When it came to the Salvatores, everyone in Mystic Falls had heard about them; their ancestors had been the founding fathers of the small town and Damon and Stefan basically owned almost every building that you could find on the main square. Stefan had moved away to the west some time ago, but Damon remained in their pristine boarding house on the edge of town. Everyone talked about him, but no one really knew what was up with him. Damon Salvatore had been a recluse for years now.

The whole story about why the elder Salvatore remained such an elusive individual intrigued Elena. He hadn't been like that at all in his early twenties; he had often been seen partying at the Mystic Grill, womanizing and what not. He knew everybody and everybody knew him. Then, he had gotten married to a woman named Katherine, whom he quickly lost again. Elena didn't know the details, but apparently she had passed away in a fire that had started at her work office. After that, the only thing that Mystic Falls really knew about Damon Salvatore, was that he had taken over Salvatore Inc. and that he spent most of his days either in his office or at home. That was about it; no woman in his life… no family, besides the younger brother that had moved away. Elena felt for him.

Of course, when word came out that the Mystic Falls Gazette wanted to do a piece about the Salvatores, she had been eager to step forward. Her boss had been okay with it; she just needed Damon on board. That was the hard part; Damon 'didn't do interviews', he had blatantly answered her in an e-mail. She had bombarded him with her pleas, via phone, via e-mail… via regular mail… she had actually written him a good sized letter! When the response came that he would begrudgingly answer a few questions if that would get her off of his back, she had wanted to jump for joy.

Now, here she was, standing in front of a massive-looking house with the most beautiful authentic details she had ever seen and she suddenly wasn't so sure anymore. The whole atmosphere surrounding the place made shivers run up and down her spine. She wrung her hands in front of her and bit her lip, contemplating turning around and running back towards her car.

"Don't be such a wuss! Knock on that door!" she told herself.

When she raised her hand to knock, though, the enormous wooden door seemed to be open already. It was standing ajar and Elena pushed her hands against it, trying to see inside.

"Hello?"

It was dead quiet, save for some birds chirping away in the trees above the house. Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside.

"Mr. Salvatore?" she called out again.

When her eyes landed on the interior of the boarding house, her eyes bulged out of her head. Wow. The whole place came right out of the 19th century… or earlier even. There was wooden paneling to her left and right and in front of her was an enormous fireplace. This house was really something.

A door creaked somewhere and Elena felt her heart jump a bit, before turning around. There was no one behind her, though and she smiled at her nervousness. When she turned back towards the fireplace and bumped into a hard body, she let out a small yelp.

A man with the most piercing blue eyes she had ever seen was staring at her. While Elena took a deep breath to make her heartrate slow down somewhat, he was sizing her up. Wow, he was gorgeous! It had been a while since she had been with someone and her body made a point of it by almost screaming that it wanted this man to do some things to her. Black jeans, a black t-shirt that fit tight around his chest… and he had the most penetrating gaze that made her want to unravel all of her secrets for him.

There was an intensity in the air around them as none of them spoke at first. A slow smile began to creep up his face, which Elena immediately labeled as cocky. This man was definitely aware of his presence and what it did to others. Of course, why wouldn't he? He was sinfully handsome with his crystal eyes and careless, dark hair. Also, the aura of mystery surrounding him was enough to make Elena's knees want to buckle. Right, she needed to say something now.

"I'm sorry for barging in like this… uhm, your door was open."

He didn't respond at first, looking behind her.

"You must be Elena," he suddenly said, while taking it upon himself to close said door. "I'm Damon."

Was it hot in here? Elena felt sincerely strange around this man.

"Please, come." He invited her into the large space, which held the fireplace that she had been eyeing earlier.

"Wow! So this is your living room?"

"Living room.. parlor… seventies auction… Please, have a seat."

He motioned her over towards one of the large sectionals and she sat down on it, crossing her legs in front of her.

"So… Elena Gilbert. What makes someone who is actually aspiring to be a writer, work for a newspaper as boring as the Mystic Falls Gazette?"

He was standing with his back towards her, staring into the flames of the fireplace while holding a drink in his hand, that he had just poured himself.

"I see that you did some digging."

Damon turned around to face her.

"You're looking for information about me, therefore I want information about you. I need to know who I invite into my house," he said, while looking at her intently.

Elena looked down, feeling herself becoming uncomfortable underneath his stare.

"I'm sorry. I didn't offer you anything to drink."

"That's okay. It's a little early for me to be joining you."

Damon gave her a puzzled look. He got the message as she eyed his drink.

"I wasn't offering you alcohol, Miss Gilbert. I've got a perfectly decent coffee supply in the kitchen," he chuckled.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry. But I'm good."

