Pre Edit Count –   2,624 Words

Song I listened to for this chapter: She is The Sunlight by Trading Yesterday.

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He tickles her as he lifts an eyebrow, “Oh great one?  I think you are exaggerating there, mia cara.”

Her laughter peals out and the two of them settle down after Damon teases her some more.  When they are calm, Damon asks, “Let’s get this on the road.  Show me what you got so far.”

“Hope you are ready for this, because it’s been a ride for me…”

Now:

As Bella and Damon get comfy in the chair they are sharing, she tells him, “Basically like I told you before dinner, I thought about the Cold Ones.  They make no sense.  And I thought also about Elena and the curse.” Her hands are playing with his, amazed how long his fingers are.

Damon nods, his eyes watching her, waiting for her to continue but enjoying this time with the two of them.

She looks up at him, “I don’t understand why Klaus was cursed and if it is something that nature wanted.  If it does, how will it make sure that Elena doesn’t become a vampire?  Since nature basically mated Elena and Elijah, then what about Klaus?” Her mind is busy cataloguing the differences and she is not coming up with anything that sounds right, nor a definitive answer.

Then she grimaces. “What really doesn’t make sense to me is how it seems like nature is a living being in all this.  Is there a Gaia?  Think about it.  It seems to direct the witches to do its will directly.” She looks up at her mate again, to see if he has any input, he has been around and has seen more witches than she has dreamed of.

Damon stares off, thinking.  “Emily loved and worked for Katherine.  But it was more like she was obsessed with her, at other times it seemed like she was being guided by someone else.  It never made sense to me, but she is the one who spared the vampires in the church from being burned.  She was also the one to make my first daylight ring, the one I still wear as well as another one.  I have been told the enchantment on it is particularly strong, so I make it a point to retrieve it if someone takes it.” And the mate to his ring is the one he will be gifting to Bella as her daylight ring, their mating ring.

He negligently kisses her head as he continues. “I agree with your thoughts on the Cold Ones.  Why are they even here, how in the world could they come about?  But then I used to think the same way about my own species.” He shrugs.  He really hadn’t wondered much on the why’s just making sure he survives.

“I think, as Elijah said, that nature needed something to be the top of the pyramid.  Vampires can be brought down by many different things, so there was something that could keep the population under control.  In fact, nature went out of its way to make sure that there will always be your species around.  It also made sure that you can eat without killing your prey completely, which goes back to the balance issue.  The Cold Ones can easily overrun the earth, and end all the species on it by not being careful.  Especially since they can survive on any blood.  For you guys it weakens you to drink animal blood, again, a balance.  You will maintain your food source.” Bella winces as she puts it so baldly, but it is true.

Nodding his head, Damon leans his head back to study her face.  He shakes his head as he tells her, “You are amazing.  You are introduced to this world and have it down so well.  I am beginning to feel redundant.” He grins as he says the last to her.

Bella leans forward to kiss him with a smile playing on her lips.  “Never.  You just need to realize I had most of the information already, but had dismissed it as wrong because I had personal knowledge of vampires.  Now that I know that it is real, I have made an effort to recall everything and work on it in my mind.  But the most pressing thing is, what about Elena?  I think we will need to find out what is so special about Klaus that he has this curse and what it is.  I cannot go forward until we find out that piece of information.” She is musing on the last part as she just stares at his handsome face.

Damon smirks. “Then, since we are at an impasse, then what should we do, mia carissima?” He will help her find out what she needs to know, but for now, this is the first day they have had with no visitors and just each other.

Laughing at his facial expressions, Bella teases him back, “I have no idea.  You’re the one who slept in all day.”

Damon just smirks at her as he leans forward to claim a kiss from her.  He loves the way she tastes.  It makes him wonder what the rest of her will taste like.  The thought is enough to make him growl lightly.  He licks the bottom of her lip to gain entrance to her mouth.  As he does, his tongue sweeps in to claim it again as his own, but at the same time, his hands come up to cradle her face gently. He treasures this woman, this one in a million chance that he has.  This one woman who is his, and gladly admits that she is his, and his only.

Moaning into his mouth as she gives up the fight quickly, she at the same time feels not only treasured but possessed by Damon.  All she can think of is to give thanks to whomever has given her this wonderful man, who seems to be uniquely qualified to understand her.

He too has had his own heartbreak and thankfully, he was turned.  Unfortunately, he has waited a long time for her.  However, no one can deny that Damon used the time to benefit them both.  From comments Elijah had dropped last night, Damon was unusually strong.

