"You're the light, you're the night
You're the color of my blood
You're the cure, you're the pain
You're the only thing I wanna touch"
Love Me Like You Do, Ellie Goulding
PART ONE - INFECTION
(Klaus)
He has quite the menu in front of him tonight, each figure in front of him a delicacy. They dance unwittingly, feverish heat wafting off of their bodies. The hunt is on as he observes each of the dancing women around him. The long and listless centuries had changed mankind, gone were the Victorian days. Why wear four layers of lace and heavy linen when you could wear next to nothing? He admired the women of this day; resilient, confident. There was not a meek woman in the crowd. It made the hunt all the more exciting. Sometimes, he wouldn't even have to use his gift. They would come to him, lust swimming in the air, offering themselves on a silver platter, not an inkling of what he could do to them, save for the pleasure. And that was the ticket; the hunger, the thrill. They all wanted what he could make them feel. And he was always eager to pay their price. The best sex they would ever have for a part of their soul? In their fleeting lives it wasn't a grand price. And besides, he always left them enough to live out the rest of their days.
Klaus hasn't fed in three days. The woman he chose tonight would have to be better than all others. Only the most perfect would do.
The night club is packed wall to wall, scantily clad young ladies and men winding together on the dance floor. He can feel their lust pulsating through the room. He can almost taste it on the tip of his tongue. His presence alone has already amped up the crowd. He has always enjoyed making them feel it, everything he could feel, every ounce of lust dripping from each of these mortals combined into one. He downs the whiskey he'd been nursing for the last half hour, drowning the hungrypit in his stomach with the warm liquor. It stings, as it always does when he goes a few days without feeding.
Klaus scans the crowd again, eyes fixating on a particularly fine specimen. She's dancing alone, but that's not to say that she's not being admired. Men dancing around her with only one thing in their eyes. Not if he could help it. She was going to be leaving with him. He knows immediately as she turns in her dancing, winding in a circle. She is the one.
The woman is blonde and gorgeous and her lightly tanned skin glows under the neon colored strobe-lights. Sweat glistens on her forehead and her dark blue dress cuts her figure in the most perfect way. He licks his lips. She is definitely the one tonight.
He watches her for awhile, checks to see that she's here alone, that she won't be missed when she leaves with him. The more he watches her, the more he wants her. She seems carefree, fun. Her hair whips around her as she spins, and giggling, she bunches it up in a pile on the top of her head, forming quite the adorable up-do. She is young and full of life and her glow is brilliant under the strobe lights. He grows restless, anticipation curling in his belly. He needs her now.
His lady is done dancing now, and she approaches the bar. She asks for a beer and sits down when the bartender slides it over to her. She is quiet, and seemingly unaware of how every man around them keeps stealing glances at her. He has to make his move before someone else does, not that there would ever be any competition, he adds to himself with a smirk.
Klaus gets up from his seat, moves fluidly towards her. "You look beautiful tonight." He says in her ear, leaning down. He runs a finger down the thin strap on her shoulder. She smells sweet; strawberries and sweat.
She jumps in her seat, whipping around. She looks furious as she turns, and she growls, "Not interested, creep." but her eyes widen and her pupils dilate as she takes him in, her frown immediately replaced by a dreamy smile. Sometimes he hated this part, the glassy eyes and instant want. Sometimes he wished he had to work for it. Sometimes he wished it was real, that her dreamy smile was for him, and not the energy he gave off.
"Thank you." She sighs, changing her tune, already enchanted. She stands, her eyes never leaving his. He touches her arm and she instantly comes forward, their chests brushing. Her blue eyes are wild and so very inviting. He could eat her up. He could take her right here.
She is blushing, biting her lip and tilting her head. He's had his fair-share of beautiful women, each as unique as the last, but he can't deny that there is something charming about this one, something different about her. Perhaps he's just as enchanted as she is.
"What's your name?" Klaus asks, pressing his body closer to hers. The contact sends a thrill through him. She's mouthwatering and he needs a taste now. He can't take it another minute.
"Caroline." She whispers. She grows more entranced by the minute. He can make her do anything he wants. Caroline. The name tumbles around his head over and over. A unique one for the time. He likes her even more.
"Will you come with me, Caroline?" Klaus touches her cheek and her eyes snap shut. She turns her face into his hand, breathing a fan of hot air across his palm.
"Where?" She breathes.
He backs her against the wall in the alley behind the club. She's giggling and clinging to him, his presence intoxicating her more than the alcohol she'd consumed. He laughs at her laugh. He's quite enjoying this one.
Caroline's fingers dig into his shoulders as his lips connect with her throat. Most women crumble beneath him with one brush of his lips, but she holds steadfast, head falling backwards against the alley wall. He was right about her strength. He kisses down her throat, wrapping his hands around her waist. She surprises him when she grips his face, yanking it to hers. Their mouths collide with a clink of teeth, and then it's almost too much for him to bear.
