She hadn't thought anything of it when Katherine texted her that they needed to rehearse their duet. Apparently they would be rehearsing with their pianist today, so Caroline made a point of checking into one of the student practice rooms early to warm up her voice.
The performing arts building was deserted, probably due to the fact that Katherine had scheduled their rehearsal for 9am on a Saturday. Caroline hated singing in the morning, it certainly didn't do her singing voice any favors, but sometimes it couldn't be helped, seeing as how it could be extremely difficult to actually grab a free practice room during normal school-day hours.
She had just started climbing the stairs to the second floor when her phone vibrated, abruptly breaking the silence.
Just got a flat tire on my way to campus. Don't think I'll be able to make it in time. Can you just rehearse with him by yourself? Might as well help him out with the tempo markings and all. Sorry L
Caroline groaned inwardly. Typical Katherine—bailing at the last second.
Oh well. She could just rehearse with the accompanist anyways. Besides, she needed to work out the kinks of that one tricky passage—and Lord knew that high B-flat towards the end of the piece needed a little work.
Reaching the second floor, she paused for a moment. The light, tinkling strains of a piano floated down toward her, alerting her to the presence of the pianist.
Katherine had neglected to tell her which pianist they had—she hoped it was Dr. Saltzmann, he played so wonderfully—and by the looks of it, whoever it was had settled in the room farthest from the stairs.
She hesitated for half a second, glancing at the time displayed on her phone. She had five minutes to spare, and although she had wanted to warm up by herself (yes, just because she was a vocal performance major didn't mean she liked people listening to her rehearse) she found herself walking down the hallway and knocking on the door before she realized it.
The music instantly stopped. She heard the shuffling sounds of someone moving around, and suddenly the door burst open.
She flashed a smile and opened her mouth to speak, but stopped short.
The man in front of her was, to put it mildly, gorgeous—deep blue eyes, a tousled mop of tarnished-golden hair, and luscious lips stretched into a dimpled smirk made up the face of one of the most attractive men she had ever seen. The tightly-fitting Henley and dark jeans sitting snugly on his hips betrayed a toned, muscular body underneath.
He was most definitely not Dr. Saltzmann.
"Good morning, love. You must be Caroline." The man smiled at her.
Oh god—a British accent? She was so not prepared for this when she rolled out of bed this morning.
"Yes, that's me," she managed to recover her brain functioning. She tossed her head slightly, throwing her curls over her shoulder as she offered her hand out. "And you are…?"
"Niklaus Mikaelson, recently hired piano professor. Also currently working on a Masters in composition and a doctorate in piano performance." He shook her hand. Caroline nearly jumped at the contact. His large, rather rough hands were surprisingly gentle, and she felt the faintest flickerings of desire shoot through her. She glanced up at him. His easy smile had lessened somewhat, an altogether more intense look gracing his features. Their gazes held for a moment, before Caroline finally broke it, dropping her eyes to their joined hands.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," she replied sincerely, thanking her lucky stars she had bothered to put on make-up and curl her hair this morning.
"Likewise." He dropped her hand and sat back down on the bench.
Wanting to avoid an awkward silence, Caroline forced herself to speak.
"This might sound like a dumb question, but if you're a performance emphasis, why are you acting as an accompanist? Aren't piano performance and accompaniment separate tracks?" she inquired curiously.
He laughed. "You're quite right, but I've always loved playing alongside fellow musicians, and besides, having extra experience accompanying won't hurt my resume. So I asked Dr. Salvatore if I could be put on the list of piano accompanists, and here I am."
"Oh. That's great." She shifted her feet, uncertain as to what to do next. Rehearsing with a hot British professor whom she had just met, alone, was unnerving her to say the least. She made a quick mental note to strangle Katherine when she next saw her.
"So, are you ready to begin?"
"Oh, yes, of course," she said hurriedly, rummaging through her purse to grab her music before setting it down on the floor and grabbing a music stand. She and Katherine had been working on this duet for a few weeks now for their opera workshop class, so she had it practically memorized, but having the music out was a crutch she most definitely needed for this situation. "I'm sorry to say that it'll just be you and me today—my friend Katherine is stuck with a flat tire so she can't make it."
"It's no trouble at all, sweetheart. Let's just make the best of what time we have."
She shivered slightly at his little tears of endearment and the slight double entendre of his words. Damn it, Forbes, get your undergraduate mind out of the gutter! He is a professor! Off limits to civilians!
"So…it looks like you have the music, correct?"
"Yes, Katherine emailed it to me a few days ago. So you're doing Sull'aria...che soave zeffiretto from Le nozze di Figaro?"
