A/N - Thank you so much for your reviews, I appreciate it greatly. And thank you to the ladies that continue to review each and every chapter that I put up. Love you! (If some of you are dudes, you are totally cool too.) Your follows and favorites make me blush!
XxX
"So did you finally fuck your hot boyfriend yet?"
"Oh my God, Kat. Are you even out of the airport yet?" Caroline sighed as she glanced at the clock, noting the time that Katherine would have just landed back in New York.
"I'm not even off the plane yet."
Caroline just shook her head and ran a hand over her face, as she tried to contemplate her friend's mental state. And Katherine called her the neurotic one.
"So is this phone call to let me know you got home safe or is your main concern my sex life with my boyfriend? Considering that you didn't even wait to get home before you called me."
"Your sex life. Because if NIk has a big dick and is good in bed that means Elijah is probably the same because they are brothers. That means I will have to make another trip to visit you."
"You mean visit Elijah."
"Yep." Katherine said popping the p. "I just want to get a hold of him and ruffle his perfect little feathers."
Caroline just rolled her eyes and fell onto her bed. Her mind wandering to the ecstasy she had experience at the hands of one Niklaus Mikaelson in the very bed she was laying on. She too was surprised that she had not ended up at his door the moment Katharine was safely delivered to the airport.
"Earth to Caroline."
"What? Oh, sorry. What did you say?" Caroline shook her head as she pulled her thoughts away from Klaus and back to the conversation at hand.
"So did you fuck him yet or not?"
"No. Not yet. I will let you know the moment I do." Caroline said as she rolled her eyes once more, sarcasm evident in her voice.
"An update during would be good." Katherine teased playfully.
Caroline laughed as she played along. "Oh Nik! Fuck me harder while I make this phone call real quick."
Both girls dissolved into laughter.
"Text me when you get home."
"Will do."
"Miss you already BFF."
"Of course you do."
Caroline just rolled her eyes once more, pausing to wonder if she could roll her eyes out of her head alone while talking with Katherine.
"Bye"
"Mwah" Katherine kissed into the phone.
The moment she hung up the phone, the screen lit up with another phone call. Damon flashing across the screen as the phone buzzed. Caroline groaned as she hit accept and lifted the phone to her ear.
"Hi Damon."
"Hello Barbie. It's been a while since we last talked. Did you miss me?"
"No."
"Denial isn't just a river in Egypt blondie."
"Can you get any cornier?"
"When the mood strikes me. Do you need me to feed you some corny lines to nourish that romanced addled brain of yours? Are you feeling unloved Barbie? Is Ken not giving you what you need?"
Caroline slung an arm over her eyes and groaned.
"Didn't know I was turning you on Barbie. I am game for phone sex if you are, you kinky girl."
"Shut up!"
"Ooooh, Dominatrix Barbie. I like it. Just be gentle with me, it's my first time."
Caroline just groaned again and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Damon, please just tell me what you want."
"Well if you could send me a picture of you in a black latex body suit it would help me better visualize your S&M side."
"Damon, I am about five seconds away from hanging up on you."
"I love it when you take control Mistress Barbie."
"I mean it Damon."
"Yeah yeah yeah. You should show this dominatrix side to Ken. Maybe then you wouldn't be throwing yourself at me. Anyway – Stefan still isn't talking to me."
Caroline sighed, she should have known this was the reason he was calling her, although Damon did have his moments where he would call her strictly to harass her from time to time.
"Kat has only been out of the country for like 12 hours. Give him time."
"Then he should have talked to me 11 hours ago. Nothing ever good happens when she bitch is involved."
"She has a name you know."
"Yes, her name is she bitch. Describes her perfectly I might add."
Caroline huffed softly into the phone and chose to ignore his comment and just continued on with the conversation. "I am going to see Stefan today. I will talk to him and tell him to call you."
"Make him call me. Get his phone, dial my number and hand it to him."
