A/N: Picking up exactly where last chapter left off.

Chapter 12

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked, trying to not to let his panic show.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" Katherine asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We should go get a drink. I think I need one."

"I won't say no to a drink, but you should probably get dressed first," she told him.

He'd actually forgotten, in his state of panic, that he was just wearing a towel. If she hadn't reminded him he might have walked out with it on.

"It's dark in there." She tried to move past him, but his body took up the entryway, stopping her in her tracks. "Have you got company?"

This time she ducked under his arm and into the room. He was filled with relief when he saw that Elena had somehow disappeared. He was trying to work out where she'd hidden herself when he noticed that Katherine's gaze had fallen on the candles, two empty wineglasses and abundance of takeaway boxes.

"You do have company," Katherine exclaimed gleefully. "Mind if I join? It's been too long since we've had a three-way. I believe the last time was with…"

"She left," he told her quickly.

"Already? Damon it's only eight o'clock. Are you sure you're not hiding her from me? I don't mind sharing you, you know that."

Katherine started walking around the apartment. He held his breath as she walked into the bathroom. When she walked out frowning, he wondered where Elena had gone. His gaze went to the window. She wouldn't be on the ledge would she? He called himself a dumb-ass as he reminded himself just how many stories above the ground they were. Katherine peered under the bed, and Damon held his breath again, but Elena evidently wasn't hiding under there either.

"Well now this is strange. Company for dinner, and now she's gone. What's going on here?"

"I must have known you were coming," he said to her.

"You should have seen your face when you opened the door."

"It's not everyday my girlfriend turns up unannounced while I'm on tour."

"Well, I wanted to see you, and Elijah wanted someone to 'check in' on how the tour is going. I told him I could do it."

"You're here to check up on Elena?"

"Apparently she's making mistakes. Please tell me you're the reason she's so distracted."

"Sorry, it's not me."

The lie didn't roll easily off his tongue. He was the reason Elena was making mistakes. He was the reason she'd missed her flight. He was the reason she'd been late, and the reason she hadn't realized there were problems until too late. He was the reason she was tired. He was the reason she was here right now, somewhere, hoping she wasn't about to be discovered by the woman who wanted to kill her career. If he'd been wearing a shirt, he would have pulled at the collar, because right now he felt guilt choking him, making it difficult for him to breathe.

"Losing your touch, Salvatore? You've never failed to seduce a mark before."

"She doesn't want to lose her job."

"You like her," it was a statement, not a question.

"She's good at her job."

"No, you like her." Katherine smiled at him now, almost fondly. "You're not supposed to fall in love with her."

Damon swallowed thickly. "I'm not in love with her."

"This isn't Cruel Intentions, or Dangerous Liaisons."

"I know that, Katherine."

"Those stories didn't end well, and neither will this one if you let your emotions get involved. People like us, Damon; we don't love well."

"I'm well aware of that."

"We're dangerous to those we love, and we destroy those that love us."

He didn't need Katherine to remind him of that. He wasn't a good option for any woman to love. Some had tried, some had succeeded; every one of them had been disappointed. He didn't want marriage, he didn't want children, he didn't want anything that would lead to the disaster his father had created, and his grandfather before him. It wouldn't be fair to ask a woman to take a chance on him.

"You can save the lecture."

"You're meant to get in, seduce, and get out."

"I need a drink."

"Well get dressed, and we'll go down to the bar. Perhaps we can still pick up a third for this little party, and I can remind you what people like us do best."

Damon opened his closet to get a shirt out, and found Elena curled up in the corner of it. Her clothes and her purse were scattered around her. She was wearing the towel she'd wrapped around her earlier, and a look of fear that tore right through him. Perhaps he had needed Katherine's lecture after all. He was already hurting Elena. She was in danger of losing her job, she was absolutely exhausted, and now she was curled up in his closet looking terrified, because he hadn't been able to stay away from her; because he hadn't been able to stop wanting her.

He felt Kat's hands on his back as he grabbed a shirt off one of the hangers. Hoping she hadn't seen Elena, he turned around quickly and kissed her with the intent of making her forget about his publicist. He kicked the closet door closed behind him with his heel, then closed his eyes tightly as Katherine's hands roamed over his chest. Maybe if he got drunk enough tonight, he could pretend that the woman in his bed was actually the one he wanted. Nope, that was never going to happen, but Katherine would have to do, because after tonight, Elena would probably never get back into his bed again.

Elena quietly breathed a quiet sigh of relief as the closet door shut. Then she heard them kissing and Elena thought her night couldn't get any worse.

"I haven't had decent orgasm since you left Mystic Falls," Katherine said. "How about a quickie before we go?"

