Chapter 7 – The Reaping

-Elena-

Despite how my morning started off, it's been a really great day. The March weather is warm and sunny, just like the majority of the year here, and I'm really excited about spending some time with Stefan tonight.

Now grabbing a quick lunch before we begin our shopping endeavor, Bonnie, Caroline, and I have laughed for basically 2 hours straight. The entire drive to Phuket was spent much like our high school days – a little gossip from Bonnie to catch Caroline and I up on the happenings of Mystic Falls, a lot of discussion about celebrities and fashion, and some venting about our boyfriends, only now they are our husbands – all set to a soundtrack of some of our favorite songs.

"Ok," Caroline says, hiding her mouth with her hands as she finishes chewing a large bite of salad, "so let's get a game plan together."

I sip my bottle of water and lean back into the wrought iron patio seat. Relaxing in the warm sun and the presence of my very best friends, I explain that the mall, though not very grand, has some really nice shops with original, hand-made items, and it's only about ten minutes away. "Then we'll meet up with the boys in Songkhla" It's my first night away from the kids with Stefan… let me tell you that I am counting the seconds. I love my babies. I love them so so much! But the idea of having Stefan alone and to myself for a few hours sounds like heaven to me!

Frowning at me like I should've read her mind, Caroline says, "No, I mean a time-line for when you guys are moving home!"

Home… I do want to move back home. But Stefan loves it here…

Taking a crouton from Caroline's plate, Bonnie asks, "Have you heard anything about that job in Roanoke?"

Roanoke? Virginia? I had no idea that Caroline and Klaus were planning to move back to Virginia… another reminder of how out of the loop I am.

"I did that phone interview, ya know." Caroline says to us both and, no I don't know, but I think I remember Stefan saying something about Caroline doing really well on an interview so I just smile like of course, right. "Everyone is on vacation for spring break, but I'm thinking I should hear from them by the time we get back to Texas."

"How exciting!" Bonnie squeals, hunching her shoulders and golf-clapping her hands. "Caroline Forbes, Channel twelve anchor!"

I'm still smiling, even though I'm feeling a little blue. My mild-sadness about not being in 'the-circle' increases ten-fold when Bonnie adds, "Kat and I are in Roanoke all the time! They have a Pink Berry and an Off 5th Avenue. It's going to be so fun, meeting up for dinner and drinks!"

They spend a bit of time agreeing about how fun their girls nights will be before realizing I'm not really able to take part in this conversation. Trying to pull me back into the loop, Caroline asks, "So, what do you think? November would be great! That gives you seven months." She's practically glowing when she says, "By that time little baby Klaus or Caroline will be here and you guys won't have to make the trip for our wedding or the holidays."

I nod. Wondering what Stefan will say about my desperate want to move back home to the states, Mystic Falls even, and I don't realize that Caroline is actually waiting on me to give her an answer – an actual month to expect us back.

Thankfully, Bonnie gets me off the hook without realizing it. "I'm really surprised Klaus is cool with the move."

"What? No! He's going to love it." I can't help but laugh at her honesty when Caroline sighs, "If there is anything Klaus enjoys, it's being the biggest fish in a small pond." She may love Klaus, but she's not at all jaded by it. "Though he's not crazy about being so close to Katherine and Damon."

Ugh. Damon. I'd actually forgotten about him – with all the laughing and the girl-time – but the instant I hear his name I'm angry all over again. I sat in the living room and waited for him to show up this morning. Fuming. Boiling. Holding that picture of my mom and a very Miami Vice-esque Damon Salvatore between my fingers like it was a grenade… ready to pull the pin and shove it down his lying throat the moment he came in the house.

Grayson woke up. Then Jeremy with Lola. Klaus and Caroline showed up with a huge platter of fresh fruit for breakfast. We ate. Then the twins were ready for a morning nap. Allie and I were playing Dance, Dance, Revolution – competing against Bonnie and Caroline with Klaus and Stefan surfing when FINALLY the front door opened and in came Katherine.

Mouth pressed into a straight line, arms crossed over her chest, wearing a tiny little, itsy bitsy, might-as-well-not-even-call-it-a-dress-because-its-basically-a-sort-of-long-shirt dress. She comes into the living room, pouting, brooding and says, "Where's Stefan?"

Jeremy hops up from the floor where he'd been playing with Grayson and Liam, seemingly concerned about Katherine's emotional state. I had to remind myself that not only is Bonnie friends with Katherine, but so is Jeremy – it was just so weird to see them interacting. Almost like an out of body experience.

Come to find out, their hotel room is infested with roaches.

