AN: Thank you for your reviews on this one! I'm glad you are enjoying it as much as I am.

Doing the Dance – Part III

…

I want to hold you close
Soft breasts, beating heart
As I whisper in your ear
I want to fucking tear you apart

…

She plagued his every thought, sleeping and otherwise. The monster in him was pleading for her. It wanted to consume her; sink its teeth into her jugular and drink deep. It wanted to rip her throat out, and bathe in her blood. But what he wanted…that ran much deeper. He wanted to claim her, make her his…forever. No…he couldn't. He promised himself once, he'd never turn a mate for himself again. Not after what happened the last time.

He had kept his distance after that night in the club. He didn't want to think about why, but subconsciously he knew it was for her own good. He would destroy everything that was good about her. A couple weeks ago that may have ended up being a fun evening for him. He refused to believe it was because he cared…that would have required human emotions, of which he had none. Damon had turned it off decades ago and hadn't looked back. But every time he thought of her, something unnerved him deep inside. Just one last time. I'll see her one last time and then it will be over.

It was a mantra repeated to himself day after day, and yet, 'one last time' never seemed to be enough. She looked sad the first few days, like something heavy was weighing on her. But when someone would ask if she was okay, she forced a smile that never reached her eyes, and lied. 'I'm fine'. The week that followed, she seemed to sense him; whether it was in the courtyard or in the coffee shop or walking down the busy streets of Manhattan, he caught her glancing around with a curious frown pinching her brow. Why do I feel you? She had thought it to herself, but he heard it loud and clear as if she were speaking to him. Was he in her mind? …Or was she in his?

…

It was going to be a long day. Bonnie hadn't slept properly in what felt like weeks, and she had back-to-back classes all day without a free period. She needed fuel. As per her usual routine, she went to the coffee shop and ordered her usual.

"Oh, that's already been paid for." The girl behind the counter smiled.

Bonnie's heart leapt in her throat. "By who?" she demanded eagerly.

The girl glanced around. "By…oh, that man right there." She pointed to the entrance, but all Bonnie saw was the door swinging shut.

She ran out after him, stopping and looking both ways to see where he would have gone. Instinct told her to go left, and she ran down the block, hoping for a glimpse. She got to the end of the block and sighed in disappointment. He was nowhere to be found. Was she going crazy? Was this man just a ghost on a breeze that she would never catch?

She turned around and there he was, half a block away in the campus walk, hands in his pockets and an amused smile on his face. She didn't run, but her pace was quick as she closed the distance between them. "I was looking for you." She squinted her eyes from the bright sun.

He grinned. "You ran right past me." In truth, he had no intention of staying in the area, but her eagerness to seek him out made him pause.

"Oh…" she laughed, ducking her head bashfully. She took a few moments to catch her breath, tucking her wild, loose waves behind her ear. "Thought you could sneak away huh?"

He shrugged. "You looked like you were in a hurry."

Well, he wasn't wrong "Haven't seen you around in a while." I missed you. "You left pretty abruptly…"

He winced. "I'm sorry about that. The truth is, I kind of have a drinking problem. Sometimes it gets a little…overwhelming." He admitted. He neglected to tell her she was his current drink of choice.

They fell in step with each other, walking back to the coffee shop. "You have drinking problem, and you decided the best place to be was a nightclub?" she jested lightheartedly with a raise of her brow.

"Well, I'm a bit of a lone wolf…figured it was the best place to meet people." Was this…a normal, causal conversation they were having? Majority of the interactions he had with humans were the foreplay before the main event or a role he played for kicks. This…this was different. "I hope I didn't upset you."

She smiled up at him. "No, it's fine really. I understand. Maybe just give a girl some warning next time." She added teasingly, bumping shoulders with him.

He laughed along with her, and it wasn't ironic or because of some inside joke only he knew. It was genuine. "Noted. Do you…want to get a drink with me? Coffee!" he corrected when he saw her brow arch questioningly. "I promise, I don't have any intention of falling off the wagon." He joked. Yet.

