A/N: Thanks to everyone who added this story to their story alerts and favorites. I expected a couple of comments, so I was shocked, like really shocked, by the response, and kind of terrified as well! Argh, I thought, people are going to read this – cue performance anxiety here.

I do have to warn people again, this story is straight romance; romantic clichés and cheesiness will be present in this story. Expect a powerful and sexy hero, who is broken in some way, and a somewhat naïve and innocent heroine. I'm going for mildly old fashioned here. There will be lust, jealousy, and of course love, though our two main characters will fight that every step of the way. Enjoy…

Chapter 2

"I don't see why we can't just go down to city hall and get married there," Elena told Damon.

They were in Damon's office. She was sitting, and he was standing in front of her, leaning on his desk.

"I'm a billionaire, Elena. People expect me to have a wedding, and we will give them one. How do you think the papers would perceive it if I was just to elope without any notice."

"I thought you didn't care what people thought."

"I don't," he growled at her, "but being Damon Salvatore does come with certain…expectations. We need people to believe this union is real. I shouldn't have to explain this to you. Doesn't every woman dream of having her perfect wedding?"

Every woman dreamed of marrying a man that loved them, Elena thought. She was still trying to come to terms with that; still reeling from the fact that just a week ago she had expected she would someday marry Stefan and live happily ever after. Now she'd made a deal with the devil, she'd signed her life away for money; for her family's happiness.

The devil had been generous with her though; he had agreed to keep her parents in the dark about their arrangement. He was investing money in the business as a private backer. Her parents would still have their pride and would be blissfully unaware that their daughter was entering into a loveless marriage for them. For that she was grateful.

Damon had met her family yesterday, specifically to ask Elena's father for her hand in marriage. He'd easily convinced both her mother and her father that their relationship was a whirlwind romance that had taken both of them by surprise, and that he was smitten.

Damon had played the part so well that Elena had had to remind herself that none of it was real. The way he kept his arm around her all night and looked at her as if she were the only person in the room had put aside any concerns her parents may have had in the beginning.

Of course after Damon had left, her parents asked her what happened with Stefan. She told them it was over. She did not tell them that Stefan hated her now and would probably never speak to her again. She'd never felt lower than the day she told Stefan she was going to marry his brother.

"You're marrying him? Him? You're obviously more of a gold digger than I thought you were."

"Stefan, how could you think such a thing of me?"

"You planned this all along didn't you? It was never me you were interested in. I'll bet you orchestrated our whole meeting and relationship so you could sink your hooks into my brother. I thought you were different from the others."

"It wasn't like that Stefan."

"Wasn't it? What was it like then?"

She couldn't answer him. What could she possibly tell him that would change his perception of her, or make him feel better? She felt helpless against the onslaught of emotions and insults he was throwing at her.

"Am I expected to believe that you and my brother are in love? My brother loves no-one. Not since Katherine. If you think he'll ever love you, you're delusional. Perhaps though, that is exactly what you deserve."

Who was Katherine? Damon had told her he'd been in love once; that it had not ended well. Was Katherine the woman that had made Damon vow never to love again? She wanted to ask Stefan what had happened, but he was looking at her so cold and accusingly, she didn't think that the question would go down well right now.

"With me you could have had love and marriage. We would have been happy together. You won't find that with Damon. Damon cares for no-one but himself. He's flicked the switch; turned off his emotions. He doesn't want to feel anything."

Stefan paced the floor in front of her.

"He's just using you to get back at me, you know. Katherine preferred me to him. He's never got over that. That's all you'll ever be to him, the woman he took from me."

Was she just a pawn in the Salvatore brother's game? He stopped and looked at her.

"Has he told you that you look like her? There are some slight differences, but you're almost a dead ringer for Katherine."

She looked like the woman who had broken Damon's heart? That didn't bode well for her, did it?

"I would feel sorry for you, but a woman who marries for money gets exactly what she deserves; a husband who doesn't give a shit about her. Good luck with that, Elena. I hope you'll be very, very unhappy."

Then he'd just left her there. She wanted to crawl into the corner, curl up and cry. What would that achieve though? Things were what they were. Her relationship with Stefan was over now. She would never have her happy ever after with Stefan, and from what he'd told her, she wouldn't have one with Damon either.

