A darkened city club, music blasting through the speakers so loudly that the dancers were no longer aware of their movements. It was just an effect of being captivated by the unbelievable music. As if it came as naturally as breathing. Sweat glistened on every inch of human flesh in the building, and no one had left for the past 42 minutes. The music was just too fascinating to even consider leaving.
Suddenly, a movement at the back of the club stood out among the rest. Two handsome men stand alone checking out the scenery. The women around them of course were interested, genetics had been good to these two, but the men simply brushed off the women who flocked to them. Not like they wanted a challenge, it's just that they didn't really care for women who would actually want them to call back the morning after.
A one night stand with no strings attached was how they'd always rolled.
"How about her?" the younger man had asked. "She seems to be into the song, and she's a decent dancer."
"I noticed her as well, but, I'll find another. Feel free to jump her bones though, Stefan." The accent made him seem as though he was constantly trying to seduce the people around him. "I'm going to get some more liquor, would you like any?"
"No, I could use a hot brunette in a tight black dress though." Stefan laughed as he walked to the woman on the dance floor.
Klaus shook his head. "Always the charmer."
On the way to the bar, and few girls in high heels and sashes grabbed him lightly. Klaus turned and immediately could see what was about to happen. "Just turned 21?" He asked.
The girl in the middle of the group giggled a beyond wasted laugh. Her mascara was slightly smeared above her eye, but her facial frame wasn't something terrible. "Would you like to buy me some shots?" She winked, but with all her drunkenness, it appeared more along the lines of a twitch.
Why not? "Of course, sweetheart." A drunken girl isn't one to question things that go awry. "Bartender, 6 tequila shots." He turned back to the girls. "One for each of you, and three for me." He toasted and smiled a toothy grin. The girl's all practically fainted at that one smile. Works every time.
Klaus wrapped an arm around the 21 year old and headed out of the club. She was sucking the skin off of his neck before he finished hailing a taxi cab. 'Her house', he thought. "Where do you live, love?" He asked. She didn't reply, but instead got on top of him and began practically dry humping his leg. Klaus moved her off and laughed, "Save it for later. Where do you live?"
"3657 Hillcrest Avenue," she whispered provocatively into his ear, followed by a nibble.
'Should have thought this one through.'
Once they arrived at her apartment complex, it was too late to turn back. The girl stumbled messily into her home and slid her shoes off while putting pictures face down that Klaus could only presume had to do with a boyfriend.
Though he knew she was going to be a bit difficult to keep around for the next hour, he followed her to her room and began to help her out of her clothes. She wouldn't need them.
She flopped down carelessly onto her bed, and gestured for him to come to her. Klaus laughed, "You're going to regret you ever met me, love."
Sometime in the early morning, Klaus awoke and put his clothes back on. It wasn't daytime yet, and his work didn't begin until 9:30am, so if he hurried, he could make it home for a few hours of sleep. He had been careful not to get her blood on his clothes. Wouldn't know how to explain that to the manager. Things had basically gone as planned, other than the fact that the girl was now dead. Klaus had hoped he would just feed from her, you know. Get completely energized then compel her to forget everything had happened, but when he was done, the girl still wanted him. She wasn't angry or even scared. So, annoyed, he kept drinking until she finally crumpled in a bit and lay lifelessly beneath him.
After he was completely clothed, he opened the door and stepped into the hallway. The light nearly burnt his retinas. Was it this bright just a few hours before? Could he have been more drunk than he had original thought? It felt as if he were now being pulled into the sun, no control over any movements and the heat rising in the pit of his stomach like lava. His shirt suddenly felt heavier, his hair now wet with some sort of liquid he couldn't detect. His senses were failing and his heart was coming to an end.
"Excuse me, sir."
A voice pulled him out of his dream-like state. The noise had come from a blond only a few feet in front of him. Her hair was curly and a little past her shoulders. "Are you okay? You look like you might collapse." She laughed nervously. "Please don't collapse… I'm sure it'd make for an interesting story later, but…"
"I'm perfectly fine." Klaus said, catching his breath and standing up taller.
