Chapter 10 – Frown Lines

Damon POV

Driving away with her taste on his lips, Damon felt strangely cheerful. He wouldn't exactly call it happy, that was an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time and wasn't likely to feel anytime soon. But he could taste her on his tongue and it was a hintness of sweetness that he needed.

Pulling up at the house, he slammed the door shut and strode into the library heading for the bottle of blood he had stored next to the whisky. Stefan and Elena glanced up from their cosy cuddle on the sofa before exchanging a "look".

"Well hello Peter Pan and Wendy. Busy saving the world from Tinkerbelle and all things fairy like?" he smirked at them, pouring a glass.

Elena rose from her place on the couch and moved gracefully to stand in front of him. No matter how much he didn't want it to, Katherine flashed into his mind. Not for the first time he wondered why he and Stefan kept putting themselves through this; different girl, different century, same face. But then she spoke and he was reminded she was nothing like Katherine.

"Damon, I'm worried."

"You'll get frown lines on that pretty face of yours" he replied with a sneer gulping blood from his glass.

Her face cringed as she watched him drink but she stayed put. "You seem to be spending a lot of time with Marley these last few days and..."

"I'm having a good time Elena, it's not a crime is it?" he asked, cutting her off.

"We're just worried that when you've finished with her..." Elena trailed off her sentence and looked at Stefan again.

Damon was annoyed. The "we're worried" tandemness of Elena's statement reminded him that Stefan and Elena were a pair, together, something he had wanted with Katherine and which she had thrown in his face. Stefan always seemed to get the girl.

"I dispose of my problems Elena, don't worry, I won't leave a bloody mess for you to clean up."

"It wouldn't be the first time Damon" said Stefan, standing up and moving next to Elena, his gallant protectiveness making Damon all the more annoyed.

"I might not eat her yet" he replied flippantly.

"Damon" Elena said softly, placing her hand on his arm. "You don't need to kill her when you're done with her." She shivered when she said "done" but Damon wasn't focusing on that. His attention was hooked on the small hand, warm against his skin. He looked up at Katherine's face but saw concerned, doe brown eyes instead. He stared at her for a moment, thinking he could look at her all day but then he shook her hand off, turning away from them both.

"Don't stress Princess, I've got it covered" he said before stalking out the door and heading up to his room.

"Don't do anything stupid Damon." Stefan's voice floated through the walls and he was tempted to go back and tear shreds off him but he clenched his jaw and slammed his door shut instead.

Annoyed that his momentary cheer had been destroyed by a few minutes with his martyr brother and girlfriend, Damon went to his top drawer and took out the bourbon he kept there. Opening it and drinking directly from the bottle, he felt the warmth flood down his throat and his jaw begin to unclench.

Flopping onto his bed, he stretched out, bottle in hand. "Women, always the source of my problems" he thought, taking another swig. Only an hour earlier he had been with Marley but now it was Elena's eyes he saw when he closed his own.

"Damn it, why do I let them distract me? If I want to see Marley then I will! And if I finish and dispose of her, then it's my choice, my nature. Not all of us deny it and do the bunny thing instead."

But an uncomfortable feeling was settling in his stomach, what was it? Regret? Remorse? He didn't like what it was doing to him, making him question his feelings, something he never liked to think about. Surely this was all more trouble than it was worth. He was starting to get soft, where had his hard edge gone? He had worked hard over the decades to hone that to a fine art. Maybe it was time to end it with Marley or end Marley, he wasn't sure which.

Getting up from his bed, he put the bottle back and stalked down the stairs, brushing past Stefan and Elena on the way. Ignoring the looks, he went out the front door, into his car and drove away in a cloud of dust and screeching tyres.

Short chapter but I already know where it's going, any ideas what will happen from here? Any thoughts? All quiet on the reviews front but I'll finish it anyway, 3 or 4 chapters to go :) the end is almost written, hopefully you'll stick with it until the end.