***ADULT CONTENT***

I don't know why but I'm super self-conscious posting about the 'adult content' chapters. Thoughts/opinions are always appreciated

Sooo this is kind of the beginning of the end for this this story and I wondered if anyone would like me to continue with these characters stories. If you need to see how this one ends before you decide I totally get that, but I thought I'd put it out there and see what you all think about a "to be continued" ending.

xoxo

Chapter 9

The door clicked shut behind her and Elena turned back to face Damon. His eyes were hooded and he was watching her intently. She knew that look. She'd seen it several times yesterday afternoon and she tried to think of a way to stall him. She had to convince him to let her stay. He took a long sip of his wine and set the glass down.
"Damon…" she started.

There was a gust of air and suddenly he was standing by her chair, staring down at her with that same penetrating gaze.

"Do I have to throw you over my shoulder?"

"Just hold on for two minutes. I have to talk to you about something" she said holding her hands palms up at him.

"You have two minutes. Go."

Elena's mind raced, there was so much she wanted to say to him but she didn't know how to say any of it. She went with the first thing that popped into her head "I don't want to leave you."

e He He"Time's up"

Before she could say another word, he'd dragged her from the chair and into his arms. His lips crashed into hers and she resisted for the briefest of moments before her back connected with the wall behind them. He pinned her arms over her head and his mouth pressed urgently against hers. She tried but for the life of her she couldn't remember why she'd been fighting him and with a groan, she kissed him back. Releasing her arms, he slipped a hand under her thigh to lift her leg and grind against her core. She felt fire ignite in her veins as she tugged at the hem of his shirt, breaking the kiss to yank it over his head. Admiring his sculpted form she scored her nails lightly down his chest, earning a hum of pleasure from low in his chest. He tore at the zipper of her jeans and shoved them down her hips along with her underwear. She kicked them off her feet along with her boots and went for his pants, struggling momentarily with the buttons. When she finally got them off she found him still commando.

"Seriously, do you own underwear?" she asked.

"Nope" he was making quick work of her shirt and as soon as he had her naked, he dragged them to the floor with her knees on either side of his hips. Tentatively, she reached between them and brushed her fingers over the hard length resting against his belly. Encouraged by the shudder she felt go through him, she wrapped her hand around him and stroked him experimentally. The skin was silky but hard at the same time and when she slid her hand over the tip, a tiny drop of clear liquid appeared. Something primal inside her kicked in and she tipped her head down to lick it away.

"Fuck, Elena…" he groaned and grabbed her hips.

There was no waiting this time. He needed to be inside her now. Reaching between them, he dipped his finger in her already wet folds and positioned himself at her entrance. Gripping her waist firmly, he pushed her hips down and impaled her on his length. Her breath hitched and she whimpered. She wasn't as ready for him this time and he waited a moment for her to adjust. Slowly, he raised her off him and set her back down on his shaft. Tilting her head back she sighed with a sensual smile on her lips. Damon groaned and lifted her again. He used his hands to guide her hips up and down on top of him, absorbed in watching her pleasure stricken face. It took her a couple of minutes but eventually he felt her set her own rhythm and he ran his hands up her sides to cup her breasts. Elena leaned into his touch, curtaining them with her long dark locks as he brought her nipple to his mouth. She gasped and ground her hips against him. Her movements got faster and her gasps turned to tiny cries as he kissed and nipped at every bit of skin he could reach. Her arms were braced on his chest with her nails biting into his flesh and her eyes focused on his as she rode him harder. Feeling her walls start to flutter around him, he sat up and pulled her legs around his waist so they were sitting face to face. He kept his eyes locked on hers as his fangs dropped down and he saw no trace of fear on her features. Instead she pressed herself closer and moaned deep in her throat when his razor sharp teeth sank into the soft skin of her chest.

"Damon!" she screamed as he pumped his hips upwards and sucked slowly on the tiny puncture wounds.

He pulled away, blood dripping from his pointed incisors "Shhh you're going to wake up the whole house" he whispered, giving her a wicked smile.

Looking momentarily embarrassed, she nodded and pulled her lower lips between her teeth.

