Chapter 17: Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad?

"Every dream I dream is like some kinda rash 'n' reckless scene
To give out such crazy love you must be some kinda drug
And if my time don't ever come, yeah, for me you're still the one
Damned, if I don't, damned, if I do, I gotta get a fix on you." –Def Leppard

Elena's heart pounded painfully fast inside her chest as she moved quickly through the upstairs hallway of the Salvatore Boarding House. With every step she took she tried to move just a little bit faster across the cool wooden boards that creaked slightly beneath her warmed bare feet. She felt her breath begin to speed up as she finally rounded the corner at the end of the hall and heard the sound of running water coming from the door that she now stood only a few feet away from. Elena slowed her pace and carefully moved in front of the large oak door and gently pressed her hands against the cool wood. She swallowed thickly and tried to calm herself before she entered, but with every passing second that she was separated from him her heart only pounded faster in pure desperation.

Finally, Elena pushed open the large wooden door and made her way slowly into the white spacious bathroom that was now filled with heavy lush clouds of steam that rolled off of the water that was quickly filling the Victorian tub just a few feet away from where she now stood. Elena took a couple small steps forward and slowly she began to see the beautiful outline of Damon's body come into view. She felt her breath catch in her throat; he was even more beautiful than she had remembered.

Finally, the steam began to clear and Elena could truly see the man that she had waited what felt like a lifetime to once again lay her eyes on. Damon sat immersed in the hot water of the large bathtub and leaned his head back lazily against the edge of the porcelain finish. His damp onyx hair fell in messy pieces onto the smooth edge of the tub and the tight cords of muscles that wrapped around his biceps, shifted and flexed as Elena watched him softly drum his fingertips against his temple. Elena watched as Damon slowly straightened himself up in the tub and leaned forward. All of the beautiful muscles of his back stretched and twisted under his perfect alabaster skin as he reached in front of him and quickly turned off the stream of running water. He sat perfectly still for a moment and then slowly turned his head to the side.

"I didn't bring you here just so you could stare at me Elena." Damon said sarcastically as he looked at her from the corner of his eye. Elena felt a blush move over her cheeks as she quickly shook herself from her temporary daze and began to slowly move closer to the tub in which he sat.

"Then why did you bring me here, Damon?" Elena asked softly as she finally moved in front of him and into his line of vision. She looked down into the tub and saw the face that she had thought about every day since that chilly fall morning he had disappeared from her life. His bright blue eyes danced as he looked at her and the way his messy dark hair fell around his face made her long to run her fingers through it.

"I missed you." He whispered as his eyes locked onto hers. Elena felt her breathing pick up quickly as her heart began to pound harder in her chest.

"If you missed me, why did it take you so long to come to me?" Elena asked softly and even though she wanted to be angry, her voice was filled with tenderness that she couldn't avoid. Damon smiled and pointed toward her chest.

"Because you, my dear, happen to wear a necklace with Vervain in it. My good looks and quick witted charm might be able to get into those panties of yours, but they don't get me far when it comes to your head." He said as a smirk twisted onto his lips. Elena smiled and reached down and touched the delicate skin of her neck and noticed that her necklace was gone. She closed her eyes and tried to remember why tonight of all nights she had taken off the necklace that she was rarely seen without.

"You wanted to see me bad enough that even though you didn't realize it, you took it off hoping I would come to you." He said softly as he watched a confused expression move over the beautiful features of her soft face. Elena stared at him and let out a sigh.

"So what, you can read minds now too Damon?" She asked in a slightly annoyed voice, it made her incredibly uneasy the way he read her every emotion as well as he did. Damon smiled and shook his head.

"No Elena, I can't read your mind. I just know you." He said softly. Elena smiled and felt tears begin to well up in her eyes. She quickly dropped her head toward the bathroom floor and twisted her fingers together nervously as she felt any anger or annoyance she had for him melt away completely.

