Disclaimer: L.J. Smith created these characters and the CW created this universe. I just play in it.

Author's note: Thanks for the reviews, guys! Great (dirty) minds think alike. And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...

Chapter 4

Elena was running. She was running as fast as possible. She looked behind herself to see who was chasing her. The coast seemed clear when she turned her head back to the road ahead and screamed when she came face-to-face with a man in a hoodie. His face was hidden but she heard the hiss of a vampire before she…

Woke up with a shout in the middle of the night, sweating, sitting up on her elbows. She was breathing heavily and carried the scared emotion with her into the waking world. She looked down and wondered why she wasn't wearing pajamas. She looked around the darkened room and it was unfamiliar to her. Realization dawned when she remembered the evening before, and therefore didn't jump when a hand grasped her arm.

"Elena? Are you ok?" Damon said, concern etched over his usually sarcastic face.

"Damon!" she said, automatically reaching for him for comfort. She supposed it was natural since, in the real life version of the dream, when the hooded vampire was about to get her, Damon appeared magically to swoop in and save the day. She was shaking as she allowed him to hold her.

"Shh, it's ok, you're safe here," he reassured her, his eyes surveying the room - just in case. When his senses were satisfied that they were alone, he spoke. "It was just a nightmare," he said, rubbing her back as she clung to him, her breathing slowly returning to normal.

"I'm sorry, I'm fine now," she said, embarrassed by her outburst. She was suddenly hyper-aware that they were both stark naked, embracing in a king-sized bed. She was also aware that she was practically curled up on Damon's lap and that he was beginning to have the natural male response.

"No worries," he said, attempting nonchalance. He couldn't quite bring himself to let her go, especially once he sensed her arousal building to match his.

"Sorry, I was just dreaming about the man in the hoodie," she confessed. "I guess I'm subconsciously freaking out… what if he comes looking for me again?"

"Well for tonight at least, I'm not going anywhere," Damon said, an unusual protective note in his voice. He was sickening himself - he was starting to sound like Stefan, but, dammit, he couldn't help it. The girl attracted trouble like no other, and fate seemed to cast him as her savior. Damon straightened up at the thought. He kind of liked being her savior. Hero of the day and all that. In that respect he definitely had one up on Stefan.

"Thank you," Elena said, snuggling closer. She couldn't think of a graceful exit from his embrace, and he didn't seem to mind. He absentmindedly stroked her hair as she pressed her cheek to his chest, their legs tangling under the sheets. "You know, I think I like you better like this," she said, her mental filter still loosened by the amount of alcohol in her system.

"Like what?" he asked.

"You make the world think that you're this cold-blooded killer, that there's no humanity left in you the way you dispose of lives or use them like you used Caroline, but I know there's another side to you. This side."

"Really?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "And what exactly is this side?"

He could feel her smile against his skin. "Rescuing the damsel in distress and taking care of her when she's scared. You care, Damon. You don't let a lot of people know it, but you care. You could have killed Stefan ages ago, but you haven't because deep down you know he's family and you know you love him. You could have killed me several different times, yet you've rescued me more than once. You care, Damon."

Damon shook his head. Where did she get all this false hope from? He refused to consider her words. "What if I don't care? What if it's all an act?"

Elena looked up at him. "Because you could have compelled me to do whatever you wanted tonight and you didn't. Don't bluster on and on about how you could have and I would never know… I'd know. And you haven't. You've teased me and taunted me, but you haven't done anything." She was almost miffed. Somewhere in her mind she knew that she was uncharacteristically emboldened by the massive amounts of tequila she'd consumed and that she shouldn't be saying these things, but she couldn't seem to help herself. "Christ, I'm naked and practically lying on you and I can feel you growing as we lay here, but you haven't attempted to seduce me, not really. You want me, but you haven't taken me."

"Then I've been remiss, haven't I?" he growled, flipping them over so he was lying on top her, her legs spread just enough so he was poised at her entrance, yet she didn't have the reaction he expected. He was waiting for her to freak out, to scream or wiggle away or do any number of things, yet she calmly reached up and brushed the hair off his face.

"You don't scare me anymore, Damon. You've never lied to me, and you are brutally honest about who you are to everyone except yourself. You care. And I think that's the one thing that scares you."

Damon just stared at her; he didn't have a glib response ready for that. Elena smiled. "And you know what else? I care, Damon. I care about you."

"Now why should I believe that?" he asked roughly.

"Because I'm going to show you," Elena said. She placed her hands on either side of his face and drew him down to her, placing the gentlest of kisses on his lips. She had no idea why the hell she did that. It just seemed perfectly logical in the moment. He pulled away from the kiss and searched her face for - well, he wasn't sure what for. He tentatively leaned down and kissed her back, gently at first before allowing it to grow more heated. He pulled away once more and grinned at her flushed cheeks.

