Here it is – the last chapter! Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews – they mean a lot. If you could kindly read and review one last time, that would be much appreciated! If there are any grammatical or spelling errors – I apologize! I did edit it, but I wanted to get it posted before I left to do errands!

Oh – and I'm still taking story ideas! Like I said before, I'll write anything with Damon, Stefan, Katherine, Elena, and any pairing you can make from those four. ; ) Next up should be the Damon/Katherine/Elena triangle/threesome one-shot. *grin* I'll hopefully start writing that soon – I'm just trying to finish one of my other fics – "Shadow Dance" – first.

With that said, happy reading! : )

What We've Lost
Part IV: Love

Forgive me first love, but I'm tired.
I need to get away to feel again.
Try to understand why,
don't get so close to change my mind.
Please wipe that look out of your eyes,
it's bribing me to doubt myself;
Simply, it's tiring.

This love has dried up and stayed behind,
And if I stay I'll be a lie
Then choke on words I'd always hide.
Excuse me first love, but we're through.
I need to taste a kiss from someone new.

-Adele, "First Love"

It was ironic how she had chosen opposite reactions for each of the brothers – Stefan couldn't have cared less, while Damon had spent one hundred and forty-five years completely heartbroken, and it was a mistake that she was now paying dearly for. Damon's entire demeanour toward her spoke volumes of his mistrust; and yet, the way his eyes had closed showed her that he was slowly opening up to her.

Katherine brought her hands up and cupped his face. "Open your eyes," she said softly, stroking her thumbs over his warm cheeks. As he opened his eyes, she lowered her lips to his again and kissed him slowly, savouring everything about him – taste, texture, and scent. "I'm sorry and I don't deserve your forgiveness. But I need you to trust me one more time..."

The last chains of resistance broke and Damon found himself kissing her fiercely, gripping her hips tightly and flipping them around so that she was pressed against the wall, trapped by his body. He was having a hard time sorting out all of his feelings right now – anger, lust, and happiness – and he knew he was going to regret that later, but right now, he needed this. He needed her. A small groan escaped his lips when her hands trailed down his stomach and came to rest on the growing bulge in his jeans.

"Mmm," she appraised against his lips, rubbing her hand in slow circles over him, knowing that she was stimulating and exciting him even more. When he started rocking his hips slowly against her hand, she pulled it away and brought both her hands up to grip his hips.

Damon bit his lip anxiously at the loss of contact. "Why'd you stop?" he whispered heatedly.

"Remember," Katherine began, squeezing his sides, "how I could make you come without even touching you?" She leaned forward and nibbled on his earlobe, enjoying the strangled moan that escaped his throat. "Mmm, yes," she answered for him, "everything was always so good between us, Damon. We never lacked passion and our love for one another always made it so much better." She reached down again and squeezed his hardness.

He reached his own hand down to touch her, but she moved it away again. "I want to touch you," he said heatedly. His body was burning and he could feel sweat from his restraint coming down his face. He licked his lips in anticipation – he needed something. There was a seemingly unquenchable thirst driving relentlessly into the pit of his stomach.

"Damon, just let me take care of you first," she said softly. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed him away from her, slowly backing him towards his bed, her hands swiftly undoing his belt and throwing it to the floor before they arrived. She pulled his head down for a bruising kiss, keeping her hand buried in his hair while the other unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. She took a pause from ravaging his mouth, only to slide the jeans off his legs. "Lay down," she commanded softly.

Damon swallowed hard, now clad only in a pair of black boxer briefs, as he lay on the bed. He didn't have much time to think, though, before Katherine climbed on top of him straddling one of his legs. "God," he whimpered softly when her hand was back on his aching member, rubbing him teasingly through the thin material.

"Excited?" Katherine whispered sultrily, indicating the dampness on the front of his boxers.

"I could probably say the same for you if you would let me touch you," he growled softly, simultaneously frustrated and aroused that she was taking control like this. He gasped in surprise when she suddenly grabbed his hand and pushed it up her robe, letting it linger there on her panties.

"You would be correct," she moaned softly, feeling one of his fingers brush against that tiny bundle of nerves. She let go of his hand and untied her robe, letting it fall gracefully off the bed and onto the floor. She observed him and noticed that he really did look the same as in 1864 – with exception of a bit of his boyish softness and innocence gone, but the same none-the-less. She leaned down and kissed him softly, running her tongue along his lips, before sliding it delicately to touch his neck. She felt him arch against her and their groins made delicious contact.

