"What the hell?"

Damon couldn't believe his eyes as they zeroed in on the almost empty pill bottle staring him in the face.

Having just replaced tweezers back into the medicine cabinet he happen to look at the Valium sitting on the shelf and saw the few pills inside.

Reaching for the pain medication, he twisted off the cap to see exactly four pills left.

A confused frown etched Damon's brow.

He knew that bottle should have been practically full because he didn't take many at all, only a few for those first couple of days after having the bullet removed from his shoulder when the pain was intolerable to him.

Damon didn't indulge in drug use of any kind and that included prescription medications because they were just as addicting as street drugs.

He wondered who the hell was taking his pills?

But he didn't have to think for too long.

Bonnie.

It had to be because no one else had access to the master bedroom suite like that except for her. Besides him, she was the only one who used his bathroom.

As he pondered all this, the thought immediately came to him that the pills were why she was staving off the cravings for cocaine.

Bonnie lied to him.

She told him that she was fine. That she wasn't experiencing any withdrawal symptoms and now he knew why.

Didn't she realize that she was only trading one addiction for another?

Damon didn't want her taking drugs period!

He dumped the remaining four pills into the toilet, flushing them down the drain to get rid of them for good and he was seething inside because he didn't like being made a fool of by one.

Being at the boardinghouse felt very isolating with each day that passed.

Trapped in the middle of nowhere and having no real connection to anyone inside of the house, including Damon, made Bonnie feel very alone.

She tried to look on the bright side of things to make herself feel better, at least she wasn't homeless on the streets. So at least that was something.

But that was the only really positive thing she could ascertain from her situation because everything else was bad.

Really bad.

Bonnie didn't know how much longer she could hold on and be strong because everyday it felt like Damon was stripping away the core of who she was as a person to the point that she no longer recognized herself when she looked into the mirror.

Every time he touched her and it felt good, Bonnie hated herself.

Just that morning, she woke up to him savoring her femininity with his mouth, going down on her like he was starved for the taste of her pussy. He had his arms locked around each one of her legs so that she couldn't move as he forced an orgasm from her body.

And then he sank so deeply inside of her that it took her breath away.

Minutes ticked by as their two bodies grew slick with sweat as the smell of their sex filled the bedroom.

He fucked her slowly, gently rocking his hips back and forth, making her feel every inch of him.

All the while he watched her, but she didn't care because it felt too good that she didn't want him to stop.

But as soon as it was over, shame washed over Bonnie and she immediately wanted to get up from the bed and shower, but Damon remained on top of her in between her legs, reverently kissing her breasts and caressing her nipples with his tongue while still inside of her.

He kept telling her how amazing she felt to him and how he couldn't get enough of her. That he wanted to stay inside of her forever.

Within minutes he was aroused again, stiffening inside of her and he fucked her a second time but harder because her pussy was so moist and warm, ripe for the taking that he couldn't control himself.

Expecting it to hurt because he wasn't being gentle, Bonnie tensed up bracing herself for the pain, but it never came.

Instead, her jaw dropped open.

Her nails sunk into the skin of his back.

Her legs rose to cradle his body between her thighs as the most powerful serge of pleasure she'd ever experienced in her life consumed her entire body, holding her hostage in its grasp that she couldn't move from underneath Damon if she wanted to. She just held on to him, sinking her teeth into his shoulder to hold back her screams because it was almost too much to bear.

When it was over, Damon pulled out of her body, falling onto his back beside her, panting really hard out of breath.

He then turned on his side to face her, his hand moving possessively over her naked breasts.

"That's the first time you were able to fully take all of me inside of you with ease. You're a strong woman, you know that? I'm proud of you Bonnie. You did good."

Bonnie turned her head away as he leaned down to kiss her breasts, hating herself for being so weak and allowing herself to succumb to his touch.

Damon was trying to get inside of her head, Bonnie was sure of it now.

Two days ago when he joined her in the shower, she thought he was going to punish her for going through his things. She was scared and willing to do anything to soothe his temper so he wouldn't hurt her again.

But when Damon tried to manipulate her into initiating them fucking as if he wasn't forcing her into doing anything she didn't want to do, something came over Bonnie and she just couldn't go through with it because she wasn't a willing participant. She didn't want his touch, but Damon had the ability to make her body catch on fire and burn for him, and she didn't know how to stop it.

