Chapter Fourteen: The Performance of Her Life

Bonnie shouldn't have been surprised: his presence made the most sense. But she still started a little at the sight of him, Malachai Parker, Gemini Coven Leader, the man formerly known as Jerk Warlock, here in her room and ready to take her to-

"Are you taking me to…?" her voice trailed off, just in case.

He inclined his head. "Of course, I am. I am the coven leader." He paused. "If this is going to work, it has to stay between just us. I hope that was made clear-"

Bonnie stiffened in irritation. "I know how to keep my mouth shut, obviously. Believe it or not, I don't make it a habit of going on benders and spilling my guts to perfect strangers."

"Only ex-boyfriends, then?" He must have seen the flash of rage on her face, because he backed down, lifting up a hand in peace offering. "Sorry, poor taste. That wasn't even what I meant."

Bonnie glared at him. "Can we go now?"

He gave her an once-over. "You're ready."

"You're early."

"I know. I-I wanted to talk to you." For the first time since she had met him, he actually looked embarrassed. "To a-apologize…"

"About what?" she asked with false indifference. "Making me look like a fool at the meeting? That probably wasn't even too hard, was it?"

He sighed again. "I never…"

"You never what? Pretended to me that you were some ordinary guy, and not the fricking coven leader? Guess you figured I was too much of a 'train-wreck'" - she curved her fingers in air quotes - "to be honest with? Do you and my mom even hate each other or was that part of the act?"

A mask fell over his face. "That's a question you'll have to ask her. As for pretending… when exactly was I supposed to tell you? When you were throwing up in my bathroom or when you were bleeding out in that motel room?"

Bonnie didn't have anything to say to that, and fumed inwardly. Then she walked to him in abrupt steps. "Look, I know it's early but the sooner we leave…"

"I said I wanted to talk to you," he repeated. "Bonnie, earlier today… I'm sorry if I hurt-"

"You didn't," she said abruptly. "You couldn't because you don't know me. Don't think one drunken night told you anything about me."

He pursed his lips. "That wasn't… When I made that joke about having an extended bachelorette party, I wasn't referring to anything you had said that night – just the well-known fact that you were about to be married," he clarified through grounded teeth. His veneer of unflappable amiability had completely vanished, she noticed, revealing a tenseness underneath to match her own.

Good.

"Mm… hmmm…"

He scowled at her noncommittal hum. "No one would have even thought twice about what I said if you hadn't reacted the way you did."

"I didn't react any-"

"For the record, Bonnie Bennett – your life is not a joke to me. Nor should it be to anyone." His eyes narrowed. "That's the other thing I wanted to talk about. This plan… I'm not a big fan."

"I thought the plan was your idea?" Bonnie asked, surprised.

He made a face. "Maybe I've thought things through. Realized asking you to play a part in it…"

"And then what happens if I don't?" she asked, suspicious. "You take action-"

"Maybe I'll ask you for something else in exchange," he cut in.

And there a way he said it - his voice pitching deep and low, the corner of his lip turning up slowly, sinfully…

Heat rushed through Bonnie, and she took a step back in almost-panic.

"W-we made a deal. It's binding, isn't it?"

The sudden sombreness of his expression both answered her question and filled her with relief.

"Besides," she went on. "It's a remarkable opportunity to catch the traitor in your midst."

"An opportunity for you to wear a target on your back."

Abby's exact words. Bonnie's eyes narrowed, wondering what these two had discussed behind her back. "That's for me to worry about. I'll do whatever it takes. Just keep your end with Damon."

There was a long silence and Bonnie fidgeted under his brooding gaze. "Look, there isn't much t–"

"You guys kissed and made up rather quickly, didn't you?" He ignored Bonnie's gasp, an eyebrow cocking arrogantly as he went on: "Somehow I don't think you took my pre-marriage counselling advice. And yet here you are, going into all this trouble for him. I'm curious, being a witch myself: how does the whole immortal vampire and mortal witch thing work?

"That's none of your business," she hissed.

