Chapter 23

When Bonnie awoke the next morning, the first thing she saw was the Christmas tree sitting proudly in her living room. A smile spread across her face, and it only widened when she felt Damon's body pressed into her from behind. His arm was wrapped tightly around her and heavy, even breaths collided with her neck. Her hand slid down to cover his and she tried to go back to sleep and wallow in his scent and the feel of his body. Unfortunately, nature was calling. She ignored it for as long as she could, then slowly and carefully extracted herself from Damon's heavenly grip.

She tiptoed up the stairs to her bathroom, where she did her business and then tousled her hair just enough that it looked good without looking like she'd done something to it. She brushed her teeth, gargled some mouthwash and took one last look before she headed back downstairs. She was happy to see that Damon hadn't moved an inch, and she managed to squeeze herself back into his hold without waking him. Or so she thought.

"Where'd you run off to?" he asked with his nose buried in her neck.

"Bathroom."

"I missed you."

She snickered. "I was gone for five minutes."

"Five minutes too long," he groaned and he pulled her even closer to him, making sure that their bodies touched in every possible way. "You're so warm and soft. I could just put you in my pocket and carry you around all day for warmth."

She burst into genuine laughter, which made him smile. He peppered a few kisses along the back of her neck and then nipped her skin. She responded by wiggling her butt on him.

"Someone's frisky this morning," he growled.

"If by someone, you mean you," Bonnie replied. "Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

"Definitely happy to see you."

He turned her over so that they were facing each other, then he pulled her body on top of his. She brushed some stray hairs out of his face and whispered, "Good morning."

"Good morning. I could get used to this, you know. You're pretty in the morning."

She smiled. "You're not so bad yourself."

"Do you realize you haven't kissed me yet?" he asked, as he caressed her cheeks. "Since we've been back here, you haven't kissed me at all. Not even a peck on the lips."

"Oh, no. I suppose we'll have to rectify that situation."

"Get to rectifying, then, Little Bird."

Rather than dive right in, though, Bonnie scooted back a little to get a good look at him. He was so painfully beautiful, especially when his gaze was trained on her. He had always been the type to love intensely and passionately and being on the receiving end of it was amazing. There was still a small part of her that was shocked by the development of their relationship. Her memories of their time on the Other Side felt real, but also dream-like. To have him in front of her, ready and willing and wanting, was almost too much.

Almost.

She ran her thumb over his soft bottom lip, then did the same thing with his top lip. He eyed her but didn't move other than putting his hands on her hips. She bent down until they were only a hair apart and looked into his crystal blue eyes. He smiled, and she smiled back, and they continued to look at each other when she finally kissed him softly. Their eyes stayed connected as she kissed him over and over and alternated between sucking his bottom and top lip. She only closed her eyes when he sneaked his tongue into her mouth and she couldn't help the moan that escaped.

It was as if he'd turned on a light switch because her body came alive instantly. She sank her hands into his hair and met his talented tongue, stroke for stroke. She leaned her head to the side to get the maximum amount of his delicious mouth, and her hips took on a life of their own as she ground against him, up and down and side to side. They moaned together, and Bonnie hadn't realized how much she wanted him until right then. She also hadn't realized that his hands were in the exact same position, holding her hips in a death grip. She knew then that he was letting her control the ride and determine how far they did or didn't go. And she loved him for that.

She pulled her lips away from his and slid down so that her mouth was on his neck. She switched between kissing and sucking his smooth skin and every time he tensed underneath her, she knew that he was fighting not to flip her over and ravage her right there on the living room floor. She kissed down his bare chest and teased with his nipples with the tip of her tongue.

"Mm, Bonnie," he groaned.

A jolt of arousal shot straight down her legs at the way he said her name and she pushed herself down on him harder than before, forcing his erection right where she wanted it. She moaned and bit him, which he seemed to enjoy immensely. She sat up, straddling him, and watched his hooded eyes as she slowly pulled her shirt off. She felt a second's worth of uncertainty but that vanished with the way Damon stared at her breasts like they were the best things he'd ever seen. He licked his lips but still didn't move his hands.

"Touch me," she whispered hotly.

And apparently that was the only nudge he needed. He sat up quickly, securing her position in his lap with one arm around her waist while the other wrapped around her back. His mouth immediately took possession of her right breast and he devoured it like he was starving. Bonnie's head fell back and she whispered to him how amazing his mouth felt on her. He licked, sucked and bit her sensitive flesh with just the right amount of pressure, over and over until she was sure that might come from breast stimulation alone. He stopped and switched to the other one, working her up more and more with each caress of his tongue.