She nodded. "Sure." She should have said no. She should have politely declined and continued about her very busy day, but she just couldn't help herself. The backlash would have to wait.

They sat in that coffee shop talking about everything and nothing. He was surprisingly a great listener, his eyes locking on hers as she spoke. "I'm sorry, I'm doing all the talking." She rambled embarrassedly.

"It's okay. I like listening to you." He told her honestly.

"What about you? What brought you to New York?" she asked before sipping her third coffee of the day.

The food; its an all you can eat buffet. The monster in him answered. "Just needed a change. I don't like being caged in."

"Is that what it's like where you're from? Are you a small-town boy?" She quipped curiously. She found it hard to get any personal questions out of him, except a couple things here and there. She learned his last name was Salvatore, he was kind of a loner, and that he had a drinking problem…and that was basically it. But she was determined to know this man.

He paused in thought. "I guess you could say that."

She picked up on his vague response, but chose not to press further. "So what does Damon Salvatore do for a living?" she asked lightly.

Catch, eat, kill. Rinse and repeat. "I work in finance." It was his usual response. The women he'd pursued in the past had never bothered to question him further or even cared to hear about it. It was the perfect cover.

"Oh really? What field?" Her curious response threw him off for a moment, and he didn't really know how to answer.

"The boring one." He settled on evasively, hoping it came across charmingly.

She laughed, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. "You're not really one for straight answers, are you?"

"No." he said pointedly, mirth in his eyes. He did it only to get a reaction from her, and her huff of a response was satisfying enough. The way her skin flushed when she was frustrated made his mouth water; her scent tickling his senses.

She narrowed her gaze at him, but couldn't hide the quirk of amusement. "Funny." She leaned forward on her elbows capturing his full attention with the color of her eyes. "Look, I think we've established that there's an attraction. But it's not going to go anywhere unless you let me get to know you." She coaxed softly. Her eyes were so open, and inviting; didn't she realize how much danger she was in? Couldn't she see that she was playing with fire?

They sat in the silence for a moment, before his brow creased. "I don't really let people in." She slowly nodded in understanding, her mouth twisting in disappointment as she averted her gaze. "But I want to…with you." He added in reassurance. He was surprised to find that it was the truth. "So, what do you want to know?" This is a bad idea. The voice inside grumbled, but he pushed it down.

Bonnie was pleasantly surprised, and he was rewarded with a brilliant smile. "Okay…where did you grow up?"

"This place called Mystic Falls. One of those towns where you die before you get a chance to leave it." He added ironically.

She studied him curiously. "So would you say you were lucky to get out?"

He huffed a laugh. "Depends on how you define 'luck'. Let's just say, I'm better off."

She accepted his answer, and continued her gentle interrogation, sipping her coffee. "Any siblings?"

"Uh, yeah…" he hesitated, but ultimately continued. "A brother." He deflected. "What about you?" He asked back, despite already knowing the answer. Only child. Dead mother. Absentee father. The perfect victim. And just the right amount daddy issues to make it exciting without getting too cliché.

"No; only child syndrome, I'm afraid." She told him good naturedly. "Younger or older?"

"Younger…but someone forgot to tell him that." He added begrudgingly.

She giggled. "Pain in the ass, huh?"

"An eternity of misery." He confirmed with a wry smile. He hadn't thought of Stefan for a long time. The last he saw him, they didn't exactly part on good terms. In fact, it ended with Damon killing his girlfriend and Stefan swearing to stake him the next they crossed paths. He wasn't worried. If Stefan was still feeding on Bambi and Thumper, he didn't even stand a chance. I promised you an eternity of misery, brother. Damon hadn't been lying when he said it, and every few years, he showed up to remind him. But in his own mind, it was justified. Stefan cursed him with an eternity of misery…why shouldn't he return the favor? And eye for an eye.