I love Thailand. I do. For the most part, it's paradise. But it's a third-world country and if you don't have the ability to stay in a nice hotel, you had better be prepared for some not-so-grand conditions. I don't know where they are staying or why they didn't get a room at the B&B that we'd suggested like Caroline and Klaus did, but I do know that roaches in Thailand are about the size of a bird!

After quite a bit of coaxing from Jeremy being very brotherly with her, we finally got it out of her that she and Damon were in an argument and he'd gone to find them a better hotel because, "there is no way I am sleeping in that rats nest!"

I'm lost in my replay of the morning and my disappointment of not being able to confront Damon when Bonnie finishes explaining how Katherine isn't so bad. Not buying it, Caroline shrugs, "I don't know – you could be right, but I don't trust her." Looking at me, she adds, "And neither does Stefan."

So now I've got a choice to make – with Bonnie and Caroline both waiting on me to take their respective sides, I consider how I should respond. My first thoughts are of the weekend we spent together while we acclimated to being alive, being human, and words flow from my mouth. "She's changed, Caroline." Caroline's big eyed, wiggle-neck motion says What?!, silently. "Katherine had a really rough life. Things that none of us know about. Way before Stefan and Damon came into play." I think of the morning that she told me about Viktor, of her father beating her nearly to death, of him stealing away her daughter – my family. "Just like the rest of us, I think she deserves a second chance too."

"But, Elena!" Caroline whines, "She's so unfriendly and slutty!"

I laugh a little, obviously Caroline noticed her much-too-sexy clothing choices.

"Give her a break, Car." Bonnie frowns, her voice taking that tone she has – the better than thou one. The same one she used to use when she'd tell me I shouldn't be with Stefan because it was too dangerous… how I shouldn't let him into Allie's life. "She and Damon are really trying."

Ugh. Damon.

"Then why does she not want to hang out with us? Why does she seem to be keeping a secret? I mean, come on, Bonnie." Turning to me, she tries, "Elena, even you have to admit she's been acting strange. Distant. Right?" I don't want to answer. I don't want to turn against her. Katherine helped me work through the whole triangle thing. She came to find me after the ritual to wake Klaus. She helped me find Stefan and Allie. I wait too long to respond, so Caroline adds. "You know she's back at your house, wearing that ultra mini dress with her boobs all out and playing it up in front of Stefan and Klaus!"

Hmm. I hadn't thought of that…

"She's with Damon!" Bonnie says loudly, breaking a fry in half and dipping it into a vat of Ranch dressing. "And you're right. She is asking weird, Caroline." Looking at me, "and there are a lot of things that we don't know – that you guys don't know. So don't judge her. In her eyes, you two have perfect lives and absolutely no problems."

Caroline and I share a look – I'm not sure if it's surprise that Bonnie is taking up for Katherine or a look that says yea, we kind of do.

I'm not pretending to be concerned about her when I ask, "What's going on with her, Bonnie? What's wrong?"

Pressing her lips into that sideways line of hers, I see Bonnie considering if she should tell us or not – weighing her loyalty to Katherine against her loyalty with us. Caroline sees it to and as always, is brutally honest when she smirks, "What? You can't tell us? Your best friends"

Exhaling through her nose, Bonnie takes a long beat – maybe to collect her thoughts, maybe to convince herself that she can trust us. "This has to be between us." She stares at us sternly, brow low. "Well, they are broke for starters, but Damon and Katherine want to have a baby." I smile. Damon and Katherine having a baby means an even bigger family for Stefan and I to merge ours with. In a fraction of a second, images of Christmas morning get-togethers, play-dates for the cousins, huge Thanksgiving dinners, all the kids trick or treating, and adults only nights out pass through my minds eye. "But they've been trying for more than two years and…" She shrugs, my happy images disappear.

-Stefan-

It's supposed to be a guys day. I tried to tell Elena that guys don't have guys days, but she and Caroline insisted so I gave up. I don't know what they expected we'd do, but we're in the same places we were when they left this morning. Klaus is reading something or surfing the net on his Ipad on the deck. Jeremy hung out with Katherine until she went to take a nap in the room the twins were set up in, now he's watching The Italian Job and I've been on my laptop trying to find another hotel option for tonight.

Elena, Caroline, Bonnie and the kids had barely been gone ten minutes, I bet they hadn't even dropped them off at Mae's house when Hotel Charmous called Klaus to cancel our reservations – a water pipe broke and the only decent hotel in Songhkla is out of service. Determined not to let our first night without Allie and Grayson go to waste, I've been scowering to find a suitable replacement for the last few hours.

I've got a pretty decent lead on a place called Suites La Songhkla, but they don't have a website and I can't find my phone. That fact alone – the no internet reservations thing, it says a lot, but this night is happening and, really, you can't go wrong with a suite, right?

