The Vampire Diaries: Sexiest Moments from Season 3 So Far 

Although we’ve been deprived of new TVD episodes for a whole month now, we’ve been finding ways to amuse ourselves on Thursdays. We thought it would be fun to count down some of the sexiest moments from The Vampire Diaries so far this season. With such a ridiculously attractive cast, we knew it wouldn’t be hard to find some sexy moments. In fact, we found so many we had to cut our list way down. Here are some highlights according to us.

15. Episode 2 “The End of the Affair”

Klaus compels Stefan to remember their shared past

One of our favorite twists of Season 3 is that Stefan and Klaus were once close enough to be brothers. And in “The End of the Affair,” we get to see their sexiness in two eras: We see them in the present day when Klaus walks over to Stefan, puts his hand on his shoulder and compels him to remember their past in Chicago (way) back in the day. And we get to see the hotness back in the 20s when they were dressed up in tuxes and putting their arms around each other taking pictures together. This is one utterly sexy bromance.

14. Episode 7 “Ghost World”

Ric and Damon make up

But when it comes to sexy bromances, this one’s our absolute favorite. When Ric and Damon had that falling out after Damon killed him, it was very hard on us. Ric has been a true friend to Damon and it was hard on us (and probably also on Damon) when Ric couldn’t and wouldn’t be there for him anymore. We love that it takes the ghost of Mason Lockwood to bring these two back together. Even though Damon uses the exact same “apology” on Ric that he used on Mason, Damon actually means it with Ric. Ian Somerhalder and Matt Davis look so damn cute in this make-up scene, it had to make our list.

13. Episode 5 “The Reckoning”

Bonnie scolds Matt for his irresponsible behavior then he sees Vicki for real

Sometimes we forget that Matt and Bonnie are friends because they’re not in a lot of scenes together. In this episode, we love their dynamic. After Bonnie’s done scolding him for being irresponsible Matt is able to see Vicki for the first time since she died. Matt can’t depend on a lot of people in his life, but he could depend on Vicki. He’s missed her and lately, he hasn’t really had anyone be there for him. So when he sees his sister, we see a genuine smile from him – something we haven’t seen in a while. He’s so adorable when he smiles. We hope he smiles a lot more in the second half of the season.

12. Episode 2 “The Hybrid”

Tyler frees Caroline from the torture chair

We shared Caroline’s excitement at seeing her father, but that happiness was extremely short-lived when we realized why Bill Forbes was back in town. Mayor Lockwood brought him into town but Sheriff Forbes was determined to drive him out. Unfortunately, he did some serious damage to his daughter before he was discovered. Tyler had been so worried about Caroline after she snuck out of his bedroom after they were together for the first time. So when he puts Caroline’s daylight ring back on and gingerly picks her up from that chair, it’s hard not to feel that tenderness. He’s protecting her and taking her to safety and we love that Tyler’s doing this for her. It’s clear to see how much these two care for each other. So hot.

11. Episode 9 “Homecoming”

Stefan calls Klaus after he takes his family

One of the surprises of Season 3 is how beautifully badass Ripper Stefan turned out to be. He was sexy, sarcastic, and completely mesmerizing. But it was after Klaus gave him his freedom that Stefan may have reached a whole new level of hotness. In “Homecoming,” he finally turned the tables on Klaus. The Hybrid thought he had everything handled. Then Stefan called him and let him know that his one step ahead days were over — he has his family. Klaus was pretty smoldering when he threatened to kill his former friend as well as everyone he’d ever met. But we think Stefan’s rebellious move against Klaus made him positively off the charts hot.

10. Episode 8 “Ordinary People”

Damon and Elena train

There are several Damon and Elena moments on this list. We couldn’t leave this one off, however, because we totally love the fact Elena had to turn to Damon for help in toughening her up and making her battle ready. It’s a brief moment – and only so much can happen with Ric in the room with them – but when Damon spins Elena around and holds her against him while he’s training her to be the next Buffy? Our temperatures shot through the roof.

9. Episode 1 “The Birthday”

Klaus tries to get a girl to invite him into her home

There’s just something about Klaus that’s so sexy. Yes, he’s a bad boy but he’s also shown some vulnerability this season. He’s not scared of anyone (after killing Papa Original) but afraid of being alone for all eternity. All Joseph Morgan has to do is stand there and he’s sexy. Whether he’s talking in his regular British accent or putting on a charming Southern accent, like he does in the opening scene of “The Birthday,” he’s got us hooked.

8. Episode 2 “The Hybrid”

Damon pushes Elena into the lake

All right, we admit it. We love it when Damon tries to get tough with Elena. She and Alaric are trying to track down Stefan which leads them to the mountains of Tennessee and a pack of werewolves. Yeah, not very smart, right? There, Elena’s talking to Ric when all of a sudden she’s sent flying into the lake. Damon’s behind it, of course. He doesn’t want Elena running into danger which is exactly what she’s doing. The vampire walks right into the water to confront the woman he loves to get her to stop this whole “adventure.” Of course it doesn’t happen. He totally backs down. But both Elena and Damon are looking mighty sexy in the water and they share this moment that’s crackling with chemistry. Our favorite part is when Damon says they have to get out of there before the moon’s full or they may have to “relive that whole death bed kissy thing” that happened in the Season 2 finale. We wouldn’t have minded if that had happened.