"Elena," Damon said sharply.

"Hmmm," what had he asked her?

"I said, doesn't every woman dream of her perfect wedding?"

"These aren't exactly normal circumstances, Damon. You've given me one month to organize a wedding. I have no idea where to start."

She admitted to this feeling slightly foolish. Damon was perhaps in need of someone a little more worldly than she as a wife. She hoped she would not be an embarrassment to him.

"I thought you might say that," he told her. "That's why I've brought in help."

Elena sat up a little bit straighter in her chair, as he dialed out on his phone, "Nicole, send in Rose."

A moment later a beautiful brunette entered the room. Rose smiled warmly at Damon, and when he returned her smile just as warmly, it left Elena feeling a little cold. By the way he embraced Rose and kissed her on the cheek, they knew each other well. Elena wondered if they'd slept together.

"Elena," Damon turned to her, "This is Rose, the best personal assistant anyone could ever ask for."

"I wouldn't go that far," Rose said to Elena.

"I would," Damon said, continuing to grin at her. "It's not every PA that would cut their European vacation short just to come home and plan their boss's wedding."

Rose had left Europe early to come back and help plan the wedding? Wouldn't a wedding planner have been a better idea? She couldn't stop the small pang of guilt that his assistant had been called back from a holiday to plan her wedding.

"How did the temp work out?" Rose asked him.

"Couldn't do half the things I asked her to do, and her obvious attraction to me seemed to stop her from getting a great deal of work done. She seemed preoccupied with unbuttoning her blouse whenever I was in the room."

Rose laughed softly. "You do have that effect on women," she said to him.

"Except you Rose, you seem to be immune to my charm."

Did that mean he hadn't slept with her?

"So," Damon said, looking at Elena. "Money is obviously no problem." He turned back to Rose. "Make sure she has everything she could want or need for the day. I'm currently late for a meeting, so feel free to use my office for the next hour or so."

With that he picked up the suit jacket that had been slung on the back of his chair and left them without another word.

In Elena's opinion Rose's gaze lingered just a bit too long on Damon as he exited the room. Elena wanted to tell the other woman to back the hell off; Damon was hers.

She hoped that becoming Damon's wife wouldn't turn her into some crazed, possessive woman. She'd never had a jealous bone in her body, but then Stefan had never attracted as much attention as Damon.

"Well," Rose said to her now, "Where would you like to start?"

Elena wanted to know what Rose thought about her boss suddenly deciding to get married like this. Really though, it didn't matter what anyone thought of their marriage. She'd seen the look on her father's face, when he realized he wasn't going to lose everything he'd spent his lifetime working for. That look was worth it all.

Now though, she had to pay the price - marriage to Damon.

Damon had had legal documents drawn up to outline every part of their agreement; as if he thought she might weasel out of her responsibilities. And there it had been in black and white, just so she could make no mistake about it – she was expected to share his bed and give him at least one child. At least one! She wondered if he had some idea of her being barefoot and pregnant year in and year out.

She hadn't even kissed him yet, and he expected her to have sex with him shortly. Sex – that would be what it was. With Stefan, she'd made love, with Damon it would be sex. What else could it be when there was no love involved?

Damon would be an experienced and attentive lover, she was sure of it. She herself had only had two sexual partners, including Stefan. What if he found her to be lacking in that department? What if she didn't satisfy him? Would he then go to his mistress? Did he already have one of those?

"Earth to Elena," Rose said softly. "Can we get started?"

Elena nodded. With every day that passed, Damon was in more and more of her thoughts. She had to try and turn them off. She could not allow herself to feel anything more than a cool affection for the man who had warned her up front not to love him.

That night Damon insisted on taking Elena out to dinner. They'd spent every night of week together since she'd agreed to marry him. Damon said it was good for them to be seen together. She wondered how Caroline had taken her break-up to Damon, and hoped she would never run into the former beauty queen.

Damon ordered several courses for both of them. She did try to protest, saying she had not much of an appetite, but Damon wouldn't take no for an answer. She was learning quickly that Damon got what he wanted, and it was better to save her breath than try to argue with him.