She ended up missing her first period, and was close to being late for the second when Bonnie had to force herself to leave the coffee shop. She winced, reluctant to end their time together. "I should go…" but I don't want to. "I'm going to be late for my next class."

Damon's gaze darted up to the clock on the wall. Had it already been an hour? He didn't even realize. "Oh, yeah…of course." When she stood, he stood with her as she nervously slipped her bag over her shoulder. "I'd like to see you again."

She looked up with a happy grin. "Yeah…yeah, I'd like that too. Um, there's this party tomorrow night at Brittany Hall. Sort of the last hurrah before summer break. Would you want to come?"

Cheap beer, trash music, a bunch of unruly twenty somethings that couldn't hold their alcohol. That sounds like a nightmare. He forced a grin. "Sounds like fun."

"Great!" She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a piece of paper and turning back to the table to write down the address. He couldn't help but observe her as she did; stealing a moment to study her unnoticed. She had a beauty mark on her cheek, and tiny specks of freckles spattered the bridge of her nose. Her hair fell over the opposite shoulder, and it bared her luscious neck. She turned to him and he blinked out of his trance. "Meet me here at eight?"

Damon took it, keeping his eyes locked on hers as he slipped it in his back pocket. "I'll be there."

She laughed nervously under his blatant stare, a blush coming to her cheeks. "Okay, then, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye…" she couldn't wipe the smile off her face when she rushed out of the shop, risking a look back as she walked through the door only to find him still watching her.

He waited until she was out of sight before he sobered, the smile slipping from his face. He was getting too close. Taking it too far…but he couldn't resist. It was like a bad car accident, the closer he got the more he couldn't look away. Her hungered for her in a way he wasn't familiar with; it was making him change his pattern. If she were anyone else, he would have drained and buried her by now, but he didn't want her dead…

He cracked his neck in irritation, his jaw tensing. He needed to feed. The monster inside was crawling to get out. Damon sauntered out, keeping his eyes peeled for an easy target. It wasn't long before he found one and compelled her to follow him to a secluded parking garage. He didn't care that it was broad daylight, or that anyone could walk by; he needed it.

"Don't say a word." He compelled darkly, his eyes turning red and his vangs descending. Her lips parted in a silent gasp as he viciously sunk his teeth into her jugular. He didn't want to stop. He wanted to squeeze every drop of blood from her body. He wanted to rip right through her throat…but he couldn't. Slowly he pulled back, swallowing back a mouth full of her blood. She was a mess; the holes in her neck were gaping and she was terrified and shaking. "Hey." H snapped his fingers in her face. "Pull it together." He chastised unsympathetically, nodding in approval when she calmed down. He needed to do something about this. He couldn't just send her off on her way looking like this. Thinking quickly, he pulled her ponytail loose, and hid her wounds. "Don't let anyone see those."

"I won't let anyone see." She answered robotically.

"Good." He put his hands on her shoulders, and leveled with her, making sure she was locked in on his eyes. "You were attacked by a dog; you never met me, and this never happened. You'll go home, clean yourself up and never think about it again." He recited convincingly.

"I should clean this up." She spoke to herself numbly.

"Perfect." He gently turned and pushed her on her way, before slinking off to his car parked in the back. When he was in, his head leaned back over the head rest. That was reckless. Not his usual style. And still he wasn't sated. He would need another warm body, but not here. He threw his car in drive and ripped out of the garage heading off campus.

…

AN: I realized somewhere along the way that I ended up giving Damon's monster his own voice and thoughts and it's giving Venom lol. Obviously, Damon is a very complex character and his conflicts are mostly within himself so I figured that a little schitzo voice in his head was fitting.

I'm already fleshing out the next chapter (obviously not going to be the three-part fic I had originally thought it would be) and I'm VERY excited for this part. Hope you enjoy! - Vanessa