Red. Damon saw red. He saw red.

His fist flew into Liam's face and the crunch of his nose was satisfying. But it wasn't enough—his jaw, arms, legs, every bit of this bastard needed fracturing so he knew.

"She is mine." Liam launches himself at Damon.

Damon's response was another punch, this time to Liam's chest, and it knocked him back. Liam looked up at him and smirked.

Damon swore he was going wipe it right off Liam's face.

Three pairs of hands grabbed his arms and held him back at the same time Trevor grabbed Liam who just had his hands on Elena.

"Get off me," Damon growled, struggling against their hold on him.

"Calm down!" Alaric said

"Then get him out of my sight before I kill him!"

"Trevor," Enzo said.

Trevor nodded once and dragged Liam out of the room.

"Now," Stefan said, watching the security guard shut the door after Trevor and five of his boys. "You are going to sit down and behave or have I got to punch you, too?"

Damon shoved the men off him and turned around. Elena. He needed to see Elena. He had to make sure…

Damn!

Her eye was swollen, blood was dripping from the corner of her mouth¸ and she could hardly move. Caroline was holding her up, and Elena was leaning into her, but she was looking at him.

And she was scared.

Of Liam, yeah.

But of him, too.

It was in her eyes.

"Elena," Damon whispered.

"Damon," Caroline said softly. Damon looked at her, and she shook her head. "Enzo, help me take Elena into my room and clean her up."

"No!" The protest burst from Damon. No. He would look after her. He would protect her. He would clean her up when things became bad, because nothing else felt right. Nothing else but a bad day ending with her in his arms made sense to him. Nothing else but her soft voice whispering "fear nothing" to herself, thinking he didn't hear, would ever be right to him.

"Yes." The word was barely audible, but it was there, and it was from Elena. "Enzo, please."

"Come here." Enzo lifted Elena, and she cried out in pain. Damon stepped forward, but Stefan darted in front of him.

"Let her go, bro," he said quietly. "Caroline's got her."

Damon stared as Enzo disappeared through the doorway, carrying his girl, his broken girl.

The anger boiled over, and Damon swiped his hand at the lamp on the side table. It fell to the floor, shattering, and he slammed his fist into the wall.

"Damn! How the hell did he get in here?" He shouted at the security guys. "Lucas! You are supposed to be on her ass! Always! How the hell did he get into my room and why was he alone with her?"

"Sit the hell down!" Alaric grabbed Damon and slammed him onto the sofa. "Get up and I'm going to punch you. I don't give a shit. The only thing saving you right now is that you are bleeding from four places on your goddamn face."

"How the hell did he get in here?"

"Calm down so we can find out." Stefan sat on the coffee table in front of me. "Lucas. Talk."

"It is on me." Trevor walked through the door. "Girls needed to come grab something. This place was meant to be safe. They should have been able to come up here to grab something and get back down without any trouble."

"You are the head of the goddam security and you let this happen?" Damon tried to stand up, but Alaric shoved him straight back onto the sofa.

Lucas handed him a shot of whiskey he hastily poured from the minibar, and Damon threw it to the back of his throat. The searing burn of it going down was better than the throb of his lower lip and the full-body ache from knowing that Elena was next door, hurting, and he couldn't do a damn thing about it.

That he didn't do a damn thing to protect her.

"My mistake. I messed up. But like everyone else, I thought this place was safe."

"So how did he get into the hotel?" Stefan asked. "Because if Damon doesn't find out soon, he is going to get crazy."

"I'm betting only one person knows that, and she is next door."

Alaric pulled out his phone and tapped the screen several times. He paused for a minute, the heavy silence and distinct scent of blood lingering in the air. "Enzo said he got turned away in Atlanta and came here. Checked in under a fake name and changed his appearance slightly before we even turned up."

"He has been here the whole time?" Liam had been in this hotel. Watching her. Watching them. Waiting for the moment he could get near her.

He had been so close to her, right after she said she needed space.

Elena's need for freedom trapped her worse than before.

And because of Liam and Damon's hot temper, she was afraid of him.

Damon buried his face in his hands. "Damn."

