A soft, satiated smile played on Elena's lips as she drifted off to sleep. Damon's hard, naked body lay beneath her supple one and his strong arms wrapped around her waist, holding her to him. She felt comforted that he was just as unwilling to break the intimate feel of their bodies on each other as she was, that he wanted the new level of closeness they'd achieved during the night to continue for just a bit longer.

Elena sighed as Damon's fingers traced unintelligible patterns on the silken flesh of her back, feeling her skin tingle in the wake of his touch. She nestled her face into his chest and inhaled deeply. His distinctive scent of mint, spice, and something utterly masculine soothed her senses. She floated effortlessly into sleep, reveling in the way that she and Damon could just fall asleep in the middle of his front yard, as naked as two newborn babes, displaying their shared love for the entire world – or the creatures that occupied the surrounding woods – to see.

Hazy sensations of warmth and need filtered through Elena's awareness as she slowly slipped back into consciousness. Her dreams had grown increasingly erotic and lifelike throughout the night, and she wasn't entirely sure just how much of them were natural and how many were a result of Damon's brain-invading techniques. Image after image of his firm body moving forcefully against hers had bombarded her sleep-vision. His blue eyes, blazing and intense, were focused completely on her. His skilled hands, tongue, and body worked her into a state of pliant surrender.

For some reason, Elena felt those thrilling sensations all the more strongly now that she teetered on the cusp of awakening.

Hot, throbbing desire pressed insistently at the bundle of nerves between her thighs. She squirmed and tried to push her legs together to ease that coiled pressure, but they wouldn't close. She vaguely registered the feel of a pair of hands gently gripping her inner thighs and holding them apart. Elena tried to roll over and burrow herself back into her dreams, but the grasp on her thighs remained strong. Her forehead wrinkled in frustration, and she stayed on her back as a low, feral chuckle sounded from far away.

Cool fingers traced slow lines from her knees to the top of her thighs. Elena heard a breathy gasp in the distance that sounded a lot like her voice. Her hips bucked as the fingers crept to and from her heated core, always stopping just shy of the place she needed them the most, causing flares of urgency to fizz within her blood. A whimper pushed itself forth from her lips, and that same primal laugh sounded once again. Elena shivered, certainly not because she felt cold, but because the dark, seductive noise aroused her unbearably. Seedy moisture pooled between her legs. The laugh turned into a growl and before Elena could make sense of the noise, her legs flipped up onto a pair of broad shoulders seconds before a coarse face buried itself between her thighs.

Elena's eyes shot open and darted down her body. Damon was positioned between her legs, the glint in his eyes hungry and reckless as his tongue dipped to sample her folds over and over again. Her mouth opened, but no sound came from it. She fisted the sheets beneath her. She knew they were in Damon's bedroom and assumed that he must have moved them from the front lawn at some point during the night, but she refused to tear her eyes from the carnal sight below her to confirm her beliefs. No, all that Elena could see, hear, and feel was Damon, Damon, Damon.

His tongue and fingers worked her expertly. No part of her was left unexplored, no part of her felt neglected. He alternated between rapid and languid licks, between sucking her nether lips and flicking her bud, between rubbing small circles on her clit and propelling his fingers in and out of her wetness. She felt so sensitive to his touch. Even the smallest of Damon's actions caused Elena to sob out in pleasure. As her cries grew louder, his movements grew more frenzied, and his tongue and fingers dove into her with an overwhelming zeal that goaded a litany of curses and 'Damon's to leave her mouth. All it took was one definitive swirl of his tongue on the underside of her puss to make her shatter, to make her still and scream out as the delicious pressure within her melted throughout her body, rendering her limbs golden and boneless.

"That was some wake-up call," she murmured when she finally regained her breath. Damon smirked at her.

"Lucky you gets to reap the benefits of my many years of practice," he said, his voice low and raspy and undeniably sexy. He playfully nipped at Elena's birthmark and shot her a cheeky smile.

Elena couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Yes, lucky me," she drolly commented. She tried to keep a straight face of indifference, but a giggle escaped her when Damon's eyes widened with mock indignation. She blinked and he was hovered over her, his face inches away from hers, his eyes teasing and dangerous.

