She felt him before she saw him; a feverish heat that claimed her body. In the beginning she wondered if Kai linked himself to her in a way that made her physically attuned to his presence so that whenever he was near, she'd know by how her skin would burn up or how her lips would swell. It didn't take long for her to realize that the answer to why he incited such a response in her wasn't so simple or straightforward.

They were in the Mystic Grill. Bonnie had a corner table with Damon and Caroline, participating in a group lunch that she knew was doomed to end terribly. When Kai showed up, she hadn't been sitting long. She didn't even see him come into the restaurant but he was at a booth near the back, watching her intently. He always looked at her that way. Unabashed. Unapologetic. A suggestion of wickedness. But this was different. There was a quiet ardor in his eyes; a vehement need to his stare that made Bonnie's mouth dry. There was danger. And it was intoxicating.

Kai stood up and walked down a few steps. He looked at her pointedly before rounding the corner to where the restrooms were.

"Excuse me," said Bonnie. "Bathroom."

Caroline turned to her. "Already? We sat down, like, ten minutes ago."

"It's just the bathroom, what's the problem?"

"The problem," said Damon, taking a large sip of his bourbon. "Is that this entire thing is ridiculous and Barbie here knows it so she's afraid you're going to ditch like Stefan did."

"Stefan did not ditch, he's just running late."

"Sure he is."

"Shut up, Damon," said Caroline.

"Look," said Bonnie. "I'm not going to ditch. I just … I'll be right back."

Bonnie got up from the table and followed the direction Kai had walked down. She turned a corner and then felt herself get yanked. Before she knew what was happening, she was in the men's restroom against the door and Kai's mouth was on hers. He grasped her around her neck, trailing his finger down her throat; his teeth tugged at her lips and he used his body to press her against the door, pinning her with a type of strength Bonnie had never experienced before. This was infuriating. They hadn't spoken to each other for a week and somehow Kai felt like he had the right to grab her and maul her without either of them saying so much as hello to one another. It was the kind of arrogance that made Bonnie want to shatter his face and the urge to slap him surged through her. Kai groaned. He could feel her irritation; Bonnie could tell — he was kissing her with even more fervour now, like he relished her anger, and he was uncompromising with his tongue. He wouldn't let her breathe, he wanted all of it, and his need ignited in Bonnie the need to match his intensity, the need to overpower him before he overwhelmed her and with swiftness, desire tinged her anger so that she clawed at his hair, at his back, but before she could even begin to lose herself, he broke away just as suddenly as he started.

They stood where they were, panting. Bonnie could feel his breath on her cheek, see the veins etched on his face beneath his eyes. There was a rawness between them that wasn't quite new just … magnified. If that was at all possible. It made Bonnie itch, like she needed to get out of her clothes, out of her skin, like she just needed to be laid bare.

"I haven't seen you in seven days," said Kai.

"Yeah I know."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't want to see you."

"Don't lie to me."

"Don't accuse me," said Bonnie, willing her heartbeat to slow down. She took a moment to catch her breath. "And I'm not lying. I needed a break from this."

There was a pause and Kai regarded her. Bonnie willed herself to stare back, to adopt an expression of cool indifference. He inched toward her and started nuzzling her hair, planting soft kisses on her neck. His lips were gentle but Bonnie could sense it — the hint of menace behind his pecks, the aggression behind the tenderness; it filled her with dread, which was only matched by her excitement and the adrenaline that pounded in her chest. He bared his teeth a little and she gasped.

He asked again. "Why haven't I seen you?"

"You can ask me that all you want but the answer …" Bonnie closed her eyes and swallowed as he pressed her even harder against the door. "The answer will stay the same."

"You know the thing about lying," said Kai. "Is that there are physical tells when you do it." He started caressing Bonnie's arms, up and down and back again, drawing patterns on her skin, making her want to groan. Her eyes fluttered slightly. She shifted a little but Kai's hands slid down to her wrists and he pinned them behind her, feeling her pulse with his index finger. "Usually they happen in an instant. But the thing about being a vampire…" He moved so that he was looking directly at Bonnie again, his expression a combination of longing and smugness. "Is that you notice pretty much everything. Like the way your eyebrows crease when you're not telling the truth. Or the way you swallow when you're keeping something from me. Usually how turned on you are."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes. That was what bothered her about Kai being a vampire now; he could notice the things he couldn't before. It gave him an unfettered access to her.