"Let's clean you up," Stefan said, getting up.

"Don't touch me," Damon replied. "I want to…I want to be alone."

"Damon," Trevor said from the doorway. Damon looked across the room into his warm eyes. "I'm sorry. Truly. I messed up."

"We all did," Lucas added. "You made the call, but I was standing right next to you, boss. I could have fought you, and I didn't."

"Where is he?"

"In his car. My boys are at every entrance and exit and they are inside and outside Caroline's room. Will be outside here, too. He isn't getting near her again, and if he does, I will break his legs myself," Trevor answered.

"Good. Now get out and make sure all of you don't mess up again."

"Noted. You want me to call the cops?"

"Not my call. It is hers. I will go along with whatever she decides to do."

The door shut, and Damon ripped his shirt off. Silence enveloped him, but not in a good way. In a heavy, oppressing way. The kind of way that suffocated you because everything was so strong you couldn't breathe through it.

It felt an awful lot like a broken heart and broken promises.

Damon promised her. He promised her so many times that Liam would never hurt her again. He promised her she was safe with him. He promised her he would never let Liam get anywhere near her.

But Liam did.

Liam had his fists in her face, maybe all over her body. He had his hand around her neck and his fingers in her hair, pulling, trying to break her. Trying to shatter her into doing whatever the hell he wanted her to do.

Thank god Caroline was smarter than she got credit for and knew something was up.

Thank god for that sharp-tongued, crazy-ass blonde.

But Damon could still see her. Elena. When she looked at him. The fear. He had never seen anyone look so scared of anything in his life. She wasn't just scared—she was petrified. If she wasn't so obviously in pain he would bet anything she was immobilized by her fear.

And that…seeing her look at him, fearing him…It meant he broke every single damn promise he made her.

That was the biggest punch to the gut Damon would ever get.

x x x

"Damon," Elena whispered raggedly, wiping a warm, wet cloth over her temple. "What did he do to you?"

Damon opened his eyes and stares into two very sad, very heartbroken, dark brown eyes. Through his sleepy haze, he saw that one was ringed with purple. It sliced through him, because she was hurt, yet she was here, worrying about him. "Worry about yourself, Elena. I can take care of myself."

"Obviously not," she replied, dipping the cloth into something then wringing it out. "You are covered in hours-old blood, Damon." She brought the cloth to his mouth. "This might sting."

Damon hissed as she tenderly wiped all the dried blood from his lips and chin. It took a few minutes because she was being so gentle, afraid to hurt him more.

"Elena…"

Elena sat back on her heels and looked down. "I have a fat lip, sore shoulders, a killer headache, and what looks like the black eye to end all black eyes. Nothing I haven't dealt with before, except this time you can see some of it."

"You say that like it makes it okay."

"I'm hopped-up on pain meds that I'm pretty sure have to be prescribed, so you probably shouldn't take what I just said as fact." She shrugged and climbed onto the sofa next to him. "Hold still, will you?"

Damon stared at her as she continued to clean his face. She was right—her right eye was so swollen she could only open it halfway, and the purple colour around it didn't do much to prove it was just a knock. Her top lip was cut open a little at the side, and it was slightly fat, but it was not so swollen that it would be there in a week or so like his felt it would.

"I think you broke his nose," Elena muttered hopefully.

"Should have been his neck."

Elena held the bloody cloth in her hands and nodded. "Yes."

"Elena."

"Don't call me Elena." She finally brought her eyes to his. "Everyone else can, but not you. I'm not Elena to you. I never have been. It is always darling."

"Darling," Damon corrected softly, a small smile at his mouth. He reached up and cupped the side of her face that wasn't swollen.

Elena turned her cheek into me and squeezed her eyes shut. She took one long, slow, deep breath, and then shuddered, and a tear dripped from the corner of her eye.

"Oh, darling." Damon sat up and pulled her onto his lap and leaned back against the sofa. She curled herself into him, gripping him tightly, and cried silently. The only evidence the tears were still flowing was the small hiccup she made every minute or so and the shudders that racked her body in between them.