Caroline sighed as she brought her fingers to her temple and tried to ease some of the tension she felt. "You know if you had just stayed away from Kat you wouldn't be in this predicament."
"Preaching to the choir blondie."
Caroline took a deep breath and sat up on her bed, her fingers falling from her head to absently play with the hem of her shirt. "I'll make sure he calls you." She said softly.
"Thanks Barbie."
Caroline could hear the sincerity in his voice, this was one of the rare times he actually let his true feelings shine through. "You're welcome."
"Hey Care." Stefan said with a warm smile on his face as he opened the door to his place, one hand stuck in his jeans pocket while the other held the door open.
"Hey Stef." Caroline returned the smile with one of her own, although hers was tinged with worry as she gave him a quick one over as if checking to make sure he was alright, did he look a little thin?
"Come on in." He said opening the door wider, Caroline stepped forward taking the invitation, but instead of walking straight through the door she just moved to stand next to him and pulled him into a hug. Stefan's arms were around her almost instantly, gently rubbing her back.
"Are you ok?" Caroline's voice was laced with concern, making Stefan smile all the more, truly touched at how much his friend cared about him.
"I am getting there. It will take time, but I am getting there." Caroline pulled back to look at him, searching his face to make sure that he was indeed telling her the truth. Finding there was no trace of dishonesty on his handsome face she gave him a tentative nod and let him go, moving to sit on the couch.
Stefan just smiled as he shut the door and moved to the sideboard table that was against the far wall that was topped with decanters of liquor. Pulling out two tumblers, he poured amber liquor into each cup and set the decanter down. Taking the two glasses he moved to sit on the couch next to her, handing her one of the glasses.
Caroline arched a brow at the liquor, given that it was only 3pm and he wanted to start drinking, but what the hell. She took a cautious sip of the liquor and wrinkled her nose at the taste.
"Is there a reason you keep giving me scotch every time I come and visit?"
"It is an acquired taste and I am just trying to help you acquire it." Stefan smirked as he took a healthy swallow of the drink in question.
"How about helping me acquire the taste of expensive tequila? Now that I would enjoy." Caroline smiled as she set down her glass, her hands moving to her lap as she glanced over her friend once more the worried look back on her lovely face.
Stefan caught the look and pressed his lip together, a heavy sigh breathed through his nose as he set his own glass down on the table and took her hands in his.
"Honestly Caroline, I am going to be ok. I am in a much better place than I was before."
Caroline nodded and squeezed his hands for a moment, a look of guilt pulling at her features. "I know you are, I am just worried because Kat was here and you have stopped talking to Damon again and I just feel horrible if I am the one that has set you back because I had Kat come and visit. And I know I shouldn't have done that, with you here and all and it was stupid of –"
"Caroline. You're rambling." Stefan said with a small smile causing Caroline's cheeks to heat up with embarrassment, turning them into a lovely shade of pink.
"And you didn't set me back at all. Knowing Kat was here, I admit was a bit difficult at first, but when I saw her and she apologized to me, it felt good. I felt like I got a little bit of closure and I didn't even realize I had been waiting for it. It was a good thing." Stefan squeezed her hands as if to emphasize his point.
Caroline gave a hesitant nod, her eyes dropping to their clasped hands before looking up at him once more. "What about Damon?"
Stefan gave her a weary smile at the mention of his brother. "I just wanted to handle one person at a time, I couldn't really deal with talking to Damon knowing Kat was in town, but now that she is gone I will call him."
"Well it is going to be sooner rather than later. Damon made me promise that you would call him today. He has not stopped harassing me ever since you stopped talking to him." Caroline said with an annoyed huff, causing an amused smile to stretch across Stefan's face.
"It's not funny."
"Yes it is."
Caroline just grouched at him and released his hands and picked up her glass and took a huge sip, coughing a bit as the liquid burned its way down her throat. "See what Damon drives me to? Drinking horrible scotch because he is so freaking annoying I have to drink something to take the edge off."