Jeremy and Klaus don't even look at me, too focused or maybe half-dozing, as I search to find my Iphone. Before they left, Allie was playing some Finger Painting game on it. This happens a lot – Elena says I should stop giving Allie my phone – but usually it's no big deal and I find it when I find it. But today, I'm aching with that unreleased pressure and clouded with thoughts of hotel rooms and my wifes body, so if I have to turn this whole place upside down, I will find my phone.

I've gone through the kitchen, looked beneath the dining table, made a quick lap around the house, searched the deck, and now I'm on my hands and knees to look beneath the living room furniture when Jeremy finally seems to notice I'm in the room. "What are you doing, man?" He asks, his voice slurred a bit, telling me he's more dozed and already a little drunk, rather than focused.

No luck – I hop up to my feet, regretting it the instant that sharp, stomach churning pain jerks through my abdomen. I've never in my entire life had this problem… so much pressure that moving quickly actually hurts. Through a grimace that I pray he doesn't ask about, I say, "My phone. Allie had it."

"Oh, dude. I think it's in there next to the porta-cribs." Through a yawn, he adds, " I saw it when I was helping Bonnie pack the twins' overnight bags."

I'm already halfway down the hall by the time he finishes – going to get my phone, I'll call that hotel, and the second I get Elena alone, I'm taking care of this ache.

The door is cracked open just the slightest, reminding me that Katherine is napping. I stop for a moment and actually consider waiting until she wakes up – trying to be courteous. But then I remember that stunt she pulled in the kitchen and decide I don't care if she doesn't get rested.

Opening the door quietly, I step into the dimly lit room just as one of the chase scenes from The Italian Job gets started. It's loud and the surround sound is easily heard – screeching tires and sirens – so I push the door almost shut then pivot in place.

I regret my decision of not waiting until Katherine woke up the instant I see her – laying on top of the aqua blue comforter, one leg straight, one leg bent with her knee up and that very short dress hiked up. My eyes are frozen. Stuck on the lace of her panties curved around her flat, slightly concaved pelvis – my mind replays her words… how wet I made her.

I swallow hard. Close my eyes. Fist my hands at my sides.

Take a few deep breaths to clear my mind of her words and her mouth and memories of her – warm, lavender, wet.

I think I'm okay – set back on my path of finding my phone – so I open my eyes again and take another step or two towards the porta cribs on the other side of the bed, but the she sighs and rustles a bit. I force my eyes to stay on the painting hanging next to the closet door, but I can see her in my peripheral vision – bending her other leg, now both knees are up.

I wait. Afraid she's about to wake and find me in here… but she stays still.

Silently, I release the breath I was holding. Looking to the floor, I spot my white Iphone and quickly move to grab it – ignoring the pressure against the fabric of my jeans when I bend to get it.

I'm almost out of the room – escaped. Guilt-free. Innocent. At the foot of the bed, a yard away from the door. Then she says my name and I think she's awake and saying my name, but I look to her, ready to explain why I'm in here – she's still asleep.

I feel my eyebrows knit together… maybe she didn't say my name. Maybe I imagined it.

"Steeefaan" Katherine sighs, scraping her teeth against her full, ruby red bottom lip with the f sound of my name.

She's dreaming of me…

Katherine is dreaming about me. I look at her face for a long moment – relaxed, beautiful as she's always been. Then the curling of her fingers against the bare skin on her curved waist steals my attention. I watch her fingers curl in, the out – flat on her stomach. In. Out. Flat.

I don't think I blink at all as her wrist starts to bend, dragging the tips of her fingers across her skin, over the lace of her panties, then beneath them.

"Steff…" She arches her back just so, her fingers moving lower.

My conscience is screaming at the top of its lungs – GET THE FUCK OUT OF THIS ROOM, STEFAN! But I can barely hear it over the sound of my heart pounding.

"Mmm, Stefan." I watch her. I'm not breathing. Silently standing as still as a statue – just as hard.

I watch Katherine's fingers moving beneath her lacy red panties and I want so badly to climb onto the bed, right between her feet, and get a better look. "Stefan." She sighs my name again, her fingers moving quicker, her back arching higher. I can't think straight… everything feels so wrong, but good. I step forward, my hands gripping the wooden footboard so tightly that my knuckles crack.

I'm talking to myself in my head – debating.

Just touch her leg. It'll be fine. No one will know.

Turn around. Two wide strides and you'll be out the door.

Maybe you could just move that lacy bit of fabric out of the way…

Close your eyes. Back out of the room. Elena… Elena.

She looks like Elena. Maybe it is Elena. That could be your excuse if you get caught.

Elena. You're wife. Elena. Elena. Elena.

I turn away, just half way and she moans, "Fuck me, Stefan." And I turn back to her.

Just ease the curiosity. Touch her. Slip your fingers under her panties and feel for yourself how wet she is… go on.