He seemed to be sizing her up and down again, making her stomach flutter. She bit her lip, looking anywhere but at him. Her heart pounded in her chest. God, why did this man have such an overwhelming effect on her?

"You didn't answer my question," he reminded her.

"What do you mean?"

Elena watched as he sat down in a chair across from her, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Why have you not pursued becoming an author?"

Okay, when had this interview become about her? She needed to get back on track here; he was throwing her off!

"If you really did your homework, Mr. Salvatore, you would know that my parents died right after I graduated from college and I was left with the care of my little brother. I didn't have the time to be dreaming about what could be. I was offered a job at the local newspaper and that was that," she answered, a bit chagrined.

She watched as he rubbed his chin, seeming to be pondering about something.

"Yes, but that was years ago. Your little brother is all grown up now, so what is holding you back?"

Elena sighed irritably, leaning forward to grab her dictator from her purse.

"While I appreciate you wanting to know who you invite into your house, how or why I make decisions in my life is none of your business. Can we get to the interview now, please?"

"Duly noted. I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable. That's not my intention."

Elena put the dictator on the table in front of her and took a deep breath.

"Okay, your family has been building and investing in and around Mystic Falls since the early 19th century and they've been doing really well. What inspires so many generations to stay here instead of investing somewhere else.. somewhere bigger?"

Damon frowned at her.

"Well, as you put it yourself; my family has been here for ages. It was my ancestor Joseph who started everything here and ever since then, every new generation took over. I guess we all felt that this was home."

"I can relate to that," Elena smiled. " No one can really explain it, but Mystic Falls has this allure to it."

"Yes, it does."

There was something in the way that he said it while looking at her, that made Elena's heart skip a few beats. Her throat became very dry, and for a moment, she felt sorry for the fact that she didn't take him up on that offer for a drink.

"Uhm.. why do you think your company has been flourishing for so long?"

"Because we're good at reading people, Miss Gilbert," Damon answered her, giving her a secretive smile that made her skin break out in goosebumps. "I know exactly what they want and how they want it. It's a matter of knowing and using that knowledge to make things happen."

The tension between them returned full force. Elena wrung her hands in front of her, afraid that if she didn't, her hands would be doing something else entirely right then and there. What was this? He was so… compelling… there was no other word for it.

"Can I… Can I be bold here?" Elena asked.

Damon raised his eyebrows at her.

"You say that you're good at people, but you're hardly around them. How do you get to know who they are and what they want if you hardly see anyone?"

The way the air was sucked out of the room, made Elena think that she had crossed the line. She knew she needed to be very careful with her questions and never bring up Katherine. But this.. she just had to ask.

"I've got my employers who do the fieldwork for me, Miss Gilbert. I don't actually need to see someone all that often to know what makes them tick."

"So you always stay behind the scenes. Why?"

She was threading on thin ice here and she was well aware of it. Damon stood up and came to sit on the table right in front of her, their knees almost touching. Elena's breathing became a bit too fast to her taste, feeling the electricity surge between them. There was that cocky smirk of his again. He knew… He knew what he was doing to her and he seemed to revel in it. Was this a game to him? Or did he feel something as well?

"I'm a very busy and private man, Miss Gilbert. I don't see the need to change that. My clients are happy with me."

"Right," she mumbled. "The 200 year anniversary of Mystic Falls is coming up. Will you be there? Your family was a big part in founding this town."

"I don't know that yet. We'll see what my schedule thinks of it."

Damn, he was a tough cookie to crack!

"Will you be there?"

"Sorry.. what?"

"The anniversary of Mystic Falls," he made himself clear. "Will you be there?"

Elena shook her head, trying to get a grasp on the situation, which he seemed to have control over. This wasn't going well at all. She'd barely asked two questions!

"Yes. That's the whole reason for this interview; a piece on the founding families."

"Good."

He smiled at her and Elena was at a loss. This had to be the strangest man she had ever met.

"You are now 40 years old, are there things that you still want to achieve?" she tried to continue.

"In life or in business? I know that you're still thirty, flirty and thriving, Miss Gilbert, but 40 is not that old," Damon laughed.

Elena felt her cheeks becoming beet red with the way he was taking that question. God, she had never been this terrible at interviewing a person! When could she get out of here?

"I'm sorry, Mr. Salvatore. I never tried to imply that you're old. I'm simply curious about what you want for the future; in business and yes.. in life."

He seemed to ponder over that question, taking a sip from his bourbon.

"We never know where life takes us, do we, Miss Gilbert?"

Elena raised her eyebrows at him.

"That's very vague, don't you think? So you're going to leave it up to chance?"

Damon got up and began to pace the living room.

"I think that you misunderstood me. I never leave things up to chance; I'm not the type of person to sit back and wait for things to come to me. If that's your attitude in life, you will always be the 'victim' of whatever happens to you. However, there are always factors that are out of your hands. That's what makes things interesting."

