CHAPTER 4

Salvatore Boarding House – One Month Later

Damon used vamp speed to press Elena against the wall. "Damon, what are you doing?" Elena hissed as she struggled against his hold on her.

"You said you wanted to learn self-defense. This is your first lesson – what to do if someone sneaks up behind you like I just did." His voice was low and seductive as he backed up a few inches giving her some space to turn around.

Elena slowly turned around. "Maybe I know how to take care of myself better than you think." She rose to the challenged.

"Then show me and I'll tell you where you went wrong." Damon said.

Elena's eyes were locked with his for a second before they were drawn to the lips that had uttered those words. Her eyes then locked on his eyes again. "How about this move?" She said as she kicked him in the groin with her knee, catching him completely off guard.

"Owwww! Not the family jewels. Didn't…didn't…expect…that…from you!" Damon gasped out in pain as he dropped to his knees onto the floor.

Elena slipped from his grasp to a few feet away. When she turned around he was still on his knees doubled over in pain.

"Damon? Are you alright? Damon? There was no response from him. It was the rare occasion that she had seen Damon this vulnerable. "Damon?" She ran to his side dropping to her knees trying to comfort him by embracing him. "I didn't mean to kick you that hard." When he lifted his head, a sly and devilish grin appeared. That little crooked one that was so charming and yet could be so damn irritating. The realization hit her that she had fallen for it.

Damon deftly had her on her back in one breath. His leg was between hers. "Lesson number one - Never, ever go back to check on your attacker." He said.

"I know that, Damon." Elena replied.

"Then why did you?" Damon questioned.

"Because I thought I had really hurt you." Elena said hesitantly.

"Lesson number two. You didn't hurt me that badly. I'm a vampire remember. Though I must admit that knee of yours hurt a helluva a lot. He said exaggerating the latter. "Now if I was still human, I'd say you made it impossible for me to ever…procreate.

Damon positioned himself so that he straddled her thighs without hurting her. "Now the question is what do I do with you now that I have you like this." He smiled devilishly. He caught sight of the patch of bare skin peeking out from beneath her shirt.

"Damon! No don't. I'm ticklish." Before she could get the words out it was too late. His finger delicately traced a line up her belly and then back down again. It was almost undetectable and yet sensual. She let out a gasp. He continued to caress her in that way and then switched to tickling her causing her to burst in loud laughter. "Damon…STOP!" Elena gasped out between fits of giggles and laughter.

"Make me tough girl." He shot back.

Elena struggled to free herself, but couldn't – not when she couldn't stop laughing to the point tears were starting to fall. No matter which way she twisted her body, she couldn't get him to stop.

Her laughter was infectious and Damon loved it. He didn't get to see her like this often. The last time he got her to smile was at the '60s dance to take her mind off doomsday. Her smile lit up the room and he'd like to think that he saw a hint of something else in her eyes at the time. He rolled her over so that she was on top of him. Now he was the one in the vulnerable position.

"I'm giving in. You're on top now." Damon said as he brushed her hair out of her face and framed her face with his hands.

"It doesn't count if you let me win." Elena said as she tried to resist what he was making her feel with just his touch.

"Just this time it does." Damon responded softly as he let his fingers trace her lips.

Elena leaned forward so that she was close enough to feel his breath on her face. "No, somehow I think you'll always let me win." She said as Damon brushed her hair away from her face. An unseen force seemed to be slowly drawing her closer to him – to his mouth.

Damon watched her lean in closer. He wanted her so badly right at this moment that he could feel his jeans becoming increasingly tighter, but if he learned anything from the past it's patience. She had to be ready to take that step. As her lips drew closer to his, he couldn't resist meeting her half way until their lips touched. Her lips parted and so did his.

"Ahem…how many bedrooms are in this house?"

Elena looked up to see Jeremy standing across the room. "What are you doing here?" Elena blushed as she got up, practically stumbling over Damon while adjusting her clothing at the same time. "Damon was just teaching me some self-defense moves." Elena stuttered in embarrassment.

"Oh, is that what that they're calling it? Whatever!" Jeremy teased.

"Shut up, baby Gilbert. Haven't you heard of knocking first?" Damon said as he got to his feet. The smile betrayed the feigned annoyance in his tone. "What do you want?" Damon crossed behind him to the bar and poured a drink to deflect from the awkwardness of the moment in which he and Elena had been discovered, as well as to calm his libido.

"Is something wrong, Jeremy? Elena asked curious as to why Jeremy needed to see Damon.

"Nothing is wrong. I just need to talk to Damon about something." Jeremy replied.

"Okay, I guess that's my cue to leave since this is obviously going to be a privately conversation. See you later at home, Jeremy and Damon, thanks for the lesson." Elena smiled as she walked out of the room.

"What gives between you two?" Jeremy asked eyeing him suspiciously.

"Nothing." Damon replied. Draining the contents of the glass. "Now what do you want?"

"Something strange happened to me that night - the night I got shot." Jeremy said.

"You died, and you returned from the dead." Damon wanted him to get to the point.

"Later that night I saw Vicki and Anna." Jeremy continued.

Damon turned around, a frown visible on his face. "You what?"

"I know it's weird, but I saw both of them. I saw their ghosts." Jeremy said not quite believing he was stating this out loud to someone. "I felt strange after I got home…like…I don't know. Then later I saw them."

Damon was silent for a moment, but came up empty for an explanation. "Don't you have enough problems having Bonnie for a girlfriend without bringing two vampire ex's back from the other side?"

"Damon! Be serious for a minute!"

Damon reconsidered what Jeremy had just told him, "Are you just concerned about having seen them or are you afraid that you've gained something extra from that experience with death?"

"What are you saying? Jeremy asked.

"You see dead people, Jeremy. That should be a clue." Damon replied. "Maybe you're a ghost whisperer", he continued.

"A what? Nah, that can't be" said Jeremy. Though he tried to brush it aside, he couldn't help but wonder if it's true.

"Come back to me if they have any words of wisdom like how I can locate Stefan." Damon said.

"Do you think he'll return on his own?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't know, Jeremy. I hope he does because I'm fresh out of leads." Damon said quietly.

Klaus had brought into the house a big screen TV and mounted it on the wall one day within the past week. "Why the TV Klaus. I never pictured you as a fan of such inventions?" Katherine asked. "Or maybe you want to catch up on the latest episode of "True Blood."

Klaus laughed. "Oh, Katerina, your sarcasm is very becoming, but I'm not a fan of vampire impersonators. I want to check up on what the locals are saying about our nightly adventures." Klaus informed her. Klaus flipped through the various channels stopping on news broadcasts. He lucked out on one.

"12 Missing Persons Are Feared Dead. Probable Animal Attack."

Klaus smiled in hearing the headline for the 6 o'clock news. The humans had no clue what lurked in their town just as they hadn't a clue that a monster was in their midst in Mystic Falls. He and Stefan had gone out the night before. It was easy pickings to snatch and grab these humans. Some were caught completely by surprise while others he could sense the fear in their heart when they realized they wouldn't live to see another day.

"Katerina, I need you do something for me tonight." Klaus said.

"And what is that?" Katherine responded with contempt in her voice.

"We're having a sort of party here tomorrow night and I'm going need you to keep our guests occupied."