"You are so lucky, Elena Gilbert," he purred, dropping his face closer and closer to hers, and just when Elena thought he was going to kiss her, he jammed his fingers into her ribs and began tickling her relentlessly.

Elena squealed as she tried to squirm away from Damon and his persistent hands. Her efforts failed every time. If she wriggled to the right, his fingers anticipated her move. If she twisted to the left, his hands adjusted to her new location. If she tried to tickle him, he merely held her out of his reach and continued to push his fingers into her flesh, causing her to giggle and snort and flail wildly in his arms.

"I don't think...that this matchup...is fair...at all," she choked out between laughing breaths. "Vampires definitely have...all the advantages...in a vampire-human tickle war."

Damon grinned. His fingers eased up on her tortured flesh but didn't release her entirely. "Do you surrender?"

"Never."

God, how he loved Elena's fire. "Then I guess you'll have to work on your strategy," he challenged. Enjoying the way he could see straight to the depths of her wide, chocolate eyes, his fingers dove right back into her sides, provoking another series of shrieks and giggles from her mouth that made him feel as light and bubbly as if he'd traded his blood for champagne. She did something to him, this gorgeous slip of a girl, watching her laugh and writhe as a result of his actions.

He felt happier than he ever imagined was possible. It was all because of her.

"Oh, you are so lucky to have me around," Damon said, digging his fingers deeper into her waist as he looked at her with a mischievous smile. "Admit it, Elena."

"This isn't luck, this is torture!"

His tickles grew more forceful. "I think you like it more than you're letting on, Elena," he clucked, drawling the syllables of her name. "I'm sure I could compel the truth to slip out of you."

"I'm on vervain," she asserted through wispy gasps, unable to escape the fervent attack of his hands. "You can't compel me, Damon Salvatore."

He raised an impish eyebrow. "No?" He straddled her hips and dropped his lips to the shell of her ear, grazing it with his teeth and delighting in her shivers that resulted. "I'm sure I could think of other ways to persuade you." He took her lobe between his lips and teeth and sucked hard.

Elena sucked in a sharp breath as she felt Damon's mouth close around her ear. Her hands involuntarily grasped at his back, betraying her stubborn words with her body's incessant need to have him close. Of course Damon could persuade her.

She would love every last minute of his persuasion.

"Somehow I think I would enjoy your persuasive tactics more than you'd want me to," she admitted, trying her damndest to keep breathing normally despite the sinful way Damon's tongue was exploring the patch of skin beneath her ear. Damon chuckled against her flesh.

"That's the point, Elena," he said, letting his lips drift down to the hollow of her throat. "You're buckets of fun when I've got you all squirmy-like underneath me."

Elena wondered if it really was possible for a human to spontaneously combust. Then again, there was nothing spontaneous about Damon's actions. He moved over her with leisured purpose, deliberately skimming his mouth over every inch of the sweet skin of her neck. She arched into him, eager to be closer, desperate to feel more of his hardness against her. She'd never felt such an innate need for anyone before, and knowing that his love and desire for her was just as strong? That was truly a gift.

"I'm not lucky, Damon," she whispered into his mouth, meeting his blue eyes with her brown ones. "I'm fortunate."

His glance momentarily narrowed in confusion, then turned light again as he pressed a teasing kiss to her collar. "Is there a difference?" He paused his ministrations to focus entirely on what Elena had to say.

Elena brushed an escaped tendril of Damon's raven hair behind his ear. "Luck is something we have no control over. It's empty chance. Fortune, on the other hand, is prosperity achieved through our choices. Every decision we've ever made, good or bad, influences our fortune." Unable to help herself, she cupped his cheek in her palm as her thoughts turned sentimental. "I don't think that fate brought us together, Damon. I think that all of the choices we made, whether or not we had each other in mind when we made them, led us to each other."