If she thought his accent was sexy before, hearing him pronounce Italian with it sent goosebumps up her arms. The words sounded incredibly seductive rolling off of his tongue, immediately drawing her eyes to his full lips.
"Yes. Our class is putting together a few scenes from a few of Mozart's operas for our end-of-the-semester performance," she explained, masking her current inner turmoil by shuffling the pages of her music. "I'm singing the part of Susanna, and Katherine is playing the Countess."
"It's a wonderful piece. Particularly how Susanna echoes the Countess's words. One of my favorites out of the entire Mozart repertoire," he commented casually. He cleared his throat, glancing over at her. "Now, I presume you haven't warmed up yet?"
She shook her head. "No, although I'm definitely gonna need to if I want any chance of squeaking out that high B-flat," she joked, trying desperately to lighten the mood and suppress the dirty little thoughts that were slowly seeping into her mind. The practice rooms were extremely small, just big enough to hold an upright piano and have a little extra space to stand, as well as the table-like shelf for belongings that adjoined the far wall. She could just imagine sitting on the shelf like she'd done so many times before—only this time with her legs wrapped around his waist, burying her fingers into his curly hair while he kissed her neck—
"Caroline?"
Shit. Wake the fuck up, Caroline! "Sorry—my brain is still asleep-could you repeat that, Mr. Mikaelson?"
A small, amused smile played about his lips, his eyes roaming over her body. "I said I can warm you up if you'd like—and please, call me Klaus."
His innocent phrasing sent a wave of heat through her. She blushed, but determinedly returned his gaze. "That would be great…Klaus," she answered. She wondered briefly if they had crossed a line of some sort by using his first name, but she brushed that thought away as he played a scale, signaling the start of her warm-up. She didn't know why, but she was suddenly very nervous about him hearing her sing. Not that she didn't think she was good—she was one of the best vocalists in the music department, thank you very much—but she had the strangest need to impress this man.
He led her through some vocal exercises, every once in a while glancing up at her, those dimples making yet another appearance. As she sang, she grew more comfortable, filling the small space with her mellifluous tones. After a few minutes, he stopped, turning his head fully to look at her.
"You have a stunning voice, love. I could listen to you all day," he said softly, peeking up at her through his eyelashes, his expression focused and intent.
Satisfaction and bashfulness flooded into her at his compliments, flustering her. "Thank you," she murmured, absently tucking a curl behind her ear, not sure of what else to say.
After a beat, he abruptly turned back to the piano. "Well, if you're ready to go, let's begin, shall we?"
She nodded her assent, automatically straightening up into proper singing posture. The beginning would sound awkward without Katherine there to sing the first line, but it wasn't a big deal. Besides, it would force her to actually pay attention and count this time. Klaus's nimble fingers caressed the piano keys, the first notes of the duet washing over her as he played the introduction.
The thought occurred to her that she could just sing Katherine's part until her entrance, and was about to put that idea into action when a low baritone hummed out the Countess's opening line in perfect Italian.
Caught off guard, she nearly missed her own entrance, echoing the words back to him in her clear soprano voice. Alright, so he probably sang Katherine's first line to give her her cue. Quite considerate of him.
But she did not expect him to continue on, his low voice ringing out as he played the piano accompaniment perfectly.
Caroline just decided to go with it.
"Che soave zeffiretto
Questa sera spirerà
Sotto i pini del boschetto.
Ei già il resto capirà.
Certo, certo il capirà."
They sang the entire piece, growing louder when they came together in harmony, backing off ever so slightly when one of them took over the melody. She couldn't believe how natural this felt—making music with him. She allowed her artistic side to take over, singing with more passion and intensity as they both sang the climactic high notes, their voices coming together in perfectly-tuned vibratos, the tone filling the room and sending an aching clench through her soul. It was one of those moments she sometimes had as a musician, where she recognized the beauty and order and truth in the organized notes and rhythms and words, and made her remember why she chose to purse music in the first place.
The last notes on the piano faded away into nothing, leaving behind a tense silence.
She opened her eyes, realizing just then that she had inadvertently closed them at some point while singing, to see a pair of blue eyes blazing into her own, shining with admiration and a glint of…was that lust?
She pulled out of the trance first, humming softly. "Well, that was…something."
"Yes, it most certainly was," he agreed.
"Your voice is amazing," she admitted. "I didn't know you could sing."
Klaus chuckled, ducking his head. "It's a hidden talent of mine. I usually stick to the ivories…but I made an exception for you," he lifted his head back up, that blazing look back on his face that was making her knees weak. "After hearing your exquisitely lovely voice I wanted to hear how our voices would blend together—a very successful experiment, if I do say so myself."
