Hey guys! Sorry it took a bit to get this posted. I've had some family stuff going on and haven't had the chance to write much.

Anyway, enjoy!

ELENA

It's midnight.

It's midnight and and Damon and I are still in the Tree House, still naked, and still breathing after our second round of sex.

We both probably could have gone for a third time, to be honest, but I'm not on the pill and we ran out of condoms.

So instead, we are sprawled out in the blankets on the cot, laying side by side, and Damon's been running his hands up and down my body for the past few minutes.

It's calming, and I worry that if he keeps it up, I'll fall asleep and I'm not ready for the night to end just yet.

So I talk.

"You never told me you had a tattoo," I accuse, letting my own fingers do some exploring.

I trail the length of the script that spreads across his left hip, just below his waistline.

Vivet Nunc.

The words had always been covered by clothing, but tonight, I'd seen all there is to see of him.

He'd explained earlier, when I'd noticed it after we'd finished round one, that the phrase was Latin for "Live Now".

The simplicity of the message fit him so well, I couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"And you never told me that biting your neck gets you wet, but now we know," he teases a little and I roll my eyes, "Okay, sexual turn ons and tattoos are a little different."

"Not always," he reasons, "Some girls are turned on by tattoos."

"Some girls are turned on just by the fact that you ride a bike, let's not get carried away," I tell him, rolling so that we are facing each other.

Moving in Damon's arms is difficult, but it forces our bodies even closer together somehow, so I don't complain.

He smiles down at me and kisses the tip of my nose, "I love you."

Every time he says them, those three words send a thrill through my body and my heart completely melts.

But this time, it's even stronger than before, because of the way we've been together.

We've made love.

We are lovers.

And it was the absolute most amazing experience of my life.

"I love you, too," I rest my head beneath his chin, letting his warmth envelop me, "So much."

I feel his lips on my hair and the moment is perfect, "And thank you."

"For what?" he murmurs.

It's easy to press a small kiss to his still bare pec, "For tonight. It was...I can't even describe it."

Damon's finger touches my chin and tilts my head up so his eyes can search my face, "You did enjoy it, right?"

It's strange, seeing him vulnerable; unsure of himself.

Part of me wants to milk the moment, but I'm too happy to really tease him.

"Yes," I say instead, smiling a little, "I enjoyed it very much."

Damon grins then, the insecurities erased just like that, and my own rear their heads up.

"What about you? Was it...you know, good for you too?"

I'm pretty sure I'm blushing, but it's dark enough that he probably can't see the color change.

His hand leaves my chin and cups my face.

Slowly, he leans down and kisses me.

It's soft; merely a brush of the lips, and our eyes meet.

"Tonight, with you, was the best I've ever had," he assures me without a single doubt to his words, "It's never felt like that with anyone else."

"Because you love me," I smile and Damon nods, "I really do."

I could stay like this forever, wrapped up in him in our own little world, and plan to at least give myself this night.

So eventually, after a few more moments of making out, I look for my phone and text Miranda that I'm crashing at a friends house.

She doesn't respond, so there's a good chance she's already asleep and I'm off the hook for having to come up with a cover story.

Not that Bonnie or Caroline wouldn't back me if I needed them too, but I don't particularly like misleading my Aunt.

She's been gracious about everything so far, and even though she was originally reluctant about my involvement with Damon, she had accepted it.

Still, I wasn't expecting her to be okay with me having a sleepover with him any time soon, but thankfully, it wasn't a worry for tonight.

"Can we stay here?" I ask Damon, turning to snuggle back into his arms.

"As long as you want," he promises and I smile, tempted to ask for forever.

He pulls the blanket up around me and in the warmth of the darkness, I rest my head against him and find peace.

Still naked, with legs entwined, arms wrapped, and his fingers buried in my hair, Damon and I fade away together.

And it's the best night of sleep I've had in months; no nightmares or bad thoughts or horrid images...just pure rest until the morning sunlight breaks through the window and wakes us up.

There is something personal about having spent the night with someone.

The way Damon looks at me now feels different, though it's a good different.

It's a look of complete adoration and I can't help but wonder if it's in my expression as well.

"Morning," his voice is thick and gravely with sleep.

I absolutely love it.

I love everything about his crumpled hair laying every which way, his face covered in little lines from the blanket he'd used as a pillow, and the small smile parting his lips as he looks at me.

"Morning," I tilt up to kiss him, then ask, "What time is it?"

Damon shuffles a little, turning to find his phone and I appreciate the view of his back muscles stretching.

And holy mother of god, those abs when he sits up, "Just after eight. I'll bet you ten bucks Mom has something cooking at the house. If we go down now, we'll beat the hangover crowd that crashed in the clubhouse."

He grins over at me, and there is something so childlike in the gesture that I can't help but return it.

"So eager to do a walk of shame, huh?"