Elena.

"Stefan." Katherine says my name again, my eyes still intensely watching her hand… it stops. When she says my name again, it's in that evil giggle… "Stefan."

Snapping me back to reality, I look up at her face and find her mischievous, shining eyes looking right at me, a playful smile on her face. I wish I looked more angry – more pissed off… less hungry. Less aroused. "Come here, Stefan." Removing her hand from beneath the lace, she looks down my body, her smile widening when she sees that her little show has had the desired effect… I'm about to break.

My whole body is hurting, every muscle flexed – my teeth clenched so tight that I fear my jaw may be hinged.

Holding her hand up to me, she wiggles her wet, shiny fingers at me and says, "Taste what you do to me."

I don't know how, but I leave her and her body and her wet fingers on the bed and finally breathe once I'm in my bedroom – drained. Much much too pressurized.

I'll just do it myself. Normally, I'm not too keen on jerking off but I'm seriously about to crack – in more ways than one. I close my eyes and picture Elena's face… or maybe it's Katherine's face. Shaking my head, I try again… picturing Elena's mouth, her perfect lips… could be Katherine's mouth. I want to be angry at Katherine for her little show and her damn mind games, but I can't get past wanting her right now.

"Fuck." I say outloud to no one. This won't work. I can't picture another girl. I can't imagine Katherine… My only other option is harsh, but it will work – and in a matter of just a few seconds, I'm completely naked and stepping into the tiled shower – turning on the cold water and nearly convulsing when it flows over my overheated body.

-Caroline-

Stefan sent me and Elena a text message with our new hotel rooms and to be honest, their pretty disgusting. We're going to meet the boys at some karaoke bar in just over an hour, so we came back here to change into the clothes we bought, and I cant help but wonder if Stefan randomly picked this place. It's old. It's gross… it's outdated and dilapidated.

"It's fine, Car." Elena smiles, glancing at me through the mirror as she checks out her reflection. She looks amazing in the little black dress she bought. She keeps pulling at the hem of the skirt, a tell-tale sign that it's shorter than she's used to.

"Yea," Bonnie sighs, laying on the bed to fasten her very tight button fly jeans. "It's no Chateau Marmont, but you can slum it for a night, can't you Mrs. Mikaelson?"

I laugh, checking my phone as a text comes in. It's Klaus.

Klaus: We're about 20 m out. FYI Stefan is moody, Jeremy is drunk. Katerina is in a pretty good mood while Damon is MIA.

"Damon is still not back." I tell Elena – I know she's looking to ask him about his relationship with her mom, but I'm glad he's not with the guys because I don't want our last night to be ruined.

"Good." Bonnie sighs, "I didn't really want to deal with him."

Deal with him- that means she didn't want to do what Elena asked of her. She said it's been years since she's done any magic at all, but I don't know if I believe her. Why would you let that kind of power go to waste? Besides, this is for a good cause – forcing Damon to be honest for the first time in his life will be a nice change!

"Tomorrow, then? Please, Bonnie?" Elena asks, straightening her hair with my flat iron.

Bonnie hesitates for a moment, then finally nods – agreeing.

"Oh, and Klaus says Stefan is in a bad mood and Jeremy is already drunk."

Simultaneously, their relaxed, happy expressions turn sour at the state of their husbands.

-Stefan-

I guess she knows me better than I realized, because I'm not even parked yet and she's texting me.

Elena: We're on our way. Please try and have a good time tonight. Loosen up. For me?

I've got Damon run off to BFE, leaving me with his psycho girlfriend who's fucking with my mind at every chance she gets and I'm supposed to loosen up? Trying to ready myself, I sit in the driver's seat while Klaus and Jeremy get out, Katherine grazing her nails across the back of my neck as she exits the back seat.

Loosen up. Have a good time.

I follow Klaus to the bar; some song by Madonna blaring into the karaoke bar makes me cringe when the singer tries a high note.

"Beer?" Klaus asks, removing a few bills from his leather wallet.

Loosen up. Have a good time. For me. Damon… I know she had an explanation, but still. Damon. Katherine.

If I'm going to do as Elena asks and loosen up, for her, I'm going to need a little assistance. "Everclear."

Ten minutes later, Klaus and I are playing quarters while Katherine and Jeremy are dancing. At one time, I was pretty sure I was the champion of this game, but I'm losing by a pretty large margin, tossing back my third shot of this round when Elena's hands slide down my shoulders and onto my chest, leaving a kiss on the side of my face.