Suddenly, she felt her right hand encased in both of hers. Startled, she watched mutely as he tugged her hands up towards his full lips, where he planted a kiss on the back of each of her hands.
She breathed in sharply, her wide eyes transfixed on him, willing her erratic heartbeat to slow down.
Before she knew it the warmth of his skin on hers was gone, replaced by the rather stuffy air of the practice room. His face had relaxed back into a satisfied smirk.
She elected to ignore him, avoiding his stare and flipping through her music. "I think we blended very well—especially at that last section, you know, the 'certo il capira' part, although I think I may have gone a little flat coming down from the B-flat, and we definitely could have slowed the tempo down more too—"
"Calm down, love, you're starting to ramble," he teased. "You seem a little flustered."
Caroline snorted. "I'm not flustered, I'm just thinking of all ways to improve the sound. Isn't that the point of a rehearsal anyways?" she challenged, turning her back on him and kneeling down on the floor, hunting down her water bottle that was in her purse she had tossed in the corner.
When she stood back up, however, he was no longer sitting on the bench, but standing right in front of her. He was so close, she could make out the stubble that graced his face. The scruff made him even more attractive, if that was possible. Her mind was getting fuzzier by the second.
"Hmmm, you're right. How stupid of me to forget," he hummed in that accent, stepping towards her. "Now that you mention it, there are few things I've thought of to improve our performance."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "And they are?"
He smiled at her, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Well, for starters, our acting could use a little tweaking. Our characters are scheming together, are they not?" He stepped forward again, almost backing her into the door. "We should probably get a bit closer. Put our heads together, so to speak."
His chest was barely brushing hers, and Caroline wildly thought about how it would feel to run her hands over his muscular arms and torso. Her mind screamed at her to stop, to back away from him, but her body just would not move. It was as if she were frozen, under his spell.
"Secondly, I believe we could put forth a little more passion and energy into our lower notes," he breathed, and she gasped as his hips met hers, her back now fully pressed into the door, a delicious friction radiating from where he had nestled between her legs. The lacy cream-colored skirt she had worn today rode up almost past her thighs, and she felt his hands settled on her hips, sending sparks of desire shooting through her. She swallowed thickly, simply unable to form a coherent sentence.
"Finally," he murmured, lowering his head so his lips were almost brushing hers, "I think we could practice keeping our harmonies in perfect rhythm and take the tempo a bit slower. What do you think, Caroline?"
For an instant, Caroline had a moment of clarity. She saw two clear choices and their consequences: leave now with a clear conscience, or have a taste of what Klaus was offering her and risk both of their reputations and careers.
But that one moment of clarity disappeared as quickly as it had come, and she knew that she had never really had a choice in the first place.
She lifted her head in challenge, moving past his cheek to brush her lips against his ear.
"I think we could risk taking the tempo a bit faster," she taunted, throwing her arms around his neck and putting her lips on his.
His lips were soft and sweet against hers as she kissed him, tilting her head to the side to bring herself even closer to his body. He reciprocated her fervent movements, a low growl rumbling in his chest as their kisses grew more intense. She couldn't resist sucking down on his lower lip, reveling in both the taste and his answering moan.
All at once, he roughly grabbed the back of her thighs, lifting her up against the door, which rattled at the impact. Instinctively, she wrapped her long legs around him, rubbing her hips against his as she clung to him like a vise. He pushed her back firmly against the door, his lips moving to place hot kisses on her neck and on her collarbone. She whimpered at the heady feeling, running her hands over his broad shoulders and upper back in response. His body felt every bit as glorious as it looked, and there was nothing more on this earth that she wanted more than to explore every inch of it.
Klaus must have been thinking in a similar vein, because at that moment he turned around, still holding her in his arms as he navigated them to the shelf on the back wall. He set her down gently, still pressed up against her, but as he moved his lips back to hers for a heated kiss he pulled insistently on the hem of her navy shirt. She moved back and threw her arms up so he could take the offending article of clothing off. He had just placed his hands on her bare waist when she pushed him back slightly, returning the favor and ripping his Henley off in the blink of an eye. He hummed in appreciation, and they paused, each drinking the other in, before Klaus leaned in slowly, seductively, allowing Caroline's nerves to reach a breaking point before he touched her shoulders softly, calloused fingers easing the straps of her lacy pale green bra to the side. She held her breath as he placed an open-mouthed kiss on her now-bare shoulder, moving to do the same with the other, sending pleasant shudders down her spine.