Bonnie knew she had to get away from Damon and soon because he was dangerous in ways that she never realized.

Now the bastard was trying to fuck with her mind along with her body and she couldn't let him do that.

She wouldn't let him get in her head.

Thank god she was already on birth control pills and had been for years to help regulate her periods, so at least she didn't have to worry about getting pregnant by him.

Because as soon as Bonnie got her hands on that money, she was gone.

And Damon Salvatore would be just an ugly memory that she kept locked away in the far recesses of her mind.

Everyone having dinner around the dining table tried to ignore the way Damon stared Bonnie down from his seat directly across from hers, while not uttering a word to anyone.

They all tried to act normally like nothing was wrong, but were waiting with bated breath for the moment he would exploded unleashing his wrath.

Jeremy kept throwing worried glances Bonnie's way as she sat there quietly eating her dinner with her eyes cast down to her plate, her hand shaking a little every time she bought the fork to her mouth to chew her food.

So alarmed by the way Damon was behaving, she felt like if she made one false move he would be on her.

Like everyone else at the table, she was stilling herself for his rage.

Bonnie wasn't sure how much more of this insanity she could take. It was mentally draining having to constantly walk on eggs shells afraid to even breathe wrong in Damon's direction.

Damon Salvatore was a wildcard. Unpredictable in every sense of the word.

More than ever she wanted out of this madness especially with him just sitting there glaring at her like he wanted to tear her apart.

Not being able to take the tension around the table for another second, Elena started talking about the food.

"Dinner turned out great, right guys? I mean it's really good, especially the mash potatoes. Bonnie did those all on her own without any help from me. Aren't they delicious?"

A series of nods and choruses of agreements echoed around the table from everyone except for Damon who continued to make Bonnie Bennett the center of his focus and damn everyone else, including his brother who got up and left the table five minutes after Damon sat down, not being able to stomach his brother's obsessive behavior with Bonnie.

"What do you think Damon? Didn't she do a great job on the potatoes?" Elena asked trying to engage him in conversation.

There was an awkward silence around the table as everybody waited for his response but when none came they went back to quietly eating dinner.

Some minutes later Enzo tried to lighten the mood by telling one of his outrageous stories, but Damon interrupted him mid-sentence shocking everyone around the table with his sudden command.

"Everyone leave, Bonnie and I need to talk."

She watched as every single one of those motherfuckers wordlessly got up from their seat at the table to leave. Not one of them making eye contact with her, not even Jeremy.

What did she expect?

The big bad wolf had given an order to his pack and they immediately obeyed.

Damon didn't address Bonnie until everyone had completely left the dining room. "Is there something you want to tell me before this escalates any further?"

That nervous energy that had Bonnie's stomach twisted up into knots all during dinner had now intensified, coiling tightly inside of her and she swallowed hard as she stared across the table at him.

Pure instinct told her to keep her mouth shut until she knew exactly what he was so angry about because knowing Damon it could be anything, so she shook her head no.

Knowing first hand how stubborn Bonnie could be even to her own detriment at times, Damon tried to dial back his anger and be patient for once in his life because there was a strong part of him that wanted Bonnie to confide in him. To trust him. He didn't know why he needed this so badly, he just did. She was in trouble and he wanted her to come to him with her problem.

He knew he wasn't going to get anywhere with her by being forceful, so he had to change tactics.

"Would you agree that I've been straight with you from the start? That I haven't lied or kept any secrets from you. That you've known all along what I want?"

Bonnie suddenly frowned becoming more cautious because she didn't know where this was leading. Not sure of how to proceed, she was afraid of saying the wrong thing and having shit blow up in her face.

"Answer me." He demanded softly.

Of course, Bonnie had always known that Damon was attracted to her. That he wanted her sexually. He never tried to disguise the look of hunger in eyes whenever he saw her.

But being safe under Klaus's protection, she didn't have to acknowledge him, she could ignore his attraction. And Damon knew better than to ever cross that line and approach her.

That wasn't the case anymore. Things were different now. Klaus was dead. And Bonnie now had to fend for herself.

But she didn't want to open that Pandora's Box and give Damon more ammunition to use against her.

So she played dumb to knowing his feelings for her and seized upon the safer choice of topics.

"How am I supposed to know that you've been straight with me? You act like I should know you well enough to be able to discern something like that and I don't...just like you don't know me."

