'I refuse to sink' the message was written on his coffee mug, right below the picture of a red anchor. He traced his thumb around the nautical stripes round the mug and took another sip. The air smelled clean, fresh and salty as he stared out across the ocean at a sailboat bobbing on the water.

His little brother was getting married. Stefan had lost his mind.

Damon glanced over his shoulder at the cottage. He could hear their voices as the house woke up to a new day. The sun beat down his back while the sand slipped between his toes. He swiped at his hair, digging his toes in the sticky, wet grains of white sand. He was still admiring the hints of green in the early morning sky when he spotted Bonnie jogging along the beach. He smiled at the sight of her, struck by how good she looked with her lithe form running alongside lapping waves that rolled onto the pebbled shore. When she caught sight of him, she paused, hands on her hips and looked out into the ocean as it contemplating if she'd rather deal with him or plunge into the deep blue.

Damon winched, shifting his weight on his left leg and waited for her to decide. With her wind tossed hair, she made her way toward him.

"You look sensational." He started in, clearing his throat.

"Thanks. I hear coffee stunts your growth" She panted, gesturing to the cup in his hand. He admired the blush burning her cheeks and wondered if she had been blushing like that when he lapped her up last night. The memory flooded his senses and he couldn't shake it off.

"Listen, Damon about last night…I...uhm...I mean, you know…I…uh…"

"We didn't do anything. You passed out before we got the chance." He shrugged his shoulders and stared into his coffee.

"You know how I feel about you." He added quietly, shooting her an easy glance.

"Damon" she protested, tilting her head to the side and it took all the strength he had not to reach out and touch her, kiss her like he had done last night.

"And you know how I feel about the situation." She stepped back to avoid contact with him, "I don't wanna complicate things."

"Right, you don't do colleagues."

"And I just want to focus on my career." She replied then paused, chewing the corner of her bottom lip.

"Great." She pasted a smile on her face and that gripped him worse than if she'd flipped him a off for some reason.

"This wont change things between us, will it?" she asked.

"Never."

"Were you faking?"

"What?"

"I just wanna know, were you faking last night when you were so wet you were practically begging for me to fuck you?"

"I never beg."

"Right, it must have been someone else wanting me to fuck her blind last night."

"Blame the pot."

"Blame the pot." He nodded, taking another sip of his coffee. He didn't know which was worse, the feeling of sinking in a deep black pit that suddenly gripped him or watching her go, sunlight eating away at her silhouette until she was just a haze of white light.

..

Bonnie took the steps leading to the cottage two at a time.

She blinked, her eyes adjusting from the bright sunlight outside the house. The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted around the kitchen. The process of cooking was adding even more heat to the already cramped kitchen. She crossed the floor nearly bumping into Marcel who was pouring syrup in every indentation on the waffles on his plate; next to him was a grumpy looking Klaus peeling a banana. Bonnie skipped the carefully arranged row of cereal boxes, a platter of fresh fruit and made a bee-line for the meat selections. She snatched up a small plate and shook her head when Klaus offered her a beer from the permanently open refrigerator.

"You want some waffles, Bon?" Caroline asked, the soft glow of morning lighting up her blonde hair. The coffee machine hissed behind the blonde and she picked up a mug from the countertop, filling it up with the frothy brew. Bonnie watched as Caroline lifted the mug to her lips and contemplated the idea of ingesting coffee. She felt fresh and alert with a bounce in her step and after last night's fiasco she had needed to go for the run and get her mind right.

"It's going to be a long day of drinking so you need a significant base." Caroline explained while she filled up a fresh cup for Bonnie.

Taking her cup from Caroline, she suggested "I was thinking more like something spicy?"

"We're grilling up some burgers for lunch." Klaus told her as he shuffled past his girlfriend, digging the pockets of his sand splattered jeans for something.

"What does everyone think about a sand castle contest or a sea-shell scavenger hunt?" Caroline announced to a chorus of groans.

"Morning!" Sophie tumbled into the kitchen in a dishevelled mess of dark hair and sweatpants. She pulled out one of the stools from the kitchen island and plopped down on it, burying her face in her hands.

"You know what I feel like; a braised pork sandwich with extra fat." She moaned, red-rimmed eyes peeking out between her fingers. When she caught sight of a flushed looking Bonnie blowing on her coffee, Sophie narrowed her eyes and wrinkled her face.

