But who prays for Satan? Who in eighteen centuries has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most?

-Mark Twain-

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The rainy days stopped and the bright warm sun appeared in the sky instead, Elena knew she was due to return to school in a couple of days but she wasn't sure that was still her plan. Her father and step-mother had gone back to the states the previous week and she was supposed to return in two days but the mere idea of hopping on a plane and leaving Damon behind made her chest ache with unwanted pain.

He was hurting.

Damon wanted to pretend that everything was fine and that the little outburst he had the night of his grandfather's funeral hadn't happened but she couldn't forget it. She couldn't pretend she hadn't seen the fear and the loneliness reflected in his gaze, the longing and utter despair that flashed in his face as he crumbled down in front of her.

He wasn't returning to the States yet and she didn't want to leave without him.

Since they arrived in Colombia for the funeral almost two weeks ago, Elena had been transported back to happier times, to days playing around in the beach with her step-brothers and warm succulent food prepared by Vanessa. Longing for those days was growing inside her and making her want to remain locked away in the tropical paradise forever, without her father breathing down Damon's neck and her step-mother making them play pretend, she just wanted to be as free as that girl who had enjoyed her summers in this place.

With her in mind, Elena had come up with the idea of making a bonfire on the beach, she would recruit Stefan to help her set it up and ask Vanessa to prepare Damon's favorite food, they would share stories and laugh like they had done so many times in the past.

She barged into Stefan's bedroom with intentions of sharing her idea for the evening and was shocked to see him throwing clothes into the half-packed suitcase that rested on the bed.

A burning sense of fury started building up inside her as she strode into the room "You're going to leave just like that?" She hissed at him "He needs you"

Stefan released an exasperated sigh, his hands busy folding and stacking clothes "Damon knows I'm leaving, Elena" He told her "I wouldn't do it without his consent"

"Wouldn't you?" She asked and when she got no response the fury intensified inside her. Her hand shot up to Stefan's wrist and gripped it tightly, finally making him pause in his task. His hazel eyes rose to meet hers and what she found there startled her "Family always comes first" She said the words her father had been repeating to her since she was old enough to understand them.

Stefan's expression hardened "Sometimes duty is more important" He bit out at the same time he forcefully released himself from Elena's grasp.

"Duty to your girlfriend?"

A troubled expression crossed Stefan's face, his mouth opened as if to say something but he seemed to conflict with the words he wanted to say. He breathed deeply before focusing his eyes completely in Elena "There's so much you don't know Elena, you wouldn't understand"

She released an exasperated grunt "Then explain it to me! Don't keep me in the dark about all of this"

Stefan released a bitter laugh, his eyes darkening as he stared at her "Wasn't that you wish? To be as far away from this side of our world as you could? You can't have it both ways Principessa"

His words were a punch to her gut. Elena was aware she had tried her best to distance herself from the affairs his step-brother's and father deal with but she always expected than when push came to the shove she would be included. It was jarring to realize she was being left behind.

She moved a step back, her movements guarded as if she was seeing Stefan in a new light. He seemed taken aback by her movements and the shadows that had followed him everywhere the last couple of months seemed to move away, just slightly.

Even so, she couldn't stop the words that left her lips "You're starting to sound a lot like Damon"

Stefan gave her a sad smile "I always did Elena, you just didn't notice. You can't notice anything that isn't him" She couldn't find words to reply to his statement so instead she just moved away, headed in direction of the door and left him alone with his plans.

Something was brewing inside the walls of the organization, she could tell, and for the first time in her life, it killed her to be out of the loop. She stood at the threshold of his room for a couple of seconds and watched Stefan pack his things, a cold determination on his face she hadn't seen before, or perhaps she hadn't wanted to.

She always thought Damon to be the logical candidate to replace her father once he stepped down but as he watched the other Salvatore she wondered if perhaps she had been wrong.

Sensing she still hadn't left the room completely, Stefan stopped his tasks and breathed deeply before looking at her "I'm not abandoning him, I am showing my loyalty"

"To who?"

Something sparkled in his eyes, something dark and dangerous that left her feeling just a little bit cold inside "To the Salvatore" He answered before resuming the task at hand and forgetting all about her.

Elena left his room feeling a dead weight settling in her chest "What about the Gilberts?" She asked herself as she walked towards her bedroom, suddenly feeling more impotent than ever.

Elena didn't let herself get discouraged with Stefan's departure and decided to continue with her plan. With some help from Vanessa, she managed to prepare a small picnic and then spend a good half an hour trying to convince Damon to go with her to her favorite little corner on the beach.