"I mean," he continued as if she hadn't spoken, "how well have you thought this through? There's the question of kids, obviously. Contrary to what Twilight would have you believe, vampire sperm is sterile." He looked at her expectantly, but when she just seethed, refusing to be provoked, he went on. "And then what happens when you turn forty, fifty, ninety? At some point you start looking like a dirty old woman and her paid gigolo–?"

"Maybe none of these things would be a problem because I'd be a vampire?"

She didn't mean it, of course. It was something that she'd never have done, even before Kol's curse on Elena took away that option. But she snarled the words just to cut off that mocking tirade.

From the immediate way he fell silent, his face hardening with outrage, it clearly worked.

"Is that supposed to be funny?"

Bonnie gulped, his reaction unnerving her. "I wasn't…"

"What kind of witch would even joke about a thing like that?"

Her temper flared back. "This witch. Malachai Parker," she ground out. "Me. Now for the last time, you don't know me. We have a deal: you do your part and I do mine and when it's over, you'll never see me again and be scandalised about my bad witch lifestyle."

"For once, you and I are in complete agreement."

The urge to lash at him – with words, with magic or just plain fists was so strong that Bonnie had to clench her hands at her side and lock her jaw to keep the angry words at bay. She lifted her chin and glared up at him with intense dislike and he matched the look, his gaze burning down into hers, while his nostrils flaring slightly. They were breathing heavily and for the second time that day, Bonnie felt that dangerous charge pass in the air between them.

For the second time, panic rose up in Bonnie; and she broke away from that intense staring match and took a step back. "Just… take me to him, already," she said hoarsely, feeling confused.

Over her head, she heard him inhale shallowly, then clear his throat. She braced herself for it, but she still flinched when his arm went around her, his large hand on her back drawing her so near to him that the heat of his body seemed to scorch her own.

"Close your eyes."

This time she obeyed.

When she opened them, she was in a black and chrome room, with a plain white ceiling. There were no windows but there was a door in the far wall, slightly ajar through which she could hear the sounds of running water.

"Cozy," he murmured, his breath so close to her that it washed over her face.

She was still in his grip, barely an inch of air between their bodies, and she pushed away from him hastily. He let his arm drop. His face was closed, his voice frosty as he spoke.

"Abby will cover for you. I'll be back six on the dot. Do us all a favour and bear that time mind. I won't want my eyes scoured."

She gaped at him, and almost missed the movement of his hand reaching into the pocket of his slacks, to pull out a familiar object that he held out in front of her.

"This might help you keep track of time."

It was her phone. Battery definitely dead, and looking slightly for worse for wear. But her phone alright. The same one that had been in the purse the Travellers had thrown into the grass.

"How did you…?"

"Obviously, my powers aren't affected by my coven's spell that blocks yours here. When Lucy first told me you were missing, my locator spell mapped your trail. We found the purse where they grabbed you."

"T-thank you," she said softly.

Gingerly, she reached for her phone. She really tried, but despite her best efforts, her fingers brushed against his palm.

She dropped the phone right back into his hand. Then she mentally kicked herself, and while avoiding his eyes, she grabbed the phone back, slipped it into her pocket and only then did she raise her gaze up defiantly.

He eyed her back, his gaze now brooding to the point of anger, and once again Bonnie felt that tension…

He broke it first, stepped back and tipped his head at her casually. "Au revoir, BB."

"Wait!"

The confluence of magic wrapping around his form halted and he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"What you said earlier - about needing a favour in exchange for 'bringing Damon back' if your witch doesn't resurrect? Was that part of the act?"

Finally, real anger flashed across his face. It was just a flash but it was enough to make Bonnie take a step back. "What?"

His voice and his gaze when he spoke was so frosty, she shivered. "No. That was no act."

"She didn't' say anything about that before," Bonnie protested. When he just eyed her with that cold gaze, she asked. "What is the favour?"

"I told you already. Strictly 'needs to know'."

Then the façade slipped back on his face – and he smirked.

Like the Cheshire cat, his stupid smirk was the last thing to disappear.

For a moment, Bonnie just stood there, staring angrily at the space he had just vacated.

"Bonnie, is that you?"