"Did you go for a jog?" she queried.

"Yup."

"Who the fuck are you, wonder-woman?" she squealed, swiping a hand through her hair before swinging a look at her husband who was poised over a tablet on the kitchen island.

"What you doing?" she asked.

"Skyping with Louis and Jane." Marcel shrugged before sliding the tablet across to her, "Hey, you wanna speak to Louis?"

"Would you like an omelette?" Rebekah asked Stefan as he entered the kitchen in navy sweatpants and a white t-shirt. She lifted the edges of an omelette on a pan before tossing it onto a waiting plate. Offering her a big grin, he draped an arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm gonna try and see if I can find Damon." He replied, tilting her chin and placing a series of kisses on her lips. He ran his hand over her back while she rested her head on his shoulder.

With another glance at the couple, Bonnie offered "Damon's outside."

Klaus, who had disappeared back up the stairs for a t-shirt, came sprinting back into the kitchen and called out "Okay, I'm heading out for a greasy burger. Who's with me?"

"Seriously?" Caroline raised a questioning eyebrow over the rim of her mug.

Poking out his bottom lip in mock sadness, he said "I love you but I'm hung-over like a bitch and need some serious fat in my system."

"You're gonna clog your arteries." Caroline argued even though she was already smiling against his mouth as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I'm sure we can find a way of working it all off." Klaus promised and Bonnie speared a forkful of waffles, careful not to glance over her shoulder to where Damon was still standing outside.

..

Damon gave the bedroom door a few taps before stepping inside. He paused on the threshold, one hand on the crystal doorknob and stared at Bonnie with his mouth hanging open.

She was wet and warm from the shower, skin sleek with water with a fluffy white towel tied around her.

"Hi…I'm sorry I didn't uhm…" he stammered, his eyes dropping to her chest where her hands clutched the bath towel tightly. He could tell that last night unsettled her. She didn't feel comfortable being in the same room as him.

"I'll go." He told her and cracked the door open again.

"Did we fuck up?" she said to his back making him stop.

Turning to face her, Damon asked "What?"

"You said last night wouldn't change anything but here we are. Did we fuck up?"

"I don't know about fucking up, but I do know that we sort of crossed enemy lines."

"Oh we went deep behind enemy lines. Very deep." She chuckled softly, shaking her head.

"We took know thy enemy to a whole new level." He agreed, hand still on the door handle, "but I liked the new level."

A smile tugged the corners of her lips when he admitted to that and he noticed the blush creeping into her cheeks. Fuck she looked sexy and so unaware of how sexy she was.

"We're in a real pickle." She finally said, pushing strands of damp hair behind her ears. She approached him slowly and cautiously as if he were a dangerous animal and Damon backed against the door, his back shutting the door when it pressed against it. A current passed between them, tense, waiting for one of them to move, to react and say something. Her mouth was inches from his, her breath fanning his skin. His eyes travelled from her shower-dampened hair to her scotching green eyes.

"That's sounds as sexy fuck." He murmured, lifting a hand to caress her cheek. She took a stuttering breath and quickly glanced down at the hand touching her then met his gaze again.

"Pickle?" she cocked an eyebrow, an amused smile crossing her lips.

"Fuck yes, "His gaze dropped to her lips, the soft inviting curves of her lips, "say it again."

"Pickle" she repeated and fisted her hands in his shirt, pulling him closer to her. He tipped her chin and kissed her slowly while her hands roamed his chest, bunching the material with her fists.

Damon drew back and looked at her, her parted lips, the lust in her eyes as they drifted closed. When he cupped her face in his hands again, her stomach clenched because she could sense the intent in his touch.

He wanted to make love her and she needed him to.

They gave themselves over to the kiss, losing themselves in it and when he broke the kiss again it was only to nibble his way down her neck. She arched her back, grabbed the waistband of his jeans and drew him closer to her. Her need for him was frantic fiery and as her towel fell to the floor, she found his zipper and jerked it down.

