Author's Note: I got another chapter almost done tonight, so I'll probably get a chance to get you one more chapter before we have a gap. Hope you enjoy this one. It answers a few questions that have been sort of left open and some of you guessed, you smart little cookies you!

Thanks to MissSherrie and Elohcin for prereading and pointing out my major oopsies. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 10

My mood was so good, half the school figured out without anyone whispering a word that I'd gotten laid over the weekend. This is how I ended up spending my Monday lunch holed up in my classroom with Elena, Bonne, and Caroline, gossiping while eating their lunches. I nibbled on a sandwich Damon handed me on my way out the door this morning while joining in on the fun.

"I still can't believe how much Damon has changed. Remember when he first came to town?" Caroline said, munching on some carrots and looking lost in memories.

I dropped my head on my desk. "Oh no, not her too."

Elena's crinkled nose told me all I needed to do, which led to the tiny bruise on my forehead from repeatedly banging my head against the hard wood until Elena stopped me.

"Carline's not exaggerating when she says Damon's changed. That was part of a scheme to get to me. It came to bite him in the ass when Caroline was changed and all of her memories came back."

I turned to Caroline cocking my head. "How did you come to be changed anyway?"

She rolled her eyes before all three girls said the single word in chorus, "Katherine."

I rolled my eyes, "Of course. I swear that crazy bitch is going to end up with a stake in her heart before this is all said and done…especially if she keeps creeping around my room and Damon."

Bonnie started giggling. "Oh yes, Stefan told us about the great Katherine seduction of 2011. I'm glad she fell flat on her face. That was great."

"The best part was Damon's reaction. It was priceless."

All three girls giggled, but it sort of gave me my in to bring up what I needed to ask Elena, and I guess Caroline too…considering. Ugh! I shivered and prayed no principals or school board members would happen to stumble in and overhear this next portion.

"Um, speaking of seductions, I have a question about…um…vampire sex. I guess this more goes toward Elena since Caroline's, ugh, experience was with Damon who already said that he'd never experienced anything like it before, but I just wanted to make sure. Uh…hum…when…when you and Stefan are…together."

The girls twittered before telling me to spit it out.

"When you're with Stefan, does anything strange happen?"

Elena frowned at me, "Like?"

I licked my lips and blushed. "Like, electricity? Like an instinct to drink from each other? Like…um…climaxes so strong you nearly break the bed?"

All three girls stared with wide eyes before they all squealed and leaned in closer. "No! I mean it's great, but you're talking like supernatural super sex?"

I nodded making them all blink before they began twittering again. "No, nothing out of the ordinary at least…but you HAVE to tell us more."

I spent the next ten minutes trying to find words to describe what it was like, the need to be closer than close and how drinking from one another sates that need and fills us with comfort and warmth. All three girls looked dazed before Caroline groused and folded her arms. "Boy did I get the crap end of THAT stick. Definitely nothing like that with me."

Elena shook her head slowly. "Me either, but it sounds…amazing! So you actually GROW fangs?"

I nodded, nibbling my lip and feeling exposed again, but the girl's quickly tried to comfort me before moving on to other less awkward subjects. All too soon, the bell rang ending our little gossip session. With sad waves, they left me to deal with the room full of juniors. The afternoon went well and I was eager to get home to Damon.

He was all smiles when I got home, tugging me to the couch and kissing me for a long time before he finally let me loose.

"I have something I want you to try." From the side table he pulled out a water bottle filled with thick red blood and poured a small amount into a crystal whiskey glass. "I want to see if human blood has the same effects as mine did."

I looked at the yucky thick liquid warily before taking the glass. I sniffed it, my nose crinkling before pulling it away.

"Ugh, I don't think I can, Damon. It smells disgusting and just the thought of it makes me want to gag."

Damon frowned before lifting the glass to sniff and shrugging. "What are you talking about? It smells fine." He took a small sip and hummed. "Tastes fine too. Here, just try it."

I grimaced at the glass as I took it to my hand and raised it to my lips, tipping it very slightly to barely allow the thick red stuff to get to my lips. I peeked my tongue out for a taste before yanking the cup away from my face gagging. Damon asked if I was okay when I jumped up and ran for the kitchen, spitting into the sink before turning on the water and washing my mouth out under the cold flow, spitting several times to make sure my mouth was free from the disgusting liquid.

