Hearing a firm rap on her door, Elena sets her coffee cup down to answer it. Finding Damon, her smile grows as she steps aside to let hm. "What a nice surprise!" she greets him, ogling his jean-clad ass as he crosses in front of her.
Damon leans over and kisses her now rosy-hued cheek. "Good morning to you, too!"
"Good morning," she echoes, raising up on her tiptoes to peck his lips.
"Go get dressed. We're taking the day off."
"Damon, we can't. I do have a job! And about that...Are you independently wealthy? Or do you rob banks? I could see that compulsion trick coming in quite handy."
Damon snorts. "Snatch, eat, erase taking on a whole new meaning, huh?"
Elena stares at him, slightly perplexed. She feels as if she's missed a joke.
"Yes, I have money, and no, I don't rob banks. I've invested well over the years."
"Good to know," Elena replies, the corners of her mouth lifting into a smile.
"From what I've seen, you have a tendency to be a workaholic, so I think you've probably earned a day off."
"Where are we going?"
"A little place right outside of Las Vegas."
"Damon, I can't," she protests.
"I love when that little vein in your forehead fills," Damon teases, with a smirk.
"Ugh, it's not cute at all," Elena laments, her cheeks turning pink. "And besides, I have research to do for my next podcast."
He shakes his head. "Time-out," Damon coaxes her, making the "T" symbol with his hands. "Trust me. The killer is still going to be there when you get home. Look. Step away from your life for five minutes. Five minutes!"
"You're not going to give up are you?"
"Nope," he says, popping the p. "We're going to play tourists today. Now scoot," he adds, and swats her behind playfully.
"Damon!" she gasps, pretending to be scandalized.
As she makes her way up the stairs, Damon whistles. Loving the attention and having fun playing around with him, Elena makes a point to shake her ass more before disappearing around the corner and into her bedroom to change. She's secretly pleased with this turn of events, though she'd never admit it aloud. Spending a day with Damon without murder hanging over their heads sounds divine. Maybe she'll learn a thing or two about him. Maybe, just maybe, she'll learn a lot more.
Damon stares across the surface of Lake Meade as their boat speeds across the waves. Elena is everything he's ever wanted and more. She's genuine, so different than Katherine even though they do have a certain resemblance, both having dark hair, brown eyes, and perfect figures. Aside from that, they are worlds apart. Katherine was petty and selfish, interested only in herself.
Sometimes he wonders if he really loved her or if it was simply the idea of her, of them? He wants to tell Elena all about that part of his life, how he became a vampire and the choices, both good and bad, he's made.
He's signed them up for an afternoon of scuba diving, hoping she'll enjoy a little time-out. Although he loved swimming as a human, he doesn't enjoy it as much as a vampire. Still an occasional dip isn't unenjoyable. He finds himself wanting to make her happy. Her smile overshadows the sun, lighting up her whole face; Damon wants to imprint these moments and remember them forever.
"Do you understand what to do?" their instructor, Vincent, asks.
"It's not my first time," Damon puts forth, looking at Elena.
"Mine either," Elena adds, anxious to get to their destination.
"Let's go then," Damon replies, nudging her forward and following Elena and Vincent onto the boat.
"I'm excited!" she blurts out, sitting beside Damon as the boat glides over the water. The waves are slightly choppy, and they break around the rocks in the shallows, their foam crests becoming chaotic lace over the blue.
Damon tries to control his constantly wandering thoughts. She looks hot in her little bathing suit and his eyes focus on her incredibly long legs.
"Look!" Elena remarks. Grasping his hand, she points at the striking landscape and brilliant blue waters.
Damon follows her gaze, admiring the grandeur surrounding them.
"It's gorgeous here." Elena gushes, using her hand to shield her eyes as she takes in the scenery.
"I bet you and your friends have spent some time on one of these beaches, wearing a cute bikini...?" he teases, whispering in her ear.
Elena shivers a bit at his words, goose bumps appearing on her skin. "Well, duh! You're something else," she exclaims, jokingly hitting his arm.
"What?" Damon asks in faux shock, noticing now that the motor has stopped. The water splashes up, spraying him slightly when Vincent tosses the anchor over the starboard side.
"Nothing..." her voice trails off when Vincent starts to speak.
"This is the spot where, at 9:51 a.m. July 21, 1948, a B-29 Superfortress, weighing in at 104,556 pounds, took off from China Lake, California. It traveled to a test area near Lake Mead to conduct high-altitude atmospheric research. After the last measurements were taken, the pilot took the plane a little lower. Both the pilot and co-pilot thought they were around 400 feet above the lake's surface, but the altimeter was reportedly off. Around 12:30 p.m. traveling at 230 miles per hour, the B-29 struck the water and sank to the bottom of Lake Meade where it still lies today."