Somehow they found the bed, the back of her legs hitting something before he threw her on the mattress. Gone was the gentle seduction as their desire mounted. He barely had time to catch his breath as she pulled his shirt over his head, catching his nipples between her teeth. She explored every inch of him, hungrily like an animal let loose and Damon pulled back again to catch his breath. He pinned her to the bed feeling her body shake underneath him before kissing his way down her body. He licked and teased until he reached the apex of her thighs.

Casting a quick and delicious glance at her, he brushed a tongue over the outer lips of her cunt before grazing her clit. He slid the tip of his tongue inside her, then a finger, then two while she moaned. With anticipation quickening his blood, he grabbed her by her calves and pulled her to the edge of the bed so he would eat her properly. When he felt she was good, ready and wet for him, he picked her up and deposited her back in the centre of the bed.

Bonnie's lips sought his, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, her legs around his waist. She stopped breathing as he slowly eased himself inside her but her heart, her heartbeat continued to hammer against her chest, her temples, her fingertips...her cunt.

Snared by her flesh, he fucked her with long fluid strokes and she met him stroke for stroke. Her legs parted wider, his hips thrusting deeper as she rolled to meet them.

Bonnie came with a muffled scream, his mouth over hers, feeding her breathe as much as she breathed him in. He shuddered his release, mouth open, hungry and crushing her mouth.

..

The weekend flew by in a blur of six hour conversations, lips tingling from salted glass rims, sunsets bleeding into a sparkling ocean and meat turning on the grill. It was a languid weekend filled with laughter and colour.

It was a weekend filled with passionate love making in the secret darkness of Caroline's guestroom.

..

On Monday they were back at the office and the place was charged with energy. Bonnie was filling her metal thermos with coffee when her phone rang in her pocket. She checked her phone screen and rechecked again to make sure that her eyes were not fooling her.

"Mom?" she answered, pressing the phone to her ear.

"Happy Labor day." Though her voice sounded airy and light, Bonnie could still sense the tension in it.

"A bit late but thank you." she replied and tried to organise her thoughts because it was unlike Abby to call her.

"How's the new job?"

Still puzzled, Bonnie replied "It's great."

Her mind started racing ahead, thinking where the conversation was going when her mother announced, "I want you to come to Washington with me."

"Washington DC?"

"More precisely the White House. They're having some mother daughter gala dinner and I am among the dignitaries that will be giving a speech."

"About female circumcision?"

"About human rights."

"When is this trip taking place?"

"In two weeks."

"Oh."

"I'll e-mail you with the details." She said then dropped the call before Bonnie could respond.

..

Bonnie was packing up for the evening when Katherine stuck head in her cubicle.

"What say you and me grab a drink?"

Bonnie smiled apologetically, "I don't know. I'm bushed."

"Come on we'll go to that shitty place across the office."

"Fine, shitty place across the office it is." Bonnie chuckled, shaking her head. She clutched her laptop bag and purse then grabbed her jacket and threw it over her arm.

Twenty minutes later they were sitting inside a quite, dimly lit bar talking about work.

"What were you doing, playing hide the sausage all weekend?" Katherine teased, nudging her with her elbow. Bonnie blushed at the change of subject, she shifted and took anther swallow of her drink.

"With Damon?" she spared Kat a quick look then stared back into her glass, "I don't date my co-workers." She shook her head and swirled the wine. They didn't share the same interests or even the same principals. On paper, Damon was just not a good fit but she couldn't deny the way he made her feel. Nor could she deny how great the sex had been in the Hamptons.

"Neither do I" Katherine smiled knowingly.

"What about Enzo?"

"I like him, we hang out and have fun." Katherine smiled and lifted her hand to beckon the bartender for another shot of scotch.

"Seems like someone had the right idea."

They both turned to find Anna walking toward them. She was dressed in blue jeans, a tee-shirt, tweed blazer and a dishevelled mop of hair. She looked like she'd had one hell of a day.

Three drinks later Anna was telling them about Jeremy and how happy he made her and shortly after that, Katherine gathered her things, drained her glass and slammed it back on the counter.

"I have dinner plans so I'm gonna run." Katherine slid off her stool and gave Bonnie's back a friendly pat.

"I've been offered a position in Atlanta." Anna said, starring down into her fourth drink.

"CNN?" Bonnie raised a questioning eyebrow.

Anna nodded, "Don't get too excited. It's a job as a research assistant but it's a start and it's CNN."

"Congratulations."