Damon panted heavily, his hand still languidly stroking Katherine through her panties. He was already lost in the feeling, the mood – everything – and he growled softly when she grabbed his hand and pinned it down to his side. "Damn it, Katherine...I just want to touch you," he whispered in frustration.

"I know, Damon," she said, trying to hide her smile, as she moved down his body and began kissing his chest, teasing his nipples just enough so that he was arching in to her again, "but if I let you do that, I will come. And I don't want to just yet." She emphasized her desire for him by sliding her core against his leg.

He gasped softly, squeezing his eyes shut, as his hips moved automatically upwards, trying to create some semblance of fiction. He felt her place her hand flat on his stomach to hold him in place, though, as she continued to move down his body. When he dared to open his eyes again, she was flicking her tongue against his navel, her fingers hooked in the waistband of his boxers.

Katherine sat back on her knees, running her fingers in slow circles on his hips, observing all of his movements. His dark lashes fluttered against his face as he breathed in and out steadily; his hair was a wavy mess from the activities thus far. She smiled, loving how his dark hair reverted slightly back to its 1864 state when it was it was slightly unkempt. Her brown eyes met his blue ones when he realized that she was looking at him.

"What?" Damon asked, flushing lightly before he could stop himself.

"Nothing," Katherine murmured, "I was just thinking of how similar you look right now to how you looked when we first did this..."

"If we do this...will I...go to hell?" Damon asked, flicking his eyes downward. He was certain that he didn't really believe in the existence of hell, but all his life, his father had made it perfectly clear that if he or Stefan were to engage in sexual activities before marriage, then that's exactly where they would be going. It was hard to shake that kind of belief.

"Damon," Katherine murmured, pulling his warm, nude body close to hers. "I assure you – this hell you speak of does not exist, and if it does, I've already engaged with it on the ninth level." She placed a chaste kiss on his forehead, trying to stop the smile that was forming on her lips. She couldn't help but think that Damon had been forced to grow up too soon – much like herself in that respect.

He was cocky, self-assured, and over-confident in public life, but privately, he was sweet, polite, and a little bit mischievous. The fact that he was able to retain that was amazing, considering what his father did to him on a damn-near daily basis.

Damon looked at her inquisitively. "What do you speak of?"

"My past, sweetheart. I've seen and done some things that I never wish to repeat. All that matters is that I'm here with you now. If you don't want to do this...I understand. It won't make me love you any less..." Katherine leaned forward and brushed her lips over his.

Damon groaned softly and gripped her possessively. "I need you, Katherine..." He pulled her down and they fell into a tangled heap on the bed.

Damon swallowed thickly. "I remember that night, Katherine, because I gave you the only thing I had left to give..."

"I know, Damon," Katherine said, her voice soft. "I'm so sorry I took you for granted..." She leaned forward and kissed his stomach, rewarded with a slight intake of breath. "I'm going to make it up to you right now." Carefully, she began to tug his last article of clothing down his legs; she tossed the boxers to the floor with the rest of his clothing and then ran her hands up and down his thighs, squeezing the hard muscle, trying to ease some of the tenseness out of his body.

He suddenly sat up and pulled her onto his lap and they both moaned as their groins made contact. "I can't wait anymore," he growled. "Enough with the teasing." He reached behind her and unclasped her bra, tossing it haphazardly to the floor, as he bowed his head to her breasts and began sucking at the perfect, dusky nipples in front of him.

Katherine was taken off guard by his sudden aggressiveness, but she decided to let it happen. She groaned lowly when his blunt teeth scraped over breasts, and she reached up to grab his hair, tilting his head to the side slightly. A smirk appearing on her face, she leaned down close to his ear and whispered, "I was going to blow you, you know."

Damon accidently clamped down hard on her nipple at these words, but she didn't seem to mind. He reached between them and tore off her panties, flicking the flimsy remains to the floor. "Please," he suddenly said, arching against her, "Now."

Katherine repositioned her hips and easily, but slowly slid onto his aching member. She moaned softly, gripping his shoulders as he stretched her and filled her completely. "God, Damon," she cursed, burying her face in his neck.