"Oh, okay. Well with you being perfectly fine and all, could you please move from the middle of the hallway? I have a lot of groceries I need to bring in." For the first time, he saw the many bags in her hands.
"Let me help you." He insisted.
"Sorry, but I'm not inviting a random stranger from New York City into my home, I've seen the movies." The woman smiled kindly, "But thank you."
"Did the movies tell you about inviting random strangers from England into your home? Because if not, your logic is pretty moot." Already knowing the answer, he grasped over half of her bags and she hesitantly led him to a door marked '457'.
"So, do you live here?" She asked surprised.
"Why would that be so hard to believe?" Klaus asked, noting the suspicion in her voice.
"Not to offend you or anything, but you don't exactly look like someone who'd live on this side of the tracks. Or even this side of the ocean." The woman gestured to his suit and tie. She unlocked her door.
"Oh? Then what kind of person do I look like?" Klaus said adding his classic appeal.
The girl didn't even seem to notice. "The type who'd try stupid pick-up lines at a bar and them actually work because he A.) Has a fairly large amount of cash. B.) Has a British accent. Or C.) Has low enough standards that he actually would accept the girls who fall for such sad excuses of charm." She turned and smirked sarcastically. "But I'm willing to bet D.) All of the above." She grabbed her bags from him and walked in, closing the door behind her.
Klaus was taken aback. No one had dared to be so insulting to him. But this woman wasn't just some blatant average person. She really was something that the word beauty could be envious over. Just the way she walked away from him made Klaus want to dive after her in a sea of unending pleasure. There was no way she really wasn't interested. Everyone wanted a piece of him, and right now, he was willing to give more than one slice.
Of course, he remembered her from back in Mystic Falls around four years ago. Caroline Forbes. He had promised her the world, and then made her forget he even existed. He did that with all of them but Stefan. Ah, good ol' Stefan. He was finally back to his ripper self, not including the large amounts of killing. They needed to be more careful in this day and age.
She opened the door and looked out. "Yes?"
"I'm Klaus. Klaus Mikaelson." He said. After a few moments of silence, the girl smiled adorably.
"I guess I'm supposed to gasp and grab my chest in angst as I cry out, 'Mikaelson?! As in Mikaelson blah blah?' Well, sorry to disappoint buddy, but I don't know you at all." She shrugged, "But if you'd like to have a formal introduction, okay. I'm Caroline Forbes."
"Forbes, you say? I'll remember that." He smiled.
"Yes, yes. I'm sure you will. Along with the girl whose room you just came from? Will you remember hers as well? I'm sure her family will." Caroline winked sarcastically and stepped back into her room.
Klaus felt a bit embarrassed, but refused to show it. This girl peeked his interest, just like when she was younger. Well, not really younger… But newer to the vampire world.
"Caroline, would you mind letting me show you around New York today?"
"Oh, sorry, I'm kind of busy. All this, uh… Stuff. That has to do with… Things…" She scratched her chin.
"Tonight at 6 it is then. I'll pick you up in the lobby." He pulled out his most charming facial expression and left like that.
"Since when do random British men invite people on dates from their homes?! Is this some kind of government experiment?" Caroline's friend, Elena, asked while on the phone with her.
"I have no idea, but he's a vampire. I could tell that much. There's so much power emanating from him…" Caroline lay back in her bed. "God, he seemed so familiar."
"You would have remember, would you have not? I mean, I'm sure I could remember the guy downstairs at any point in my life, and he's nothing special." Then, Damon's voice came from the background. "Didn't you know that it's rude to talk about people when they're not in the room? Sorry Blondie, Elena is in need of some discipline." Elena's laugh filled the phone. "Bye Care."
