This is the second chapter today, so make sure you read ten before this one!

Chapter 11

This was the first breakthrough Matt had yet. For the past few weeks, he'd been failing miserably in tracking down Elena, until now. He'd exhausted every possible option he had, and he came up blank. He had spent any hour of the night he wasn't passed out drunk wondering what he was missing. She knew how to fly under his radar, but he hadn't thought he taught her that well. She had to have made one mistake.

He just found it. He sat in the plush leather chair in his office, staring at the computer screen like he had been for the past hour. He even got a cup of coffee and downed an entire water bottle to make sure he was sober enough to be sure he was looking at her.

Her hair was back to the dull color it had been in high school, and it was shorter now as it spilled out of the sides of the gray hood of her sweatshirt. After spending countless hours of the day and night skimming surveillance tapes of every possible place she could have gone, he finally found her. She was on a bus headed for Quebec.

He knew she didn't have her passport with her. He found it in their house still along with her phone. So she wasn't out of the United States, and she went north. That narrowed the search down considerably.

Unfortunately, when he called about the bus head to Quebec, the man had explained that it was a tour bus that stopped in just about every major city and small coastal tourist town on the east coast before crossing the border. She could be anywhere from Maryland to Maine.

But now he had a picture of her getting on a bus, and it was clear that she had changed her appearance. That was why he wasn't getting anywhere trying to find her.

Running a hand over his tired face, he took a swig from his 'water' bottle and opened the window with her mug shot. Using the program to alter her appearance, he turned her long blonde hair to chestnut brown and chopped it off to just below her breasts. When he was satisfied with the new image in front of him, he clicked save then forwarded it to every police station from Mystic Falls to northern Maine.

He'd get her eventually. This had to be the key to getting her back. He loved her, and he needed her. She gave him a reason to live. She needed him too, or else she'd be a nobody. He pushed her to do things out of her comfort zone, sometimes things she didn't like. But everything he did for her was for them. She was a founding family member, and if he wanted to live up to her social expectations then he had to prove to everyone that he knew how to treat her. That he could pamper her with fine gifts and jewelry so her friends wouldn't think she was with some poor nobody.

That's who he was in high school. A nobody. But now, he was a highly ranked police officer that had some actual power in this town. He could live up to its standards and treat Elena like the wealthy founding family member she was.

The only problem now was that she wasn't there. As the days went by, he realized that he wasn't as mad at her as he thought. He didn't care what she did so long as she returned to him. A punishment was still in order, but he could live with it being minor. He just wanted her back. She was the best thing to ever happen to him, and without her, he was back to being a nobody. She was his key into a high social status. He'd never live in poverty again if she was by his side.

Not like when he was a kid. His mother was barely around and as soon as he could take care of himself she left for god knows where and he hadn't seen her since. His older sister Vicki was a drugged up loser all of her life, and when she died of an overdose a few years back he couldn't say he was upset about it. She had it coming.

He lived for so long just trying to make ends meet. Living paycheck to paycheck was miserable. He'd rather be in a grave next to his sister than do that again.

Elena kept him sane. She encouraged him to go to work everyday and make money to provide for her. She quit her job because he asked her to, because there was no way in hell he'd ever let his woman make more money than him. She was needed more at the house anyway.

He never realized just how much work she did to keep the place clean. It had only been a few weeks, but it looked like a bunch of pigs lived there now. He needed her back home to clean it.

He just needed her, and the fact that she left after everything made him both furious and disappointed.

But if she came back to him, he might be willing to forgive her for everything and go back to the way things were.

I was just walking home from work when I spotted Damon, Mia, and Alex loading things into his car in front of their shop. It was sweltering outside today, so Caroline let me go at lunch since business was slow.

Deciding to stop by to say hi, I started walking towards them instead of my house like I had planned. Alex waved to me and I waved back, then once Mia saw me she came barreling towards me while screaming my name. Damon smiled at me just as she collided into my legs, and I returned it before kneeling down to hug her. We closed the distance between us and the car and I asked, "Going somewhere today?"

