Enjoy these fast updates while they last lol.

I go back to work next week, so they may slow down a bit.

Anyway, I'll catch ya at the bottom!

Elena's POV

"We'll be back some time in the morning," I told Alaric over the phone, "As soon as Damon's healed enough to drive."

I could almost feel the Alpha nod, "Yeah those bites are a bitch. Are you sure the two of you are going to be okay?"

"I think so," I sighed, looking back at the motel we'd checked into for the night.

The sun had set as we'd been returning the jeep, and Damon had insisted on driving his car, seeing as it was a manual which I had no idea how to operate.

So, despite the fact that the color had never returned to his face, I'd let him.

Then he'd spent the first five miles on the road swerving into the opposite lane and I'd made him pull over.

And now we were here.

"Just be careful," Alaric warned, "And call me the second you're back on the road."

"I will," I promised, then hung up the phone so I could get back inside the room.

Damon was propped on one of the two beds, still looking annoyed as hell, only now he was naked.

Apart from the towel wrapped around his waist.

I ignored that.

"This was all they had at the gas station," I told him, dropping the bag I'd picked up from the Shell across the street onto the bed next to him.

"Junk food, water, gauze and...neosporin?" he looked up at me, "Seriously?"

"Disinfecting those wounds isn't a bad idea," I told him, "And wrapping them up will help."

"They're already fading," he assured me, pulling himself to his feet so I could see for myself.

He didn't seem to be in pain anymore, but the area that showed over the towel was still red and a little swollen, the cut darkening as the skin pulled itself together.

It looked as though it were days, if not a couple weeks old, instead of hours, but then again the fast healing was just part of what I was now.

What Damon had always been...

But at least the cut had stopped bleeding.

"It could still use a bit more time," I told him sternly, "And sit back down. You aren't going to heal any faster if you don't try to rest."

"Happy to know you care," he smirked, ignoring my advice, and I rolled my eyes, "You're my ride home, remember?"

"Well at least you still have use for me," he murmured and I sighed, "Don't do this."

"Don't do what?" he challenged.

"Make this harder than it has to be."

He scoffed, "I'm making this hard? If it wasn't for you, Kitten, we'd be on our way home, happily ignoring each other as we crossed the state line."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I demanded, "If it wasn't for me?"

"It means that I had the situation under control until you came in and made me lose focus. If you'd just gotten in the damn car like I'd told you to-"

"I was trying to help you," I snapped, "That wolf was all over you and-"

"And I had him," Damon stated coldly, "This is what I do, Elena, this is my job. I deal with these rogues. I hunt them, I chase them off and sometimes," his eyes narrowed as they stared at me, "I kill them. It's what I was trained my entire life to do. I didn't need your help and I certainly didn't need you distracting me."

I flinched a little at his words, at the reminder that I'd never really known him at all, but I refused to let him put the blame for this on me.

It wasn't my fault that he barked orders without giving reasons, or that he'd let himself be distracted simply because I'd stepped in to help.

"This is my job now too," I told him, "And I'm sorry that you got hurt, but you shouldn't have cut me out. Alaric wanted us to work together and I'm never going to learn if my being around is a distraction for you."

I waited for his retort, but to my surprise, the annoyance bled from his expression and his lip curved a little, "Alright. Fair enough."

Feeling as if I'd actually won this round, I let the conversation drop and looked again at his injuries.

"Did you clean them at least?"

He nodded, "As much as I could with hotel soap and water."

I tried to ignore the image of Damon all wet and sudsy in the shower, and forced my attention to his wounds.

My eyes didn't stray to the towel at his waist. Nope. Not at all.

"Can I at least wrap them up?" I asked to distract myself.

"No use," he said, "You can't destroy the venom and it's better to let it air out. It'll heal faster."

"So we just wait," I sighed, glancing around the shabby hotel, "In this tiny room, with it's mediocre beds and crappy excuse of a television."

Damon smirked again, and I hated how much more attractive the look made him.

"If I recall," he started, "You didn't use to mind these tiny little rooms, and you certainly never gave a thought to the mediocrity of the mattresses."

Flashes of all of our nights in hotel rooms, trying to avoid the awkward roommate situation, filled my mind and I hated how the blood rose to my face at the memories.

"Things change," I said simply, but Damon stared at me as if he could read my mind.

His look brought forth more memories of those hotel visits and I had to drop my gaze.

"That's right kitten, purr for me."

"Elena," Damon's voice was closer than I expected, and I glanced up to see that he'd moved.

Standing in front of me now, his eyes were piercing and I couldn't shake the echo of his breathy voice in my ear that night.

