Setting Things Right
DG32173
Sarah: I'm very sorry about the delay in updates, everyone! Digging up muse for this chapter was like getting a root canal without Novocain. Anyways, here's chapter three. I hope you enjoy. When you're done, there's a box at the bottom of the page. A review would be very welcome. Also, another yummy smut scene between Damon and Elena, this time in the motel shower. And possibly one at the end of the chapter, too!
DISCLAIMER
I hate doing this thing every single chapter. Since this is the fourth chapter I'm writing a disclaimer in, I refuse to do anymore for the rest of the fanfic. I ONLY OWN WHAT I WRITE! This will be the final disclaimer for the rest of the story.
REVIEW REPLIES
Last chapter was called sweet and romantic? Well, it was meant more along the lines of comfort/need/passion. But sweet and romantic works too. I'm so glad everyone has enjoyed it so far!
NOTE
I have never been to Six Flags Over Georgia, and I doubt I'll ever go, so I made up what I wrote based on the site. So don't flame me if I get something wrong.
Chapter 3
The Road Home
I slowly wake up, my head on a firm chest. I realize that my naked body is tangled with someone else's and that someone is running their fingers through my hair. Then his scent floods my nose and I smile as I remember what had happened yesterday and last night.
"I know you're awake," Damon tells me with a chuckle. "I can hear the change in your breathing and heartbeat, remember? We should get up and get moving."
"Don't wanna get up," I growl, snuggling closer to him and clenching my eyes tighter shut. "Comfortable."
He chuckles again. "So am I, but I'm sure that everyone in Mystic Falls is wondering where the hell you are. Your car has to have been found by now."
"Jenna knows I'm with you," I grumble.
"You didn't tell her where?" he asks, a pleased note in his voice at the obvious sign of approval from my aunt.
"So she wouldn't have to lie about not knowing if Stefan asked again," I reply. Then I feel all the dirt and grime on me from the past two days and groan. "I need a shower," I complain as I open my eyes and look up at him.
"You don't have a change of clothes," he points out, blue eyes twinkling with amusement.
"That's why I had what I was wearing airing out overnight," I inform him. I glance over at where I laid my clothes last night and grimace at the blood stains on my shirt. "My shirt's ruined. I'll never get all that blood out."
He raises an eyebrow and considers something. Then he smirks at me. "I've got a few changes in the car. You could always borrow one of my shirts," he tells me
"Please?" I beg.
"Well, I'd have to get up to get it," he points out. He puts a hand over my mouth and listens. "No one's awake yet. But given that it's barely dawn, I'm not surprised. I can get it and be back in a flash."
"How big is that shower?" I ask speculatively.
"Seriously?" he demands, astonished at the direction my thoughts had suddenly headed.
I smirk. "Well, I've always wondered what doing it in the shower is like," I tell him cheekily.
He groans and I can feel his instant erection against my hip at my suggestion. "You are going to be the death of me," he growls.
"Impossible. You're already dead, remember?" I remind him teasingly, reaching my hand down to brush my thumb over the tip of his dick.
I yelp when he growls and scoops me into his arms before vamping us into the bathroom. He turns the shower on and presses me against the door while the water heats up, his mouth moving hungrily against mine as if he can't get enough of me. I know I can't get enough of him as I return the kiss with just as much hunger. Soon, the bathroom is filling with steam from the water. He all but drags me into the shower with him. The water is hot! Almost scalding, but not quite. And nowhere near the temperature of the white-hot flames of desire raging through me.
He roughly shoves me against the shower wall and I feel his rock-hard cock on my hip. The need to have him inside me again causes me to grind my hips against his. He growls, placing his hands on my hips to hold me still. Once I'm back under control, he dips one hand between my legs to stroke his calloused thumb over that bundle of nerves outside my entrance. I gasp as he gently rubs his thumb over that spot, back and forth. Then he slips one finger inside me and starts pumping while still rubbing my clit. I shake uncontrollably as he trails kisses up and down my throat. My arms are wrapped around his neck and my hands are buried in his hair as I tremble beneath his expert attention. Then he adds a second finger, drawing a gasp from my lips as he proceeds to scissor them as he pumps. I moan and writhe beneath his skill. Then he adds a third finger, stretching me even wider to prepare me for the huge, rock-hard erection pressed firmly against my hip. His other hand is braced on the wall next to my head so that he's pressed against me, but not crushing me.