Damon stared at Elena. Stark love radiated from his eyes at the beautiful, intelligent, insightful woman who lay within his arms. She'd completely turned his world upside down in a mere seven days. While a part of him still couldn't believe that someone as compassionate and selfless as Elena Gilbert would willingly choose to be with him, he was finally able to listen to the inner voice that maintained that he must have done something right. She loved him, maybe for reasons that he didn't understand, but he must have done something right to receive her love and affection.

"I'm really glad that you're here with me," he quietly said. The words were uncharacteristically earnest, and they could never convey the cascade of emotions he felt for her, but they would have to do.

"I'm glad that I'm here with you, too."

Damon smiled at Elena, and she smiled back at him. They both watched each other for several seconds. The room was soundless except for the various chirps of the assorted birds that nested outside of his window. Neither one of them felt the need to say anything. Simply being with each other was more than enough.

The morning sun shone gently into Damon's room and bathed his bed in a pool of light. A sunbeam danced across Damon's back and made his skin look even more translucent than it already was. Elena stared at him, her mouth reverently open and her eyes filled with awe. He looked stunning in the sunlight, and the blissful, adoring way he looked at her made her heart swell within her chest. She slowly ran her fingers through his dark, unruly hair, reflecting on just how perfect this moment was, when a thought hit her harder than a freight train.

This was the moment.

Her breath hitched in her throat as she played with the idea in her head. It was daytime and they were still naked from last night's activities. They were alone in his bedroom and the boarding house, two sites where the greater part of their bond had been forged. There were no candles or rose petals, and the scene was void of romantic music, but none of those artificial things mattered. She was here. He was here. The emotional stage for this moment had been set. There was no need to delay things any longer.

"Damon?" she whispered, her voice strong and shy at the same time.

"Yeah?" His eyes bore into hers as he stroked her cheek with his thumb.

Elena bit her lip, a nervous habit she never understood the meaning of until now. Damon wouldn't deny her. She knew he wouldn't.

She knew that this was right.

She knew that they were right.

She took a deep breath. "I don't want to wait anymore."

Damon blinked once, then a second time as he tried to process Elena's statement. He felt like he'd been waiting his entire existence to hear her speak those words, and everything she'd implied over the past several days indicated that he would have to wait another month to get to this place.

"You don't want to wait for the rest of the month?" he asked, feeling his stomach flip as he waited for her response. He hoped he wasn't articulating something that would make Elena retract her sentence. Hell, he would kick himself in the ass if she'd forgotten about her one-month plan and he'd been the one to remind her about it.

Then again, Damon knew that he'd feel even worse if he didn't acknowledge the big stipulation that'd been governing their physical activity for the past three days. He didn't want their first time together to be marred by self-doubt and worries of rushing into anything. He didn't want Elena to break her rule for the mere sake of making him happy. If that's what was happening here, it wouldn't be fair to either of them.

"No, I don't," Elena said, knowing Damon would want to know why she suddenly decided to fast-forward through three and a half weeks of planned abstinence. "I thought we needed an entire month to strengthen the emotional side of our relationship, but the past days have showed me that we've had that connection for so long now." She pulled his face down to hers, so close that their noses brushed against each other. "I love you, and I know that you love me. I want to be connected to you in every humanly way possible."

Damon felt as if someone had gradually turned up the heat in his blood as he listened to Elena's explanation. His eyes melted into a pool of blue, and he stroked her hair with a gentle touch. "I want to make this perfect for you, for us. I should find some candles or mu—"

"Damon, I don't need a jazz soundtrack or a blazing fire to make this moment special," Elena insisted. She looked deeply into his eyes to convey the full meaning of her subsequent words. "I just need you."

Any of Damon's lingering questions immediately dissolved in that moment, and a wide grin spread across his face as he covered Elena's lips with his own. His giddiness transferred into his kiss. He molded his lips to hers and they cradled him with their softness. His tongue swept teasingly along the line of her lower lip, and when she purred with satisfaction, he snuck it into the hotness of her mouth. He saturated himself in her taste, that damned herbal and honey that drove him to the brink of lust and love and insanity every single time he experienced it. Their mouths moved seamlessly together, giving and taking and taking and giving, both lovers innately meeting and offering each other all they had to give.