She was glad to see some of the shadows that had been haunting him for the last couple of days disappearing completely from his face. She knew his responsibilities as part of their criminal family weren't over but somehow in Colombia, Damon seemed free of them, like everything that haunted him went to sleep when he found himself around the beach and under the warm sun.

They spent a good morning enjoying the freshwater and the mouthwatering food, they splashed and played around. The ball of hurt and anger that had grown between them in the last couple of months seemed to disappear; they were once again those two young people who enjoyed each other company like no other.

Elena knew it had been a tragic event that had brought them back together but she couldn't help but feel herself somehow grateful for it. In the last couple of days, she had been happier than ever before and she couldn't help but fear how things were going to change once they were back in the States again.

But she tried to cast those thoughts away and focus only on the present, in the happiness that danced through her body.

After a long day on the beach, they returned home and shared a delicious meal of fried fish, sausages, black pudding, avocados, and plantain before heading to the pool and sharing drinks under the fading sun.

Their skin had never been more tanned, she knew the sunburn she was going to experience the next day would be terrible but at the moment she didn't care. She was happy surrounded by the fresh air, the smell of sunscreen, rum in her lips and the image of Damon doing back laps in the pool, his dark hair sticking to his neck and making her want to cling to it.

"Can I know why?" Damon asked from across the pool, Elena's eyebrow rose and she lowered the magazine she had been pretending to read.

"I'm not following," She said as she moved away from the lounge chair she had been occupying and walked towards the edge of the pool.

He swam towards her and motioned for her to sit down at the edge; she complied and dipped her feet in the fresh soothing water. His hands found her ankles and he grasped them gently "Why? Why is that you're always so willing to forgive me"

She sucked in a breath at his words and the way he was looking at her "Damon—"

He interrupted her by releasing her ankles and pushing himself out of the water until he was sitting next to her "I shouldn't have let you walk away from that stall… It was an awful thing to do" True regret shone in his eyes and Elena knew at that moment that any trace of resentment she could have held for what happened between them had vanished completely.

"It was"

He gave her a sad smile "And yet here you are" His hand reached out to her until it traced her cheek softly "You always come back to me. Why?"

The tears burned behind her eyes as she leaned into his gentle touch "You know why" She answered him in a breathless whisper "I love you, Damon, I've always been in love with you" An unknown emotion crossed his features before he dropped his forehead against hers, she breathed in deeply and took her hands towards the nape of his neck, pulling him even closer to her "I know you think you're a bad person and perhaps you are, but not to me. You've always been the one saving me"

A bitter laugh escaped his lips at the same time he pulled away from her "Even when I put you in danger?"

"I've never been in danger with you"

His jaw clenched and he averted his eyes from her "Except from me" He mumbled as he stared at the darkening sky.

Her eyes burned with the unshed tears that lingered there, something quacking in her chest at the sight of Damon, once again as vulnerable as he could be in front of her. "Do you believe that?" She asked him as she grabbed his face, her thumb tracing the angry scar that ran from his mouth to the corner of his ear.

A painful expression crossed his face as he felt her touch "You don't know half the things that swirl through my mind Len" His voice wobbled with an emotion Elena hadn't heard in his voice before "I am rotten inside as much as I am on the outside. I'll never be the right choice for you"

"But you are" She stated "You've been my savior since day one, I'll never stop seeing the good in you no matter how hard you try" His eyes closed at her words, his mouth twisted in a tortured grimace "I love you, and nothing will change that" She waited for him to open his eyes, to whisper something in return, to acknowledge her words but he didn't, he remained still and quiet through it all.

She dropped her hands from his face, a cold shiver running down her back as she pulled away "You think is disgusting…my need for you. I know we grew up as—"

Her words were interrupted by the sudden move of his body, his hands gripped her face and before she could react he had joined their lips together. It was fast and carnal, his hands tangled in her damp hair as he sneaked his tongue inside, she could feel her skin heating up with each stroke and when he broke the kiss she was left panting and breathless against his mouth.

"Bonita, if it disgusted me I wouldn't have let you suck my cock in that bathroom" He murmured against her lips, his hand wandering towards her neck and resting below her pulse point "I wouldn't think in all the ways I can make you mine, I wouldn't dream of your naked body intertwined with mine every night" His words were accompanied by wet kisses along the side of her neck, her body shuddering at the implications of it all.

"Damon—"

He traced the shell of her ear with his tongue before pulling away just enough to stare into her eyes "Is this what you want Len?" He asked "Once you're mine, you'll never be anyone else's" The intensity in his eyes made the place between her legs wet with desire and she knew at that moment that things were going to change forever.

