"Bonnie?"

"Oh, thank God it worked! I can't hold the connection open for long but-"

"Why are you in my mind?"

"Because we're going to come get you. Stefan told me Damon took you away. Do you know where you are?"

"I can't tell you."

Elena could sense the confusion in her friend's mind, an odd sensation. But she hurried on.

"I'm so sorry, Bonnie. But I don't want to see Stefan - I can't trust him. I promise I'll be safe with Damon. We'll be back soon. Just don't come after me."

"Wait - what's going on with you and Stefan?"

"Nothing. I'll promise I'll tell you everything soon. But for now, please... you have to leave my mind."

She emphasized the last words inside her head, and she was relieved to hear Bonnie calling her name through static, traveling further away until finally her voice disappeared altogether. She wasn't sure how she thought that would work, to attempt to cloak her thoughts and perceptions... maybe a primal innate answer? She probed again for a moment. No, there was nothing. Elena opened her eyes to see Damon staring at her from where they sat on the bench.

"What's going on?" There was a subtle tension in his jaw. The emotions were hidden just below the surface, but she could read him easily now.

"It was Bonnie - some kind of spell where she could talk to me in my mind. She wanted to know where we are. But I didn't tell her," she added quickly, trying to dissipate the fury rising in his eyes.

"So my brother can play the knight in shining armor and rescue you from the big bad vampire, no doubt. So you can fall right back into his arms." He stood up suddenly, running a hand through his hair and pacing in front of her.

"I didn't tell her. Or Stefan when asked me on the phone earlier. Neither of them know, because you asked me not to say anything and because I don't want to see him. Stefan and I are over."

Elena placed a hand on his shoulder from where she was now standing behind him. She hesitated briefly, not sure she wanted to confess yet. But she also didn't want him to worry, and after all of his honesty, she owed it to him.

"Damon...I want to stay here with you, until you're ready to go back. That's the biggest reason why I didn't tell them. I don't know exactly how or when it happened, but you're right - there issomething between us. That we need to figure out."

She stopped because he was staring at her, his eyes burning into her in such a way that her knees were weak. She wasn't normally a fan of PDA, but she welcomed his arm slipping around her waist and his lips crashing down upon hers. It kept her from falling to the ground in this dizzy state. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her fingers tangled through his hair. The kiss was relatively chaste by his standards but still intense enough that she was left breathless when they separated.

"I think," he began huskily with swollen lips, "that we should go back to the house."

"Already?" Elena took his hand. "But I really wanted to see Provincetown. And besides, we have all night." She bit her lip to emphasize her plea. He growled as he pulled another kiss from her, making her shiver in the warm afternoon sun with his trailing fingers running against bare skin.

"You're lucky I can't say no to you," he said against her lips. "But later..."

She nodded in nervous anticipation. She gently pressed her lips against his a last time before pulling away with a smile. With a smirk in return, he allowed her to lead him down the sidewalk.

Bonnie sat up with a start. She looked around her bedroom. Stefan was next to her and his eyelids fluttered briefly before his gaze met hers. She stared at him sympathetically. He heard the whole exchange, even though Elena didn't know he'd accompanied the witch into her mind. Bonnie knew he saw the kiss between her and Damon, and that he heard her proclamation that her relationship with Stefan was over. Of course, Elena had thought they were gone at that point - Bonnie led her to believe it after she asked her to leave. But they had watched everything. And...

"He had to have brainwashed her. There's no way she would have gone to him willingly." He sounded like he was choking at the thought.

She shrugged. Bonnie didn't have the heart to dispute his argument, that Elena's feelings for Damon were strong and true. "Maybe we should just let them come back when they're ready."

She reached out to touch his arm reassuringly but he was already standing and moving away from her. He ran his hands through his hair and something flashed through his eyes. Fear? Anger? It was gone before she could read it.

"No, we have to get to her. Before anything else happens."

"I don't think Damon's going to hurt her, Stefan. She's probably the only other person he cares about in this world besides himself." Her eyebrows knit together. The same look was back on his face. Guilt. "What happened between you and Elena?"

He sighed. "Something I'm beyond ashamed about. Suffice to say I'm a selfish, horrible person, Bonnie. But if we don't get to Elena, she's in a lot of trouble. Katherine is looking for her."

"What?" Bonnie could only gape at him as her mind raced and sputtered.

"There's not time to explain right now. Where did she say they were? Provincetown?"

She nodded dumbly, still in shock at the prospect of Katherine. Sure, she wasn't in the tomb. But how could Stefan know she was after Elena?

"Can you hand me your laptop?"

"Yeah, sorry - hang on." She slid off the bed to her desk, opening the computer and setting it next to him. He brought up a search engine and quickly typed in 'Provincetown, USA.'

"Only one match," he remarked, clicking on the map.

"Holy crap," Bonnie said under her breath. She watched as he zoomed out, looking at the tiny green curved peninsula that jutted into the vast blue Atlantic.

Damon had brought her nearly ten hours away from Mystic Falls - all the way to Massachussetts.