He gives me a look as if to say "Yeah, right," and reaches over for our clothes at the foot of the cot.

His underwear and pants are in place before he realizes I was being serious.

"Nobody's gonna give a shit," he assures me, "And I'm hungry. Aren't you?"

My brow raises, "Your saying your mother won't care about what we spent the night up here doing? Or your dad, for that matter? He's the MC president. Piss him off and you might never prospect."

Damon laughs, honest to god laughs, "Babe. You're my girl. Everyone in the MC has figured that out by now. Dad won't care that we spent the night together, as long as you were safe, and Mom...she loves you almost as much as I do."

I consider his words and glance around, "Guess this would be the last place the Kings would think to find me...in a fucking tree. Can't get much safer."

Damon smirks, and leans down to kiss me, "Exactly. Now stop worrying."

I roll my eyes, but try to do as he says as I start to get dressed.

"I need a shower," I mutter as I pick up my underwear and slide them on, then do the same for my pants and bra.

"We'll get one after breakfast," Damon says as I stand and try to put on my shirt...only to find a rip in the side of it.

"Oh. Great." I can fit my entire hand through the hole and show it to Damon, "I'm blaming this on you."

He only smirks, "Hey, I'll take credit if that means you go around topless today."

I toss the shirt at him, "Nice try, jackass."

He laughs and picks his own shirt up off the floor, "Here. Wear mine."

"What will you wear?"

He grabs his jacket and looks at me pointedly, then adds, "We're also at my house. I can grab a shirt inside."

It's a reasonable point, so I slip the black cotton over my head.

It's too big, but it's soft and it smells like him so I don't mind too much.

"Damn," Damon mutters, "That's hot."

My stare narrows playfully, "I thought you were hungry."

His gaze clouds and drifts down my body, "Oh, believe me, baby, I am."

He takes a step toward me, but I put my hand against his chest, stopping him, "Damon, no. It's already going to be impossible to hide what we've been doing, we're out of condoms, and I'm not about to go sit at your mother's table and eat her food with your cum running down my thighs."

The smirk he gives me is teasing, "That's a little crude, don't you think?"

"We're both club kids," I remind him, "I'm sure that sentence was tame compared to other things we've heard growing up."

"Fair enough," he agrees, then takes the hand that is still on his chest, "And fine. We'll go get breakfast."

The yard is empty as we step into it on our way to the house, and Damon is looking way too good with his leather jacket hanging open over his naked torso.

I spend more time watching him than I do my own two feet, which results in me tripping, twice.

After the second time, Damon picks me up and throws me over his shoulder, declaring that I'm a danger to my own well being, which might be true, but doesn't stop me from struggling with him until we reach the porch.

Zachariah, Damon's grandfather, is coming out of the door as Damon is carrying me up the stairs, and it's only then that the boy decides to put me down.

Zachariah's brow lifts as he stares at the two of us, "You just getting back?"

Damon shakes his head, "Never left the property. Is breakfast ready?"

"Will be soon," the older man answers, then runs a hand over his beard, "Enzo took off a little after you did last night. Have you heard from him?"

Damon frowns, "No, not this morning. Everything okay?"

"Lorenzo called and said he never came home last night, and last I checked, he wasn't in the clubhouse either."

At that, Damon relaxes, "Well, I haven't seen him, but I'll give you three guesses to where he did crash last night."

Zachariah sighs, "Miss Bennett's Dad is still out of town, then?"

"Isn't he always?" Damon sneers, and I understand the expression.

Bonnie had told me about her dad's business trips, and how he spends more time on the road than he does raising her.

Add that to a mother who ran off just after she was born and it's safe to say her parents suck about as much as mine do.

Probably more, since mine, however distantly, were at least around.

She stays a lot with her grandmother, but for the most part she lives alone, which is why she's always spending time with Enzo or the Brotherhood.

"I'll text him in a bit," Damon is saying when I tune back in to their conversation, "And have him check in with his dad and the club."

Zachariah nods, "You do that. But first, go in there and help your Mom. She ain't your personal chef and she needs more hands."

"I've noticed she's already ran you out," Damon throws back and his grandfather flips him the middle finger before winking at me.

I smirk as Damon returns the gesture and leads me inside the house.

Lily is inside and thankfully gives nothing more than a quick glance at me in Damon's shirt, and doesn't comment on his lack of one, before telling us to wash our hands and giving instructions.

Breakfast is cinnamon rolls that Damon and I help her prep, filling up almost all the counters in the kitchen once they are done.

And after we eat, Damon tells his mom we are going upstairs.

She waves us off as some other members come in for breakfast, and doesn't even seem to notice when we leave.

Damon grins at me when we reach his room and he locks the door behind us, "Told you. No one cares."

"So...no one will care if we shower together, either?" I ask, reaching up to push his jacket off of his shoulders.