Soon he removes his hand, sucking his fingers clean one at a time, which drives me even wilder. He wraps my legs around his lean hips, positioning his large erection at my entrance. In one swift move, he buries himself to the hilt inside of me and holds still, letting me get used to his girth. It doesn't take as long as last time. He scraps his fangs over his bite mark as I relax beneath him. In response, I tilt my head to both give him better access and place my own blunt teeth against his throat. As one, we sink our teeth into each other. I moan as his delicious blood pours over my tongue and down my throat.
While we drink from each other, Damon starts up a rhythm that soon has my hips surging forward to meet each thrust. When he finds my sweet spot, I sink my teeth deeper into his skin while I purr in pleasure. He growls, adjusts his angle slightly, and then continues to pound into me, hitting that spot each time.
We spiral higher and higher on wings of passion and pleasure. Finally, I plunge over the edge and he's one thrust behind me. He sags against me as our bodies shudder with the aftershocks of our mind-blowing orgasms. I feel his fangs retract, and then his tongue is swirling over my skin to seal his bite mark shut again as well as lap up the blood. I pull away from the bite I left on him, placing a kiss on it as it heals beneath my lips.
He buries his face in the crook of my shoulder, and the feel of his cool breath on my flushed skin raises goosebumps. He chuckles. "What's so funny?" I ask.
"You are one helluva succubus," he tells me, pulling back so I can see the glint of amusement in his ice blue eyes. "As hard as I try to resist, you make it impossible."
I smirk. "Then stop resisting," I tell him. He opens his mouth to protest, but I cut in. "No matter what happens between us, I promise you that I will help you get that tomb open. Nothing is stopping us from being friends-with-benefits. As I said, Stefan lost his chance with me when he lied to me about what Katherine looked like. I hate being lied to, and I hate lying. And I know that if Stefan thinks lying about Katherine's looks is okay, then nothing will stop him from further lies. I already hate that I am lying to everyone I know about what is going on in my life. I don't need people lying to me about things on top of that."
Damon places his hand on my cheek. "I will never lie to you, and that's a promise," he tells me. "No matter how harsh the truth is, I will always give it to you."
"Thank you," I say softly.
"Now, let's finish this shower before the water turns to ice," he says with a grin, pulling away.
I chuckle. "I hate how even hotels don't have a decent supply of hot water," I inform him.
"Oh, the really good ones have an impressive amount of hot water, but this town doesn't have four- or five-star hotels," he says, turning me around. He takes the little shampoo bottle the hotel supplies and starts washing my hair. I smile and relax as he takes his time making sure my hair is clean, then washing every inch of me. As soon as I rinse off and get all the shampoo out of my hair, I return the favor, marveling at his perfect physique.
Finally, we get out and dry each other off. Then Damon vamps into his clothes before heading down to the Camaro to grab a shirt for me to wear in place of the one that was ruined by all that blood. I take my time getting dressed in my underwear and jeans, which have managed to air out quite nicely. Damon had taken my shirt and his clothes from yesterday to throw them in the dumpster. All of them had been ruined beyond recovery.
I'm using Damon's comb to get the tangles out of my hair when he comes back in. He whistles his appreciation. "Looking at you now, I almost wish we could delay heading back," he tells me.
I chuckle, working the last of the tangles out before turning to him with a grin. "Well, we could, but we both know that we have to head back eventually. Stefan will be on a rampage as is. Bonnie might think that you kidnapped me with absolutely no intent of ever returning. Jenna is already going to have enough trouble thinking of a good excuse to give the school for my absence. And you said you'd take me to the decade dance this week," I tell him. "So toss me that shirt and we can head out."
He tosses me his shirt, and I manage to catch it one-handed. "What are you going to tell my brother?" he asks curiously as I slip my arms into the shirt and button it up.