"I'm taking you home." Klaus growls into her ear and she laughs breathlessly, nodding. Yes. He can tell that she is special, that a quick fuck in the alley to quench his hunger will not do her any justice. He's planning on hours with her, maybe days.
He rips away from her, grabs her hand as she whines in protest. "What's your name?" She asks softly, curiously, touching her lips with the fingers he doesn't have wrapped in his own, and he bets she's never tasted anything like him before. He puts every man to shame.
"Klaus." He answers, carting her towards his car. He opens the door for her, buckles her in. He kisses her again before he shuts the door.
"That's a nice name." Caroline tells him once he climbs into the driver's side. Her smile shines bright and he presses hard on the gas. No time to waste.
He drives them to a hotel where he keeps a permanent suite for his lovers.
She grabs his hand excitedly as he opens her door, drags him to the stairs. He smacks her ass as she runs up the steps and she glares back at him, playful edge in the smirk she gives him. He moves up the stairs past her, leading the way. Her heels click behind him.
Her lust sets a fire in him, he can only imagine what his does to her. It feels like the air around them could implode on them at any second.
She's at his back as he digs in his pockets for his room key, her fingers dancing at his belt-buckle, lips at his neck. He can smell the alcohol on her breath, and a little guilty, he remembers that she was probably slightly intoxicated. Usually he would stay away if the woman of his choosing had drank too much. His gifts hindered their thinking enough without alcohol added to the mix, but the second he'd seen Caroline, he had to have her. It was too late now, he wouldn't be able to turn her away if he wanted to. He needed her.
He gets the door open, pulls her inside. She kicks off her shoes, pulls her hair down from the messy bun she'd been sporting as she'd danced. Her hair curls around her shoulders, and she's even more angelic than before. How that was possible, he didn't know.
Klaus makes quick work of her clothes, unzipping her dress. He swallows when the zipper slides past where her bra strap should be, only to reveal creamy and soft bare skin, a tempting valley calling his name. He hopes she's gone commando as well.
Caroline shimmies out of her dress, the blue garment pooling around her bright pink toes. She turns around, in nothing but her sheer white lace panties. She is perfect and he tells her so, grinning when she flushes from her cheeks to her toes. How irresistible.
He shoves her backwards onto the bed, shrugging out of his leather jacket. She scoots back, lying on the pillow, blonde curls spilling around her. He can't wait any longer. He strips himself to nothing, climbs onto the bed after her. He can feel the heat cooling in her belly as he advances on her.
Klaus rips her panties from her body, smiling when she gasps in surprise, her eyes widening in excitement. He tosses them away and she laughs loudly when they land haphazardly on the lampshade. He can't help but laugh at her laugh once again, how contagious it was. He braces his hands on her knees, spreading her legs.
Her teeth dig into her lower lip and her eyes are hooded slits as she looks up at him. She whines when he draws the tip of his finger between the valley of her breasts to her belly button. "Come on." she urges, lifting her hips off of the bed. He chuckles under his breath, grips her hips in his hands. Her desire seeps into him, makes him hungrier as he looks at her. He blows out a heavy breath, she could quite possibly be the death of him. And who would complain, honestly?
"How do you want it?" Klaus asks in a teasing tone as she growls, trying to work her body closer to his. He holds her hips down with one hand, the other hand closing over her breast. He pinches her nipple and she gasps. "You like it rough, don't you, Caroline?" He realizes, unable to keep his grin at bay. His cock twitches at the thought. Of course she does. An angel like this wouldn't want romance and love letters. She wanted action and friction.
She whimpers in answer, sensing the change in him. He can feel her desperation. With a swift thrust, he is all the way inside of her. She gasps, her walls fluttering and stretching. She gives a contented sigh a moment later as she relaxes around him, her hands coming around to rest on his lower back.
He starts slow, wanting to enjoy the feel of her body. Her legs wrap around him, and he can feel the sharp bone of her pelvis grinding into his. He grabs onto a chunk of her hair, yanking her head back. She gasps his name, breathless, and he can't hold himself back any longer. He digs his teeth into her throat, sucking her pulse point as he slides in and out of her. He can feel her pulse flying a mile a minute under his tongue. Her skin is slick with sweat and he can't remember a time he'd tasted anything sweeter.
Caroline's nails latch onto his back, raking all the way down. He growls against her neck, slams into her hard. Again and again. He can feel her tightening around him, can hear her breath coming in short little gasps. She's clutching at his hair now, digging her heels into his ass, urging him on. She's close. He can feel it brewing inside of her.
