A/N: Sorry for the delay. Writer's block. Getting a little foreshadowing in. Thank you SO MUCH for all the faves, follows and reviews! I appreciate each one of them and hope you will continue the trend for this chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own or operate The Vampire Diaries

Chapter 5: Good Morning

The morning light was still dim when Elena woke up for the second time. She had been up at some point during the night, mostly to go to the bathroom and put on underwear and a tank top. When she slipped back into bed, Damon murmured in his sleep and immediately pulled her close. Who would have thought that cocky, self-assured Damon was a cuddler - even unconsciously? Elena smiled at the thought.

"Well that was wasted effort," Damon's sleepy, sexy voice said in her ear.

"What was?" she replied.

"Putting on clothing when I intend to keep you right here, all day long."

Elena snickered and turned to face him. His eyes were still heavy with sleep, and as usual, his hair was all over the place. She ran gentle fingers through it and pressed a kiss to those full lips. "Well, I'm catching a few more Z's, so you can do whatever. I'm really tired. You have your plans, I have mine," she said and snuggled into his chest. Her gentle breathing told him she was already asleep again.

Damon watched her sleep for a while, before he dozed off again, himself. He remembered the human feeling of being dog-tired and wishing you could sleep. Was he interested in that feeling again? Maybe. He was still only 25, in actual, physical years, after all. He should have a lot of good years ahead of him. But that line of reasoning was creeping him out, so he cleared his mind and put his cheek against Elena's head, so he could smell her hair and he slept again.

Damon woke again, to a faint clicking noise. He looked around. Elena wasn't in the bedroom, but he knew she was in the house, somewhere. He pulled on his boxers and stretched. When he went into the den, she wasn't there, either. He heard the noise from the other bedroom and peeked inside. She had it set up as a makeshift office, with her computer on a desk and a comfortable looking sofa against the opposite wall. She was using her computer, and her fingers were flying across the keyboard. Her brow was furrowed as she typed, and he could see from the file's format, that it had to be a chapter in a book. Another vampire romance, he wondered?

He eased behind her and kissed her neck. "What'cha writing?" he purred in her ear.

"New chapter," she said and saved and closed the file.

"Don't stop on my account."

She turned the office chair to face him. "I want to give you my undivided attention. Did you sleep well?"

"Oh, yeah. Do you always write when you get up in the morning?"

"I had an idea in my head and wanted to get it down before it slipped away. That's the nature of writing," she explained.

"What idea was it?" he asked.

She grinned at him. "Nope. Nobody reads anything but the finished product except my editor. I'm weird about people seeing what I write. Call me temperamental."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Was it about me?"

This time, she laughed. "Damon, you're not gonna weasel it out of me, so stop trying. I've always been really funny about showing my work to other people, so it's not you. I don't even let Caroline or Bonnie read it. I might - might - bounce an idea off them, but I never let them read what I'm working on. Just my editor."

"Be that way, then," he said, a little snippy.

"Go feed. You're cranky this morning," she replied.

He glowered at her. "You haven't seen cranky yet," but he realized she was right and he went to warm up a couple of bags.

Elena gave Damon time to feed and feel better before she went into the kitchen. Picking at a cranky vampire was probably a good way to find herself on the menu. Unaccountably, her middle clenched at the idea of him biting her. She shook her head.

"I don't have any clothes here that will fit you," she said as she walked into the kitchen. "So if we go anywhere, you'll have to wear what you had on last night."

Damon had been sitting at the island, but he went to Elena and kissed her cheek and took her hands. "Sorry about that. You were right. I was really hungry. But, since you're much more appropriately dressed than I am, if you'll grab my keys and go open the trunk of my car, I keep a change of clothes in there."