They spent the rest of the afternoon talking and laughing about lighter subjects, Caroline feeling confident enough about her best friend's state of mind to not pursue the subject of Katherine and Damon. It was towards the end of her visit that Caroline asked for Stefan's cell phone.
"I hope you drank enough to handle this phone call." Caroline said with raised brows as she scrolled through Stefan's contacts and found Damon's number. Pressing the call button she silently handed the phone to Stefan who had a resigned yet relaxed look on his face as he took the cell phone and held it up to his ear.
Caroline gave him an encouraging smile and pulled herself up from the couch and made her way across the room to give them a little privacy, pulling out her cell phone to check for messages and smiled when she saw a text message from Klaus that had been sent only a few minutes ago.
Are you free tonight, darling? – K
Yes – C
Pick you up around 7? – K
Sounds good. Casual or dressy? – C
Causal. See you soon. – K
K – C
Caroline smirked down at her phone, wondering if they were even going to make it out of her flat when he came to pick her up. Stefan's hand on her arm startled her from her musings, a soft gasp escaping her lips as she jumped back, hands fumbling to keep from dropping her phone earning a soft chuckle from Stefan at her antics.
"Stefan Salvatore you scared the crap out of me!" Caroline screeched as she lifted her hand to whack him on the shoulder before letting her hand fall on her chest as if to calm her racing heart.
"Sorry Care. I didn't mean to." She could tell he meant it, but there was still that little up turn on the corner of his lips that said he did find it funny.
Caroline just glared at him for a moment, before speaking once more. "So how did the talk with Damon go?"
"Like talks with Damon normally go." His brows lifting as he shoved his hands in his pockets his lips pressing tightly together as if to convey the experience by expression alone.
"Par for the norm." Caroline shrugged as she tucked her phone into her back pocket. "Well I am just glad you two are talking again. Please make sure to do it on a regular basis, because talking to Damon more than once a month is not good for my mental health." Caroline said as she put her arms around Stefan and pulled him into a tight hug.
"I missed you best friend forever."
"Missed you too Care." Stefan said as he hugged her close, his eyes closing for a moment as he enjoyed doing something with his hands other than violence.
Caroline pulled back and gave him a bright smile. "Ok, well I have to get going. I have a hot date."
Stefan just gave a slight nod, pressing a soft kiss against her cheek before she pulled away from him completely. Her quick steps taking her to the front door where she scooped up her purse, turned to give him a quick wave and was out the door, shutting it behind her.
Stefan stared at the door for a moment, his mind slowly processing what they had talk about along with the feelings Caroline had brought out in him. He actually liked the fact that he was doing something other than hurting someone when he touched them.
He had told Caroline that it was almost impossible to walk away from the life style he was living, but could he really continue with what he was doing? Sure he enjoyed it when he had been The Ripper, but now all he felt was pain and regret.
Stefan closed his eyes for a moment as his brain became jumbled with thoughts, all of them almost becoming overwhelming. So he did what he normally did to bring his thoughts and feelings into focus, he wrote in his journal. Sitting down at the mahogany desk he pulled open his leather bound journal and picked up his pen, his hand moving as words started flowing easily onto the page.
He wrote for hours and only when he felt he had gotten every last idea, thought and feeling out of his head and onto paper did he threw his pen down and started to read over the words, in hopes that he could find a way to take back control over his life.
It didn't take Caroline too long to get ready, when Klaus said casual he really meant casual. So she was dressed simply in a purple and gray lace top with a dark blue cardigan, dark blue skinny jeans with her purple patent leather flats completing the look. She had made sure to put on her sexiest lacy bra and underwear set in case she was right that they would not even make it out the door of her flat. Her body was on a constant edge, wanting to finish what she had started with him a few nights ago and then some.
Pulling her thoughts out of the gutter she concentrated on pulling her hair up into a high pony tail and applied a minimal amount of makeup. She was just adding the final swipe of lip gloss when she heard the knocking at her front door. With a huge grin on her face she practically jogged to the front door, pulling it open and throwing her arms around…Kol?