His grin is easy and those warm hands of his find my waist immediately, "My thoughts exactly."

He kisses me then pulls me across the room to his bathroom.

The huge shower is even better this time, when he steps under the spray with me, and our lips reconnect as the water runs all over us.

Damon helps me wash up, though his hands linger a little longer in particular places and by the time we are finished, more washing had been required.

When it's over, I wrap a towel around myself and head for the mirror while Damon dries off behind me.

I watch him for a moment, eating up the sight of his bare skin and admiring every perfectly toned inch of him as he dresses, then I focus on my own reflection.

There are small bruises on my neck from Damon's mouth last night, but nothing my hair can't cover, and as I run a finger over them, he appears behind me.

"You're so beautiful, you know that?"

His arms wrap around me and I smile, "You're not so bad yourself."

He smirks and presses a kiss against my head, "I take it you're going to insist on some clothes?"

"You are correct," I giggle a little and turn in his arms, "My jeans are fine, but I wouldn't mind a clean shirt."

"Give me a second," he says and kisses me again before disappearing out the doorway.

I hear him leave the bedroom, so I wander into it and put my pants and bra back on while waiting for his return.

When he does come back, there are some shirts in his hands, "Lexi has crashed here so many times, Stefan has an entire drawer of stuff she's left and uses when she stays. You two should be around the same size, so…"

He tosses the small pile onto the bed, "Take your pick."

I thank him and end up choosing a cut off rock band T-shirt that fits a little loose, but is comfortable.

"Damn babe," he mutters appreciatively when I show it off, "Remind me to thank Lexi later."

I reach over for a pillow and toss it at him, which he easily deflects with a grin as I fish my phone from my jeans.

I'd texted Bonnie earlier to check in, and the blinking notification tells me that she's finally answered.

However, it is short and vague.

"Busy. Enzo with me. Will call you later."

I read it off to Damon who humphs, "Yeah, busy; I'm sure."

I smirk a little and sit on the edge of his bed, "As if you have any room to talk."

"None at all," he answers, quickly moving so that his knee is pushing my thighs apart and his body fills the space that is left.

A hand cups my cheek, bringing my mouth to his and I sigh into the kiss.

"Well at least you know where Enzo is," I breathe against him, "So you can tell your grandfather-"

My sentence dies with another kiss and Damon's arm slides around my waist, hoisting me slightly as he moves us up onto the bed and I dig my fingers into his hair.

We were just getting to the good part when a knock sounds against the door.

I half expect to see Lily on the other side, but it's Giuseppe, and he simply raises a brow as Damon pulls away from me to stand.

"What's up?" My boyfriend asks nonchalantly while my heart does a few somersaults at getting busted yet again in a compromising situation.

"I don't know if you had any plans, but I need you in the shop today," Giuseppe tells him, "So can you move some stuff around?"

I know that an agreement will leave his mouth before he even voices it.

Damon doesn't say no to his father.

"Yeah, I can help. But Enzo's still with Bonnie and I want to be sure Elena gets home before I head that way."

The Brotherhood president crooks his head and looks at me, "You know your way around cars or bikes?"

"Some on the bikes, not a thing about cars," I admit.

He grins and it crinkles the corner of his eyes, "Want to learn?"

Damon may look like his mom mostly, but his father is still a handsome man and it's easy to see what attracted Lily to him.

"Dad," Damon jumps in, "I'm sure she needs to get home and-"

"No, it's fine," I interrupt him, "Really. I'll text my aunt that I'm meeting you at the shop and that I'll be home later. It'll be fine."

Slightly reassured, Damon stops his argument and shrugs, "If you want."

I smirk and turn back to Giuseppe, "I hope you are a patient man, Mr. Salvatore, because seriously, I once had to google how to change a tire and it still took me over half an hour to do it."

He smiles back at me, "That's alright. When Damon first started coming up to the shop with me, he spent an entire day searching the garage for blinker fluid. Took him forever to realize there's no such thing!"

I laugh with him and Damon rolls his eyes, "In all fairness, I was nine, and I could name and locate every single part of your Harley, including the pistons and carburetor."

"Fair enough," Giuseppe allows, then runs a hand through his sandy blonde hair, "Alright, well I'm gonna go on up to the shop. You'll be behind me?"

"Yeah," Damon nods, "We'll be there soon."

His father nods appreciatively, and leaves the room.

The moment the door is shut behind him, Damon turns to me, "Babe, are you sure about this? It's not gonna be much fun hanging out at the garage for a couple hours."

I reach out to his shirt and grab a fist full of the fabric, using it to drag him forward to me so that I can press a kiss against his soft lips.

"If you're there, I'm there," I tell him when we part, "It doesn't matter what we do, okay?"

Damon smiles at that and kisses me again, "I love you."

I release his shirt and slide my hand up his neck, until my fingers reach the ends of his hair, "I love you, too."

:)