"It's raining," Caroline said, her first words of the morning, the sound groggy and muffled against his chest.
The loud, erratic pounding of the rain on the roof and the whistling of the wind through the trees outside the window filled their ears. The dim room was made even darker by the gray skies. Stefan's laughter rumbled in his chest against her ear.
"Very observant, Caroline," he said, running his fingertips along her arm and leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake.
"Shut up," she said, lifting up and smiling at him, raking her eyes across his face. She was pretty sure she'd never get used to waking up next to him. It seemed so indulgent. He stroked her sleep-mussed hair with his hand and apologized with a kiss.
Caroline smiled and cuddled into his side again, tangling her legs up with his. He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her tightly against him, sighing contentedly. She would never have pegged him for such a cuddler, but every new thing she was learning about him only made her fall more and more in love with him.
"What's the plan for today?" Stefan asked, his breath blowing her hair on top of her head. She smiled. He asked that every morning, knowing how much she loved to lay out the plan of the day before getting up. She was constantly amazed at how easy he made it to just be herself. Today, however, she wasn't feeling very productive.
"Well," she began, still speaking against his chest, her fingers now tracing a tickling path up and down his side, "I'm supposed to go to this group project lunch meeting thing," she paused to look at the clock, "In about an hour."
"Hmmm," Stefan hummed against her hair, "Sounds important. You better get going." She could hear the smile in his voice.
"Yeah," she said, flattening her palm against his side and rubbing with a little more pressure, "You're probably right." She didn't move.
"Rainstorms are so romantic," Caroline said, slipping her hand up under his t-shirt and dragging her hands across his skin from his chest to the top of his flannel pajama pants. She smiled in satisfaction as she noticed the slight increase in the thump of his heart beneath her ear.
"Romantic, you say?" Stefan replied, moving his hand from her arm to her hip and giving the bare skin between her tank top and her shorts a gentle squeeze. She felt the familiar heat of desire growing low in her belly as he dipped his thumb just barely into the waistband of her shorts.
"So romantic," she said again, sliding her palm up his stomach to his chest beneath his shirt. She had spent so long feeling like he was off-limits, but now she barely remembered what it was like not to be able to touch him whenever she wanted. His hand tightened on her hips, pulling her on top of him to straddle his hips.
He sat up in a flash to face her, arms circling her waist and eyes quickly changing from calm to stormy, matching the weather outside. Her own smile fell into a more heated gaze as she looked at him, soaking up the sight of Stefan Salvatore wanting to devour her whole.
Stefan's lips found her throat and her head fell to the side to allow him access, her mouth opened on a silent moan. How had he found out so quickly what this did to her? It was like he was made for her. His lips, tongue and teeth lavished her throat and neck with kisses and licks and little nips. She was breathless. When his hand slid down her back, over her hips and grabbed her ass, pulling her against his erection, she gasped and grabbed his face, pulling his lips against her own.
She rocked against him as she kissed him, slipping her tongue between his lips and sliding it against his. Caroline lapped up the sound of his moans in her mouth as she ground herself against him. He flipped her over in a flash, pressing himself hard into her as he kissed her lips, her neck, her shoulder as he pulled the strap of her tank top down. She reached for the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head, tossing it across the room.
Stefan groaned as her breasts popped free of her shirt and immediately closed his warm, wet mouth over her nipple and grabbed the other breast with his hand. Caroline gasped and threaded her fingers through his hair as he licked and sucked gently. Her eyes fluttered closed as he kissed down her stomach, stopping to kiss her belly button and look up at her with a smile as she laughed and gently pulled his hair as he tickled her with his nose.
Then it was back to business as he tugged down on her shorts, she lifted her hips, more than happy to assist in this task. He tossed her shorts in the direction of her shirt, which she appreciated, and then gave her pink thong the same treatment. She felt her cheeks flush when she was naked in front of him. He looked her over in appreciation before returning his lips to her skin. He kissed the insides of her thighs, getting slowly and torturously closer to where they both wanted him to be. She willed herself to be patient and enjoy the feeling of his tongue and teeth on the sensitive skin of her thigh.
The rain picked up for a moment, joined by thunder. Caroline smiled, deciding that if she had to paint a picture of the perfect morning, it would be something very similar to this. The sound of the rain pounding the roof, Stefan's lips softly popping against her skin.