She turned at the sound of that dear, dear voice, and in a heartbeat, she had crossed the room and leaped into the arms of the man who had just stepped through the door. He was still damp, a low towel on his waist and he was everything she wanted.

Damon laughed as Bonnie buried her face into his neck, her limbs wrapping around him like a vine. "Missed me, have you?" he crowed, pressing kisses into her hair, then pushing her away so that he could put his hands on her cheeks and kiss her long and deep. Her legs were wrapped tightly around his waist and she tugged at the towel as he walked her, still locked in that kiss, to the bed, and they fell down into it.

When Bonnie woke, she was lying on her side, and Damon was the first thing she saw. For a moment, she just drank her fill of him. Then she let her gaze turn inwards as she relived the events of twenty-four hours ago:

Twenty-four hours ago

When Bonnie came to, she was in prison and her magic was gone.

Not in a Prison World – for which she would have been thankful if she was in the mood for gratitude – but in a black and chrome windowless room with a furnished bed and a pile of books. She supposed this was similar to the prison that they had housed Finn Mikaelson and Damon – Damon! – after their brawl yesterday morning… Or was it much earlier? She had no idea of the passage of time.

Nor did she care.

She lay on the bed, staring at the white ceiling ahead and wondering what to do first – find a way to wreck vengeance on the Gemini coven, find a way to murder her cousin Lucy for dragging her and Damon into this mess in the first place, or crawl into herself and die – when she thought she heard a sound; and she turned her head.

She sat up abruptly, almost choking with disbelieving relief, to look into Damon's face.

In a heartbreat, she was on her feet, and had leaped into his arms, hugging him tight with her arms and legs. "Oh my god, Damon! How are you…? I thought…?"

He held her tight. "I don't die easily, sweetheart."

He pushed her away so that he could put his hands on her cheeks and kiss her long and deep.

She broke the kiss to stare hard into his eyes. "How can this be? I saw you die. You can't be real. The heretics have illusion magic. I think the Gemini have it too…"

He nodded. "Good point. Ask me anything, Bon."

She thought for a moment. "Where's Ms Cuddles?"

He laughed, his eyes bright and happy. "Trick question, Bon. 1994 Ms Cuddles is in your bedroom in Whitmore. Then Original Ms Cuddles is in my bedroom in the Salvatore Mansion…"

He had barely finished when Bonnie grabbed his head and kissed him hard.

She didn't know how this was possible. She had seen him die – seen his heart ripped out of his back. But he was here, warm, strong in her arms. And she never wanted to leave them.

A loud cough made them break apart.

Both of them turned to stare in disbelief at the last person they ever expected to see then.

Abby Bennett stood by a door that had materialised out of thin air, her face sober, her arms crossed in front.

"Mom…?" Bonnie gaped.

"I told you not to come here," Abby said quietly, but there was more sadness than disapproval in her voice.

"Mom… Abby… what are you doing here?" Bonnie stammered.

"We have a lot to talk about, Bonnie," Abby continued in the same sad voice. "Perhaps you both should sit."

Bonnie did so immediately, Damon following a heartbeat later, and he threw an arm over her shoulders.

Abby sat on a chair across from them and started.

"When I found out from Lucy that you were still coming to Portland, I made her promise to update me regularly on everything that happened. And I have contacts of my own, that kept me in the loop. The moment I heard about the manhunt for you, I took the first flight to Portland. I knew it was ridiculous. Either you were being deliberately framed or someone was jumping to conclusions. But by the time, I got here it was too late. The fight with Micah Parker… Damon…" She hesitated, looking at Bonnie as if expecting a reaction.

When Bonnie said nothing, Abby went on. "Since I've been here, I've had words with the coven leader," she all but hissed the word, "and every member of his barbaric family. They've backed off, Bonnie. It's clear now that none of this should have happened."

"But I saw…" Bonnie turned to Damon. "I saw you die. I saw them rip your heart out of your chest."

Damon nodded, his face turning grim. "I did die, Bonnie. Crossed over to some limbo world and everything. Heck, I even felt…" His voice trailed off.

"What?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Probably my imagination. But I did die, Bonnie. Don't ask me how I came back, why I came back. I just did. I was gone. Then I was back. I opened my eyes, and Abby was waiting for me. We exchanged pleasantries, then she went for you."