Finally satisfied that I was blood free, I opened the fridge and grabbed out my bottle of Merlot, pulling the cork and drinking straight from the bottle. Damon stood beside me looking completely baffled as he stared at the bottle of blood before taking another sip.

"It tastes fine. I don't know what the problem is."

"I know what the problem is…it's blood."

"Yeah, well you didn't have any problem drinking blood this weekend." He replied making his typical Damon faces as he did, making me smile despite myself.

"That was different. I don't know how, but it was."

Damon cocked his head before crossing to my side of the counter and taking the merlot bottle from my hand, sitting it on the counter. He turned back to me, cupping my face in his hands.

"I'm glad, but I want to know what's going on with you. When Klaus comes, we want you as strong as possible. I don't want to have to worry about you not being able to defend yourself at all in the middle of everything."

I nodded and then he kissed me, sweetly, lovingly. The look on his face when he pulled away worried me though. "One more test, I'll keep the merlot right here just in case."

I frowned at him until he lifted his wrist to his mouth and bit. He extended his wrist to me in offering and I frowned at it until that smell, the essence of Damon, wafted up to me. I lowered my mouth to his wrist, cradling it in my hands as I suctioned my mouth to the wound, humming as the taste filled me. I looked up at him through my lashes, invigorated by the intense look of possession on his face. I took several long pulls before pulling away and licking the wound closed before licking my lips and teeth to savor every drop. The moment I was done, his lips were attached to mine again, probing, demanding, claiming. As a feminist, I probably shouldn't, but I loved the hell out of it.

When he finally pulled away, we were both panting and hot, wanting to run straight upstairs and fall into Damon's bed again, but knowing we shouldn't.

"So, why are you okay with my blood, but not perfectly good O negative?"

I sighed, wrapping myself around his chest, wishing we didn't have to worry about it. Damon's hands rubbed my back absentmindedly as the cogs worked in his head before he pulled back with a dangerous and angry look in his eyes.

"Either it's just my blood or it's vampire blood, and there's only one way to test that theory, but just the thought of it makes me want to KILL somebody."

I leaned back in confusion. "What? Why?"

His nostrils flared as he stared into the distance behind me. "Because it will mean drinking from Stefan."

"Why does that make you want to kill somebody?"

He looked down, his eyes filled with snark. "How would you feel if some chick, say Elena or Katherine were to drink from me?"

My vision went red and a kind of growl rose from my chest making him smile like a Cheshire Cat.

"Glad to see that the possession goes both ways. Like most predators, Vampires are very territorial over their kills and their…um…mates."

I cocked my head and narrowed my eyes at him as he took a breath. "It's not common in the vampire world to have true mating. As a rule the territorial over your kills thing sort of gets in the way of the mating thing, but thanks to my brother and his need to live here and be all civilized I've mellowed out enough to lose some of that…maybe because it's hard to be possessive of a plastic bag."

He rolled his eyes before continuing. "Anyway, in the rare cases where two vampires can stand to be in one place long enough and begin bonding on something beyond the basic physical level, a deeper bond forms known as mating. I haven't run across a mated pair in over a hundred years though, but it happens. I'm starting to believe that's the case here. I researched the electricity last night, and while there's not much available, there were some things that made me think that it's a mark of mating."

I frowned up at him, feeling rather odd. "Mating…"

He smirked down at me, running his hands along my abdomen just under my shirt, the tingling trail already bringing on my arousal. "It sounds so derogatory when you say it that way. I don't think the thought of being bound to me is that bad, is it?"

I giggled, wrapping my arms around his neck and playing with the hair at the base of his skull. "Is that why I fell so hard so fast for a guy that for all intents and purposes is bad for me?"

He licked his lips as his hands slid down over my bottom to grab my thighs, pulling me up to wrap myself around him. "That or my natural sex appeal and charm."

I threw my head back and laughed. "Yeah…Charm…that's it."

He landed a smack on my right butt cheek before carrying me up the back staircase to his bedroom where we enthusiastically mated twice before finally leaving the bedroom to eat supper and take care of my grading and other responsibilities. The discussion of me attempting to feed from Stefan didn't come up again that night.