"Ah, I'm still recovering from the company I had."

"You normally go all night without any trouble."

"I'm tired."

"Maybe you are losing your touch. Perhaps I should give you some pointers with Elena while I'm here."

"Your being here will make her even less inclined to sleep with me."

"I could have sworn from the way I've seen her look at you, that getting her into bed shouldn't have been a problem."

"Well then maybe you're the one losing your touch, Pussycat."

"There's one thing I haven't lost my touch at."

"Come on, let's go."

Elena could hear their voices growing more distant, and then she heard the door close behind them. She waited another five minutes in the closet before she decided it was safe to exit. All the candles had been blown out, the takeaway cartons were in the bin, and the used glasses had been rinsed off and put on the fridge. The debris from their romantic evening had been tidied away. Now if only she could tidy away her own emotions so easily.

Her relief at not being caught was tinged with bitterness. It made her sick to think Katherine was here to check up on her. Elena worked too damn hard most of the time, and she was good at her job. No, she was better than good. She'd made mistakes today, and she'd missed her flight. Should it have happened? No. But she didn't need someone here to keep an eye on her. To think Elijah would think so little of her, after one bad day, made her feel very sour. She didn't need babysitting in her job. She was as good a publicist as Katherine on any day of the week.

And what did Damon see in Katherine anyway? Elena let herself out of Damon's hotel room after she dressed. She'd known Damon was involved when they started this thing, but it didn't make her feel any better. The man she'd spent the last week in bed with, would be spending his night in bed with another woman; the same woman trying to destroy her career. If that wasn't bad enough, Elena would be forced to work side by side with the pair of them for the next few days.

By the time Elena reached her hotel room, she was hideously close to tears. She tried to give herself a lecture; you don't fall in love with the bad boy, you don't date the bad boy, and you don't ever try and change the bad boy. It was just supposed to be about sex. She understood she wasn't supposed to have feelings for him, but Elena realized that they were there. It was difficult to keep her distance when he took care of her the way he had tonight. She brushed her teeth, before lying down on her bed. At least this was a good opportunity for her to get some sleep.

After an hour and a half, she was still wide awake. She missed Damon. She'd become used to spending her nights with him. She'd become used to the physical pleasure and exhaustion she felt with him. She got out of bed, turned the television on, grabbed the remote, and went back to bed. After watching an hour of sitcoms, she changed the channel over to the music station. The music was soft and unobtrusive, and when she finally closed her eyes again, she felt herself being lulled to sleep.

The next day, Damon was sporting a headache from his excessive night of drinking, and Katherine was pouting because he hadn't been able to get it up for her. He told her it was the alcohol, but it had never been a problem before. The truth was his body knew what it wanted; who it wanted. He couldn't help feeling angry and resentful that Katherine had turned up unannounced and deprived him of weeks of having Elena in his arms. He could break up with Katherine. He didn't think she was going to make his muse magically appear anymore, but Katherine was right; they were two of a kind. They understood each other and the limitations they brought to relationships. Besides, if they split up, Katherine would find another way to go after Elena.

Elena was already waiting for them when they arrived at the function center. He noticed her tapping her foot in the way she did when she was furious about something. It was disturbing that he was relieved to see her, even when she was wearing a look of irritation on her beautiful face. He'd missed her; really missed her, and he'd thought about her all night. She refused to look at him, a sure sign she was upset with him. He couldn't blame her, her job was on the line and it was because he'd talked her into indulging in their lust for each other.

"You're late," she said to Katherine.

"I'm sure Elijah has called you and explained I'll be here to keep an eye on things for the next day or so."

"Yes, he called me, and I told him that I don't need you here."

"If Elijah agrees with you, he'll let me know; otherwise show me what we're doing today, so I can make sure we don't have any more screw-ups like yesterday."

"You're the one who's here late."

"Are you going to argue with me? I'm here now, so show me your itinerary."

Elena passed Katherine the sheet of paper, feeling like she'd just been scolded. The humiliation of having Katherine here to check up on her, combined with the feeling of jealousy she'd experienced as she watched her and Damon walk in together this morning, churned her stomach.

When Damon found Elena at lunchtime he thought it was the closest to miserable he'd ever seen her look.

"I've been looking for you."

"Well, you found me. Where's Katherine?" she asked, without looking at him.

"On a smoker's break." He paused for a moment. "You okay?"

She looked at him for the first time all morning, and the contact was like a punch to the gut. She looked so brave and vulnerable all at the same time, and the need to hold her and touch her again actually took his breath away. She deserved more than he could give her. It was that thought, and not the fact that Katherine was on the loose, that stopped him from reaching out and pulling her into his arms.