"You shouldn't have kept me waiting," he whispered. His voice was greedy, a touch below urgent and Bonnie realized he was holding back. Or trying to. He had an itch to be laid bare just as much as she did. The realization compelled her to lunge at him and she could taste his surprise on her lips. Good. She was forceful with her mouth, taking everything from him, everything she could. He gripped her waist in a plea — to keep going, to stop … he squeezed her sides and Bonnie could feel him siphon from her; a pain that over time had become cruelly delicious. Bonnie kissed his jaw line, traced her tongue on the underside of his chin and she heard him grunt, felt his hardness against her body and it only elicited in her the urge to undo him even further. She put her hands in his back pockets and pushed him into her and he swore, clenching the material of her dress.

"Let me bite you," he said hoarsely. "It's all I've wanted to do for a week."

"What?" said Bonnie. This was not what she expected. "Why?"

"Are you serious? All of your friends are vampires and you don't know why?"

"I know about bloodlust."

He put his lips to her ear. "But do you know about hunger?"

His words made her quake, made her skin burn; she was flushed. Too hot and too cold. Curious and aching and wary. Anxious. Bite her? This was new territory, a different kind of danger, like flirting with death. Her death. It excited her. That was the problem. Kai slipped his hand beneath her dress and gently stroked her stomach. His fingertips barely grazed her and yet she felt his touch everywhere; her body was erupting into shivers, almost convulsions. She breathed heavily and could feel Kai smirk against her neck. Ugh. She hated that he could hear that.

"I want to taste you," he said, his lips were parted and caressing her skin, the tip of his tongue running down the length of her neck to her shoulder. He put his free hand on the door and pushed into her once more, making her moan. Bonnie could feel his appetite and it called to her morbid curiosity. His fingers were on her backside now, skimming the lace of her underwear, and then they explored the back of her legs.

"Do you know what it's like when your entire body screams for someone else's and for no one or nothing else ?" he whispered. Everything he was saying inflamed Bonnie beyond rationality. She felt a building pressure deep in her gut and she wanted to squeeze her legs together but Kai gripped her thighs, keeping them apart. No! She needed some relief. He sighed. "You want this." His voice was raw, aroused. "I can feel it. You want me to bite you."

"Puncture wounds on my neck isn't exactly something I look forward to."

"Who said anything about your neck?" And slowly, Kai trailed his fingers from Bonnie's outer thigh to her inner, brushing her underwear but making no move to slip his finger past them. Bonnie dragged her nails on the door behind her. She already knew what it was like for her body to scream for the body of another, to scream for Kai, but she also knew that Kai liked to remind her of that frustration whenever he could. That was what this was; his fingers pressed against her underwear and Bonnie almost banged the door. She wanted to take his hand and guide it to exactly where she was aching but that was what he wanted too, that would be how he'd win. Kai scraped his teeth lightly across her throat; they weren't fangs yet but she could feel his desperate need to transform, to sink into her and her body was just as eager to experience it, to see where teasing death would take her but …

"I have to go," said Bonnie, taking a hold of Kai's wrist and moving it away from her thighs. He looked at her; his expression would be impassive if he wasn't clenching his jaw.

"You have to go."

"Yeah," she said. "I can't ditch lunch with Caroline and Damon. And Stefan if he ever shows up."

Kai's eyes darkened. "Damon."

"Oh, don't start." Bonnie extracted her body from Kai's and walked to sink. She stood in front of the mirror and observed how dishevelled she looked. She was barely aware of what she was doing, still reeling from Kai's touch and yearning to feel it again, to feel it all over her skin, but she had a point to make. She patted down her hair and started straightening her dress. Kai moved behind her and grabbed her to him, his hands clasping her hips.

"No," he said.

Bonnie looked at him in the mirror, her eyebrows raised. "No?"

"Do you know what it means for everything to be heightened? I can't function, Bonnie." His voice cracked. "I don't just crave … I hunger for you. It's not just that I think about you all the time, it's … it's like you're in my bones, you're in my appetite. Do you get that? I've waited for this for seven days."

"Then you can wait a few more hours."