"Bite me. Mark me. Make me yours."

I swallowed thickly as Damon's eyes darkened for a different reason and I hated to think of what he was reading in my expression.

Then his phone rang and the tension broke.

He grabbed it from the nightstand, and checked the ID.

"It's Ric," he said, "I should probably take this."

I nodded "That's fine, I...I need," Away from you, "I need to go take a shower anyway."

He didn't stop me as I bolted across the room, entered the small attached bathroom, and shut the door firmly behind me.

"This was a good idea," Bonnie murmured as she lowered her sunglasses as she let little William splash in the shallow water we were sitting in.

I smiled and looked out over the river, completely agreeing.

The past few weeks had been filled with nothing but stress and worry for the young.

Their little mishap with the mark had put everyone on edge, but at least they seemed to understand the gravity of the situation when we explained it to them.

They promised to be careful, and I'd just have to trust that they would be.

Damon, however, had decided that we needed a break from the drama and should try to have some fun.

Some of the others had jumped on board with that plan, and now we were all soaking up some sun down where the trees cleared for the river.

Mason and Damon were taking turns throwing the three older children into the deep part of the water while Klaus had Caroline in his arms, the blonde nuzzling against his neck suggestively.

I smirked, splashing some water in their direction, "Hey! No canoodling in the water!"

"Ooh," Mason called over, having just passed Skylar off to Damon, "You heard the Queen. No canoodling."

Klaus chuckled as Caroline stuck her tongue out, "Last I checked, the Pack wasn't a monarchy."

"Might as well be," Mason laughed, then heaved as he threw Daniel out again, "And to be honest, if it was, Elena would totally be queen! Alpha's mate and lone female in the Pack."

"Ha," I said smugly, and Caroline rolled her eyes playfully, "Well I think the queen has done her fair share of canoodling in this water and therefore is being a hypocrite!"

I opened my mouth in a fake gasp, "How rude."

"Treason!" Mason shouted, and the young giggled, swimming around him.

Even Damon was shaking his head at Caroline, playing along, "To speak to my mate like that…"

I laughed, "I think this requires a punishment."

Klaus, getting in on the fun, stood up with Caroline in his arms and walked over to me, offering a small bow of his head, "What shall the punishment be, my queen?"

"Hey," Caroline scolded, smacking his shoulder, "You're supposed to be on my side! Where's the loyalty?"

I tapped my chin, pretending to think as Bonnie chuckled from beside me.

"I think this rebellious offender should be thrown into the deep water," I said decisively, "That should teach her some respect."

"I'm gonna kill you," Caroline growled as threateningly as she could as Klaus carried her back into the river, "I mean it, Niklaus!"

When he didn't stop, she called out to Bonnie, "We can't stand for this tierney! Bonnie, revolt with me!"

Bonnie simply lifted the hand that wasn't holding William, "Hey, this is werewolf hierarchy. Officially not my business."

"Damn it."

Klaus paused, motioning to Mason, "Lockwood, will you move my young and the twins so that I can dunk my mate, please?"

As Mason and Damon ushered them out of the way, Caroline returned her gaze to Klaus and brought her hand up to his cheek, "You aren't really going to throw me. You wouldn't do that to your mate, would you?"

He pretended to think about it, "Hmm, perhaps my allegiance could be swayed with some convincing…"

She smiled and kissed him.

"What the hell," I complained, as he carried her out of the water, instead of throwing her in, and dropped down on the towel she'd brought for them, "I'm starting to think you're right, Caroline. Loyalty is so fickle."

But Klaus was kissing her again, so she didn't answer me.

"Hey, didn't you just get scolded for canoodling?" Mason popped off as one of the boys jumped on his back.

Klaus flipped him off, but Caroline sweetly pointed out, "Actually, Elena said no canoodling in the water. We aren't in the water."

I forced sighed and looked at Bonnie, "Remind me to be more specific the next time I order a royal decree."

She merely nodded, a smile in place.

Damon swam over to us then, leaving Mason to be tackled by the young, and paused at my feet, "You could come out to the deep end and we could do some canoodling of our own."

I smirked, shaking my head, "There are little eyes present, mister."

He grabbed one of my ankles, giving it a yank and I lost my balance.

"Hey!"

He pulled me into his arms, floating out a little more, "Daaamon."

"Momma!" Skylar saw that I had joined them and rushed over, "Did you see how far I went? Uncle Mason threw me so high!"

I smiled at her, "Yeah, it looked so fun!"

