Chapter 6

The feel of Damon's arms around her was something she'd never felt with Stefan. She felt more safe then she ever had in her entire life. Damon softly brushed his lips up to Elena's neck, trailing kisses down to her chest. Elena moaned softly. She knew that this was wrong and that she should be with Stefan, but the Stefan she knew was long gone and this sudden caring, soft side of Damon drew her to him like a month to a flame.

Elena sat up in the queen sized bed she was in, breathing heavily. She remembered how she had gotten here. Damon took her to a bar after looking at the river and they both got wasted, got a hotel room, and did things that she wasn't too happy about. Damon, on the other hand, didn't see anything wrong with what they did. Elena sighed, narrowing her eyes at Damon. Damon smiled innocently. "What's wrong kitten?"

Elena snapped her teeth together in anger. "You know what we did!"

Damon raised an eyebrow. "So? You aren't with Stefan anymore."

"I know." Elena whispered, her anger quickly fading away. "It just feels...wrong."

Damon sighed as he put his arm around Elena's shoulder. "There is nothing wrong about this. As far as I know, you hate Stefan right now and have no intentions of getting back with him."

"I know."

"Then why are you trying to say that this is wrong?"

Elena shook her head. "I don't know. It doesn't feel right that I'm with you and not Stefan."

Damon's eyes narrowed in anger. "Well, if you feel like that then you should just leave." He got up off the bed and faced the wall.

A pang of sadness flew through Elena's body. She knew that she had just upset him and she wanted to tell him that she was falling for him but she couldn't. "Damon." Elena put her hand on his shoulder comforting. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that."

Damon sighed, turning around so he was facing Elena. "I know. It just irks me that you still think Stefan is the right one for you when you have clearly taken a liking to me."

Elena's eyes widened in shock. Were her feelings for Damon that strong where he could see it? No, it can't be. Up until now she had loved Stefan until he became abusive. Now she didn't know what to do.

Damon took Elena's face in his hands, holding her gently. "Don't deny it Elena. I know you have feelings for me." His face turned into a smirk. "Which is fine by me."

Elena sighed and shoved away from Damon. She walked a couple of steps away from him before wheeling on him. "I know how much you want us to happen, but I just can't...yet. Give me some time."

Damon nodded, still grinning. "Take all the time you want. I'll be waiting."

"Until Katherine comes back." Elena muttered to herself.

Damon's blue eyes immediately turned into raging storms of anger. "She means nothing to me. She doesn't deserve me after what she did to me." In a flash, Damon's arms were around Elena, holding her warm body close to him. "You are nothing like her. Your looks is the only similarity you two have."

Elena nodded, resting her head against Damon's chest. "I guess you're right."

Damon breathed in her sweet scent, the feel of his fangs were beginning to come to the surface but he held them back. Elena looked up into his oceanic eyes, getting completely lost in them. Damon stroked her beautiful brown hair as Elena buried her head into his chest, letting the tears fall. "It'll be ok." Damon whispered consolingly.

Elena looked up from her waves of tears, watching as Damon wiped them away. She had no idea what to do. She loved Stefan, but ever since he became abusive, she found herself growing closer to Damon. He had been so understanding and caring in the past week, helping her every step of the way.

Damon suddenly grinned. "Let's go have some fun." he hopped up from the bed and ran to the closet, throwing out clothes for Elena and himself.

Elena stared at him quizzically. "Where are we going?"

"To the beach." Damon simply replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Elena watched as Damon jumped back onto the bed, a glint of excitement in his eyes. "C'mon Elena, you need a break from everything in your life."

Elena sighed. She couldn't resist Damon when he looked at her like that. His watery blue eyes stole the breath right out of her lungs. She could look at them forever. "Ok." Elena replied, gathering her clothes and pulling out a blue striped bathing suit.

Damon eyed the two piece up and down, clearly satisfied. "That'll do."

Elena playfully rolled her eyes at him before going into the bathroom to change. "I'm warning you Damon. No peeking."

"You won't even know that I'm here." smirked Damon as he grabbed his trousers. Elena shut the door, breathing a sign of relief. Finally, she was alone. Now her thoughts could flow freely. There was no stopping the horrid memories from consuming her. It was pulling her down into the darkness, She didn't know what went wrong. One minute she had a caring boyfriend who would do anything for her, now that same person has became her worst nightmare. Damon had been the monster in her eyes, until Stefan fell off the wagon she saw a new side to him she'd thought she never see. Compassionate, caring, almost acted as if he had a heart. At first she had thought it was all an act, but now she wasn't sure what to think. All she knew that unimaginable feelings for Damon were starting to develop.