Damon was loading a cooler into the car along with towels, and upon closer inspection I realized he was wearing black swim trunks with his t-shirt and Alex was wearing a bright green and black pair. Mia had on a pink bathing suit with princesses on the front and shorts. She looked up at me and nodded, "We're going to the beach! Do you wanna go with us!? Can she come Uncle Damon, please?"

Like he'd actually say no, I thought with a smirk. Not only could he not get enough of me, but when an adorable little girl was begging you, it was impossible.

He held his hand out for me and I took it, letting him pull me into his side, "If she wants to, she can."

"I'd love to, but I don't have a swimsuit." I said before greeting Damon with a kiss. These past few days have felt like some kind of romance from a book. Damon visited me at work a few times, usually with the kids, and I've gone to the shop to hang out with them there when I get the chance. They've taken up so much of my time that I hardly have a second to think about the reason I ran in the first place.

Alex suggested, "There's a store down the road that sells swimsuits and stuff like that. Maybe we could go there?"

"Yeah, that sounds good, if you don't mind stopping there."

Damon whispered in my ear, "Or you could wear nothing at all…"

I raised a brow at him, then I winked, "Maybe after the kids go to bed."

He groaned quietly, "You are killing me, Elena."

I giggled and kissed him quickly just as Mia threw in the last beach ball. I strapped her into her booster seat in the car and Alex buckled his seatbelt as Damon got into the front. I now understood just how hard to was to drive around with kids in a vintage Camaro, although with the convertible top down it was much easier to reach back there.

We stopped at the clothing store and Mia helped me pick out a lilac colored bikini with a black hem outlining the edges. Then I decided to buy a beach cover up and picked out a white lacy one. After changing in the bathroom, I met Damon and Alex back at the car with Mia tagging along at my side. I swore I caught Damon trying to get a view of my swimsuit, but the cover up wasn't as see through as I'm sure he would have liked.

We haven't taken that step in our relationship yet. Everything has just been lots of kissing and the occasional ass grab on his part. I had a feeling that once we did though, he would become insatiable. I was barely able to keep up with all the affection he wanted to give me now, but I wasn't complaining.

I'd never thought of myself as the attention-loving type. I was always perfectly content with just holding hands in public, and I didn't need to cuddle with anyone to sleep. But when I was with Damon, I found myself craving his kisses and touches like nothing else. I wanted to touch him, and feel him, and taste him, and let him invade my senses until he was all I could think about.

I wasn't hesitating to have sex with him. Sure, it would make things more serious, but that wasn't the problem. There really wasn't a problem, actually, we just hadn't gotten the chance to do that yet. I wanted to, god I wanted to, and hopefully soon we would.

Damon drove us down to the beach, and thankfully not many people were there. I had expected it to be packed on a day as hot as today, but he explained that since he was a local, he knew all of the good spots to go. Personally, I thought it was just luck. Half the time Damon's full of shit; he just likes to think he's god's gift to this earth.

I grabbed a beach bag from the trunk along with a blanket and the towels while Damon carried the cooler. Mia and Alex were several yards ahead of us, too excited to swim to wait. Damon said, "I'm glad you could make it. I was going to ask you but then I remembered you saying you had to work until three."

"Business was slow so I got the rest of the day off." I explained. "I'm happy about it, too."

We found a good place to set up camp in the soft sand and I spread out the blanket that could easily fit us all on it. Damon set down the cooler on the corner of it, then he set up two camping chairs I hadn't seen slung over his shoulder before.

The kids were halfway to the ocean when I yelled out, "Sunscreen!"

They both stopped and begrudgingly came back. Damon smiled at me, "You're good at this. I would have forgotten sunscreen until they were already drenched."

I shrugged, "My father made me wear it religiously because he knew exactly what extra sun exposure could do to you. It's ingrained into my head, even if he exaggerated most of the time."

He laughed as I dug out the spray can of sunscreen and Alex stood still and held out his arms as I sprayed him. Mia was a little squirmier since she was itching to get into the water, so I ended up having to spray it in my hands and rub it on her arms and face.

As they again sprinted for the water, I asked Damon, "Are you sure they're good out there without us?"

