~ If you play, you play for keeps ~

~ This happens after my other fan fiction "Your love will be the death of me", so read that first if you can~

Thanks to CreepingMuse for giving me some writing style suggestions. So I am formatting this on a little differently.

Russian Roulette – by Rihanna

Take a breath, take it deep
Calm yourself, he says to me
If you play, you play for keeps

And you can see my heart, beating
You can see it through my chest
Said I'm terrified but I'm not leaving (no, no)
I know that I must pass this test
So just pull the trigger (trigger x4)

Say a prayer, to yourself
He says close your eyes,
Sometimes it helps
And then I get, a scary thought
That he's here, means he's never lost
(…)

Disclaimer: I do not own TVD only the twisted plot. Wouldn't mind having Damon to play with for a couple of hours or days though.

As Damon rolled over in his sleep and freed her body, Elena opened her eyes and pondered her situation. For the last two weeks she had been playing nurse and Katherine replacement to a sick werewolf bitten Damon. She had volunteered for the nursing part mainly because it was Stefan's last request before leaving her to find a cure for his brother, but also she did it out of love for Damon. Playing a Katherine replacement however was an unexpected turn of events but Elena couldn't muster enough guilt to regret it.

As the days dragged on with no Stefan in sight and Damon getting sicker, Elena became more and more tolerant of Damon's invasion of her personal space. It started with small innocent little nothings like him leaning his head on her lap or hugging her to sleep whilst she had the most sensuous dreams about Stefan. It wasn't long before the vivid dreams were about Damon and the invasion of space evolved into soft kisses, long embraces, then heated make out sessions and eventually it escalated to where it had gotten to last night. Elena sighed in frustration at her longing, hiding her face in her hands, as she thought of her and the two brothers tangled up in bed together. ...

Having steamy dreams about either brother had eroded her reservations. Only when she had none left had Damon explained that he had been messing with her dreams… He called "mental foreplay", she had slapped him for that, but she wasn't really as resentful of it as she wanted him to think she was. It hadn't helped that Damon in his delirious state thought that she was his Katherine and lavished her with constant affection. She had never seen this soft, caring part of him, and together with the nurse complex and his delicious looks, it made for a heady mix. Nor was it helpful that her boyfriend disappeared from the face of the planet without giving news of what he was up to. Elena frowned concluding that there were no innocent parties in this threesome.

"Oh God!"- Elena couldn't help hissing before clamping her mouth with her hands as the taboo word resonated within her head... She had become what she most feared, she had become like Katherine. She was a selfish woman, catering to her own whims and driving a wedge between the brothers. Elena tried to summon the adequate amount of guilt to chastise herself, but all she could bring to the surface where the thoughts of the tree of them in bed, kissing, licking, biting...fucking...The last word was filled with embarrassment, but she knew that there were no other words for it. She had made love before, she had had sex, but neither of these explained the raw animalistic pleasure driven nature of what they shared the night before. The memories alone made her blush but her body craved for more. It had been surreal, but it had also been incredible. She knew that if it were up to her she would indulge in it over and over and over again.

The make out sex session she had had with Stefan before had been great, well, by Stefan standards anyway - she sighed. That is to say that being in bed with Stefan after being with Damon was like going back to skimmed whipped cream after having had the full fat delicious version. You could never forget the difference once you tasted it. Still the make out sex session had been a lot less vanilla than their usual bedroom encounters. It seemed that the anger fueled Stefan not to hold back and stoically play the bashful brother role by being safe and never loosing himself in the heat of it all. Later than night, with Damon present both her and Stefan had felt safe to indulge without reservations. Elena gingerly stroke the areas he had bruised her. In the past their love making had always had to be toned down, careful, to ensure her safety. With Damon present however, Stefan acted more like a hungry lover than a mindful boyfriend - he had been rough, demanding, relentless and insatiable. It was partly because of his anger at her betrayal, but mostly because he was being territorial, trying to claim her body and her love back from Damon. Elena was sure that he was counting on his brother to stop him had he gone too far, giving him a chance to let go in bed like he had never before with her. For no matter how ill or delusional Damon got, they both knew his first instinct was always to protect Elena.