"Bye! You guys have fun! And be careful." The phone clicked. Caroline was glad Damon and Elena finally had gotten together, considering he was the only other option after Stefan so rudely up and left. Caroline could understand him not contacting Damon, and even Elena at this point, but why not her? Why hadn't he called or texted Caroline? He was one of her best friends, by that point. But, anyway, Damon seems to be a better person now because of it, and Elena seems to be at the peak of her happiness.
Caroline had been happy at some point as well. When she was with Tyler, she thought she couldn't be happier. But then, something happened. She didn't know what, but she just didn't want to be with him. She couldn't imagine a life with just Tyler. He wasn't the one. So, she packed her bags and headed out to travel. After four years of hiking mountains in Colorado, and surfing the beaches in Hawaii, she arrived in New York a month ago to try and find a stable position. Compelling people just wasn't doing it anymore. She wanted to earn things.
Klaus didn't know why, maybe it was all his emotions coming together at once after the long amount of time apart, but he was actually kind of nervous about taking Caroline out. What if she'd changed? What if he didn't like her anymore? Or worse, what if she didn't get along with him? He could always just kill her… Yeah, throw her in a dumpster and be done with her.
But, he couldn't do that. And he still wasn't sure why not.
At some point, he'd need to let her remember. But, when he did that, he knew that she would never forgive and probably never speak to him again. So, he would enjoy what tonight had in store, then tell her and leave. Simple.
He had been waiting in the lobby for around 20 minutes when he heard a thud. He turned and couldn't help but chuckle a bit. There in front of him was Caroline looking from him to her phone now lying on the ground. She giggled a bit, and picked it up. Trying to play it off like it never happened, she walked up to Klaus.
"Sorry to leave you waiting, I was debating with my conscience on whether or not to stand you up." She said bluntly.
Klaus laughed audibly. "Well, who won?"
Caroline looked up at him. "You tell me?" She smiled and looked away. "Considering I'm here right now, my conscience. It kept telling me that it wasn't a bad idea to go out with a guy I had just met coming out of some girls room in my apartment building at 3am." She sighed. "Won't be trusting that thing again."
Klaus smiled and shrugged. "Guess I'll just have to show you that you made the right choice." And they walked out together.
As they were walking down the street, Klaus noted that Caroline wasn't wearing anything fancy. Just a dark maroon tank top and a beige sweater with light jeans and black boots. He was wearing a grey V-neck and a blazer with jeans. A little over dressed.
"So, what do you do for fun?" Caroline asked, breaking the silence. Klaus turned to her.
"For fun?" He asked.
"Yeah, fun." She laughed humorously. "Come on; don't make me have to sing the Sponge-Bob fun song. F is for friends who do stuff toget-"
Klaus smiled and couldn't help but hoot a bit. "My life is too busy to have fun." He said simply.
"Too busy? What? That's total crap! It doesn't matter how busy you are, you can always make time for some entertainment." Caroline grabbed his arm, which sent a jolt of shock through Klaus. He wasn't used to this kind of intimacy. "Come on."
When Caroline finally stopped, they were on the roof of a building. She let go of his arm and stood on the ledge. Klaus was completely confused. What on Earth could she be doing?
"Let's play a game…" In lightning speed, Caroline had touched Klaus' chest softly, then was jumping over the edge. As she fell, she yelled, "Tag!"
Klaus grinned. "This girl has no idea." With that, he jumped over the edge after her.
Caroline was hurdling along the roofs of the many buildings below her when she saw Klaus in front of her stretching. "Finally, I've been waiting for ages." He smiled.
She had a bit of disbelief on her face. "If you were an Olympian before you were turned, I'm going to have to rule a disqualification." Klaus was in her face at a second's notice.
"No Olympian, love. I've just been around a bit longer." He poked her chest, and then disappeared.
Caroline caught his scent and tailed him, but he kept getting further and further away. Time to use intellect instead of physical strength.