Damon finally relented and dipped his head down as low as it would go to kiss all over her stomach. He lay her down on the blankets and continued his quest down her body. She shivered with want and met eyes with him as he slowly pulled her pants and panties down and revealed her nude form to him. He grunted in approval and grabbed the barely-constrained erection poking through his underwear. He used his free hand to spread Bonnie's legs and when it looked like he was going to bend down and go to work on her, she grabbed him by the shoulders and shook her head.

"Next time," she said, her voice heavy with desire. "I want you right now."

He made quick work of his boxers and she pulled him on top of her. Their mouths met in a messy, desperate kiss and she whimpered when he rubbed his tip against her drenched center.

"You're so wet," he groaned.

"And it's all for you," she whispered, which only made him groan again.

Bonnie curled her fingers in his hair and buried her tongue in his mouth, waiting anxiously for the moment that he entered her. She could feel him lining himself up at just the right spot and right as he was going to rock her world, there were three hard knocks on the front door. Both their eyes shot open and they froze, an inch away from sex, and then Caroline's voice filtered inside.

"Bonnie, it's me, Caroline," she sang. "I don't know what you're doing in there with Damon but I suggest you stop because we have a shopping date with Elena and she's heading over here right now."

Somehow, Caroline managed to say all of that in a happy, almost nonchalant sing-song voice and Bonnie wanted to smack herself in the head.

"I totally forgot," she mumbled. Her body was practically throbbing for Damon, but she shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, no, no, no," he whispered, holding her as she tried to wiggle out from underneath him. "We'll make it quick. Five minutes?"

"Damon..."

"Three minutes?"

"We can't..."

"I'll make you come in five seconds, I swear."

Bonnie did a combination groan and laugh and put her hand on his chest.

"I'm sorry, Damon. I'll make it up to you."

"Nooooo," he groaned as he rolled off of her. She scrambled to make herself presentable but before she went to the door, she pointed to Damon's rock-hard lower half and frowned.

"Do something with that."

"I'm gonna have the blue balls of the century. Of any century."

"Don't be a baby."

He pouted and made very slow work of putting his clothes back on, including the ripped and bloody T-shirt he'd worn the day before. He made a show of stuffing himself into his pants and waddling around in a painful squat.

"Oh, come on," Bonnie laughed.

"You owe me big time."

She rolled her eyes and then opened the door for Caroline. Her eyebrow was raised and there was a little smirk at the corner of her lips. Bonnie saw her friend's eyes drop to Damon's crotch. Caroline's eyes widened slightly and then she said, "well! Glad I stopped by before Elena saw this little predicament."

Bonnie already knew that Damon was going to say something snarky like "nothing little about it," so she held up her hands and shook her head. "Some other time," she said to him. "Go before Elena gets here."

"Fine," he growled.

Bonnie thought he was going to leave, but he surprised both her and Caroline when he pulled her to him and planted a tongue-filled kiss on her lips. For a second, she gave in to him and very briefly entertained the notion of slamming the door in Caroline's face and dragging him up to her bedroom. Then Caroline cleared her throat and some of Bonnie's senses returned.

"Later," she promised in a heavy whisper.

Damon's jaw clenched and he finally let her go. He got into his car and drove off, and Bonnie was still staring at the empty space where he had been.

"Wow," Caroline said.

"What?" Bonnie asked with a blush.

"I mean, I knew you and Damon were into each other but seeing it is kinda weird, not gonna lie."

Bonnie bit her lips not to smile, then she pulled Caroline inside and closed the door.

"I'm just glad it was you knocking and not Elena," she breathed.

"Speaking of, are you planning to tell her any time soon?"

"I am, I am," Bonnie promised. "It's just...I don't know, how do you tell your friend something like this? Every time I want to tell her, something stops me. I didn't want to tell her at Thanksgiving and ruin that for everyone. I don't want to tell her now and ruin Christmas. It's just so much easier to put off."

"New Years," Caroline said with a decisive head nod. "It's the perfect time start fresh and come clean. Your resolution should be to tell to her the truth and let the chips fall where they may."

Bonnie let that roll around her mind for a minute, then she nodded in agreement.

"Okay. You're right. New Years it is."

...

Caroline offered her hand and they shook on it. New Year's was Bonnie's date. Now all she had to do was stick to it.