"They've been swimming since before they could walk, Elena. Besides, we're right here."

I huffed a little at his nonchalance, "Okay, fine."

He grabbed the sunscreen from me and smirked, "Your turn."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Admit it, you just want to see me half naked."

"Okay, I admit it. I want to see you half naked and oiled up in sunscreen."

Rolling my eyes, I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed him, "You're an animal."

"Just wait until I get you between the sheets. Then you'll see just how much of an animal I can be." He wiggled his brows and I playfully smacked his chest before stepping away so I could take off my cover up.

As soon as it hit the ground Damon's eyes were glued to my body, namely, my chest with the necklace he bought me hanging between my breasts. I giggled and he shook his head, tearing his gaze away to look at my face.

"Alright, arms out." He commanded.

I dutifully held them out and scrunched up my face as he sprayed me, then I turned around so he could do my back. When it was his turn, I did my fair share of ogling his bare chest, except I decided to push his buttons just a little bit more. I prayed one large spot in the center of his chest until it dripped down to his abs, and he looked at me incredulously.

Until I set the sunscreen down on the cooler and began rubbing my hands all over his muscular chest. I spread it around evenly while he watched every miniscule movement. My hands slid down to his abs, coating every dip and curve of his amazingly well sculpted body. When my fingers teased his dark happy trail, I smirked up at him and met his dark, lust filled eyes. My fingers grazed the waistband of his trunks and I leaned up to kiss him softly, "Now your back."

He shook his head, "Hell no, you little minx. One more scene like that and this family beach day is going to end a lot more like a porno."

I rolled my eyes and he sprayed sunscreen on his arms before making me promise not to do that again so I could do his back. When we were both covered in the stuff, we walked hand in hand down to the water where Mia and Alex were playing. Alex was out in the water chest deep, ducking beneath the waves and Mia was sitting in the wet sand, digging a hole or a trench or something only to have the waves wash it away a few seconds later.

The second the warm water washed over my feet, I was wading further and further out while Damon watched from the shore with Mia. I caught up to Alex just in time for a big wave to crash into us, sending him flying back into me. We both laughed as I caught him before swimming further out.

The four of us spent hours alternating between swimming in the ocean, building sandcastles, eating the snacks that Damon packed, and playing with the beach ball and Frisbee. I had sand in places I've never had sand before, and the saltwater had successfully burned my nose when some accidentally went up there. With the sandcastle tower shaped bucket, we packed in wet sand and carefully formed a huge castle with tall towers and a moat that Alex filled with water.

If Damon wasn't taking pictures or joining in on the fun, he was touching me or kissing me until I saw stars. While Mia and Alex had been working on another sandcastle, Damon pulled me out into the water until we were chest deep and gently swaying as the waves washed to shore. I had my legs wrapped around his waist as he held me close, stealing kisses and teasing touches that wouldn't have been appropriate had they been above the water where people could see.

We then returned to the blanket and dried off a bit before Damon dug out a glass jar from the bag for collecting sea glass, shells, and whatever else we found on the beach that we wanted to keep.

Mia and Alex stayed several yards ahead of us at most times as they scanned the beach for anything good. Damon and I stayed back so we could have our own conversation while they had their fun.

He began, "How are you so good with Mia and Alex? They both love you, yet we've known you less than a month."

"I've always loved kids, Damon. I used to dream of having three or four kids of my own some day. I guess I just admire their ability to be so carefree. I mean, look at them. They're running around, having the time of their lives picking up tiny broken seashells and bits of glass. Meanwhile I'm over here worrying about them stepping on something sharp, or a wave coming and knocking them over underwater, or even one of them tripping and falling."

"So you want a big family?"

I nodded, "I don't really have any family left, and nothing is more rewarding than family. I was very close to my parents, and they valued family more than anything. They were so proud of me and their town, and they were so involved with everything. I just really want to build my own family like they did."

He held off on his reply when Alex came running over with a handful of shells and glass and dumped them into the jar Damon was holding. Once he was back with Mia, Damon said, "I like how much you value family. My family is everything to me."

"And I really like that about you. I'd never purposely do anything to jeopardize that, I just want you to know."