Damon took the bait becoming distracted from his purpose, an amused glint appearing in his eyes as he stared at her. He leaned forward as if to share a secret.

"Bonnie Sheila Bennett. Twenty years old. Your birthday is in April. You hate cake, but you love yourself some homemade peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream on top. It's the only time you're greedy when it comes to food, otherwise you don't really eat that much, just enough to satisfy your hunger. You hate drinking water so you squeeze lemon into the glass to give it some flavor. You don't really watch television, but you look at Youtube whenever you're bored and have nothing else to do. You let Klaus drag you to see all those horrible foreign films with subtitles when you really prefer loud action movies with no real plot, just big explosions and elaborate car chases. But other than your very guy-like taste in movies, you're a real girlie girl. You like dressing nice and wearing makeup and perfume and having your hair styled even when you're not going anywhere special. You can run in heels. You love to swim. You hate being cold. Summer is your favorite time of year, and not just for the hot weather, but you like the days being longer. You don't have any friends. You never talk about your family. Around the holidays you get really sad which always seemed to coincide when Klaus would take you away on some trip just the two of you. And I could go on but I won't because I can see I'm upsetting you."

And he was right.

Bonnie's face was clearly upset, a mixture of emotions ranging from disbelief and horror to outright anger.

She literally sat there stunned, unable to speak and when she did her words were stunted.

"How...? Who...? I don't understand. You and I barely spoke to each other at the mansion. We maybe had a few meaningless exchanges here and there, if that. And I know how private Nik was. He never would have discussed me with you or anyone for that matter in the organization, so how do you possibly know all those things about me?"

"I paid attention...very close attention." He said simply.

Anger trumped all of Bonnie's emotions in that moment because she wasn't fucking stupid! She knew what he meant, but wasn't saying outright and she jumped up from her chair so fast, knocking it to the floor.

"Paid attention my ass! What you were doing is called STALKING...you sick fucker!"

"Sit down." He commanded calmly, but with a steely edge to his voice.

"No! I'm not one of your paid flunkies Damon! You don't get to tell me what to do! And I'm damn sure not going to stand here and allow you to play fucking mind games! You were stalking me and you know it, so don't try to sugar coat things! You're sick! You need fucking help!"

And as the reality of Damon's actions really set in, she became even more upset and she expressed her feelings. "Oh my god, I can't believe that all that time you were watching me and I had no clue. I never sensed a thing!"

With her mind reeling with so many thoughts, Bonnie couldn't think straight. She walked away from Damon, trying to process everything in her head because it was a lot to take in at once, knowing that Damon had been watching her. Learning her. Violating her privacy.

Good god, this man had violated her in every way imaginable. What more would he do to her?

Damon got up from the table to follow Bonnie, gently grabbing her upper arm to stop her from leaving.

But Bonnie wasn't having it, she'd had enough and she angrily jerked free from his grasp, losing her shit. "Can't you leave me alone for one second?!"

Why did he have to always insert himself in her space and be the center of her attention all the damn time? It was overwhelming. It was too much. She couldn't breathe with him always in her face.

"No...I can't actually. I've tried." He stated calmly as he slowly began to back Bonnie against the wall, essentially trapping her.

As Damon towered above her much smaller frame, Bonnie felt corned like a small animal.

"Just leave me alone Damon please. I can't take this right now. Please just let me be." She practically beg him.

He reached out to touch her face. "I can't do that Bonnie...can't you see what you mean to me...I killed for you. And I would do it again if I had to."

That was the wrong thing to say to Bonnie and she became hysterical.

"No! Stop it! I had nothing to do with you killing Nik, so don't you dare lay that at my feet! You wanted to kill him because you were jealous! He was everything you were not and you hated him for it! I didn't ask for any of this shit! You dragged me into this mess! You didn't kill for me, you killed for your damn self! Nik's blood is on your hands, not mine! All of this is your doing! You're the bad guy here, so own it and stop trying to put everything on me!"

Damon suddenly grabbed Bonnie's face, his red with anger because he was furious by the things she said to him.

"That's right, I'm the fucking bad guy and that's why I was able to get you!" He then crashed his lips down hard against hers, forcefully shoving his tongue into her mouth.

Bonnie struggled against him, finally managing to tear her lips away from his, breathing hard.

But then Damon violently tore her blouse open exposing her bra and she slapped his face, catching him completely off guard.

