Chapter 10: A Natural Progression

Upon discovering her natural ability to heal, Klaus watched Cami attempt to heal one of the burns on her hand, but apparently ran out of energy and quickly passed out. He picked her up and carried her back to her campsite. The sun had come up by this time, casting a lovely glow upon her face and he couldn't help but stare. As he laid her down on her sleeping bag, he watched in fascination as she slept peacefully. He found himself completely in awe of this amazing woman and realized that he wouldn't ever get enough of her. Their fight and subsequent intimate moment in the woods reinforced his determination to follow through with his plan and that he was making the right decision. After letting her sleep for about an hour, he laid down next to her and propped himself up on his elbow. "Camille?" He called out gently.

She turned towards him and slowly opened her eyes. Gasping in sudden awareness of where she was, she propped herself up quickly and looked around. She immediately winced in pain. "What happened?"

"I decided to have mercy on you and let you sleep for a while. But do me a favor, Love, and don't let word get around. Can't have anyone thinking I've gone soft." He gave her the crooked smile, which elicited a slight giggle out of her.

"My lips are sealed. Of course, that's probably the only thing on my body that doesn't hurt right now," she replied as she carefully shifted to sit up, grunting with each painful movement.

He raised an eyebrow. "Am I to take that as an invitation for another kiss?"

Cami thought about their moment in the woods after their fight and she could feel the anticipation growing inside her. Smiling at the thought of his wonderful lips on hers again, she decided to play coy. Clearing her throat, she responded, "Well, that depends on if you plan on throwing any more insults at me."

He leaned towards her, their faces inches apart. "Well, that depends on whether you decide to obey your instructor and not be a pain in the ass."

"I think I can hold my own against your tyrannical methods. Bring it on."

"Oh, I plan to." He kissed her passionately, smiling as she responded just as eagerly. He held her for a moment, gently massaging her sore arms and shoulders. When her yelps of pain began to subside, he stood up and helped her to her feet. "There is no time to lose. Shall we continue?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. They walked towards a heavily wooded area, not too far from the stream. Klaus pulled out an axe from behind a tree and handed it to her, which she had trouble holding off the ground because it was so heavy. He pointed to a small tree nearby.

"Take it down."

Cami looked at him incredulously. "I can barely lift this thing!"

He put his hands behind his back and stepped closer to her in an intimidating manner. "Well, I don't know what to tell you, Love, but I expect you to find a way to take that tree down. Am I making myself clear?"

The resentment of being told what to do began to eat at her and she gritted her teeth, grasping the axe in hand and swung at the small tree. The muscles in her arms began screaming at her, but she did her best to take another swing, then another. Suddenly, she stopped and threw the axe down on the ground. Recalling her earth manipulation skill that she learned, she concentrated and was able to lift the roots out of the ground with her magic, causing the tree to topple over that way. She grinned in victory, despite all the pain running through her body. Looking at Klaus, Cami could tell that he was impressed, which pleased her greatly.

Klaus then began going over basic hand-to-hand combat techniques with her, which took up the rest of the morning. At one point during their lesson, she managed to divert his attention with a dust spell just long enough to avoid his attack, but quickly found herself flat on her back with him on top of her. Once again, the sparks between them were intense and he took the time to steal a kiss, which she anxiously returned.

Cami enjoyed the physical sparring with Klaus. She utilized what she could remember from her martial arts training, throwing punches at him, kicking him, and, most importantly, blocking what he threw at her. She found him to be a very good instructor, despite his harshness and lack of patience at times.

Around the time he was ready to end the training, both stopped in mid-swing, listening to a fast approaching creature. A white wolf appeared out of nowhere and stared at them, looking as if he was getting ready to attack. Cami looked at Klaus.

"Is this something you set up?"

Never taking his eyes off the creature, Klaus replied, "He has strayed from his pack. I don't recognize this one. Let me handle this." He slowly approached the creature, who suddenly began running towards him at full speed.

Cami quickly cast the fire spell, which created a small line of fire across the ground just as the wolf leaped across it. It yelped in pain as it was burned by the flames, but continued to run, changing course and heading straight for her. Before she could do anything else, Klaus had wrestled the beast to the ground and killed it without hesitation. The shock of the attack began to dissipate and all she could do was stare at Klaus wearily.