"I'm going to tell him that I will not tolerate being lied to about anything, much less something as important as the fact that I look exactly like Katherine," I start.
"Except for your birthmark," he interrupts.
"Except for my birthmark," I repeat dutifully. "I will tell Stefan that if he is willing to lie to me about something as major as Katherine's looks, then I can't trust him to tell me the truth about anything else. I will tell him that I cannot be with someone who thinks they can just lie to me, no matter what reasons they might have for the lie. I will officially break things off with him. I will tell him that he can either suck it up and be happy that I'm willing to let him still be my friend or I will cut him out of my life completely and interact with him only when I have no choice in the matter."
"Harsh," Damon says appreciatively.
"He better listen or I will follow through with that threat. I'll even go so far as to have Bonnie or her Grams use some spell or another to keep him out of my house. I'm quite certain such a thing can be done. If a spell can keep someone in a place, then certainly a spell can just as easily keep someone out of a place."
"I've seen such barrier spells in action. Most witches need to tie the spell in with some natural event, but a really powerful witch, like Sheila for example, can make one permanent," he tells me. "Of course, I've been told by numerous witches that every spell has a loophole or two. If you were to know the loophole, you can bypass the spell."
"I figured that even the most powerful of witches can't cast a spell that doesn't have some way of being worked around. They are tools of nature and balance after all, and a spell that can't be worked around is not balanced," I say.
"Very true," he says with a nod. "Though I have heard of dark witches," he adds. "They don't need 'the spirits' to use their magic."
"The spirits?" I ask.
"Something to do with Nature and witches and warlocks who have died. I never really understood it, since I've never been that close to witches. Anyways, dark witches draw on something else to use their magic. I've been told such witches are no longer tools of balance. Rather, they use their magic for their own purposes instead of Nature's. You'll really have to talk to an experienced witch about all that. I just know dark witches should be avoided at all costs."
I grab Damon's comb and stand up from the bed. "Well, we should get going," I say. "It's a long drive back to Mystic Falls."
"Very true," he replies. I slip into my shoes, grab my jacket, then we leave the motel room and climb down the stairs to the Camaro. Damon drives us up to the office, where he turns in the room key and checks us out. Then we go straight for the interstate. "I hope you don't mind waiting until the next big town for breakfast," he says once we're on the interstate. "Bree's is really the only good eating place in that town. And I'd really rather not go back to her bar any time soon. I might be tempted to go back on my word and try to kill her. So, unless you want fast food, we'll have to wait."
"Fast food this early in the morning? No thanks," I say, disgusted. "It's only six in the morning. Much too early for greasy food."
"Thought you'd say that," he replies with a chuckle. "It will probably be an hour or so before we hit the next town with actual restaurants."
"I can wait," I tell him. "So, tell me about the dances from the fifties," I say. "I want to know a bit about what I'll be dancing to at the decade dance."
"You said they have these dances every year," he points out.
"And I never go to them," I inform him. "I was only with Matt for a few months before my parents died. The only parties he took me to were the ones where everyone gathered in the woods to drink, roast marshmallows, and make-out. I enjoyed those parties, but there wasn't much dancing to speak of. I love dancing, but Matt kept claiming he has two left feet. I don't believe that, though. Before that, I was single and there weren't really a lot of single guys at the decade dances. Well, not the kind I'd dance with, that is. I was not about to chance being slipped a roofie."
He chuckles and relents. "Let's see, fifties dances," he says speculatively. "I personally liked the cha-cha and the swing," he tells me.
"Oh?" I ask, intrigued. "Tell me about them."
"The cha-cha was a blending of two Latin American dances," he says. "But you didn't have to have Latin music playing to dance it. It was fun, fast, and passionate. Later it grew into the cha-cha-cha. But I really loved the swing. Mainly because I got to show off with a beautiful woman in my arms."
I chuckle. "You do enjoy showing off," I tell him.
"The swing was originally the jitterbug and swing in the forties, but by the fifties it was split into two dance styles. The swing was the much wilder version. The moves for both dances are somewhat complex. I could teach them to you," he offers.
"Lessons would be most appreciated, since I don't want to embarrass either of us on the dance floor," I say dryly.