"I was so scared," Elena breathed, resting her non-bruised cheek against his bare chest. "I was so scared that he would go too far. When his hand was at my neck, Damon, I was…." She shuddered again. "I was scared he would kill me."

Damon shook his head and held her tightly, careful not to hurt her. "Never. He never would have, baby. I would have killed him first."

"I believe you."

"You were scared of me."

Elena sat up and pinned him with her gaze. Her gorgeous, dark, tear-rimmed gaze. "That's what you thought?" Horror laced her whisper.

"I saw it, Elena. In your eyes. You wouldn't let me help you, darling. I…" Damon swallowed when the words caught.

"No! No no no!" She pressed her non-bruised cheek against his, and then pulled back, gripping his hair. "No. I was scared for you, you big dumbass. You were covered in blood, everywhere, and I didn't know what he had done to you. I just…I looked at you, and you weren't you. You were bleeding because of me. You were bleeding for me, Damon. I was so scared for you, and…" She paused. "I looked at you again, and it was wrong, and it shouldn't have happened, but staring at you like that, willing to get hurt for me, I…I have the worst timing ever, because then I realized you meant everything you have said, and I maybe fell a little bit in love with you."

Her final whispered words cut right through Damon. "Shit. Elena." He guided his fingers into the back of her hair and pulled her in to him. "Blind rage, darling. That was what I felt when I saw that bastard near you. I didn't go for him to get him off you. I went to kill him. For touching you like that…no, Elena. No. No one touches my girl like that. No one." He ghosted his lips across her bruised temple. "And, hell, darling, maybe I'm a little bit in love with you, too, but I don't have a clue what it feels like. All I know is that I will kill every bastard who tries to hurt you, and that you really are never leaving my goddamn side ever again. And if that is what you call a little bit in love, and then I guess I'm a little bit in love with you."

Elena held him tightly, winced, then pulled back. "Ouch."

"You okay?"

"My back hurts. There goes that nice moment."

Damon smiled and touched his lips to her forehead. "You want some painkillers?"

"I don't know what Trevor gave me earlier," she replied. "But vodka would probably have the same effect."

She smiled weakly, but it still had her Elena-spark in it. The one that was infectious and made him grin like a lunatic every time he saw it.

"Dammit, Damon. You split your lip open." She grabbed the cloth and pressed it to his mouth. "Stop smiling."

"Can't help it," Damon mumbled against the wet material. "Stop being so cute."

"Stop talking." Elena smiled softly and dabbed at his lip. "Here. Dab with the tissue paper to dry it up."

Damon nodded his head and did as he was told.

"You want some water?" Damon shook head. "A beer?" Head shake. "Vodka?" Head shake. "What?"

He stared at her.

"Damon."

"You told me not to talk, darling." He smirked with the good side of his mouth. "And whiskey. I need it after that."

"Whiskey for you, vodka for me," she muttered, opening the minibar and pulling out two bottles.

"You had painkillers. You aren't having vodka."

Defiantly, Elena unscrewed the cap on the bottle and tipped it back. "Bite me."

"I will. Just as soon as it won't split my lip."

She laughed into her hand. "Promise?"

"Yeah, darling. And I'm going to keep this one."

"You better."

x x x

Elena couldn't move.

Her back was so stiff it felt like she had got steel rods inserted in it, and she was pretty sure someone put an iron ball into her head in the middle of the night.

"Here." Damon set a glass of water and a couple of pills on the nightstand.

"Ow!" She stopped halfway sitting up. "My shoulders are hurting."

"Come here." He wrapped his arms around her gently and eased her up. "Shhh," he whispered, putting a pillow behind her back and leaning her against it. "All right?"

"Fine," Elena whispered unconvincingly. "What are these?" She took the pills and threw them into her mouth before he answered. "I guess it is too early for vodka, huh?"

Damon took the glass of water with a smile. "Yeah, darling, way too early. You want breakfast?"

"I don't think I can get up yet."

"Good thing I already thought ahead, huh?" He kissed her lightly then disappeared. Elena stared at the open door until he reappeared with a tray in his hands.

"What is that?"

"Breakfast." He grinned, and then winced. "Damn, my lip."