"Did the crew survive?" Elena asks, glancing at Damon before returning her full attention to Vincent.
"Yes, the five-man crew evacuated into two life rafts and watched the aircraft sink. Though most of the crew was uninjured, the scanner, Sergeant Frank Rico, broke his arm. The crew were rescued six hours later and were instructed not to disclose any details of the flight, not its mission or what happened after."
Having listened with rapt attention, Elena remarks, "That's really interesting."
"The details weren't released until fifty years later," Vincent divulges. "Let's do this," he adds and plunges into the water.
Damon watches Elena jump off the boat and immediately sink beneath the surface of the lake. Smiling, he slides on his own flippers and jumps in to join them. The place is beautiful; the water is a little murky but not enough to obscure his vision as he swims behind Elena, plunging to a depth of 140 feet to reach the wreckage of the B-29.
And there, right before their eyes, is the large tail section, looming in front of them. Looking inside, it feels as if they've been transported back in time. Other than a smashed in front, the cockpit is exactly as it was at the time of the crash in 1948. In the first officer's side is a headset still hanging on its stick. Laying between the seats is the remnants of parachute, no doubt cut free by one of the crewmen. On the outside, Quagga Mussels adhere to the structure and are monitored by park service divers.
After spending a half hour surveying the wreckage, the group begins their ascent, and when they arrive at the surface, Damon swims towards Elena. When he reaches her, she wraps her arms around his neck.
"Thank you for suggesting this; it was great," she admits, pressing her wet lips to his, pulling apart only when Vincent splashes them.
"Time to go. I have another group to pick up."
"Well, Vincent, I don't follow orders," Damon quips, then wraps his arms tightly around Elena, kissing her softly.
Not to be outdone, Vincent swims behind Damon, raises up on his shoulders and dunks him. With a laugh, he quickly swims back to the boat.
Damon sputters and Elena laughs.
"Race ya." She calls behind her before swimming full tilt. Despite Damon's super strength, she still manages to beat him back to the boat by an arm's length. Her head start really must have really worked in her favor.
"I let you win," Damon says, attempting to save face.
It doesn't really matter though. They're both happy and laughing as they climb back aboard and Vincent tosses them each a towel. All too soon, Vincent has revved the engine and pointed the boat toward the landing. This part of the day is coming to a close, but that's okay because Damon is honestly looking forward to what still lies ahead.
"This is delicious," Elena gushes and sticks a piece of filet mignon in her mouth, her eyes closing as the flavors burst on her tongue.
"I do pride myself behind a grill," Damon boasts, picking up the bottle of Antinori Badia a Passignano to refill their glasses.
"This is the best chianti I've ever tasted," Elena remarks, taking another swallow. "Everything is delicious."
"Happy to be of service," he teases, and raises his glass, clinking it with hers.
"Thank you, Damon," she adds, emptying her glass.
"Do you like eggplant?" Damon asks out of the blue.
"Yes, I like it. Why?"
"I know this little Italian joint that has eggplant so good you actually think you're eating people," he teases, winking at her.
"That good?" Elena asserts, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
Damon nods and rises to his feet. "We'll go sometime." Having finished their meal, they clear off the table and clean up together. Taking the bottle of wine, they retreat to the living room and make themselves comfortable on the couch.
"So," Damon starts, "You must have questions..."
"I do...how did you become a vampire?"
"I want to be completely honest with you, Elena. After deserting, I returned to my small Virginia hometown...I was such a disappointment to my father. My younger brother was the golden child. He could do no wrong in Giuseppe's eyes."
"That must have been hard," Elena interjects, and lays her hand on his arm.
"When I got back, there was a girl – a woman really. She was a war orphan from Atlanta. High society, supposedly, though what she was doing in Mystic Falls…We never thought to question it. Know why now. Anyway, my father took her and her handmaiden in. Her name was Katherine. She was beautiful. A lot like you in that department. She was also very complicated and selfish and, at times, not very kind. But very sexy and seductive."
"And you fell head over heels?" Elena concludes.
"I did. When I found out she was a vampire, I wanted to be with her forever, so I willingly drank her blood. But it wasn't Katherine who turned me, it was actually my father."
"Your father was a vampire?"
"When my father shot me, I had Katherine's blood in my system. That's what turned me."
"But you gave me some of yours!" Elena gasps, slapping her hand over her mouth.
"You have nothing to worry about. It quickly passes out of your system. Vampire blood has healing properties. I'm always very careful with it for this reason. I don't just go into hospitals and start offering blood to every sick and dying patient. It's too risky. Accidents happen. Death can occur suddenly."
"Thank, God!" she sighs in relief before swallowing another mouthful of wine. Setting her glass down, she shifts to face him, "Um, have you made vampires?" Elena asks, drawing her lower lip between her teeth.
"I have. Not some of my finer moments," Damon admits, and empties his wine flute.