It was selfish but he never wanted her to feel like this with anyone else, he wanted this experience to be something no one else could give her so he bit into the heel of his hand and held it up to her lips.

"At the same time" he demanded, knowing it would drive them both over the edge.

She didn't hesitate, covering the wound with her mouth and drinking greedily. Pulling her close against him, he buried his sharp teeth in her neck and drove deep into her over and over. He felt her body clamp down around him just as she dragged her face away from his hand, gasping and clawing at his shoulders.

"I can't…oh god, I'm going to scream. Damon…" she whispered frantically against his neck.

Never slowing his thrusts, he moved his mouth from her throat to her bloodstained lips, forgetting to retract his fangs. He almost apologized when he nicked her tongue but she surged forward, deepening the kiss.

She could taste her blood mixed with his as he smothered her cries with his mouth. The flavor was like nothing else, it was them, their taste, and she couldn't enough of it. Little stars started skipping around her vision when he sucked at the blood flowing from her tongue. Every pull he took from the gash in her mouth, every pump of his hips, set fire to her skin and had flames of desire licking their way through her entire being. The grip Damon had on her hips would almost certainly leave bruises but there was no pain, only the feeling of their bodies crashing together. Somehow his hand had made its way between them and he was pressing his thumb down on just the right spot to send her spiraling. He pulled away from the kiss and she buried her face in his shoulder.

"Come for me, Elena" he purred and lapped at the blood that had trickled down her collarbone.

Her lungs struggled for breath and the world spun around her as jolts of pleasure shot from her brain all the way down to her toes. He groaned against her skin and she felt him empty himself deep inside her. He fell back against the floor and she collapsed on his chest, both of them trying to catch their breath. They laid there for a while, with nothing but the sound of her heart pounding between them. When her breathing settled, she realized the sun had fully risen in the sky.

Today is the day she thought.

"Please don't make me go" she pleaded, clinging to his body as tight as she could.

"Elena…" he ran his fingers over her hair.

"Please, Damon" her throat closed up at the thought of leaving this place, leaving him.

"You aren't a pet, Elena. I can't keep you here forever and if you stay, I'll never let you leave"

"Why would I leave? Where would I go?"
"Anywhere. Go anywhere. Travel, fall in love, get married, have a baby. Have a life, Elena."

"But I want a life with you, Damon" she insisted. She hated crying but she couldn't control the single tear that rolled down her cheek. He sat up with her in his lap and pushed the hair out of her face.

"Look at me" he said gently, brushing the tear away.

She met his eyes reluctantly "Don't you dare compel me, Damon Salvatore."

"I won't if you promise you'll go when this is over. I need you to have a chance at normalcy, I need you to try and be a regular human being. Please, Elena. Will you do that for me?" Everything in her wanted to refuse to leave his side ever again but she could see how much this meant to him. His chance at a human life had been stolen from him and she couldn't be angry at him for wanting to give her what he could never have.

"Fine" she agreed "but if normal doesn't work for me then you have to let me come back."

This gave him pause. There were four people currently living, or semi-living, who knew where the Salvatore mansion was. The Bennett witch who was around when he built it put a powerful cloaking spell on the house and every witch after her had maintained it. You had to hand it to the Bennett's, they didn't do half-assed spells. A person had to be told the location of the house to remember where it was and it wasn't information he shared often. Damon stared into her warm brown eyes and scolded himself for hesitating. She had trusted him with her life and her body, the least he could do was trust her with his address.

"Deal. You try normal for one year, if it doesn't work you can come back" he caved in and allowed a small, secret part of him to hope that she would come back to him.

"Promise?" she asked.

"I promise"

"Pinky swear" she demanded and held up her little finger.

"What are you, twelve?" he laughed at her.

She raised her eyebrows at him, "I take pinky promises very seriously."

He sighed and linked his pinky with hers "I pinky swear"

"Thank you" she said and kissed him "Now I need coffee"

"You make coffee, I'm going to shower"

"Ok but I'm not sure I can stand up"

Lacing his arms under her backside, he stood up and set her down on her favorite seat at the island.

"Thanks"

"Anytime" he leaned down to kiss her thoroughly before zipping upstairs to his shower, resisting the urge to whistle.