Her face fell into a mask of confusion as she immediately released him and backed up. Kol just gave her a smirk and crossed his arms as he leaned against the doorway. "Is that how you greet all of your visitors darling, because if so I will have to make sure to drop by more often."
"Kol? What the hell are you doing here?" Her eyebrows still furrowed in confusion as she looked away from his face to scan the hallway in hopes to see Klaus close behind.
"We have a date remember?" Kol said, smirk still firmly in place.
"Ummm no, I have a date with Nik tonight."
"Well I sort of barrowed his phone, figured you would be more receptive to my invite thinking it was from my brother rather than from myself."
Caroline groaned and just buried her face in her hands, shaking her head in complete disbelief at what Kol had just managed to pull off.
"Come now darling, I'm not all bad. Besides, We are going someplace fun tonight, where my stick in the mud I'm too cultured for this brother wouldn't be caught dead at."
Now that caught her attention, letting her hands fall from her face she brought her gaze back to his, an eyebrow lifting up in question.
Kol just smiled and said one word: "Karaoke."
Caroline wasn't sure how Kol had managed to talk her into coming with him. The leading factors for her attendance at the Karaoke bar were the fact that she had nothing better to do and she loved to sing. She had made Kol promise that he wouldn't try any funny business on pain of she would knee his balls so hard he would never be able to have children. Again, Klaus was totally rubbing off on her and improving her ability to make very painful threats.
The karaoke bar was hopping, there were lots of people and it looked like everyone was having a great time. Three girls were currently on stage singing Lady Marmalade two of the three looking completely hammered out of their minds.
Kol lead her to a booth to the side of the stage, a handsome dark skin man sitting in the center of the booth, arms stretched out along the sides as he seemed to take in everything thing that was happening in the bar.
"Marcel! Good to see you saved us a booth, mate." Kol grinned as he leaned over to clasp the Marcel in a friendly handshake.
Marcel gave a slight nod, his eye trained on Caroline. "Of course. And who is your friend?"
Caroline was almost startled to hear an American accent out of the handsome man, but she recovered quickly with a small smile, her hand going out to his for a handshake. "Caroline."
"Ah a fellow yank. Nice to know I am not completely surrounded by red coats." He teased playfully, earning him a hard shove by Kol.
"This is Nik's girl. So be on your best behavior or he will tear out both of our livers." Kol warned before he moved towards the DJ booth collecting slips of paper, pens and a three ring notebook with all the songs that were available to sing. Caroline was almost touched at Kol's warning given that she was more concerned about him trying something with her rather than Marcel.
Caroline moved into the booth, sitting across from Marcel until Kol came back and she was forced to be sandwiched between the two of them. It was awkward at first but soon became comfortable as the three of them poured over the song collections, writing down the songs they wanted to do together and on their own.
They would pause from time to time to watch a group of drunk or exceedingly talented groups or individuals who would take the stage, at times the three of them joining with the singer to sing a song that was well known to the three of them, and more often times than not the whole bar.
Once they had their song choices down on paper Kol left to drop them off at the DJ booth before swinging around to the bar to pick them up shots and drinks, leaving Caroline and Marcel to bond over strange British terms like calling a trunk a boot and a flashlight a torch.
Once the drinks were on the table, a number of toasts were made, all them charging up on liquid courage to find the ability to sing in front of a whole room of strangers. Marcel was the first one of their group called. He gave a charming smile to Caroline making her roll her eyes as he slid out of the booth and took the stage.
There was a swagger to his frame as he took the microphone, pausing to give a confident sexy look to all of the ladies that caught his eye as the music started up.
Now there was time
When you loved me so
I could have been wrong
But now you need to know
See, I've been a bad, bad, bad, bad man
And I'm in deep, Yes I am
I found a brand new love for this man
And I can't wait till you see
I can't wait.
To say he was dynamic would be an understatement. He was a natural born performer and he held the bar mesmerized by his performance.