"I haven't accepted the offer yet."

Surprised, Bonnie asked "What's holding you back? Jeremy?"

"I'm not gonna lie and say he doesn't factor into my decision."

She had not pegged Anna as the type of woman who would prioritise her relationship over her career. It was so cliché, a woman choosing a man over an amazing career.

"You realize that if you don't take this opportunity and it doesn't work out with the two of you, you're going to despise him right?"

"Bonnie I-"

"Would Jeremy do the same were he in your position?"

"I don't want to turn this in to some gender equality thing or what he would have done were he in my position. This is about me being happy. Trust me, I am taking that job. I'm just trying to decide if I want him to come with me because long distance relationships never work." she prattled then took a breath, closed her eyes and half-smiled looking at Bonnie again.

"Am I selfish if I ask him to come away with me? I mean I'd be asking him to give up a job I know he loves, his friends…" Anna trailed off, took a sip of her wine then circled the rim with her finger.

She lifted her eyes to Bonnie again and asked, "What would you do if you were in my position?"

"I'd leave and never look back." Bonnie lifted her shoulders in a shrug and then realizing how cold her response seemed, said "Anna, do what makes sense for you. Do what makes you happy."

..

"I was thinking about leading with the piece about marines undergoing sensitivity training in preparation for female integration?" Damon asked over the blissful sounds of John Coltrane's saxophone. The scent of grapes and chocolates wafted through the air as he refilled her glass. It was her second; she counted and glanced at it as he set it back down on the cluttered coffee table. It was three days since their return from the Hamptons and she'd been avoiding the topic of their scandalous weekend like a plague.

"What are you going to touch on, the high percentage of women failing basic training or the fact that the marines are lowering their standards by adjusting their training methods to accommodate women?" she lifted an eyebrow and toed off her shoes.

"Do you think that's what I think?" he shot her a glance while he refilled his own glass.

Picking up her wine she took a long sip before saying, "You're allowed an opinion, Damon. That's the whole point of the column. Or we could lead with a refugee piece."

"You think this is a jab on feminism."

"Are you asking me or telling me?" she cocked her head to the side and smiled.

"I'm telling you." He stopped pouring the wine and looked at her.

They were silent for a moment with him studying her with a mix of need and longing. Her pulse hastened and her skin burned with remembrance. She knew what she was thinking because she was thinking the same thing.

She wanted him butt naked on the damn couch. She wanted to tangle her fingers in his dark unruly hair, get lost in his intense blue eyes only to find herself in his sensuous lips.

But she couldn't do that again. Damon was a co-worker and she didn't date co-workers.

"Can we get back to the refugees?" she finally broke their intense gaze and the thick silence that went along with it. She quickly drained her glass motioned to her notepad.

"Is there unfair treatment for refugees of darker coloring?" she rambled on, reading off the notes she'd made, "Can America afford a refugee program? How do you distinguish between economic migrants and refugees?"

"Are we gonna talk about the weekend?" he asked, his jaw setting stubbornly.

"What about the weekend?" She reached for her glass before remembering that it was empty.

"We made love. Are we gonna talk about it?" his voice was husky, making her skin tingle. She swallowed and tore her gaze away from the laptop on the table. Her eyes were soft and moist, her heart beating widely against her chest. He's so gorgeous she thought taking in his stubble and the bob of his adam's apple as he waited for her to say something.

"Do you believe in marriage?" she asked and her voice sounded steadier than she felt.

Damon dragged in some air into his lungs and asked, "Are the two things related?"

"Just answer the question." She ordered.

"Well It's the American dream right, two kids, a husband, a dog and a picket fence?" he sighed, leaning back against the couch with his arms spread.

"Are you concerned about Stefan and Rebekah?" she looked at him curiously.

"Marriage is complicated." He set his glass back on the table between them.

"So are a lot of things." Bonnie crossed her legs and angled her body toward his, "You don't think he's up for the challenge?" she asked.

"Stefan's always had a big heart." He rose from his chair and stood over her. Bonnie looked up at him, her heart hammering against her chest. He smelled heady and masculine, a concoction that would be her undoing.

"What are you doing?" she asked in a stunned whisper. Her hoarse voice belied her composure. Her mind was completely paralyzed. She was transfixed by him and when he parted her legs with his knee a shiver rippled through her.