"I'm fine," she told him.

"About last night…" he said to her.

"What did I miss?" Katherine asked, behind them.

"Nothing," Damon said quickly.

"I heard you say something about last night. Were you about to tell her about how we spent our first night together in weeks?"

He watched Elena pale visibly, and wanted to throttle the woman next to him. No, he definitely hadn't been about to talk about that.

"Nope."

"What did you do last night, Elena?" Katherine asked curiously.

"I had an early night."

"Probably just as well, considering you overslept and missed your flight yesterday. We didn't have an early night, did we, Damon? In fact it was a very late night," Katherine said, literally purring as she slid her arm through his.

He looked down at Katherine, trying to work out what she was up to. She looked back up at him innocently.

"I don't think she's interested, Kat."

"If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work," Elena said to them.

Damon watched Elena walk away from them, wanting nothing more than to go after her, and knowing full well that he couldn't without threatening everything she'd worked so hard for.

The next day Katherine told him that Elena had called in sick. It was one of the longest days of his life. After spending every day for the past two weeks working alongside her, not seeing her face was more than a little disconcerting. Moreover, he was worried she wasn't feeling well, and he wanted to know if she was okay. By the time he'd made his way back to the hotel, he'd decided he was going to check on her. Ignoring the thought that Elena would probably prefer not to see him, he waited until Katherine was on a conference call to Elijah, before slipping out to see Elena.

Elena heard the knock on the door, and assumed it was the room service she'd ordered over an hour ago. She'd taken her very first sick day today. She wasn't physically ill, but she felt she deserved a mental health day, and with Katherine around, she could relax knowing everything would be taken care of. If that made her cowardly, she didn't care in the slightest. She'd watched TV all day, read books, listened to music, and had room service bring her something every few hours. Now she was comfortable in her silk robe, after having just soaked in the bath for an hour, and she was looking forward to the chocolate fudge ice-cream that was now waiting at her door. When she opened the door, however, it wasn't her chocolate fudge ice-cream.

"What's wrong?" she asked, noticing the concerned expression on his face right away.

"Are you okay? Katherine said you were sick. Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine," she assured him. "Really, Damon, I'm okay."

The swift relief Damon felt at seeing her again, and hearing her say she was okay, was quickly replaced with irritation that she'd not been at work. She was avoiding him, and he couldn't blame her for that, but he didn't like missing her. He didn't like worrying about her, and not having her around.

"You're not sick?"

She shook her head. Damon could here music coming from inside the room. She'd been wearing a smile when she opened the door, and she hadn't been expecting him. He wondered who she was smiling for, and why was she wearing nothing but that see-through robe if she was expecting company? He drank in the way the robe was wrapped tightly around her, accentuating the soft curves of her body. Now that he was here, he decided he wasn't going anywhere.

"Can I come in?" he asked her.

She was looking at him warily. "I don't think that's a good idea. Katherine…"

"Is on a conference call for the next forty-five minutes," he said, pushing past her.

"Damon, you can't be here," she told him, as she closed the door. "What if she comes here? What if she finishes early?"

"I needed to see you," he told her. "I've been worrying about you all day."

"As you can see, I'm fine."

"But I'm not."

Elena swallowed as Damon came to stand right in front of her. She could see the way his eyes were blazing with heat.

"I miss you," he told her softly, stroking the side of her face with his hand.

It took every ounce of will power not to lean into his caress.

"You know we can't."

"Just a kiss," he told her.

"Damon–"

She didn't have time to move away, before his lips were on hers. His passion was raw and unrestrained as he kissed her again, and again, and again, driving every thought but surrender from her head. It could never be just a kiss with Damon.

Damon knew that being together wouldn't lead to anything but trouble for both of them, but he couldn't resist this woman; not when she was in his arms again. He was bad for her; this was bad for her, but the need to be buried deep inside her was a drive stronger than anything he'd ever felt before. He picked her up now, and sat her on the polished wooden table behind them, before kissing her again hungrily. He opened her robe up so that he could feast his gaze upon her naked slender body. Perfect – she was perfect in every way. He cupped her breasts in his palms, squeezing them softly, before running the tips of his thumbs over the dusky pink peaks. She cried out when he dipped his head, and captured one of them in his mouth.

"Damon–"

The sound of his name falling from her lips, made him look up at her.

"This needs to stop. We need to stop," he told her desperately, "but I can't stop this."

Elena heard the strain in his voice, and understood his conflict. The danger of what they were doing wasn't lost on her. She knew Katherine could bust them, and Elena knew she didn't want to share him with Katherine, or with any other woman for that matter. It should be enough to extinguish the flames of passion she felt with him, but it wasn't.

