Chappie three's up my lovelies! Thank you to everyone who's reviewed. I love you all!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries. I own nothing, zilch, nada. Except the plot.

Chapter Three: A Hunter's Heart

His eyes were pinned onto his target. Petite, slender, blonde… dinner.

The girl was walking down the deserted street by herself, probably heading home from a night out on the town, the only light emanating from the dim streetlamps and reflecting down from the moon. Her heels clicked on the concrete beneath her, and her long hair bounced as she walked.

His instincts were switched on, his attention fully focussed on the human as she crossed the road and started down the path. Walking right toward him.

Damon's muscles were tense and his upper jaw ached with hunger, his fangs itching to sink into skin and spill human lifeblood. He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry, before dropping gracefully from his position in a tree, easily landing in a crouch from the thirty foot drop. He straightened and began walking toward the human, his sensitive hearing picking up the steady sound of her heart beat; a heart beat that sped up when she saw him approaching.

He smirked to himself. He knew he looked good in his boots, black jeans, black shirt and leather jacket, his hair tousled sexily. Looking good was part of hunting. It was easier to get close to a human if you looked good. If you looked like a scary monster that was going to kill them, they ran. And although he thrilled in the chase, of tasting the human's fear in their blood as he drank them dry, he didn't feel like partaking in it tonight.

The human girl was pretty, he had to admit; a heart shaped face with green doe-eyes, blonde bangs framing her face. He smiled at her as she passed him, and she gave him a small smile in return, a light blush painting her cheeks. Damon walked past her closely in a way that enabled him to grab her bag and drop it to the floor, spilling its contents. Of course, she didn't know that he did it. He'd used his vampiric speed, and it all happened in half a second, making her think she'd just been clumsy and dropped it herself.

She shook her head and dropped into a crouch to gather her things up and put them back in her bag, chastising herself for having butterfingers.

"Let me help."

Damon was crouched beside her, holding his hand out to her, and gave her her purse.

"Thank you," she breathed, smiling and looking into his eyes. Big mistake.

Damon's face went blank as he turned on the compulsion, and the girl was mesmerised by his silvery eyes. Her mouth opened as her mind opened up to him, letting him in, allowing him complete control.

"You're not going to remember anything," he said, his voice smooth and hypnotic. "When you wake up you won't remember me or dropping your things. You'll think you've had too much to drink." He stared into her eyes for a second more before reaching out and taking hold of her, tilting her head back by pulling on her hair, baring the slender column of her throat.

His fangs extended and sank into the girl's skin easily. Damon closed his eyes as he fed, hastily gulping down the warm blood that rushed into his mouth, feeling a reprieve from the hunger that had been plaguing him since the incident with Elena that afternoon.

He'd been tempted… ever so tempted to drink from her. His mouth had been on her pulse point for god's sake! It would've been so easy for him to bite her. She would've struggled to begin with, of course she would, but then she would've relaxed into him, much like this girl was doing now, and relished in the feeling of endorphins his bite produced.

But he hadn't done it. And it wasn't because he was explaining self control to her.

Elena was different from other human girls. She'd accepted him as a vampire easily enough, and although there were times when she disliked him for it, she'd accepted his choice of sustenance too. It would've been better for her to run for the hills as soon as she found out what he and Stefan were, but she hadn't.

Damon tightened his grip on the girl's waist as her body slumped, extremely weak from blood loss. He pulled back, licking the wound on her neck gently before putting her on the ground. He licked his lips and his fangs retracted, his hunger sated for the time being.

He gathered the girl's belongings and slipped them back into her bag before walking down the street, leaving her to be found. As he wandered through the town, he let his mind wander back to thoughts of Elena.

Sure, to start with she'd just been a double for Katherine, but he knew that she was anything but similar as the woman who had turned him. Elena was kind and caring, yet she didn't take any of his teasing, which, he found, was quite amusing. She wasn't afraid to stand up to him, despite knowing that he could kill her effortlessly if he so wished.

But he didn't. He liked her. Liked her? No, it was more than that. Much more.

His only regret was that she'd met his stupid little brother first. Damon shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. If stupid St. Stefan hadn't got to her first… things would be different. He wouldn't have to hide how he felt for Elena. He wouldn't have to disappear on her because he'd heard Stefan come up the driveway. He'd be allowed to touch her whenever he wanted to, wherever he wanted to.

