I'll always touch you

-Jimi Hendrix

#

Bonnie told herself that she wasn't in love with him, that what she felt was merely affection for hard rock with a thumping base. She watched as he unpacked and opened the small Styrofoam takeaway boxes, dishing up a hefty amount of pork vindaloo. She watched the way his hair fell over his eyes, the way the candlelight played across his shoulders, accentuating his broad shoulders. Bonnie found herself smiling as she circled her arms around his waist. She tugged his white vest free from his jeans, pressed her breasts against his back and kissed his shoulder. Pressing her cheek to his back, she listened to the rise and fall of his breathing as she snuggled closer to him.

"You ready to dig in?" he asked, glancing at her over his shoulder and rewarding her patience with a forehead kiss.

"I'm ready to dig in alright" she breathed unbuttoning his Levi jeans and slipping her hand down his pants.

"Ahem, edible food first" Damon chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, the other picking up their warm plates of Indian curry.

"I'd say you're plenty edible, Alabama" Bonnie tugged at his shirt before grabbing a cold six-pack of beer as they made their way to Damon's makeshift lounge littered with dripping candles stuffed into wine bottles. The beer was cold, candles warm, the company scintillating and Bob Dylan as raspy Joplin after gin binge. Bonnie was content, she was at peace and she loved these slow easy moments at Damon's apartments when all she had to think about was making love and their next meal. She was in heaven.

"What's this?" She asked over her chicken tandoori as Damon dropped a small wooden box on the table in front of her.

"Don't worry; it's not the apocalypse, I know its way too soon for that marriage stuff" he shook his head, dipping a piece of naan bread into yoghurt dip.

"Marriage and Apocalypse, your words not mine" Bonnie grinned, handing another platter of naan bread with curry bread. Damon tore anther chunk and dunked it into a bowl of Makhani sauce.

"I tell you I'd be worried if wedding rings came in a 99 cents wooden box like this" she frowned surveying the buffed wood of the box.

"Bonnie Bennett, never figured you for the materialistic type" he waggled his eyebrows and smiled across at her.

"I'm not; just…sentimental "she smiled glancing up at him before her eyes skipped back to the engraving on the bottom of the box.

"Stefan, nineteen eighty nine" she said, reading the faded inscription.

"It was a gift from Stefan, three months before I ran away from home" he said taking another long tug from his bottle.

"Damon," she began, her lower lip snared between her teeth "I didn't know"

"You're right, it's still a shitty looking thing," he chuckled softly, stealing a glance at his beer.

"No, it's adorable" Bonnie smiled leaning over toward him "Did I mention sweet and soppy" she said cupping his bristled chin.

"Are you calling me corny?" he grinned, his eyes already dancing on her lips.

"In every possible language" she smiled against his mouth before teasing his bottom lip with her soft tongue.

"Hmm, you taste like a man from Mumbai" she moaned into his mouth.

"Yeah, does that do anything for you?" he twined his calloused fingers through her hair, his tongue teasing hers and making her skin tingle.

"Oh yeah, role play baby" she chuckled, grinning against his magnificent mouth" very very kinky"

"You haven't opened the box" Damon persisted, fighting the growing pressure in his dishevelled jeans as her mouth hovered over his, her warm breath tickling his moist lips.

"Can the box wait?" "It'll be like a fortune cookie opened at the end of our meal" she murmured, her arms wrapping around his neck, his hair tickling her skin.

"Speaking of the meal…" he said between kisses.

"Did I mention that you're the meal?"

"Babe…"

"Okay, killjoy" Bonnie laughed, snatching the small box from the table and cracking it open. Her eyes snared at the shiny key tucked inside it and Bonnie cocked her head as if to study it a while longer. Slowly, she lifted it out of the box, oblivious to Damon's anxious swigs of beer. Her hammering heart seemed to clog her throat and she cleared it for her speech.

"The straw was a nice touch" she said plucking a straw of yellow hay from the box.

"Tell me this is for those girlfriend duties when you're on tour like watering your plants and feeding your cat"

"I don't have a cat and I hate plants"

"Damon…"

"Say yes, I know you're scared but just say yes"

"It's too soon"

"It's been months, move in with me"

"Damon, "she whispered, her eyes dropping back to the key sitting on her palm. Slowly she placed it back inside the box and as soon as she done that, Damon rose up from his chair. Rushing toward the door, he snatched up his coat off a sofa as he passed. He pulled the door open, paused as he scratched the back of his head and studied his black scuffed boots, laces undone.

"Damon" Bonnie croaked, her brows furrowed as Damon soundlessly closed the door behind him. She stared at the door for a while longer before the ding of the microwave jolted back into the cramped space of Damon's kitchen. She padded back toward the microwave and took out their desert and placed it on the counter to cool down.