"Bonnie —"

"You want my blood, Kai? Work for it."

She broke out of his hold and turned to leave, opening the door but Kai pushed it closed. He peered down at Bonnie, his lips parted and his eyes intense. Focused. And … mischievous, almost wicked. Bonnie had seen this look before.

"You have no idea what you just started," he said. He opened the door, standing to the side so Bonnie could leave. He smiled slyly. "You should get out there. Don't want to keep them waiting, do you?"

She didn't look at him as she left and tried not to show how intrigued she was and … nervous, almost worried. Not about what he'd do but about how she'd feel about it, about how much darkness she'd discover in herself when he did what he was going to do. There seemed to be no limits when she was with Kai; no limits to what she enjoyed, to what she found herself craving, what she found herself doing. And that thrilled her. And scared her.

When Bonnie returned to Damon and Caroline, there was bruschetta and sliders on the table and the bottle of bourbon was half empty.

"I ordered appetizers," said Caroline as Bonnie sat back in her seat. "I would've asked what you wanted but you were taking forever in the bathroom. I was about to go in after you. What were you doing?"

"Yeah, Bonnie," said Damon. His voice was lazy with drink. "What were you doing?"

Bonnie looked at the half empty bottle. "I'm surprised you can still speak in full sentences."

Damon shrugged and poured more bourbon into his glass. "Always underestimating me."

"Great, you're going to be depressingly drunk soon," said Caroline. "I don't even know why I invited you."

"And I don't even know why I came," said Damon. "Does this mean I can go?"

"No, the point is for all of us to stay in touch, to check in on each other. I mean we have tiny burgers! And Stefan will be here any minute."

"Yeah, let's hold on to that dream."

Bonnie started to speak but then stopped before saying anything. Kai had come out of the restroom and turned to look at her, his expression devious. Then he was gone. Cloaked. Bonnie's eyes widened imperceptibly. Trying not to be too obvious, she glanced around her. Damon was too busy drinking to notice anything. Caroline was calling Stefan for what had to be the third time. Everyone else in The Grill seemed to be too involved in their meals or their conversations to pay attention to anything else. But Kai had cloaked himself. Bonnie felt her palms sweat.

Caroline put down her phone. "Stefan's almost here," she said.

"Excellent," said Damon, raising his glass.

She ignored this and turned to Bonnie. "Aren't you going to eat anything? Did you want something else?"

"No, this is good, I think — aaaaaah." Bonnie shuddered. Lips brushed against her back and she felt shivers down her spine, deliciously soft. It made her squirm in her seat.

"Are you OK?" said Caroline.

Bonnie pressed her mouth together. Kai. This was why he cloaked himself. This is was why … He started kissing the nape of her neck and instinctively she arched her back. God, she hated him.

"I'm fine," said Bonnie, trying to smile. "Just … just a shiver. You know, cold air."

Damon blinked at her, his lips pursed sardonically. "The AC isn't on."

"Really? You don't . . ." She felt Kai blow gently in her ear and she scratched the back of her neck, trying not to close her eyes. "You don't feel that — that draft?"

"Um no," said Caroline.

"Oh, weird," said Bonnie, laughing weakly. She picked up her menu. "What are you going to order?"

Caroline looked at Damon, her eyes narrowed and questioning of Bonnie's behaviour but Damon just shook his head and shrugged in dismissal. "Well," said Caroline. "I haven't really decided yet because I wanted to wait for …" But Bonnie couldn't concentrate on anything Caroline was saying. Somehow Kai had managed to get under the table without moving it and he'd slipped off Bonnie's sandal. He stroked her calf and gently ran his teeth along the bottom of her foot, making her jerk, making her gut tighten.

"Stop it," she said quickly.

"Stop what?" said Caroline. She lowered her menu.

"Nothing. Sorry. I was just thinking about something else."

"And I'm the drunk one," said Damon.

Bonnie felt Kai's hands start to slide up from her calves to her knees … slowly he moved her legs apart and Bonnie inhaled. She grasped the side of the table. He started rubbing her hips as he kissed her inner thighs, his lips brushing against her underwear. Bonnie cleared her throat.

She needed something to do; something to distract her from making any noises.