Klaus makes yet another toss, not at all unfocused by Caroline now sitting in his lap, and I'm pouring my fourth when I realize I didn't feel Elena… the frequency. Holding the bottle upright, I see it's nearly 2/3 gone and at 151 proof. I don't know why that makes me smile, but I actually lose some of the liquor down my chin when I throw the fourth shot back because I can't stop smiling. It's good timing though, because as I'm wiping the liquid off of my smiling mouth with the back of my hand, Elena looks at me from the bar, smiling because I'm smiling, and it tightens the muscles in my chest… ok. I'm not that drunk.

"Stefan, my friend," Klaus laughs as I stand, wobble on my sea legs. "I was just getting in the zone." I'm just drunk enough that I feel amazing. That slack joint, loose muscle point of intoxication that people drink to be able to feel.

I just wave my hand at him and start off towards Elena and that very sexy black dress she's wearing. Though she's talking with Bonnie, leaned back against the bar, she watches me coming to her – smiling. Have I mentioned how much I adore this woman? How much I love her smile?

"Hey." I cup her face, kiss her forehead as she wraps her arms around my waist. "How was your girls day?"

Leaving a soft kiss on my lips, "Good. How was the guys day?" I shrug. She already knows I was pissy… somehow.

"You look really…" I'm too drunk to think of a good adjective, but I've got to tell her how nice she looks. "You're very pretty, Elena."

-Elena-

I'm exhausted, but unlike my life-of-the-party husband, I am not drunk.

From the Bon Jovi duets with Caroline, to dancing with Bonnie and the drinking games with Klaus and Jeremy, Stefan really loosened up tonight. I was having fun too, until the Caroline and Stefan reunion show started and they spent a good hour telling back in the day stories. Everyone, including me. laughed and listened as they recanted their times together –bantering back and forth like two old friends - but in the back of my mind I had to keep reminding myself that if Stefan can let me saying Damon's name slide, then I can let this go too… this and the garage face-holding, standing too close, thing.

OH! And the hoping on his back and kissing his face… yea. I'm going to let those things go.

Not that I listen to a lot of Neil Diamond, but I may never listen to 'Sweet Caroline' ever again… I can guarantee you, the instant I hear the opening bars, I'll forever hear "OH MY GOD, STEF." Yea, Caroline called my husband 'Stef'. "This is our song, remember! Back in the day!"

Then next thing I know, they're singing to each other from across the table – her swaying back and forth, Stefan conducting some imaginary musician with his glass of vodka. High fives and goofy faces, loud 'bum bum bummmm's while Klaus and I watched from the side. It seemed like that song went on forever, but the whole time they just laughed and sang and pointed at each other like Hey, this part, remember! But it did come to an end… where I learned that back in the day, she changed Stefan's ring tone to that song for her incoming calls and texts. Wonderful. You have no idea how I love hearing about their cute-sie memories… ugh.

Just before we split up – Bonnie, Jeremy, Caroline and Klaus in their room, Stefan and I to ours – Bonnie hugged me and said "Stefan was so fun tonight!"

Yea. He was. My Stefan has always been fun… I'll never admit it, but I've learned a huge lesson tonight. I do not like sharing my Fun Stefan with anyone.

Maybe I'm tipsy, buzzing - that's what Jeremy calls it, but Stefan is flat out intoxicated. Falling back into a worn out blue and green plaid, understuffed armchair, the only seat in our 'suite'. Stefan is checking out the room. It's very small, the bed takes up most of the floor space and the entire place seems to be frozen in the late 50's. I'm not sure what he's looking for exactly, I guess he's making sure the place isn't as low-grade as it appears to be, but he's checked the window locks, the shower, in the little closet, looked in all the drawers of the rickety chest, and now he's attempting to peek under the orange satin comforter; wobbling on his usually ultra-balanced legs, and hitting his knees instead of just bending at the waist to see under the bed. He gives an oops, I'm drunk chuckle from a prone position, his fingers pressing into the beat down, but oddly enough, clean tan carpet.

I have to say something… I was going to let it go, his Caroline and Stefan reunion party – but this is the last straw.

Trying to look nonchalant, I begin unstrapping my heels and say, "So…" Isn't that how all naggy-wife comments start? With a too cool, too easy, high pitched, so? "You and Caroline…" The thought that he was putting on a show to get back at me for my wrong-name mishap is fueling me to say these things, even though I know I'm wrong. "You guys must have had a lot of fun back in the day."

Stefan catches the way I say 'back in the day', stealing their phrase. Back in the day we used to do this, remember, Stefan, back in the day. Caroline, remember when, back in the day.

Still on the floor, he sits back on his calves and gives me a half smile – condescending maybe. He doesn't say anything, just a slight, sideways nod. I'm having trouble with the ankle strap, so I cross my legs – nearly kicking Stefan in the process as there's very little space - and lean onto my knees in order to reach it better. Stefan's cloudy gaze seems to get stuck on my cleavage for a long moment before he realizes he's staring – his smile widens, raising his line of sight to my eyes. Not the least bit ashamed of being caught looking at me like that.

