Inked & Marked
Chapter 3
Klaus stood outside of Sired Tattoos, leaning against the glass front door. The scent of wet concrete hung in the air.
It had been raining all day but had stopped right before he closed the shop.
Just like he had been doing for the past two weeks, Klaus had finished with his last customer by ten o'clock. Rebekah would shut down her computer and lock up the cash box, Kol and Damon would hound him to go out, he would adamantly decline, they would all leave with Stefan and he would then proceed to cleaning up shop.
Once he was done he would head up to his flat which was just above the parlor. He would shower, get dressed and eat something before heading down to meet Caroline.
She would pass by the front of the shop at around one in the morning every day, give or take a couple of minutes.
He checked his watch and realized that she was running later than usual today. He cursed himself for not having her phone number. He hadn't had the balls to ask her for it but now he was considering it.
He also didn't know where she worked, something she had decided to keep under wraps from him.
Just as he was getting antsy she came around the corner.
God, she was beautiful.
She had been looking down at her feet but she looked up at him once she had taken a few steps around the corner. She smiled at him slightly and it took him a second before he returned it.
"Hello," she said sweetly as she reached him. He fell into step with her.
"Good evening, sweetheart. How was your day?"
"It was good. It was packed inside because of the rain."
"Any funny stories to share today?" Klaus asked interestedly.
"Well, the rain made the floor outside wet so this group of drunk college guys were all slipping and falling all over each other." She chuckled. "One fell and then another and another."
"Talk about a domino effect."
"Exactly," Caroline giggled. "What about you? Any interesting tattoos today?"
"Actually," Klaus started, taking his phone out from his pocket and opening up the gallery. "I had my fourth session with a client who got a full back piece done."
"Fourth session?" Caroline said, her eyes wide.
"Yeah," Klaus said, turning the screen of the phone towards her. She reached out to grab the phone to see better. As she did, her fingers brushed over his. She blushed slightly but focused on looking at the picture of the work of art on the man's skin.
"Wow," she said slowly. It was a large red dragon with some intricate pattern at the background. The tattoo literally spanned the man's entire back, stopping right above the waist band of his pants. "That's crazy!"
"It was," Klaus nodded, closing his eyes briefly. "It's definitely one of the largest pieces I've done."
"What other ones have you done?" Caroline asked, handing him back his phone.
"Mostly full arm sleeves and leg sleeves. There was this one leg sleeve that took six sessions because the client wanted their leg completely covered in color."
"Wow," Caroline said again. "That is insane. I got a small tattoo and it hurt like hell. I can't imagine doing my whole leg- in six parts." She winced as the thought of the pain.
Klaus chuckled. "Some people have high pain tolerance. I don't think it hurts that much," he shrugged.
"You have tattoos?" Caroline asked.
He tilted his head and looked over at her, one eyebrow raised. He slowly rolled up the sleeves of his Henley all the way to his elbows, revealing the black ink.
"Whoa," Caroline said, stopping her walk. "Damn, Klaus," she looked up from his arms to his face.
"Impressive, I know," he rolled his eyes before smirking down at her.
She snorted before taking hold of both is wrists and leaning to get a better look in the dim lighting. He held his breath and swallowed, watching as she carefully turned his arms around.
"Very impressive," she conceded, letting go of his arms.
"Thank you," he said and they began walking again.
Caroline stuffed her hands in her pockets, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. She was exhausted. Today had been a hellish day at both jobs and she was having trouble sleeping at night. Her legs ached and her eyes burned and she had no explanation as to how she was still awake.
"Penny for your thoughts, love?"
She sighed. "I'm just tired. I can't wait to get home, shower and sleep." Or at least try to sleep.
"Maybe you should ask your boss for a day off next week. You've been working every day for the past two weeks."
"I know. Between this and my other job I'm running a little thin."
"Wait," Klaus said. "You have another job?"
"Yeah," Caroline said slowly. "I never told you?"
"You never mentioned it, no." Klaus shook his head.
"Well, yeah," Caroline nodded. "I have a second job. I work at a souvenir store during the day."
"How many hours?"
"From noon 'till four, Mondays through Fridays."
