Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).

Warning for explicit language and a tiny amount of explicit sexual content.

Damon and Elena had been on the road for almost twelve hours. They'd stopped a couple of times for the restroom and food. But it was getting late and they were looking out for motels. Initially Elena was confused by their route. They headed north to Memphis, then to Nashville. When questioned. Damon told her they were making sure nobody thought they were heading towards Mystic Falls. He didn't always take them along the major roads, instead, he used the off-beat routes to try to ensure nobody was following them.

Eventually they found a motel on the outskirts of Louisville. It wasn't luxurious, but it was clean, had two double beds, and fortunately, there was a bar just across the road. After the long drive, it was agreed they needed to relax for the rest of the evening, so the hit the bar for some liquid refreshment and a little entertainment. And for Damon, maybe a real life snack might make him feel a little better about what he was going to have to go face to face the next day with his brother, who he hadn't seen for around twenty years.

They showered and changed in the motel bathroom, before heading towards the bar. It wasn't anything special, but there was dancing and drinking, although being a Saturday night, it was already a busy. Damon managed to find them a booth while he ordered a bottle of bourbon for himself and a beer with a tequila shot for Elena.

The moment Damon handed over the tequila, Elena should have known she was in trouble. Tequila was Elena's weak spot. She tended to get quite drunk on it and was always inclined to let her hair down a little more than usual. Many a time she'd gotten in trouble with tequila at college. And a few beds she wished she hadn't ended up in too.

That was before she'd met Stefan, but they hadn't exactly been a couple for long. They had only been dating four months, but it felt like a lifetime already. The revelations about his lies were a crushing blow. Not that she minded him being a vampire, but because he'd lied to her. On top of that there was the Katherine issue, and whether or not she could truly trust him anymore. Not that any of that really mattered, because after her fifth tequila, it was no longer an issue as Stefan was as far from her mind as humanly possible. Instead her focus was on the raven-haired man on the dance-floor, who was currently dancing provocatively with a gorgeous blonde, and kissing her neck.

For some unimaginable reason, Elena was less than impressed by Damon's behavior. He was supposed to be making sure she was safe from anyone who wanted to abduct her, like maybe Katherine. But as the tequila was her predominant motivator, so she decided to return the favor and find a hot guy to dance with for herself.

Elena scanned the room, until her eyes fell on a guy who reminded her somewhat of Stefan. He wasn't anywhere near as good looking as her boyfriend, but he had similar hair and coloring. Gathering all of the courage Signor Tequila could provide, she wandered over to the hot guy and asked him to dance. The guy looked at Elena as all of his Christmas's and birthdays had come all at once, before nodding his head and following her onto the dance-floor.

To prove a point to Damon, who for some reason she couldn't see anymore, Elena pressed herself up against they guy to flirt. However, maybe because she was dating Stefan or whatever it was, something didn't feel right. It felt wrong to dance with this guy. After only a couple of songs, the guy suddenly looked uncomfortable as his eyes flashed over Elena's shoulder. Elena turned her head to see Damon stood right behind her with a smirk on his face.

"How does it feel to dance with him?" Damon whispered into her ear. "Good? Bad? Or wrong?" he asked.

Elena let go of the guy and turned to face Damon, who had clearly ditched the woman he was dancing with.

"It felt as good to me as that girl did to you." Elena smirked.

"You mean dinner?" Damon raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean dinner?" Elena shrieked.

"Shh!" Damon looked around furtively and put his finger to his lip. "Do you want the who bar to hear?" Damon then turned his focus on the guy Elena had been dancing with. "You never saw either of us, spoke to us or danced with this girl. You danced alone." he compelled the guy.

"I never saw either of you and I danced alone." the guy said in a robotic voice, before turning around and continuing to dance by himself.

"What did you do?" Elena glared at Damon, who wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I compelled him to fuck off so I can protect you." he smirked, resulting in a slap on his arm from Elena.

"And how were you protecting me when you had your face in that woman's neck before you both disappeared to do god knows what?" Elena demanded.

"I was feeding from her." Damon told her as he pulled her in tighter. "Tomorrow we might be facing Katherine, and I'm going to need as much ammunition as I can find. And for that, blood bags just don't quite cut it." he said.

"What's the difference?" Elena frowned as they swayed together to the music.

Damon thought for a moment before answering. "When vampires drink human blood, they become stronger. Fresh blood is always better than what is in blood bags. The best analogy is that it is more nutritious." he smiled.

"So how does Stefan survive on animals?" Elena asked.

"He survives. That's all." Damon explained. "Yes, he's still stronger, faster, and has better senses than a human, but nothing like what a vampire has who has been drinking human blood. His compulsion skills must really suck, and he wouldn't even be able to fight off Caroline, despite being almost a hundred and fifty years older than her."

"So animal blood the worst, human blood from the vein best, but you generally survive on blood bags." Elena surmised.