So how you like me now
How you like me now
How you like me now
How you like now
Remember the time
When I eat you up
You know that I wasn't lyin
That you can't give up
So if I was to cheat
On you baby, would you see right through me
If I sing a sad, sad, sad song
Would you give it to me
Does that make me love you baby
Does that make me want you baby
Does that make me love you baby
Does that make me want you baby
So how you like me now
How you like me now
How you like me now
How you like now
Marcel sang the song as if he owned it, his voice and showmanship were a delight to the crowed that when he finished the song the whole room erupted in applause. He just gave a gallant bow with a smirk plastered on his handsome face as he sauntered back to their booth. It took him a while to get back to his seat, as the tables he would pass by would stop him and ask him if they could buy him a drink. Caroline was pretty sure he was half way to drunk by the time he made it back to their booth.
Three other people had gone on stage after Marcel and then it was Caroline and Kol that were called to the front. Both of them sharing a shot of tequila before they slid out of the booth and made their way to the stage, Caroline's grin reflecting how nervous she was and Kol's smile was full of glee at the fun they were having, and having Klaus's girl with him without his knowledge making it that much more exciting.
You can holler, you can wail
You can swing, you can flail
You can flop like a broken sail
But I'll never give you
If I ever give you up my heart will surely fail
Caroline and Kol sung together, their shoulders shimming and their hands joining to swing each other around in what would be considered horrible dance moves had not most of the room been completely drunk as they found the pair absolutely delightful.
And after all God can keep my soul
England have my bones
But don't ever give me up
I could never get back up when the future starts so slow
No longing for the moonlight
No longing for the sun
No longer will I curse the bad I've done
If there is time when your feelings gone, I wanna feel it
You can holler, you can wail
You can blow what's left of my right mind
You can swing, you can fail
You can blow what's left of my right mind
I'd don't mind
There's a time for the second best
And there's a time for when the feeling's gone
But it's hard to be hard I guess
When you're shaking like dog
You can holler, you can wail
You can blow what's left of my right mind
You can swing, you can fail
You can blow what's left of my right mind
I'd don't mind
They finished the song laughing and out of breath, both of them staggering back to the booth for another round of shots and drinks that Marcel had ordered for them while they had been on stage. The night continued on as such, all of them hooting and hollering at those that were on stage before taking their own turns on stage once more.
It was Caroline's turn, this time on her own. She gave a tentative smile to Marcel and Kol who just gave her nods of encouragement. Walking onto the stage, she gave a shy smile to the crowd as she took the microphone from the stand.
Her dark eyes darting to the television set above the state for a moment before dropping to the ground, listening to the opening beats and lifting the microphone to her lips.
Dial up my number now
Waving it through the wire
Switch me on
Turn me up
I want to touch you
You're just made for love
Caroline's eyes lifting from the ground to scan the crowd for a moment before landing on one set of eyes she did not think she would see tonight. Klaus stood in the back of the room, his hands tucked in his jacket pockets watching her with an unreadable expression on his face.
Caroline was drunk enough to just smirk at him, enjoying the fact that her would be lover was here to listen to her sing, and she was feeling mischievous enough that she might as well put on a little performance for him. As she kept her eyes on his her dancing became more sensual and her free hand sliding across her stomach thighs as she sang.
I need la la la la la la
I need ohh la la la la
I need la la la la la la
I need ohh la la la la
Cause up and round me
Teasing your poetry
Switch me on
Turn me up
Oh child of Venus
You're just made for love
I need la la la la la la
I need ohh la la la la
I need la la la la la la
I need ohh la la la la
She could see his eyes darken with want, her sinful movements on the stage and lustful lyrics not going unheeded by the red blooded male that watched her like a predator watching its prey. She placed the microphone back onto the stand, her hands caressing the stand as she would her lover. Her shoulders shimming in time with the song, making the soft swells of her breasts sway with the movement.