"Now, was that just a friendly little kiss, between friends to show how much we care about each other?" he teased.

"Damon?" Elena said seriously. "Shut up." She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down, crashing his lips to hers. Confident that she wanted this just as much as he did, he was guilt free as he opened his mouth and demanded entrance into hers. She allowed his tongue to sneak past her lips and slide along her tongue, learning the contours of her mouth and reveling in the taste. She involuntarily moaned at how amazing he felt and wondered why they had never given in to this feeling before this moment... All the banter and the sideways glances seemed to be building up to this. She couldn't help but compare him to Stefan; Stefan was all hesitation and earnestness, but Damon was pure heat and passion. Damon didn't hold back; he didn't have anything to prove. He recognized their attraction for simply what it was: attraction. Elena gasped as he wasted no time in finding every erogenous zone and working them to his favor.

Damon marveled at how she was so clearly not Katherine. He didn't know what he expected, but certainly not this. Katherine seduced him, plain and simple, but Elena seemed unaware of her feminine wiles. She responded to his touch but always let him initiate. She was encouraging yet still had moments of modesty. And Damon loved to tease her whenever possible. He held himself above her, still poised to enter her yet not allowing himself that pleasure quite yet. He smirked as she squirmed beneath him, clearly yearning for that contact yet not bold enough to ask for it. Instead she arched her back until she pressed herself against his chest, her breasts creating a marvelous friction. He found his way back to his own personal kryptonite, the veins pulsing heavily beneath her slender neck. It took everything he had to resist changing, his fangs trying to dart out and nip her as the desire to take her life force battled within him. He instead ghosted kisses along her neck and his lips found their home back on hers.

"Damon…" Elena breathed against his lips. God, that was sexy. And not in that obvious way that Caroline overacted or any other girl who easily succumbed to his charms. It was involuntary and he loved it.

"Damon," she said again, more insistent this time. He chuckled as she wiggled her ass, trying to find the release he was withholding.

"Yes, Elena?" he said, clearly toying with her with a sideways grin.

Elena gave him a pointed look. "You know what, Damon." There was no room in her mind for second thoughts at this point. The remaining alcohol in her system kept her head feeling nice and warm and fuzzy, and rather incoherent. There were no thoughts at all…only feelings. Hazy feelings of pleasure that were annoyingly out of reach.

"Tell me what you want, Elena," he said in a tone that years of practice told him was seductive.

"You know what I want."

"Say it."

Elena sighed, exasperated. She couldn't tell if he was just teasing her for the hell of it, trying to make her uncomfortable, or maybe just giving her one last chance to opt out of what was about to happen. She smiled and shook her head, lifting it off the pillow to whisper in his ear. "Make love to me," she purred.

That was all it took. All at once Damon's lips came crashing down onto hers and he entered her, sliding his entire length into her in one delicious movement. She cried out in a mixture of surprise and pleasure, completely filled with him and satisfied that she got exactly what she asked for. He didn't treat her like a fragile human, though he wasn't too rough with her. He instantly set a rhythm as she wrapped her legs around him, wanting to get as close as possible. She opened her eyes as he drew his lips away and found him looking at her with an intense gaze that she found impossible to break. She wondered what thoughts were swirling behind those eyes but didn't have much time to contemplate anything as she bit her lip and cried out when he changed angles, hitting a miracle spot within her. She saw the smirk automatically forming on his face and couldn't help but laugh. Only Damon would mix a rarely seen tenderness with his own special brand of cockiness at a moment like this. Her laughter quickly turned to moans as she felt the telltale buildup of tension. She began to take deeper breaths and clawed at his shoulder blades without realizing it, eliciting a surprise moan from Damon. The sweat began to build between their bodies as she got closer and closer to her release. Damon noticed every small change in her body and slid one hand down her hip… thigh… then leg, hooking under her knee and pulling it up higher as he quickened his pace. Elena's moans grew louder until she finally cried out with her first orgasm. Damon slowed his movement a bit, allowing her to ride out the waves of her climax. Elena gasped for breath until she finally came down from the high, realizing that Damon was still slowly thrusting in and out.

"Mmmm… thank you," she said, kissing his cheek and down his jawline until she met his lips.