Okay, could he be any more evasive? Was he talking about what happened to his wife now? Could she go there?

"So you're a hands-on kind of person? Then why remain in the background of things? If I may say so, life is out there for you to take."

Wow. Yep. He was going to throw her out now. She watched as he narrowed his eyes at her, clearly thinking about how to wisely choose his words.

"I see that we're getting back to that point. What exactly are you implying, Miss Gilbert? Does it concern you that I don't show my face in town as much as I used to, or does it concern you that I live here alone?"

"The question is, Mr. Salvatore, does it concern you?"

She boldly stared into his eyes as she asked her last question, and for a single moment, she felt like she had gotten to him. His mouth closed ever so slightly and his expression changed.

"Do you have a significant other, Miss Gilbert?" he suddenly asked.

Huh? Was he taking another sidetrack again?

"I'm sorry?"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

Elena looked at her dictator, wanting to roll her eyes at the entire situation. How was she ever going to write a piece about the Salvatore's if he kept turning the tables on her? She shook her head.

"I don't see what that has to do with.."

"Exactly," he interrupted her. "I thought you wanted to ask about the Salvatore history and the company? Instead, I'm answering questions about my personal life. Is there a particular reason for that?"

Again, the blood rose to her head and she wanted the ground to swallow her whole.

"Forgive me, Mr. Salvatore. It wasn't my intention to put you on the spot, but if I'm frank here; it's what the readers want to know. You, Damon Salvatore, are a complete mystery to this town. You fascinate them. Surely, you understand why; this is a small town where people know each other. Nobody really knows you."

Damon flopped back down on the couch opposite from her and ran his hands through his hair; a move Elena followed with distinct fascination.

"Do people really know you, Miss Gilbert? Do you worry about how other people see you? Because I don't."

"But don't you want to share this all with someone?" Elena exclaimed. "Isn't it lonely to be so alone?"

Damon leaned back and eyed her with an amused look on her face.

"Are you offering, Miss Gilbert? I don't do relationships anymore. Why invest in something that only relies on chemistry in the brain?"

"You say that like every relationship is doomed to end," Elena retorted.

Damon shrugged. "Well, I'm a fatalist."

"You can't live without love, Damon. I mean, Mr. Salvatore."

If he noticed her slip up, he chose to ignore it. There was still this smirk on his face that she wanted to smack right off!

"Oh, I've got love's advocate here. Love is painful and overrated."

"Look," Elena started, as she held up her hands in defense. "I'm probably stepping over the line here and I understand that with the death of your wife, love did a real number on you. But isn't it more horrible to live without those emotions? To never feel for someone, ever again?"

Damon tossed back another bourbon.

"It's been working for me so far."

Elena sighed and shook her head.

"So you just pretend not to feel?"

"Oh, I feel," Damon admitted, as he stood up and towered over her. "I feel all sorts of things. I even feel it when a woman like you stops and stares at me."

Elena wasn't going to back down this time, though. She got up as well and stood her ground in front of him. She swallowed as she noticed how close to each other they were actually standing; almost toe to toe… and she could feel his breath on her face.

She held up her chin defiantly. "I'm here for professional reasons."

"Then why the long speech about wanting to find me love?"

"It was just an advice," she mumbled.

He was looking at her lips for a moment and her heart wanted to jump right out of her chest. By God, he was so attractive! There was just no way, though. It wouldn't be very professional. She needed to get out of there… break that spell which seemed to have a hold over her. His gaze had turned dark.

"I think… uhm… I think that I've got everything I needed. It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Salvatore," she managed to get out, extending her hand towards him and stepping back to create some distance.

His eyes held hers for a second, before he took her hand.

"Looking forward to seeing you at the Mystic Falls anniversary," he said, his annoying smirk back in place.

Elena breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped aside and opened the front door for her.

"The pleasure was all mine, Elena Gilbert."

In that moment, he lifted her hand towards his mouth. Her knees threatened to buckle as he lightly grazed the back of it with his lips.

"Yeah… bye," she said, as she almost stumbled out onto the driveway. When she looked back, he had closed the door behind her. For a second, she leaned her forehead against said door, trying to regain some control. That had to have been the most intense man that she had ever met. He wasn't the kind of type that she should fall for, though, and she needed to be wary of that. There were too many things off with him. With newfound resolve, she walked over towards her car with sure paces, missing how he stood in the window, watching her…

A/N: Hi! Yep, I know. I still need to finish 'Only Time.' The thing is, this wouldn't leave me alone. It will probably be a two-or three part story, depending on whether people like it, so let me know your thoughts! Xoxo, Mardre.