That night Elena did not sleep well. It was very stuffy and hot in her room for a few hours. Her whole body was covered with sweat. She escaped from beneath Damon and went to the window. The thermometer showed 102 ºF . Heat wave. She recalled. She looked over her shoulder, her lover was still sleeping, like all of this didn't effect him. She decided to use this moment to take a cool shower, which not only helped her get rid of unpleasant layer covering her body, but awoke all of her senses. She never like cold water, but today it brought her the relief she was searching for. After thoroughly wiping the water flowing down her body before wrapping a towel around her. She went to the mirror and placed her hand in the place where not so long ago Damon's fangs were. There was not even a trace after yesterday's bite. She was surprised. She dressed in a track suit and went into the kitchen. Although it was 7 a. m. Sunday morning, her whole family was sitting at the table.

"Jenna, Jer? Already wake?" She accosted merrily.

"Do not say anything, I couldn't sleep in this heat. I would love to spend all day in a nice air-conditioned room, " her aunt complained. "but you look surprisingly refreshed, you have a good night?" She asked quite innocently.

Elena blushed. She had no idea if it was a casual remark or that Damon and her were not as quiet as they had thought. "Quite good." She stammered, not knowing how else to answer this.

"No doubt." Jeremy threw sarcastically before leaving.

"I hope that this civil war won't last forever." Jenna obviously remarking because the situation was becoming uncomfortable for her.

"Me too."

"Do you have any plans for today?" She asked while gnawing on a croissant.

"Nothing concrete yet, why do you ask?" Elena immediately realized that her aunt had some hidden reason.

"I planned to invite Alaric, make a nice family dinner."

"Family or romantic?" She dug.

"Today the family." Jenna assured her.

Elena smiled at her and returned to her bedroom. She hoped that Damon has awake, because she was beginning to get bored. She opened the door and saw Anna sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Hi!" She greeted happily. "I'll be going. Good to know that you are back." She looked at Damon, smiled and went to her brother's room.

Damon was still lying in bed lazily and wasn't worried about anything.

"I didn't expect that you're the early bird type." He mumbled with his cheek still stuck to the pillow.

"I'm not, but it's so hot and stuffy, I couldn't sleep," she climbed onto the bed and cuddled to him. "from what I remember you wanted to stay in hiding for some time." She pointed to him while he drew her closer.

"That was the plan, but as usual, nothing goes according to the plan. Yesterday she was with your brother, and heard us. She did not fail to inform him of it, " he smiled at her clearly pleased with himself, but Elena had the impression that she could burn with shame any minute, damn vampire hearing. "So, I think that we can end this conspiracy. I also have an idea of how we can have fun before the family dinner. " With a little difficulty he got up from the bed and went to her drawers. He rummaged and in the next moment he threw onto the bed, next to the still stunned Elena, her swimsuit.

Finally, she managed to come back from her embarrassment at the fact that her brother and his girlfriend practically caught her during sex. Also she processed everything that Damon said. "Whoa," she waved her hand trying to get his attention. "Are you going with me to the dinner?" He assented to her without hesitation. "Okay" she did not expect that he would want to sit with them in the living room, watching TV and eating something prepared by her aunt. Suddenly she remembered something. "I have no marks. After yesterday... " she touched neck trying to steer him on the right track of thinking. "I don't recall you giving me your blood."

"You fell asleep very quick, and I couldn't look at the bruises and holes, so I gave you some. You're not angry with me, are you? " He was really regretful that he did not ask her for permission.

"No," she reassured. "at least I wont have to wear scarf or anything like that." She smiled at him lightly. "I want you to ask something," She seemed quite embarrassed, but she pushed that feeling back. "Yesterday, when... you drank from me, I felt something strange. I don't know how to describe it. Like I could feel what you feel, like I felt for two. When Stefan drank from my wrist I didn't feel anything like this. It wasn't just my imagination, right? "

Damon looked at her analytically. "I've never heard anything like that before. I didn't feel anything like you did, at least not then. However, when I gave you my blood, I could see and feel things. I think it was the same thing like you had." He pondered.

"Tell me."

"It's ... not that easy to explain. I felt ... I felt as if I was flooded with pure and unconditional love. I saw pieces of your thoughts, they were fragments of moments that we shared."

In the afternoon Damon took her to one of his favorite places. They parked on the beach, but it was not the ultimate goal of their trip. He took her right next to a small waterfall and started to undress. When he took off everything, Elena stood still, speechless.

"I'm not the type of guy who goes swimming all the time. I don't have swimming trunks." He tried to justify himself.