"Any time," he smirked. She was full of surprises… who else would thank him for something that should have been expected? He wondered if Stefan… ew, ok, no thinking about his brother during sex. Instant mojo killer. He focused on Elena who seemed to be recovered, beginning to meet his movements again. "You turn to lead," he said, flipping them over so that he was now lying against the bed, Elena straddling him. She gave him a brief questioning look but said nothing, beginning to move up and down as he guided her hips. One he was confident she was setting her own rhythm, he moved his hands up along her sides, drawing them forward to cup her breasts. Elena moaned and tossed her hair back. It was involuntary but turned Damon on like nothing else. He moved his hands to tangle in her hair, roughly drawing her face to his and claiming her mouth. Elena slid her hands around his neck, never losing her rhythm and meeting every kiss with equal fervor. Damon kissed down her neck and between her breasts, his hand still tangled in her hair. Elena braced her hands on his shoulders and his mouth moved first to one breast, then the other.

"Oh my God…" she cried as the combination of his mouth on her breasts and the renewed buildup of friction from riding him sent her into her second orgasm. She couldn't remember ever having two orgasms so close together before. She closed her eyes and slowed almost to a standstill as her inner walls contracted around Damon. He simply watched her ride out her orgasm, his eyes on her face as her cheeks flushed. He felt her breasts heaving against his chest as she leaned on him, pressing kisses wherever she landed. Damon sensed that her energy was waning and he flipped her back over, her head resting comfortably once more on the pillow. He started thrusting extremely slowly, taking his time, one hand running down her chest and the other braced against her head. This might be the only time she let him do this, and he was determined to make it last as long as possible, or at the very least, make it memorable. He leaned down and gave her a lazy kiss, feeling her smile against his lips. He started to pick up the pace incrementally and noted that her kisses grew hungrier. Her hands held the sides of his face, and when he began to get faster and faster, she allowed him to break the kiss, instead sliding her hands down his chest and wrapping around his back. Damon knew he wasn't going to last much longer and wasn't sure he could bank on her having yet another orgasm, but he was sure as hell going to try. He maintained eye contact and silently willed her not to break it. Somehow she must have understood, because she never took her eyes off of his. He leaned back and grabbed both of her ankles, lifting them and propping them up on his shoulders. He resisted the urge to smirk as her eyes widened and her breathing quickened. He refrained from holding back at this point, leaning forward and enjoying the look of surprise on her face when he slid one hand between them and began rubbing her clit in tiny circles. Elena was going crazy - the combination of his constantly hitting her g-spot with the external stimulation, not to mention the crazy sexy look he was giving her, God, those eyes… That sent her over the edge and she shouted out as she had the most intense orgasm of her life. Damon finally allowed himself release as he met her orgasm with his, emptying himself deep within her. With the last few strokes, his eyes never left hers, and he came to rest, still inside her. They were both gasping for breath, the sweat on their bodies just beginning to cool. Damon slid her legs back down and brushed aside a few drenched strands of hair from her forehead. Elena gave him a languid smile and pulled him down for a kiss. He started to move to lay beside her but she held him in place.

"Don't move… not yet," she said, holding him still, his full body weight pressing down on hers. She closed her eyes and held him in a version of a hug, reveling in the sense of comfort and safety and the strong connection. Normally, Damon was not one to let any female force him to engage in anything remotely resembling cuddling, but he couldn't deny that there was a small sense of pride in the fact that Elena didn't want to let go of him, still wanted him inside her. Take that, little brother. He actually began to feel himself growing inside her again and mock-thrusted. He felt Elena laugh against him.

"No more, I don't think I have the energy," she said. She allowed him to finally roll off of her, pulling out and laying beside her. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised when she automatically curled up beside him, sliding one leg over to tangle between his and sneaking an arm across his chest, tucking her head into the crook of his neck with a satisfied sigh. He looked down at her, not quite sure what to do. He settled for one hand behind his head and the other wrapped around her. She shivered, so he pulled the sheets up over them, tucking them up to her shoulder before returning his arm around her. He leaned his cheek on her hair and listened as her breathing changed, settling into sleep. He stared at the ceiling for a bit. He wanted to tell himself that this just happened and there was no reason for it to affect his plans in any way, but he knew it changed things. He didn't know how Elena fit in to his grand scheme anymore… he smiled; he knew it would piss off Stefan if he found out about their little tryst. He frowned. What if Elena didn't want it to be a one night stand? He looked at her and couldn't help but smile as she made a noise in her sleep and burrowed deeper into his neck. Dammit. He didn't want to care. His whole philosophy was built on not caring. Caring led to trusting which led to betrayal. Still, he had a hard time imagining Elena betraying anyone she cared about. Of course, she did essentially just cheat on Stefan. With his own brother. But maybe she wasn't going to be with Stefan anymore. Damon sighed. This was getting too complicated. Best not to overthink things. Enjoy whatever and don't let it deter him from his plans. At any rate, it should make for one hell of a morning after…

Author's note: There you go, folks. Hope it lived up to your expectations. Reviews are appreciated as constructive feedback will only make this story better with each chapter. And there's a whole lot yet to happen, so let me know if you're enjoying the journey!