"Well," I decide I'd better try and deflect – obviously he's caught onto my forced cool-girl tone. "You should maybe be careful with how you are around her. Klaus may get jealous."

Pushing my hand away from my ankle, Stefan gives a huff of a laugh "Klaus may get jealous?" – easily unfastening the ankle strap and removing my shoe. His voice is light, telling me that I'm not as good of an actress as I'd thought I was, and thankfully, my jealous streak will not be starting an argument tonight.

Caught red-handed, I lean back into the chair as Stefan sits my shoeless foot on the floor and picks up the other to unfasten it.

Exhaling loudly, I almost sound apologetic when I say, "It just drives me crazy to think of you and… well anyone." Come to think of it, I am apologizing. I asked him to loosen up and have a good time and he did just that. Then I get that jealous knot in my stomach and it is me who was too uptight.

Now barefoot, my heels on the floor beside Stefan's knees, I close my eyes when his thumbs begin to massage the soles of my feet – resting my head back against the chair, tension pouring out of my muscles with each firm press into my skin.

"It shouldn't." Stefan's voice is warm – that sexy rasp he gets when he's way past tired.

"Oh?" I half laugh, his hands squeezing the back of my calf, deep caresses into my ankle and heel. "and why not?"

He doesn't miss a beat, like he doesn't even have to think of a response. "Because you know you own me, Elena." I exhale a near-silent moan, but I don't know if it's from his deft hands working at my leg or hearing that he's mine. I love knowing that Stefan Salvatore belongs to me. I own him. "You aren't even really suspicious; you just like to hear me say it."

I don't know why I'm surprised that he knows my secret – how I fill with pride each and everytime he says those three words. I guess I'm just caught off guard by hearing him call me out on it - opening my eyes, I find him taking in the length of my legs – his warm, green gaze moving up to my thighs… all the way up, then back down, before meeting my eyes.

I swallow hard.

I know that look.

He keeps eye contact with me, leaning over a bit and kissing just inside of my knee.

Just to make him say it again, I lie – "I don't own you, Stefan." My hand lifts automatically as his trail of kisses moves further up my thigh, my fingers in his hair, the other hand gripping onto the arm of the chair like I may fly away.

He kisses on my left thigh, just below the hem of my dress, "Yes, Elena," turning his head between my legs, the barely-there stubble on his chin scrapes against my skin, then he sucks on my opposite thigh for a moment – his hands running up the sides of my hips, beneath my skirt, scooping beneath my ass and pulling my body forward a bit when he says, "you own me."

I feel his fingers, callused, rough… so talented, hook onto my panties, pulling them down and lifting my thighs a bit at the same time – all the while, his hot mouth is sucking and biting and licking, moving higher and higher. My lungs are fighting to find enough air as I try to focus, my teeth holding onto my bottom lip.

Suddenly shy, I don't know… but I push my knees together – forcing him to bring his face back a bit and keeping him from removing my lacy, black underwear. Stefan's eyes are green like an emerald, shiny, focused, sharp – so beautiful looking up at me in that way, the way that makes me nervous and excited and empowered all at the same time.

I feel like we look at each other for a long time – him looking up at me through his eye lashes, his tongue licks his bottom lip into his mouth. Me gazing down at him as if I'm trying to read his mind. Finally, he smiles. It's a wicked, dangerous grin that gives him an ominous look… hungry, maybe – and I know what he's wanting to do… to me.

I want this. Oh my God how badly I want this… but I'm nervous! Terrified! It's been… it's been so long I can't remember the last time I let him do this to me, but I remember coming so hard that I thought my body was going to break in half and leaving scratches on the back of his neck. And that was after he promised he'd go easy on me – from the look in his burning green eyes and that sexy, liquefying grin, I know that is not the plan. I may actually fracture if I let him.

Swallowing hard, again, I nearly choke on the air shaking out of my lungs as I say the only thing I can think of. I hope I don't sound as overzealous as I sound, adding a laugh as I say, "I need a shower."

His eyes move to my mouth, my breasts, down my stomach, between my thighs, then back up in the same order – before he finally says, "I like the way you taste." And his finger has slid inside of me, my body jerking in place and gasping out his name as my panties fall to the floor. He watches my face; the prideful half-smile of his is enough incentive to keep me from looking away as my lips begin to shake and my eyelids flutter. Stefan enjoys watching me – taking in my reaction to him, to what he does to me.