"I doubt you'd do that," he teases, switching lanes. "But I'll teach you the moves. Maybe I'll throw in a few other dance lessons as well."
I grin. "Sounds fun," I reply. I sigh, knowing I shouldn't be asking this. "What would you do if Katherine isn't in the tomb?" I ask.
"She has to be," he says softly. "The alternative is too unbearable to think about."
His right hand is on the seat between us. I cover it with my hand, and he flips his hand over to lace our fingers together. I know what we will find in that tomb, but he wouldn't believe me until he sees it with his own eyes. No use trying to tell him what he won't listen to.
After half an hour spent in comfortable silence, we start approaching a decent-sized town. I spot a billboard advertising IHOP. "Let's go to IHOP," I tell Damon with a grin. "I'm in the mood for pancakes."
"Okay," he says with a chuckle, switching lanes so he can take the next exit. "Pancakes it is."
Soon we pull into the parking lot for IHOP. Sadly, we have to let go of each other's hand to get out of the car. Damon locks up and leads me into IHOP, holding the door for me before following me inside. "Table for two?" asks the redheaded hostess.
"Yes. A corner booth, if you have one free," Damon says.
"Okay, right this way," she says.
She manages to get us a corner booth, like Damon had asked. Damon takes the booth with the back to the window and I sit across from him. Damon and I look over the menus we were given. I immediately decide on the chocolate chocolate-chip pancakes. I close my menu and set it to the side. A few seconds later, Damon does the same. Soon after that, a bleach blonde waitress with way too much makeup comes up and tries to flirt with Damon. He just orders coffee and a bacon cheeseburger. I order my meal and coffee.
After a few more attempts to draw Damon's eyes off me and onto her, the waitress huffs and walks off, obviously upset that he didn't even glance at her. "I'm surprised you didn't flirt back at her," I comment idly, cocking my head to the side.
He shrugs and leans back. "Well, I'm obviously here with you, which should have been her first clue that she shouldn't have even tried to flirt with me. Besides, I prefer to be the one doing the flirting first," he replies, grinning at me wickedly.
I roll my eyes and open my mouth to say something, but the waitress walks up with our coffee, a pot of coffee, and a bowl with creamer tubs on her tray. She places our drinks in front of us and sets the pot of coffee and the creamer between us. She gives me a once-over and obviously finds me lacking in her opinion. She turns to Damon and slides him a napkin with what is obviously her number on it. Damon takes one glance at the napkin, then places his coffee cup on it, making sure to spill a bit of the coffee right over her number, blurring it and making it unreadable.
Damon glances at her. "You're still here?" he asks coolly. "My fiancée and I would like to talk privately, if you don't mind."
The waitress's expression immediately turns from anger to horror and complete embarrassment. I chuckle as she quickly moves away. "That was cruel," I tell him with a grin as we fix our coffee just the way we like it. "Effective, but cruel."
"If I had been interested in her, I would have flirted back when she was taking our orders. She obviously can't take a hint. If she insists on embarrassing herself, it's her own fault. Sorry for pulling the fiancée card without consulting you first, but she was annoying me," he replies, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Use it if you must. Just don't overdo it," I remark, blowing on my coffee before taking a sip.
"Are you serious about leaving Stefan?" he asks softly.
I nod. "I told you, he's going to continue to hide things from me and lie to me no matter how many times I ask him not to. I can't handle that. I hate lying and liars. I'm already lying to everyone I know. I need people to tell me the truth so that people I care about are not put in further danger because I believed someone when they lied to me," I remark. "Stefan thinks lying to me protects me. It doesn't. It just puts me and everyone I care about in greater danger. You seem to understand that."
"What I understand is that the truth always comes out in the end and liars are always caught. If you spend enough time around them, even vampires eventually get caught in their lies, no matter how good they are," he says. "Head's up, waitress incoming."
A few seconds later, the waitress comes over with our food, placing the burger in front of Damon and the pancakes in front of me. "Can I get you anything else?" she asks Damon, stroking his arm slightly. "Anything at all?"
