The tiếp theo ngày Stefan was at the house. Elena and he were watching Dracula 2000 of all things. He had the occasional chuckle and was absently rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. This place, was so comfortable. With his arm around her, she could settle into his chest and be completely at ease. hoặc at least she could before a week ago.
    If everything had stayed on course, she would be sitting here with Stefan, listening intently while he explained what was hoặc wasn’t true and what the film writers had gotten wrong. He was telling her how they were actually thêm accurate than any other vampire movie he’d ever seen.
    “It’s definitely one of the best. I don’t know about the whole Dracula being Judas thing but...” He kept talking but Elena couldn’t hear the rest of it.
    She should be sitting there and loving the sound of his voice. Instead she was feeling guilty and ashamed and... bored. This wasn’t how it was suppose to be. She wasn’t like Katherine. She wasn’t the kind of girl who would be with two guys at once and brothers no less! But somehow she had gotten herself into a similar situation.
    Yeah, but I didn’t mean to do this. She did. Elena thought. Katherine had been sleeping with Stefan and Damon at the same time and they knew it. Elena couldn’t fathom how she had gotten herself in almost the same situation. She had to find a way to get Damon to back off. If her encounters with him kept up like they were, she would be no better than her look-a-like. Stefan would get his tim, trái tim broken and she could loose everything they had. Which, at the moment, didn’t seem as much as it once did. Why was that?
    “Elena. Elena? Elena!” Stefan was saying.
    “Huh? What?”
    “Where were bạn just now?” He asked, looking concerned.
    “I, uh... I’m sorry, Stefan. I’m just a little distracted. Forgive me?” His words had been completely Mất tích on her. She had no idea what he had been saying all this time. And how much time had passed?
    “You can talk to me about anything, Elena. What’s wrong.” The worry in his eyes made her tim, trái tim ache. He was so concerned.
    “It’s nothing, I just spaced out. Promise. So, what were bạn saying?”
    “Well, just that they got the whole living mummy thing right but the blood of a vampire- okay, now I can’t think about that. Elena, I know something’s wrong. Could bạn just tell me? I feel like somethings weighing on your shoulders and I’d like to help.”
    What was she suppose to tell him? Yeah, I’ve been making out with your brother and last night we almost slept together and I’m not the one who stopped it. I don’t want to hurt bạn but god, he makes me hot. Yeah, that would go over well. Ha!
    “Really Stefan, I’m fine. I’m just in my head too much today.”
    He let it go for now and they settled back into each other and finished the movie. He made a show, later, of leaving, for Jenna’s benefit and then met Elena up in her room. He was kissing her. The kind of kisses she melted into not so long ago. Now, they seemed dull and devoid of passion. There was a little there but it wasn’t like when Damon was kissing her. He could drive her up one tường and down the other of crazy. Make her head spin and her tim, trái tim speed up.
    She tried to go for it here and now though. She kissed Stefan with everything she had and it was getting a little interesting when-
    “Knock knock tình yêu birds” Damon đã đưa ý kiến perched on Elena’s window sill.
    “Damon”, Stefan acknowledged with irritation, “What do bạn want?”
    “Well, just thought bạn should know that Mystic Falls has some new comers hoặc should I say ‘returners’?” He faked a deep thought pose.
    Stefan wasn’t catching his meaning and neither was Elena.
    “Come on people. Tomb vamps? Sound familiar? Yeah, their out. I would just as soon leave them to their own devices but I don’t think bạn kiddies would be happy with that now would you?” Damon looked to both of them. “Yeah, didn’t think so.”
    Elena’s head was spinning. The ma cà rồng from the tomb were out?! How could this happen? Why was everything happening all around the same time? It seemed like the three of them were a magnet for things to go wrong. Just when she felt safe, something else would happen to turn everything around and upside down. She should know better bởi now. Know to expect the worst just in case. Maybe it wouldn’t happen but with her luck it would and then some. All the darkness that constantly surrounded her life now was thêm than anyone should have in a life time. And now? Now, ma cà rồng who have been trapped for 145 years under the ground and have a grudge against Stefan and Damon are free. Who knows what could happen. A vampire had already gotten invited into her house once. What would happen if 26 of them put their heads together?
    Stefan walked over to his brother. “So, what do bạn propose we do?”     
    With all seriousness Damon replied, “Well, I think we should take Elena somewhere an toàn, két an toàn like the boarding house and then one of us should go see where they are. See what they want. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’m not that diplomatic.”
    Stefan nodded. Damon was suggesting that Stefan should be the one to go seek out the tomb vamps. uh-oh, Elena thought.
    “You wouldn’t mind putting up with Damon for tonight would you? bạn can stay in my room and he’ll be there just in case to keep bạn safe.”