"Stefan." I say it again, "Stefan", this time more of a breathy whisper- a shiver going through me when he pushes into me again – two fingers now, stretching me in the most splendid way. Warm and wet, his mouth is working at my thigh once more, just the fingertips of his free hand gliding against my thigh, down my calf. He cups my right foot – kisses moving down my thigh. A sharp, shiver inducing bite near the curve of my ass as he places the arch of my foot on his shoulder. In this position, I'm completely at his mercy.

The thought alone nearly makes me come for him – just knowing what Stefan can do to me, will do to me, and I'm dripping.

Hesitating, drawing out my ache for him, he's so close that I feel him exhale against my hot, wet skin. My heart rate spikes, my blood rushing through my body, electrified by our frequency. I think I'm going to tell him to stop, but what comes out of my mouth just eggs him on, "I don't own you."

Kiss, "I'm." Lick, "Yours." Using his free hand, he pushes my left leg – moving it all the way against the arm of the chair so he can get even further up my thigh. I feel his lips against my lips when he says, "You own me" and his deep voice reverberates inside of my clinching muscles – then his tongue is slipping beneath my clit, swirling around it in slow, gentle circles and my head is back against the chair and his fingers are going in and out of me slowly... I feel every inch pushing in, every inch coming out.

"You love me?" Somehow it becomes a game. A game led by me. I just keep egging him on, making him tell me, show me he's mine. His answers are inaudible, a groan against me or a nod of his head that trails his tongue up and down, licking me.

I moan out, "I love you. I love you. Stefan. I love you." each time he sucks my flesh into his mouth. "Stefan. Please." I'm begging him to stop as I can't catch my breath, to keep going, to love me, to never leave me. All the while my hands are making a mess of his hair – now just a sexy mess between my fingers.

Removing his fingers, he presses his mouth against me, - slurping my wetness, licking and sucking all at once, forcing me to cry out in a raw moan, "You're mine. You're mine."

His answer vibrates through me, just a deep groan into my most sensitive area – like a long, hard, vibrating bass drop directly into my body.

"Don't love anyone else." I'm pleading. Breathless, senseless. There are literally tears in my eyes, it feels that good. I can't close my mouth! Every time my lips nearly meet, he presses his face into me further, moving his tongue inside of me – slippery and smooth, flicking, then sucking again. In between uncontrollable, inaudible whimpers and cries, I'm saying things like, "Please, Stefan. Don't leave me." It seems like I'm whispering, "I'd die. I love you", but I know that's not right – my moaning is increasing in volume as he picks up speed and force – truly devouring me. "I. I. Mmm. I can't take it." I try to shift away, afraid of how rigid my body is, but Stefan's hands wrap around my thighs and I can't move. From the deep frown on my face to the flexing of my feet, I'm tensed… nearly ready, nearly there. I lose all sense of control, my hands fisting in his hair, pressing his tongue deeper in to me, crying out his name, grinding my hips against him.

I may shatter.

-Damon-

She's drunk and sexy as hell, while I'm tired and burnt out from spending the day studying and giving her the cold shoulder. I just get so fucking sick of her bullshit sometimes – like I can help that we don't have millions of dollars like Klaus, or that we haven't banged out a couple of kids, yet. Fucking-A, we're working on it. Give me a damn break. In another couple of years, I'll be an attorney and then I'll give her everything she can possibly ask for… but until then, she's just going to have to manage.

She was waiting for me in the lobby and the instant I saw her, I knew she was still mad at me for dropping her at Stefan and Elena's this morning. Thankfully, when Katherine is pissed AND drunk, she's usually horny and I spotted that sparkle in her eyes pretty quickly.

My one claim of success is that Katherine swears I'm the best she's ever had. Of course I am. With her, I fuck like my life depends on it. I guess it does, I mean, I can't give her anything else… and really, who else would put up with me?

"Go." Caroline pushes Klaus through the door and into the hallway as Katherine and I pass, heading to our room. The walls of this cheap, dirty hotel are about as insulated as a paper cup and Elena's voice is carrying. "Go back to the bar." She's smiling, laughing even, but I think it's more of a nervous thing.

Bonnie adds, "We'll call you when they fin– I mean, when it's over."

Giving a fake look of shock, Klaus laughs, "And why do you get to stay and have a listen?"

It seems like a really long ways from the room Caroline and Bonnie are sharing, past Stefan and Elena's room, finally to our door. I hear Caroline say, "It's not a gift, Klaus!" and punctuating the sentence with the quick closing of the door just as Bonnie says with a loud laugh, "What in God's name is he doing to her?"

At first, it was quiet – like maybe they were arguing, or Elena might have been talking to him from the bathroom or something, but then there comes a point where that sound is unmistakable. We passed Jeremy on the stairs, us going up, him going down, and his nauseated expression now makes a lot of sense. I think he might have figured it out before the rest of us – the noises bleeding through the walls were coming from his sister and orchestrated by his brother-in-law.