Soon, Damon’s kissing drove out even the thoughts of him as she found something inside her was clamoring for him too.  It is as though every move of his tongue was tied to her womanhood.  Before long, that urge is becoming too much and she turns in his arms and straddles him, Damon only breaking from his kisses to allow her to breath. She arches up into his mouth as he worships her neck until she catches her breathe, and he is right back at her mouth, claiming it as his.

When Damon had to give into her human needs, he kisses up and down her throat, whispering his devotion to her.  When she turns in his arms to straddle him, it took everything he had not to react to the new position.  He has promised her that he will take it easy on her, and if nothing else, he will try his utmost to keep his promises to her.

But when she moves and thrusts her hips into his, he could not restrain his own reaction to it.  He groans as he rests his head against her neck as he gives into the need coursing through him to give in and claim his mate.  But to hold himself back from all he wishes to do to her, he has to move his hands to the chair arms.

Lost in her own lust, Bella doesn’t notice at first that while Damon is thrusting up into her, his hands are nowhere close to her.  It wasn’t until after she had put her hands on his shoulders as she felt herself reaching that cliff, and she opened her eyes as she leans back, to stare into his eyes did she realize that his hands were on the arms of his chair, barely stopping from breaking the chair with the force of his grip.

All this is taken in, but nothing could be done as they both came from their actions, and completely with no thought into it, both bite into each other, making them both cum again. Both lost in each other, not thinking of anything but the need they have for each other.

After a few minutes, Damon only then puts his hands on her as he licks his bite closed.  When he is sure she wouldn’t bleed, he falls back into the chair with a sigh, bringing her with him.  He cuddles her to him, whispering his love to her as he feels himself purr at her. He cannot believe she is his.  She is so perfect.  He smirks as he realizes she is as horny as he himself is.

When she gains back her breath, she looks up into Damon’s face. “Why?”

He looks down at her with a smirk on his face and tells her, “Because you didn’t tell me you are ready.  Mia Carissima, I promised to hold off, to wait until you are ready.  And I will do nothing to make you not trust me.  I told you, you are the light of my eyes, my sunlight.  I love you.” By the end of this, his eyes soften as does his face, showing his devotion to her.  As much as he wants her, needs her even, he will do nothing to ever have her doubt his word to her.

Bella smiles, as she tells him, “I love you too.  And you could have.  I think I may have a slight idea of what you are going through, love.” She looks up at him through her eyelashes as she says the last part.

He smiles at her and just admits to her as he tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear, “When you are ready. You will let me know, cara.  We have forever.”

She laughs up at him and then asks shyly, “Will you take a bath with me, Damon?  For some reason, I feel the need to.” A light blush takes her face as she looks down drawing on his chest lightly.

He grins at her as he grabs her fingers and bestows a kiss on them.  “And then I have done my job, milady.  But I will love to take a bath with you.  Why don’t you go start the bath and I will get us some wine.” He is getting the idea that she is working herself up, and he will do anything to relax her.  Not like he would have before, waiting for the time he can fuck the woman, no this time, he wants her comfortable, knowing that she is his, and if she doesn’t want to this time, they still have taken steps forward in helping her gets over her nerves.

Bella grins at him mischievously as she says a little louder, “Master Bath, fill tub at preferred temperature.  Master Suite, start fire.”

Not being able to help himself, Damon laughs as he touches her on the nose. “Spoiled princess.”  He stands up and sets her on the floor. “Now get upstairs and get yourself some bubbles.”  He watches her as she laughs at him and kisses his cheek as she leaves.

He mutters to himself, “Hate to see you leave, but love to see you go.”  He shakes himself and goes to pour them some wine.  While he could not make it quite as romantic as he wishes to, he can try.  He tells himself that he will just have to make sure to take her out soon, pull out all the stops.

As he enters the kitchen, heading to the wine room, his phone rings.  He pulls it out as he opens the hermetically sealed door, “This is Damon.” He walks in the room, taking the second to smile as he notices how organized even this is.

“Are you never coming home?”

Damon smirks as he selects a bottle of wine. “Actually, if you wish to get technical about it, I am home.  But then, I also own the boarding house as well as the Salvatore lands.  So be nice brother.  I am your landlord, remember.”

As he is talking, he exits the room, heading to the wine glasses. He thinks to himself how at home he feels here, even though he has not been here a full day, it is more home than the Boarding house.

“So you are just going to live there?  What about when Bella gets tired of you, or you her?  This wouldn’t be the first time you have attached yourself to someone.”

Damon just couldn’t let Stefan to make him upset. “Yes, never, and this is different.  But then you wouldn’t understand, brother.  Tell me, have you ever told Elena about Rebecca?  Or were you just going to wait until she shows up to drop that bomb on her?” He lifts his eyebrow as he makes his point to Stefan, knowing the answer.

