PLAYING WITH FIRE

Chapter 8: Somewhere Only We Know

by W. A. Ravensdale


I know this chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but I just had to end it there. I'm already warning you about the cliffhanger - don't kill me! Thank you, my amazing readers, for all the marvelous feedback and kind words! I love you!

I'm aware I sound like a broken record for thanking my fabulous beta every chapter, but she is just so freaking amazing! You should see the crap I send her! RunningInAir, you rock!

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Diaries or any of its characters.

My twitter: WARavensdale


"We build too many walls and not enough bridges."

- Isaac Newton


"Okay, look, I get that you are still pissed at me because of this morning, because I didn't tell you about Andie and all that, and I don't blame you," Elena started as they finally entered the suite, turning around to face him. "It was a bitchy move, and I'm sorry," she admitted honestly, running her fingers through her hair. He didn't look at her.

"But what I don't get, is why you're so mad at me for this. I mean, nobody said I wasn't allowed to go for a walk outside or leave the building. You knew exactly where I was – or you would have if you'd bothered to check this pesky tracking device – and, technically, I didn't exactly break any rules. I stayed in the twenty-mile radius! Plus, I caught you eight criminals." She was getting anxious around him. She was used to him being pissed at her, even furious, but he always had a reason. Right now, he did not.

"You should be thanking me," she shrugged with a half-smile on her lips, trying to lighten the dark mood as she leaned back against the wall. She couldn't help herself but to remember the last time she was backed into the same wall and it brought a smirk to her lips. Damon blinked, his beautiful eyes finally settling on hers.

"Well, excuse me if I don't, will you?" He barked, throwing the keys on the low table next to the door. They were still in the middle of the hallway.

His eyes were blazing, almost black now as he angrily stalked towards her. "I know you're a criminal, Elena. I know you don't care about anyone but yourself, but tell me, why do you enjoy provoking me so much? What's in it for you? Why do you enjoy driving me insane?" He spoke, his voice low and a bit husky.

She wasn't backing away now, no freaking way. Instead, she straightened her back and looked up at his eyes, determined. "When I first spiked your interest, when you were trying so hard to catch me, when you spent your nights thinking about catching me and nothing else – you were so perfectly raw. You were reckless, determined, stubborn, dangerous, and so fucking passionate about everything – whether you admit it or not, you loved the thrill of the chase. You loved the way I was molding you into a better agent each day. You gave light and meaning to everything you touched, Damon. I was young, freshly betrayed, and I was never more alert than I was then. My brain decided to push the pain and heartache away, and I was utterly brilliant with that clarity. I was cautious and observant as fuck. I knew you better than you knew yourself – and I was only watching from afar. You were bursting with life; you were impulsive and so addictively free – nothing could stop you. You were a challenge to me, a game I loved playing even if I knew you would eventually catch me – though I can honestly say I didn't think it would have been as soon as it was.

And then, all of a sudden, you met Andie. You fell in love, or whatever your relationship was all about, and the Salvatore I admired died. Like it or not, Andie stole that burning fire from you. She caged you and tamed you into perfection. No longer were you the fierce, ruthless agent chasing me; you were just a ghost of him." Somewhere during her speech, something between them had changed. The air somehow became heavier, the tension thicker, and she wasn't sure if she should embrace it or run away from it.

"So, you see now why I like it when you're on the edge of lashing out. When the blood pumps in your veins, and I can practically see the animal you try so hard to suppress rushing to the surface, you are indescribably amazing in that moment – you just explode. You weren't meant to be tamed, Damon, just like I wasn't, and it's okay to admit that - it doesn't make you a bad person or a criminal – it makes you you. I don't need you empty, Damon – I don't like you being dead inside," she finished, smiling a little. Her body was still pulsing with adrenaline, craving the feeling of power already. She was breathing heavily but wasn't even sure why. Her lips were dry, and her heart was thumping in her chest, and only then did she realize how fucking close they were; the distance between their faces so negligible that she could feel his ragged breaths on her skin, feel the heat radiating off his body, and her eyes skipped to his full lips just begging to be ravished again – she felt a tightening low in her abdomen.

"Then make me feel alive again," he breathed out, his voice just above a husky whisper as he took the last step towards her, pinning her between the wall and his frame. His hands rested against the wall on either side of her head, keeping her from moving away, ensuring their bodies were as close as possible. "Make me feel alive, Elena," he whispered, his eyes flicking to her lips, and as if his eyes brought her own attention to her lips, she drew the lower one between her teeth, biting down on it. The pain of her split lip shot through her, the metallic taste of blood in her mouth, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

She knew she shouldn't, it was wrong on so many levels, but she just didn't care anymore. She didn't survive on the run for so long because she cared about right and wrong – she survived by taking chances and trusting her instincts. She trusted those same instincts now, and let her hand sneak around his neck, roughly pulling him closer, their lips crushing together in a bruising, hungry kiss.