He didn't answer right away so Caroline looked a him. He seemed to be calculating something. "How many hours do you work at the bar?"
"Five 'till about twelve forty-five." It took him a minute to do the math.
"So you have a part time and a full time job?"
"Look at you," Caroline said and let out a little whistle. "Looks and brains."
"I have many talents, my dear," he grinned and winked. He also took note of the fact that she had just called him good looking but decided to let it slide.
Just then they turned onto her street and Klaus became hyper aware of their surroundings, just like he did every night.
"I can see that," Caroline mumbled quietly to herself.
"What's that?" Klaus asked.
"Nothing, nothing."
She stepped up to the front door of her building and Klaus followed.
Just as she was about to turn and thank him for walking her home just like she did every night, a cool breeze swept through the street and heavy droplets of water started falling from the sky.
"Shit," Klaus said, looking up as the rain started picking up. "I should get going before that gets worse."
"What?" Caroline asked incredulously. "Don't be ridiculous, come inside."
"Huh?" He looked back down at her thrown off by her proposal.
She unlocked the door and motioned for him to go inside. He stood there for a second just looking at her but the rain picked up and he stepped in without hesitation.
The hallway was dimly lit and smelled like old.
Caroline closed the door behind them. "This way," she said, walking ahead of him towards the middle of the hallway where the stairs were.
He followed her up the stairs and to the door of her apartment where she fumbled with her keys for a bit before getting the door open.
Caroline walked in and flicked on the light, dropping her keys and purse onto a little table by the door. "Make yourself at home," she said, gesturing towards the couches.
Klaus walked in and looked around the barren apartment. Instead of sitting on the couch he opted for following Caroline.
She walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, leaning forward to look at it contents. Klaus swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry as he took in the view of Caroline's ass.
"I don't have much. The most I can offer is water or mango juice," she straightened up and looked back at him.
"Juice sounds fine," Klaus said clearing his throat and making sure to look at her straight in the eyes.
"Cool," she replied and bent down to get the jug of juice. Right when she made the motion to bend Klaus quickly turned and walked around the kitchen counter, sitting down on one of the stools she had there. Another look at her perfectly sculpted bum and he would not be able to hide his ever growing bulge.
Caroline took out two glasses and poured equal amounts of juice for her and Klaus. She was hyper aware that Klaus was in her apartment.
The simple thought of his eyes on her made her cheeks and neck heat up. She tried her best to distract herself from thoughts of him but it was no use.
She handed him his glass and they both began to drink.
"There was never any mango juice where I lived," she commented when she was halfway through.
"And that was…"
"Uh, uh," she shook her head, smiling slightly. "Not tonight."
"Oh, come on! I can't even get a hint?"
"It was nowhere in Florida," she deadpanned.
"Great," Klaus said, his tone sarcastic. He gulped down the rest of his drink and put the glass on the counter. "That narrows it down tremendously."
Caroline only laughed before taking their glasses and giving them quick rinse.
"So," Klaus said, turning in his seat too look at the rest of her apartment. "This is where you live."
"Yup," Caroline said, popping the p. "That over there is the living room, that's the bedroom, that's a closet and that's the bathroom," she pointed towards different areas of the house. It was an open layout so from where they were they could see everything, the bathroom being the only space that was closed off by a door. "And this is the kitchen."
"You don't say?" Klaus said, turning to her quickly. "I thought this was a den."
"Smartass," Caroline mumbled, going around the counter and heading over to the living room. Klaus followed behind her.
She sat on the couch and kicked off her shoes, grabbing her laptop from the coffee table she had found at a garage sale. She opened it up and went to Hulu.
As she did she realized that Klaus had not joined her. She looked up so see him standing by the edge of the couch with his hands in his pockets.
"Sit," she said, patting the cushion to her left. "I won't bite."
"I doubt that," he smirked and walked over, sitting down next to her and leaving more space between them than she would have liked.
"I seriously need to take a shower to wash the smell of steak and cheap beer off of me so I'm going to leave you here with the movie of your choice."
"How considerate," he chuckled.
"Hey, it's that or nothing!"
