pulsing veins in his cheeks disappeared.

"You're beautiful, Damon," she responded, bringing her lips to his once again in soft but earnest kiss. He responded to her lips immediately, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her on top of him, one arm dropping to stroke the exposed flesh of her hip, the other fisting itself in her hair to keep her where she was.

She realized, as she squirmed against him, that he was just as aroused as she was, and the thought of having this dangerous, sexy, irrational vampire in the palm of her hand was thrilling. She broke her lips away from his and sat up, straddling him, making the snap decision to remove her sleep cami, leaving her upper torso bare to his shocked gaze.

"Elena," he choked out, captivated at the sight of her perfect breasts, and her flushed skin, "Jesus Christ you're gorgeous... you have no idea... but, Elena, we don't have to do this…"

"Shhh, I want to..." she whispered, pulling him up to her level, fusing their lips together again. He moaned into her mouth as he brought one of his hands up to her breasts, kneading it gently, brushing his thumb over the hard nipple, causing her to shiver. Her hands snaked under his black t shirt and she was raking her hands up and down his smooth flesh, eager to feel as much of him as possible.

Damon pulled away from her for a moment to get rid of his t shirt, and she was momentarily breathless at the sight of his perfectly sculpted chest. She had seen it before, but never like this, and the enormity of what she was doing hit her like a freight train. She was almost naked in front of Damon Salvatore. She was kissing Damon Salvatore. She was touching Damon Salvatore. She wanted Damon Salvatore. Instead of the rush of guilt that she knew she deserved to have wash through her, she felt free, exhilarated, and desperate for more. She ground herself down into him, and she watched with elation as his eyes darkened, enjoying the sensations she was causing.

"Christ, Elena," he rasped, leaning down to catch one of her nipples in his warm, wet mouth. It was her time to moan in elation, and she felt a pool of wetness rush to in between her thighs in response to the attention he was showering on her breasts, "You're so amazing."

"God, that feels so good, Damon," she cried out, rocking her hips back and forth against him, the friction it was causing making both of them breathless with pleasure.

Damon brought his hands to her hips, lifting her off of him, and laying her down on the bed next to him. She looked up at him in confusion, unsure of what he was doing until she felt his thumbs hook into her pajama shorts, pulling them down her legs. She helped him get them off of her, and he pushed her back down onto the bed. "Relax, Elena, just feel."

He lay down next to her, so she could feel him pressed against her from head to toe, and after a second, she felt his soft hand brushing up and down her thigh. She relaxed a little, and he legs fell apart a fraction, and his hand brushed closer to her center.

"Elena," Damon whispered in her ear, nipping the soft lobe gently, her heart skipping a beat at the feeling, "I want to make you come apart. I want to make you feel so good, that you forget the pain I've caused..."

"God, I want that too," Elena replied, voice hoarse and husky. She let her legs open up a little wider, and she whimpered in pleasure as she felt one of his fingers brush against her core for the first time.

"You're so wet," Damon groaned, bringing his finger back up to his mouth, sucking her fluids off of it as if they were as good as fresh blood, and Elena felt herself get even wetter at the erotic sight. "You taste amazing."

He brushed his finger against her lips, and she snaked her tongue out, tasting herself from Damon's finger. She felt wicked pleasure spread throughout her as she got the first taste – she'd never tasted herself, and doing so from Damon's finger made her feel wanton, sexy. He leaned down to capture her lips with his, thrusting his tongue into her mouth as his finger reappeared at her wet core, stroking up and down her slit in time with the thrusts of his tongue in her mouth.

Elena lost all ability to think when he slipped one finger inside her, she just melted into Damon's arms, allowing him to do whatever he wanted to her. He used his thumb to brush against her clit as his finger moved in and out of her, and she cried out into his mouth, desperate to feel that thrill of pleasure again.

"More," she panted against his lips, and he smiled, slipping his middle finger inside her as well, continuing to tease her clit as he pumped his fingers inside and out. He kissed his way down her neck, nipping gently, and leaving wet open mouthed kisses along her smooth skin. She had lost all ability at rational thought and was just responding to his whispered endearments in groans and moans, the pleasure he was creating almost too much for her to take. She had never felt this undone during sex before, like she was just putty in Damon's expert hands.

"Do you want me to make you feel something you've never felt before?" he whispered temptingly in her ear, speeding up his pace on her clit with his thumb. She was writhing on the bed, unable to control her reactions to the building sensations in her lower regions. "Something that's so good, you'll never be able to forget it?"

"God, yes, Damon," she responded without any hesitation, trusting him to do whatever he wanted to her. He leaned down to kiss her fiercely, swallowing her gasps into his mouth. He continued to thrust his fingers in and out of her, stretching her walls, and then hooking his fingers to rub against her g-spot. She was panting desperately, unable to form words or thoughts. When he could feel her nearing the edge of her precipice, he kissed his way along her jaw to her neck once more, finding one spot in particular to kiss and lick over and over again.

"Relax, Elena," he whispered, and she tried to follow his instructions as she felt his blunt teeth begin to nip at the spot on her neck. It felt amazing, and every time she felt his teeth, it was like something was tugging at her core, tugging her closer to the edge of explosion. "Oh god, Damon, I'm sooooo close…"

"I know, sweetheart, I'm going to make you explode," he murmured, and she started to cry out as she felt herself stepping of the edge of the precipice and into the abyss. At her first cry she felt twin pin pricks in the spot on her neck that he had been focused upon, and just as she realized that he was biting her, she felt the first pull of blood and her world exploded in a million sensations of pleasure. He held her neck against his mouth as she convulsed around his fingers in sheer ecstasy, delicious electricity flooding through every nerve ending in her body, lights flashing behind her eyes, completely lost to the world as she felt herself pulsing in time with his pulls of blood.

Damon eventually pulled his hand away from between her thighs and gently pulled away from her neck licking the wound delicately, kissing it with reverence. Elena was a puddle in his arms, still panting from her freight train of an orgasm, and she was too overcome for words. She never wanted to let him go. She wanted to feel like that forever and ever.

"Elena," Damon whispered too her softly, and she turned her head so she was entranced in his brilliant blue eyes. "I love you." Elena opened her mouth to say something in reply, but Damon put a finger to her lips, stopping her, "I know you can't say it back, I know you're confused, and you don't know what you want, but I just needed to tell you that. I needed you to know that I love you, more than you have any idea, and I promise you I will spend the rest of my second chance at life trying to make everything up to you…"

Elena knew he didn't expect a reply from her, so she didn't give one, choosing instead to bring her hand up to the back of his head, pulling him down to meet his lips in a soft, leisurely kiss. "I'm going to hold you to that promise…"

Thoughts? ;)