Matter of fact, the issue was studiously avoided for two more nights before it resurfaced after midnight on Wednesday after I found unable to resist taking Damon's vein again. As we lay spent after reacting so strongly that we nearly broke the very sturdy bed, Damon finally sighed and brought up what he hadn't been able to stomach mentioning since Monday night.

"As much as the thought alone makes me want to tear his head off, we should do a test with Stefan's blood. The more we know, the better."

I rolled on my side, propping my head up on my arm as I ran my fingers along the ridges of his quite well shaped abs. "He's your brother, surely that should make it a little easier. It's not like he's some hot movie star I'll have my mouth all over." I chuckled at the rumble that rose from his chest.

"No, but seriously. Stefan is your brother and he's like a little brother to me too. For me the thought isn't even appetizing, much less alluring, and definitely NOT sexual…at all." I reflexively shivered at the very thought. Ugh!

Damon stared up at my eyes as his hand drifted across my arm that now rested on top of his stomach. "In my whole life, I only loved two women besides you, and both of them decided that they loved Stefan more than me, or didn't even love me at all. If that happened with you…"

He didn't get to finish that thought before my hand clamped over his mouth. "You don't even say that out loud. That's never, ever going to happen. Besides what I already told you about Stefan being like a brother, I couldn't. As much as it sucks, maybe the way things worked was fate saving you for me, because I've never come close to loving someone as much as I love you. It may be selfish and bitchy of me, but I'm grateful that they didn't get you because then I would never have found you."

In a flash, Damon was above me, kissing me with wild abandon as his hands caressed my cheeks. "I'm not sure how I ever got this lucky. I sure as hell didn't do anything to deserve you, but I'm so glad you're here."

I smiled up at him, running my hand through his hair. "Me too."

We fell together again, but this time it wasn't the overpowering, primal joining that usually happened when we came together, but rather a slow, gentle, emotional union. Damon kissed me softly and caressed my face as he moved above me. We reached our peaks not in roars, but in loving sighs before falling asleep wrapped together, content and warm.

The next morning, I woke to find Damon staring down at me as he leaned against the headboard, his hand running through my hair. "I already asked Stefan, he's going to help us tonight after school, so be ready."

I sat up and faced him, watching his reaction closely. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

He sighed, rolling his eyes and looking out the window before looking back at me. "I have to be."

I moved to straddle his legs, slipping my hands into his hair as I kissed him softly. "It's going to be okay. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Matter of fact, I'm just taking from his wrist right?"

He growled under me making me smirk. "Hear me out… I'm just taking from his wrist, right?" He nodded reluctantly. "What if I sit in your lap and look at you the whole time. Would that somehow make it easier?"

He frowned thinking about it a moment. "I'll hold your hand and look into your eyes the whole time. It's just a taste test, like a wine tasting. Would you be jealous of a wine goblet? Because at that point, that's all he'll be, a very hairy wine goblet."

When I crinkled my nose at the hairy comment, a small smile played at the corner of his lips, his eyes dancing slightly before nodding a little. "Yeah, that might help."

I smiled, "Great! Now do I have to shower all by myself or do I get some help again?"

I was standing on the floor and the water was turned on in the shower before I had a chance to say more. I giggled before moving to the bathroom and stepping into the seamless glass enclosure where Damon was already waiting with a wicked smile.

School went fast, although Stefan and I both were a little tense and awkward in class. We both knew that this was going to be weird for all of us and very hard on Damon. It was still better than the only other option, which was Katherine. There was no way in hell I was going to drink anything from that bitch. Surprisingly enough, I hadn't seen her since the morning of her little threat. I had a sneaking suspicion she'd been given an ultimatum of her own in regard to me, which pleased me to no end.

School ended and I packed up my things slowly, dreading what I was facing once I got home. Unfortunately what I found at home didn't ease my fears any. Damon was in a foul mood, grousing around the house and responding to anything and everything with biting sarcasm. I put my stuff away and changed into a track suit before coming back downstairs and sitting next to him, taking his hand. It hurt my feeling a little when he pulled his hand out from under mine and stared at the fire already burning in the fireplace.

