Disclaimer: I don't own the vampire diaries.

Chapter 17

She was really nervous when she walked back into the dining room, her body was shivering and she probably had goose bumps. How the hell was she going to tell him she loved him? She never actually thought about telling him. What would she do if he didn't feel the same? What if they weren't ready for this? Sure their relationship made a lot of progress, but was it enough? What if he would reject her love?

Before she could brood further, Damon interrupted her thoughts. "Dinner's ready," he announced smiling. She looked down at the plate, the pasta looked delicious, and it probably was delicious. Only smelling it was enough to make her mouth water.

She took a small bite, carefully tasting the food. It was like all kinds of flavors exploded in her mouth. This was much more than just delicious, it was magnificent. She let out a moan of pure bliss, she never tasted something quite as good before.

Damon couldn't hide the smile that appeared across his face when he heard her moan. She looked so damn sexy eating like that. He could feel his entire body react to her soft cries of pleasure.

"This is really amazing," she half moaned, half spoke.

"I told you I'm a great cook."

"Hm, hm," she answered, not able to say anything else cause her mouth was full. It didn't take her longer than ten minutes to clean up the entire plate. She ended up looking in his eyes, which made her remember what she was about to say before they started eating. Her relaxing state immediately changed and her body tensed up. Oh lord, she wasn't ready for this.

When Damon started cleaning up the table, she felt a little relieved. She had more time to re-think her decision. "Shall I help?"

"No need to, honey. I can do it myself, besides we still have to eat dessert."

"We have dessert?" she asked surprised.

"Yep," he answered popping the 'p'. "So why don't you sit down on the couch in the living room while I clean up this mess?"

"You're sure you don't need help?" she asked again.

"Yes Elena, I'm sure. I don't have a lack of urbanity like your father has. I'm your host tonight…all night," he added winking.

She could clearly see what he meant. He was going to make it very difficult for her to not lose the bet. Her plans of making it hard for him would probably fail, he was right, he was much better at these games than she was. The last few days had been really boring without him…she needed him. Though that, was a very scary thought. Since when did she lose her independence? It felt like she couldn't do anything without him anymore. Without him, her life wasn't complete anymore. There would always be a part of her missing…

She decided to look at those college-brochures as soon as possible. She definitely needed to occupy her mind with something other than Damon… Maybe she could go to the same college as Caroline? That way they would see each other a lot. It would be good for their friendship. The past few weeks they skipped too much of their usual girls-time.

A few minutes later, Damon joined her back in the living-room and suddenly all the tension came rushing back. "What's that?" she asked, referring to the bowl he was holding.

"This, Elena, is a bowl full of delicious chocolate mousse that I'm going to feed you."

"You're going to feed me?"

"As long as you don't touch me, we're still following the rules," he winked. Oh god, this was exactly what she was afraid of. How could she not touch him?

"You're unbelievable. You know well enough that is not going to work."

"I told you I would do anything to make you lose the bet, again."

"Oh please, stop the 'again' thing, I already know I lost the former bet, you don't have to remind me every ten minutes."

"Hope you're ready to lose this one too…"

"I'm not going to lose it. If someone will lose today, that will be you."

"Still optimistic I see…"

"Now just give me the damn chocolate mousse and we'll see who wins!"

He gave her a spoon full of mousse when she opened her mouth. A little gasp left her lips when she tasted the dessert. This was even better than the pasta. It tasted so sweet, but with enough flavor to drive her crazy.

Damon looked at her intensively when she took a bite; she closed her eyes and enjoyed the food. She didn't even seem to notice how hard she was making him just by eating like that, when she licked her lips, he lost it…. This girl was too sexy for her own good…and definitely too sexy for his own sanity.

Before Elena had the chance to open her eyes, his lips were pressed on hers, his tongue begging for entrance, which she gladly allowed it. Their lips moved together like they were one and their tongues danced a slow walls, making their bodies shudder. The lack of air was the only thing that pushed them apart. They pulled back, both breathing heavily. He could still taste the chocolate mousse, which tasted even better mixed with Elena's taste.

When she opened her eyes, his blue ones were piercing into hers. God, how she missed this. Without giving him time to say something, she closed the distance again and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him as close as possible.

They kissed for minutes, giving in to the passion. When they finally stopped again, Elena had a huge smile on her face.

"What?" he asked still a little overwhelmed. He couldn't believe what just happened; that he totally lost control like that…almost jumping over her.

"I won," she answered proudly, giving him a big smile.

"I was just having a weak moment" he complained.

"No excuses, I won this time. Now I want a prize!"

"What do you have in mind?" he asked raising his brown.

"I want a time-out, back on the island."

"You want to go back?" he asked surprised.

"Yeah…that's what I said. I mean, Jeremy and Anna can solve their problems without me for the moment. I helped them with what they needed most but for now, they don't need my help. They won't miss me for a week or two."

"You really mean it, don't you?"

"Yeah of course, why else would I ask you?"

"I don't know…I just, never thought you would want to go back; I actually thought you were happy to be home again."

"Damon, you are my home. Wherever you are, that's my home. I want to be with you, not because my father arranged this but because…because I love you."

"You love me?" he asked looking a little pale.

"I love you," she answered confidently, letting him know she really means it. That went better than she thought. It felt good and natural saying those words out loud. She noticed a smile appear across his face and she could swear her heart stopped beating for a moment.

He pulled her close again and kissed her with such tenderness, that she felt the need to cry. He had always been gentle with her but never like this, this felt more real than anything she ever experienced before. "I love you too, Elena. I think I always did."

With that, they started kissing and they didn't stop until the sun came up again. They spend the entire night in each other's arms, finally together, for real. Of course, they still had a lot of unresolved issues, but one thing was more important, they loved each other and they would make things work, no matter what.

It all started with hate and it turned out to be true love.

Well I kinda feel bad that things are ending already. I really loved writing this story. Personally, I think this was my best story so far…it was just different from my others. Like I promised, after this chapter there will be an epilogue. I hope I can publish it soon but I'm trying to make it extra long and smutty because this chapter was kinda short.

I hope you all liked the chapter! Please let me know what you think of it!

After this story I'm probably starting a new one. This is the summary already, I hope you like the idea of it. Maybe it isn't that unique but I'll try to make the story special ;)

Summary: When Elena turns eighteen, she throws a huge birthday party. Totally drunk, she sleeps with a blue eyed stranger. What happens when four years later, he turns out to be her new boss?

I wanna thank everyone who reviewed this story, put it on their alert or favorite list, you guys really made my day! Whithout you there wouldn't be a story! Of course, I also wanna thank my amazing beta Bibi! You've been a great help to me!

Okay, now I'm really gonna end my authors note before it's longer than the actual chapter ;)

Xoxo