"Tell me you don't want this, Elena. Tell me this is over."

She wanted to tell him it was over. She needed to tell him it was over; but she couldn't say no to him. Her inability to say no to him was the reason they were in this predicament in the first place. Her body was going through withdrawals after having to go two nights without his lovemaking, and she needed him to touch her.

"It's not over," she whispered to him.

"It's not over?"

The question in his eyes, and the look of surprise on his face, would have amused her at any other time, but she was more focused on his hands which were stroking her thighs.

"I missed you too."

Damon could hear his heart thundering in his ears as he spread her legs, and slid her hips to the edge of the table, so that her naked heat came into contact with him. He kissed her deeply, while she wrapped her legs around his hips, and worked on unbuttoning his shirt. Once she had his shirt open, he shrugged it from his shoulders. Elena leaned forward and pressed soft kisses against his chest and stomach. She circled his belly button with her tongue, before leaning down lower so that she could trace his hip with her tongue. The contact was so sizzling, he tried to jerk away from it, but she reached for his belt, holding him captive. He stroked his thumbs along her inner thighs, with the intention of driving her as crazy as she drove him.

"Touch me," she demanded, when she'd had enough of his teasing.

"As you wish," he said, sinking a finger into her wet, wet heat.

"God," she cried out, throwing her head back.

She sat spread before him; her white silk gown flowing out around her like an all body halo, her pleasure written all over her face, and her upturned breasts begging for more of his touch. He put his other hand behind her head, pulling her gently towards him, so he could kiss her. He wanted her to feel how much he needed her, how much he'd missed her. He teased her sensitive nub with his thumb, and sunk another finger into her as he kissed her.

Between the erotic kiss he was giving her, and his fingers thrusting in and out of her, Elena was wound so tight that she thought she might literally burst. She had almost reached her peak, when he slowed right down.

"Don't stop, don't stop," she cried.

"I want to taste you."

He crouched down in front of her, and she felt him hook her legs over his shoulders. His hands went under her bottom, as he slid her hips clear off the table and brought her center into direct contact with his mouth. Her body was still on edge, and she whimpered softly as he kissed her between her delicate folds. The sensation was delicious, but the pressure wasn't strong enough to give her body the release it was craving. It was a relief when he finally began to use his tongue on her. Needing something to hold onto, she stretched her arms above her head and gripped the edge of the table she was on. He stroked her with his tongue, changing his rhythm every time she was about to climax.

"Damon, please!"

"Please what?" he murmured against her.

"Make me…"

She screamed with pleasure, as he finally gave her body what it needed. He thrust his tongue inside of her, as wave after wave of exquisite pleasure crashed over her. She was vaguely aware of him placing her hips back on the table, but it was actually the sound of a condom packet being ripped that brought her back to the present. She barely had time to blink before he was he was lifting her hips again, dragging her slightly off the table. Her gaze went to his.

"You might want to hold onto something," he told her.

Her hands reached for the edge of the table again, as he gripped her hips tightly and thrust into her powerfully; the action of being filled so completely, and stretched, ripped a cry from her. She held onto the table tightly as he thrust into her again and again. His strokes were breathtakingly powerful, and her legs were shaking so hard, she had to wrap them around his hips. Her satin robe made it easy for her to slide backwards and forwards on the table to meet each one of his thrusts. The intensity with which he was filling her was more than pleasurable, and when he made slippery passes over her sensitive bundle of nerves with his thumb, she flew over the edge.

"God, Damon, oh god."

He grabbed her hips even more tightly as she contracted around him, surging in and out of her, chanting her name, until he followed her over.

Barely a minute had passed before they heard a knock on the door. Her legs fell from his hips quickly. Damon cursed as he took in Elena's panic stricken face.

"Who is it?" Elena called.

"Room Service."

They both breathed a sigh of relief, and Elena pulled her robe together, and tied the sash around her, before going to open the door.

"Chocolate fudge ice-cream," she told Damon, when she came back with the tub.

"Ice-cream. You were waiting for ice-cream?" asked Damon.

He was dressed now, but his shirt was still unbuttoned. Damon shook his head, feeling more than a little stupid for being jealous of a dessert. He watched Elena grab two spoons, before he joined her on the couch. They sat in silence for several minutes, enjoying the dessert together, before he looked at his watch.

"I need to go."

Elena nodded. "Katherine will be waiting for you."

