There is definitely something so overwhelmingly intimate in the bedroom scene, and that is due, in large part, to the hand holding. At the beginning of the scene, when Elena is trying so desperately to calm Damon, she immediately reaches for his hand, rubbing it, stroking it, trying desperately to soothe him that way. And she doesn't let go of his hand once in that entire scene, not when she shifts down to cuddle him, not when she lifts her head once again. I once read somewhere that there is nothing more intimate than hand holding, because when you hold someone's hand, you're holding their life: all their hard work, all their duties, all their labors, everything they've ever done. People do everything with their hands, and in a way, holding someone's hand means holding their life. I know, that sounds cheesy, but it's kind of true. In some respects, it can be platonic, but in this case... it was something more than that. It was so intimate.