Gingerly, Elena lifted her hand to his jaw and touched her thumb to the cut on his mouth. "Thank you."

"Welcome," Damon murmured, kissing her thumb. He snatched a piece of bacon off her plate and rammed it into his mouth with a wink.

"Hey!"

"Mmm. Good." Damon backed out of the room once more and reappeared with a second tray. He sat next to Elena on the bed, stretched his legs out, set the tray on his lap, and grabbed the remote. Elena stole a piece of his bacon back and dropped it onto her plate, then swiped the control and changed the channel to Friends reruns.

Damon groaned, but he didn't actually say anything. Especially when Elena turned and gave him a sweet smile. Now he laughed and shook his head, turning his attention to his plate.

"Joey doesn't share food," Joey said onscreen.

"Damon doesn't share food," Damon muttered, glancing at her plate.

"Then don't steal mine," Elena retorted, munching on bacon.

His lips twitched. They ate in silence, Elena's attention focused on the screen, Damon focused on her. His eyes traced the line of her profile now and then, but he was mainly looking at her. Just…looking at her.

Her gaze flicked to Damon several times, drawn there by the intensity of his. It was irresistible, just like he was, especially when he sat up and pulled his shirt off.

Her eyes were definitely drawn to him now.

Hey, her body was hurting, not my eyes.

"Don't look at me like that, darling. You are too fragile to make love this morning."

Elena laughed. "Give me half an hour. These painkillers are amazing."

"Maybe not," he laughed. "Believe me, I would love to, but I don't want to hurt you." He tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "Hey, you know we go home this weekend, right?"

"I…" Elena swallowed and stared into her food. "Yeah."

"You are coming, too."

"I am?"

"Yeah, you are. I told you last night I'm not letting you out of my sight, and I meant it."

"Damon Salvatore, you open this door right the hell now!"

Damon froze at the sound of a girl's voice and Elena's head snapped around to Damon.

"Aw, man, she is kidding me," he groaned, getting up and walking around the bed.

"Uh, who is that?" Elena asked quietly, pushing her tray to the side and swinging her legs around and out of bed slowly. Thankfully she put on sleep shorts and a tank top last night before bed.

"My cousin sister," he muttered, opening the door. "Sarah. What the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh, I don't know, Damon. Maybe because Caroline called last night crying and told me my big brother looks like he has gone ten rounds with John Cena and he probably broke some guy's nose! What the hell, Damon? Can't you behave for five minutes? What did he do? Sniff around your latest one-nighter?"

"Shut it, Sarah," Damon growled. "You have no idea what has been happening, so until you do, stop running your mouth like you know it all."

"I know I'm looking at you, and Damon! That black eye is so colourful I don't know if it is real or if Caroline attacked you with her pens! Your lip looks like it has been injected with fifty shots of filler, and your cheek! Look at the state of your sorry ass, Damon Salvatore! I have seen you in some messes, but this takes the cake and the damn cherry!"

"Sarah?" Caroline shrieked. "What—how—why?"

"I got a four a.m. flight. Four a.m.!" she yelled. "Now will someone tell me why Damon looks like a pile of shit!"

"It is my fault," Elena said softly, stepping forward and breaking through the shouting.

"Elena, it isn't, and you know it," Damon argued. "He put his hands on you!"

"Who did?" Sarah cried. "Wait, who even is she?"

"She is my girlfriend."

"She is?" Caroline and Sarah said together, as Elena said, "I am?"

"Yeah, you are." Damon's blue eyes pierced hers. "You all right with that, darling?"

"Uh. I'm sensing I don't have much of a choice here."

"You sense right." He smirked, and then turned to Sarah. "This is Elena, my girlfriend and personal assistant."

"Wow, you move fast. Now you want to tell me why you are beaten up?" Sarah asked, putting her hands on her hips. She swished her long, dark hair over her shoulder, and her bright eyes pin onto her brother. She was tall but slim, and she was beautiful.

"Yeah, when she is sitting down, because she is supposed to be in bed," Damon grumbled. Grabbing her hands, he pulled Elena to the sofa.

"Meds have kicked in!" Elena protested.

"Sit down, Elena." He sighed. "I will feel better if you do."