"Damon?" No response. "Damon, look at me."

He finally turned to look at me, his eyes stony and cold, his jaw tight. "We don't have to do this, Damon. This was your idea, not mine, not Stefan's. If it's bothering you this much then we shouldn't."

A muscle in his jaw jumped as he tightened it again as he looked back at the fire before he sighed, never looking away from the dancing flames. "No, we need to know. It's important."

I got up from the couch and positioned myself between him and the fire, resting my hand on his knee. "I don't want to do this if it's going to affect you like this. Let's just forget about it. We already know you make me stronger. What more do we need to know?"

He finally looked at me as if he saw me, the edge of his mask slipping. "What if I can't be there? What if you need more to survive than you can get from me? We need to know."

I sighed, my eyes stinging with tears. "W…Would it be easier if I tried drinking from..." I cleared my throat and could feel my nose crinkling as I forced out the name. "Katherine..instead?"

He closed his eyes before a slow chuckle escaped from his chest. "As hard as it was for you to say it, I think not. That is about how I feel about you taking from Stefan."

I shook my head. "Then let's forget it. I don't need to know. I don't even want to know. Let's just forget about the whole thing and go hang out in our room." I smirked as I said our room since one of our projects Tuesday night was to give in and start moving some of my belongings into his bedroom. It didn't seem to bother him, as I worried it might, for his mancave to be encroached upon, but he took it like a man.

He looked back and forth between my eyes a few times before finally blowing out a breath. "No, let's just get this over with and then we'll know."

He stood up, tugging me with him and led me to the kitchen where Stefan and Elena were sitting, eating supper together at the counter. As we walked in, they both stiffened just like us. Things were awkward as we arranged the room for what we were about to do. Elena looked just as uncomfortable as me while the boys glared at each other.

Once Damon was settled in a chair in front of the sink, I draped myself across his lap, my hand buried in his hair while Stefan broke the skin of his wrist and offered it to me. As soon as it got close, Damon began to growl, glaring at his brother, his skin beginning to mottle and his irises getting bigger and bigger. On instinct, I yanked on his hair, making him look at me.

"Ignore him, Damon. He's just the wine goblet, remember? I Love You, not him, not anybody else, only you."

I gestured with my free hand for Stefan to move closer again. It took a moment because in the delay his body had healed itself. Soon his hand was before me again and Damon glared at it as I reached for it to position it at my mouth. I yanked his hair so he looked at me again; my nose crinkling before Stefan's arm even met my mouth. I could already tell that the smell was all off and the taste wouldn't be right, but I wasn't gagging. I locked eyes with Damon and reached my tongue out to lick at the puncture wound once while Damon growled again under me.

My mouth puckered with the almost sour taste, almost like sucking on a lemon, but I didn't get sick. Damon's eyes searched mine as I pushed Stefan's arm away and reached beside me for the merlot, uncorking it and guzzling the liquid before looking at Damon again with watery eyes.

"It didn't make me sick like the human blood, but it wasn't exactly good either. It was sour and off, not like yours. I could survive off of it if I had to, but I don't really care for it."

Damon growled again, crushing his lips to mine in a maneuver I sensed was claiming possession before he finally released me, relief in his eyes. Satisfied that he was okay, I turned back to Stefan and Elena, thanking them for helping before getting up off of Damon and pulling him to follow me with the wine bottle in my hand. I led him up the stairs to our room, leaving him on the bed while I moved to the tub to draw a warm bubble bath. I went to the cupboard that he stashed his glasses and alcohol in, grabbing out two wine goblets before gesturing for him to join me in the bathroom.

He smiled dangerously as he stalked after me into the bathroom, capturing me from behind and tugging at my clothes. I let him help me into the bath, taking care of me before issuing his claim over me, submitting to his need to prove to the world he was mine by partaking of my blood and then having me partake of his. It was an intoxicating evening that left we weak and exhausted, but it was worth it for the peace of mind Damon seemed to have gained from what we learned about my nutritional needs as well as my emotional ones. I think in some way I had finally made him understand that his fears of abandonment weren't valid with me, because the only thing that might ever come between me and him now was the curse and the job I still had to do in order to save Elena and her friends.