Damon steps from the shadows and steals the breath from her lungs.
Before she can draw in the air her body needs, she's melting into his firm torso. Damon wipes the beginnings of a tear with his calloused thumb, even this roughness is glorious.
Elena threads her hands up into his hair, pulling his face down to within inches of hers. The very moment that Damon's lips touch hers, sparks of electricity burst through her nerve endings. Their lips are barely touching, sliding along each other's sensually, exploring the textures when Elena slides her hands down to rest on his chest.
Damon moves his hands to her waist. Not even a split-second later, he pulls her flush against him and his lips close possessively over hers. Elena sighs into his mouth as his hands move to her back, pressing her breasts against the firm, muscled wall of his chest.
Damon lifts his lips then plants a soft kiss at the right corner of her mouth. Then at the perfect bow at the center of her top lip. Then the left corner. As Elena feels her knees buckling, Damon gently sucks her lower lip at the center. When he finally returns to take her mouth once more and she makes a little whimpering noise in the back of her throat.
It's his undoing.
His hands move up from around her back and he cups her face in his hands. He tilts her head so that he can angle his lips more effectively on hers to deepen the kiss.
No man has ever kissed her like this. Like she's the only woman in the world. Like every time he kisses her, he finds new ways to bring her the most exquisite pleasure she's ever felt. When she touches his lips with the tip of her tongue, his part and her tongue sinks into the moist heaven of his mouth. As she begins to explore, his tongue comes to life.
Damon strokes the side of hers with his, Elena's hands move to grip the hair at the back of his head, nudging him even closer to her. When she pulls her tongue back, his surges into her mouth to gently trace the rough surface of her teeth.
As Damon's fingers move to the nape of her neck and start to tenderly massage her muscles, Elena feels the heat build in the lower part of her body. Soft moans of pleasure are the only sounds echoing in the night air.
When they pull apart, Damon rests his forehead against Elena's while they both struggle to get their breathing under control.
Elena gently rubs her thumb over Damon's lower lip and smiles. "I've missed you, Damon."
When his breathing finally returns to some semblance of normalcy, he whispers. "I missed you too. It's late and you're tired so I'm going to go home... We very much need to have a conversation."
"I know, I want that too."
"I'll call you tomorrow, goodnight, Elena." He places a kiss on her forehead.
She walks with him to the car. Before he opens the door, he turns to look at her one more time, her hair is mussed and her breathing is ragged. "Night," he says softly, and pulls out of the driveway.
As she watches his tail lights slowly disappear, Elena puts her fingers to her lips and blows a kiss into the wind.
Before Damon turns off the gravel road and onto the main highway, he pulls to the side of the road and rolls down the window. As the warm breeze ruffles his hair, he puts his fingers to his lips. They still burn deliciously where Elena touched them with her tongue...
As Damon pulls back onto the road, he smiles to himself.
He's happy.
Like a moth to the flame, his fingers drift back to his kiss-swollen lips...
Damon and Elena walk hand in hand down the small path that widens into a multicolored beach with every size of rock - from boulders big enough to sit on, to grains that get stuck between their toes.
Beyond is a lake. It's a Saturday and people are enjoying the last vestiges of summer. A boat sends ripples to subside in the deeper water, each moored to the protruding pontoon. As they approach the waterline, Damon bends over to pick up a rock. Skimming it, he watches it skip several times across the surface.
Coniferous trees cast shadows across the shoreline, like the soft blanket she used to hide under when she was scared of the dark as a child. The sand's hue is as gentle on the eye as a vintage photograph, there is a steady warmth from the grains. The lake is ringed with trees and outcroppings of rock slope into the cool waters.
When they arrive at a secluded spot, Damon spreads the blanket out so they can sit down.
Elena watches while he pulls a soda out of the six-pack cooler and takes a step back.
He takes a long pull and looks over at her. Elena quickly turns away, looking at the surface of the water. Damon continues to watch her and her eyes drift back to his. They stare at each other for a while, until he sits down next to her.
"Are we going to tiptoe around each other all afternoon?"
Elena lets out a breath, shifts and places her arm by her side; Damon gently grabs and caresses her hand.
Elena breathes heavily, unsure of what she's feeling. She quickly jumps to her feet and jogs down to the water's edge.
Damon comes after her.
"Don't."
"Why not? Elena...?"
Shaking her head subtly, she turns around and rushes towards Damon. She kisses him passionately as he moves her against a tree. He starts to kiss her neck and chest but she lifts his head back to her mouth.
They look at each other for a millisecond and continue to kiss till a wolf whistle coming from behind them breaks the spell.
Her chest is heaving when Damon gently takes her shoulders and leads her back to the blanket.
"I love you, Elena. I want to be with you and see where this goes."
"I love you too, Damon. It just feels like I'm a millstone around your neck. I don't want to hold you back from reaching your full potential."
"You're not holding me back. I'm going to go to college. My dad is right, if I'm going to support you, I need to find a good job. I have to get applications sent in very soon, I hope to find one that's close so I can come home on weekends, at least every other weekend."
"I don't want you to miss the college experience by running back to me. There's homecoming, frat week, sports, friends you'll make, parties. I could go on and on."
"It seems to me that you're digging deep to find reasons why we shouldn't be together. What about all the reasons we should? We love each other. I wake up in the morning with a smile on my face because I get to see you. Every time I imagine my future, you're there too."
"I love you so much," she practically jumps into his arms. Cradling his face, she forces him to look into her eyes. "You have to promise me that you'll always be honest - that we'll always be honest with each other. And if the day comes that you want out, you must tell me."
"You have my word but believe me when I tell you that day will never come," he tells her truthfully and then crashes his lips to hers.
Her fingers grip his hair, pulling him closer. Her veins throb and her heart explodes. She has never wanted anyone like this before.