    Elena swallowed. “No problem. I’ll just bring along a book to read hoặc something. Do bạn really think bạn can find and talk to them in one night?”
    “Oh, he’s good at boring things like that”, Damon commented. Stefan looked to his older brother again exasperated.     
    “Yeah, I have a few ideas of where they would go. I can get Alaric to tag along. You’ll be perfectly safe, I promise.” He walked back over to her. “You’ll be alright, they won’t hurt you, not with us around. bạn don’t have anything to be afraid of, Elena.” He tried reassuring her. If bạn only knew, her mouth didn’t say, but I have to keep my mouth shut hoặc I could ruin everything. What I have with bạn is a good thing. I don’t want to loose it.
    “Okay, well, let’s get a di chuyển on.” Damon spread his arms wide as if expecting to hug her. Elena looked to Stefan with alarm.
    “It’s faster. He can get bạn to the house as fast as possible and it’s less detectable.” Stefan explained.
    Damon smirked. “Come on, Elena, I won’t bite... much” his eye brow twitched up and she looked with wide eyes at Stefan again.
    “He’s kidding”, the younger Salvator looked at the elder pointedly. “He wouldn’t do anything like that. He knows it’s smarter not to, right Damon?”
    Damon smiled, “Of course.” Stefan looked at him for a moment longer as if gauging whether that were really true. He trusted his brother but only so far. Could he really trust him with this? He seemed to let it pass though.
    “Alright, I’ll get going. It might take a while to track them. bạn two should get out of here too.”
    Damon opened his arms a little wider reminding Elena that he as still standing there waiting for her. She took a deep breath and walked over to Damon as Stefan leapt out the window. “No funny business”, she warned. “Of course not” Damon chuckled as his arms wrapped around her and he grabbed a hand full of her butt. Before she could say anything though, they were speeding through space.
    She had never gone so fast. Stefan always wanted to do things the human way. He wanted to make sure that her life stayed as normal as possible. When it could be done the “regular” way, and most of the time, it could, that’s how it was done. She had to tuck in her face to Damon’s chest just so she could such in air. They were going so fast. Elena knew they couldn’t fly but with how fast he was moving, it felt like they were. The only thing in her world for a good two phút was a Dark haired, crystal eyed, gorgeous man who had her intimately holding on to him. He was the only solid thing in the blurred world around them.
    Just as quickly as it began, it ended and she was standing in Stefan’s room at the boarding house with Damon standing chest to chest with her, slowly running his non-ass grabbing hand down her check.
    “Oh not bạn don’t! Not in Stefan’s room!” She was trying to push him off.
    “No, I wouldn’t dare. That would excite bạn too much.” Damon đã đưa ý kiến not letting her go. “There is something intoxicating about it isn’t there? The thought of me touching bạn where he has. The thought of me pushing bạn onto his bed. Tying bạn to the head board.” He had her gripped to him. “The thought of me running my hand up your leg just a few feet from his journals. tasting skin on your neck where he’s wanted to bite you.”
    Elena was breathless as Damon gently kissed her neck and lightly flicked his tongue out. “I wouldn’t want to do anything to bạn in here. It would be too... overwhelming. Let’s say if I ripped up all his precious sách and made tình yêu to bạn on hàng đầu, đầu trang of the pages? Is there such a thing as paper burn?”
    “St-stop” Elena gulped.
    Damon pushed her back on Stefan’s bed, like he đã đưa ý kiến he wouldn’t and began to di chuyển his hand, massaging right where the seams met between her legs, using her own clothes to make her forget herself and where she was.
    Just then, Elena sat up and gasped. It was dark. She was on Stefan’s giường but she couldn’t see Damon. It was all a dream? phew, she sighed.
    Laughter drew her attention to the corner where Damon sat on a chair. “You know, that little magic chuỗi hạt, chuỗi hạt cườm is able to keep me from compelling bạn but your dreams are still very much up for grabs. It’s even easier with such a willing mind.” his mouth crooked up at one side with a devilish smile.
    “Have a good night, Elena.” He got up and was about to walk out when he said, “And if bạn need me for anything, anything at all, I’m just across the hall.”
    Elena threw a book at him that she knew wouldn’t hit. He was out of the room before she could even release it and it smacked into the closed door. God damn him! I don’t know which is worse: this game he’s playing with me hoặc actually sneaking around with him. I seriously need to get thêm self control. And when had the dream started? Are the Tomb vamps really out?
    “Yes bạn do, about 5 phút cách đây and yes they are” Damon spoke loudly from a tường away. “And yes, bạn did say all that out loud.”
    Shit.
    “That too”, He laughed.