Damon nodded. "Makes life easier that way. Can't keep compelling people to forget us all of the time. And sometimes, things get messy, and unfortunately, dead bodies happen. If it weren't for blood bags, at lot more people would die." he added.

"But aren't you taking them from the hospitals?" Elena asked.

Damon shook his head. "Klaus has a deal going on to have a blood drive for those who can't donate blood under normal circumstances. People who have diseases that would make it impossible for someone to be given their blood. People who are on medication which makes their blood unusable. So we have a blood drive for the unusable blood. These people are paid for their services by Klaus. It is literally his blood bank." he shrugged.

"And I'm guessing being on Klaus's good sis perks with the blood bank." Elena deduced.

"We get blood at discounted rates. It means we don't have to steal them. We just have to earn a living to pay for it." Damon explained. "It keeps us all in check. Having New Orleans as a great place to visit is good for both humans and vampires. Klaus is keeping everyone happy."

"Do the humans know about vampires?" Elena asked.

"The relevant people who need to know are in the know." Damon told her. "Anyway, enough of the politics of New Orleans. Let us enjoy the evening. Because I'm most certainly enjoying dancing with you." he whispered as he rested his head against Elena's.

That was when Elena had the strangest sensation. She felt like she was finally at home in Damon's arms. Elena felt confused for a moment. She had never felt such a powerful, non-sexual draw to anyone in her life. The previous night she had felt an incredible amount of lust towards Damon. But in his arms, she felt like she was in the right place, which was absurd as they hardly knew each other. Not only that, but he was a notorious playboy and a known killer. She shouldn't be attracted to someone like him. Then it began to dawn on her, was it attraction, or were they mates. If they were, they would be monogamous for the rest of their lives, unless they chose otherwise.

The more Elena thought about it as she relaxed into him, the more it made sense. However, the idea of it all scared her. Damon himself had made it clear he didn't want a mate, and had been avoiding getting intimate with other supernatural beings because of this. But if they were mates, surely Damon would know and would have said something to her. The fact that he didn't suggested it must be her imagination, and it was partly Signor Tequila talking, and the fact that Damon made her feel so good, on top of him being, in her eyes, the single hottest creature on the planet. She decided to put the notion to the back of her head and pretend it was never there in the first place, and just enjoy feeling safe.

After another hour of drinking and dancing, they decided to call it a night. Elena had questioned Damon about what it was like to be a vampire and what all of their tricks were. Although she knew what Damon was and what he could do, she felt oddly safe with him watching over her. It was as if she knew he wouldn't hurt her, whether it was misguided or not, she was about to find out.

Elena showered first before climbing into bed and closing her eyes to try and go to sleep. Damon had told her he could see just as well at night as in the day, so she turned all of the lights out in the room. The only light was coming through the bathroom door where Damon was showering, and moonlight shining through the window.

The thought of Damon in the shower, naked, was doing all sorts of things to Elena, mostly driving her crazy with desire. All she wanted, was to go and join him and have red hot sex in the shower. However, her wishful thinking was cut short she she heard the water stop running. A few moments later he returned from the bathroom. Elena could make out his inky black hair was wet, but that wasn't what took her breath away. All he was wearing were low slung jeans, which were practically falling from his hips.

Elena's eyes drifted up, taking in his dark treasure trail, licking her lips at the prospect of what it led to. She took in the rest of his perfectly formed body. There wasn't an ounce of fat on him. He was extremely toned, but not overdone like some men. She could tell he was probably alabaster white, which was normally a huge turn-off, but for some reason, on Damon it was extremely attractive. It contrasted his dark features, making him look like a sinister angel.

As Damon sat down on the chair and poured himself a glass of whiskey, all Elena could think about is what she wanted to do in that moment, which was investigate where his treasure trail led to, and maybe even take him in her mouth. She new he'd taste clean as he was fresh from the shower, and the thought of that alone was a huge turn on. However her train of thought stopped when she realized Damon was staring back at her. Suddenly, Elena felt embarrassed. She'd never been that much into sex before. She enjoyed it, but not enough to have erotic thoughts about someone. Elena just hoped Damon hadn't been able to work out the dirty thoughts running through her mind.

On cue, Damon got up, slipped a shirt over his shoulders and made his way to her bed. Elena shuffled over to let him lie next to her, even though he did have his own bed, but she couldn't refuse, and after all, the closer he was, the safer she was, right. That was her excuse and she was sticking to it. Unfortunately, her body was betraying her mind and she clung tightly to the comforter to try and keep her thoughts pure, which was almost impossible with Adonis personified laying next to her.

"What were you thinking?" Damon asked, although Elena suspected he already knew, therefore she needed to come up with something fast, and was surprised with herself when she did.

"I was wondering how old you were when you turned." Elena replied.

"I was twenty five." Damon told her. "Born in eighteen thirty nine." he added. "Why?"

"I dunno." Elena sighed. "I suspected around your mid-twenties. Is there anything you miss about being human?" she asked.

Damon thought for a moment. "It's not being human I miss, but the people I've lost over the years." he sighed wistfully. "Why? You thinking about joining the club?" he joked.

