Stefan had pushed her harder today than he ever had before. She suspected it had something to do with Klaus. After their fight during that first hunt, he had mostly stayed away from their hunts and their training exercises. But this time, Caroline had descended the stairs in her exercise clothes expecting to find Stefan standing alone waiting for her as usual and instead found both men huddled against the front door having a conversation in hushed voices. They turned toward her when she appeared—Stefan watching her like nothing else existed in the world and Klaus evaluating her with his usual calculating stare.
They had gone through their usual routine, but at a slightly heightened pace, Klaus sitting quietly by and watching the whole time. Stefan ran faster than Caroline had ever seen him move. She'd had to use every trick he'd taught her to finally catch him, but she always caught him. Besting him in close quarters was a little tougher. Stefan was stronger than her so she had to be quicker, smarter. They circled each other, both trying to anticipate the other's moves, but after months of sparring, they knew each other too well.
Caroline only managed to beat Stefan by exploiting his tenderness for her. When he grabbed her arm and pushed her to her knees, she screamed out in pain when she hit the ground. His grip on her softened for a second and it was all the advantage she needed. Her free arm shot out and swept his left leg out from under him. In his surprise, she was able untwist her arm and use it to grip his shirt and swing him to the ground. Quick as lightning, she leapt on top of him, pinning one arm with her knee and forcing the other behind his head. Her other hand gripped his throat, tensed as if ready to finish him off. For a moment, her teeth remained bared and the veins still stood out on her face.
"Give," Stefan said. Caroline gave a satisfied smile and her face went back to normal. She leaned down and gave Stefan a quick kiss and stood, offering a hand to help him up. Stefan stood and draped his arm over her shoulder. He smiled at Klaus and his chest swelled with pride. Klaus slowly stood and began to applaud. He ambled toward the pair and stopped just in front of Caroline, the look on his face both excited and cunning.
"Well done," he said and spared a quick glance at Stefan before adding, "both of you." He stared piercingly into Caroline's eyes, but she refused to look away. "I think she's ready, Stefan. Take her out for one last hunt tomorrow." Finally, he ran his eyes hungrily over Caroline's body one last time before turning and heading back toward the house.
...
Caroline slowly eased herself into the antique tub, the steaming water immediately relaxing her tired muscles. She hadn't realized what a toll the day's activity had taken on her until the adrenaline had worn off. As she lay her head back against the creamy, cool surface of the tub and closed her eyes, she pondered how strange it felt to have her body ache like a normal human's. She would likely heal by tomorrow, but maybe Stefan would let her take a sip from him–just to eliminate the soreness.
A polite knocking on the bathroom door snapped her out of her reverie and she turned toward it.
"Yes?" she said, unsure.
"Hey, Caroline," Stefan said through the door, "mind if I come in?" She hesitated and self-consciously covered herself.
"Um, I kind of just got into the bath," she said nervously.
"I know," Stefan said innocently, "I just thought you wouldn't mind if I took a shower while you were in the tub." Caroline frowned and contemplated for a moment. "Please, Caroline?" Stefan pleaded. "I'm beat and I can't wait to get into bed." That settled it. She knew she would fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow and she didn't want to risk having a nightmare without him there to comfort her.
"Ok, but you keep your eyes to themselves," she warned and turned onto her stomach so that she could retain some modesty. Stefan turned the knob and came into the room with his hand over his eyes. The towel wrapped around his waste the only thing covering his body. He made a show of stumbling toward the shower and Caroline giggled at his display. When he was next to the tub, he peeked through his fingers, pretending to need to see his way and Caroline quickly picked up a slipper and chucked it at him. He dodged it and finally stopped in front of the shower where it stood along the bathroom's back wall, sitting parallel to the bathtub on the opposite side of the room. His back to her, Stefan finally uncovered his eyes and–without hesitation–tore off the towel and hung it on a hook next to the shower door.
Caroline quickly averted her eyes and blushed. Damn, he had a nice ass. She heard the shower door slide closed and the water come gushing out of the shower head a moment later. She flipped over onto her back again and stared down into the water of the tub, swirling the bubbles around to take her mind off the fact that she and Stefan were both totally naked within ten feet of each other.
In the weeks since they had started sleeping in the same bed, Stefan had been a perfect gentleman...mostly. There had been a few nights when she had climbed into bed with him and he would pull her close. She would feel his arousal against her and it would take everything she had to resist his scent and the feel of his chiseled body pressed so close. He would press his lips and hands urgently to her body and she would lose herself in his touch. Yet whenever he had tried to take things beyond kissing, she had stopped him. It wasn't that she didn't want to (the wetness that built between her thighs was testament to that), it was just that she feared what taking their relationship in that direction would mean.