"Maybe we should go." Katherine says through her fingers, now covering her smile – her black lined, nearly black eyes are glittering with naughty thoughts as I unlock the door to our hotel room.

Stepping aside and holding the heavy door, I watch her saunter by me – I've been hot for her perfect little body since 1864 and if anything, my want for Katherine only increases. "Or, we can stay."

It doesn't matter that I haven't seen her since I dropped her off at Stefan and Elena's this morning or that we spent the majority of last night fighting like dogs – she gives me a sexy, challenging look over her shoulder and I know she's game.

Katherine and I are just dysfunctional enough that we function on the same level – we argue, fight, hell she even slaps and hits me when I really set her off. Her petite little hands hitting me with all the strength she can muster stings rather than hurts – I like it, to tell you the truth. I get off on how fucking crazy she is.

"Think you can get me to sound like that?" She challenges; unzipping her skirt as I watch her sweet, sexy little wrist slide down her perfect ass. Elena's moans setting the tone. I'll be honest with you. Hearing her, or any other woman, it's fucking sexy.

In just a couple of steps, I'm behind her, pressing myself against her, my hands gripping her hips and she's removing her top. "I think we can do better than that." I tease, cupping her breast.

I'm kissing her neck, her jawline, wanting her – willing her to bend over the bed so we can get this started – when Katherine sighs, "We could have all of that, you know?"

I don't know. "Hmm?" I ask, pushing her hair off of her back and kissing between her shoulder blades.

"They look like us, too" She breathes into my ear, leaning back into me and using her hand to guide my mouth to hers.

I break away from our kiss when her hand slips beneath the waist of my pants, fingers wrapping around me – tugging. It takes a few moments for me to remember what she said. "Who?" I ask, my hand holding her hip, the other fisting in the back of her hair and forcing her to bend.

Swirling her ass against me, I'm unzipping when she throws a bucket of cold water over me with the names, "Allie, Grayson."

Like I've been electrocuted, I jump away from her body – atleast five feet of distance in a fraction of a second.

As if she's said nothing out of the ordinary, Katherine comes to me, presses her bare skin against my body and begins kissing my neck, "We could take them." Kissing some more and I'm having strange convulsions in my stomach – like my body doesn't know if I should still be hard or if I want to throw up. "We could run away with them, have a family."

"No." I've never said my brothers name with a woman's hand caressing my groin and her tongue on my nipple… "Stefan." I mean, what about Stefan? You don't think he'd come after us? You think he'd be okay with you and I kidnapping his children? But it just his name comes out.

It's even more weird that Elena is saying it from the room next to ours at the same time.

"I want you. And I want babies." Katherine moves back to look into my eyes when she insults me, "but I can't have both, can I?"

Then she's walking away from me and I want to fucking scream at her… but she's right. I denied it as long as I could, even convinced myself that it was probably Katherine who was falling-short on the whole conceiving thing – told myself that it had something to do with the fact that she gave birth back when the medical field consisted of wheat grass and dirty water. But, I can't deny that I'm the broken piece after that fuck of a doctor looked us right in the face and left no doubt – I'm sorry, Mr. Salvatore, but after our testing, it was found that your sperm count is low. Very low, in fact.

I must look disappointed – I don't know, but Katherine gives an evil laugh as she looks me over, still up against the wall where she left me, Elena getting even louder.

I stew in it for a moment – Katherine's cruel words and Elena's orgasm - a reminder of how much of a failure I am.

When Elena starts to giggle, the bed squeaking, calling out my brothers name in a playful voice, I slam my fist against the wall a few times – the echoing booms silence her. Dead silence. Embarrassed, blushing face, silence.

Then a proud, laughing, "Sorry" from Stefan.

From the bathroom, Katherine reminds me that we only have sex on schedule now, "I'm not ovulating for another 24 hours, Damon." Until I can get her pregnant, I'm pretty much a useless to her.

I guess my interrupting Stefan and Elena put a stop their party for two, as it's been quiet for the last half hour or so. I'm ignoring Katherine again, she's acting like nothing happened – she'd didn't verbally castrate me or suggest kidnapping my niece and nephew…

Nearly asleep, a smile threatens to curl onto my face when I feel Katherine move against me, slipping beneath the blanket and clinging to my side. Late at night like this, we seem like a normal couple with normal issues and not the two most fucked up people in the world. I let myself imagine what life could've been like back in 1864 if Katherine would have actually been who she said she was and Stefan would have stayed out of the picture all together, when Katherine's sexy whisper floats into my ear, "I love you, Damon. But I will have a baby." I open my eyes, the sound of her words are ten times more threatening when she's speaking quietly, "No matter what."

**MORE TO COME**

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