Slowly she gripped the hem of his shirt and tugged him closer to her, wetting her lips. Damon kept his gaze locked with hers as he unbuttoned his shirt one button at a time. Impatiently she reached out to touch him but he caught her hands in time and shook his head. She had to learn to be patient. He unzipped the fly of his jeans, one tine at a time and then took her hand and slid it into his jeans where it could grasp his stiff cock. Then he bent down to kiss her, gripping both sides of her face and tasted the tang of wine lacing her plump lips.

"I need you, "she begged, panting.

"You're so damn sexy." he said wrapping his fingers in her hair and pulling her head back to give his mouth access to her neck. The pulse at her neck raced beneath his lips and he traced the tendons in her neck with his teeth. When her hand curled behind her neck, he pulled her legs round him, hoisted her up from the couch and carried her upstairs to the bedroom.

They toppled onto the bed and Bonnie quickly rolled him over until she was straddling his thighs. Her hands, planted in the middle of his chest held him firmly in place as her teeth scraped across his skin. Her mouth sucked on his flesh as she kissed her path down toward his groin and his breaths evolved into groans of pleasure. She paused to reach back and undo her bra then tossed it at him with a laugh. Damon's hands quested up her thighs, over her hips and onto her ass, drawing her closer to him until her nipples were grazing his chest. Then threading his fingers back into her hair, he kissed her hungry and eagerly. They were at the cusp of their arrival, kissing feverishly and without abandon. He seized her waist and rolled her around the bed till he covered her, his mouth open and hungry over hers.

"I wanna fuck you from behind." he ordered and she eagerly assumed the position, sinking down on her knees, chest pressed flat on the mattress and her ass high in the air, waiting...anticipating. He traced his fingers along her ass cheeks and she sighed her arousal. She wanted him desperately and couldn't wait. He positioned himself behind her and fingered her panties, pulling the crotch aside, teasing at her opening with his fingers.

"Take it off, please take it off." she pleaded, so aroused she was unable to form a sentence.

Slowly he peeled off the scrap of lace and gave her ass a light spanking that set every nerve ending alight. She heard him rip open a condom and closed her eyes, her mouth watering with anticipation.

At the back of her mind she thought back to the Hamptons and about how they hadn't used a condom the first night, about how quickly they pushed that aside and how she took a morning after pill the minute she got back to Manhattan. The touch of his cock against opening quickly dispelled all thoughts of their risky weekend and brought her to the present, his hard dick sliding into her inch by delicious inch at a time.

She wanted it rough but she didn't want to ask for it didn't want to say it, didn't want him to know that she wanted to be fucked without abandon because she wanted someone else to take charge for once.

His hands circled around her waist, pulling her closer to him until the globes of her ass slammed against him, his dick tunnelling into her slick heat.

"Please don't stop!" Bonnie panted, he felt gigantic and devastatingly divine from this position. She wanted him to use her, command her, fuck her until she came and as she impaled herself onto his cock she knew se would come soon and it would be a monster.

"You like that?" He pumped harder into her, coaxing her sopping wet clit with his thumb. Damon felt her tighten around his cock. He reached for her face, made her turn around and kissed her. The stroke of his tongue against hers, the feel of his warm skin against hers took her over the edge until she convulsed against him, legs shaking with her cunt clutching his cock.

After making love, they lay still, their breathing fast and heavy, their hearts racing. With his eyes closed, Damon pulled her closer to him and kissed the top of her head. His heart beat strong under her finger tips and she was keenly aware of her own heart beat. The tender closeness she felt for him at that very moment terrified her. She had no interest in a broken heart and from what she could tell he was an expert at breaking them.

"Where did you learn to fuck like that?" she purred instead, walking her fingers across his chest before nipping at his shoulder. A satisfied smile spread itself across Damon's face but before he could say anything, Bonnie's cell phone rang.

She checked the caller ID, it was Kai Parker. Her heart kicked hard against her chest. He sure had perfect timing. She thought twice about taking the call. Would it seem rude if she took a call from Kai right after making passionate love with Damon?

"I'm gonna take a shower." She said, easing the covers off and getting out of bed.

Damon watched as she walked into the adjoining bathroom with her cell phone and close the door behind her.