Her eyes flew open as Stefan's mouth closed over her clit, his tongue circling slowly. Caroline gripped the sheets as he stroked her over and over with the flat of his tongue, and then gasped as he slid two fingers inside of her and curled them to stroke just the right spot inside of her, tongue still busy all the while. She lost track of time as she gave herself over to the pleasure Stefan was giving her. He was right about one thing, it did feel good to let go of control sometimes. Her stomach and toes began to tingle. She threaded her fingers through his hair and held him gently, right where she wanted him. He gave a few more laps with his tongue, a few more circles, withdrew his fingers only to add another and plunge them back inside and suddenly her eyes squeezed shut and she was spewing her affirmations as she soared, pleasure flooding her body.
She was vaguely aware of herself grabbing at his arms, his shoulders, grasping his shirt and pulling him up to her. She impatiently tugged his shirt over his head, running her eyes and hands simultaneously over his now bare chest and stomach. His heart was pounding beneath her hand and she kissed the skin above it, running a tongue down and around his nipple. He hummed in approval and attacked her neck again as she pushed his pants down his legs with her hands and her feet. Stefan chuckled against her neck at her impatience and she swatted his back playfully.
He lifted to look at her eyes as he positioned himself at her entrance. She could feel the head of him brushing against her folds and another jolt of heat made its way through her belly and limbs. He brushed her messy curls away from her eyes as he kissed her softly and entered her slowly at once. They moaned into each other's mouths as they were flooded with the satisfying relief of their joining. It always felt like the first time with Stefan, she thought, wrapping her arms around his neck and gasping as he pulled out slowly, only to plunge back in harder and deeper. Her lips found his neck, kissing and licking the soft skin there, playfully dragging her teeth across his vein.
Stefan ran a hand down her waist and hips, down her thigh, grabbing one and lifting it to get deeper inside of her. He growled as he buried himself into her and Caroline felt herself coming undone again. She met his thrusts desperately, running her hands along his strong back, gripping his shoulder, holding on, as he began to thrust faster and faster. His mouth back on her neck was going to be her undoing. He alternated between soft kisses, long languid strokes of his tongue and teasing little pricks of his fangs and she heard herself muttering for him to never stop.
She could feel his heart pounding through her own chest, feel his hand squeezing her thigh and knew he was quickly tumbling over the edge as well. She rolled them over in one motion, to his surprise. He adjusted quickly to the new position, watching as her breasts bounced as she rode him. His hands roamed over her chest and stomach, finding a home where their bodies were joined, his thumb brushing against her clit at every thrust. Caroline tossed her head back as she felt herself getting closer and closer. Stefan's other hand held her hip, his fingers digging in softly as he pulled her down onto him over and over.
The heat was bubbling inside of her, that fuzzy feeling spreading throughout her body, Stefan lifted up to wrap his free arm around her, kissing her lips before nudging her head to the side to gain access to her neck again. Caroline smiled to herself, both of them well aware of what her buttons were and he knew exactly how to push them. His fangs sunk into her neck suddenly and she cried out in pain and pleasure, the molten feeling in her core flowed through her entire body, sending out wave after wave of pleasure and she whispered his name even as she wanted to scream it, it was somehow even more intense that way. He spilled himself into her, moaning against her neck as he continued to sip her blood.
They continued to hold each other, letting the shaking and panting subside before they lifted to lock eyes. Stefan licked his lips before kissing her softly. She could taste the remnants of herself on his lips and it made a little aftershock of pleasure run across her skin. She giggled happily as he kissed her cheeks, her forehead, the tip of her nose. As she always did, she wondered how it had taken them so long to get here when it made so much sense.
She rolled off of him, only to snuggle back into his side, head on his chest listening to his heart gradually slowing to normal, completely happy and satisfied. The rain was as steady as ever, the sky just as gray. Everything was perfect.
"Looks like you're going to miss your meeting," Stefan said, the words rumbling in her ear.
"I could probably still make it," she said, lazily running her fingertips along his stomach.
"You should get going then," he said again, knowing that neither of them had any intention of moving.
"But it's raining," she said again, smiling as she heard him chuckle and felt his arms tighten around her.
"Yes, it is," Stefan said with a lingering smile, kissing the top of her head before they drifted back to sleep.