She kissed him briefly. "Boy Scout motto, huh? 'Be prepared.' O.K. Just a sec." She slipped on a pair of flip flops and a jacket and went to the Camaro. It was made long before the advent of key fobs with trunk release buttons, so she had to actually open the compartment using the key. She saw a cardboard box containing a couple of quarts of oil, some power steering fluid, a funnel and a rag, a small tool box, a tire iron and lug wrench, and to the side, a small gym bag. She took it and slammed the trunk lid closed, remembering there wasn't a nice little "soft close" function on a '69 Camaro, either. The lid latched with a solid "thunk!" and she smiled, remembering her dad had a 1977 Ford Maverick that he loved. It was his first car and you really had to smack the trunk lid down to get it to close.

She went inside with the bag and heard the shower running, so she left it on her bed. She went back into the kitchen, started the Keurig warming up and fixed a bowl of cereal. As she ate, she thought about Damon and what he was, who he was, about last night - about everything. She wasn't sure where this was going. It was a little like being on one of those roller coasters, where you went into a tunnel and couldn't see where you were going, and you didn't know how long you'd be in the dark. And even when you got out of the tunnel, you still didn't really know where you were going, or how you were going to get there. It was an exercise in trust, and Elena really wasn't very good at it. Maybe she would have to improve in that department.

Damon was out of the shower and was toweling dry his damp hair when his phone rang. Stefan. God, but his timing had always been horrible. He picked up. "Yeah. What is it?"

"Hello to you, too." To his credit, Stefan didn't sound offended. He knew his brother.

"Blah, blah. What do you want, dear little brother?"

"I wanted to know if you've given any more thought to the package I sent to you."

"Thought about it, tossed it in a drawer. What do you want me to do?" Damon rolled his eyes. He would have had an extra bag of blood for breakfast and started on the bourbon early if he had known Stefan would be calling.

"I just want you to consider it."

"Baby brother, we're both safer like we are. Word gets out we're not vamps anymore, and might as well draw targets on both our backs."

"I guess you have a point, but still… Maybe we can work around it. Put the word out we were both killed. I don't know."

Damon was pacing in agitation, now. "Like what, some kind of vampire witness protection program? No. But if you do come up with a solution to being a target, and what we'll do, that actually has a snowball's chance in hell of working out, let me know. The cure isn't going anywhere. Buh-bye." He clicked off the call and tossed his phone on the bed. He rubbed his face briskly. Taking the cure had more ramifications than just mortality, and Damon wasn't ready to start thinking about all of the consequences - intended and unintended - of suddenly being human again. Only Stefan would do this to him.

A knock sounded on the door. "Can I come in?" Elena called.

He opened the door. "It's your house, babe," he said with a grin. "Not like I have any modesty to protect."

Elena shook her head and went into her bathroom to brush her hair. She stopped when she saw Damon watching her intently. "What is it?"

"You have beautiful hair," he said.

"Thank you," she answered with a smile.

He was behind her suddenly, and took her hairbrush. "Let me?" he whispered in her ear.

"O.K.," she said. Damon took the brush and started bringing it through her hair in long strokes. Then, he put the brush down and ran his fingers through the length of her hair. He turned her and kissed her, his hands on her face. One hand went down to the small of her back and lower, where he cupped her rear and massaged it. He scooped her up into his arms and they were back on the bed, Damon still kissing her.

Elena sighed into his mouth, knowing she shouldn't let this happen. She still wasn't sure she needed to get this close to Damon Salvatore. But she couldn't not respond to him. She wanted him and she had been lonely for a long time. She sensed he had, too.

Damon had slipped Elena's top, shorts and underwear off before she could think. "I told you it was wasted effort to get dressed," he whispered and she giggled.

"But didn't you have fun taking off my clothes?" she teased.

"Absolutely," he agreed and kissed her again, finding the exact spot underneath her earlobe that made her squirm. She brought his lips to hers again, wondering if she would ever get to the point where she wouldn't want him to kiss her. She couldn't see that happening. She nudged his hips with hers, in an effort to speed things up a little. "Something you want, Elena?" he said, his voice amused.

"You, Damon. I want you inside me."

His laugh rumbled, which in turn, made Elena hotter. "Well, far be it from me to disappoint a lady," he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. He felt her center; she was moist and ready for him. He pushed himself into her body and she sighed at the feeling. "Is that more like it?" he said.

