Elena swung the computer chair slightly, glancing at the clock. Oops. She had spent more time than she had intended in front of Damon's computer. They had gone to dinner at a trendy Italian restaurant in New York to celebrate their first Valentine's Day. After that they had gone back to Damon's apartment but Elena wanted to check a few emails. Damon had allowed her to use his computer while he took his shower.

Elena shut the computer down eagerly, ready to find Damon. The diamond bracelet on her left hand caught the abundant light in the room, glittering brightly, making her smiled sweetly. Damon had given it to her during dinner just now.

A Valentine's Day gift. Her fist Valentine's Day gift from Damon.

She stood, pulling her black leather jacket she was wearing tighter around her body. It was strange that she hadn't seen Damon in over an hour. Usually, he would sit with her, work on his paperwork while she wrote her reports in the study room.

Her bare feet didn't make a sound on the plush carpet as she padded down the stairs. "Damon?" Elena called to him as she entered the kitchen, perplexed when she didn't find him there. Surely he wasn't asleep. He never went to bed without her.

"In the bedroom. Come here," Damon called hoarsely, demandingly.

A small smile formed on her lips as she moved toward their bedroom. Damon rarely asked, he instructed. Elena complied when she wanted to, and right now she felt compelled to follow his instructions. Curious, she wandered down the hallway. The door to the bedroom was partially closed, swinging open soundlessly as she placed her palm on the wood and pushed gently.

She gasped as she walked into the room. There were red roses everywhere.

Damon came behind her. "Do you like it?"

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She blinked, and blinked again. "They are beautiful."

He grinned. "I'm glad you like it."

"You don't have to do this. You have already given me a nice gift." She showed him the bracelet. "It's more than enough."

He pulled her into his arms. "It's never enough. If you like roses, I will get you roses every day. I will give you anything you want."

"Damon…"

He speared his fingers through her hair, pushing it back from her face. "I did think about sending the roses to your office this morning. But I don't think Rose would appreciate her newsroom being turned into a jungle."

Slapping a hand over her mouth, Elena tried to stop a delighted giggle from escaping her lips…and failed. "No, she would be pissed."

"Today is our first Valentine's Day." He brushed his mouth lightly across hers. "I want to celebrate next year's Valentine's Day with you. I want to spend every Valentine's Day with you for the rest of my life."

She reached out and touched his cheek. "Damon…"

"I'd give a hell of a lot to ask you to move in with me, but it's probably too soon and you still have your own apartment."

It wasn't a statement, she realized. It was a question.

"I'm sure the problem of my apartment could be handled," she said. "But you are right, it's too soon." She slipped lightly out of his embrace and moved away from him. "Which makes it time to leave."

"Hey, you could have at least argued with me about the timing thing," he said behind her.

She laughed, suddenly feeling more lighthearted than she had in a long while. She was awash in a delicious sense of anticipation. Damon laughed, too. He caught up with her and kissed the tip of her nose.

"You know you aren't leaving tonight," he said.

"Yes," she said. "I know."

He flashed his wicked smile. "It's time I take you to bed."

"Hold on a minute."

He frowned. "Why?"

"I need to use the bathroom." She chuckled. "Be patient, okay?"

With that she hurried to the bathroom and shrugged out of her dress and jacket. She had nearly forgotten her hidden gift to Damon.

"Damn. What are you wearing?" Damon's voice was husky, and she smiled at him, a naughty seductive smile as she walked toward him.

"My Valentine gift for you." It was raciest item she had ever worn for Damon, and that was saying something, because he loved sexy lingerie. Damon usually appreciated it briefly before he tore it from her body. The black baby-doll dress was nothing but wisps of fabric with spaghetti straps. The top barely covered her nipples and the tiny strips of fabric surrounding her belly were transparent. The panties were barely-there, leaving her ass exposed and her buttock only partially covered. "Of course, I had to shave. Completely. These panties don't cover much."

Damon gulped, his eyes hot and wild as they raked her body possessively. "You look amazing," He choked out the last word, his voice hoarse.

"You are the sexiest man on the planet." Her voice was husky, aching with desire.

Her hand wrapped around his neck as she leaned in to kiss him, rubbing her sensitive breasts against his chest. His tongue thrust into her mouth. Damon kissed her like a man possessed and she answered him with an equal passion, while her hand caressed his chest.

Releasing his mouth from her, Damon ripped her lingerie, shredding the top and bottom in a few hard tugs, completely destroying the ensemble. She sighed, admiring his brute strength, the ease with which he could get her naked. The desire to chastise him for shredding her lingerie had left her long ago. He would replace it later. And seeing him go completely insane with passion was well worth it. As usual, he was rough on the garment without hurting her.

"God, you are so beautiful," he breathed heavily as he laid her down on the bed. "You are the most amazing woman on this planet earth."

As his fingers traced her swollen, sensitive nipples, she moaned. She was so, so ready.

"Please, Damon."

"Please, what? What do you want?" he asked her harshly.

"Make love to me. Please."

"Mine," he told her roughly. "You will always be mine."

"Yes. Always."

Damon positioned his hard manhood at the entrance to Elena's begging channel, entering her with one hard thrust, taking her breath away. He filled her, completed her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, wanting to be as close to him as she could get.

Damon's mouth covered hers, suffusing her entire body with heat, taking her away to a place where only she and Damon existed. His manhood pummelled her, Damon pulling almost completely out before entering her again, and Elena embraced the volatile mating. He was claiming her, and she wanted to be claimed by him.

Yanking his mouth from hers, he panted, "Tell me you are mine. I need you. I love you. You are never leaving me."

"I will always be yours, Damon. Nothing will tear us apart. I love you." Her gasping admission was barely out of mouth before she felt her orgasm building. Wrapping her legs tighter around Damon's waist, she met his powerful strokes, their sweat-soaked bodies melding together seamlessly.

Elena flew apart, her body trembling and her channel contracting, nails biting into the skin of Damon's back. She cried out his name rocking her fiery body into his as her orgasm crested and then let her come back to earth slowly.

"Christ! Elena." Damon came, his explosive orgasm flooding her womb.

He rolled off her immediately, clutching her against him, pulling her into the protective shelter of his arms.

His chest still heaving, he choked out, "Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head, her body still quivering. "No," she whispered, still short of breath. "You gave me exactly what I needed."

Her need satiated, Elena kissed his forehead before burying her face in his neck, still trying to recover.

Somehow, Damon always seemed to know what she needed. Tonight, on their first Valentine's Day together, he had given her his unbridled passion and his deep unconditional love. Elena sighed, wondering how she had ever been so lucky, how she had ever stumbled across a man like Damon, a man to whom she could surrender everything , a man who would always hold her love, her trust and her soul safely in his care.

"I love you. Happy Valentine's Day," she breathed softly against his neck.

"Happy Valentine's Day, sweetheart. I will love you forever," Damon murmured against her shoulder, his arms tightening protectively, possessively around her.

Whatever challenges she and Damon might face, they would deal with them together.

"You will always have me," she told him softly, sleepily.

"I know, baby. I'm the luckiest bastard in the world," he rumbled.

Elena fell asleep with a smile on her lips, and the contentment of knowing that she had found a love that would last forever. For a woman who had once been alone in the world, it was the best Valentine's gift she could ever receive.

THE END