I raise my eyebrow at her. "I really wish you'd stop flirting with my fiancé, Sandra," I tell her, remembering her name. She jumps and turns to me. "He made it perfectly clear that he didn't want you when you showed up to take our order. When you came back with our coffee, you tried to slip him your number and he purposely spilt that coffee on it to make it unreadable. And now you're here again trying to flirt with him, when he told you he's engaged to me. We are both getting very annoyed with this behavior. I am quite willing to register a complaint with the manager that you are harassing my fiancé in front of me. In fact, I plan on doing so before we leave so that you won't humiliate the people you work for like this again. You are thoroughly disgracing this restaurant with how you're acting. I truly hope your manager will take swift action on this."
Her eyes widen in fear and she quickly backs away. Damon chuckles. "Well, kitten, your claws are showing yet again," he teases.
I tuck my hair behind my ear and smirk at him. "I plan on following through with that threat," I tell him. "You outright told her we're engaged and she still comes back to flirt with you. I'm not about to let someone like that slide." I reach over to the syrups and select the strawberry-flavored one, liberally pouring it over each of the four pancakes in turn.
An hour later, Damon and I walk out of IHOP hand-in-hand, after filing our complaint on Sandra with the manager. He glances at me and chuckles. "What?" I ask.
"You got a little syrup right about," he says, leaning towards me, "here." He kisses the corner of my mouth, using his tongue to lick the syrup away.
I laugh as he pulls away with a grin. "You just couldn't resist, could you?" I ask as he unlocks his car.
"Well, for one, that Sandra girl was watching so I wanted to show her that we are, in fact, together. More importantly, I happen to enjoy kissing you," he says before sliding into the driver's seat. I slide into the passenger seat and buckle up. "Ready to go home?" he asks, turning on the car and pulling out of the parking lot. He heads for the interstate.
"Well, I have one request before heading home," I say with a smirk.
"Oh?" he asks, glancing at me with a raised eyebrow.
"I want to go to an amusement park," I tell him with a cheeky grin. "Yesterday, you got to choose where we went. Today, I want you to take me to an amusement park. Then we can go home."
He laughs, rich and deep. "Sure thing," he says. "And I know just where to go."
"Oh?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
"You'll see when we get there," he tells me, a mischievous grin on his lips. "Besides, even if we went straight back to Mystic Falls, we won't get back until sometime tomorrow anyways."
"Why's that? It only took one night for you to drive down here," I remind him.
"That's mostly because I rarely dropped below 100 miles an hour," he informs me. "I only slowed down when you started waking up."
"Are you crazy?" I demand. "I had just gotten in one crash from driving too fast!"
"Relax," he tells me. "Don't forget, I have much better reflexes than you do. I figured I'd go for speed so that I could cover as much distance as possible before you woke up and freaked out. Besides, I thought your crash was because of that vampire that tried to turn you into a buffet?"
"A combination of driving too fast and slamming into someone who was standing in the middle of the road," I admit. "I just wanted to get away from the boarding house as fast as possible and I wasn't really paying as much attention to the road as I should have been."
"Even if you were paying attention, they still would have tried something," Damon assures me. "There are many ways for a hungry vampire to get a car to stop. But …," he starts, trailing off.
"But you don't think my crash was caused just because they were hungry," I finish softly. "I agree with you on that. If they were hungry, they wouldn't have run off without putting up a fight, would they?"
"No, they wouldn't. And their broken bones would not have healed as fast as they did," he agrees. "No, you were targeted specifically. Now we only have to figure out why."
"I know why," I say softly. "It's because I look like Katherine."
"Is this part of the thing I promised not to ask about?" he asks.
"Yes."
"Damn," he curses. "Well, can I ask how that vampire even knows about Katherine?"
"I don't know how he knows about her. But I can tell you that you're going to have to kill him at the dance," I say softly.
I see him grimace at that news. "Is that the only reason you want me to go?" he asks softly.
"No! I want to be able to dance a few dances with you while we're there before things get crazy. If I don't get that chance, the night will be a complete waste of time, even if we do kill him," I tell him sharply. He visibly relaxes when he hears the honesty in my voice. I relax as well, repositioning myself so I'm comfortable. "Can we put the top down?" I ask suddenly, excited by the thought.