"I think I'll have a slider," she said, reaching for a mini burger and shoving it whole in her mouth. Caroline looked scandalized but Damon nodded his his head.

"Impressive," he said. "Sexy quality in a woman."

Without warning, Bonnie felt Kai's tongue make contact with her ache and she clenched the table harder. She hated him. She wanted to writhe, move her hips but all she could do was chew and moan, hopefully it sounded like she was enjoying the burger and nothing else. Beads of sweat prickled her chest.

"I take it the burger is good?" said Caroline slowly, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Mmmm . . . mmmmhmmm…" said Bonnie.

"I wish that was the sound you made when you tried some of my cooking," said Damon.

Hands gripped Bonnie's thighs, spreading them even further apart and she could feel Kai increase the pressure, his tongue circling around and around. And she couldn't help it. With as little movement as she possibly could, Bonnie squirmed in her chair, grinding against his movement, which only made Kai nuzzle her harder. She couldn't take this. Her body was unravelling. She felt herself beginning to build and she needed to bang the table or clench her hair or groan, something, she didn't know what. She was getting out of control. This was what he wanted. To drive her crazy. She hated him.

"So Damon, while Bonnie and I have been at college, studying and … you know, doing something, what've you been up to?"

"Well Miss Judgy Pants —"

Bonnie missed what he said next. She couldn't concentrate. She was getting dizzy. It felt good. He felt good. And terrible. And unbearable. She was getting close… the pressure of Kai's tongue lessened slightly and she swore inwardly. It was bad enough that he started this here but to leave her. Like this. As discreetly as she could, Bonnie put her hand underneath the table and felt her fingers brush against skin — the bridge of a nose … a forehead … hair … when she got a good feel for Kai's head, she gently pushed him deeper into the apex of her thighs, urging him on. He continued, digging his fingernails into her skin. And she put her thumb in her mouth and bit down hard, her toes curled. Her entire body was raw, sensitive. She sighed heavily, panted. She couldn't help it.

"What is going on with you?" said Damon.

"Yeah, Bonnie, you're looking really flushed. Your heart is racing," said Caroline. "I mean if I didn't know any better I'd say you were about to have a —"

That was it. Bonnie banged her fist on the table. "I need you two to compel everyone in here to leave and then I need you to go too," she said. The words came tumbling out of her mouth, quick and disjointed.

There was a beat and then —

"What?"

Caroline shook her head. "Bonnie —"

"Why do you need us to do that?" said Damon.

"I can't explain it now, can you just do it?"

"No," said Damon. "Not until you explain why."

"After everything I've done for you guys, you can't just do this one stupid thing for me?"

"OK don't get mad," said Caroline. She hesitated. "We'll do it."

"What? No."

"Oh just take the bottle with you, Damon," said Caroline. "You don't even want to be here."

"I want to know–"

"Let's go," said Caroline. "We can tell Stefan there's been a change of plans."

Caroline stood up from the table first and reluctantly Damon followed, picking up the bottle of bourbon as he did. But before Bonnie could celebrate success in getting them to leave, the pressure disappeared completely and the slow building in her gut dissipated until it settled. She couldn't feel Kai anymore. He'd moved from beneath the table. Now that Bonnie was the only one sitting there, he stopped. There was no torment now, she realized, and so there was no point.

It didn't take long for Damon and Caroline to compel all of the customers and waitstaff. "If I'm not at the dorm when you get back, call me, OK?" said Caroline.

"Of course," said Bonnie. "Thanks, Caroline."

Damon left without saying anything.

Everyone had emptied the restaurant and Bonnie walked quickly to the door, flipping the open sign over so that it said closed. When she turned around, Kai was visible again, standing at the bar, his eyebrows raised in arrogant triumph.

"Had a good lunch?"

His composure enraged her. She was bereft and wanting, her skin was burning. She couldn't remember a time she'd been so physically agitated.

"Take off your jeans," she said. It almost sounded like she was musing to herself rather than making a demand.

Kai laughed. "Bonnie —"

"OK." She raised and lowered her index finger and Kai's zipper came undone. "Do you want me to do the rest or can you handle it yourself?"