Bonnie turned sharply to her mother. "Did you bring him back?" she asked, earnestly. If Abby had saved Damon, it would mean that her mother accepted him, loved Bonnie enough to accept the man that would be her husband.

But Abby shook her head, frowning at Damon, and she didn't see the hope twisting her daughter's face. "Neither I nor the Gemini leader – I already asked – are responsible for his resurrection. Bonnie, I came here to fight for your safety. I came here believing he was already dead."

That stupid hope vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Abby didn't say it, but she didn't have to – it was obvious from the flicker of derision on her face as she deigned to give her future son-in-law a sideways glance:

I believed your fiancé was dead and I couldn't care less.

Disappointed anger flashed through Bonnie and she scoffed. "Of course, you didn't have anything to do with saving Damon. Bet you were glad he was dead when you heard it, weren't you?"

Abby pressed her lips together tightly and stayed silent. Bonnie blinked back a sudden burst of angry tears, and shifted closer to Damon who tightened his arm around her.

"You didn't want me to come here, Abby. You were afraid of me getting involved with the Gemini. Well, if you had cared so much you should have come here sooner. As always, Abby, your presence in my life is too little, too late."

Damon whistled lowly.

Abby's jaw dropped, shock rippling her placid features. She got her composure back quickly enough, but not before she blinked hard, her eyes shining for a heartbeat.

Bonnie felt a twinge of guilt and pushed it down, looking away from the other woman. None of Abby's belated tears were meant for Damon, or would have brought him back if she had had a choice.

Abby cleared her throat. "Be that as it may, your… fiancé… is not out of the woods, yet."

"What was that?" Damon asked sharply.

"What do you mean?" Bonnie added.

"I thought you said Bonnie was in the clear," Damon continued.

"My daughter has been vindicated – or will be soon. You, on the other hand… you murdered a Gemini witch. If you had stayed dead, it would have been an eye for an eye and the matter would have been put to rest. But you didn't stay dead…"

It took Bonnie a moment for Abby's words to fully sink in. Then she jumped to her feet. "If they touch him, I will destroy everybody in this coven if it's the last thing I do!"

"Atta girl," Damon laughed, looking completely unperturbed at the idea that the Gemini were after his head.

Abby's face twisted with alarm; and she flicked another baleful glance his way, then turned to her daughter with a warning in her eyes. "If you go against the Gemini coven, you will lose."

"I won't do it alone," Bonnie said. "They have enemies. I met three a few days ago and I'm sure that it's not just the Travellers that have an axe to grind with the Gemini. I can be a very formidable ally."

"BonBon…" Damon said warningly, his hand gripping her elbow. "Magical walls have ears."

Abby's eyes narrowed. "I can't believe I'm saying this but you should listen to your fiancé, Bonnie. The Gemini believe in your innocence now but you're a Bennett: you have too much power to make idle threats."

"Who said anything about idle-"

"With everything that has happened, the Gemini know that you have the potential of becoming a dangerous enemy. If they think you plan on going against them, they'll –"

"What?" Bonnie asked, raising her chin to glare at the other woman. "Pre-emptively kill me?"

Abby shook her head. "Don't think they won't."

"Not if we get them first," Bonnie said smugly. She turned to smile conspiratorially at Damon. "We've fought greater odds in the past, haven't we, Damon?"

He didn't return her smile. He was frowning, and he firmly dragged her back to sit beside him.

"Damon…" she started asking, surprised at his attitude.

He shook his head. "These are the same guys that locked up the heretics in the first place. Killed off half of them when they got out. And that's only recently. These guys have been around BC. The stories about them…" His voice trailed off. "Let's not start something that we can't finish, Bon."

Her jaw dropped. It took her seconds to respond. "Wasn't that my line when you wanted to murder your way through to the airport?" The memory of that morning flashed through her brain and she felt a jolt of irritation. "If you hadn't kept going… Heck, if you hadn't antagonized Mary Louise, maybe we won't be in this mess in the first pl-"

"Can we not do this in front of your mother?" he cut in, smiling grimly.