For one crazy second, she thought he would hit her back because she saw it on his face, but he didn't.

Instead Damon gave a dark chuckle sending a chill down Bonnie's spine.

"You really are a little hellcat aren't you...but I know how to tame you, don't I Bonnie?"

She lifted her chin, unknowingly looking like the spinning image of Sheila Bennett.

"Yeah you do. But this time around you better kill me when you're done because if you don't I'll have a fucking knife at your throat the first chance I get...and a knife doesn't jam in a pivotal moment. It gets the job done."

Damon paused, his blue eyes sharpening upon her. Having no doubt in his mind that she would cut his throat.

"You're right, it does get the job done. Thoroughly so." He uttered after a moment, thinking back to when he was a frightened little boy and used a knife to stab his father in the neck instantly killing him in order to save his mother.

Damon raised his hand to Bonnie's heaving chest, using the back of his index finger to gently move along the curve of her right breast. "I'm sorry. I was wrong. I shouldn't have said that to you. That ugliness is behind us. I never should have brought it up."

Bonnie pushed his hand from her breast. "Don't touch me."

"Dammit Bonnie, I said I was sorry!"

"I don't care, you unfeeling asshole!"

"Stop. Don't be that way. I apologized to you." He said softly, trying to kiss her.

She turned her face away. "No, I don't want you to kiss me...I don't want you period."

To Bonnie's surprise Damon laughed and it was light-hearted as he kissed her cheek instead.

He pressed his body even closer against hers, lowering his voice as he whispered into her ear.

"Now we both know that's a lie. A man knows these things. Just this morning, you took my dick so good. You were so wet for me. My dick slid in and out of your pussy with no resistance at all. Your arousal filled the air. You can't fake that type of physical reaction Bonnie. No woman can."

Shame and humiliation consumed Bonnie, and she tried to turn away from his penetrating eyes.

But Damon wasn't having it, trying to make her look at him. "No. Stop trying to hide from me."

Bonnie pulled away from his hand. "Stop telling me what to do."

But Damon wouldn't be denied, capturing her stubborn little chin between his fingers, forcing her to look at him.

"Look, you're right. I am an asshole and I'm crazy...and I know that I scare you. But I'm hoping with time that you'll stop feeling afraid of me. I want you to trust me Bonnie. To come to me for anything, no matter how small. I want to take care of you. Protect you. I want things with you that I've never wanted with any woman and that's saying a lot. You're right, I watched you at Klaus's mansion. Every fucking chance I got. I couldn't help myself. I was drawn to you and I wanted to know everything about you and maybe I went about it the wrong way, but at the time I thought you were with Klaus so I stood back in the shadows. But those days are over. You're mine now and I'll do everything in my power to keep you, even if it means that I have to open up a little and let you inside until you're able to get the chance to know me for yourself. So here goes..."

"Damon Giuseppe Salvatore. Twenty-nine years old. My birthday is in September. I'm a meat and potatoes kind of guy. My car is the fanciest thing about me. I grew up dirt poor. My old man was a mean drunk who hated his life and I hated him for all the shit he put my mother through. I've been in and out of jail for most of my life. I never graduated from high school and it broke my mother's heart the day I dropped out. But she never once stopped having my back no matter how badly I screwed up. I'm a criminal in every sense of the word. I have no moral compass. I was breaking the law at ten years old, stealing food to feed my family. Besides Stefan, my mother was the only other person in the world who ever truly loved me and I cried like a fucking baby the day she died. I couldn't attend her funeral because I was stuck behind bars and that really fucked me up for a long time. All I know is thug life. I wouldn't know how to be a contributing member to society if I wanted to. I've done a lot of terrible things. Some things I regret and some I don't. And what I regret most is hurting you. Sometimes, I wish I could go back in time and change what happened but I can't because I know I really messed things up with you. All I can do now is try to do better by you...be a better man for you. That is, if you let me."

For the first time in his adult life, Damon Salvatore felt vulnerable and he didn't know how to handle it, running a flustered hand through his jet black hair because Bonnie wasn't saying anything. She was just standing there looking up at him with those green eyes of hers and he couldn't read her face.

"Dammit Bonnie, say something!" He snapped at her.

But before she could open her mouth to speak, a spray of bullets shattered the windows of the boardinghouse silencing everything inside.