She nodded as she waded in the water, "I'm gonna go even higher this time! Daddy will you throw me? Please?"

Damon smiled a little and loosened his grip on me to take Skylar into his arms, "Alright," he told her, checking to be sure the space was clear, "One, two…"

He tossed her over and she landed with a splash, giggling when she emerged.

I smiled too, as she swam back over to where Daniel and Michael were attempting to drown Mason.

"You look happy," Damon mused, and I turned my gaze to him.

His eyes were bright with the water's reflection, droplets hanging from the ends of his bangs, and I knew that I wasn't the only one feeling the euphoria of the day.

"This was a good idea," I told him, "We needed it."

"We did," he agreed, pulling me close once more, and dropped a kiss to my forehead.

I smiled, resting against his chest, and watched our family.

Klaus was back in the water now, helping Mason with the young, and Caroline had moved to take William from Bonnie, the two now playing with the grinning toddler.

The weather was warm without being too hot, and the contentedness settled in my stomach.

"You gave me all of this," I murmured, knowing Damon would hear me, "I love you for it. So much."

He smiled against my hair, "How much do you love me?"

I leaned back to meet his stare, "More than you'll ever know."

He rubbed his nose against mine, "Enough to bend your new canoodling rule, my queen?"

I laughed, "Well, I wouldn't want to be a hypocrite."

"When we get back to the house then," he decided, his gaze dropping to my lips in that way that always makes me want to pounce him, "And we'll canoodle all we want in the privacy of our bedroom."

I practically purred at the promise, squeezing my legs around him, "All we want, huh?"

He nodded, kissing my nose, then my lips.

When his teeth grazed me as he pulled away, I exhaled sharply, getting really warm in certain places.

Damon's forehead rested against mine and his eyes closed, "I love your scent right now."

I giggled a little, "River water and sexual frustration?"

"Lust," he corrected, pressing his nose against the side of my neck and inhaling deeply, "I love the way you smell when you want me."

His teeth nipped my throat and I growled, about ready to throw out my new rule when a cold splash hit us in the face.

I spluttered water from my mouth and turned to see Caroline grinning vindictively.

"Out of the water if you're going to canoodle, your majesty!"

Damon chuckled and kissed my cheek, "Later, kitten. I promise."

I nodded in agreement, and let him lead me over to where our children were currently having the time of their lives.

I would enjoy them now...and my mate later.

I'd waited until I'd heard Damon pull on some pants and step outside of the room before I turned on the shower.

At first, it had just been an excuse to get away, but the longer I sat waiting, the more appealing the idea had sounded.

I warmed up the water then stepped under the spray, pulling the curved curtain closed.

The shower felt good against my skin, but did nothing to wash away the thoughts in my head.

If anything, it only drug up other memories of Damon and I, getting wet together in more ways than one.

I wanted to scream.

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to fucking orgasm.

The thought wasn't one I was proud of, but since I had turned, sexual frustration was the one form of release that had yet to find an outlet for and being around Damon had only made the need worse.

And now I'd have to spend all night in the same room as him, knowing he preferred to sleep naked, and knowing how talented those lips of his were, and what power those muscles held behind-

My hand was slipping down before I could think to stop it.

Alaric's words about wolf instinct and human emotion voided my thoughts as my desire took the reigns from either.

I ran my fingers over my slit, then began to rub in a circular motion.

My head fell back and my eyes closed, imagining it was Damon touching me this way.

His hands were bigger, rougher, but mine were good enough for a climax to start building in my stomach.

Fuck, I didn't want this.

I didn't want to think of him this way, to want him this way...but I couldn't help it.

Memories of the times we'd made love, of riding him through orgasm after orgasm, of him taking me from behind at a bruising pace all filled my head and robbed my breath.

I was getting close now.

Damon's head in between my legs, that tongue of his doing sinful things that made me scream his name as I built and built and-

"Elena?"

I jumped at the sound of my name, not having heard Damon reenter the hotel room.

I cleared my throat, "Yeah?"

"Just checking on you," his voice was muffled by the door, but I still blushed.

"I'm fine," I forced, "Al-almost done."

He didn't answer, so I assumed he heard me and focused instead on trying to regain control of my breathing.

Shit.

When my heart rate was normal enough, I turned off the water and grabbed a towel.

Frustrated, I wrapped it around my body and gathered my clothes from the counter.

No crying, no screaming, and now I couldn't even finish getting myself off.

Damon would be lucky if I didn't make his ass go sleep out in the car.

Slipping on my shirt and forgoing the pants since the shirt was long enough to cover my ass, I walked out of the bathroom.