She shook her head in disbelief and took off her clothes. Damon was already in the water and stretched out his hands toward her.

"Now, hold on and take a deep breath." He warned before they plunged into the water.

After a few seconds, they emerged in a completely different place, an incredibly beautiful place. A small lake surrounded by steep mountains from every side with brilliant green trees. It looked like a flooded volcanic crater, but there wasn't any volcano here. At the farthest point there was a small beach. He looked at her face. She had a slightly open mouth and her eyes were wide, looking around. Suddenly, she turned to him and firmly fastened her mouth to his.

"It's so... beautiful...here."She whispered between kisses. She finally broke away from his lips. "How is it possible that I live in Mystic Falls all my life, and I was never here?" She could not hide her surprise.

"To get here by land you would have to walk a good day, the mountains are extremely steep and dangerous," he went to the beach with her and assured her of what she suspected. Without ropes and equipment she would not escape from here. "And to swim under a waterfall as we just did you would have to be provided with a bottle of oxygen. Contrary to appearances, it was more than 50 meters. I found this place about 100 years ago " he spread himself comfortably on the narrow beach and closed his eyes, enjoying the sun warming his skin.

Elena lay down beside him and watched him intently. Droplets of water sparkled across his body hypnotically. Her eyes traveled slowly from his face through the chest,to his semi-hard member. In a few quick movements she got rid of her bathing suit and bared her skin to the sun. She had never had a naked sunbath. It was more exciting than she had expected. She knew that her nipples were hard and she felt wetness between her legs, but she promised herself, that she would endure 24 hours without having sex with him. In contrast to this morning, now she wasn't so sure that was a good idea. While she fought an internal struggle Damon looked at her with adoration. She opened her eyes and saw his blue gaze piercing at her. Suddenly, in her head dawned a truly diabolical plan. She had no idea where she got it from, but she knew, that now there was no turning back.

Continuously staring into his eyes her hand moved slowly along her thighs, abdomen and over her breast. He smirked and stretched out his hand. How great was his surprise when she hit his hand and shook her head in disapproval.

"Without touching baby," She growled and started to continue. She closed her eyes and began to pretend that she was all alone. Left hand teased her nipples, while the right was in the vicinity of her crotch still avoiding the most sensitive areas. She opened her eyelids and in corner of her eye saw his tongue licking his lips in desire, while one hand stroked his length. This view turned her on more than any touch. She had never seen anything so sexy. Immediately she slipped two fingers in herself and pumped them in the same rhythm, in which he moved his hand. Loosing all sense of herself, she focused all of her attention on Damon masturbating in front of her. She shifted her gaze from his intense blue irises to his more and more violently moving hand. Suddenly he came. At the same time as she felt a hot and sticky substance on her skin and a wave of pleasure flooded her. She have never expected that something like this would excite her. Actually, once, when Stefan had finished on her belly she did not fell anything special, she only wanted to take a shower. This time was spectacularly different.

Damon looked at her slightly surprised. He had no idea how she could react to something like that. He didn't planned to splash on her belly, but he just couldn't control himself, seeing her body arching beneath her own touch. But what she had did next, went far beyond his expectations and in a split second he was hard again. Elena moved her fingers over the cum on her belly and licked it from them, slowly, sucking each finger in turn. It was the sexiest thing he had ever seen. He looked at her ecstatic with an open mouth. As soon as she saw him in this state, she giggled. She moved to him and slipped her tongue between his still parted lips.

"We should get going," she got up and slowly entered the water. "Baby?" she urged, seeing that he was lying down. Moments later, they walked from the waterfall, dressed, with gradually falling bulge in Damon's trousers. Dinner was going to start in an hour and they still had to wash away the smell of the lake.

She dressed up and waited until Damon finished shower. A few times she saw a blur from the bathroom into her room and back, and finally he stood in front of her, dried and fully clothed. The biggest surprise for Elena was his selection of attire, which was different from usual. She was checking him from head to toe. She did not know what caught more attention; the stylish old worn blue jeans, which began as low as possible; or a white t- shirt highlighting every detail of his body with large V- neck cut in which revealed the two collarbones and ends in exactly the place where his trousers began. She did not think he could ever be more attractive then he already was to her, but he was. Her face instantly flooded with red.

"I didn't think that after today I would be able to make you blush." he immediately was punched for this remark. He rubbed his shoulder, where Elena hit him. "What was that for? My tigress. " he embraced her and immobilized her at the same time.

"I'm glad you're back into your old sense of humor." she stammered and turned away without allowing him to kiss.