Elena found his black t-shirt on the floor and pulled it over her head, inhaling his scent. She pulled her jeans on, taking a page from Damon's book and foregoing the underwear that had disappeared somewhere. Padding around the kitchen, she opened cabinets looking for coffee. She was about to climb on top of the counter when there was a flurry of movement behind her.
"Looking for this, love?" Klaus asked with a bag of coffee in his hand.

"Is there a rule somewhere that says vampires have to sneak up and scare the crap out of people?" she demanded angrily.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to frighten you" he was wearing his sly smile and he didn't look remotely sorry.

"I guess I should be used to it by now" she muttered under her breath.

He chuckled "I'll put the coffee on to make up for it."

"You're forgiven" she said immediately and sat down.

After he'd started the coffee, he turned to examine her.

"For the record, I think he's a proper idiot for making you leave and I've told him as much."

Elena smiled at him "Thank you. That means a lot coming from you"

"I've still got to help him go through with this plan but I'm going to be very disappointed if you're not back here in one year"
"Trust me, I will be" she assured him.

"You should tell him before you go."

"Tell him what?" she said, averting her eyes and suddenly becoming very interested in the coffee pot behind him.

"Don't be coy with me. Tell him, Elena. He needs to hear it."

She met his steady gaze reluctantly and nodded "I will."

"Good. Your coffee is done and I have an errand to run" he stopped at the doorway and turned back to her "Bring Caroline a cup of that will you? Light and sweet. She's going to be angry that I snuck off so early."

"I will" she smiled at him.

"I like you, Elena" he said before he turned to leave.

"I like you, too" she said surprised at his confession.

He laughed loudly at that "Now there's something I don't hear often" and he disappeared.

She shook her head at the strange encounter and poured two cups of coffee, hers with just sugar and Caroline's with plenty of cream and sugar. She got all the way to the top of the stairs before she realized she didn't know which room was Caroline's.

"Care? Are you up here?"

There was a rustling noise before Caroline's very sleepy face popped out from behind the door at the end of the hall.

"Elena? Where's Klaus?" her eyes were still half closed.

"Uh he had to leave but I have coffee"

Caroline's arm reached out and her hand made a grabbing motion. Elena hurried down the hall and handed it to her.

"Mmm thanks" she said after the first sip "Come in, I have to get dressed" she held the door open and Elena stepped into Girl Land. Caroline was digging through an overflowing closet in her pink flannel pajama pants. The walls were a cheerful light yellow and gauzy white curtains covered the windows.

"I bet Damon hates this room" she commented

Caroline grinned at her "One of its many perks"

"So I'm leaving after today" Elena choked on the words.

"What? No!" Caroline dropped the dress she was holding and put her hands on her hips.

"He wants me to try and be normal for a year. Whatever that is….But I'm coming back after that"

"And you think you will? Come back?" she didn't sound convinced as she pulled a green sundress over her head.

"I know I will. I'll miss you too much"

Caroline's eyes welled with tears "I'm going to miss you, too"

Elena set her cup down seconds before she was pulled into a fierce hug.

"Breakable human here" she rasped.

"Oops"

The death grip relaxed and Elena hugged her back.

It had been a long time since he'd thought of anyone else, felt badly for hurting people, or felt anything at all for that matter, but when he overheard the exchange down the hall he'd actually felt bad for Caroline Forbes. It hadn't occurred to him that he wasn't the only one who had grown attached to Elena.

"Pull it together, Salvatore" he mumbled to himself and wandered out of the bathroom to get dressed.

All three of them were sitting at the top of the steps laughing when he came out of his room.

"Good morning, ladies" he smirked at Elena, earning himself a light flush on her cheeks.

Bonnie sighed audibly, clearly disappointed that girl time was over "Klaus will be back soon. We should start" she said.

He nodded "Blondie, come help me"

"Ok" Caroline hopped up and headed down the stairs.

"Elena, you should come with me" Bonnie said carefully and stood up with her hand held out.

She took the other girl's hand and glanced nervously back at him as they headed down the stairs.

"Wait!" she stopped midway and ran back to him, throwing herself into his arms and clinging to him. Bonnie gave him a tiny smile and continued down the staircase.