Damon was sitting on the edge of what was supposed to be my bed, nothing but his pants on, fiddling with his phone.

"Everything okay?" I asked, running the towel through my hair, trying to pretend I hadn't just been pleasuring myself with him right in the next room.

But I had been, and for some reason it made me very aware of the male in front of me.

It was impossible not to notice the way his muscles flexed beneath his exposed skin, or how the ends of his pull-able hair brushed the base of his neck, which I was suddenly aching to sink my teeth into.

He nodded, tossing his cell aside as he stood up, "Fine. Ric just wanted a report on the Mutt. It seems that he-"

Damon fell silent and I paused my own movements as I watched him.

His body had stiffened and his head turned slowly until his gaze met mine.

He didn't blink, and his eyes focused on me in a way that was almost predatory.

Then he was prowling toward me.

"What are you-"

My own words faltered as he pulled me into his arms and his face fell to the crook of my neck, inhaling against my skin.

Something primal in me pushed for a response, but I remained frozen.

Confused. Intimidated. Aroused.

"Damon..." I breathed.

His head lifted so that I could see the expression on his face and everything about it screamed of the same dirty thoughts I'd been having in the shower.

"Your. scent. is. so. fucking…" his pointed words died with an erotic growl and my body responded immediately, running wet for him.

Those captivating irises of his darkened, and he inhaled again, his nostrils flaring this time.

His hand trailed down my arm, grabbing my palm and brought it up to his nose.

He breathed me in, his eyes closing, and the same growl from before vibrated in his throat.

Then his eyes flew opened and his gaze told me that he knew exactly what I'd been doing in the bathroom.

He could smell it.

And he was reading in my face the affect he had on my body.

"You want me," he breathed, his voice thick with lust as his own wanting scent flared up my nose, "I'd started to doubt but...you still want me."

His body seemed twice it's normal size as he towered over me, and I took a few steps back, meeting the wall.

"Damon, don't-"

Don't what, though?

Don't look at me like you want to eat me?

Don't bare your teeth like you're dying to mark me as badly as I want to let you?

None of these words found their way out my mouth, but what my mouth did find, was Damon.

I would never be able to recall who had moved first, but somehow our bodies crashed together, and his lips were against mine, devouring me as if I were a buffet and he'd been starving his whole damn life.

Whatever resistance I might have had left me the second our skin touched and I grabbed Damon's face, pulling him desperately closer.

My wolf wanted more of him; all of him.

Damon picked me up and my legs wrapped around his waist as he pinned me against the wall.

His hands seemed unable to stop in one place as they grabbed and held and squeezed my body in every way possible.

His tongue forced itself into my mouth and my answering moan only stoked his raging hunger.

His palms squeezed my ass as he turned us and only then, when I realized he was heading for the bed, did my brain make a feeble attempt to fight back.

This isn't right, it screamed.

Damon is hurt.

And I hate him.

I still hate him.

We can't….he can't...oh God, his hands were at my underwear, tearing them from my body with a sharp ripping noise, and my shirt wasn't given much better treatment.

We were on the bed.

Even my own hands ignored my protest and were finding their way to the waistline of Damon's jeans as he settled into the curve of my body, reconnecting our mouths.

This was how things were meant to be between us.

We molded together perfectly, as if my hips were carved for the specific purpose of holding his weight against them.

I lost myself in the feel of him, in the memory of all it promised, and it was almost too easy to let the wolf take over.

This felt too good; too right, and she was tired of being silenced.

This was what she wanted, what she knew her mate wanted, and what she planned on letting him have.

"I've missed you," Damon kissed his way down my jaw, "So damn much, kitten."

I didn't answer him, though the emotion his voice was laced with rocked me to the core.

I didn't want to think about what his words meant or what we were doing.

I just wanted to feel.

As always, when it came to sex, Damon could read my body like an open book.

His hands fell right to the place I wanted him most, lifting so he could tease my edges before pushing a finger into me.

Then another.

He swallowed my gasp with another kiss and as his hand increased its speed, all I could think to say was "More".

Damon didn't fail to deliver.

His fingers drove me up higher and higher as his free hand fisted in my hair and his mouth sucked blood to the surface of my throat.

Then his thumb against my clit brought me crashing down, convulsing as waves of pleasure rushed through me, and in that moment, I hated myself almost as much as I hated him.

My cries were drowned by more kisses and the sound of Damon's pants hitting the floor.

My legs wrapped around his waist, careful of his wound, and he pinned my arms above my head.