Ever...
As they approach the red-brick restaurant with foliage bordering either side of the walkway, she and Damon trail behind Giuseppe and Lillian. They're here for the talk and a late birthday celebration for him, although he's blissfully in the dark about that part.
Damon holds the door for his parents and whispers, "After you, beautiful," in her ear as she crosses the threshold.
There's a bar to one side, and a few people sit on stools sipping serious-looking drinks.
"Hello Damon!" a plump, fifty-ish woman calls out. "How are you, sweetie?"
Damon grins as she approaches. "Hi Rose."
"Who's this?" she asks, raking her eyes over Elena.
"Elena this is Rose," Damon gives her hand a comforting squeeze.
The woman smiles at her and then raises an eyebrow at Damon. "Ahhh, I see, trying to impress her?"
"You know me too well. Why do you think I brought her here?" He wraps an arm around the older woman's shoulder. "Rose was our housekeeper slash cook when we were growing up," he explains to Elena.
"Excuse me, I'm no slouch in the kitchen," Lillian interrupts, crossing her arms over chest.
"Aside from you, of course," he winks at his mom.
"Come," she beckons them with a wave of her hand.
They follow her through the room and past the bar, where she seats them in a rather secluded table. After handing out the menus, she gives them a nod and walks off.
Perusing through their menus, they decide on what they're having and after ordering their food, the atmosphere grows serious.
"We promised Damon," Giuseppe nods at his son, "that we'd be fair. So, tell me, Elena, what is it that you want?"
"I..." she looks at Damon when she feels him squeeze her hand.
"I don't want anything from him, just his love." She blows out a breath to calm her thundering heart.
"I try to imagine myself in your shoes, my son falling in love with someone older at his age. And quite honestly, I don't know how I'd react. All I can tell you is that I love your son, so, so much. He makes me feel alive... I promise you that I'll love him and do right by him. And if one day he comes to me and says he made a mistake - it'll hurt, I can't deny that - but I won't play any games to try to keep him or trap him. Above all else, I want him to be happy."
"I won't lie to you, Elena, I was livid honestly when I found out about this affair. But seeing you tonight, woman to woman... I can't believe I'm saying this but I do believe you to be sincere. And I have seen how my son smiles when he thinks no one is looking at him," Lillian's gaze drifts to Damon.
"Although we're not 100% on board with this, my wife and I are willing to give you the benefit of the doubt...For now. Please don't make us regret it," Giuseppe finishes for his wife.
"I won't disappoint you," she reaches up to dab her eyes when they start to moisten. Damon slides his chair closer, wraps and arm around her shoulder and pulls her close enough to kiss her hair.
Their food arrives, steak for Damon and his parents, chicken for her. She bites absently on a fry while Damon cuts his steak.
"That chicken will have you moaning," He grins.
"In a minute," she reaches into her bag, pulls out a small package and hands it to him.
"What's this?" He sets down his utensils and takes the gift she offers.
"Happy belated birthday."
"You didn't have to get me anything."
"I wanted to." she bites into another fry.
Disarming her with his "eye-thing", he unties the ribbon and lifts the lid from the box. It's an autographed copy of Michael Sharra's 'Killer Angels'."
"I love this, thank you. How did you know?"
"Well, I asked your mother what you'd like, she suggested it. Luckily she was able to track down a first edition for me to gift you with."
"Thank you," he gives Elena a peck on the lips and then he gets out of his chair to kiss his mom's cheek.
"See I told you she'd grow on you," he winks at her then goes back to his seat. His eyes sparkle with mischief when he brushes her skin while filching one of her fries.
Elena draws in a few successive, uneven breaths, releasing them through narrowed lips. Her legs clench and squirm under the table.
She can't wait to get him back to her place.
"Happy Birthday to you," comes from behind, breaking Elena's reverie. Rose is carrying a big cake with flickering candles while singing loudly with Stefan, Katherine and Elijah joining in. The crowd starts to clap when she sets it down in front of Damon.
"Rose," he furrows his brows at her as his family joins them at the table.
"Oh, stop that," she scoffs at him. "Now blow out your candles."
"You better do as she says, Damon," Giuseppe laughs, winking at Rose.
He sucks in a deep breath and blows, extinguishing all 18 of them in one fell swoop. She hands him a knife, spatula and a stack of plates. He slices and dishes up the cake while she hands it out.
Damon takes the first bite, groaning at the buttery aroma.
His taste buds practically sing at the tangy flavor as the lemon curd oozes into his mouth...
An hour and a half later, they arrive at Elena's place. She slips off her heels, making it as far as the bottom of the stairs before Damon's control snaps.
Pressing her back against the wall with his body, he curls a hand behind her neck and captures her mouth in a long, hard, wet kiss.
Elena melts into him, her hand slackens and her shoes fall to the floor. She winds her arms around his neck, one hand claws at his shoulders inside the collar of his shirt while the other threads through his hair.
Damon shrugs off his shirt, toes off his shoes then slips his hands under her ass, boosts her into his arms and carries her up the stairs to her bedroom.
Once they shed their clothes, and fall onto the mattress, Damon dips his head and skims her cheek with his nose, trailing it down slowly to her neck, his warm breath raising every fine hair on her body.
"I want you," Elena murmurs shakily.
"Mm," he moans, placing wet, open-mouth kisses all along her bare shoulder.
"Oh God," she whispers when his lips suck on her collarbone.
He lifts his eyes to hers. "I'm going to work you till you can't move. Think you're up for it?"
She grins as a warm, wonderful feeling of anticipation dances in her belly.
"I know I am..." he turns out the light and drapes her body with his...
Thank you all for your patience. And love you, Eva.
Chapter title: 'Keep On Loving You' by REO Speedwagon.
Have an amazing day and weekend.