"Hey" he said gently and pulled her face up to look at him "what's wrong?"

Her expression was impossible to read and she was gnawing at her lip again "You're going to chew a hole in your lip. What's the matter?"

"Nothing is the matter. That's the problem. I don't know what's going to happen today and even if it's completely crazy, I have to say it. I love you, Damon. I love y…"

He cut her off with a fiery kiss before he stared back down at her in wonder.
"I love you, Elena" telling her felt like a weight being lifted off his chest. Hearing her say those three little words was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

"Damon I…"

He shushed her and kissed the top of her head "We just have to get through this day, ok? Then we'll talk about it."
She nodded and pressed her lips to his before taking off down the stairs.

Bonnie was in the dining room when Elena found her setting a long ornate dagger on the table.

"Ummm" she backed away a little.

"It's for ceremony purposes only, I swear. It'll be a tiny nick on your hand. It won't even leave a scar" Bonnie promised.

She took a few hesitant steps into the room "What are they doing downstairs?" she asked

"Getting Stefan"

"What do you mean 'getting Stefan'?" she asked, not entirely sure she wanted the answer.

"Did you think I was going to conjure him out of thin air? Grams preserved him with a spell and he's in a coffin downstairs"

"That is the creepiest thing I've ever heard"

Bonnie stared at her with her wide grin "You've spent almost a week in this house and that's the creepiest thing you've ever heard?"

Maybe it was the utter strangeness of the entire situation, maybe they were both a little hysterical over what was about to happen, but they burst out laughing at the same time. Elena was still trying to control the fit of giggles when she heard them coming up the stairs. The knot returned to the pit of her stomach.

"We can just get this part out of the way now" Bonnie reached for her hand and Elena reluctantly held it out to her. She tried but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the tip of the blade as it pierced her hand and blood poured out into a small copper bowl. The wound stung as it bled, filling the bowl more than halfway. Then Bonnie grasped her hand and whispered over it.

"Not as fast as vampire blood but it does the trick" the witch turned her hand over to show her a small cut that was already pink and healing.

"Didn't even hurt" she lied.

Bonnie gave her a knowing smile as Damon and Caroline came in with a large coffin on their shoulders. They set it gently on the table and Elena shuddered. It was still weird to think there was a body downstairs the whole time she'd been here. Damon flipped the upper lid open to reveal a grayish corpse with veins protruding all over its skin. Elena could see he'd been a handsome man when he was alive but she backed away and wrinkled her nose. She'd never seen a dead body before, let alone a dead vampire.

"Creepy, huh?" Damon commented glibly and she nodded, unable to look away from the coffin.

"He's less creepy and more broody when he's not dead" he told her.

She smirked at him, only Damon would crack jokes over his brother's dead body.

Klaus was suddenly standing in the archway looking panicked and Elena's heart instantly started to pound. If Klaus was worried, then it couldn't be good news.

"He wasn't there" he said to Damon.

"What do you mean he wasn't there?"

"I mean I stood there for a bloody hour and he never showed!"

Damon looked to Bonnie and she shook her head "I can't do anything without the stake"

"Goddamnit!" he shouted

"Elena, can I see your hand?" Bonnie asked

She cringed inadvertently.

"No more cuts, I just want to see something"

Elena held out her hand and the witch closed her cool fingers over her own. There was a jolt that felt like a tiny electric shock and then Bonnie let go.
"He's here. Grayson Gilbert is somewhere on the property.

"You sent Klaus to meet my uncle?" she glared at Damon.

"Life tip: if you have a meeting with someone who wants to kill you, you call in a favor to your un-killable friend" he told her unapologetically and turned to Bonnie "Can you see where he is?"

She reached out to Elena again and Elena grabbed her hand without pause. The little shockwave of power rolled through her again but this time Bonnie didn't let go. She squeezed her eyes shut and her brows furrowed as she gripped Elena's hand a little tighter before finally releasing her.

"He's close and he's been using the stake. I can feel his rage, Damon. It's bad."

He turned to face Elena "What is wrong with the men in your family? Do they enjoy making life difficult?" he demanded angrily.