Her lips tipped up in a cheeky smile before she brushed her nose against his "I've always been only yours" She whispered before kissing him once more. They moaned into each other's mouth as the desire broke a raging inferno inside of them, his hand found the ties of her bikini, tugging at it until her breasts were bare to his hungry gaze.

"Someone might see" A small trace of panic laced her voice as she looked frantically towards the windows.

Damon ignored the urgency in her voice and focused on taking one of the rosy pebbles into his mouth, Elena's back arched towards him as he played with her "You wanted to be mine, don't you?" He said against her chest "Let them see who you belong to"

Elena's toes curled in pleasure as his fingers sneaked underneath her bikini bottoms, his hand forcing her legs to part for him and allowing him access to the most private part of her "Damon…" She moaned as she felt him flicker at her pleasure point.

His lips abandoned her chest and he moved them towards her ear "I've changed my mind" He said seconds before holstering her up into his arms "They don't get to see you" His words were followed by another hungry kiss, her legs wrapping around his waist and allowing him to carry her back inside the house.

Her breasts rubbed against his wet chest in the most delicious of ways, her skin felt on fire, every sense on high alert as he carried her towards her bedroom, their lips never once leaving each other.

"You have no idea how many nights I thought about fucking you here," He told her as he placed her in the center of her queen-sized bed "How many nights I craved to feel your touch"

Elena closed her eyes and moaned at his words, of course, she knew, she had been burning for him since she was old enough to like boys. "I promised I would be good, I would protect you"

He stood in front of her, his hungry eyes raking over her half-naked body "But you don't want me to be good, don't you?" He asked as he took her ankles and raised her legs towards him, her feet resting on top of his chest "You don't want me to protect you from myself don't you?"

Elena didn't trust herself with words at the moment; so instead, she grabbed the strings of her bottoms and tugged until the fabric felt at the sides, releasing her glistening flesh to his eyes. His chest heaved as he stared at her, hungry eyes tracing ever curve of her as she moved her legs to rest on his shoulders and spread herself wide for him.

She could see the monster inside him wanting to break free, fighting for release and a chance to devour her whole, but then something changed, his eyes flickered towards hers and the hunger in them transformed into something else, something that warmed Elena's chest, something she didn't dare to hope.

"Len…" The word was a soft murmur on his lips, a prayer whispered in the darkened night before he leaned over her, his lips finding hers once again and pouring into her all the emotions that had been locked inside him for so long.

Her eyes filled with tears as she felt him releasing himself from his trunks and finding her warm and slick between her legs "I love you" She whispered against his mouth, unable to control herself as she felt him pushing inside her, finally after so long.

When Elena thought about her first time with Damon she always pictured it to be raw and animalistic, like he had been with Rose and with that girl she had seen him when she was only sixteen, but instead of that he surprised her with gentle moves and sweet words whispered into her lips.

He moved on top of her with the easiness of someone who knew every trace of her body, he knew where to touch and where to kiss. Elena lost herself in the feel of him, in the pleasure he evoked in her and the sense of completion he brought into her.

He wasn't fucking her, she realized, he was making love to her.

Tears fell from her eyes at the realization and she urged him on, her hands going to his buttocks and bringing him closer to her, wanting him to remain locked whiting her and never let him leave.

"Tell me you love me" He panted against her mouth, making something inside her stir and come alive "Tell me you'll never leave"

Elena threw her head back when she felt his fingers playing with the place between her legs, the pleasure overwhelming her completely "I love you" She nearly shouted, her stomach coiling with the approaching pleasure "I'll never leave you, I love you so much"

Stars exploded behind her closed eyelids, her hands grappling at his back with a ravenous force, her body shook uncontrollably with the force of her orgasm, her toes curling and skin tingling with the force of a pleasure she hadn't ever felt before and when she thought it was all going to be over she felt him growing larger inside her and releasing himself with a guttural cry and bruising hands against her hips, his pleasure taking her to another level, one she never wanted to come back from.

He slumped against her, his body heaving, his heart beating on top of her. He pulled out of her and went to move but Elena trapped him with her legs "Not yet" She said and sighed with relief when he dropped his head into her chest, nuzzling her skin tenderly. "Stay here, just a while" He didn't answer her and for a second fear grappled at her, she couldn't stand him walking away from her, but then he placed a kiss in the middle of her chest as if somehow he had sensed the panic wanting to take hold of her.

"I'm not going anywhere" He answered against her skin.

Elena smiled and as her eyelids closed she felt Damon pulling the comforter over them "Te amo más que a la vida misma, mi bonita" Those where the last words she heard before the tiredness of the day took her away, she went to sleep with a smile on her lips, even if she didn't understand a thing he said.