"You're not sleeping well," he stated.

"I'm fine, Damon."

"Elena, you look like the walking dead."

She shifted under his intense gaze.

"Just what every woman wants to hear."

"How did things go with Rose today? Was she helpful?" Damon asked her.

"Very. Though I don't understand why you would call back you assistant from her holiday instead of organizing a wedding planner."

"Rose is a good person. I thought the last few weeks have probably been stressful enough on you. I thought you might need more than a wedding planner; I thought you might need a friend."

"Oh,"

"So did you two make headway?"

"Yes, but…,"

"But?"

"It made me realize that I don't know you at all. Every time she asked me a question about what we want, I couldn't really answer it. I had to ask her what you would like, or what you would think about different ideas that I had."

Damon frowned at her.

"This is your wedding, Elena. You'll only have one wedding day. I want this day to be whatever you want it to be. Besides, once we're married we'll get to know each other very quickly."

He raised an eyebrow at her and smiled. She caught his meaning instantly; her body's response to his suggestion was just as immediate.

He picked up her hand and held it in his.

"Don't look so scared," he told her, "I'm not going to maul you the moment you say I do."

"Of course," she said to him, "it's all just so sudden."

His thumb was now stroking circles over the palm of her hand.

"How about this," he said to her, "I will give you one month from our wedding day to get used to the idea of us…together. In that time, either you will come to me, or on our one month anniversary, I will come to you. And Elena, if I come to you, I expect you to be willing."

Her breath caught in her throat.

"Is that fair?" he asked her.

"That's fair," she choked.

He brought her palm to his mouth, and pressed his lips against it, his eyes never leaving hers.

"I've never slept with an unwilling woman and I won't start with you. But be warned, patience is not one of my virtues. Don't expect me to wait a month to touch you."

She was aware of how shallow her breathing was. She felt the warmth spreading through her body. She pressed her thighs tightly together as if that might stop her body from becoming more aroused than it already was.

A waiter came by to refill their wine glasses, and Elena used the time to pull her hand free from Damon's grasp. His touch; his smile, his eyes on hers seemed to be having a devastating effect on her, and she wanted it to stop.

The rest of the meal passed quickly. Damon was charming, she knew that already, but he was also incredibly easy to talk to, and he seemed to be genuinely interested in everything about her. He, on the other hand, deflected any questions of a personal nature. He gave her information about his business, about his travels, but nothing beyond the surface.

She wanted desperately to ask him about Katherine. What Stefan had said to her, left her wanting to know more about the woman who had hurt Damon so badly he would give up love; the woman who Stefan said she resembled closely. She did not, however, have the courage to broach the subject.

Eventually the restaurant was closing and Damon's driver dropped her home. Damon exited the car and came round to open her door for her, taking her hand as she stepped out. His fingers intertwined with hers and Elena felt the familiar charge his touch gave her. Once they were on the doorstep he made no move to let her hand go.

"Thank you for tonight Damon. Both the meal and the company were enjoyable as usual."

Her gaze dropped to his lips, and she wondered again when he would finally kiss her. The longer she waited for his kiss, the more nervous she felt. She wanted to get it over with because the build-up and the tension were starting to interfere with her ability to concentrate on anything else.

She was curious to know what he tasted like. She was close enough to him now that she could smell the cologne he was wearing, and the scent was so appealing it made the butterflies in her stomach beat their wings rapidly.

Her eyes met his again, and the humor in them was evident. He was smirking. Did he know what she was thinking? He stood a little bit closer to her and leaned in, brushing the softest kiss over her cheek – the same thing he had done every night this week!

"Goodnight, Elena. As usual, the pleasure was all mine." He traced her cheekbone with his thumb. "Get some sleep. I can't have my bride to be walking around like a zombie."

He waited until she was inside before he returned to his car, and as she closed the door behind her, she wondered if she stood any chance at all of keeping her heart safe from the man who wanted her body, but not her love.

A/N: After the overwhelming response to the first chapter I sincerely hope the second one was not a disappointment.

For those of you waiting for an update to my story Friendship On Ice, the chapter is mostly written, but I'm still tweaking. I hope to have it up soon!