Stefan growls into the phone as he turns to the fire in the fireplace.  “None of your damn business, Damon.  But then have you told Bella about your past hook-ups?  Or how you wanted my girlfriend?”

“Yes to both.  Actually, she guessed the past hook ups.  But as someone who cares about me, she has accepted all of me.  Have you accepted all of Elena, or are you still trying to convince her to allow you to protect her against the big bad world?”  Damon studies the bottle in the light, then nodding to himself on the selection he had made, proceeds to open it.  Deciding that it will be easier to bring the bottle up with him, he leans against the counter. “Stefan, is there an actual reason for this call?  I already told you I was moving in with Bella.  So you know I was not planning to come home.”

Stefan starts to pace.  “Elena has asked Bonnie to put a spell on her place that blocks all vampires from it.  She isn’t answering her phone nor her door and I am worried.”

Damon rolls his eyes as he tells him, “Maybe she wants some private time.  You never know.  Go to bed Stefan and worry about it tomorrow.  I take it you know she is home, so there is no worries.  I, on the other hand, have a beautiful woman waiting for me.  So I bid you Adieu.”  With that, Damon hung up his phone.

He grabs the bottle and glasses and moves quickly through the house, noticing she had put the house on lockdown for the night.  He only stops in the bedroom to strip down to his boxers and then moves into the bathroom.  He pauses as he sees his mate in the bathtub, surrounded by candlelight.

Bella is watching him, her hair piled messily on her head.  She blatantly eye fucks him as she stares at him.  He smirks at her, then unashamedly drops his boxers as he moves to the tub.  He settles in, careful not to splash her as he grins at the overfill rim.  It is a break in the mosaic around the tub, but it allowed the water level to be much higher, and there is no worries of a mess from filling the tub.

Bella accepts the glass he hands her after pouring it, their fingers caressing each other.  She grins as he settles in the tub, stretching out.  He takes a drink from his own glass as he sets down the bottle where he can reach it in case she wishes more, then eyeballing her, extends a hand to her. She unhesitantly puts her hand in his, and moves to where she is lying with her back to his chest.

Damon relaxes with arms around her, nuzzling into her neck. He kisses where he bit her earlier. The spot surprises him as it smells slightly of him, but he enjoys it.  Her smelling of him is very pleasing to him and the beast inside of him.

Her eyes sliding close with his attentions she asks softly, “Who called?”

Giving a last kiss to her neck, he asks her, “How did you know someone called?”

Not even thinking about it, she tells him, “Over the years, my hearing and a bunch of other things have enhanced.  Not near to your guys level, but definitely above human.  I suspect it is an effect of the venom that was in my body, since the bite is cooler than the rest of my body.”

Damon’s arms pull her tighter as he growls, “And you are telling me this, now?” He’s not mad at her listening, but on how that one bite might cause issues later down the road for her.

Sighing, she cuddles into him. “It hasn’t been brought up and quite frankly it hardly passes my mind anymore.  I don’t get sick, I don’t have a lot of the issues that I hear from others.  Just once in a while I notice it, and this time, I think it is because of me wanting to hear you come in. I couldn’t hear your conversation, just that I know your ringtone.”

He kisses her forehead, trying to gauge her temperature.  He knows he runs slightly higher than normal, but still cool to a human’s touch.  Just enough that woman tend to think he had poor circulation.  But he couldn’t tell if Bella was cooler than a normal human.

Wrapping his arms around her to bring her slightly higher on him, he kisses her neck again.  “I’m sorry.  You have no idea how much the thought of someone else having your blood bothers me.  And it’s not just me.  To let you know, after you fell asleep, Elijah wanted to know more about you.  When I showed him the bite, he was pissed to say the least.  He has claimed you as his, his claim being higher than anyone’s but mine.  A lot of that has to do with his standing, and in fact it is because you are my mate, is the only reason mine is higher.  This means that your blood belongs to us.  To me actually, but he feels propriety towards it also.”

Bella frowns as she comments, “I went from being a nobody to people outside my field, to-“

“A princess basically.  Elijah is Old World.  He probably ranks higher than those royals in Volturi.  And being acknowledged as his daughter, well let’s just say you are a princess now, Cara.”

Bella laughs.  Damon growls as the movement makes him harder for her.  He tells her, “Mia Carissima, if you keep doing that, there will be actions taking place.”

She grins at him.  “Why do you think I suggested the bath?   This is my way of trying to make peace with the virgin nerves.”  She gets serious. “Damon, like I said earlier, I am getting an idea of how you feel.  I can barely keep myself still, and I promise you, I am nervous!”

Damon tells her softly, “I will wait, Bella.”

She smiles at his soft confession. “But what if I don’t want you to?”

Final count: 3,246 words

Fairfarren~Wendy