She looked over her shoulder at the dark haired beauty lying in the bed. His body perfect and delicious, hair mussed as the sheets loosely revealed many paths to perdition. A small smile formed on her lips and the wetness between her legs intensified telling her that there was no living without him now. Even if he got cured from the bite and realized that she was not the Katherine he loved, Elena would hide how she truly felt and would beg him to take her into his bed, to keep giving her those roller coaster orgasms forever. She was willing to plead, trade her soul, and even sleep with the devil. The last thought made her chuckle thinking that Bonnie would tell her that she was already sleeping with the devil anyway.

"What's so funny?" - Damon asked in a sleepy voice startling her.

He had been awake for ages, listening to the heartbeat of his lover, pondering the possible outcomes of yesterday's events. The return of his brother was sure to end his claim to Elena, if not, her self-recrimination over the threesome was certain to do the job. Damon was still astonished that Stefan had played along and joined them in bed, or rather allowed Damon anywhere near "their" girlfriend. Saint Stefan was all about being good, but yesterday he had strongly embraced being very naughty. As he lay there listening to Elena, trying to be a gentleman and allow her the chance to sneak out, he could smell her arousal and the heady scent made him even harder with need. It was not that all he wanted from her was sex, but since he couldn't have her heart, sex was the only way he could possess her for now. As he heard her quiet chuckle, all pretence fell away and he opened his eyes to stare at her.

As their eyes met, Elena smiled at him with heavy eyelids. - "Hi" - she purred.

"Hi yourself Elena" - Damon whispered smiling bashfully back, still feeling sickly.

She stared at him wide eyed, taken aback -" You ... You know who I am?"

Trying to give his best signature smirk and a small shrug Damon replied - "Yes love…" - and with a tinge of sadness -"I also know what we did last night..."

Elena immediately turned 10 shades of red, but before she could move to run away and hide, Damon had her wrapped in his arms protectively, petting and kissing the top of her head lovingly.

"I am so sorry that I put you through it sweetheart."- Damon hugged her more tightly - "I never ever wanted to hurt you..."

Elena was in shock, Damon fuck me Salvatore was actually apologizing! More shocking was the fact that he knew exactly who she was, knew what they had shared, and he was being loving towards her, Elena, not Katherine. There was love there for her and her heart expanded in her chest and leaped with happiness, because she knew she was falling in love with him. Turning around in his embrace, she moved her mouth to his to share the emotions that she couldn't put into words. Damon had been expecting a slap, not a kiss, but he took it willingly, desperately, because it might be his last. Hope also sprang in his heart that the kiss might mean something else. He had to hang on to that sliver of hope - the hope that Elena loved him as much as she loved her...

After a few moments of drowning in her lips, Damon pulled away to look at her. His confused expression met her bashful one.

"Are you ok? Do you want to talk about it?" - he asked searching her face.

Elena shook her head and bit her lip out of nervous habit but then sighed defeated. She knew Damon would not drop the matter easily.

"I'm ok Damon... But are we ok?"- she asked hesitantly and shy.

"We?" - he asked confused, eyebrows raising and Elena wanted to die of embarrassment. How could she have though they were a "we"?

"I..." - she started wriggling out of his embrace -" of course not... I just... You know... But of course ..."

"Shhh" - Damon said as he placed a finger gently on her lips and held her in place.

Elena wouldn't look at him, suddenly finding something interesting in the room around her, any excuse not to look at him.

"Elena, please look at me." - Damon said sweetly. When she did, with lips pierced in a tight line and a small huff, her eyes met his. Instead of sarcasm she saw hope and her eyes widened with surprise. As she tried to speak, Damon's finger silenced her lips again.

"Babe, did you just say "we"? As in "you and I"?"- his smile was so full of hope that Elena couldn't help but nod. Damon's smile widened and shone brightly; speaking of so much love and happiness that Elena was basking in its glow.

"We" - he wrapped the word in a purr -" are simply perfect, thank you."

"You are sweet." – Elena smiled as Damon rolled her over on top of him and captured her mouth with a heated kiss. Elena immediately forgot about everything and anything; her boyfriend downstairs; Damon's precarious health condition and all else that wasn't his body touching her.

This story has a life of its own, I swear. I can practically see it in my mind as if I had watched it on TV! Hope you have enjoyed it. Review are *always* welcomed! Next chapter will be up in a blink.