He gave me a funny look, "Um, okay…?" He laughed a little, clearly not thinking that there was something about me that could hurt his family. If he knew the truth I doubted he'd be so understanding.

But I was safe now. Matt couldn't find me, or else he would have already. I had to move on from what happened, and learn how to enjoy life again. Damon was doing a fantastic job at that, and I couldn't be more thankful to have found him and his family.

Mia suddenly began squealing excitedly and pointing at something on the ground, so we hurried over to see what it was. A little brown shell was scurrying across the sand and Damon chuckled, scooping it up into his hands, "It's just a hermit crab, Mia. Look." He picked it up by the shell and the creature curled up inside until you could only see it's legs.

"Can I hold it Damon?" Alex asked, holding out his hands.

Damon placed the hermit crab in his hands and he carefully inspected it while Mia explained, "I was picking up the shells, but then that one started moving!" She walked over to me and grabbed one of my hands, dumping all of the little shells and glass she collected in it before she started looking for more. I deposited the small handful in the jar as Damon showed Alex where to release the crab, then we started walking again.

Damon randomly asked, "So if you have a degree in business and marketing, why are you working at The Grill?"

I shrugged, "It's temporary until I get a little more settled here. It's not exactly easy to find a job using a corporate degree when the town you chose to live in doesn't have a single major business."

"They have satellite offices out here, and with all the tourist attractions, I'm sure they could use someone who knows marketing to bring in even more business."

"Maybe." I said softly. "Honestly, it doesn't matter to me what kind of job I have as long as I make enough money to support myself."

I got lucky when right out of college I scored that amazing job where I made twice as much as your average person, but I gave it up to save a relationship that I should have left years before. I was so stupid back then, but I truly believed that Matt was my soulmate and I would have done anything for him.

Now, I'd do anything to keep him away from me and those I care about.

"So you'd just let your degree go to waste?" He asked, surprisingly with no judgment in his tone.

"Money isn't everything. I grew up surrounded by the richest people in my town, and I saw firsthand how it destroyed some of them. The mayor turned corrupt, the local news anchor got involved with blackmailing people with gambling debt to get them to do his dirty work with creating stories. So if you have money it's nice, but it isn't everything." I explained.

"Then why did you choose business and marketing as a major?" He asked curiously.

"Because I saw a lot of success potential." I answered simply. "There will always be a market for business, and I didn't want to worry about never finding a job."

"So you didn't love it." Damon stated, rather than asked.

I shook my head and smiled, "Can anyone really love all that boring crap?"

"Then what do you love to do?"

I opened my mouth to respond, only to find that I had no idea what I liked to do these days. The past eight or so years of my life were completely occupied by my relationship. They held no room for free time to explore my interests, between school, work, and Matt. My life was empty and I hadn't even realized it until I left it all behind.

"I don't know." I sighed. "I'll let you know when I figure it out."

He kissed my temple, his arm going around my shoulders and mine looping around his waist. It was amazing how accepting he was of me no matter what. Or maybe that was what a normal relationship was supposed to be like. Unconditional love and acceptance. That definitely wasn't what I had with Matt.

We only walked for a little while longer before calling Mia and Alex back so we could head out. The setting sun turned the sky brilliant shades of orange, yellow, red, and pink. The sight was unlike anything I'd ever seen before, yet the three of them didn't seem to pay it much attention as if it was something they'd seen everyday. Well, Mia and Alex barely spared the view a second glance. Damon's eyes were focused on something else. Or rather, someone else. He was staring at me with a look of wonder and adoration that made my heart beat against my chest and my stomach flip in excitement.

"You're beautiful, Elena." He said softly. "You know that, right?"

I smiled more to myself than anyone else. To hear that I was beautiful from a man that looked like he literally just walked out of an art museum displaying gorgeous marble sculptures was something else.

"Thank you." I practically whispered, just before Mia and Alex demanded our attention.

I handed Alex the jar of shells and sea glass and he began flipping it over in his hands to look at everything while Mia tugged on Damon's arm until he found her blanket tucked away in the bag.