"If I was a British vampire, where would I be?" Caroline stopped to think. "Either underground… Or the tallest building around. But, I doubt he'd go underground, seeing as how he wants me to find him…"
Then, Caroline disappeared into the darkness. She appeared at the bottom of the Empire State building and began climbing. "Oh Klllaaaaaauuuusss."
A chuckle came from beside her, and then a hand was blocking her from climbing any further. "How'd you know I'd be here?"
Caroline turned and pressed her back against the building. "Well, you seem like the type to overdo things. I'm going to take a guess and say that you expected me to continue along the path we were on before. Probably end up on the streets?" Klaus' face showed surprise, and Caroline smiled and tapped his shoulder. "Tag, you're it." Then she jumped. It was a high jump, even for a vampire. Caroline probably hadn't realized that before. Maybe she hadn't tested her limits.
Klaus jumped without a second thought. He landed with a thud and hid his pain, then looked up and moved to the left, catching Caroline.
"I can take care of myself, thank you very-" She saw a grimace on Klaus' face, and jumped out of his arms. "Are you okay? I'm sorry; I knew I should have cut down on the AB+." Caroline put her arm around him, and Klaus stood up straight.
"I'm completely good, Caroline. It's just been a while since I've had blood." His eyes seemed to darken.
"You're starting to lose it." Before Caroline could finish, Klaus had separated himself from her, and was now at the throat of a human. Caroline yelled something, but Klaus could no longer hear.
He felt her hands on him, trying to yank him off, but it was of no use. He could feel that the person beneath him was already dead, but there was still blood, so he kept sucking.
"KLAUS!" Caroline screamed. Klaus lifted his head and saw her reddened face with tears streaming down. He looked down and saw how the neck had been completely torn out of the human.
He stood up and saw that Caroline didn't back away from him, but she looked at him in disbelief. He could feel his chest turning and pulling inside. He didn't mean for that to happen. "Caroline…"
"Let's get you home. I don't know what's going on, maybe you're just under a lot of stress, but I'm going to do the next pedestrian a favor and get you inside somewhere you're comfortable." Caroline smiled. "Okay?"
Klaus walked with her to the sidewalk where she hailed a cab. Once they were in, he told the driver his address and looked to Caroline who watched the lights on the buildings pass like they were the most intriguing thing in the world.
"Why are you being so kind about this? You seem like the kind to be completely against killing." Klaus asked. Knowing for a fact that she was indeed very much against killing, and he doubted that had changed in the past few years.
"Well, I of all people know that sometimes you just can't control it. And I don't kill when I feed, but some do, and I can't really change them. Of course, I could try, but where will that get me? A lost friend and probably an angry vampire killing more innocent people." Caroline said, still looking out the window.
"You don't believe they're capable of change?" Klaus asked a little hurt, feeling as if she was already giving up on him, but then Caroline looked at him and smiled.
"Of course they are. I'm just not capable of changing them. They have to change themselves."
Change themselves, huh? How could such a young vampire be so wise?
"I believe you are too optimistic." Klaus chuckled.
"I guess I just haven't lived long enough to know any better. Speaking of living, how old are you exactly?" Caroline placed her hand on her chin and leaned on her knee dramatically waiting for an answer.
Will she have heard of Klaus? He just compelled them to forget that he ever came to Mystic Falls, not to forget about him as a vampire. "Too old." He said simply.
She threw her hands up, "Oh, don't give me that crap! 300? 400? Come on, Klaus. Don't pull out a random cliff hanger!" She was practically bouncing in her seat. Caroline is adorably young and innocent.
"I'm over 1000 years old, Caroline." Klaus said awaiting her response.
Caroline looked down, and then laughed. "Just tell me!"
"Really, I'm over 1000 years old."
"But, that would mean that you'd have to be-"
"The oldest vampire in existence. Yes." He said while shrugging. Caroline's mouth nearly dropped.
She placed her hands on her cheeks and began looking around frantically. "I just went on a date with the oldest vampire." She looked to him, "You didn't even tell me!" She yelled.