"Who cares what she thinks?" Bonnie retorted, scornfully. "What I care about is why you're not backing me up on this. Is there something you're not telling me, Damon? Or," – another jolt rocked through her but now it was tainted with angry hurt – "is this about…?" She didn't say it out loud, not in front of her mother's disapproving presence, but she knew he understood the question.

Was this about:

Lucy's favour from the Gemini leader?

Breaking the Sleeping Curse?

Waking Elena?

In reply, Damon threw her a look of pure irritation. "You want to know what this is about, Bonnie?" he snapped. "Me taking a leaf from your book and thinking things through. If the Gemini wanted me dead, they'd have killed me already. I think they want something from me, from us, and I think that we should hear them out, before we decide to go all David and Goliath on their asses."

Bonnie felt her face flush with embarrassment. He sounded perfectly reasonable. Not for the first time, she had allowed her insecurities colour her judgment.

Hadn't that been what really happened in the car, with Mary Louise? Because the truth was that Bonnie had let Lucy's dig get under her skin – and her reaction to that, her visible hurt and anger at Damon had opened the door for Mary Louise's barb, Damon's predictable barbed defence of her, Bonnie, and the whole disastrous sequence of events that followed.

She looked away from his still irritated gaze. "David won," she muttered.

After a moment, she felt him relax, and his arm went over her shoulder again. "My point exactly," he said cheerfully. "We're an unbeatable team. So before we pound this coven into the ground, let's give them a chance to make us an offer." He looked at Abby expectantly. "Come on, Abby. You've been the one wheeling and dealing all over the place. Surely, you have some idea of what the coven want from us."

This time the look of dislike lingered longer than a flash. Abby's face was practically twisted with hate as she eyed Damon. "There's nothing you have that the Gemini coven or any witch would – should ever want from you, Damon Salvatore. You're a volatile, manipulative, two-faced bastard who has somehow managed to worm his way into my daughter's…." her voice trailed off, as she literally choked with rage.

Bonnie almost jumped to her feet, but Damon dragged her back.

"How dare –"

"It's OK, Bon," he said, his own voice cold and calm as a frozen over lake. "There are no laws stopping the deadbeat mom that abandoned her daughter from playing the disapproving mother-in-law card, are there?" He smiled coldly as Abby's face flushed. "I'd better start getting used to it."

Abby swallowed hard, her eyes bright with anger. Then she visibly forced her composure back.

"I was told to… make this offer to you," she said in clipped tones. "The Gemini won't pursue any kind of retaliation on Damon if … Bonnie…" She coughed, struggling with her next words. Her mouth twisted. "Bonnie, I know you don't give a damn – I know I've done nothing to make you give a damn about me, but I am begging you, you can't make deals with the Gemini coven…" Her composure wavered again.

"We don't have all day," Damon snipped.

"Just spit it out, Abby," Bonnie said wearily.

Abby swallowed again. "The only people who know that Damon is still alive are the people in this room… and the Gemini coven leader. And he suggested… he wants to take advantage of that."

Bonnie and Damon exchanged startled glances. "Take advantage how?" Damon queried.

"By letting everyone believe that Damon is dead. That Bonnie is mourning and vengeful." Unexpectantly, she smiled, but it was bitter, rueful. "Basically, by pretending to everyone in this hotel that you are really going to do everything you threatened to do to the Gemini a few minutes ago – join their enemies, wipe them out."

Bonnie felt her stomach drop.

Damon stared at her, then Abby. "What am I missing?"

"What should be obvious if you understood even half of my daughter's worth. A Bennett witch on the warpath is a formidable enemy – and an invaluable ally to anyone with a common cause. If Bonnie is convincing enough, and word got out that you had the Gemini in your crosshairs, their enemies would be beating down your door. To recruit you."

The bitter smile twisted further and fear creeped into Abby Bennett's eyes.

"Basically, he wants Bonnie to put a target on her back."