"Why did you leave Damon? You promised me you would never leave and then you just ran. You're not like that…you're not a quitter." Elena mumbled as she felt her emotions begin to rush up over her body and quickly take hold. Slowly, she raised her eyes once again and looked over to Damon. His eyes were fixed on hers and pain blurred just at the edges of the cobalt blue pools that she longed desperately to be near.

"Elena, there are many reasons why I left." He whispered almost to himself as he suddenly dropped his gaze from hers. Elena moved slightly closer to him.

"You said it was because you wanted me to have a better life and because you wanted me to be normal…was that true?" She asked quietly as she studied his expression. Damon smiled and lifted his head to meet her gaze once again.

"Do you think that was my reason, Elena?" He asked sarcastically. Elena stared into his eyes, but he gave nothing away as he looked back at her.

"I think that was an incredibly small part of it, care to share the rest?" She asked. Damon stared at her for a moment and then let out a sigh.

"Elena, the main reason, and the only reason I am sharing with you, is because leaving was the only way to truly protect you. If I left, I knew that Stefan would follow me and that meant that he would be far away from you. The longer he chased me he not only got further away from you, but also further from that hybrid bastard that seems to be so dedicated to fucking up my life. Klaus has been watching Mystic Falls like a hawk ever since he realized that you were the key to his hybrid race and me leaving simply reminded Klaus of something he wanted far more than even your delicious blood." He said carefully as he met Elena's eyes once again. Elena nodded.

"Like getting in that tomb?" She asked quietly. Damon smiled and rolled his eyes.

"I swear to God I am not telling witchy anything anymore. Part of keeping you protected is keeping you clueless, when the fuck is she going to learn that?" Damon asked himself as he sighed.

"Have you gotten in the tomb yet?" Elena asked as she began to shift her weight between her feet. Damon tilted his head to the side and smiled at her.

"Is Klaus dead yet?" He asked sarcastically. Elena looked up and shook her head.

"No." She said softly.

"Well then no." He retorted.

"Where are you?" Elena asked as she moved slightly closer toward Damon once again. Damon opened his arms and motioned to the water that surrounded him.

"In the bath." He said with a wink. Elena lowered her brow at him.

"Come on Damon; be serious with me for once. I need to know what is going on." She begged as she tried to pull any information from him she could. Damon sighed and ran his fingers through his wet hair.

"Stefan found me Elena. He found me a few weeks ago and I have done a good job of distracting him so far, but it won't be long now before we have to come back. And by we, I mean both of us." He said as his last words came out through tightly clenched teeth. Elena felt her heart pick up speed as she tried to hold back the smile that was dying to twist over her lips at the thought of Damon's possible return.

"Doesn't he just want the key? Why would he want to come back to Mystic Falls?" Elena asked as she felt suddenly uneasy with the thought that she would have to deal with the psychotic version of Stefan that had developed over the past year and a half. Damon raised his brow as he looked at her.

"Where do you think the witch is buried Elena?" He asked in a serious tone. Elena sighed as she stepped closer to the bathtub and rested her hand on the smooth porcelain surface. She took in a breath and prepared to ask another question, but quickly felt Damon's wet hand move over hers.

"I didn't bring you here to talk about my brother and our problems, Elena." He said thickly as his voice came out slightly lower than before. Elena swallowed hard as she looked up into his blue eyes and once again felt her heart begin to speed up in her chest.

"Then why did you bring me here?" She asked softly. Damon smiled and slid his hand from hers as he slowly ran his tongue over the thick curve of his bottom lip.

"As I said, I missed you." He said as his hungry eyes ran slowly over her body. Elena opened her mouth to speak, but the look in Damon's eyes stopped her.

"Take off your dress." He said in almost a whisper as he leaned back against the bathtub. Elena let out a deep breath and without an argument she quickly slid her hands down her hips and began to pull her dress up the length of her body. Slowly, she pulled the soft material up and then over her head before she finally discarded it on the cool tiled floor. Finally, she moved another step closer to the bathtub and then lifted one of her long legs and carefully climbed into the water.