"Yes. It's so, so good. You make me want you so bad, Damon. I love the way you feel."

"I love the way you feel, too. You're so hot and wet for me."

His tone was hoarse and Elena opened her eyes to see his face, eyes red, fangs out. She put her hands on his face and he closed his eyes. "Do you want to bite me?" she asked.

Damon buried his face in her neck. "I want to taste you. So, so much. I swear I'll make it feel good. Please," he rasped against her skin.

"O.K. But be careful, please," she whispered.

"I will. I promise I'll be careful." He started moving inside her, and Elena could feel him rub her button with one hand, helping her. She could feel her climax building, and just as she had felt it in her dreams, he licked the skin on her neck, nibbled it, kissed it, blew on it to raise the vein a little, and then, she felt a brief, sharp pain, and then bliss. Her climax hit hard and she dimly felt Damon spilling into her, too.

Damon could feel Elena's body start to tremble in orgasm and he prepared her skin for his bite, making sure there would be as little pain as possible. He bit into the tender skin and hit the vein, and her blood, warm, sweet and heady, flowed into his mouth. It was intensely delicious, and he pulled away reluctantly, before her heart rate changed. He looked at the twin punctures, and wanted very much to leave them as a warning to any other male that Elena Gilbert most assuredly belonged to him. But he couldn't. No one would understand. So, he nicked his tongue and licked his blood over the wounds to close them without leaving a mark behind. Well, a human couldn't see them, anyway. A vampire might, but there weren't too many of those in the Atlanta area, surprisingly enough.

Elena snuggled to Damon again and felt his lips ghosting over her shoulder, his hand on her arm, stroking the skin. "Nice to know you're not the roll over and go to sleep kind," Elena said, a smile in her voice.

He snickered. "A real man doesn't do that. That's for losers who don't know how to treat a woman. If I'm making the effort to sleep with a woman, I don't do it halfway. We both leave satisfied and sated, and for a woman, that means holding her and kissing her and all that romantic, mushy stuff." The twinkle in his eyes told Elena he actually enjoyed the mushy stuff.

"So I take it you have a certain pride in your - abilities," Elena said.

"You'd better believe it. Hasn't always been this way, but you learn a few things over the decades."

"I'll bet. Like how much of a stud you are, right?"

"I've been called that a few times," he said with a very wicked grin. He ran his hand down her hair. "And now your hair needs brushing again after all that."

Elena gave him a mock frown. "Well, I got shanghaied by this gorgeous guy who just insisted I have hot and heavy sex with him. Couldn't be helped." She grinned at him.

He laughed out loud at that, and Elena thought it was a wonderful sound. He rolled her to her back and kissed her neck and shoulders. He pulled back. "Have you had anything to eat?" he asked.

"Bowl of cereal while you showered. I'm good. Why?"

"I don't want you passing out on me. I'd rather do that myself by giving you a mind-blowing orgasm, not because you were hungry."

"Your concern for my welfare is touching, Damon. Really." Elena ran her hands down his back and they came to rest on his rear end. She pinched him.

"What was that for?"

"No man should have a butt that looks as good as yours does. Your looks border on illegal as it is. But I need to hush. You're conceited beyond words now." She amused herself by running her hands up and down his back.

"With good reason."

Elena brought his face to hers for a kiss. "I'll concede that point." His mouth sought hers again and he touched her once more. She felt him hardening against her thigh. "Are you always this horny?" she gasped against his neck.

"When I'm around you, pretty much," he answered, and continued touching her, his fingers finding the exact spots that made her roll her hips against his hands. "And I said I was keeping you here all day." With that, he crawled up her body and entered her again. His strokes were slow and deep, and Elena clasped her legs around him, to pull him closer to her. Damon was taking his time, making sure Elena was getting what she needed from this. When he felt her climax start, as she clenched him inside, he sped up and found his release, too. Once more sated, they both fell asleep, holding each other close.

When they were finally up and dressed, it was well into the afternoon, and they were eating vegetable soup Elena had made a couple of weeks before and put into the freezer.

"You said you had an event come up unexpectedly? So I don't guess I'll be hearing much from you this week," Damon said.