Damon's thoughts turned to how close things had gotten this afternoon. He'd wanted to sink his teeth into Elena, but at the same time… he hadn't wanted to. He'd wanted to kiss her. He'd actually wanted to kiss her more than he'd wanted to taste her.

And he'd been interrupted.

Damon grinned. "Better remedy that."

Elena was curled up in bed, asleep, when an annoying tapping noise roused her. Sitting up and pushing her hair from her face, she squinted in the darkness, trying to focus on the origin of the sound. She looked over to the window and saw Damon on the other side of the glass. When he saw that she'd seen him, he gave her that mischievous smirk that made her insides turn to jelly. Not that he knew that of course.

Elena slid out of bed, yawning as she crossed the room to the window. She stared out at him for a moment, hands on hips, an eyebrow arched. Damon tilted his head to one side, grinned, and tapped on the glass again with his index finger.

Sighing and shaking her head to herself, she unlatched the window and pushed the pane up before stepping aside to let him climb in.

"God, Damon, what now?" Elena whined, frustrated at being woken in the early hours of the morning. Again.

"Just popped in to say hi."

Elena groaned and flopped down on her bed, spread-eagled. "Are you at least going to say it this time?" she shut her eyes, but soon opened them when she felt the bed shift under additional weight. When she opened her eyes, Damon was hovering over her, looking down at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes, that devilish half-smirk on his lips.

"Hi."

"Hi yourself," Elena replied, her mouth suddenly dry at his closeness. "Will you be going now?"

Damon's smirk got larger. "Nope. Not done yet."

Elena's eyes flicked over to the clock. "You know that conversation we had at twenty past three yesterday morning? The one about how I need to be asleep in the early hours of the morning?"

"I think so," he said, leaning closer to her. "Wasn't that the conversation where I said that I'm a vampire and that it doesn't matter to me what time it is?"

Elena rolled her eyes and sighed. "What else do you want?"

Damon smiled down at her the way a predator would smile down at a vulnerable animal that had just become its next meal. "Are you sure you want to ask that question?"

Her heart was pounding against her ribs, and she was acutely aware that he could hear it. She swallowed as he bent his head down, his lips ghosting along her throat. His mouth moved up and along her jaw before hovering over her lips. Elena felt warm as his mouth finally met her own, and her hands found their way to his shoulders as his smoothed down to her waist. She let his tongue in her mouth when he nibbled on her bottom lip, and they began the battle for dominance.

So this is what sin tastes like… Elena thought, moving her hands higher and wrapping her arms round Damon's neck. She'd never been kissed like this before; certainly not by Stefan, who was very cautious with her. But Damon… it was like he used all his anger and put it into the kiss, but gave it to her in the form of passion and need. It made her feel giddy.

Damon pulled back slightly, aware that Elena needed to breathe, and trailed his lips back down to her pulse point. His mouth latched onto it and he sucked the delicate skin gently. Something in him wanted to bite… but he found he didn't want to. It would scare her off.

Elena twisted her fingers into his hair, making cute little noises in his ear as he nibbled her neck. He slid a hand behind her head and another to her back and lifted her off the bed slightly, allowing her head to drop back a little, giving him better access to her throat.

"I could do anything I wanted to you right now," he whispered against her skin. "I could bite you and drain you dry."

"But you won't…" Elena breathed, shivering as he licked her heated skin. Damon exhaled sharply and put her down. When she sat up he was already perched on the windowsill, ready to jump. He glanced back to her and dropped down, landing neatly in a crouch. Elena rushed to the window, but when she looked out he was gone. The street was empty.

She turned back to her bed and sat on it, leaning her back against the wall. She was so confused. She loved Stefan, but… Elena shook her head. She cared for Damon too… sure he was an egotistical pig and a real jerk sometimes, but she saw through that. It was as if it was his defence mechanism – if you piss people off they stay away from you; that way they can't get close enough to hurt you.

Elena banged her head back against the wall. Why did she like Damon so much? The answer evaded her.

Was it because she could see good in him; that she knew he acted like the big bad bloodsucking vampire so people would keep their distance? Was it because she thought that, actually, all Damon needed was a little bit of love?

She didn't know. But she did know that she felt guilty as hell. She was with Stefan, yet she'd willingly let Damon kiss her. She didn't want to be like Katherine. She didn't want to hurt the Salvatore brothers.

She didn't want to hurt Damon.

I love Damon. He's badass, but underneath it all he's a little soft. And misunderstood.

Or is that too cliché?

Tell me what you think

Make me happy: read & review

Luna xxx