He laughed. "I'll take it. You go shower, don't worry about me."
"Okay," she said, giving him her laptop and getting off the couch. She grabbed her shoes and went into her room to grab some clothes.
When she passed by Klaus on the way to the bathroom he was browsing through the movie section.
Caroline got in the bathroom quickly and stripped down.
Having Klaus in her apartment felt oddly comforting. It shouldn't have been odd though, he had been practically protecting her for the past couple of weeks.
Wanting to get back out there with him she rushed in the shower but made sure that she was scrubbed squeaky clean. She washed her hair quickly for good measure, not wanting it to smell like fries and week old oil.
When she finished she toweled off and changed into her pajamas. They were a pair of loose shorts and a t-shirt. She wore one of her most comfortable bras, not wanting to be embarrassed by hard nipples peeking through her white shirt.
When she had ran a brush through her hair a few times she opened the door and headed out to the living room.
Klaus looked up from the screen at her. His eyes ran over her form and she felt herself blush again. She hung up her towel to let it dry and turned off the bathroom light before heading over to here he was sitting and dropping down next to him.
"What did you choose?"
He turned the screen to her and headed the laptop to her.
"28 Days Later? I've never watched this one."
The sharp gasp made her whip her head to side, finding Klaus with a bewildered expression.
"What do you mean you've never seen it?"
Caroline laughed. "Exactly that."
"Oh, no," Klaus shook his head. "We are about to remedy that right now." He reached over and clicked play.
"Wait, wait," Caroline said and paused it. "If we're gonna do this we're gonna do it right."
She placed the laptop on the coffee table and hopped off the couch.
Klaus watched as she bounded over to the light switch. Why did she wear such short shorts? He adjusted his crotch to try and make his hard on a little less apparent. Thank God he had decided to wear boxers today or else he would have already cum just by looking at her.
"Take your shoes off."
"Huh?" He hadn't heard what she had said. Which was totally her fault because how did she expect him to focus on anything but her fantastic legs.
"Take off your shoes." He did as she asked.
She had already made her way over to the couch and had dropped down next to him.
She started pulling the coffee table closer to them and he helped her.
"Now put your feet up." He did as she asked and propped his feet up on the coffee table, crossing his ankles. Caroline adjusted herself on the couch, crossing her legs and draping a blanket over her legs.
He was slightly upset that she had covered her legs but at the same time grateful because he would be put in a literally hard position if her smooth legs were at his viewing pleasure.
Caroline leaned forward to press play and a very different scenario of her on all fours crossed his mind for a second.
"Is it good?" Oh, yes.
"It's one of my favorite films."
"So it sucks?" He looked over at her, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
"You are a sassy little thing, Miss Forbes," he chuckled.
She only laughed and then turned her attention back to the movie. He looked at her for a little longer, admiring the slight pink shading over her cheeks, and then he too focused on the movie.
Caroline swallowed as she realized that her left knee was about a half an inch away from Klaus's thigh. Why had she decided to cover up her legs? Right now, her skin would be practically touching his pant leg.
She internally rolled her eyes at her line of thought. What was it about Klaus that turned her into a teenage girl?
As the movie played, she focused on the characters and the plot. Klaus was right- it was a good movie. Cillian Murphy never disappointed.
Towards the end, though, she found herself giving in to sleep. Not that she wasn't interested in the movie, she was just so exhausted from work.
She adjusted herself so that she could stretch her legs out onto the coffee table and cross her ankles just like Klaus was. The movement and change of position woke her up a little, but minutes later she found her head lulling to the side.
Her eyes were heavy but she tried to keep them up. Giving in, she closed her eyes, just for a second.
Klaus looked over at Caroline when the screen faded to black, signaling the end of the film. He was about to ask her if she liked the movie but quickly realized that she was asleep.
Her now dry hair cascaded over her cheek, leaving only her closed eyes and nose for him to see. Her head rested on her left shoulder, straining her neck.
He was going to wake her up but she looked so peaceful he didn't want to disturb her slumber.
But he wasn't just going to leave her there all night, she would surely wake up with intense pain in her neck.