"No." Elena shook her head. "I want a family." she told him.

"Well the only chance you'll have of that is with your mate." Damon told her. "And what about when you've had your children with your mate? Would you consider turning after that? To watch over your family from generation to generation?" he asked.

"My mate might be a witch." Elena suggested.

"Really?" Damon raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure he's not a vampire?"

"You said yourself it isn't Stefan." Elena swallowed, wondering where Damon was taking this conversation.

"I'm not talking about my brother." Damon said. "I'm talking about the vampire you are having thoughts about that are significantly dirtier thoughts about than you'd ever consider yourself possible to imagine."

"I don't know what you mean." Elena blushed and looked away, wondering if Damon had omitted mind reading from his vampire abilities. "How do you know I've met my mate yet?"

Damon huffed. "I'll let you figure it out." he whispered as Elena sat up.

"I need some air!" she said as she got out of bed and slipped on her converse before heading outside.

Elena hadn't been lying when she told Damon she needed air. His presence was stifling, and she was worried Damon was simply making a play on her hormones to lure her into bed, and she had to remember she had a boyfriend back in Mystic Falls, although Stefan was suddenly becoming a distant memory, especially as her desperate need for Damon was getting stronger by the minute. Meanwhile, Elena was trying to push away her need for Damon, and it was becoming exhausting. Tears of frustration sprung to her eyes.

Behind her, Elena heard a door closing. She didn't need to turn around to know it was Damon.

"Don't!" Elena gulped.

"Hush. It'll be okay." Damon whispered into her ear reassuringly, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "I know it's a lot to take in right now."

Elena rested her head back on Damon's shoulder, deciding to see if he was experiencing the same as her. "I'm scared." she whimpered.

"Me too." Damon admitted. "I've tried to avoid it all my life as I thought it would be like a prison sentence, and I liked my life the way it was." he told her. "But everything has changed since meeting you."

"Are we...?" Elena finally found the courage to ask.

"Yes." Damon replied. "That pulling feeling you have, and when everything feels like home in my arms, I get with you. I have an indescribable urge to protect you. I probably can't compel you, and right now the thought of drinking your blood repulses me."

"Why is it so intense?" Elena asked, finally beginning to relax.

"The spirits are pushing us to consummate. Neither of us have magic to ease the need. I'm guessing Bonnie will have cast a spell to help them until she tells your brother." Damon told her. "We have to rely on sheer willpower." he sighed. "And to do that, I will be a gentleman and completely cover up and sleep in the other bed." he told her. "Let's get back inside."

Elena nodded in agreement as they made their way back in and got into their respective beds. They both lay there for a few minutes trying to sleep, but their need for each other was growing by the minute, to the point of becoming painful. This was when Elena realized it wasn't about sex itself, it was definitely something bigger than that.

"Damon." Elena complained. "It hurts being so far away from you."

"I know." Damon agreed. "It's pretty painful for me too."

"Maybe if we share a bed and just cuddled, it might help." Elena suggested. "Has anyone told you what happens if you hold out?" she asked.

"It's never been done." Damon told her. "Witches can slow it down, but only by a week or so."

"So it won't be affecting Bonnie as much as it will be Enzo?" Elena asked.

"It will feel the same to both of them." Damon explained. "If she slows the symptoms down for herself, it slows it down for Enzo. Our symptoms mirror each other. I know what you need, and you know what I need."

"Well that's good to know." Elena said. "And what about the cuddling?" she asked.

"It might help ease the pain." Damon agreed. "But the physical intimacy might make it impossible for us to resist consummation." he warned.

"I'll take the risk." Elena said as Damon got out of his bed in climbed under the comforter of Elena's bed.

They wrapped themselves in each others arms, taking in one anothers scent. But as Damon predicted, after about a minute of experiencing some relief, the pain of desperate need came once again. However this time, it was twice as painful.

"So what do we do now?" Damon asked. "Cuddling clearly isn't working. Our bodies are telling us it isn't enough."

"Maybe a kiss?" Elena suggested. "It's not taking it too far, and hopefully it will help alleviate some of the need."

"Elena, the moment we kiss, we won't be able to stop." Damon warned her. "The consummation will overwhelm us, we will lose control."

"I think we're pretty much past that point right now, don't you?" Elena raised an eyebrow, before snuggling her head into Damon's chest and placing her hand on it to touch his skin.

"Whatever happens, you have to initiate the consummation." Damon told her. "Unless it is a gay mating, the woman always has to initiate anything that could lead to the consummation."

"So we are relying solely on my willpower?" Elena asked.

"Uh-huh." Damon replied.

"We are so screwed." Elena whispered as she pressed her lips against Damon's chest, just where his heart was beating a slow methodical thud.

The moment Elena's lips met Damon's skin, her world suddenly turned upside down, and she knew she'd lost control.

Thank you all for your kind reviews. They are always appreciated.

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Mandzipop.