"You're still not scared of me?" Klaus asked, amused. He just told her he was the oldest vampire, which means the strongest, and she yells at him. She was witty, and comical, and just overall intriguing.
"Scared? Are you serious? I want to strangle you right now!" Caroline pouted and leaned on her door. After a few minutes, Klaus turned his gaze from the girl to the cab driver who had finally stopped at Klaus' home.
"You will forget everything that was said for the past hour and I paid you in full and tipped you 50 dollars." He began to get out when Caroline huffed.
She reached into her wallet and pulled out all the money promised and laid it on the seat by the driver, then got out. As the taxi drove away, Klaus stared at her in awe. She turned to him. "Some of us like honesty." She turned her chin away.
Klaus reached out and rotated her towards him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just didn't think there was a probable way of bringing it up."
"Well, 'Hey, I'm the oldest vampire. Wanna' let me show you a good time, love?' would have been fine." Caroline said, mocking his accent.
Klaus chuckled. "I don't even know how to begin to describe you, Caroline."
"Beautiful and incredible would be the words that would best help you case right now, in my opinion." She said with a small smile.
"Those words are hardly worthy." He said softly. Caroline looked up and felt herself falling into his gaze. The world seemed to be crumbling beneath them, but it was all okay at that moment. But, still there was something that tugged Caroline's mind. Something not right.
'GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF, DUMMY. DON'T LET HIM GET TO YOU SO QUICKLY.' Caroline's mind finally fought past his charm. She stepped back. "So, this is your place?" Caroline said before actually looking up, but when she did, she gasped. It wasn't an apartment building, but more along the lines of a mansion. In New York City. Apparently, he bought land in the small amount of city left without buildings everywhere.
"Are you surprised I could live here as well?" Klaus asked, brushing past her with a grin.
"Not so much. This actually seems to fit with your entire…" She waved her hands out in front of him, "Atmosphere."
"The atmosphere of a rich British man with low standards and bad pick-up lines?" Klaus asked, pleased.
Caroline got a little embarrassed. Then laughed to herself, "Yes, actually."
Klaus opened the door, and Caroline found herself fascinated once more. The house had a feeling that made Caroline feel like she was no longer in the current era, but in Victorian times.
"The queen isn't going to come waltzing through the door, is she?" Caroline asked catching her breath.
"I believe one just did, sweetheart." Klaus said with a stare Caroline no longer could deny. It DID make her feel amazing and important. But, how often does he do this? She can't start feeling special now. He was just with some other girl not 24 hours ago? Yes, she may have been a blood bag to him, but maybe he doesn't really have standards. Maybe she was just a piece of meat to him.
Well, if she was meat, she'd be top grade meat that hardly anyone could afford.
In Caroline's rant in her head, she hadn't noticed the paintings surrounding her.
Klaus noted Caroline's interest in the photos and found he was becoming a bit restless. He hadn't even thought about what was actually on the photos.
"This woman…" Caroline looked at the photo of the back of a woman's head and her shoulders without clothing. "Her hair reminds me of mine… You know, minus the grease and the lack of looking so perfect." She touched the artwork and observed the signature at the bottom. 'K. Mikaelson.' "There's no way… You painted this?" Caroline turned to Klaus who smiled and looked down at the ground.
"I see your doubts in me are much higher than your faiths." He walked towards her. "And your hair is nothing like the female in this portrait." He began to walk up the stairs. "Hers doesn't get to flow in the wind like yours, or catch the scents of the world around us."
Caroline found herself following him up the staircase. "Sadly, most of those scents are sewage and overpriced half rotten hotdogs." She said, and he laughed. He turned to a room to the left, opening it and granting her access. It was filled with more paintings like the one downstairs.
Of course, Caroline didn't realize they actually were of her. He began to paint her within a few days of meeting her and has continued for the past few years. Thankfully, he didn't have any of the ones with her face showing up. His family that visited had complained too much, and he just got annoyed.
