for the second time in as many days, Elena woke alone in bed, the space beside her still warm from Damon's body, the sound of water hitting porcelain through the thin wall announcing his whereabouts.
she smiled a cat-who-ate-the-canary smile and stretched luxuriously.
god, she'd never known sex could be like that, could be so staggering both emotionally and physically, so tender and rough all at once. he'd made her laugh, made her sob his name. she'd made his eyes go black with desire. it made her feel powerful and beautiful and intoxicated. it was safe to say that Elena Gilbert didn't need alcohol these days. she was drunk on Damon Salvatore.
she sat up in bed, stretched again and considered, with something like awe, that even though they'd come together - literally, she thought with a grin - countless times during the night, she still yearned for him only hours later.
in a moment of impulsive inspiration, she tossed aside the sheets, naked as a jaybird and utterly unselfconscious, deciding that the perfect way to start the day was waiting right on the other side of the bathroom door.
she walked toward it with a tingling sense of anticipation.
in the shower, Damon scrubbed soap angrily over his skin, wondering if he'd ever rid himself of her scent, loathing his vampire hyperawareness which only seemed to intensify when it came to Elena.
in his head he heard her whispering Stefan's name over and over in the night, the word a searing brand on his brain.
scowling, he shoved that head back under the scalding spray of water as if to burn the sleepy murmur from his memory.
at the sound of the knob turning, his neck whipped in the direction of the door. and every cell of his being shot to attention at the image of Elena, standing in the doorway, wearing a small smile and nothing else.
now that she stood in front of him, she found herself feeling suddenly shy, even a little awkward.
"hi," she managed, acutely aware of her nakedness.
"hi," he managed, acutely aware of her nakedness.
"i thought..." lord, how ridiculous was her hesitation after the night they'd spent together? she cleared her throat determinedly and forced a cheeky grin. "i thought you might like company."
her eyes skimmed his body, widened at the sight of the hard length of them. those eyes were lit with humor when they met his again.
"apparently i would," he said, forcing a grin of his own.
"so i see."
hating himself for being so powerless against his own love for her, he slid the glass door open. hesitation vanishing in an instant, Elena crossed the bathroom, stepped into the little shower stall and slid her arms around him, planting a long, sumptuous kiss on that sexy, devastating mouth of his.
"good morning," she told him, running her hands up and down the length of his muscled back.
"it's looking like it," he answered with a lightning grin.
he emptied his mind of everything but the feel of her skin against his, her smooth softness against his rough palms, the sounds of her breathy sighs. he backed her up against the tiled wall of the shower, used his legs to nudge hers apart. his fingers found her, hot, wet, ready. in one fluid motion he yanked her up; she automatically opened for him. in one deep, animal thrust, he filled her, his mouth covering hers and swallowing her stunned gasp of pleasure.
he drew back far enough to look down at her. her eyes were closed, her mouth curved.
"look at me, Elena," he told her. he wouldn't let her forget which Salvatore held her in his arms, wouldn't let her forget the magic between them.
she did as he asked, looking up at him through slumbrous bedroom eyes.
"say my name," he instructed, hypnotizing her with his brilliant gaze.
"Damon..."
"again."
"Damon."
"again."
"Oh God, Damon."
each time she said it he drove deeper into her, their eyes locked. nothing on earth could make either look away.
it was his name on her lips as her eyes went blind. moments later he followed her over the edge and into the gloriousness darkness of oblivion.
and even as he crested that delicious wave of passion, he heard it in the back of his mind. heard Elena's voice caressing his brother's name even as she slept beside him.
he so desperately wanted to hate her for it.
but oh-so-predictably, he hated himself instead.