"Let's make a bet!" she declared, much louder than was necessary.

"Tempting…what kind of bet?" he asked playing along.

"If I win..." she began slowly, obviously deep in concentration.

"We're closing in ten minutes," the security guard informed us impatiently. The bar was actually supposed to stay open for another half hour, but the whole place was completely dead.

"Oh I don't know! I can't think right now! Why don't we just play pool and then whoever wins gets to dare the other person whatever they want."

"Elena, are you sure you want to make that bet?" Damon inquired. "You see me...I'm a man of my word. I would gladly take any dare you could throw at me. How do I know that you won't back down when I win?"

"Firstly, you're not going to win because I am, and secondly I'm pretty sure that if I can date Stefan then I can handle anything you throw at me."

"Dating Stefan is like training a puppy not to eat your socks. I'm the dog on the leash that sees the kitten and in that moment there is no leash or man strong enough to keep me from pouncing."

"So basically what your saying is...I'm as meaningful to Stefan as a pair of socks?"

"No. What I'm saying is that I have been on best behaviour with you since we met. You couldn't handle me unrestrained, kitten."

"Is that a challenge?" She had been so angry at Stefan for walking away from her just because he decided that it was better for her, but after the amount of alcohol she had consumed she couldn't keep her mind on one coherent thought.

"I would take it as a warning."

She groaned and threw her hands up in frustration. "What is it with you guys warning me to stay away when you're the ones that never leave!"

"Hmm selfishness I guess. Vampires are extremely selfish you know," he replied casually.

"And yet here you are, trying to cheer me up."

"Is that what you think I'm doing?"

Elena rolled her eyes and held out her right hand. "So do we have a deal?"

"Let's see now...a bet of my choice, to be decided after I win, with no approval necessary from you, that you would have to do no matter what I decide? Let me ask you one last time: 'Are you sure you want to do this?'," he held out his hand for her to take, "I promise you there will be no going back."

Not taking her gaze off of his, she took his hand confidently in hers. "I'm breaking."

Five minutes later she was losing terribly. She finished off her drink, her confidence faltering. "You know...if I wasn't so drunk I would totally be beating you right now."

"Excuses, excuses," Damon muttered handing her the pool stick and moving behind her. His body slightly brushed against her back causing her to shiver involuntarily.

"Would you stop trying to distract me," she huffed, bending over to take her shot.

He moved back slightly to admire to view and chuckled quietly to himself. "Forgive me, it was completely unintentional. Besides why would I need to distract you? You seem to be losing all on your own. Unless my mere presence it distracting you so much that you can't keep your body from shaking with anticipation of what it would feel like to-"

"Damon!" she shouted turning around, her cheeks flushed.

"Yes?" he replied innocently, a sinful smirk on his face.

She kept opening and closing her mouth trying to think of something witty to response with. When she realised it was pointless – that the alcohol had completely slowed down her brain activity to the point that if she just kept staring at him a moment longer her actions would probably speak louder than words – she stamped her foot dramatically and pointed to the other end of the pool table. "Go stand over there," she ordered.

"Ooo feisty!" he said mockingly, but did what she said, for now. He would seduce her later, once she was his very own puppet on a string. When she sobered and realised exactly what she had done and that there was nothing she could do about it, she would be his.

Having him in her eye line proved even more distracting then having him touch her, if that were even possible. He was looking at her so intently with that damn smirk on his face that her stomach twitched nervously, and she had to fight to keep her aim steady. She closed her eyes briefly to calm herself before taking her shot, which was set up so perfectly that she couldn't possibly miss. The ball made it to the centre of the hole before ricocheting off the sides so hard that it bounced back out again.

Damon laughed whole-heartedly at the shocked look on her face.

"But...that...it should have gone in!" she sputtered. "This table is faulty!"

"Is it the alcohol, me or the table? Because I'm starting to think that you don't really want to win," he said advancing towards her.

"And why on earth would I want you to be able to make me do whatever you say?" she challenged.

"Maybe you like the idea of me dominating you. I didn't peg you for the type to be into BDSM, Elena. Then again, this is the first time I've seen you act...reckless," he said seductively, his eyes glinting with amusement and lust as he took the stick out of her hands and moved to stand behind her.

She remained speechless when suddenly she felt the pool stick across her stomach, his hands at either end using it to pull her back to him. She gasped in surprise as his lips brushed along her ear and down her neck, leaving a hot wet trail on her skin. And if that wasn't enough to make her shiver with delight, the hardness pressing against her backside had her fighting tooth and nail to keep from moaning.

Through hazy eyes she saw the table before her and noticed that he only had one ball left to sink. This was it. He was about to win.

Before he had the chance to speak she asked, "What are you going to do to me?" Her voice sounded unnaturally breathless and low and she felt him smile against her neck.

"I'm not going to do anything," he whispered. "The real question is…what can you do for me?"

As quickly as it happened he let her go and moved around the table to take his winning shot, sinking the black ball in one fluent motion. She began to feel dizzy as he suddenly appeared in front of her again with a predatory look in his eyes. Her brow furrowed in confusion as feelings of nervousness and anticipation coursed through her veins, making her heart beat accelerate and her knees weak. Before she knew it, her vision became spotty and then everything went black.