It was like something exploded in Damon in that moment, like he let go of that guarded, safe part of himself and let the wild side take over. He responded with such urgency and need that Elena couldn't stop the moan coming from between her lips as his hands dropped down to her legs, lifting her up like she weighed nothing, slamming her harder against the wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist, fisting her hands in his hair, and let her tongue run sensually over his bottom lip as if asking for permission. He parted his lips for her and the kiss became more urgent, more hungry, and more raw.

She had barely begun to taste him when he pulled back, his hands still gripping her tightly. She opened her eyes to find him staring at her displeased, and she raised her eyebrow in confusion. "You're hurt," he whispered breathlessly, and she became aware of the blood on her lip again. Her heart fluttered in her chest at his concern, but she pushed the feeling away as fast as it came.

Smiling, she untangled her hands from his hair and slowly trailed them across his collarbones, down over his chest and toned stomach, and further down until she reached his abdomen, her lust-filled eyes never leaving his. Tugging at his shirt, she let those questing hands sneak under the thin fabric, brushing her fingers over the tense, hard muscles, making him shudder beneath her touch. She lifted the shirt, her legs clutching tightly around his waist as he lifted his arms over his head to allow her to pull it over his head. He looked at her, puzzled, as the shirt fell to the floor.

Yanking him closer again, she ghosted her lips over his. "It's nothing. Now, shut up and kiss me." She could practically feel his self-control breaking as she arched her back, grinding herself against him. Without warning, his lips were back on hers again, his body pushing against her harder. She moaned when she felt his arousal pressing against her aching core, vehemently wishing there weren't clothes between them. She bit down on his lip this time, smiling with satisfaction when a low groan left his mouth.

Her hands began to explore the perfection that was Damon Salvatore – finally! - after what felt like ages of only appreciating him from afar. They ran down his chest, his back, gripping his strong biceps and shoulders. They found his soft, midnight hair again as the need for air became urgent, and he broke the kiss, only to trail his lips expertly down her neck, sucking on her pulse point, as the breaths between them grew hotter and more desperate. She wasn't sure if it was him or the fact that she hadn't had anyone ravish her in years, but she couldn't remember the last time just kissing had brought her so much pleasure.

One of his hands ran up and down her thigh, as the other cupped her face, his lips returning to hers. Digging her heels in his ass to pull him closer, she roughly gripped his hair, yanking his head back so she could have better access to his jaw and neck. He moaned, his voice husky with the force of his arousal.

"Bedroom?" He growled when she bit his earlobe softly.

She said nothing, only nodded in response and proceeded to leave burning kisses down his neck and collarbone. Vaguely, she felt him move, carrying her without breaking a sweat, and her lips found his again. He hissed quietly when he accidently knocked over a decorating vase, and she burst out laughing, shaking her head as he smiled back. Finally, he stumbled into her bedroom. Her hands left his hair and dropped to the hem of her shirt as she went to pull it off, but his hand stopped her. A frown graced her features as she looked up into his face.

He set her down on her feet again when they reached the edge of her bed, and she was just about to question him when his hands replaced hers, and he slowly began unbuttoning her bloodied shirt. Smirking, she let him. There was a small genuine smile on his face as well, and Elena realized it was the first time she had seen him smile for real. She decided she didn't ever want it to leave his lips, and she stood up on her toes to brush her lips across the sweetly seductive expression.

"Damon," she whispered, and his eyes found hers again. "Stop teasing me. I want you."

When all the buttons were undone, he grasped the sides of the opened shirt and pulled her to him, her body flush with his. He kissed her again, teasingly pushing the shirt off her shoulders. It pooled on the floor around her legs, and he wasted no time in lifting her up and all but throwing her onto the bed where she landed, gasping from the pain that shot through her sore body and hoping he hadn't noticed. Of course, luck was not on her side.

"Elena?" He rasped, breathing heavily as he lowered himself to the bed and crawled towards her. She tried to wiggle herself away from him, but he straddled her thighs, not letting her get away. Carefully, he removed her hand from her side and let out an animalistic growl, making Elena roll her eyes in annoyance. She knew the nasty bruise was already painting her skin, but the adrenaline had been keeping most of the pain away…for now…and she would be damned if she let a freaking bruise prevent her the pleasure she knew he could give her.