Now

After Abby had given her the Gemini contract – the first of two she would bind herself to within hours – to sign in blood, Bonnie had had to leave Damon. Her mother hadn't stood for a long good-bye and it was more awkwardly than romantic that they had parted. Through a portal that appeared on cue, her mother had taken Bonnie to another prison room, this one decorated in floral patterns. There Bonnie had waited there for a few minutes, steeling herself for a performance that would last the next few days, until Olivia Parker had come to fetch her.

Pretending that the whole conversation with Abby hadn't happened had been easier than Bonnie expected.

Her anger at Micah had been real. So had her vexation with her mother and her cousin. And the reveal that JW – Malachai Parker – was the Gemini leader had come to Bonnie as a complete shock.

Bonnie remembered that 'second' unexpected condition and how much it had thrown her. And Abby, too, unless her mother was an exceptional actress. But why would she have pretended to be surprised? She had told Bonnie not to take it.

But Bonnie hadn't seen how she had any other choice. She would do anything ot keep Damon safe.

As she watched Damon's eyes start fluttering, Bonnie realized that she'd have agreed to it even if it hadn't been necessary to save Damon's life. Heck, she'd have suggested it if had occurred to her first.

The Travellers were ruthless monsters and needed to be stopped. They had made it abundantly clear that they had no scruples when it came to fulfilling whatever mad agenda they had.

And they had a traitor working for – or with them.

The real thief that had stolen the Gemini's Ascendants and smuggled them to the Travellers. The person, Bonnie realized as she thought it through that had been on the other end of that phone conversation with Hans in the motel room. Bonnie frowned, trying to remember the little she had heard of the conversation.

Something about not coming despite the full moon… Expecting Bennett blood from two possible sources – hers and Lucy's apparently…

She felt her fists clenched. She had more than enough reason already to take this personal.

She was working against time. The duration of the Solemme was the ticking clock that would determine how long Hans and Mia would stay trapped in the Prison World with Markos before they broke him out. After that all bets were off. They almost surely had an Ascendant on the Prison World side; and with her Bennett blood and their magic, they could harness the power of whatever recurring celestial event abode in the Prison World and return back.

Unless, there was something Malachai Parker hadn't told them. Knowing the man, that was more likely to be the case than not.

Bonnie scowled, thinking about him. How dare he try to make her out to be some sort of suicidal train-wreck? If he had done his homework, he would have realized that every time she had risked herself, it had been the absolute last resort and there had been higher stakes involved. And she had returned from the 1994 prison world determined to be more careful about protecting herself.

How dare he stand and compartmentalize her in some box and dismiss her? He didn't know anything about her. So what if they had a few awkward encounters where she had been uncharacteristically open to him? She wondered if he had had a good laugh at her expense. All that time he had been deceiving her, making her out as a fool…

A warm mouth pressed against her neck.

"What's got you so riled up?" Damon murmured.

"Nothing," Bonnie said hastily. She tried to sink into his attentions, his teeth and tongue were becoming very interesting – but she realized she was too wound up. Damn JW – Malachai Parker. What a mouthful. Who named a kid Malachai anyway?

Possibly evil, arrogant, allegedly barbaric Gemini witches – that's whom.

"Well, nothing's going to be a distant memory once I'm done…" Damon rumbled, his face now moving towards her breasts.

With a sigh, she shoved him away and sat up. "What time is it?"

He fell back on his elbow and frowned at her. "No idea, why?"

She sighed again and scanned around the room for her jeans. She found it hanging off the bedpost, and – ignoring Damon's remark at that – fetched her phone.

5.30am.

She gulped. "I barely have time for a shower," she muttered, hopping off the bed and quickly gathering her clothes.

Damon didn't have vampire powers in that room – anymore than Bonnie had witch powers – but he still managed to come between her and the bathroom door.

"What's the rush, BonBon? I thought we'd make the most of our time together?"

She laughed in disbelief, tried to sidle past him. "Didn't we? I barely got any sleep last night."

He put his arms up, trapping her. "That's the idea. Call it a pre-wedding honeymoon…" He tried to kiss her and she turned her cheek. She felt him stiffen with angry surprise. "Bon?"