He glances at me and laughs. "Sure," he says, pressing a button on his door. Slowly, the top rolls backwards until it's all the way down. Damon releases the button as soon as it is down.
I grin, turn my face to the sun to bask as the wind sweeps my hair back. "This is awesome," I tell him over the wind. He rolls his eyes at me and captures my left hand with his right, lacing our fingers together.
Three hours later
I turn to Damon in surprise as he takes an exit that has a huge billboard about a quarter mile before it. "Six Flags?" I demand in shock.
"Yep," he says, popping the 'p'.
"If you weren't driving right now, I'd kiss you. I've always wanted to go to Six Flags," I tell him.
"You can always kiss me when we get out," he suggests, winking at me.
"Maybe I will," I retort, smirking at him while giving his hand a squeeze.
About twenty minutes later, we pull into the parking lot of Six Flags. Damon puts the roof back up before turning the car off. "Just in case," he tells me when I look at him in surprise.
We finally release each other's hands and get out. Damon locks the Camaro then meets me at the front of the car. He takes my hand, lacing our fingers together again before leading me to the line at the entrance of the park. When we finally reach the front of the line, Damon glares death at the guy in the booth because he casts an admiring look at me. Damon quickly pays for two all-day Flash Passes and drags me into the park before the guy gets a chance to flirt with me.
"For someone who wants to wait until I've officially broken up with Stefan, you're sure acting like a jealous boyfriend," I tease, squeezing his hand.
He rolls his eyes. "I'm here with you. I won't tolerate other guys eyeing you like that," he retorts. He raises an eyebrow at me and hands me the map he had grabbed. "You're the one who wanted to come here; you decide where we go and what we do," he tells me.
I grin at him before studying the map. I briefly free my hand from his and point out the route I want to take through the park. "We're going to take this route through the park. We'll start here, in the Georgia section. And we'll start with The Georgia Scorcher," I tell him.
He raises an eyebrow at me. "And what is The Georgia Scorcher?" he asks.
I smirk. "Ever been on a standup rollercoaster before?" I ask.
He thinks for a moment. "Nope," he says at last.
"Well, you're going to ride one today. The Georgia Scorcher is a standup rollercoaster," I inform him.
"This should be interesting," he remarks, motioning for me to lead the way.
I check the map and then follow the paths right up to the rollercoaster, I grab his hand and lead him into the Flash Pass line, grateful that we can skip what looks like a two hour wait in the regular line.
Three hours later, I spot a booth selling cotton candy. "Damon!" I cry, pointing to the booth.
He groans. "Aren't you hyper enough already?" he asks plaintively. "Besides, you'll get all sticky!"
I smirk at him. "It'll give you a good excuse to kiss me some more," I point out. He smirks at the thought. He's taken every little excuse he could think of to kiss me multiple times over the last few hours. I'm willing to bet that the only reason he hasn't dragged me out of the amusement park and off to some hotel is because he's making sure that I fully enjoy this treat. "Haven't you ever had cotton candy?" I ask him.
"No. It is way too sticky," he retorts.
"Come on!" I say, dragging him to the line. "We'll share a cone"
"Elena!" he protests, though he's grinning when I glance over my shoulder at him. "I'm wearing designer clothes! This is a John Varvatos shirt, just so you know! I don't want it getting all sticky!"
"Relax, Damon, I'm sure that the drycleaners can get it clean again," I tease. "Please share a cone of cotton candy with me, Damon," I beg, giving him puppy eyes.
His lips twitch as he tries extremely hard to keep from agreeing or even grinning. I poke my lower lip out and he caves. "Fine! One cone," he growls, though his lips curl into a wry grin. "Just don't ever make that face at me again, woman," he adds, taking my hand and leading me to the line at the cotton candy booth.
I just laugh. Now that I know one way to get him to agree with me, I'll use it every time the perfect opportunity pops up. Five minutes later, Damon and I are seated on a park bench, sharing a large cone of cotton candy. I note the look of pleasure on his face as he takes a large chunk of the sugary goodness and sticks it in his mouth. "Aren't you glad I talked you into this?" I tease.