"What the fuck, Elena?!" He hissed, ghosting his cool fingers over her left side, and she shuddered.

She knew she should feel pain – she sure as hell would in the morning – but the only thing she was aware of right now was the fire burning her skin from his gentle touch. Taking him by surprise, she flipped them over, pinning him down on the mattress. Of course, he could push her off anytime he wanted, but she had a strong feeling that he wouldn't – both to avoid hurting her and to alleviate the painfully-obvious arousal flowing through him.

Straddling his lap, she leaned towards him, her hair falling around them like a curtain. Kissing him passionately, she could feel he was still too stubborn, and sighed. "I told you it was nothing, Damon. Come on," she urged, rolling her hips against his, earning herself another hiss.

"That is not nothing! You're hurt! You need to go to a doctor," he attempted to state firmly, but his resolve was quickly weakening - she could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice.

"Oh, please. I've had much worse, believe me." It was true, she'd been beaten up so many times in her life she had lost count – mostly by her uncle or in fights like today. The pain never bothered her that much.

Not waiting for his response, she captured his lips with hers again, showing him just how much the pain didn't bother her. He hesitated, but not for long. His hands were in her hair in seconds, pulling her even closer, and she couldn't help the smirk that tugged on her lips – she was getting what she wanted after all. Her nails teasingly ran across his abdomen, until they finally settled on the button of his jeans. Smiling, she unbuttoned it, pulled down the zipper and broke the kiss, tugging his pants and boxers off while leaving wet kisses down his chest.

"Oh, would you look at that: you really are a man!" She mocked with feigned surprise when his erection sprang free, scraping his thighs with her nails, and laughing when she heard him groan loudly.

She was on her back again before she could even react, only this time, Damon didn't hesitate. He all but ripped her already-torn leggings off her, and damn did he look positively delicious doing it. In a quick motion, he had her bra and panties off her, leaving the perky brunette sprawled across the bed completely naked with that mischievous shimmer in her eyes. "You're enchanting," he breathed out, crushing his lips to her swollen ones. Her heart did one of those annoying flutters again, but she didn't dwell on it, not when his hands felt so good on her. As their tongues battled for dominance, his cold hands cupped her breasts, flicking her nipple between his fingers, making her arch her back into the touch. Pulling away, his mouth and tongue replaced his hands, and she couldn't take it anymore.

Scraping her nails over his back, she murmured, "No more teasing, please." It almost pained her to beg, but right now she was too far gone to care, and his mouth was doing wonderful things to her body. She felt like she would explode if he kept torturing her.

"I thought you said I was going to be the one begging?" He smirked, nibbling on her nipple.

"Fuck you," she moaned breathlessly in return, earning a low chuckle from him.

"Oh, I think you'll be the one doing that tonight, jail-bait."

She giggled, loving his playful mood. If Elena was anything, she was stubborn as hell, and she vowed to make him sorry for teasing her so deliciously. He wouldn't know what hit him, she mused, gasping when he slid down, leaving a trail of featherlike kisses over her abdomen. He kissed her inner thigh, nipping at it softly, before his mouth finally found that sweet, sweet spot, and she moaned loudly, tugging his hair with one hand and gripping the sheets with the other.

God, she had missed this so much!

His skilled tongue was doing such luscious things to her as his fingers joined the party, bringing her higher and higher towards sweet oblivion. Her anticipation grew, but at the same time, she never wanted him to stop. With a few flicks of her bundle of nerves and gentle thrusts with those fingers, she was flying, arching her back, and finally reaching that sweet nirvana.

He was on her again in no time, catching her slightly-parted lips in another one of those achingly-passionate kisses only he could give, as she slowly came down from her high. Slyly, she smirked at him, pushing him off and settling on his lap again. She reached for the drawer and pulled out a condom, sad that they had to use it at all. Better safe than sorry, right?

She ripped the package open and rolled the condom down over his painfully-hard erection, ensuring to squeeze the blood-thickened muscle with her fingers, causing him to roll his eyes back with a low groan. With the last shred of clear mind he had left, he pulled himself higher, leaning his back against the headboard, yanking her to him. Their lips clashed together again as she settled herself over his length and finally sunk down, making them both moan loudly at the sensation. She began moving, rolling her hips against his as he met her half-way.

They were both panting, their murmurs of pleasure echoing through the empty suite each time she took him deeper, faster. His hungry lips were everywhere: her mouth, her neck, her shoulders, and her breasts, causing her body to pulse with pleasure. His thrusts were fast, hard, and raw, and she loved it, moaning along with each thrust.

