He pulled his wrist away slowly and scooped me into his lap. I leaned against his chest and marveled at how warm his body felt against mine. For a moment I almost forgot it was a Vampire I was resting on.

I felt his eyes on me and I looked up into them. "Everything is fine?" He asked, his voice almost a whisper.

"Yes…" I sighed. "Now that it's over."

Over. When I said that, some emotion flickered in his eyes. Something I recognized as Longing. It made me feel terrible. I added one more tally to the 'things I screwed up on' board. Stefan is my dear friend and I didn't want to hurt him, though I've done a fine job of doing the exact opposite. For the last ten years I've been pushing his subtle hints of his feelings for me under a mental rug. How could I do that to him? How could I do that to Stefan?

I stared into his eyes, confident that he'd never take advantage of me with his gaze the way Blackwood had.

"Mercy…" He whispered. "I—"

He stopped talking when I sat up more and started to shift my weight around. I moved to straddle his thighs and I threw my arms over his shoulders and buried my face in his neck, letting my arms dangle loosely behind the seat. "I know, Stefan… I know…"

"Then why have you said nothing, Mercedes?"

I sniffed and blinked back tears. The agony in his voice was just too much to bare. I pulled away just enough to see his face. "Adam is mine and I am his. I love him. You know that."

His face was drowned in grief. "When, Mercy? When did you pledge yourself to him? When did you become his so completely?" He squeezed his eyes shut and threw his head back on the seat. "And how did I miss it?" He whispered.

I stared at him, not knowing what to say. How could I hurt him so? "Stefan…" I managed.

"It's difficult…" He began, opening his eyes again and lifting his head. "So very difficult…" One of his arms wrapped itself around my back and that other found itself a tender handful my thigh and squeezed. "Especially when you are so close."

"What is difficult?" I gasped.

"My need for you is so great… and when we are together…" The hand that was on my thigh slid up to place its palm on my navel. Then it moved sluggishly higher, slowly pushing against and over my breast and up to tangle itself in my hair. "It's so hard for me to resist taking you for myself." The other hand moved to my lower back and pulled me forward so that my chest was against his.

"But, Stefan I—" I couldn't finish because his mouth was on mine.

The first kiss soft and sweet. Much like the one he'd given me when he'd helped me escape from the scene of my crime against Andre. The second, however, was much, much different. It started like the first, but I felt weary when he didn't pull away. He held me tighter against him and forced his tongue into my mouth. I made a sound that I had intended to be a warning of, 'you'd better stop if you know what's good for you', but it came out wrong. Like a pleasurable moan of delight.

I'm not enjoying myself! I'm not! Am I?

His kiss was lazy and sloppy and full of sadness and need. Tears streamed down my face as I tried not ro kiss him back. It happened anyways, though. My tongue danced with his, my head bobbed and moved as his did. Guiltily, I reached up to pull the band out of his hair. I ran my fingers through his long dark locks. I'd secretly always wanted to do that. He was breathing heavily. That's always been something I like about him. He breathed. The other Vampires who didn't, scared me.

I never thought I'd be kissing him. Stefan was always my friend. My companion. Before I'd met Adam, I'd had my thoughts about him, but after Adam and I chose each other, my thoughts of Stefan faded. Sure I loved him. Sure there was a time when I'd wanted him, wanted to be with him but those times were over. Long gone. Stefan would never have me, my heart or my body. But I could give him this kiss. I could give him something for his troubles, for his loyalty, for the love I know he has saved for me. That's it, though. Nothing more than a kiss.

I tore my mouth from his. "Stefan—"

"I'm sorry!" He wailed, pulling me into an iron hug.

"Stefan, I cannot love you." I told his hair. "But I can kiss you."

He loosened his grip and let me look at him. "I've already stolen that from you…"

"You kissed me, yes." With a hand, I brushed away some of the hair that rested around his face and stroked his cheeks gently before placing my palms on his chest and taking a deep breath. "Now I will kiss you. You deserve that much."

He let out a deep breath and unwrinkled his brow. I ran my palms up his chest, slowly caressing and savoring the contours of the muscles that stayed hidden under his shirt. He laid his head back on the seat again and I bent my head to nip at his throat and plant kisses all along his neck. I worked my way up to his ear lobe and nibbled playfully as a deep hum resonated from his throat. I kissed along his jaw as he ran his hands up and down my back and slipped them under my shirt. I kissed his cheek and then his other cheek and rested my forehead against his as he wrapped his loving arms around my hips.

I looked him in his midnight eyes. "Stefan, you must understand that this will never happen again. You must promise me that you know that."

"I promise you, Mercedes Athena Thompson." He whispered. "Now shut up and kiss me." It's a sin that I smiled at that.

I kissed him furiously and surprised myself with the ferocity in which I needed to kiss him. I wanted it just as much as he did. In one swift movement, he jerked me to the side and laid me down on my back. He thrust his body onto mine and rested on top of me, our careful mouths still at work. He made soft humming sounds as we laid there together and his engulfing arms that were around me made me feel safe and content, relaxed and confident. Stefan would never hurt me, never, and so I took that shared moment to love him. For the first and last time I allowed myself to really love every little bit of him. To appreciate all that he does. To give him all that I could give. When the kiss slowed, he pecked my cheek and pulled away to sighed.

"One more thing…" He whispered.

He pulled my shirt up enough to expose my whole stomach and slid down to plant a kiss just above my navel. I reached down quickly and dug my fingers into his hair to stop him.

"Don't you trust me, Mercy?" His soft breath was cool against my bare skin.

I hesitated. "Yes…"

At that, he crept down a little further until his nose reached my tattoo. He inhaled deeply and, with a big huff of his lungs, he relaxed his face into the soft flesh of my stomach. "I've always loved this tattoo…" The movement of his mouth and the vibrating hum of his voice tickled my belly. He brushed a soft kiss across my red paw print and, though I could still feel presence, he disappeared.

I let out a lung full of air I'd been holding. "God, Stefan…" I sighed. "You sure know how to kiss a Gal, don't you?"

I heard his familiar rumble of a laugh before he left me completely alone in my Van.