The holidays were really Caroline's time to shine. After a successful Thanksgiving celebration, she decided that she was going to attempt something similar for Christmas. She set up a Secret Santa amongst all her friends and managed to get Tyler to agree to open his home as a meeting place to drink egg nog, sing carols and exchange gifts. Bonnie has happy to have pulled Stefan's name because he was easy to shop for, appreciative of any gift, and not a land mine like Jeremy would have been.

Unfortunately, Jeremy was the first person she saw when she entered the house. He had a shiny red bag in his hand and once his eyes met hers, he put on that sad puppy dog face that he had mastered over many years of disappointment.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hey," she said in the same manner. "How are you?"

"I'm okay, I guess," he shrugged. "You?"

"Good," she said and even threw in a smile. She gestured to the bag. "Who'd you pull?"

"Caroline."

"Yikes. That's a tough assignment. What'd you get her?"

"Perfume," he said with another shrug. "Girls like to smell good, right?"

She chuckled and nodded. "Yes, girls definitely like to smell good. I'm sure she'll love it."

"What about you? Who'd you get?"

"Stefan. No muss, no fuss."

"Lucky you."

They shared a smile and some of the guilt that Bonnie had been carrying around over breaking up with him started to ease. He offered his arm to escort her into the party, and she took it. Once they were inside the main living room where everyone else was situated, Bonnie caught eyes with Damon. He sat on the piano stool, drinking some kind of liquor, and his eyes narrowed when he saw her with Jeremy.

Down, boy, she said in her mind so that he could hear. I'm just being nice to placate him so he won't out us to Elena before I'm ready.

He didn't respond but his body language eased up a little bit. Bonnie thanked Jeremy for his help and then she hugged her friends and joined Caroline and Elena on the couch. Matt served her a cup of spiked cider and soon after, they did their gift exchange. It turned out that she and Stefan had pulled each other's names and Stefan was very excited about the complete series of "The Wire" that Bonnie had bought him, which he had somehow managed not to see. And she was equally excited for the gift certificate for a two-hour hot stone massage on any day of her choosing.

The night went on without any drama, just fun and drinks and laughs and memories. Bonnie was having such a good time that she almost didn't want to leave. It wasn't until Damon's thoughts prodded her mind that she decided alone time with him would probably be the perfect ending to the night.

Ready to leave yet? he asked. I know I'm not your Secret Santa or anything, but I got you a little something.

Bonnie smiled to herself.

I got you a little something, too.

Very little, I hope. Like a thong.

You wish.

I'll leave first. Meet at my house.

Okay.

Damon cleared his throat and proclaimed that he was bored and said goodbye to everyone. Bonnie waited a respectable ten minutes before she faked a yawn and also said her goodbyes. Jeremy volunteered to walk her out and tried to not-so-subtly talk her into letting him come over, but she told him that she was really tired and just ready to hit the sack. He finally let her go, and she could barely contain her excitement as she quickly stopped at her house and grabbed the gift bag that already contained Damon's gift.

When she pulled into the long driveway in front of the Salvatore mansion, Damon was waiting for her on the steps.

"Took you long enough," he said.

He helped her out of the car and took the gift bag and tried to look inside it.

"Uh, uh, uh," she said, snatching the bag from his prying hands. "When we get inside."

He frowned but tapped her nose and held her hand while they walked inside. He took her up to his bedroom and closed the door, then clapped his hands and rubbed them together like an excited little boy.

"So let's see that present."

Bonnie laughed and got comfortable on the bed. She patted the spot next to her and Damon plopped down on it. She handed him the festive bag and said, "merry Christmas." He grinned and pulled something heavy out of the bag, wrapped in green and red paper. He uncovered an old book and the surprise on his face was evident.

"A first-edition copy of Dracula?" he asked. He smiled at Bonnie. "Really?"

"Well, out of all those books you have in your library, I didn't see that one. And I think it's kind of ironic and sad that a guy who prides himself on being a vampire doesn't have the book that started it all. Do you like it?"

"No, I love it." He kissed her softly. "This is really rare and expensive, though. How did you get it?"

"I know some people," she said with a cute little smile.

"Thank you. I really like it and I promise to read it slowly over a glass of bourbon." Bonnie chuckled. "Your turn."

He reached down on the side of the bed and planted a very large box in front of her. It was wrapped to perfection and when she tried to pick it up, it nearly broke her arms.

"Oh my God, this is like four hundred pounds! What did you buy me, a pile of bricks?"

"Just open it, Judgey."