"Fine, I'll admit it: this is pretty good," he says, rolling his eyes before stuffing a chunk in my mouth. I smile as I chew the cotton candy.
After we finish the cotton candy, we spend another five hours going on rides and enjoying ourselves, deciding to have corn dogs for lunch. Finally, we walk out of the park hand-in-hand as the sun nears the western horizon. "Thanks, Damon," I tell him, giving him a warm smile. "I had a great time."
He smirks. "Good," he says, pulling me closer so he can wrap an arm around my shoulders
I sigh happily and lean into his embrace, wrapping my arm around his waist. I could easily get used to this side of Damon that seems to only appear around me. It's only when we're once again in the Camaro and on the highway that I break the comfortable silence between us. "Did you feed me your blood the other night?" I ask softly, thinking back to how much pain I had been in before I fainted in Damon's arms after he pulled me from my wrecked car and how very mild the pain was when I woke up in his car here in Georgia.
He doesn't bother pretending not to understand my question. "Couldn't have you bleeding on the upholstery," he remarks dryly.
I roll my eyes. "Why didn't you let the vampire get me?" I ask again. "Why didn't you call Stefan to take me home?"
"I told you, Elena," he replies. "I'll reiterate it. Your final words before you fainted in my arms were 'I look like her'. That clued me in a little on the mishap in Stefan's bedroom. I don't really want to know all the details, but I pretty much summed up that Stefan had some picture of Katherine lying around in the open and you discovered it after he popped your cherry." I turn at him, shocked that he knew. "Vampire, remember? We can smell the difference between a virgin and a lady who has had a man between her legs at least once. His scent was all over you, so it was a no-brainer at what had you in such a rush to leave him that your tires were squealing as you tried to stop before you hit that vampire. You're lucky I was near enough to hear those squealing tires. I'll admit, my first thought when I heard the accident play out while I was on the way to investigate was that I had gotten lucky with a free meal. Then I recognized your SUV and that vampire fixing his limbs. All thoughts of hunger went right out the window" He glances at me, his eyes sparkling in the fading daylight. "I'm not going to let you become someone's lunch. Not unless I'm that someone."
Heat curls in the pit of my stomach as the possessiveness in his voice surges through me. I never realized, even the first time I lived these three months, that hearing him be so possessive over me would be such a turn on. Thinking back on last night and this morning, I begin to understand just how wild being his girlfriend will be. I know I will be soaking up every second of it as I fight to keep this amazing vampire alive on Founder's Day.
Damon sighs. "What are you thinking of?" he asks softly. I stay silent. "Elena, I know something's eating at you. I can sense it. Not to mention you have that strange look in your eyes again."
That startles me into speaking. "What look?" I blurt, turning to look at him.
He glances at me. "The look of someone who's lived through something that's too damned much for them to handle but they can't bring themselves to end their own suffering," he says softly, returning his eyes to the highway.
I close my eyes. His words describe exactly what I went through. I was so damned close to ending it all when Bonnie came to me with a chance to get my soulmate back and have him live through that terrible event. "You could say that describes me perfectly. If it weren't for this chance I have been given to set things right, I probably wouldn't have lasted much longer," I barely breathe, knowing he can hear me.
"And your words imply that you're thinking about what I promised not to ask about," he mutters. "And I stick to my promises, no matter what." He sighs, taking a hand off the wheel to rake it through his hair.
"I promised you I would explain everything when the time is right. And I will," I tell him softly.
The silence that follows is no longer comfortable. I know Damon is trying his damnedest to figure out what the hell is going on with what few clues I let drop. I know that he is completely unable to. He wouldn't keep getting so close to breaking his promise to me if he had an idea.
The silence is unbearable, but neither of us can figure out a way to break it and get back our relaxed companionship. And so the time and miles pass in silence. It's nearly two in the morning when Damon finally pulls into the parking lot of a Holiday Inn somewhere in South Carolina. By this time, I had fallen into a light doze. He shakes me awake and I blink my eyes owlishly at him in confusion.