"Is that something you'd want for me?"
"Spending an eternity with you? Yeah, it's crossed my mind. But, please believe me when I tell you that I'd never turn you against your will."
Elena sucks in a breath. "I believe you...um, you said your father killed you?" she asks, changing the subject.
"Both me and my brother. Stefan had fallen in love with Katherine, too, and we both drank from her, although he always denied doing it willingly. One night, Katherine was taken. Stefan and I were going to save her. We were both a little naive and blind where she was concerned. What we didn't know at the time is that her capture was all part of a master plan to make everyone, us included, believe she was dead. One thing led to another, and father shot us both."
"That's hard to fathom."
"It was. Stefan couldn't handle human blood; it made him crazy. He'd go on binges where he'd kill a lot of people. Then he was back to drinking animal blood for decades before falling off the wagon again. It was a vicious cycle. He never learned to control that side of himself. He and I went our separate ways. I promised him a lifetime of misery..." Damon sighs, dropping his face in his hands for a few seconds.
"I don't understand?"
"You see, not only do you have to die with vamp blood in your system to become a vampire, you also have to drink human blood in order to complete the transition. Otherwise, you die. Most vamps don't have the luxury of knowing these facts. Most vamps awaken from their graves a slave to their newfound hunger, but Stefan and I had a mentor. We knew. We could choose. Death or unlife."
He became a vampire first; I had chosen to succumb. I believed Katherine was dead, and I didn't want to live without her. Stefan, however, had other plans. He brought a girl, pricked her neck, and when her blood pooled at the wounds, I didn't have the willpower to deny myself."
"Is that why you blamed him?"
"Yes, and as difficult as it was for me to admit, the cold hard reality of it is that I did have a choice. Now Stefan's gone, and I miss him. I truly do. I've never been a religious sort of fellow, but if there is a heaven, a hereafter, or another side, I hope that someday I'll see him again."
"I wish there was something I could say..."
"Just being here is enough. Thank you, Elena."
"Of course." Elena chews on her lip before braving the courage to asks, "but to be clear, you said you don't have to kill people?"
"No. Snatch, eat, erase."
"What if you were to drink from me?"
"That's a loaded question. I have to be honest with you, I want that. For a vampire, a bite, sharing blood with someone you care about, is a pleasure second only to sex..."
Elena lets out a long exhale. Before she can talk herself out of it, she takes his hands, pulls him to his feet and leads him up the stairs.
She finds it difficult to breathe as he comes to stand directly in front of her, the moonlight streaming through her window.
Damon raises a hand to cup the side of her face. His intense blue eyes glitter like jewels making Elena's heart skip a beat. He's such an amazingly sexy man. Yet again, he's the flame, and she's that idiot moth, unable to fly to him fast enough. As she looks into his eyes, her sandals slip from her hands and land softly on the carpet.
"What do you want?" he whispers.
"You," Elena says softly and leans her face into his hand, kissing his palm lightly. She looks back into his eyes. Damon inhales shakily as she runs her palms up his chest, taking extra time as her thumbs slide over his nipples. When she reaches his shoulders and starts to run her hands down his arms, he grips her wrists.
"You realize that you're playing with fire here, don't you, Elena?"
Elena could laugh at his choice of words. It's like he's read her mind. Instead, she pulls free of his grasp and steps deliberately closer to him so that her breasts touch his chest. His eyes close, and he inhales sharply.
"Then burn me, Damon," she whispers.
Damon's eyes darken.
Heat shimmers through her, and her heart thunders in her chest. Her gaze drops to his mouth...their lips meet halfway as he leans down and Elena rises up on her tiptoes. Damon wraps his arms around her, pulling her against him.
Elena kisses him back hungrily. She presses her body tight to his and thrusts her tongue forward to tangle with his. Her fingers trail up the sides of his neck to bury themselves in the short hairs at the back of his neck.
Damon groans, tightens his arms around her, and crushes her to his body. Her nipples ache with need as they press against his chest. Elena can feel his erection growing and pressing into her belly.
Their lips part and their gazes lock. Damon searches her eyes, silently asking a question only she can answer. Elena runs her fingertips down his jaw then strokes her hands over his shoulders and across his chest, heat surging through her at the feel of his muscles beneath her palms.
Damon captures her lips again, having received his answer, as his slide to cup her bottom, causing her back to arch and her center to press even closer to his obvious desire.
"Make love to me, Damon."
Damon obliges, eyes glittering, as he reaches for the hem of her dress and slips it carefully up her body and over her head.
"You are gorgeous." He rasps, and reaches for her breasts, cupping them in his hands. Elena groans in need. He strokes her for a few moments; then he sucks the tip of one of her nipples into his mouth. He nibbles and bites, causing intense pleasure to tear through her.