He sits back on his knees, bringing her with him. He lifts her up and down, dropping her down onto him hard. She's panting, fingers grappling at his shoulders. "Oh," she moans in his ear, "I'm gonna-oh my god." She nips the shell of his ear with her teeth and it sends him tipping right over the edge, his nails digging into the flesh on her hips.
She cums hard around him, and he grips her face with one hand, turning her agape mouth towards his. Her long nails rake down his back and he groans into her neck. She is too good. One of the best lovers he's had in a long time. He knows that his normally sea blue eyes have turned black as night, and her eyes widen as she notices. It's the first time she has been afraid since they'd met an hour before. He kisses her, sucks everything out of her. She whimpers and grows limp in his arms. He feels a little guilty seeing her fear, and pleads for her to understand he means her no harm with his eyes. He will take nothing from her but this.
Her life force leaves her, the blue stream of her energy seeping from her mouth and into his. He drains her as her orgasm winds down, and she grows limp on top of him. He is careful not to take too much from her.
"Wha-" Caroline tries to speak, but he presses a finger to her lips. He gently lays her back down on the pillows. He falls beside her, breathing heavily. She stares at him, whispers, "What was that?" her voice cracking.
"Nevermind that, darling." He says assuredly, patting her naked thigh. She has completely satisfied him. He feels full. He feels good. Like he could do anything.
Caroline looks like she wants to say something else, but he rolls on top of her, hooks his arms under her thighs. "Let me take care of you." He murmurs, fitting snug between her thighs. She nods, eyes glazing over. It never takes much convincing.
Much, much later Klaus lifts his head from between her legs, looks up at her as he licks the taste of her from his lips. She's biting her lip and gripping the sheets but her eyelids are growing heavy. He kisses the inside of her thigh before he reluctantly pulls his body away from hers. He'd been amped up from the feed and had temporarily forgotten that she couldn't go for hours and hours and hours like he could.
Caroline complains unintelligibly as he pulls away, her hand flying out to him. He catches it, kisses it quick, tucks it beside her.
"Shhh. You need to rest now." Klaus murmurs softly. She nods. "Sleep." He says gently. She falls asleep at his command, and he pulls the sheets up over her naked body. She snores lightly as he tucks the sheets around her body, smoothing her hair away from her sweaty forehead.
Klaus dresses quickly, keen to leave before she wakes up. She wouldn't remember a thing other than the fact that she had left the club with a stranger. She would go on with her life, never remembering the best sex she'd ever have. He pauses at the door, looks back at her once more.
Not for the first time, he wishes that he could stay. He takes woman after woman after woman for no reason other than he has to feed. He has never been in love, will never be in love. If he stayed here with her for one more second he would never go.
She, like all the other women he'd bedded, deserved a man that was theirs and only theirs. That cared for more than lust.
Caroline mumbles something in her sleep and he tries to stop the smile from breaking across his face. She was a curious thing. He could stay, he could get to know her more. He was sure she was as beautiful inside as she was outside. But that life wasn't for him. It could never be for him.
He has already wandered the world alone for five hundred years, and he would be alone for five hundred more. He would never be monogamous, he could never be a good man for her, he could never be a good man for any woman.
With a pained sigh, he forces himself to shut the door and walk away from her.
As an Incubus he craved sexual pleasure; he craved giving it, craved getting it. As a man he craved company, someone to stay after the sex, after the pleasure. It seemed a far away notion, one that would never be within his reach.
He drives away from the hotel, towards his loft in the heart of the city.
Once inside his apartment, he jumps into the shower. He washes Caroline away, his head filled with her all the while. How she had clenched around him. How she had giggled in his ear. That's a nice name.
He's rubbing shampoo into his hair when his back starts to sting. He clenches his jaw against the pain, finishes rinsing his hair. He opens the shower curtain, wraps a towel around his waist. Looking back over his shoulder in the mirror, he spies six long scratches going down either side of his back, dried blood at the edges. He feels her nails raking down his back as if she was there with him.
And then, his ears start to ring. He's back in the hotel, overlooking Caroline as she sleeps. She stretches in her sleep, arms raised above her head. The sheet slips down her body, pooling at her waist. She sighs, mumbling something under her breath. He tears his eyes away from her fantastic figure, listens intently as she mumbles again.
She's saying his name. He doesn't know why he suddenly feels so elated. Like he never wants to leave her side again. Like she's everything-
Horror curls in his stomach as he realizes exactly what's going on, a sickening feeling as Caroline disappears, replaced by his steamy bathroom. He can already feel the changes; her in his head, everywhere. Now he understands why he hadn't wanted to leave her, why he'd spent the last hour thinking about love of all the damn things.
Crestfallen, he hangs his head. How could he have let this happen? Things were going to get very messy indeed when Caroline woke up.
This would only end one way.