"You're beautiful, Caroline," he sighed against her skin, before lifting his head back to kiss her once more. His arms encircled her, pulling her up against him, his bare skin lighting fire to her own, her head pounding with pure desire.
She broke the kiss, wanting to return the favor and worship his body with her lips. She tugged on his necklaces, trailing kisses under his jaw and on the tattoo on the side of his chest, her tongue darting out to trace it. She hummed in satisfaction as he trembled in her arms, an occasional groan escaping his lips as he traced patterns on her back with his fingers. It was only when his fingers began playing with the claps of her bra that she ceased her ministrations, looking back up at him. He eyed her intently, a question reflecting in his dark blue eyes.
Flushed and breathless, Caroline nodded in answer, tightening her legs around his waist in encouragement.
He hissed quietly at that, unfastening her bra and dragging it down her arms, tossing it unceremoniously on the shelf next to them. Caroline instinctively crossed her arms to cover herself, but Klaus shook his head at her, unfolding her arms and placing them gently to her side.
"Don't hide from me," he said softly, a hint of a plea in his tone, eyes fixed on hers before they gradually dropped lower, settling on her heaving breasts, before they travelled back up to her face. "Exquisite," he murmured, a dimpled smirk gracing his face.
She could bear it no more—she needed him to touch her, now.
"Klaus…please…" she whispered, placing her hands on his, which were hanging loosely by his side.
"Yes, love?" His smirk widened, arousing her even more. She resisted the urge to throw herself at him.
"Touch me. I need to feel you," she begged, squeezing his hands between hers.
"As you wish, sweetheart," he nodded, moving his hands to her breasts.
She cried out at the feeling, but her cry was muffled by his lips, which silenced her moans of pleasure. He brushed his thumbs lightly over her nipples as her caressed her soft flesh.
She was on fire, ablaze with the heady sensations he was creating within her.
His lips finally settled on her collarbone once more, and he had just kissed the tops of her breasts when she heard a loud vibration coming from her phone on top of the piano. She groaned in frustration, starting to push Klaus away.
He pushed her right back.
"Ignore it, love," he breathed, pinching one of her nipples between his thumb and forefinger.
Caroline let out a breathy moan at the sensation, falling back into her lust-filled haze, when her phone vibrated again.
She managed to escape him this time, cursing the interruption. She picked up her phone, shivering as he came up behind her, his arms wrapping around her and his hands picking up where they had left off, kneading her breasts. She moaned, leaning back into him, and by sheer force of will unlocked her phone, looking at her inbox.
She squeaked in alarm, throwing Klaus's arms off of her and scrambling for her discarded bra and shirt.
"What's the matter, love?"
"Katherine Pierce is the matter, that's what!" she nearly screamed, throwing his own shirt at his head and hurriedly fixing her bra back into place. "Apparently she found a ride to campus and almost at the building!"
He sighed in frustration, pulling his shirt back on, watching with amusement as she muttered angrily to herself, dressing quickly and running her hands through her hair in an attempt to tame her blonde curls.
"Oh god, what was I thinking? Stupid, stupid, stupid, Forbes!" she berated herself, smacking her forehead.
"Caroline."
Klaus's voice stopped her. She looked over at him, a frown creasing her brow.
He placed a hand under her chin, forcing her to look at him. "I want you to know that I have absolutely no regrets." He traced her cheek with his finger. "You're the very last thing I was expecting to walk through that door this morning—talented, beautiful, strong…so full of life and passion. I quite fancy you, truth be told." He brushed back one of her stray curls, lowering his voice and fixing her with a serious expression. "Now the question is, do you have any regrets?"
She knew what he was doing. He was offering her an out, one last chance to come out of this unscathed. But she also knew that he didn't want her to take that chance. He wanted her to choose him—to take a chance on him, in spite of the obstacles.
And maybe, it could just be the chance of a lifetime.
The sound of heels clicking outside in the hallway spurred her into action.
Smiling brightly, she pressed her lips to his in a chaste kiss.
"My only regret is that we didn't finish what we started."
Grinning at his shocked but pleased face, she turned away from him just in time to catch the opening door.
"Sorry I'm late! Stupid tire—anyways, how have you guys been doing?" Katherine sounded apologetic as she entered the room.
Caroline exchanged glances with Klaus, who smirked. "Oh, I'd say we made great progress. What do you think, Caroline?"
"Yeah, we definitely didn't waste any time," Caroline smiled, a sense of excitement and relief flooding through her being.
Let the chips fall where they may, but for once in her life she was certain she had made the right choice.
I don't even know what this is, but I needed more classical musician AUs so I wrote one! Leave me a review and please don't judge me too harshly as this was my first time writing something remotely resembling smut