He decided to take pity on her. He knew that she was battered and weakened, so he was willing to let her have some time to recuperate. "Alright, Love, I think you've reached your limit for today." He placed his hand on her back. "If you're good, perhaps I'll reward you with another massage."

Throwing her head back, she closed her eyes briefly. "Mm, that sounds like heaven right now. I definitely need a hot bath first." They began to walk towards the campsite. She looked back at the dead wolf, then at him. "You could have easily let me try to defend myself, as part of my training. Why did you feel the need to save me?"

Klaus continued to look straight ahead. "What kind of man would I be if I stood by and let some stray wolf eat my girlfriend?"

A slow smile spread across her face. "Did you just refer to me as your girlfriend?" She shot him a sly glance.

"You heard me correctly." He shot her a sly glance back, giving her his trademark crooked smile. "I've given our relationship a lot of thought and I am prepared to be a one-woman man."

It took her a moment to find her words. "I…don't know what to say. Why now? Why this particular moment in time when I look and feel like bloody hell…"

He began to laugh. "See! We're perfect for each other. You're already starting to sound like me!"

She began to laugh as well, but stifled it as best she could. "Wait a minute. So, when did you come to this decision?"

"You apparently have forgotten about our conversation the night you stayed at my home. You were the one that insisted we decide what our relationship is. So, I've decided what I want it to be."

"So, you do listen to me after all," she mused, still smiling.

He reached over and took her hand, stopping their advancement. "You are perfect for me, Camille. I don't wish to deny it any longer." Klaus leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

Playfully, Cami said, "So, what does being the girlfriend of Klaus Mikaelson entail? Should I be afraid?"

Amused, Klaus couldn't help but grin. "Well, let's see. You would have to allow me to kiss you whenever I want, which from what I can tell, Love, you don't seem to mind a bit. And you would always have to defer to my never-ending abundance of experience and knowledge." She raised an eyebrow at him and he chuckled. "Cami, I don't wish for anything to change between us. I will continue to be your friend, your confidant, your partner in crime, and, when you're ready, you're lover."

She felt a blush coming on, which she did her best to hide. She had fantasized many times about what it would be like to sleep with him and knew that it would probably be an amazing experience. As she contemplated what she should say, all of their conversations since they had met came flooding back to her. He had done so much for her lately and she realized that he had already been committed to her all this time. Now, he was asking her to do the same. No words were coming out of her as she stood there and stared at her handsome suitor. She ultimately looked down at the ground, deep in thought and speechless.

Klaus placed his fingers under her chin, forcing her to look at him, his gaze intense and serious. "You are in my thoughts constantly, Camille. I cannot tolerate the idea of you being with any other man because I want you for myself. In all my centuries, I have never met such a perfect companion as you are for me. Can you not see that?" He stroked her jawline, then leaned in and kissed her again.

Cami melted inside as she allowed him to embrace her as he continued to kiss her. Her movements were very limited due to her sore muscles, but she didn't mind as he physically supported her. When he released her lips, she managed to respond quietly, "No more one-night stands with other women? Even for your crazy power plays?"

"No more one-night stands with Marcel? Or were there any others that I missed?" His voice took on a deadly tone as he remembered the pain of betrayal when he discovered his adopted son-turned-rival had spent the night with the object of his desire.

She swallowed in embarrassment as she recalled his anger when he found out about the first time she had slept with Marcel. She couldn't deny her feelings for him any longer and the words came tumbling out. "I don't want to be with anyone else, Klaus. I just want you." She pressed her lips against his, caressing his face with her palm, loving the feel of his stubble tickling her skin.

He eased back and looked into her eyes. "In all fairness, Love, because you have been my therapist, you understand how I feel about betrayal. That is the only thing that would ever separate me from you. Do you understand?"

She nodded. "I promise you, I would never intentionally betray you. Now, you have to promise me the same. Because I have been your shrink, I know about your impulse control issues and I have to tell you that if you try to control me or make any decisions for me, I will be tempted to walk away. Do you understand?"

"I promise." They kissed once more, enjoying the fact they had finally, officially committed to each other.