The breathy mewls Elena made into his mouth seemed to be directly connected to Damon's cock, and he felt his length twitch as he pressed it into her stomach. He upped the intensity of the kiss, deepening the pressure of his lips against hers as his hips swiveled in his desperate attempt to ease the surmounting pressure inside of him. His mouth remained glued to hers, determined to continue eliciting those whimpers and quiet moans, as his fingers snaked down her body, over a peaked nipple, over her taut stomach, over a hipbone until they found her feminine heat, hot and wet and waiting for him.

Damon stroked her folds, tentatively at first, but when Elena sighed into his mouth he increased the pace of his touches. The circles he drew around her bud grew faster. His strokes over her clit and pussy lips became more deliberate, and he eventually slipped a finger, then a second and third one inside of her, releasing a low moan of satisfaction at how wet and tight and ready she was.

The pleasure Elena felt was almost too much for her to handle. Damon left no part of her body unlavished with his affections. His lips plundered hers, forceful and predatory, taking as much satisfaction from her willing mouth as she could possibly give. His right hand was nestled between her legs, rubbing and teasing and pumping in and out of her, winding that fiery coil in the triangle of her hips tighter and tighter and tighter. His other hand had latched itself to her breast, alternating between various brushes, flicks, and tweaks of her nipple. Every last one of Damon's actions served to stoke the fires that ravaged her blood. Her capacity to withstand pleasure was about to overflow, and as Damon worked her body into a frenzy, she realized that there was one thing missing from this picture.

"Damon," she gasped, breaking their kiss with stark need dripping from her eyes. "Please Damon, I need you inside of me now."

Damon nodded, unwilling to deny her anything. He'd felt his own internal fires burn harder and harder as he moved over Elena, and it took every last bit of his willpower to keep himself from exploding all over her body. As he positioned himself fully on top of her and lined himself up with her entrance, he looked down at Elena to make sure that this was okay, that she wanted this, because he would sooner stake himself than hurt her.

The expression on Elena's face reflected nothing but certainty. Her eyes glowed. She looked at him in a way that made everything else in the world disappear. There was only him and her, Damon and Elena. Months of teasing, heartbreak, and learning to understand each other had brought them to this moment.

Damon wouldn't have wanted their relationship to develop any other way.

He slowly pushed himself into Elena, desiring to prolong the experience of entering her for as long as possible. He kept his motions gentle as he eased into her, letting her adjust to the feel of him inside of her. Her walls gripped him like a velvet fist, and he hissed as they contracted around him for a brief second. She felt un-fucking-believable. It would be a damned miracle if he managed to last past the next thirty seconds.

Elena tightened the grip of her arms around Damon's shoulders as he filled her. She felt deliciously stretched and inherently feminine as this powerful being sank his erection into her inch by inch, and an unfamiliar, welcome feeling of completeness simmered throughout her veins. She hadn't known that she'd been missing anything until now, but after finally experiencing the wonder of Damon inside of her, she knew that he was it for her. He felt so good and snug inside of her, and the blaze of his eyes as he looked down at her gave her the impression of invincibility.

Her fingers tightened into the silk skin of his back, and he began to rock into her, slowly at first, keeping his eyes fixed upon Elena. He wanted to see all of her reactions, to feel fully connected with her during such an intimate and important moment in their union. His strokes, tentative at first, became powerful and deep, and his eyes rolled back in his head when he felt her nails claw into his flesh. He kept a slow, steady pace, and she arched herself into him, meeting him thrust for thrust, the downward angle of his entrance allowing him to go further and further into her wetness. He wanted to give her everything, make her feel everything. When he felt her walls begin to shudder around him, he quickly changed their position, propping one of her legs over his shoulder before dropping his head down to steal a sweet, endless kiss.

Elena wrapped her other leg around Damon's waist and pulled him to her. She didn't think they could be any more connected if they tried, but she couldn't stop her hips from urging him to move. He resumed his slow, unhurried thrusts, punctuating his motions with deep kisses on her face, neck, and breasts. His tender caresses sparked metallic spools of light behind her eyes, silver and gold and bronze and beautiful, and when he flicked her nipple with his talented tongue, she yanked his mouth back to hers, attacking his lips with an unexpected savagery that provoked them both into a frenzy of desire.