Slowly, Elena began to lower herself down to Damon's waiting body, but before she reached him, Damon raised his hand and stopped her.

"Wait." He said quickly as he leaned forward and gently raised his hands to the softness of her long sumptuous legs. Slowly, Damon ran his fingers from her thighs up over the flesh of her hips and to the soft dip of her side. He exhaled deeply as he ran his hands to the smooth expanse of her stomach and then over the harsh curve of her hipbone. He slid his hands down over her thighs once again and then twisted his hands between her legs and up to her now trembling core. Elena sucked in a ragged breath.

"Damon." She moaned as she felt his fingers come in contact with the part of her that had ached for him for longer than she cared to admit. Damon licked his lips again and slid one of his hands up Elena's body to rest on her hip while his other hand began to slowly move over the delicate flesh of her core.

"God you did miss me didn't you baby?" Damon asked in a hoarse voice as he began to slowly rub his fingers rhythmically over Elena's now dangerously wet clit. Elena licked her lips and nodded as she felt her mind begin to spin out of control at the feeling of his hands on her once again.

"Yes." She moaned as she dropped her head back and let the familiar sensations of Damon's touch rush over her body. Damon quickly dug his fingers into Elena's hip and pulled her body closer to him.

"Look at me Elena." He demanded in a thick voice that dripped with lust and need. Elena quickly lifted her head and stared down into the ocean blue eyes that had always tortured her in the most delicious way.

Damon's eyes burned into Elena's as he dropped his head to just above the wet flesh of her core. He breathed heavily against her body and smiled as he noticed goose bumps break out over every inch of her beautiful olive skin.

"Please Damon." Elena begged as she stared down at him as he continued to torture her with his waves of heated breath on her skin. Damon looked up at her and his cobalt eyes seemed to move inside of her to a place that she didn't know had existed before that moment. He opened his mouth and in a painfully slow movement, licked a long wet line up the length of her heated clit as his eyes remained locked with hers.

"Damon…" Elena moaned as she quickly reached down and tangled her fingers in his hair to somehow steady herself. Damon licked his lips and groaned as he pulled back slightly from her body.

"Fuck, you taste better than I remember." He whispered and then slid his hand down her thigh and lifted her leg so that her foot could rest on the side of the bathtub. He moved closer to her and in a quick motion crushed his mouth against her and devoured her aching flesh.

"Oh fuck." Elena moaned as she felt Damon's mouth begin to hungrily work over her like she had remembered him doing so many times before. His tongue moved over her in long fluid movements that caused her body to ache with need as every crash of his mouth against her skin only made her want him more. She twisted her fingers in his raven hair and pulled him closer to her as she let the sensations that his mouth gave her, take her higher and higher with his every heated movement. Before she had time to realize it, Elena felt her body beginning to tighten and the edges of her vision slowly began to blur. She looked back down at Damon and saw his beautiful blue eyes still watching her every move. He moaned and began to suck gently on her small bundle of nerves as he also continued to pull her body closer to him.

"Damon…I'm…" Elena whimpered as the heat began to rush over her flesh, but just as she felt the pressure in her core nearly explode inside of her, she felt Damon slowly pull away. Elena moaned and looked down at him desperately.

"Come here." He said roughly as he tightened his grip on her hips and then pulled her quickly down on top of him. Elena slid her legs tightly around Damon's body and then pulled herself as close to him as she could just before she crushed her mouth against his. She kissed him hungrily as she lifted her hips slightly and took him deep inside of her in a quick but passionate movement.

"God, I missed you." Elena moaned as she ran her tongue over Damon's bottom lip and began to roll her hips hard against his body. Damon moaned as he tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her painfully hard against him.

"Fuck Elena, ride me harder." Damon ordered as he slipped his mouth from hers and began to trail fiery wet lines from her chin down the long expanse of her delicate throat.