Caroline found herself drawn to one painting in particular. It had the blond female sitting on a cliff, her hair flowing over her face, and her arms pulled to her chest. Behind her was a man with dark hair and animal like eyes, and below her in the water was a man with curly dark blond hair with his hand held out to her. Caroline turned to Klaus, "You were in love with this girl?"
Klaus was taken aback. "No, of course not. Why would you say that?"
"Well, this man is obviously you. And you want the girl to take your hand, but she appears to be leaning more towards the male behind her. As if she was caught between the two, but I'm willing to bet she was with the other man first. Some females don't want to hurt the one they are with, even if they no longer want to be with them." Klaus couldn't contain his surprise in how spot on she had hit the target. "But, you put yourself in the water… Which means you already thought lowly of yourself. You knew that if she would choose you, it would be a risk. She'd have to take a leap off of the cliff. Which, symbolizes the leap you thought she'd have to take if she chose you." Caroline smiled sadly. "But, she didn't choose you, did she? She chose the other one."
"I wouldn't know, I left her." Klaus said. Caroline looked at him with confusion. "I had to. She would have a better off without me."
"Did you even give her a chance to choose?" Caroline asked.
"Well, no. But she wouldn't have."
"How do you know that?!" She didn't know why, but this angered her. "What if that was the epic love fate had intended for her, and you just left her with the guy she wasn't happy with?" That was when Caroline realized why it had hurt her. She had been left without an epic love. She and Tyler were only together because of attraction. Not love. She wanted someone who would make her feel like she could be Bonnie, and he could be Clyde and after everything, he'd still be able to call her his home. "…What if she's still waiting for you?" Caroline asked sadness clearly in her voice.
Klaus knew that Caroline didn't know what she was talking about. If she remembered that the story was about her, she'd be sighing and telling him to leave her alone. "You don't know the story."
"So tell me." Caroline laughed at herself. "Look at me, I'm asking my date to tell me about the love of his life. What a mood killer."
"Caroline, I really don't want to talk about it." Mainly because he didn't know what he'd say. It all began in Fystic Malls? Her name was Coraline? She had a best friend named Melena and Connie?
"Well, hopefully one day, you'll be comfortable telling me."
She wanted to be in his life? "If you're still around?" Klaus asked, chuckling.
"Oh, I will be. Don't worry about that." Caroline smiled, and then walked to the door. "That couldn't have been the entire tour, Mr. Mikaelson. This house could hold an entire continent of people!"
Klaus smiled then walked out the door. "I do have one more room I'd like you to see."
As she followed, she noted the paintings of different landscapes. Paris, Rome, Colorado. "You've been to Winter Park, Colorado also?"
"Of course. The best and oldest place to learn to snowboard in Colorado."
"You snowboard? I didn't peg you as the type. A skier if anything."
"Well, your instincts haven't been the best when it comes to me, now have they, sweetheart?" Klaus laughed. Finally, he opened a door and stepped inside. Caroline walked in, and instantly, she felt like walking back out. "What's wrong?" Klaus asked.
"I am definitely not respectable enough to go in there." Caroline shook her head.
Klaus laughed audibly and grabbed her arm, pulling her in.
Surrounding them were the amazingly majestic glass sculptures that shined like flawless sharpened rainbows. There were hundreds ranging from 6 inches to 7 feet tall. Shapes like trees, frogs, people, children, swings, birds. It was all too much. Caroline held her hand over her stilled heart. It felt like she was dreaming.
"I thought you'd like this." Klaus walked over to the tree. It was twisted and crooked, but looked beautiful. Caroline felt like she shouldn't be in eyesight of all of this beauty.
Then, Klaus completely shocked Caroline by his next words. "I've done so much wrong in my life. I've killed and manipulated more people than Manhattan can offer, but when I walk in here, I feel like none of that matters. Like I can still have a life with someone who won't judge me for a bit of it. Like…" He looked away from Caroline now, her gaze was giving him chills and he knew that at this very moment, he was lying to her. He lied to her by letting her believe she just met him. "Like I don't have to do anymore wrong. It makes me feel like I can change."