Damon had felt pressure building in his core ever since Elena first told him that she didn't want to wait any longer, but the rough way she kissed him made his balls feel as if they were a touch away from detonation. He returned her kiss with equal intensity as he sped up his thrusts, driving his hips faster and harder into her, crashing his dick into her sweet spot over and over again. Elena cried out beneath him, and he felt both of her heels dig into his back as she wildly bucked up to meet his motions.

He knew she was close. Her walls began to sporadically clench around his cock and her eyes started to roll back in her head. He wanted to see those pretty eyes when she came. He wanted to see what he did to her.

"Elena," he murmured, his voice rough and raw. "Look at me."

She did, her eyes wide and fathomless and a river of melted chocolate, and he pounded into her once, then twice, and on the third thrust she shattered around him, squeezing and contracting and milking him dry, prisms of light refracting behind her vision. The aftershocks of her orgasm spurred him on, and his release followed some strokes later when he shot several long streams of his essence into her.

Damon looked down at Elena with a dazed expression. He could feel himself shaking, and he lifted a trembling hand to her face in attempt to calm himself down. He'd had so many fantasies of how he and Elena would be together ever since he met her, but what they just did far surpassed even his wildest fantasies. He never doubted that she'd be phenomenal in the sack, but holy hell, he was shaking for Christsakes! He almost began to chide himself for sounding like such a chick, but as he gazed at Elena, all rumpled and tender and sated beneath him, he refused to deny himself the emotional significance of what they'd done.

That, right there, was the best sex he'd ever had.

Elena could feel Damon shaking above her, and she raised her hand to wipe the sheen of sweat off his face. Truth be told, she was just as impacted by their encounter as he was. He had worshipped her as if she were a goddess. Never before had she felt such brazen reference directed at her. He made her feel wanted, desired, and loved beyond belief, and the way he was currently resting his head on her breast made her heart beat uncontrollably with her love for him.

"Damon?"

He lifted his head and blinked owlishly. "Yeah?"

"Why the hell did we wait so long?"

Damon couldn't believe the audacity of the woman beneath him. He propped himself back above her and searched her eyes to see if she was serious or not. When a smile burst onto her face, he couldn't help but match it, and before long the two of them were nestled up in each other, limbs irrevocably entangled, laughing loudly enough at the sheer hilarity of Elena's question.

"Why the hell did we wait so long?" Damon demanded, dotting her mouth with staccato kisses. "Are you seriously asking me that?"

Elena giggled as Damon's kisses rained over her face. "And if I am?"

Damon quickly positioned himself back on top of her and ground his erect length onto her stomach, taking full advantage of his vampire stamina. "Then I think you need another reminder of everything that you were missing out on that entire time."

Her eyes blazed with possibility and promise. "Maybe," she said, rolling him on his back and jumping onto his hardwood floors. "But first I need a shower."

Damon's mouth dropped open. A shower? Now? Really? Did she not see his ginormous cock standing fully upright? He lay on his bed, craning his neck as a fully naked Elena strutted towards his bathroom, adding a purposeful sway to her ass as she walked. He suddenly had the strongest urge to bounce quarters off it...or bite it...either one, really.

Just before Elena passed the bathroom door, she stopped and looked over her shoulder. "I'm feeling dirty, Damon. Care to help me get clean?"

A toothy, predatory grin spread across Damon's mouth. In a flash he had her pressed against the shower wall, loving the slippery feel of her skin sliding against his.

"With pleasure."

He took her in the shower, permanently abandoning her plan to get clean as he drove her back into his grey stone slabs. After he helped her towel off, he took her again against his bedroom door, then again in the hallway, in the rest of the newly redone upstairs bathrooms, on the staircase, on top of the piano, and in front of the fireplace. He cooked her lunch and sat with her while she ate it, and when they finished reading Elena's profile of Milly's Floral Shop in the Mystic Falls newspaper he sat her on top of the counter, sank his fangs into her birthmark, and had his lunch as well. He bent her over the kitchen island and took her from behind. He pinned her against the Salvatore bookshelf and took her there, loving the way her screams intermingled with the sound of books plopping to the floor. They followed those books to the carpet, and Damon gripped her hips as she rode him, her head tipped back and her breasts jutting forward, bringing each of them another orgasm to add to their collection for the day.