Damon waited patiently, until finally he stole her one. "Thank you."

"For what?" She was surprised and lost all her anger somewhere.

"For the fact that you are" he smacked her lips again, " and for the fact that you complimented my outfit," he added smirking.

"Damon, Damon," she shook her head " it's getting worse with you. You must have been in the sun too long. I didn't say anything, " she assured him.

"You didn't have to. This look on your face was enough," he covered her mouth before she could answer him. He purred in her ear and opened the door. "Showtime" he muttered before going out.

Elena went forward wanting to explore the situation in the living room. As it turned out it was empty. She pulled back her hand and spliced her fingers with his. She sat him comfortably on the couch and nestled in him. Trying to kill time she moved fingers on his forearm. The touch of his skin was something extremely addictive. The more often she touched the less she wanted to stop. She turned her head and examined his reactions without interrupting the rubbing. Damon closed his eyes and smiled slightly. A sudden ahem burst them from the moment of intimacy. Jenna stood in front of them with Alaric right behind her. Both shocked.

"I invited Damon, I thought you wouldn't be angry about it," Elena decided to pretend innocence and not start that conversation.

"No, not at all" tone of her voice seemed strangely artificial. "Jer stood us up, he wrote that he needs to work on a project in the library. I suspect that there is no project, but I wouldn't find him. So, this will be our... four. I bought everything we need to prepare cannelloni, but I have to a find recipe, because I haven't cooked it for a long time." It was clear that she was trying to pass over this lightly and it wasn't going well.

"You know what Jenna, I remember very well how to do it, so you can sit down with Ric and we will prepare dinner." Damon suggested politely, pointing to himself and Elena.

She just nodded and sat on the couch slightly shocked. Alaric watched their every move before they disappeared into the kitchen. Damon, dressed his assistant in a pinafore and began. He boiled noodles, saw how Elena was doing with chopping spinach and started preparing the sauce. Everything happened between them with amazing grace. It was like dancing in the kitchen.

"Are they talking about us?" Worried, she interrupted the silence.

"I thought that you don't like when I listen." he teased her.

"Damon." she pushed.

"They are," he replied laconically and she slapped him for it. "Mhm," he murmured, "I said, tigress, besides this pinafore is blowing my imagination," he saw that she gradually was losing patience and gave up playing with fire. "I have to summarize everything? " she nodded. "Jenna is the main speaker. The first few words were rather inarticulate sounds, perhaps she wasn't quite sure what to say. Then she began with 'When did she break up with Stefan?', and it was met with silence from the teacher, so she began to wind up in her monologue, 'Did you saw how she sat between his legs, the way she touched him? God, he will drag her to the bed immediately. No! And what if he already did it! Jesus, Ric say something! ' and here our poor friend had to react somehow because she would snap off his head. Ouch!" he got hit for the mention of the head. "Note that I am the worst here, there is nothing about you seducing me!" he pointed, clearly outraged.

"Do not make yourself so innocent" she scolded him. "Continue."

"I noticed that you are beating me more often and willingly, baby. I will play with you in bed, " he promised clearly excited. "Where did I finish? Ah Ric said something like, 'Elena is responsible'. Personally, I do not know where it was leading but he probably didn't have an idea for anything better. Your aunt is afraid that because of me you will: start drinking and partying, leave school and become pregnant. I think the last possibility can be deleted with a clean conscience. Generally she is afraid that I will deprave you and she is just repeating herself with these concerns. Oh, and yes, I almost forgot, " he hesitated for a moment. "She stated that I'm just playing with you and I will break your heart," his eyes grew so sad that Elena could not resist and hugged him. "Thank you baby, but you didn't have to do that. You know that it's not true, " he smiled at her weakly and went back to preparing dinner.

"I know. Did she said something more? " she delved.

"No, after all she said that she will give us a chance. Poor Ric, he is so under her thumb, " he returned to his normal tone of voice. "Now in the oven for 20 minutes and we can go for entertainment in the leaving room," he grinned, grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him. "Dinner will be soon." he said, sat in a chair and seated Elena on his lap, which only made her aunt to open her eyes in horror.

"How is your brother Damon?" Jenna asked, ruthlessly.

"Actually, I have no idea. I was not in town for the last week, but Elena saw him, when it was was sweetheart? Yesterday? The day before yesterday?" He decided that he will try to play it as best as he could without hurting anybody and it was not easy.

"Yesterday," she replied rather coldly. "Generally same old." she didn't want to start talking about how he promised her, that he would get her back.