"Not quite, but close enough," he panted softly, trying to adjust to the feeling of suddenly being thrust into her tight, wet heat. They were incredibly close together; intimately intertwined.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, pushing him in even further, her breasts crushed to his chest. She ultimately had most of the control since she was on top, and once she decided that they were suitably adjusted, she began to slowly move up and down on him.

Damon's mouth fell open as he gripped her hips and helped her to push down on him, thrusting his own hips up to meet hers. His body was on fire, incredible heat coursing through every vein, igniting his flesh. He could feel sweat trickling down his body as they moved with one another, entangled and pressed as close to each other as possible. "Katherine," he murmured hotly against her neck, feeling the tell-tale tightness in the muscles of his stomach.

Katherine simply whimpered in return, as their position struck her sweet spot over and over again. She began to move faster, using his shoulders as leverage. "Damon, I'm so close. Please." She didn't care that she was begging; all she cared about was that she was begging it from him and that he was perfectly capable of delivering.

Damon removed one of his hands from her waist and thrust it between their bodies, frantically rubbing her as she damn-near possessed his body. He felt his thighs stiffen and a small whimper escaped his dry lips. He nuzzled his head in her neck, breathing heavily. His thrusts began more erratic as he drove into her and she slammed down on him.

"Are you close?" Katherine whispered into his ear, groaning as the friction from their sweat-slicked bodies drove her closer to the edge.

"Y-Yes," he stuttered, fearing that his capability for all coherent thought would soon be lost.

Katherine squeezed her muscles around him. "I want you to come with me," she said breathlessly, biting his ear lightly. She felt her own muscles tightly and suddenly, the pressure became too much to bare. She cried out his name, tightening her legs around his waist as her body began to spasm against his.

The tenseness in Damon's own body finally sprung loose when he felt her walls contract around him - deep pleasure crashed over him, sending him to whole other plane. His muscles twitched and contracted as he spilled his seed deeply into her; he clung to her tightly, and whispered her name over and over again, almost like a chant. His hands were shaking as he brought them up to touch her face and smooth away her hair. "Bite," he whispered, pushing her face towards his neck.

Katherine shook her head, her body still moving against his as the last waves of her orgasm hit her. "No," she whispered back. "You don't trust me."

"Then show me that I can trust you," he said fiercely.

Katherine groaned softly and lowered her mouth to his neck, placing a few warm kisses on the area before letting her fangs sink deeply into his skin. She began to draw out his blood, relishing in its warm sweetness. Becoming a vampire hadn't changed the taste of his blood at all; as a matter of fact, it had only heightened it.

Damon hadn't been bitten like that in a long time, so he gasped slightly when a wave of pain shot through his body. He stiffened, his hands going down to grip her waist tightly.

"Relax, sweetheart; relax and it doesn't hurt," Katherine murmured, bringing one hand up to soothe away a lock of his hair. She felt his body loosen and smiled when he made a small sound of pleasure. She carefully removed her fangs from his neck and licked up the little bit of blood that had spilled out. She moved her lips to his, kissing him chastely, before disentangling herself from his body, hissing slightly at the loss of him inside her.

Damon's mind whirled as he touched a hand to the bite marks on his neck. Even when he had had sex with other vampires, he rarely let them bite him. He had let Katherine, though, and she had bitten gently, taking very little – proving that she had control and that he could possibly trust her.

Katherine moved behind Damon and placed her hands on his shoulders. She began to gently massage his tense muscles, urging him to relax against her. She placed a soft kiss on the back of his neck and murmured, "That was wonderful."

He grunted softly as her hands kneaded a particularly sore spot. This was another thing that she used to do for him in 1864 – usually after his father beat him. He sighed softly and leaned into her touch a little more.

"Damon, I don't expect you to trust me or open up to me anytime soon – but I wanted to lay the foundation for it." Katherine moved her hands further down his back, resting her head on his shoulder. "I love you. You should know that, even if you don't or can't return the sentiments."

He reached around to stop her hand and then turned around and hesitantly drew her in close, as he gently lowered them both onto the bed. He pulled her to his chest, leaving only an inch or so of space so he that he could gaze at her. "If you can stay the entire night," he said softly, "then we'll see if we can make a new start." His feelings were a jumbled mess right now. He knew that he loved Elena like he had no other – but what he had just experienced with Katherine had reawakened many things that he had thought were long dead and gone.

Katherine reached down and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. "Okay," she murmured, leaning into kiss his lips gently. "But just know that we have an eternity to make up for what we've lost."

Fin