After she was done waiting for Damon to come back, and about to walk over to the Chevy, a Pick-Up-Truck with three men, where holding right in front of her, blocking her way.

"Hey... you need help?"

"No I'm fine. I just had a break. Thanks though for asking." She replied trying not to show her suspicion. The men were leaving their car and came closer.

"We are really good in helping a fine little bitch."

'That dick of a vampire! How can he leave me here all alone with assholes like them?' was crossing her mind.

Elena turned around to ran away, when one of them was already in the way of her chosen direction to catch her. Without being able to slow down, she ran into him.

'So fast...Have to be Vampires!' she assumed right.

"Now let's have some fun." The biggest of them took a hand full of her breast. He squeezed her hard and than pushed her to the ground with one blow. With a thud she came to rest on her back. All the air had left her lungs. The two other guys closed in and started to feel her up. One sniffed on her face-wound having a good grip on her hair, while the other one ripped open her blouse.

The man who knocked her over, placed himself between her legs, pawing the inside of her thighs.

Still wearing her jeans, she was save from his hands on her skin, but the ugly-faced was about to change that. Slowly he opened the button and zipper of her jeans, gliding his hands over her belly, down to her panties. "If I can't drink you, than this will repay me well." Elena closed her eyes.

"And who are you, that you think you can touch her and survive it?" Damon snarled

"Damon!" Elena said in a whisper.

"Damon... as in Damon Salvatore?" The big guy asked overhearing Elena's words.

"In the flesh!"

"Long time no see. Hey man, we were just get to know each other. No drop spilled just playing around. Your bro will be pleased."

"I see."

"If you want you can go first."

Damon looked down at Elena.

Being aware of her state she shifted her eyes away from his, and down to the ground.

"Tempting, very tempting!" he responded coolly.

"Unfortunately I'm not good in sharing. And this is why I'm going to kill you now."

Within two seconds, three very dead Vampires with their hearts missing were lying on the ground. Their dead bodies were surrounding Elena and Damon who was bowing down right in front of her.

Tears ran down her face but she didn't dare to move, yet. She saw it in his face, saw how he eyed her. She definitely had to be careful.

"Now you regret playing little miss piggy with me, do you? Regret still being here...with me."

His hand, stained with vampire blood moved close to her face, caressing the air without touching her.

"Thank you, Damon" biting her lips, she hoped to reach him by using his name.

His dangerous mimic changed slowly to bewilderment. His eyebrows elevated, and eventually concern took over.

"Guess I have now something else in common with my baby-bother, going all wacko on you."

Elena looked in Damon's eyes to find something, she had never expected to see there.
Shame.

Damon brutally yanked his hair. "Argh, it's so frustrating. I can't leave you alone for one minute. And then I almost..."

"But you didn't." she reassured him. Damon looked at her puzzled.

'What I wanted to say was: I almost made sweet love to you, stupid. You thought I was about to say I almost killed you, weren't you?' he thought.

"That wasn't a coincident." Elena said, still trying to find out, what he's thinking. "these guys were coming for me to act on Stefan's behalf. I'm sure of it. They weren't allowed to bite me so they..."
She looked down. Shaking fists crumbled her blouse tight to her body.

Damon stood up abruptly.

"Don't go!" she squealed. He saw her panicking and immediately his mouth became all watery. His instincts were telling him to eat.

"Don't look at me like that" he demanded. The area under his eyes changed.

"When you do, it's hard for me right now to suppress Pavlov's reflex. If you want to survive I can't be the only one who need to hold back the emotions. Got it?"
Swallowing hard, she was able to give him a straight "Okay!"

He gave her a hand to stand up and they walked over to the car.
"I really feel strange. Once in a while I seem to switch over to autopilot without noticing for a couple of seconds." Sheepishly he added "I don't want to hurt you. "

Elena knew she put him in a bad situation. He must feel so much pressure. If this is not working out and he killed her by his own hands, Damon would slaughter everybody she knew, as a revenge that she did this to him.

"I'm sorry, I'm just out of options here. I don't want you to get hurt in the process either. If you want to go, ...please...do as you wish." she offered sincerely.

He looked at her.

Seeing her half beaten up with all the messy hair which is usually in such perfect condition made him all itchy.

"You wouldn't survive another minute without me. And what the hell, why should anybody else get all the fun finishing you off?"