He heard the slight resentment in her voice, and didn't know if he should apologize or not. If he apologized she might be offended, but he also didn't know exactly why he would be apologizing. There was such a long list of things she could be mad at him for, but the truth was, he was who he was; he couldn't change what he was – not even for her. He wished he could be the type of man she needed, but he wasn't.

"Elena…"

"It's fine, Damon. You should go."

"This thing between us…"

"I think it's fair to say, after today, that we're not going to have much chance of resisting this while we're on tour."

He hadn't been expecting her to say that. "You want to keep doing this?"

She shrugged. "It makes sense. Fighting it didn't work."

"Elena, I'm not a good guy. I don't do good; it's not in me. I can never give you the type of relationship you want."

Elena remembered hearing Katherine tell Damon that they were alike; but he wasn't like Katherine at all. The fact that he was trying to protect her from himself, even now, proved that. What mattered, though, was that he believed Katherine was right. Now he was warning her he couldn't deliver more than just sex. Well, his book had already told her that much. She had feelings for him, feelings that could easily blossom into more; but she was powerless against the physical pull she felt when she was with him. Perhaps if they'd never slept together it would be different, but they had slept together and it wasn't different. So, they would finish this physical relationship between them, and then she would walk away with the experience he'd given her.

"I don't want a relationship with you, Damon. You're my bad boy. Consider this me using you for your knowledge."

"You want to use me for sex?"

His tone was serious, but there was a slight smile playing around his lips.

"Would that be alright?"

Damon didn't know what to make of this situation. On the surface it was everything he could hope for, but he worried that they were diving into waters that were too murky to judge the depth of. He cared about her, and he didn't want to hurt her. It would be much easier for him if she told him they were done instead of telling him she wanted more.

"I never realized just how dangerous this was for you. Even coming here tonight; I didn't think."

Elena knew he wanted her to take the out he was giving her, but he didn't realize that she was as unable to say no to this as he was.

"Perhaps your attempt to teach me fun and spontaneity is paying off."

"You were right to put a time limit on it," he said to her decisively. "When we get back to Mystic Falls this should stop."

"Fine," she said, standing up and walking towards the door. He followed her. "Once the tour is over, meetings will be limited, and we should be able to manage any left over desire. I don't want to do this again while Katherine is here, though."

"That's reasonable," he told her.

"More than reasonable," she mumbled, as she started to do up the buttons on his shirt.

"Elena," he said, gently taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilting her face upwards so that she was looking at him. "I haven't slept with Katherine while she's been here."

"You haven't?"

He shook his head. "I haven't wanted anyone but you since we started this tour."

When she smiled shyly, and blushed, he thought she'd never looked sweeter. He kissed her softly, before opening the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked her.

"You will," she told him.

After he left her room, he checked his watch again. Katherine had told him she would be busy for an hour. He actually had ten minutes up his sleeve, providing she hadn't finished early. By the time he arrived, another five minutes had passed. He was about to enter the room when he heard muffled noise through the door. Thinking maybe she wasn't done, he turned around to leave, but then he heard something that caught his attention.

"He's probably there right now…Damon's never failed to do this for me before, but I think he feels something for her. They are sleeping together; I'd bet my life on it…I'll see you when I get back….my flight is tomorrow…I can't wait either."

He'd known something about this whole thing with Katherine felt off. She wasn't insecure; she wasn't the type to compete or feel threatened. Whenever she'd asked him to do something like this for her before, it had always been because someone had pissed her off. This was different. She was doing this either for someone else, or with someone else. Elena was being set up, but who was behind it? He waited patiently, hoping Katherine would let a name slip, but she didn't; not even when she said goodbye. He vowed to himself that he would find out exactly who wanted to mess with Elena, and tear them limb from limb. Then maybe Elena would remember him as the man who saved her career, instead of the man who ruined it.

A/N: Okay, so Damon didn't play ball with me in this chapter, and I blame Katherine entirely. Her comments got to Damon more than I thought they would and I was expecting the end conversation between D/E to go VERY differently. When Katherine turns up, I suppose I should expect the unexpected. So who is Katherine working for/working with? All will be revealed...eventually.

Probably a half to a full chapter left of Damon's book tour, and then they'll find themselves in Mystic Falls where hopefully things will be very interesting.

Thank you to everybody reading this, and for everyone who is reviewing. I like to thank you all personally, but lately I've been writing like crazy (thus the more frequent updates), trying to get all my creative juices out on paper before the baby comes. My husband has also been gently, and not so gently, reminding me that with less than 17 weeks before the baby comes, I should probably stop staying up till all hours of the morning. He's right, I know, but I've been cramming in as much me time as possible.

I hope all of you are well, and I sincerely hope this chapter entertained. As always, thanks for reading, and please review.