"I need you Damon, fuck I need you so bad." Elena moaned as she rocked her hips harder against Damon's and began to frantically lick and suck down the smooth skin of his neck and shoulders. Damon groaned and quickly pulled her hair so that her head fell back as he brought his mouth to the hollow of her throat. He licked a long wet line all the way up to the soft skin of her jaw and then ran his teeth over the soft bone that lay just beneath.

"Say my name." Damon moaned as he lifted his hips and drove into her harder. Elena moaned and pulled herself tighter to him so she could take him as deep as her body would allow.

"Damon." She moaned as she pushed her body hard enough against his that had he been human she was certain she would have hurt him. Damon groaned and pulled her hair tighter in his hand.

"Now scream for me Elena. Show me how much you want me." He ordered breathlessly as he once again lifted his hips and thus caused the now cooling water that surrounded them to begin to splash out over the bathtub and onto the floor.

"Damon…God I want you…Give me more…Give me everything." Elena moaned as she ground her body as hard as she could against Damon's until she heard a primal growl escape his lips.

"I'll give you more than everything, Elena." He whispered hungrily and then in an instant the room around them shook and shattered until nothing was left, but them.

Damon's teeth quickly penetrated the soft skin of Elena's throat and sank deeply into her flesh as he pushed his hips against hers with the same force. Elena moaned as she felt her blood begin to spill from her body and move over Damon's lips as she wrapped her arms tightly around him, bringing their bodies so close together that with every move Damon made, Elena moved with him.

"More…" Elena begged as Damon sucked feverishly at her throat and slammed his hips furiously against hers. Elena's body began to burn and suddenly her core contracted painfully tightly as a rush of heated pleasure poured over her entire body.

"Damon…Oh God…." Elena moaned as the waves of pleasure continued to flow over her body with every movement of Damon's mouth on her skin. Slowly, as her orgasm began to subside so did the force of Damon's mouth on her overheated skin. By the time the last wave of pleasure has passed over her, Damon had pulled back from her crimson stained throat and was once again looking into her chocolate brown eyes.

"I love you." Elena whispered softly as she lowered her head to Damon's and pressed her forehead gently against his. Damon nodded as he ran his fingers up the side of her face and over the swell of her lips.

"I love you too, but Elena I need to tell you something before you wake up and I need you to listen to me, alright?" He asked suddenly serious as he still tried to gain control over his breathing. Elena nodded as she leaned down and gently kissed his lips.

"Alright." She whispered as she found her body still desperately hungry for his. Damon slid his hands up to cradle her face in his hands and then slowly pulled back and looked into her eyes.

"Elena, when I come back I am going to be acting different than I did when I was home. I am going to have to act this way for a while until everything calms down and this whole mess is over. It will be confusing and it might even be painful, but I need you to know it's not me. I just have to do this; it is the only way for me to protect you and everyone else right now, alright?" He asked as he stared into her large doe eyes. Elena nodded and leaned down and pressed her lips to his once again.

"Alright…anything. I'll do anything, just come home Damon." She whispered as her mouth opened hungrily and she slid her tongue into his mouth once again. Damon moaned as she kissed him, but he finally pulled back and met her eyes once again.

"Don't you want to ask me why, Elena?" He asked as he looked questioningly at her. Elena smiled and shook her head.

"No." She whispered. Damon tilted his head and stared at her.

"Why the hell not?" He asked as a small laugh erupted from his lips. Elena leaned down and ran her hands over the sides of his face and smiled.

"Because I trust you, if you say it's what we need to do, then we'll do it. End of story." She whispered and slowly began to rub her body against his once again. Damon groaned, but put his hands on her shoulders and put a slight distance between their bodies.

"God Elena, you are killing me. I have to go, it's almost morning." He whispered as he stared into her eyes. The passion in Elena's eyes soon faded and panic filled them.

"No Damon please." She begged as she leaned down closer to him. Damon sighed and pulled her tighter to his body. Elena laid her head on his shoulder and let him wrap himself around her in a tight and comforting embrace.

