CAROLINE'S POV:

I woke up the morning after the charity ball to find Stefan's arms wrapped tightly around me, my back pressed against his front and my hands resting on top of his, and I have to admit, it felt like heaven to be so close to him. Turning so I was face-to-face with him, I had to resist the urge to kiss him, pursing my lips together as I allowed my eyes to trail down his sleeping body, his hair mussed from sleep, his eyes closed, twitching occasionally as he dreamt of something, his lips curved into a small smile. Continuing my journey, I swallowed a lump in my throat as I allowed my eyes to run down from his prominent jaw line to his neck, and down to his bare torso…

"Where'd you go?" he asked as I quickly moved out of his arms

"I'm gonna go and shower." I informed him "Time's getting on. What time do we have to be checked out by?"

"Not till dinnertime," he replied "come back…"

"This…" I proclaimed, motioning between him and I as his eyes opened "It can't happen."

STEFAN'S POV:

Before I had the chance to speak, the bathroom door had closed behind Caroline and I sighed heavily and rubbed my hands over my face as I turned onto my back, groaning as my nostrils were engulfed by her scent…

CAROLINE'S POV:

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my body, grabbing another towel to proceed to dry my hair and made my way back out into the bedroom, finding Stefan dressed and packing his suitcase…

"Hey." I greeted him

"Hi." he mirrored

"I'm sorry about before," I admitted "this, it's just all so complicated."

"Because you're making it complicated, Caroline," he informed me "I like you and I'm guessing you like me, right?"

I nodded my head… "But…"

"No buts." he replied "I'm fed up of pretending I don't feel something for you anymore, so I'm not going to."

"What are you…?" I began to speak, being cut off mid-sentence as his lips pressed against mine

"I want to be with you…" he informed me

Smiling at him warmly, I dropped the towel I'd been drying my hair with into the chair and wound my arms around his neck, capturing his lips with mine, his hands winding around my waist to pull me closer to him, a moan escaping my lips as our crotches pressed together…

"I should get ready. We've got a long drive ahead of us." I admitted as we pulled apart

"Or we could stay another night?" Stefan suggested "Maybe even two?"

"Not a chance," I informed him "we have this thing called work, Stefan."

"I thought you said my schedule was clear Monday morning?" he inquired

"It is, for now," I replied "but the way things are going, do you really want to risk being out of the office and missing a possibly huge deal?"

"I thought we said no more work talk this weekend?" he questioned

"Finish packing." I informed him "And if you're lucky, I might let you take me out for dinner when we get back to town."

"If I'm lucky?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me

I nodded my head… "Yep."

Is this the start of something for Stefan and Caroline and if so, how will it go?