She tore off the paper and then lifted open the box. Her eyes widened when she saw a very large, very old-looking grimoire.

"Wow," she said softly as she tenderly opened the book and turned some of its pages. "Where did you get this? Whose is it?"

"I know some people."

She looked at him with a dry smile and he winked.

"Ha ha," she said.

"It's a Bennett spellbook that I have on good authority is probably about 500 years old. I figured you could use it to brush up on your magic."

"Yeah, I can definitely use it," she said, her eyes glued to the pages filled with drawings and cursive script in a language that only slightly resembled modern-day English. She could already see herself spending days deciphering the words and trying out new spells. She turned to Damon and grabbed his face, then pressed a kiss to his lips. "Thank you," she whispered. "This is really thoughtful."

"I can be romantic when I try."

"I see," she said against his lips.

"And do you know what I see?" he asked. She raised an eyebrow. "We're all alone in this house." He tucked some hair behind her ear. "We haven't had any alone time since Caroline interrupted us and I think I've already forgotten what you look like naked."

She chuckled and said, "I think we should fix that."

...

The Christmas party at Tyler's started to wind down when people began to leave. Damon was first, then Bonnie, then there was a mass exodus. Elena volunteered to stay behind and help Caroline clean up, but then Caroline used her vamp speed and it was finished in the blink of an eye. So Elena got in her car, headed to her dorm. The smile she'd plastered on her face all night faded and in the solitude of her car, she let herself be sad. She had tried to be okay with being in the room with Damon all night, pretending to be happy, but the truth was that she was still upset over their break-up.

She'd thought their love was the all-consuming kind. Seeing him be happy like it was no big deal didn't do her heart any favors. She wanted to move on, but she felt like something was still unresolved between them. She knew that he had feelings for whatever girl he'd been with on the Other Side, but she didn't understand how he could still be crazy over a woman he'd never be able to be with. Who was this girl? What did she have that Elena didn't? Why the hell couldn't Damon move on?

Before she realized it, Elena was parking her car outside of the Salvatore mansion. She knew it was Christmas and she knew she should probably leave it alone, but she couldn't. She needed to know from Damon that they were really over. It wasn't until she got out of her car that she noticed Bonnie's Prius. She narrowed her eyes and wondered why in the world Bonnie would be at the boarding house, especially at such a late hour. The question was still on her mind as she entered the house and looked around. She didn't see any sign of Damon or Bonnie.

"Damon?" she called. "Bon?"

Her vampire ears picked up on a sound from upstairs. And it sounded suspiciously like...a moan? Elena frowned, again trying to put the pieces together but failing to make the connection. She started a slow ascent up the stairs and once she was on the second floor and near Damon's bedroom, the smell of sex assaulted her nostrils. She stood, frozen, a few inches from his door and tried to add it all up.

Bonnie was in Damon's house, late. There was moaning. And the smell of sex. But there was no way they were doing it. Not Bonnie and Damon. If Elena had to pick the least likely two people in their whole group to hook up, it would be Bonnie and Damon. There was no way.

But another moan, a much louder and clearer moan that definitely sounded like it was coming from Damon's room and Bonnie's body broke Elena from her thoughts and forced her to face reality. It was only in that moment that she realized that the two of them had been gone together for half a year. And Bonnie had broken up with Jeremy. Was it possible that she was the woman that Damon had fallen for?

There was really only one way to know.

Elena held her breath and then as quietly as she could, she turned the knob on Damon's door and slowly opened it. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw an image that simultaneously shocked and enraged her.

Damon and Bonnie were together, all right. They were on his bed, kissing and groping each other. Damon was shirtless and Bonnie, from what Elena could see, was completely naked. Bonnie's legs were around his waist and his mouth attacked her neck. She moaned and encouraged him to continue. Elena was stuck in her position. She felt like she was in the Twilight Zone. Maybe they were drunk and having a random, ill-advised hook-up after the Christmas party. She had almost convinced herself that was what was going on, until she heard Damon whisper, "tell me" to Bonnie.

"I love you," Bonnie whispered.

And it was then that Elena realized this wasn't just a hook-up. Bonnie was the girl that Damon had fallen in love with, and apparently, Bonnie felt the same way. Elena's body was a jumble of confusion and she forgot all about being quiet. She stepped back, causing a floor blood to creak, and Bonnie and Damon both snapped their heads in her direction. Horror flooded both of their faces and for a long, excruciatingly uncomfortable moment, the three of them stared at each other. Then Damon summed up their feelings in one succinct word.

"Shit."