"Unfortunately, not. I'll be working late, I'm sure. And worn out when I get home."

He reached across the table to take her hand. "Can I at least call you to make sure you made it home all right?"

"Sure. Just don't be offended if I fall asleep while I'm on the phone."

He smiled at her. "Not a chance." He rubbed her hand. "It's been a great weekend, sweetheart. I love spending time with you."

"Thanks. Same here. What do you do all day all by yourself in that house in Rome?"

"Watch more TV than I ought to. But I read a lot. I do a fair amount of research for people, on a contract basis. I'm good at it. I don't really need the money, but it's something I can do without having to deal with the people personally."

"What kind of research?"

He shrugged. "Anything, really. I do a lot of patent research. I can access all the records online, so I don't usually have to leave the house. I research property and land records. That can get a little more detailed, and I sometimes have to go to the county where the land records are filed to see the originals, so that's more detailed, but it's interesting. I'm good at putting puzzles together, and most of what people ask me to do is put together a big puzzle. One of the perks of being a vampire is I have very, very good recall, so I remember what I've read. Sometimes, something I run across in another project entirely can help me in a current one."

"That does sound interesting. I may have to hire you the next time I need some research for a book."

Damon grinned at her. "For you, babe, it's free. I won't charge you a dime."

"Thanks," she answered.

Damon and Elena were paying only vague attention to the movie on TV. Mostly, she was enjoying sitting in his lap and kissing him. Suddenly, there was a noise at the front door and Caroline peeked around the door. "Knock, knock! I brought Chinese and we can talk about the Gatlins' soiree on Friday!" She saw Damon and Elena cuddled on the sofa. "OH! Well, looks like I barged in. Sorry about that. Hi Damon. Nice to see you again," she said, taking the food into the kitchen. Caroline took stock. Soup bowls in the sink, which meant Elena hadn't felt like cooking, but had thawed out soup. Damon had on jeans and a T-shirt, but he was barefoot. So was Elena, and she was kicked back in yoga pants and a tank top. And they were wrapped around each other like they were surgically attached. That meant one thing: Damon spent the night. Not that Caroline could blame Elena, and she was an adult, but the blonde knew Elena wasn't normally swayed by looks, especially since Mason blew out of town, which had been nothing but a relief, except for Elena's bank account.

By the time she got back into the den, Damon was putting his boots on and was getting ready to leave. "I didn't mean to run you off, Damon. Really," Caroline said.

"No, not at all. I know you two need to get your heads together over this event. Not my strong suit, so I'll go on. See you later." He put his jacket on and Elena handed him his gym bag. She walked outside with him to his car. He took her face in his hands. "It's been a great weekend. I'll call. And you call me if you need anything, O.K.?"

"O.K." She kissed him again until he backed away.

"You're too sexy to be doing that to me out in your front yard. I'll see you."

"All right. Drive safe."

"I will." One more kiss, and he was in the car and gone. Elena watched until the taillights faded into the late afternoon light and she went inside. Before Caroline could say a word, Elena held up her hand. "I had a great weekend. Can we leave it at that and save the mother hen lectures for another time?"

Caroline shook her head. "I guess. I just hope you know what you're doing."

Elena unconsciously touched the place where Damon bit her. "I hope so too, but it's fun. And fun has been in short supply lately. So let's get to grips with the Gatlin thing. Do we have a head count yet?"

"We do, and I meant to tell you. Mrs. Gatlin said since we were willing to take it on at such short notice, she's inviting us as guests - and we can bring a date! Guess I know who'll be on your arm. Bet he's devastating in a suit. So you'll need to find a dress between now and then. I don't know who in the world I'll take, but I'll find someone."

"Wait a minute. Jeremy's coming home this weekend. He's coming in on Thursday. I can call him and tell him to bring his dress blues and he can be your date," Elena suggested.

"Oh, you're a lifesaver! That would be perfect. Jeremy looks so cute in his uniform, anyway. That will be great!"