Elena slid off him and fell to the floor, her chest heaving with exertion. "Damon, I think I'm dead."

Damon snorted, feeling his own chest rise and fall as he struggled to regain his breath. His eyes slipped over to Elena and appreciatively watched her breasts jiggle with each of her inhalations. "If by dead you mean had your world rocked by a really sexy vampire, then yeah, you're dead."

Elena sighed, rolling over onto her side to face Damon. She used her arm and one of the fallen books as a headrest. "I think I've seen more of the boarding house today than I have in every other time I've been here combined."

"True, although we did miss out on the dungeons during our little sex tour. Could be kinky," he said, heartily laughing when she narrowed her eyes at him and chucked a book at his head.

She missed.

"Damon Giuseppe Salvatore, I am not having sex in your dungeon!"

"Okay, okay," he said, pulling her on top of him and planting a generous, placating kiss on her lips. "Later, then...ouch!" He rubbed his arm to ease the spot where she'd just punched him.

"You're hilarious."

"And you love me for it," he teased. A thought popped into his head. "Actually, there's one place we haven't covered today that I want to show you." He pushed himself up off the floor and leaned down to pick up Elena, cradling her in his arms as a groom would his new bride. That familiar flutter tickled his stomach as her arms linked around his neck.

She looked at him with suspicious eyes. "The attic?"

Damon shuddered. "God, no. It has wooden floorboards, and I do not need splinters in my perfect ass." He walked them to the door closest to the backyard. "I was thinking about the flower garden."

Elena's eyes gaped open. "It's finished? I thought John Lawn was working on it through today."

"I convinced them to finish it early," he said, suddenly feeling sheepish and nervous and too much like a lovesick little boy. He gently set her down on the floor and interwove their fingers. "Come on, let's check it out."

He opened the back door and motioned for Elena to lead the way. He kept his eyes glued on her as they walked across the backyard. As the flower garden came into view, a distinct floral fragrance began to perfume the air. Damon watched Elena close her eyes and inhale deeply, and his heart pounded against his chest when he saw a gentle smile appear on her face. They walked closer and closer until they finally stood in front of the garden.

Elena's mouth fell open. Damon's flower garden was the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen. Gladioli and lilacs intermingled with each other, the pinks and reds and yellows of the gladioli petals creating a beautiful awning for the purple flowers. White lilies surrounded three sides of the koi pond, and as she tiptoed up to the edge she saw the wriggling masses of orange and white happily gliding beneath the lily pad surfaced water. Rosebushes of every size and color adorned the stone pathways that wove through the fauna, and Elena dipped her head to smell a particularly large peach one. A small sigh of pleasure escaped her mouth at the lovely aroma, and she squeezed Damon's hand to convey her enjoyment.

She led them both through the remainder of the garden, emitting various hums of pleasure as they passed the sunflowers, pansies, and hanging geraniums, until the path reached a dead end. They stood in the middle of a five foot wide stone circle. Standing across from them was Elena's apology tree and a large stone bench, distantly bordered by an arrangement of dahlias and gardenias. The sunlight, barely on its descent towards the western sky, cast a gleam of light over the space, and as Elena stepped closer to the bench she saw a metal plaque embedded in the tiles beneath it.

"I wished for nothing beyond her smile, and to walk with her thus, hand in hand, along a sun-warmed, flower-bordered path." – Andrew Gide

Elena's Garden

August 21, 2011

Elena's hand leapt to cover her open mouth. She reread the plaque, then looked up at Damon. He watched her with an uncertain tenderness that she hadn't seen on him before. Warm tears pooled in her eyes, and she wiped them away before she finally spoke.

"You created all of this for me?" she whispered, almost as if daring herself to believe that someone as outwardly tough as Damon Salvatore would make such a kind, selfless gesture towards her.