His grip was bruising, possessive, and his lips kissed down my chest, taking my breast into his mouth.

I bucked against him, moaning his name as heat once again swirled in my abdomen.

Once wasn't enough to satisfy the animal within me. I needed all of him.

"Damon, please," I begged, the thick haze of sex in my voice making me flush.

"When you admit that you want me," he compromised, moving against me so that I felt his erection brush my core.

God, I hated him.

I hated him so much for the demanding tone.

I hated him for needing the submission and for looking at me like he already knew I would give it to him.

Which I was going to, no matter how much I despised to.

Denying the fact now was pointless; it was too late to turn back and those intense blue eyes of his wouldn't let me lie.

"I want you," I breathed.

Damon's eyes darkened and I arched my back in a shameless offer.

I knew I would regret this tomorrow, when my mind was clear and my thoughts weren't in a instinctual cloud of sexual desire.

But right now, all that mattered was the look of pleasure on Damon's face.

My wolf's mate had what he wanted, and she was satisfied.

I felt the tip of him slide against me and I closed my eyes, my body tensing.

Then he was inside, pushing, stretching, filling, and nothing else mattered.

Damon drove me hard into the mattress, his hips snapping against mine in a way that was going to leave me sore.

And like I always had before, I took what he gave me and returned the favor.

We were a mess. A mess of nails and teeth and breathy sounds as we fought each other's bodies.

Pinning, sliding, rolling, and fucking.

This was so much more than it had ever been before, and somehow I knew it was because Damon no longer had to hold back.

I wasn't a fragile human anymore and he was taking me with no abandon, allowing his true nature to fully take over.

As I had mine.

I rocked against the bed, clinging to Damon's shoulders hard enough to draw blood as climax after climax rolled through me.

The pleasure was nearing pain now, and it wasn't even close to being over.

There was too much left unsaid between us, and we'd never been all that great at talking anyway.

Our bodies did that for us.

Damon's hand was buried in my hair and his lips found my neck again while he pounded into me.

"Mine," he growled against my skin, and I could only whimper in agreement.

His.

I came again before Damon pulled out, though the pause was only long enough to turn me onto my stomach.

He liked this position, as I recalled, and wasted no time in sliding back home.

I fought his hold, the submissive stance, but his fingers were digging into the skin of my hips, pulling me back onto him as he fucked me from behind and I shivered with another orgasm building.

This night was going to kill me.

Damon's head dropped to the back of my neck and I could hear his breathing with each thrust.

I felt when it quickened and when he grew harder inside of me.

He was close.

A hand left my hip to slip between my legs and his fingers on my clit were my undoing.

I came hard, and Damon's speed increased.

"Fuck," he groaned, molding his chest to my back, "I...fuck baby, I need..."

Somehow I knew.

Without another word, I knew exactly what he was asking for, and I knew that I was powerless to stop it.

So I moved my hair instead, baring my neck.

A growl reverberated through Damon's chest and his mouth came against me in a hard, sharp motion.

Damon's teeth sinking into my skin should have hurt.

It should have terrified me.

But the moment he bit down, I orgasmed again and it was the best I'd ever had.

Damon groaned and followed me over the edge, his teeth remaining buried in my neck until the tremors stopped and we collapsed onto the mattress.

If I'd been a smarter person, I would have heeded Alaric's words before and thought more about what they might mean.

About how giving my body to Damon, even as a human, had made my wolf more susceptible to him and had increased her desire to submit to his will.

But I hadn't, and now I was feeling first hand what allowing Damon's wolf to take complete control of mine was like.

He pulled me across the blankets, into his arms.

I wanted to argue...to fight, but found it nearly impossible to force the words to my lips.

I let him hold me.

Damon kissed me and I melted into his embrace, kissing him back like he was the air I needed to breath.

He whispered "I love you" as he nestled his head into the crook of my neck, licking over his bite, and the reciprocation burned my tongue as I held it in.

I loved him, even still. That was clear now.

And for my wolf, that was enough.

But the one thing stronger than her instinct was the rage that my humanity burned through my veins, and the pain was almost welcoming as Damon reached over and turned off the lamp, sending the room into darkness.

I needed the anger, the hurt, to remind me of why I couldn't have the one thing I wanted most.

The thing Damon was teasing me with as he peppered kisses into my hair and cradled me against his body.

I'd wanted nothing more than to have this with him forever.

But much like the lamp in the room, a single switch by Damon's hand had sent that dream plummeting into darkness, and I couldn't quite imagine the light returning any time soon.

Sooo smutty chapter lol.

Let me hear your thoughts! :)