They continued to plan the event and Elena made a mental note to tell Damon. She supposed he wouldn't mind taking her. But she would ask him. If he couldn't, she guessed Jeremy would just have two dates.

Damon was actually feeling reasonably charitable toward the world in general when he got home. That's probably why he didn't immediately stake the woman waiting at her car at the curb.

"Damon! Long time, no see, sweetheart," she called.

Damon closed his eyes and walked around the hood of his car. "Katherine. How not delightful to see you," he said as he looked at the woman. It was odd. She and Elena looked enough alike to be sisters. Both had long brown hair and big brown eyes. Katherine, however, had a hardness about her face that was completely different from the soft sweetness in Elena's face. "What do you want?"

"Damon, who said I want anything? You're so suspicious."

"Damn right I am. Spill it, Katherine. I need to feed and I'm getting really short on patience."

She immediately sped to him and rubbed her black-clad body against his. "Would you like a dinner companion?" she purred.

He pushed her away. "No thanks. I like to be able to digest my blood in peace. Once more, Katherine. What do you want? Money?"

"Now that you mention it, I am running a little short…"

"I knew it. All right. Come in and I'll write you a check. Ten thousand enough to keep you out of my hair?" He opened the door and she followed behind him.

"You're always so generous, Damon," she said.

"Anything to keep you far away," he answered. "But next time, put the touch on Stefan. This well is running dry." He found his checkbook and wrote the check, signed it with a flourish and handed to her. "You've got what you came for. Now leave." At that moment, Damon's cell rang. Katherine was on top of it immediately.

"Elena?" she said in nasty glee. "Who's Elena? Does she know about you? About us?" To his horror, she answered the phone. "Damon's phone. Helllooo, Elena. This is Katherine."

"What? Where's Damon?" Elena spluttered. That Katherine? Why was she answering Damon's phone? "Let me speak to Damon!" she said.

"No, I don't think so," Katherine said and gave the phone a toss.

Damon caught it and said quickly, "I'll explain everything," before Katherine snatched it from him - but not before he put it on speakerphone. He was going to get rid of this woman so Elena could hear it.

"Now then. Where were we?" Katherine flipped Damon to the floor and sat astride him. "My sweet, innocent Damon. I've missed you, baby," she hummed.

"You have. Too bad the feeling isn't mutual. That kind of passed when it dawned on me that I was your sex toy and you didn't give a damn about me." His tone was blue steel.

"You're so wrong," Katherine said. "I couldn't have Stefan without having you, too. You're both delicious."

Elena could hear the whole exchange. Katherine was disgusting. She could hear the rage in Damon's voice. Thank the Lord Caroline had gone home. She would be freaking out.

Damon somehow pushed Katherine off his hips and managed to slam her against the wall. "If you need some Salvatore cock that bad, go find Stefan. He'll be glad to scratch your itch. I'm done. Now take the check and GET OUT!" he roared. He threw her out the door and locked it behind her. He knew she could burst through the door if she wanted to, but he didn't think she would. She had money. And sure enough, he heard her car start and she peeled out of the neighborhood. He would like to call the cops on her, but she would probably just attack them and feed and leave the body. Didn't need that happening. He found his phone. "Elena? God, I'm so sorry about that. She was waiting on me. She wanted money and I gave it to her to get her gone. But she's gone, now. I don't think she'll track you, but don't invite anyone in, O.K.?"

"I won't, Damon. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just pissed off." His voice softened. "I know you need to get to bed. I'll see you in your dreams."

"All right. You sure everything is good?"

"Now that I know you're not pissed at me, everything is very good. Off to bed with you now. Can't dream about me until you're actually asleep."

She giggled. "True. Good night, Damon."

"Good night, Elena." He ended the call. Dammit. WHY did Katherine have to show up? He was afraid he hadn't seen the last of her, though. Anything to stir something up. The woman was a cosmic troublemaker. At least Elena wasn't mad at him. That was something.

Damon fed heavily and went to bed, worn out mentally. Dealing with Katherine did that to him.

Elena went to sleep, wanting nothing more than to feel Damon's arms around her, but hoping she would, indeed, dream about him.