Damon's POV
The moment Elena spoke, I could feel the fire build in my chest. She was telling me about the messages. About the images. My eyes narrowed, and my hands tightened at my sides, fists trembling with the force of what I was holding back. The fool who sent those had no idea what they were playing with.
Her eyes were wide, filled with confusion, and the tiniest sliver of fear. But her defiance was still there, bubbling under the surface, and I found that strangely intoxicating. That little spark in her, the fight that refused to be extinguished, even as the world closed in around her. It made me want to break her down. But not in the way she feared. No, I had a different game in mind. A longer game.
She trusted me, I could feel it. But there was still doubt. She didn't understand, not fully. Not yet. And I couldn't blame her for that. Not when I had allowed myself to slip so far from the man she thought she knew.