Elena stretched her feet over onto Damon's lap as they cruised down the highway, driving back to the house. In Truro, she remembered. He explained it to her earlier, pointing out the general direction from the top of the Pilgrim Monument. The view of the Cape was awesome at such a height, and the ocean stretched out beyond it as far as the eye could see.

He glanced at her with a sideways grin, gently tickling the bottom of her feet until she protested. "Sorry," he offered, but he didn't look apologetic at all.

She laughed wearily, her head lolling against the window. "S'alright," she replied, punctuating her words with a yawn. "Thank you for today. This really is an amazing place. I can see why you would want to live here."

He nodded, lightly running his right hand over the top of her feet and shins. "So, earlier..."

"Mmmhmm?"

"You're sure things are over with my brother?"

Her smile faded. But she didn't look doubtful - only sad. "He lied to me, Damon. About one of the worst things he possibly could. And he lied to you. I just... I feel like he fabricated his entire existence to be a person I would love, only to betray me. I can't get over this."

They sat in silence for a few moments, but he didn't respond. His eyes remained focused on the road.

"But it doesn't diminish what I feel for you," Elena continued. "It was there before you told me what happened. It's just that now, I don't have to feel like I'm betraying anyone. I don't have to ignore it. I tried denying it, but I wouldn't have given in to you if I didn't want to on some level. Obviously I was curious..."

"Curiosity killed the cat," he teased, and he smirked again. She arched her back as his fingers ran along the inside of her bare thigh. She waited for his hand to continue further on its path, but instead his fingers intertwined with hers on her lap. "I can wait as long as it takes for you to figure this out, Elena. Just promise me you won't shut me out."

"I won't." She squeezed Damon's hand in reassurance before he let go to resume his massage of her legs.

Their ride continued in a comfortable silence, and soon they were pulling up to the house. He glanced over and realized she was asleep. He had been so consumed in his own thoughts that he didn't notice her breathing fall into the steady rhythm of slumber. He sighed in a mixture of disappointment and contentment. While he spent most of the afternoon daydreaming about her naked body beneath him, he supposed it might be for the better if she were well-rested first. So, a good night's sleep was probably in order, especially after the stress of the morning and the walking that followed later.

Damon lifted her out of the car, and she nuzzled into his neck with a sigh of her own. He smirked as he carried her inside to settle them both. Yes, he had a long day planned for Elena tomorrow. And it wouldn't involve leaving the house or any other distractions. Only the two of them, in bed.

"Oh..."

Elena forced her eyelids open, a familiar pleasant sensation building low in her belly. Sunlight surrounded her and reflected off of the black hair of the man - vampire - gently kissing along her bare stomach. A wave of dismay washed over her when she realized her last memory of last night was talking in the car.

"Good morning."

Damon smirked at her, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously as he propped himself up on his elbows.

"Hi." She gave him a shy smile after noting her state of undress. She was only wearing a tank and underwear beneath the sheets. "So..."

"Nothing happened last night," he pouted mockingly. "You fell asleep before we got home."

"Oh, good." She blushed at his offended expression. "No - that's not what I meant. It's just that I didn't remember anything, and that would have been a little disappointing."

He grinned, amused by her flustered state. "Well, you won't be disappointed for long."

Damon's face disappeared again and she felt him nipping at the inside of her thigh with blunt teeth. She gasped and twisted under his touch as he moved up her body. His mouth met hers finally and she moaned against his lips. When he pulled away to look at her, she could see his vampire side coming through. Her breath caught in her throat, strangely aroused by the thought of him feeding from her now. Elena nodded as their eyes met in lust.

There were a series of butterfly kisses as he turned his attention to her neck. Then she felt the sting of his fangs puncturing her skin. She bit back a groan at the discomfort, but it quickly faded. Waves of euphoria began washing over her, and she closed her eyes to experience it fully. She was flying high, all her senses heightened in pleasure. His left hand was near her neck, lightly stroking at her hair and her earlobe. The other traveled under her shirt against her skin, up her stomach, settling upon her breast. She gasped at the intensity of the sensations as he rolled her nipple between his fingers.

His mouth left her neck and he smirked. "I told you it could be enjoyable."

Elena's hooded eyes focused on the blood on his mouth and she bit her bottom lip. She drew his head down to hers and kissed him hard, tasting herself as her tongue ran against Damon's. After a few moments, his wrist replaced his lips. She lapped hungrily as his blood welled up out of the open wound. The connection that formed as he fed from her simultaneously? Mindblowing. As if his soul was wide open in front of her, nothing hidden, his love and desire for her flooding through Elena. But it wasn't like it was going to swallow her alive as she had initially feared. Instead, she felt whole. Something she was sure she wouldn't have experienced sharing blood with Stefan. She was suddenly glad she hadn't done this with Stefan. It was a moment that was hers and Damon's alone.

She let out a whimper of dissatisfaction when he pulled back too soon for her liking and turned away completely.

"Damon?" she asked, worried that he knew her thoughts had briefly traveled to his brother.

"Stefan." His tone held a note of disgust and Elena's stomach leapt into her throat.

"I'm sorry, I can explain," she began as she sat up. She almost fell back in shock.

Stefan stood in the doorway, his furious eyes meeting hers.

"Hello, Elena. Aren't you going to invite me in?"