"I will be home soon, Elena. Please just remember what I said. Before we know it this will all be over and we can finally be together, I just have to take care of a few things first." He whispered to her as he smoothed his fingers through her tousled chocolate brown locks. Elena nodded and buried her face in the crook of Damon's neck and held onto him as tightly as she could. It only took a few moments, but soon the feeling of his warm embrace disappeared and was replaced by a feeling of emptiness as she began to spin uncontrollably in a whirl of endless darkness.

Elena jolted upright in her bed and stared frantically around her bedroom. She looked down at her tangled sheets and felt sweat pouring down her skin as she tried to collect herself. She twisted her body and looked over at her bedside table to her clock that read 4:00 AM. Elena sighed and let herself fall back gently onto the softness of her pillows. She stared up at the ceiling and wrapped her arms tightly around her body. It was so strange to her that after a dream like that she could almost still smell Damon on her skin. He hadn't even been with her in the flesh, but something about his presence whether it be in her mind or simply right in front of her, always seemed to be so consuming that it could never be hidden.

Elena closed her eyes as she let the feeling of Damon surround her. The past eleven months had been torture and being with him tonight had just reminded her of the pain of the months before. At first, she had anticipated that Stefan would run off to find Damon and that they would return to Mystic Falls in a matter of weeks. She figured that after that, their lives would be turned upside down by hybrid hijinks and endless dead bodies of possibly the people that she loved. She waited for and yet feared the day they would return all at the same time, but with each passing day she finally realized they were simply not coming back. Damon had left, Damon was gone.

Elena had respected Damon's wishes in the beginning and did most of the things he had told her to do. She went to her classes, graduated from high school and surrounded herself with her friends. Sure, her friends hadn't exactly been normal since her two best friends consisted of a witch and a vampire, but they kept her safe and she knew that was what he had wanted in the first place. The one thing, however that she couldn't do was find anyone to replace him. Caroline and Bonnie had tried to convince her on many occasions that it was alright for her to date someone and had even tried to set her up on countless blind dates, but Elena wasn't interested in any of it. The last time that Elena had been touched by a man had been the beautiful morning that she had laid under Damon's body on those smooth stairs and felt wave after wave of pleasure sweep over her as he had made love to her until she had collapsed beneath him in exhaustion. He was the last man that had given her true pleasure and he was the only man she would ever allow to do it again, she was his, and now she just prayed he would come back and finally claim her.

The sound of her cellphone vibrating next to her head jarred Elena from her thoughts as she nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound. Quickly, she turned and reached over to her bedside table and picked up her phone to realize she had an unread text message. She clicked on the icon to see a text received from an unknown number. She looked down at the one simple word in front of her and felt her heart nearly stop in her chest.

Soon

Elena swallowed thickly as the power of that one simple word rushed over her body and sent her mind spinning out of control. He was coming back. He was returning to her. After almost a year of pain he was finally coming home and soon this nightmare would all be over…soon…not now…soon. Elena felt her stomach twist slightly as she remembered the words that Damon had said to her in her dream only moments before. As she thought back over the warning he had given her she finally wondered exactly what he had meant when he had said he would have to act different?

Please read and review! I know I said no smut in this chapter, but the writing just kind of happened that way lol and well I think I still got a lot of what I wanted to accomplish done. I know that lots of you were angry with Damon leaving and his very Cullen like reasons for doing so. I hope that this chapter better explained his main reason for leaving and that his tumultuous emotions were only a small part of it. There was a master plan and don't we love a Damon with a master plan lol? Anyway, let me know what you thought of the chapter and the smut and please know that I have great places for this story still to go and lots more drama coming your way. I'm trying to tone down the angst a little, from here forward in the story its more drama and Delena's all-consuming love for each other, not the angsty pain that the show does. I figured I did that enough already. So, enough of the chatter, let me know what you think and thank you sooo much for reading everyone. I appreciate all your reviews, comments and message and I am so happy that you all enjoy the story. Click the button REVIEW ME! Nikki