"I…" before she could finish her thought there was a crash at the front door.

"Apparently they have issues with doorbells too…" he muttered, thinking back to the last Gilbert to burst through that door.

"Let me talk to him" she said to Damon.

"No, you three stay here. You don't know what that fucking stake does to people."

He and Klaus took off down the hall. The girls stood and stared at each other for a moment.

"Well screw that!" Caroline said and stormed off after them with Bonnie and Elena right behind her.

It had been nearly a decade since he'd laid eyes on Grayson Gilbert but the man had not aged well. Damon barely recognized him as he stood in the foyer, stake in hand and his once lively green eyes filled with hate. His usually attractive face was covered in three day old scruff. The button down shirt he wore might have been blue once but now it was stained with dirt and blood and his khakis were ripped in several places.

"This whole escaped madman thing isn't really working for you, Gilbert" Damon mocked him.

"Where is Elena?" the other man snarled.

"Elena is fine. Why don't you give me the stake and you can take her home right now" he said as calmly as he could. He was going to at least try for tactful.
"Fuck you, monster" he raised the stake and charged Damon. So much for diplomacy he thought. This time there was no Isobel or Stefan to distract him and, even with the power from the stake fueling Grayson on, Damon moved easily out of the way. Grayson tumbled face first into the floor with a feral growl. He shoved himself back up fast as lighting and charged again. Klaus stepped in front of him and the stake went straight into his sternum.

He made a tsking sound and wagged his finger at Grayson "Now that wasn't very nice."

Klaus tore the stake from his chest and Grayson backed away, his expression baffled.

"You…you're the hybrid."

"Oh good, you've heard of me. That will save us both a bit of time" Klaus threw the stake across the room and advanced on him.

"Wait! Please, don't hurt him!" Elena burst into the room just as Damon was picking up the cursed stick where Klaus had thrown it.

Klaus stopped three feet from his prey and glared at Elena. Bonnie and Caroline skidded to a halt at the doorway and Damon heard Caroline's surprised gasp. Elena had placed herself between her uncle and Klaus with her arms up. Damon resisted the impulse to grab her and pull her out of harm's way. He was still hoping they could get through this without any bloodshed or death and if anyone could talk the crazed vampire hunter down, it was her.

"Elena?" Grayson's voice had gentled.

"Yes it's me, Uncle Grayson. Let Damon have the stake and we can leave" she turned to face him, her expression frantic and afraid "Right, Damon? You have what you need so we can go home now."

"Yep, that was the deal" he nodded and silently prayed the man wasn't so far gone he couldn't see reason.

"He's a liar, Elena. They'll kill us in our sleep. We have to kill them all" Grayson hissed at her.

Son of a bitch he thought. The sane, rational Grayson, who would have grabbed his niece and ran, was gone. The madness had taken over leaving a demented hunter whose sole purpose in life was killing vampires.

"No, he won't. He's not going to hurt us" she took a cautious step toward him "Let's just go home, ok?" she held out her hand.

"Elena, get away from him. He's….not well" Damon said cautiously.

"It's ok, Damon. Please, just let me handle this" she told him.

"Are you with them?" Grayson recoiled and backed away from her.

Elena stepped toward him again "No…I mean…They…They're my friends, Uncle Grayson. They won't hurt us"

Grayson was staring at her, his mouth opening and closing but no words were coming out. She took a few more slow steps toward him and put her hand on her arm.

"Traitor" Grayson's voice was pure ice as he glowered at Elena "Don't touch me, vampire's whore."

Damon watched the hurt creep over her face and it nearly broke him.

"Elena, back away from your uncle" he said and started to reach for her.

She ignored him and shook her head at Grayson. Anger boiled in Damon's veins as he watched tears pop into her eyes.

"Please Uncle Grayson, just listen to me" her heart was breaking into a thousand pieces. He was her family, her blood, the only parent she'd ever known. How could he say that to her? She reached out again and placed her hand back on his arm. He scowled at her and she saw his other hand come up out of the corner of her eye. The next second was a confusing blur for her. One moment she was standing in front of her uncle, trying to talk some sense into him. The next his hand connected with her cheek and there was a sharp pain in her neck. Then everything went black.