"Holy!" Elena gasps.
Damon moves to the other nipple and sucks, making her head spin. Still suckling, he strokes down her stomach and between her legs, allowing his fingers to slide underneath her panties, earning a moan from her.
"You're so wet."
"Were you expecting different?" her witty retort quickly becomes a groan when he runs a fingertip along her sensitive flesh.
Damon scoops her up and lowers her onto the bed. As soon as Elena feels the weight of Damon's body pressing her into the mattress, she raises her eyes to meet his.
"I need you...now, Damon."
"Not yet." Damon quickly strips out of his clothes before hooking his fingers in her panties and sliding them down her long legs. His lips move down her neck, over her shoulder, and to her breasts. His thumbs stroke over the nipples before his mouth pulls one in. His teeth rake against the tip and bite down; then he uses his tongue to soothe the sting.
"Damon!" Elena gasps, surprised at the desperate tone in her voice as anticipation rushes through her.
His hand strokes her from her breast to her hip to her thigh eliciting a whimpering moan. His lips, teeth, and tongue work at her breast as his fingers move to her inner thigh. A second later, Damon parts her legs, and his mouth teases along her inner thighs. He blows a puff of air across her most sensitive flesh, the sensation of even that small caress causing Elena to jerk and curl her toes. Then he's over her, and his length brushes her thigh, the tip pressing against her wetness.
She holds her breath as he stills, poised above her, right where she wants him.
"Now, Damon," she whimpers, raising her hips to urge him forward.
With that, Damon drives inside. Stretching her. Filling her.
Waves of dizziness waft through her. Elena clings to Damon's shoulders as he pushes deeper. Her need rockets out of control. She wraps her calves around him and pulls him tighter against her.
Damon lets his full body weight settle against her as he seizes her lips in a ferocious kiss. Then he's drawing back and gliding into her again. Raking her nails along his back, she cries out his name, and he groans in response.
When Damon thrusts forward the next time, she arches to meet him. Elena clings to him, as intense pleasure bursts inside of her.
He begins driving into her body with deliberate insistence, holding himself above her so he can watch. He thrusts deeply, his desire heightened by the broken moans of delight he incites with each foray inside her.
Elena swallows back her inhibitions and maybe a little fear, too. In a bold move, she offers her neck. Damon growls low in the back of his throat, a sound that intensifies her desire so much that she doesn't even feel it when his fangs sink into her flesh. Scorching hot fire licks at her veins when he starts to suck, causing her whole body to tremble. It's like dropping gasoline onto an already raging fire. She convulses in ecstasy from the roots of her hair all the way down to her toenails.
Screams echo off the walls, and she doesn't even realize they're coming from her own mouth. Just when Elena thinks she can't take anymore, Damon tightens his grip on the outsides of her thighs. The next thing she feels is the thick length of him pushing back into her body. She releases a small, breathy moan on each downward push. With each suck he makes on her neck, she feels something deep in her belly tugging, like it'll consume her at any minute.
Damon retracts his fangs and throws his head back. Elena watches her blood sliding down one side of his mouth just before he kisses her. The subtle metallic taste isn't as icky as she would have expected.
Elena drags her nails across his shoulders, back, and buttocks; her breathing is harsh and loud. At the very moment their bodies begin to spasm in tandem, she grinds against Damon's pistoning hips. Her inner muscles flutter and grip his length like a vise when her orgasm rocks through her like a detonating nuclear weapon.
Damon's thrusts become chaotic, seemingly spurred on by a primal need. Seconds later, he explodes with a long, serrated moan as he pumps inside of her, intensifying their pleasure. Finally, they both collapse in complete and utter satisfaction...
For several long moments they lay unmoving in the afterglow of their intense lovemaking. Damon wraps her in his arms when she snuggles up against him. Soon he feels little puffs of breath against his skin and the rise and fall of Elena's chest.
Turning his head to the side, he kisses her hair. Resting his head on the pillow, Damon stares at the ceiling as he tries to gather his thoughts. If any one moment in time anchored his soul, creating a tether to this plane of reality, it's this night. He's lived long enough to know that what he shared with Elena can't be replicated with anyone else. Whether his heart beats another decade or another hundred years; it's hers.
As much as he'd known that sex with Elena would be mind-blowing, nothing could have prepared Damon for this. This was more than just sex; it was more than even making love...it was the most sensual and erotic experience of his long life...
Big thanks to all of you. We all appreciate your support.
Big thanks also to Eva and Morgan. They're awesome people and great writers. Their screen names are jmfangs and siberia21.
Chapter title: 'Died In Your Arms' by Cutting Crew.
This week is the 81st year of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. We have a one-shot 'Renegade' set at the rally that was posted a couple of years ago.
Next time we'll return to our regularly scheduled drama ;D. Have a wonderful day and we'll see you next week.