He closed the laptop and pushed a coffee table away a little so that he could stand up. He debated on whether or not he should remove the blanket from her legs but then decided it would give him a better hand on her.
He removed the blanket and set it aside, only letting his eyes roam over her legs for a half second before he focused on her face.
Sliding one arm under her knees and another behind her back, he pulled her up and into his chest. She was ridiculously light.
She shifted in his arms, moving her body slightly so that it was tucked into his body. She let out the most adorable sound which made him both smile and groan.
When he put her on her bed she opened her eyes slightly and looked up at him. He couldn't help it anymore and reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear.
"I'm guessing you didn't like the movie," he chuckled in a low voice.
"I loved it," she croaked. "I'm just…" her voice trailed off and she let out a deep breath, closing her eyes again. "Tired."
"Alright," he said, grabbing hold of her comforter and tugging a little. "Lift up for me, love."
She lifted her back and hips so that he could pull the comforter from under her. Then she lifted her legs and tucked them under.
Klaus drew the covers up to her shoulders and she shifted around, getting comfortable against the pillows and laying on her side.
Light flashed through the room followed by a long rumble of thunder. The rain started pelting down harder, the sound of drops hitting glass reverberated through the room.
"You can stay…rain…get sick." She was falling asleep fast but Klaus understood what she wanted to say.
"I'll be on the couch," Klaus said. He reached over again and tucked the other side of her hair behind her ear. It was softer than he had imagined it would be and he couldn't get enough of it. When had he become such a perv?
"Good night, Caroline," he said and she let out a little sound of acknowledgement.
He stood there for a few minutes, just looking down at her beautiful face. His thoughts took a sharp turn and he imaged himself under the covers, waking up to her face in the morning, tucked into his chest.
He would nuzzle her hair and run his fingers up and down the smooth skin of her back. When she'd wake up she's take in a deep breath before looking up at him sleepily.
He'd smile down at her and kiss her forehead-
What the fuck?
Where had that come from?
He took a step back from the bed and then quickly made his way over to the living room, dropping down onto the larger couch.
His breathing was fast and he was having a slight problem getting his heart to beat regularly again. He rubbed the center of his chest where it had become incredibly warm- the spot he had imagined Caroline's cheek to be pressed up against.
He had never cuddled- ever. He was more of a fuck and duck kind of guy.
Never had he imaged waking up the next morning with a woman wrapped up in his arms.
He hadn't even had those thoughts about Caroline, up until a few seconds ago.
Of course he had imagined touching her skin, pealing her clothes off of her as she did the same to him. He hadn't gotten laid in months and his only relief was his hand and a warm shower with images of the blonde in question running through his mind.
He looked down at his pants, the bulge between his legs extremely evident. He let his head drop on to the back of the couch and let out a straggled breath. What was he going to do?
He went into the kitchen and got himself a cold glass of water while thinking of the nastiest and unattractive things he had experienced.
Wrinkly old ladies at the beach, badly done tattoos, that time he fell off his motor cycle and had to get stitches…
With each passing thought and gulp of cold water his body began to relax. By the time he was rinsing out the glass in the sink, his cock was no longer pressing against the front of his jeans.
He walked back to the couch and grabbed the blanket Caroline had been using. He laid down and pulled it up to his shoulders.
Bad idea.
Her scent assaulted him. Peaches and fucking cream.
His eyes shot over to her form under the covers in her bedroom. He remembered how she had lifted her body off the bed to let him pull the covers under her. How her back had arched, how her calf and thigh muscles had become so pronounced he had just wanted to lick every line.
Wrinkly old ladies at the beach, badly done tattoos, Elijah's back acne when he was a teen…
This was going to be a long night.
I'm going to cut straight to the chase...I need your help.
I am currently working on chapter seven and I'm pretty sure I'm suffering from boring-writer's-syndrome (where I feel like everything I write is super boring), AND I'm on the verge of writer's block! Ugh!
So, if any of you out there would be willing to help me out, I would definitely appreciate a PM so we can discuss what we can do :)
Okay, aside from that... how'd y'all like the chapter?
Leave me reviews! I crave them like Klaus craves peaches and cream ;)
See y'all next Saturday!
~M