Slowly let a smile arise. "You don't have to."
Klaus sighed, knowing what his next words would lead to. But, it needed to be done. "I do, though. I have to because who else will do it? I've been doing this for 1000 years. I want to do it. To kill the innocent, to force my will upon those who disagree with it." Caroline shook her head.
"That's not true!" In a moment, Klaus was in Caroline's face, holding her cheeks in both his hands.
"Caroline, I want you to remember. I want you to remember me, and everything that happened in Mystic Falls because of me."
As if a veil had dropped in Caroline could now see the world, she jolted back against the wall. "Klaus..." She said with disgust.
"Ah, there she is!" Klaus smiled, hiding the pain that was now permeating his chest. "How I've missed you dearest Caroline."
Caroline was confused. She knew everything he did, but she still felt the way she did before he compelled her to forget. She had wanted him to come back for her. He had promised her the world. Why did he lie?
"Why did you make me forget?" Caroline asked.
Klaus shrugged, "Because I didn't think you would want to remember, darling."
"After everything that happened. After everything you did, and how you pretended to care for me, you made me forget. I will never forgive you. Ever." Caroline turned and left the house.
Klaus was by her before she got out the door. "Pretended to care? Where are you going with this?"
"If you had actually loved me as much as you made it seem you did, you wouldn't have given up so easily. You would have chased me until your damn feet bled!" Caroline said trying to push past him, but Klaus spun her around, holding her shoulders.
"I did chase you, Caroline! I chased and chased until the path disappeared! You wanted Tyler, so I gave you Tyler." Klaus looked at her in rage. "The bastard had a hold on you, and all I could do was let you live your life in peace."
"You didn't make that decision because of me, Klaus. You motives were purely selfish. You couldn't deal with someone not following your orders, and you gave up! That's what you do! You throw a fit when you don't get your way!" Before Caroline could finish, her lips were covered by Klaus'.
Klaus pulled her into him and kissed her with all the emotion she had never let him show her. "I could never be selfish when it came to you." He said, kissing her more. Caroline couldn't deny him. She had wanted this for a long time, as well. "I will show you the world. Anywhere you want."
Caroline kissed him once more, holding his hair with one of her hands. "Just show me that you don't want to let me go again." She whispered, looking up to him. Klaus nodded, and then kissed her again.
"I lied, Caroline. I can be selfish. I'm going to be selfish right now; because there's no way I'm ever letting you go again, love."
Caroline stepped back from him. "I want you to know something." She said, looking away. "I'm being chased. I don't by whom yet, but I know that they don't exactly want me alive."
Klaus' face darkened. "Have they hurt you?"
"Yes." She said, and then looked back to him. "But I've been running. They haven't found me in more than two weeks."
Klaus stepped up to her, grabbing her and pulling her into him. "You're not going back to your house unless it's to grab your things. I can't have you out there running about, spreading your scent around like roast beef." Klaus pulled her into the house, and up the stairs. "You can sleep-"
"In a separate bedroom. There's no way I'm sleeping with you. I have more dignity than that." Caroline said, and Klaus laughed.
"-In the bedroom across from mine." He finished. Caroline nodded, and stepped into the room. She turned and Klaus was there, the door closed. He pushed her onto the bed and began ravishing her in kisses. Caroline sighed dreamily and wrapped her arms around his masculine shoulders.
The lust in his eyes built up, but he sat up from her and tried to catch his breath. "I forget how to act around you." Klaus said, and Caroline sat up, leaning into him.
"Act yourself." She said, and then nudged him jokingly. "You know, the you that doesn't go around killing random people."
Klaus laughed then stood up. "I'm going to protect you, Caroline. No matter what that requires." He walked out of the door, leaving Caroline to lie back on her bed and wonder what in the world was going on with her.