"Fine. But you go make me coffee."

Caroline grinned and sat opposite Elena. "Me, too, thanks."

"Me three," Sarah added, dropping next to Caroline. "Then you talk, Damon, because Wes already heard."

Damon paused. "Shit."

He made four coffees and set them on the table between them. Elena glanced at him as he sat next to her and curled an arm around her waist. Leaning into him, she rested her non-swollen cheek against his chest and swallowed.

Elena explained everything, why she left Richmond, how she got to them, what she dealt with, how she lived. She told Sarah about the emails and the messages, and then, her throat clogged. She couldn't…she squeezed her eyes shut, winced at the pain, and buried her face into Damon's chest.

Damon took over and explained about the threats and, eventually, what happened yesterday.

And Elena sat, listening, fighting the trembling of her hands, scrunching her eyes shut, reliving the punches and the slams and the raspy words and the insults and the constricting of her throat as Liam pinned her to the wall.

His touch, rough and harsh, unforgiving, unrelenting.

"Elena." Hands framed her face. "They are gone."

She stared into worried blue eyes. "I'm okay," she whispered.

"Don't lie to me, darling. Don't react that way when I talk about him then tell me you are okay, because you are not."

"I'm okay," Elena lied again, because she wanted to believe it. She wanted to believe she was okay. She wanted to believe she could see the light at the end of this jacked-up, never-ending tunnel.

This dark, scary, all-encompassing tunnel. It had to end sooner or later.

She hoped it was sooner.

x x x

"Elena," Damon whispered her name again. It only took a single second, but there was so much warmth in the tiny word that she softened.

"I can feel him." Her voice was barely there, so quiet Elena didn't know if she said those words or if she was imagining them. But Damon was looking at her, so she guessed she did say them. "Whenever I close my eyes, whenever I think, I can feel him, right there, in front of me, touching me, whispering into my ear."

Damon's hands curled around her body to her lower back. Slowly, he inched his fingers lower until they were curving around her butt, and he pulled her onto him. "We are alone, baby. I made them leave." The words were mumbled into her neck. He buzzed his lips upward to her ear. "Let me take him away," he breathed, hot air cascading across her skin and eliciting goose bumps everywhere. "Let me get so far under your skin he is never going to be an option again."

"I'm scared."

"You don't need to be." His fingers grazed along the tops of her shoulders until they sank into her hair. "Don't fear me, darling? Remember?"

"Never," Elena whispered. How can you fear the person you are falling more irrevocably in love with every second that passes? She reminded herself.

His lips touched hers tentatively. Elena let her fingers eased up his chest to his shoulders and his neck, and then they curled around him, holding him close, letting her breathe him in. His hands cascaded down her back, his fingers massaging in gentle circles as his lips did the same thing.

She breathed Damon Salvatore in. Cocky words, overconfidence, determination. Sweetness, softness, gentleness. Every part of him seeped into her through the connection of their skin. Every part of her formed into him with each gentle sweep of his tongue against hers.

Damon slid her shorts over her ass and encouraged her to stand. Her feet hit the floor and she pushed the shorts down her legs. She stepped free from the material constraints, and Damon wrapped his hands around her thighs, pulling her closer until she was straddling his bare cock.

"Mine," he breathed, his touch feather-light. "Mine, Elena. You are mine, and I will bury myself inside you until you are fully aware of it. Darling, I'm going to stay inside you until I'm the only thing you can think of."

And he did.

Damon slipped inside her, tilting his hips so he was inside her deeply and the only sensation Elena was aware of was him. He was inside her, his hand around the back of her neck and the other at her hip.

He sat still as her hips rocked against him. Again. Again. Again. Again. Over and over until her fingers entwined with his messy hair and he gripped her hips. Until his hips met her gentle thrusts. Until heat swamped her body, throbbing, pulsating, beating through her. Until Damon groaned her name into her ear and crushed their mouths together barely seconds later.

Until Elena came so hard tears streamed from her eyes.

Until he pressed her face into his neck.

Until he whispered her name, again and again.

Until he wiped every salty tear from her cheeks before he wiped them from his chest.