Damon and I carried everything else back to the car, and after getting it all packed into the trunk and securing the kids in the back, we headed out. On the short ride back to town, both Mia and Alex had fallen asleep so Damon said he was going to stop by their house first to put them to bed.

His house was small and simple, nothing out of the ordinary. It had cream colored siding with wooden trim around the doors and windows and a brownish gray roof. A large tree with a wooden swing was in the front yard, and a fenced in backyard contained a swing set. The front porch had bicycles and toys on it, and beautiful flowers adorned every mulched flower bed. I suspected Damon's mother was responsible for them, though it wouldn't surprise me if he was the one that took care of them. He always seemed to be surprising me.

He parked the car and picked up Alex to take him inside while I got Mia. She barely even stirred as I lifted her into my arms and she snuggled into the crook of my neck. Damon led me inside, and the first room was the living room. It all looked very homey and well lived in. In the back left corner was the kitchen that was open to the living room, and to the right of the room was a hallway that Damon began walking towards. He showed me Mia's room and he disappeared behind another door, probably Alex's room.

I laid Mia down on her princess themed bed and tucked her, and her eyes fluttered open. "Elena?" She whispered.

"Go back to sleep, sweetie, you're at home now."

I leaned down to kiss her forehead, but she grabbed on to my hand and said, "Wait, my night light."

I found the device pretty easily plugged into the wall and I flipped it on, returning to her side, "Ready for bed now?" She nodded and cuddled up to her stuffed dolphin and I kissed her forehead, "Goodnight, Mia. I'll see you again soon."

"Night-night, Elena…" She said sleepily, and I stood up and turned to the door. Damon was standing there watching us with a smile on his face, and he stepped back into the hall to let me out.

"Do you want to say goodnight?" I asked him quietly before I closed the door.

He shook his head, "You already said goodnight, and she's probably already asleep." I closed the door behind me and Damon asked, "Ready to go?"

"What about the kids?" I asked, glancing towards their rooms over my shoulder.

"My mom is in the study working on her art or sewing or whatever she does here. She lives next door, so I can ask her to stay here until I get back."

I nodded and he poked his head into a closed door, and I heard Lily's muffled voice along with Damon's before he closed it again and we went back out to his car. The ride was mostly spent in silence while our hands remained intertwined between us. As Damon's thumb gently rubbed circles on the back of my hand, I couldn't remember a time when I had felt so wanted and desired in my life.

My feelings for Damon were bigger than I ever imagined they could be. He saw me as who I was, not who he wanted me to be. He allowed me to be myself while actually encouraging it rather than punishing me for it. He looked at me like I'd always wanted a man to look at me; not with pure lust, but with respect. Affection, and respect, and only when it was right did he look at me with lust, but even then I could always sense his emotions bubbling just beneath the surface, ready to spill over and drown me in them.

And I wanted to drown in them.

When Damon slowed to a stop outside of my house and turned the engine off, we both sat there for a moment, not wanting the night to end just yet.

"Caroline had the floor fixed." I said casually. "…Do you want to come in and see it?"

He turned to look at me, as if considering what exactly my intent behind the words was.

"Yeah, okay." The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile that I instantly returned, and we both got out of his car. I walked around to his side and slid my hand into his outstretched one.

We walked up the steps and silently went inside. Though there was enough moonlight spilling in through the windows not to need any lights to see, I still moved to turn on the light so we could see the floor. However, Damon's hand on top of mine stilled me before I got the chance.

I felt his body come up behind mine, and his other hand wrapped around my waist, holding me in place. Bringing our joined hands away from the switch, he slowly spun me around and began backing me further into the house with his hands on my hips and his eyes daring mine to look away. Forget the floor; I doubted he even remembered that was why I invited him in.

Only a few steps later, I felt my butt hit the edge of the counter and Damon continued moving towards me until our bodies were pressed together and our faces were only inches away from touching. Bringing one of his hands up to my face, he slowly pushed a chunk of my wavy, salt-ridden hair behind my ear, forcing my eyes to remain on his.