Slowly, she folded up the dirty napkins and tossed them in the dustbin, stacked their dirty plates and set them inside the sink then took a cold bottle of beer from the fridge. Flopping on the sofa in front of the T.V, she surfed the channels until she found Carrie Bradshaw prancing around Manhattan in flirty tutu and too much perm. The scene just made her miss New York even more and she took another swig of beer to dissipate her melancholy. She hated to disappoint Damon but what could she do, rush into another co-habiting situation so soon after Kol? Two months ago she had been perfectly content living and sharing a toothbrush with a magnificent pianist and now months later, a sexy rockstar was handing her keys to his apartment.

oooo

The engine purred as Damon sat outside in his truck, hands cupped around his mouth as he tried to warm them with his breath. The heater wasn't working again and he knew that he needed a new truck, he even had the cash to purchase a brand new one but he was sentimental about his old girl.

Sighing heavily, he ran a hand down his face. He wondered if he wasn't being a selfish prick, if forcing Bonnie to move in with him was the right thing to do. Christ, if moving in with him made her so antsy, marriage would be completely out of the question. Marriage, he scoffed, dammit to hell when did he get so soft? What had that green eyed sprightly thing done to him? With his brows furrowed, Damon opened the glove compartment and fished out a small skull engraved silver box. With a heaving sigh, he pried it open, its rusty hinges squeaking. He pressed his lips together and plucked out a ring from its purple satin sheet. The emerald winked against the flurry of neon lights streaming in through the widow.

Damon watched the late night dates unfold inside the dimly lit interiors of Seattle restaurants as he drove up Capitol Hill. He parked outside his old familiar dive bar with cheap beer and even cheaper women. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for but he knew that he didn't want to think about Bonnie for the next hour. Damon rapped his knuckles on the long worn counter to signal the bartender for a beer.

"You never called me back"

He turned to the low husky voice of a female and found himself starring into a set of big grey eyes and too much hair.

"Come again?" he cleared his throat, taking another swig from his beer.

"You don't remember me?" she asked, her nails already making a play for his hand.

"Red lace thong, snake tattoo, insane mouth" she smiled, fingers tracing the rim of her white wine glass "I even left you a little gift" she smiled brushing a thumb across her nose.

"Ah, devil in a green dress"

"I saw you on tour, "she said scooting closer to him, her breasts jolting up in the process "you did a very sexy stage dive" she finished, her nails now tracing the way up his arm.

"Oh yeah, you're here for an autograph?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of dejavu"

"Sorry babe, I'm already taken"

"For the night?" her eyes widened, trailing his lips.

"Try for the next couple of decades"

"Then what's taken ma doing drinking alone in a bar on a Saturday night?"

"Paying for his drink, "he replied signalling the barman "and staying out of trouble " he explained gruffly, taking out his wallet and paying for his beer.

"Your loss!"

ooo

Damon shrugged off his coat and tossed it aside, his blue eyes softening at the mere sight of Bonnie lying on his ratty old couch. Squatting down on his haunches, he brushed his thumb across her warm cheek and felt her stir beneath his touch. Her eyes peeled open, the green shining in the dim light of the room. She smiled, taking him in with her warm gaze.

"Hey" Damon whispered, brushing a lock of hair from her forehead.

"Hey" she said softly, licking her lips.

"Didn't mean to wake you up"

"I was just resting my eyes" she smiled wrinkling her nose as he touched her chin.

"You smell like cheap perfume "she chuckled huskily, her eyes gleaming.

"All in a day's work" he gave her a half-smile, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Are you okay"? regret tinged her voice as she raised her hand to touch his balking jaw. Damon cleared his throat, took in a deep breath and licked his lips.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about –" he began, looking deeply into her eyes.

"Don't" she whispered pressing her fingers over his lips. Slowly, she cupped the back of his neck, her fingertips caressing his cold flesh and drew him closer. Her lips softly touched his, brushing against them gently before Damon parted his lips to the pounding thrill of her teasing tongue. He sucked deeper, feasting on the beer taste of her mouth and somewhere between the sweet disorder of her thrilling tongue and the dangerous growl burning his throat; they were naked in his bed.

ooo

"Yes" Bonnie murmured brushing her nose against his shoulder as his fingers tangled into her hair. Green and blue neon lights streamed in through the window, bands of light dancing on her hair, her skin and their white sheets.

"Hmm?" Damon murmured, relishing in the warmth of her lush breasts.

"My answer's yes, I'll move in with you" she breathed, her hand massaging his oiled chest.

"You sure?" Damon kissed the top of her damp head, hardly able to rein in his eager smile.

"Abso-fuckin-lutely!"