Alaric was still too stunned to say anything. Only his head was turning like on a tennis court. Suddenly he heard an alarm from the oven and jumped into the kitchen. He needed time for himself, time to process all of this. He knew that this didn't happen just out of thin air. That night, when they were saving Damon's younger brother or during the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, Damon was unable to hide his feelings for her, but he never thought that Elena's are equally strong. Damn, after all she was with Stefan, with a good brother and claimed that she loved him. Feelings can not disappear as if they never happened. When he opened the oven he felt that someone touch his shoulder. It was Damon.

"Is everything fine Ric? You don't look the best " he accosted.

"Is everything okay? How did this happen? You just were running after Katherine" he pointed to him.

"As they say," love does not choose ' " while Ric pulled the cannelloni out of the oven Damon was setting the table. "I don't know how it happened. You think that I didn't try to avoid this? " He replied seriously. "I think that this thing with Katherine was finished a long time ago, but I didn't have courage to admit to myself. You know, it's good to have a purpose in life, especially such a long life. Getting her out of the tomb was mine. "

Alaric could not believe what he heard. It was like a completely different side of Damon, the one he has never let or did not want to be seen. It was so convenient to think of him as a heartless killer.


For the first minute they just stared at each other in silence. Finally, Jenna took a deep breath and began:

"I'm trying not to judge you, you know that I trust, but Damon?" Her aunt did not even try to call their relationship what it was.

"I thought you liked him." she stammered.

"Like, don't like, it's not about what I think about him. Oh God!" In her mouth it sounded almost like a curse, she covered her mouth and turned her gaze. "I understand that he is an older, sexy guy, but what about Stefan?"

"What about him?"

"I didn't even know that you were no longer together and suddenly you bring home his brother and are making out with him on the couch!" She asked. Her voices quiet as not to be heard in the kitchen. "Elena, a guy his age is expecting more from a relationship than just walking and holding hands." She spoke each word slowly, so that her niece was able to understand them thoroughly. "He will want... sex and you can believe it or not, but someone like him is not accustomed to waiting, he is not Stefan." Jenna finally reached the heart of her concerns. "When did this happen?"

"You remember when you found me in front of the the house," Jenna nodded. "The next morning I broke up with Stefan."

"Girls!" They heard Damon's voice from the kitchen. "Dinner is served!"

The pasta came out excellent. The evening ended in a very relaxed atmosphere. There was no trace of the tension. They talked and joked as if nothing had happened. Elena knew that Damon could be the most charming person in the world, if only he wanted. He wrapped Jenna around his little finger, and even stranger, Alaric began to surrender under his charm. Hours passed unnoticed. Finally, Elena moved to her bedroom.

"Give me a second," Damon smacked his lips on her cheek and returned to the kitchen. He came very close to Jenna and put his hands on her shoulders. "I know that you are worried about Elena, you're not sure of me, but I promise you that I'll take care of her. I will do everything in my power to make her happy" sincerity hitting from his words to convince her.

"I'll give you a chance," she promised. She saw how Damon was going upstairs, "At least in 10 minutes, I'm seeing you here," she pointed a finger at him and it was clear that she is not joking. He smiled and nodded.

Elena was already lying in bed, she parted sheets and waited until he joined to her. As soon as he was by her side, she put her legs around him and nestled into his chest.

"You realize, that downstairs your aunt is waiting for me with a stopwatch," he murmured into her ear. Almost all this time they lay in silence, they didn't need anything more. "I have to go baby. It is the time, I have to get back home and talk to Stefan. " He knew that she was as reluctant as he was, but he could not drag it on forever. He took his bag from the closet, went downstairs to say goodbye to the teacher and his girlfriend. Now the worst was waiting for him.

His car was somewhere in another state, so he had to run home. He searched the entire estate, but there was no trace of his brother. Hunting, he thought. He took a shower and lay in bed when he heard the phone. Fortunately, he put his cell on the table next to the bed. Elena

"What happened sweetie?"

"I can not sleep," she complained.

"You want me to come to you?"

"No, because I will not be able to kick you out of my bed. Sing me something peaceful, " she asked.

"What am I with you?" he pretended to complain but did not cease to smile.

Stefan returned from hunting and immediately heard his brother talking on the phone. Before he could get to his own bedroom, he began to hear Damon's quiet singing. For a long time he didn't know what his brother sang. It was one of the old lullabies, which Damon used to put him to sleep when they were kids. His heart ripped in a half. On the one hand, it was love for the girl, on the other to his brother, who apparently was really happy, for the first time in 145 years.


A/N: Again I want to thank PeachieX for beta this for me ;)