"Elena," he rasped, his incredibly blue eyes locking with her doe, brown ones; and in that second, something changed – it wasn't just fucking anymore, it was more than that, and she couldn't afford to have legitimate feelings, so she looked away. Instead, she rode him faster, more urgently, panting as he hit that spot inside her that she could never quite touch herself.

She claimed his swollen lips again as she felt she was getting closer, needing to be as close to him as she physically could. Her walls clenched around him, making him hiss again and grip her hips more painfully. She ignored the pain, welcoming the ache of her sore body, and with a few more thrusts, she came around him, screaming aloud at the intensity of the orgasm. Her head fell back, hair tumbling over her shoulders, and she felt him follow closely behind.

She leaned against him, her head resting on his chest, and they stayed like that for a few minutes, their breathing heavy and uneven. Eventually, she rolled off him and sprawled across the bed. From the corner of her eyes, she saw him dispose of the condom and slide under the covers, molding his body perfectly against hers.

She gave in, selfishly letting him hold her, if just for a moment – pretending it was so easy, pretending their demons matched - but it wasn't long before she closed her eyes almost painfully, and whispered, "you can't stay here."

Her voice obviously startled him, and he raised his head to look at her, confusion written all over his beautiful, tired features. "I sleep alone," she stated, like those few words would tell him all he needed to know.

It was true, she never let men or women sleep with her; she fucked them and threw them out – sharing a bed just wasn't something she was comfortable with. Not when the stakes were so high, not when it wasn't just fucking anymore.

It hurt her to say it, which confused the hell out of her, but she knew she needed to protect herself – he had gotten too deep as it was, and she couldn't let him go deeper. With a shrug, she rolled over, turning away and waiting.

She could feel the tension rolling off him as he stayed still for a moment before he threw the covers off himself and left without a word. A single tear slid down her cheek, but she brushed it away before it could fall on the sheet. It was for the best.


Her dreams were haunted by the all-too-familiar figure again, making her cry and gasp loudly, tossing around in her bed. The dreams were so wrong, so cruel – just like they always were. The blows she received in them caused her physical pain, making her cry out loudly and curl into a ball, the sheets long forgotten.

She woke up screaming, her body drenched in her sweat – the only painful reminder of her dreams and the figure which was closer to her each day. Letting out a silent cry, Elena tried to sit up, only to gasp again at the pain that flushed through her when her back arched. Willing herself to get up, she walked to the bathroom, flinching as she went.

The first thing she noticed in the big mirror was the big, purple bruise coloring her left side, and she groaned. As much as yesterday brought her pleasure, this surely wasn't the time for her to walk around injured – not when Caroline's return was so close she could almost taste it.

Shaking her head, she stepped under the shower, letting the cold water relax her muscles and clean away the sweat. She let her mind wander to what transpired later in the evening, to the way Damon's body moved against her, the way his hands travelled over her body, the way he knew exactly what she wanted before she even realized it; and suddenly, she was thankful for the cold spray pushing those thoughts away.

Instead, a darker, more painful memory entered her mind – the one of her pushing him away, the one where her heart and mind just refused to let him in, refused to let him even get close to her. Sighing, she leaned her head against the tiles, whishing this was all a dream and she would just wake up in her bedroom back at home any moment.

But, of course, she didn't. This was real, and so was Damon. Turning off the water, she dried her hair quickly, brushed her teeth and dressed, looking more collected and much stronger than she actually felt. Maybe if she acted indifferent, she would start believing it, too.

Fortunately, he wasn't up yet, and she ordered breakfast for both of them, pouring herself an all-too-early drink and downed it in seconds. It took the hotel less than five minutes before there was a knock on the door, and she opened it, thanking the nice boy who delivered room service with a nice tip. She ate alone as he still hadn't shown up, asking herself if maybe she went too far, if maybe he thought of their adventure differently than she did – she knew he wasn't the wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am kind of guy, but she didn't kid herself. She was, after all, just his rebound, was she not?

She hated the fact that, even though what happened between them was mutual, he made her feel like she forced him into it, like he didn't want to, and that this was all her fault. He was a coward, she finally decided, knowing full well he was awake now. What did he expect, anyways? It had just been sex, nothing more.

Suddenly, a ringing phone pulled her from her thoughts and she vaguely noticed it was coming from Damon's room. She waited, listening to his muffled voice but not understanding his words. There was something nagging at her, though – a bad feeling like something was just about to happen, and she shifted uncomfortably, knowing nothing good could ever come out of it.

And surely, not a minute later, Damon appeared in the doorway, his face more than displeased as he uttered four simple words that nevertheless managed to bring Elena's mind snapping into focus. "Caroline's in the hospital."


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