Storms of emotions were brewing beneath the icy blue surface of his eyes. They told stories of an unfamiliar need too strong to ignore and uninhibited passion that ached to be released. The air between us crackled with such tender care and patient desire that it shocked me to my core. Never had I imagined that Damon was capable of transforming his playfully sexual remarks into slow and serious movements.

He again pushed the same section of hair behind my ear, more for the action of touching me than actually moving my hair back. My hands were locked together around his waist as our eyes did all of the talking for us.

He dropped his forehead to mine and slowly leaned in closer as he threaded his fingers through my hair to gently hold my head in place. My eyes fluttered shut, except his lips didn't meet mine. With his other arm around my lower back, he pulled me against him and buried his face in my neck, placing slow, soft kisses wherever his lips touched. I tilted my head to the side and brought my arms around his neck, my fingers diving into his messy hair.

Whenever his lips kissed my skin, my body shuddered and my breath quickened. He moved from my neck, to my jaw, and to my cheek, devoting his attention to every inch of my skin.

His lips finally landed on mine, gently prodding and moving against mine until I opened my mouth for his tongue to enter. He angled my head to kiss me deeper and I pulled at the neck of his shirt, wanting to feel his bare skin against mine. He pulled back only to throw it over his head, and then his lips were pulled back to mine like a magnet. As my hands roamed his muscular back, he picked me up and my legs went around his waist. He slowly carried me through my house and into my bedroom, kicking the door closed behind him.

He set me down on the floor only to strip the cover up over my head and throw it away from us. Then he had me in his arms again, and he was lowering me onto my bed. Our tongues tangled together as our wandering hands slowly stripped each other of our clothes until we were wearing nothing but the pure white sheets wrapped around us.

I sat in his lap, wrapped around him like a second skin, as we took the time to truly explore each other's mouths and bodies. He was all muscle from head to toe, covered in smooth, flawless, pale skin that tasted like saltwater and something that was just Damon. His chest had a light dusting of barely noticeable hair in the center, but his delicious happy trail was much darker just like the hair on his head. His lean body felt wonderfully hard against mine, but he held me so tenderly that his velvety skin felt softer than clouds.

His hands explored from my thighs to my upper back, not wanting to leave any skin untouched. His skillful hands began at my thighs, slowly stroking me up and down until they moved to my hips, tracing the curves of my waist until I was quivering with need. Then they reached my bare breasts, gently cupping them and squeezing as our mouths moved together in perfect sync. His thumbs grazed my nipples, then gently pinched them and I gasped into his mouth.

Deciding to do some exploring of my own, I moved my hands from his shoulders down his chest, slowly feeling the same hollows and hills that I had earlier today. His hands moved from my breasts down my stomach, dipping dangerously low and I silently prayed that they were finally going to relieve the ache that had been present since the second I laid eyes on him.

He gently flipped me onto the bed beneath him, my hair fanning out over the pillow and his body covering mine. I felt his rather large length fall against my stomach, and I spread my legs as wide as they would go to accommodate his body. With as much care as he felt for me, he slowly pushed inside of me. The way he filled me so perfectly elicited feelings that I had never felt before, and my mouth fell open as a soft moan escaped. He nipped at my pulse point, still easing himself all the way in as his mouth coaxed my body into melting under his touch.

Once he was in me, he didn't stay still long. Slowly and torturously, he made love to my body in every way he knew how. His hips rocked into mine, slowly building me up to the edge. His mouth alternated between nibbling at my ears, neck, jaw, and lips, surely leaving small love bruises here and there. If his arms weren't braced on the bed to give himself leverage, his hands were touching any part of me he could reach—intertwining his fingers with mine, pinning my hands to the bed, causing goosebumps to erupt across my skin when his fingertips lightly trailed up my sides. His warm chest was pressed against my breasts, the friction causing my nipples to harden.

We both tumbled over the edge together, our cries blending together and our bodies shaking with pleasure as we lost ourselves in each other's embraces.

A few moments later, Damon rolled off of me and pulled me into his arms. I nestled my head against his chest and our legs tangled together. No words were needed, and no explanation was in order. The man lying beneath me, lulling me towards sleep with his soft caresses and a whisper of a kiss against my forehead was all I needed.