7. Episode 5 “The Reckoning”

Damon promises Elena he’ll never leave her again before Stefan crashes their moment

Even though Damon thought he had good reasons to take a break from Mystic Falls, he cares too much about Elena to stay away for long. And she was in some real trouble while he was away. As he calms Elena down and assures her he’s not going anywhere, Stefan takes that moment to interrupt. Damon and Elena react like they’ve been caught doing something wrong and in a way they have. But that moment was so good we can’t help but cheer them on.

6. 3 Episode 5 “The Reckoning”

Damon gets Elena out of the hospital

This is another instance of one of the guys carrying the girl away to safety. We’re suckers for moments like this. In “The Reckoning,” Klaus has figured out that it’s not a good thing to kill the doppelganger. Actually, he needs her blood to help turn werewolves into hybrids. So he has her in some hospital siphoning the blood out of her system. After Damon scares Klaus off with threats of Mikael, he finds Elena in the hospital, picks her up and carries her out of the hospital. Short. Sweet. Sexy. ‘Nuff said.

5. Episode 6 “Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Stefan saves Elena from falling

Stefan’s still holding onto his humanity, even though he’s acting like a dick. This is all part of Elena’s plan to trap Stefan and get him to come to his senses. She’s drunk and navigating the bleachers in a reckless way. She’s sort of teasing and taunting Stefan. And when she falls from the bleachers, Stefan’s there to catch her. And Elena knew he would. Not only does he feel something when he catches Elena but you can see Elena feeling it too. Who knows what it is that makes Stefan react that way, but we loved it.

4. Episode 5 “The Reckoning”

Katherine and Damon kiss in the car

This kiss was sheer hotness. Katherine’s into it, Damon’s briefly into it, and we were seriously into it. Even though we know Damon’s kissing Katherine, a scene like this makes you wonder how Elena and Damon’s first kiss will be. Yes, she already kissed him but she thought he was dying. We’re talking about their first kiss where no one’s life is hanging in the balance. But even hotter than imaging how that kiss will be is when Damon pushes Katherine away. He’s just not interested anymore. He knows who he wants and it’s not Katherine and hasn’t been for a long time now.

3. Episode 1 “The Birthday”

Tyler and Caroline stop fighting their feelings

Caroline and Tyler trying to hide their attraction to each other is not only cute, but it’s hot. Since Caroline shut Tyler down last season, they’ve agreed to be friends. But they’re both horny all the time – it’s not only a vampire thing, but it’s a werewolf thing too. When Caroline sees Tyler with Slutty Sophie, she can no longer hold her jealousy in check and compels her to leave. Tyler’s objections die on his tongue, when Caroline kisses him in the middle of Elena’s party. They’re so hot for each other they have to get a room, and that’s when things really get going. We love that Caroline’s strong enough to throw him across the room and onto the bed. Not only do these two make this relationship exciting (because it’s forbidden), but they make it compelling. So sexy. We have to give serious thanks to both Candice Accola and Michael Trevino for making us care so much about this relationship.

2. Episode 3 ” The End of the Affair”

Stefan finds Elena hiding in the closet

All the things Elena and Stefan can’t say to each other are all over their faces. Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley play this scene so beautifully. Our hearts may have actually ached for them. It’s these quiet moments – there wasn’t any dialogue and that made it even more beautiful – that make us love this couple and this show. When Stefan does speak, we really thought he was about to give Elena up to Klaus. But of course he doesn’t. And that makes this one of our favorite scenes of season 3.

1. Episode 9 “Homecoming”

Elena and Damon almost kiss

We have so much love for this scene, it’s not even funny. In “Homecoming,” the plan to kill Klaus goes horribly awry when Stefan saves him. Elena and Damon are at the mansion and Damon is almost inconsolable and he’s drinking. In a fury, he throws his glass at the fireplace. And he fears they’ve lost Stefan for good. It’s Elena’s turn to comfort Damon. It’s like the reverse of a scene in “The Birthday” where Elena’s the one that was nearly inconsolable. Anyway, she takes Damon’s face into her hands:

“We’ll survive this. We always survive. Trust me.” “We’re never getting Stefan back. You know that. Don’t you?” “Then we’ll let him go. OK? We’ll have to let him go.”

That was such a big admission on Elena’s part. And right there in that moment it’s just Damon and Elena together and it’s such a sweet, sexy scene. Damon was at his most vulnerable and it was up to Elena to be his strength. And then that damn Katherine calls interrupting what should have been a kiss. This was an achingly hot scene, even though ultimately, this passionate moment didn’t lead to anything. Regardless, it tops our list as the sexiest moment of this first part of Season 3. Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev just have this sizzling chemistry you can’t deny. Here’s to more in the second half.

What do you think are the sexiest moments from The Vampire Diaries Season 3?

The Vampire Diaries returns with new episodes on Thursday January 5 at 8/8c on the CW.