Damon thought about making one of his signature smart-ass remarks to lighten the situation, especially as he couldn't tell whether Elena's tears were good or bad ones, but he decided a simpler, more heartfelt response would be more appropriate in this situation. "Yes."

"Oh, Damon," she breathed, swiping at the tears that now freely flowed down her cheeks. "No one's ever done anything so nice for me before."

He cautiously stepped to her side. "Do you like it?"

"I love it." Her hands flew around his neck and jerked his mouth down to hers, attacking him with all of the adoration and gratitude she could muster. "It's perfect," she insisted, kissing his eyes, his cheeks, and finally his lips. "Everything about this place is perfect. Thank you so much for this."

Damon couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face as his incredibly enthusiastic girlfriend lathered his face with kisses. "Seriously, had I known you would react this way over a simple flower garden, I would have built it months ago."

"Shut up and kiss me, Damon," she commanded, yanking his mouth back to hers. He acquiesced to her demands with great pleasure, and as their mouths moved leisurely against each other, he felt her guiding them around the stone patio.

He felt his legs hit the back of the stone bench with a thud. His body plunked down on it, and he broke away from Elena to stare up at her. The sunlight framed her body and ignited her in a translucent glow, and she stared down at him with one of those ravenous looks of hers that he had really learned to enjoy.

"Make love to me in my garden, Damon," she murmured against his lips. Her voice was low and seductive, and he felt his cock spring to life at the sound of her request. He scooted back to the middle of the bench and planted his legs on either side of the stone. She quickly followed him, sinking down on his length as she settled in his lap. Simultaneous groans broke from their lips, and their mouths met in frenzy as they rocked against each other once more. Her legs wrapped around his back. Their bare chests rubbed together. His fingers dug into her hips, lifting her up and down and up and down, impaling her on his length over and over again.

"I love you," he whispered, driving up into her during a particularly intense thrust. Her thighs quivered and her limbs trembled, and her orgasm slammed into her, with his release taking him just as violently moments later. He leaned back onto the bench and she fell on top of him, and they both just held each other as they waiting for their racing hearts and bodies to settle.

"I don't want to share you just yet," he admitted, breaking the comfortable silence that sat between them. He placed a finger underneath Elena's chin and prompted her to look up at him. "Let's avoid your friends and my brother and Ric for a little bit longer."

She giggled, absently running her fingers through his dampened hair. "What are you suggesting, Damon?"

"I'm suggesting that we take our own vacation." His body tensed, and he abruptly sat up as the energy of his developing plan consumed him. "Just you and me, my Camaro, and the open road. Wouldn't it be great, Elena?" he said, seeing that she would have to be further convinced. "We can go anywhere within driving distance – which, considering the way I drive, could be anywhere between either ocean – and stay in our sexy little love bubble until your school starts next Monday."

Elena raised an eyebrow. "Sexy little love bubble?"

"Why, what would you call it?" She laughed, and he laughed with her before his pleas grew serious. "I've got quite the urge to see nothing covering that birthmark of yours on a private beach in Florida, Elena."

The expression on her face turned playful. "Oh, do you now?"

"Yep," he said, popping the word directly in her ear. The vibrations gave her goosebumps, and Damon took advantage of the opportunity to press his lips to her neck. "You and me, Elena," he murmured, savoring the saltiness of her skin. "What do you say?"

Less than an hour later, a blue, antique Chevy Camaro was seen cruising south on I-95 with the top down. A dark, pale, beautiful man sat in the driver's seat. An equally beautiful woman with long, brown hair, a genuine smile, and an especially unique birthmark sat next to him.

THE END.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving so much of your love and support to this story. It has been such a joy to share Birthmark with you and I've truly appreciated every last story alert, favorite, or review email I've received in my inbox. I have the best readers in the world! Extra thanks go out to Jenn (Elvish Grrl) for her invaluable suggestions and her knowledge of seasonal flowers!

Well friends, you know what to do. Leave me some reviewin' love! I absolutely adore hearing from you.

Take care until next time, and be good to yourselves.

- Amy