"Damon…" She sighed, knowing that she had to placate him or he'd either keep pushing until she caved or worse – make her regret this later. "Some witch or warlock will be popping in here in a few minutes to spirit me out of this place. In case you haven't noticed, this room doesn't have any doors. I don't want to launch my sex tape on the WitchyNet just yet."

He relaxed. "Why not?" he asked mildly. "You'd make a killing as a pornstar." But he backed off, letting his arms fall.

"Really romantic, Damon. That's what every fiancée wants to hear."

"Hey, I'm complimenting myself!" he said, laughing. "I thought you everything you know. Except for the lesbian sex. Hey, Bon, have you had any second thoughts about that three-"

She slammed the door to his raucous laughter.

She showered ferociously, trying to wash away the sting of his words from her head. It reminded her too much of the nonsense with Mary Louise and with all the balls she was suddenly juggling, she didn't have the mental space to be mad at Damon now.

She was out in under fifteen minutes and started pulling on her old clothes. As she smoothed the creases on Damon's flannel shirt, now with several buttons missing, her mind flashed wistfully to Malachai Parker's sweatshirts and T-shirt folded in her bathroom in the hotel. She wished she had thought to bring them along – or any change of clothing at all, she thought hastily. It suddenly occurred to her that she had received a weird assortment of clothing from that man at different occasions – the 'morning after' change of clothes, and his suit jacket to keep her warm after her abduction. He had never got his jacket back either. If she closed her eyes and thought deeply enough, she could almost smell the mint and incense that was his scent.

Not for the first time, Bonnie shook off musings of JW from her mind – it would be long time before she got his name straight in her head – and focused on the task at hand. She trashed the shirt; and hoped her white tee would be passable. Her hair was an absolute mess and as she re-rolled it into a messy bun, she made a mental note to hit Lucy for that spell, and maybe even a few witchy beauty tips. Lord knew that her cousin owed her that much.

She stepped out of the bathroom with five minutes to spare.

Damon got up from the bed stark naked and gave her a kiss that would have made her toes curl if she wasn't so worried that Malachai Parker would pop into the room at any moment and catch a buttful of her future husband.

"Bye already!" she said with a laugh as she pushed him through the bathroom door and shut it.

She was half-turned from it, when he opened it, yanked her to him, kissed her again, then winked and slammed the door.

Despite herself, she giggled, glad that he was in this mood.

Behind her, someone coughed.

She turned so suddenly, she nearly tripped over her own feet, to stare at Malachai Parker standing at the exact spot he had left the day before. He was dressed in black jeans and a shirt that looked soft enough to sink into. His outfit was almost identical to hers but of course, his was neat and clean and she was clearly about to do a 'walk of shame'. Well, 'portal jump of shame'.

Every. single. time. she met this man, she was always at some disadvantage. It was enough to kill a girl's good mood.

"Good morning to you," she said curtly when he said nothing, merely stared at her with a blank look.

At least it was an upgrade from the perpetual smirk. She wondered how much he'd seen if he was scandalised by her kissing her naked fiancé. What was he, some puritan? There was no way she'd believe a man that looked like he did – that smirked like he did – didn't have an active, risqué sex life. So why did she get the strong feeling that he was emoting disapproval at her?

Or maybe, she thought as she recalled his biting words from earlier, Malachai Parker just disapproved of her having a vampire fiancé to kiss in the first place.

Irritated she walked towards him, then – in defiance – stepped right into his space. "Shall we?" she asked, lifting her chin to stare hard at him.

His eyes widened at her boldness. Heck, she felt surprised at herself – alarmed a little too. Because now that she was this close to him, close enough to feel the heat from his large body, and lock gazes with those dark eyes of his – she felt a frisson of alarm and it was only her pride that stopped her from taking a step back to safety.

Too late anyway. He cocked his head, and his arm was around her waist. "Close your eyes," he said, his first words to her that day.

Bonnie bit hard on her lip, and held herself as stiffly as possible. But then he yanked her towards him and her hands stretched out instinctively to right her balance.

His shirt was as cottony soft as she had imagined.

She yanked her hands back at once, but she felt like the texture of the cloth had burnt into her palms.

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. :D Please let me know what you think of this one. :D Will be updating this one for a while. ;)