Quickly, she slipped into her bathing suit and slid her feet into her pink flowered flip flops. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror. Not too bad. She thought as she opened the door to reveal Damon standing there with his blue swim trunks on, smirking at her as he slung a towel over his shoulder.

"Let's go." Elena smiled as a warm feeling settled into the pit of her stomach as she took and Damon's hand and they walked out the door together.

The air was humid as they stepped out of the car and the smell of sea water hit their faces as they surveyed the scene. Foam sprayed everywhere as the water slammed hard into rocks, spraying water everywhere on the sandy beach. It was like a desert surrounding them but with plenty of people. A few children ran around the water and played in the sand, watched by the eye of their parents. Huge waves rose up in the far distance, making this a great place for surfing. Damon smirked as he turned to Elena. "Let's go to the ocean."

Elena smiled as starting running. "Race you!" she yelled back at him as her feet kicked up sand, flinging it behind her.

Damon smirked as appeared directly infront of the water and looked behind him to see Elena a few feet behind. She took one look at him and groaned. "Not fair Damon!"

"All's fair in love and war." Damon took a couple of strides into the water then faced Elena, grinning mischievously. "Think fast."

A spray of cold salt water blasted Elena full force. She staggered a step back, giving the laughing Damon a full death glare before splashing water of her own back at him. This water war continued for awhile; Elena was clearly losing. Elena was just about to splash him again when a huge wave pulled the unsuspecting Damon under. He quickly got up, sand falling from his mattered hair. He muttered a few curse words before turning back to Elena who was laughing hysterically. "Shut up!" he sputtered, a little bit of water spewing from his mouth which only caused Elena to laugh harder. "Take a picture, it'll last longer." Damon ran over to Elena and shoved her down into the water just as a wave came, smacking Elena in the head tumbling her across the sandy bottom.

Elena managed to untangle herself from the water, gasping for breath. Two arms wrapped themselves around her body, supporting her while she heaved up water. Elena secretly smiled. She had Damon right where she wanted him.

Damon softly kissed her forehead, rubbing her back up and down. "Couldn't take the water?" he laughed lightly.

Elena nodded, slowly turning around. As fast as lighting, she slammed her hand into Damon's face, smearing it with wet sand. She took her hand off and grinned cat-like. "Couldn't take that?"

Damon cursed and wiped the sand from his face. He should've seen it coming. His eyes caught Elena smiling, flipping her chocolate hair out of her bathing suit and covering her back with a dark waterfall. She really was beautiful. He couldn't understand why his brother would give something like this up for human blood. The beaming sunlight got caught in Elena's eyes, making them shine like never before. Her hair became a lighter shade of brown as it flowed gracefully in the soft breeze. He walked through the water, pulling her into his arms and resting his head on her shoulder blade. She smiled up at him, cuddling up to his soaked body and breathing in that saltwater smell that lingered on his skin. They both looked at each other, a spark going off in each of their bodies. Slowly, their lips met and fireworks went off Elena's body. The kiss was so passionate, so intense. It was nothing compared to Stefan's. Her tongue traveled through Damon's mouth, savoring every taste. They pulled away too quick for Elena's liking and just stared into the other's eyes. Now, she knew who she wanted to be with. The time for thinking was over, for she has chosen. She knew who would treat her right and not hurt her. She knew who would protect her and watch over her. "I love you." she choked out, surprised by what she just said.

Damon kissed her fully on the lips while moving away a strand of hair from her face. "I love you too. You made me realize that I'm not a monster. I'm someone who can be good. Katherine never made me feel like that." he looked deep into her endless brown eyes. "I'll always be here for you. You don't have to worry about Stefan hurting you anymore."

Elena muzzled her head into the crook of Damon's neck, wanting to stay there forever. She didn't want to return home, for fear of what was waiting for her, but apart of her wanted to so she could make sure that everyone is ok. Damon breathed softly on her neck, fanning it with his breath. "I think we should go."

Elena nodded, wrapping her arms around Damon's neck and inhaling his scent one last time before untangling her arms and walking towards the beach. Damon swiftly grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the shore, walking into the beautiful pink and red sunset that filled the sky with a majestic glow. Damon looked over to the fallen angel that came into his life and helped him through the rough patches in his life. She was nothing like that whore who he used to love. How could he have loved such a selfish person?

Elena smiled as she turned to face him, looking into his brilliant sky blue eyes once more before bounding off to the car, the painted picture of the sunset still fresh in the sky. Damon followed eagerly, not knowing what was ahead but knowing that Elena would always stay safe.

A/N: I'm back from vacation! Hawaii was amazing! Had so much fun there! So sorry for the long wait on my stories but I'm back now and I'll be updating more frequently so be on the lookout for new stories and new story updates! Hoped you all enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review before you go! Thanks and Aloha! (bye in Hawaiian)