You know I walk for days
I wanna waste some time
You wanna be so mean
You know I love to watch
She pulled out the hair band that held her hair in that elegant pony tail, letting the blonde curls fall across her shoulders in waves. Her fingers sliding into the messy blonde curls as her knees bent to sway her ass low to the ground before coming back to bring her lips level with the microphone, her dark eyes never leaving Klaus's, enjoying the lust she saw blatantly etched across his face.
I wanna love some more
It'll never be the same
A broken heel like a heart
I'll never walk again
Yeah
I need la la la la la la
I need ohh la la la la
I need la la la la la la
I need ohh la la la la
The song ended with clapping, wolf whistles and cat calls. A smirk firmly anchored on her soft lips as she gave a wave to the crowd and made her way off the stage. A few males approached her, but she just shook them off making her way to the only man she had eye's for, the only one who she had been performing for.
"Hi love." She practically purred as she cupped his cheeks in her hands and lifted herself onto her tip toes to tease her body against his own, her teeth playfully nipping at his lips.
Pulling his hands out of his pockets he circled his arms around her slender hips, pulling her tightly against his body as he captured his mouth with her own, tasting the sweetness of her lips, his tongue plunging into her mouth, the kiss was dominating, as he wanted to show her that she was his and his alone. It was only after he felt that he had sufficiently taught her a lesson of whom she belonged to that he eased back from the kiss. Their lips grazing one another's before pulling away completely.
His kiss had also performed a second task, the task of showing every single person in that bar that she was his. He had been beyond jealous and hated every man who dared laid their eyes on his Caroline during her performance, even though she kept her eyes on him the whole time. He had been ready to kill every single man that had approached her after her little show on stage and had only been kept from doing so by the fact that Caroline had come straight to him after she was finished.
"Care to tell me why you are at a bar with my brother and one of my good mates, love?" He tried to keep his voice as casual as possible, but there was a hard edge to it. He had been beyond pissed when he had found out that Kol had taken Caroline out with him for the evening. And to find out from one of his drivers had only made his anger that much worse.
"Your brother stole your phone and asked me out on a date tonight. I accepted thinking it was you. When he came to my door I totally wasn't going to go out with him but he promised me karaoke and I couldn't turn that down. We were just hanging out, I promise. Both of them were on their best behavior." She smiled reassuringly, before she leaned up to kiss him once more, trying to appease his jealousy that was so very blatant.
The hard scowl somewhat eased for a moment only to return full force at the appearance of his brother, his angry gaze flicking behind Kol to search out Marcel, who was currently at a table full of women who he was at the moment trying to charm the pants off of.
"No need to be angry Nik, just having a bit of fun." Kol said jovially, clearly pleased at riling his older brother up over taking his girl out for a spin around town.
"No, a bit of fun is going to be when I snap your neck for the little stunt you just pulled." Klaus growled, his body becoming tense as he readied to throttle his younger brother.
"Nik." Caroline chided as she lifted her hands to stroke his face, her body pressing against his as she tried to distract him from tearing into his younger brother. "He was the one to make sure that Marcel was on his best behavior with me, not to mention he was the perfect gentleman all evening."
Klaus just lifted an eyebrow in question as Kol groaned and covered his face with his hand shaking his head. "Darling, you can't go around saying things like that, you are going to ruin my reputation."
Caroline just rolled her eyes before pressing another soft kiss against her boyfriend's lips, her fingers moving gently over the stubble of his cheeks before pulling back to whisper against his mouth. "Want to come home with me?" She grinned, her eyes dancing with innuendo as her hands dropped from his cheeks to glide over his chest.
Klaus smirked at her blatant invitation, his hands running through her soft blonde curls before gathering them up in his fists as he pulled her against him once more to drop a hungry kiss against her lips. It was only when he had her arching against him that he pulled back, his cocky alpha male persona at the forefront. "I'd love to go home with you, sweetheart."
XxX
Winter is coming people. You know what is happening next. Let me know your thoughts on the chapter.