Even from across the restaurant, Bonnie could hear Kai clear his throat, see all trace of smug humour disappear only to be replaced with intensity; a yearning curiosity. He stepped out of his jeans. Bonnie made a forward motion with her hand and a chair at the back of the room came skidding toward her, knocking into Kai's knees so that he was seated. She slashed the air with her finger and Kai's feet were pinned to the floor while his arms were thrown around the chair as if his hands were tied behind his back.

Bonnie walked to where Kai was sitting, stopping just in front of him. She held his gaze and lifted her dress, hooking her thumbs into her underwear; she slid them down her legs and watched as Kai's mouth slowly opened, as his eyes followed her movements. She moved forward and sat astride him, angling herself so she could feel him through his boxers. He closed his eyes and sighed then she kissed him. Passionately. Savagely. She mirrored her tongue's motions with her body, swaying her hips and arching her back, squirming on Kai's lap as she bit hard on his bottom lip. He moaned, a strangled sound deep in his throat and she writhed harder. She could feel him strain against the chair, feel him try to move his feet, his hands, feel him try to touch her, try to do something with the sensation and she could also feel his frustration at the barrier between them, at the fact that he was still in his boxers, which denied him full contact with her. Bonnie ran her fingers through his hair and then lowered his head to her chest and he started to kiss her across her collarbone. She twisted her hips, he gritted his teeth, trying to push into her but he was thwarted by his pinned feet and then quickly and harshly, Bonnie inched away from him.

He gasped in delirious confusion. "No, come back."

He leaned forward to try and kiss her again but Bonnie moved her head further away. The veins on Kai's face were dark, his eyes red and blazing with irritation and ripe desire. "Bonnie."

She got up so that she was in front of Kai once more but her hands were still on his lap. She inched her fingers closer to his erection and pressed against it but just barely. He swallowed hard and raised his head back. Bonnie leaned forward and Kai lowered his head, stretching his neck as much as he could so his lips could touch hers but she was just out of reach.

"You know what it's like to be so close but so far?" she whispered, pressing her fingers against him again. "Frustrating, right?"

Kai clenched his jaw and Bonnie grinned. Slowly, she crept forward and he moved to kiss her but then she snapped her head back. He growled.

"You've made your point."

She did it again.

"It's not like you were the only one turned on at the table." His voice was desperate."Bonnie, please, you're …"

"What, driving you crazy?"

"That's putting it lightly."

And again.

"My blood is screaming. Bonnie."

And —

Kai leaned forward as Bonnie inched closer but instead of trying to kiss her, he lowered his head to the neckline of her dress. He grasped it in his teeth and tugged, tearing the front. Before Bonnie could react, Kai in his heightened speed moved his hands from behind the chair, took a hold of her waist and moved them both to the bar, pushing Bonnie onto its surface.

She was breathless.

"I can do magic too, remember?" he said, panting and he tore the rest of her dress so that she was completely naked except for scraps of material at her side. He reached beside him and picked up a bottle of what Bonnie thought was Scotch. He opened it and then drizzled the liquor on her body; it was warm on her skin. He bent forward, his mouth on her stomach, his tongue licking her navel. He travelled upward, lapping up the liquid, nipping at her curves, kissing her breasts; Bonnie's body bowed off the bar.

"Bite me," she said impulsively.

"What?"

"You heard me," said Bonnie. She had never felt so reckless. "Bite me."

Kai groaned and started kissing her stomach again. When his lips were just below her hip at her thigh, he looked up at her and locked his eyes, focused and ardent, with hers. Bonnie watched as his veins darkened even further, felt his excited breath on her skin; she watched the slow descent of his fangs and then he sunk into her. She cried out. First in pain but then … the feeling was almost instant. And it was overpowering. The intensity of the pleasure devastated her body; it was almost agonizing to feel so much stimulation, to feel like experiencing any more of it would kill her but like she would die if Kai ever stopped drinking from her. There was no escaping it … she could only absorb it … and pain had never felt so gratifying. Kai raised his head, his fangs exposed and bloody; his expression was a mixture of satiation and vulgar need, hunger in the purest form Bonnie had ever seen.

"There doesn't seem to be anything about you that I can get enough of," he whispered. And then he kissed her; thick scarlet droplets dripped hot and slow from his mouth onto Bonnie's, running down the side of her face and she savoured it, relished it . . . the taste of her blood on his tongue.