"We're stopping for the night, sleepyhead," he says, lifting me out of the car and into his arms. I snuggle against his chest as he locks the car and carries me into our room. He had apparently already gotten his change of clothes for tomorrow in while I was out of it. With every step he takes, I wake up a little more as the need to be with him fills me. He chuckles, obviously smelling my arousal. "I thought you were tired," he teases.
"Sleep later," I growl, yanking his head down so I can kiss him with all the love I have for him. He hums his agreement to the plan. Next thing I know, his naked body is pressed against mine on the bed. I purr my pleasure as his hand works at preparing me for the huge erection pressed against my hip. I hiss in contentment when he finally slides into me. He seems to have decided that tonight it's time for rough passion rather than gentle lovemaking.
"Harder. Faster," I hear myself gasp as he plunges into me again and again. He obliges, looping my left leg over his right arm so he can get even better access. I rake my nails over his back, knowing that I'm drawing blood and not caring. I feel myself drawing closer and closer to completion as he slams into me with immeasurable force at a speed only a vampire can maintain.
I'm half-surprised that he doesn't shatter my pelvis bone with the strength he's putting into each thrust. But considering the playboy lifestyle he's led for the past century and a half, it's actually not surprising at all that he's learned to have strict control of his body even when having rough and wild sex. Finally we plunge over the edge and I let out a scream. As soon as I scream, he goes as still as only a vampire can get, staring at me. I frown, wondering what had caused him to look like I had dumped ice water on him. Then it hits me. "I love you, Damon!" are the words I screamed.
I see the look in his eyes, the uncertainty and fear. He's worried that I'm waiting for him to say it back. I raise a gentle hand to cup his cheek. "I know," I tell him softly, reminding him that I know things I shouldn't. This time I almost feel that look enter my eyes as I think about the heartache he will be going through as soon as we open the tomb. He's going to be such a wreck when he finds out that Katherine was never in there. He collapses on top of me in relief, and I hold him to me. "I know," I whisper.
He relaxes against me as he realizes I don't expect him to return my declaration of love. I know that he can't right now. He's still caught up in Katherine's spell. "I'm sorry," he whispers regretfully.
I run my hand through his hair. "Damon, I entered this relationship knowing that you only want Katherine. I knew exactly what I was getting into when I chose to do this," I assure him, his head resting on my chest. "I know that you can't return my love right now. I can only hope for one day."
"Elena," he starts, agitated by my words.
I tilt his head and capture his lips with mine; letting him know through this kiss everything he is having trouble accepting. Letting him know everything I can't tell him, though he won't understand much of that part. Finally, I have to pull away to get air in my oxygen-deprived lungs. "Just trust me, Damon," I breathe, closing my eyes against the confusion in his. "I know what I'm doing in this much. It's everything else that I'm trying to get a handle on."
He sighs before carefully rearranging us so that I'm lying sprawled on top of him with my head on his chest. He's still buried deep inside of me when he's done, so I take that as a good sign. "I wish I understood what you're trying to say without coming right out and saying it," he murmurs into my hair, pulling a blanket over us. "I'm starting to understand that there's something going on that you can't confide in people until it's completely played out. Doesn't mean I have to like that you're being forced to keep such a big secret from me."
I let my body relax against his, practically melting until I don't know where I end and he begins. "You didn't feed from me," I realize softly, not opening my eyes as I speak.
"I fed from you this morning and last night. And both times I drank a good deal of your blood. I don't dare risk doing so again for a few days. Even with my blood in your system, you're still human, Elena. You only have so much blood in your body and you can't exactly replace it as easily as I could replace mine. If you want, you could drink my blood again." I hear his smirk in his voice. "I can't even begin to tell you how good it feels."
I chuckle weakly. "Some other time, Casanova," I reply. "I need sleep. Restful sleep."
He gets the hint and starts singing that foreign lullaby he learned so long ago. As I quickly fade into the land of dreams, I feel Damon enter my mind and shove away the nightmare trying to creep up on me. He replaces it with more dreams of us, his hauntingly beautiful voice continuing to sing to me even in my dreams.