The whole point of being here was to bring Stefan back to himself and return to Mystic Falls. He had certainly seemed to become more like the old Stefan as the days passed, but what would bringing sex into the mix do? Other tan during their hunts, those were the moments when he seemed most volatile, most like the Ripper; perhaps giving in would only fuel that. Even more confusing were the implications for their eventual return to Mystic Falls. Once he was back to himself, would Stefan go back to loving Elena again? To be skipped over again for her best friend would be more than she could bear. And hell, she wasn't even sure she was totally over Tyler yet. Sure he had seemingly moved on, but there had been that kiss in the Lockwood cellar, so full of fire. Stefan had forbid her from checking her phone or email, but she liked to think both would be full with messages from him. No, taking her relationship with Stefan to the next level was too complicated...but that didn't mean she couldn't admire him.
Caroline tentatively flicked her eyes toward the shower, trying not to move her head in case Stefan happened to be turned toward her. She found him standing in the middle of the spray, eyes closed as water flowed over him. As his fingers moved through his hair to rinse out the soap, Caroline contemplated how it was possible that it always looked so perfectly tousled and sexy. One of her favorite things about drinking from him on their hunts or when they lay in bed was the chance to run her fingers through his hair.
Stefan stepped back from the water and opened his eyes, reaching for his washcloth where it hung on a hook just under the shower head. He took the bar of soap from the dish and rubbed it between the sides of the cloth until he built up a lather. After setting the soap down, he closed his eyes again and began to slowly run the cloth over his arms, massaging his aching muscles. He then ran the cloth over his shoulders and chest before gliding it down his abs and lingering there. Caroline had seen his body before–he might as well have been nude in bed for all the good his boxers did and how closely they slept together–but something about the way the water made his body glisten as it ran down him was setting her pulse racing.
Stefan lifted his left foot and placed it on a shelf holding various soap bottles to begin washing his leg and Caroline nearly gasped when she saw his cock—given its size, she didn't know how she hadn't noticed it sooner. Elena had been too modest during girl talk. After a second, he dropped his leg and brought up the other, partially blocking her view and allowing her a moment to admire how muscular his legs were. He soon brought his leg down again and began to rinse and wring out the wash cloth.
Opening his eyes to set the cloth back on its hook, Stefan grabbed the bar of soap and placed it between both hands and kneaded it. He closed his eyes again as his left hand moved to rub the soap in a slow, circular motion over his abs to create a lather that continuously trickled down his body. Caroline couldn't stop her sharp intake of breath as Stefan slid his right hand down to his cock, the base of his shaft between his first and middle fingers and his palm cupping and massaging his balls. Throwing his head back and letting out a sigh, he caressed himself for a few moments as he started to harden and then bit his lower lip when he began to stroke the length of his shaft. When he reached the head, he swiped his thumb over his tip before gliding his hand back to the base.
He repeated the motion at a leisurely pace for a few minutes, slowly rocking his hips back and forth in time with the movements of his hand until he was fully hard. With a moan, he began to pick up the pace and Caroline's breathing quickened along with it. Dual urges warred within her: part of her desperately wanted to race to Stefan and replace his hands with hers, while another told her to stay put for fear that her slightest movement might stop him altogether. The latter won out.
Stefan's hand was moving much faster now, he no longer paused to swipe his thumb over his tip and he simultaneously squeezed himself a little tighter and pulled a little harder. His left hand ceased its motion on his stomach and he reached out and instinctively replaced the soap without opening his eyes. He leaned forward slightly so that the water now ran over his face and placed his hand on the wall in front of him. The hand on his cock began to move even faster–at vampire speed–as he began to buck his hips more sharply, small moans escaping his lips as he brought himself closer to the edge. With a final growl, he came and gasped for air as his semen spurted from him. He continued to stroke himself for a few moments, his pace slowing, before stepping back to rinse himself off.
When Stefan's eyes snapped open again, Caroline quickly turned her head and hoped he hadn't noticed her staring. She was surprised to realize that as she had watched him, her hands had been tightly gripping the sides of the tub and she had clenched her thighs together in response to her significant arousal. She relaxed her body and quickly reached out for the shampoo bottle sitting on the side of the tub. Maybe if she pretended to look preoccupied, he wouldn't realize that she had watched him. As she squeezed the soap into her hand and began to scrub it into her hair, she heard Stefan shut off the water and open the shower door. She had to concentrate on not looking at him when he grabbed his towel and began drying himself off. Finally, he wrapped it around his waist and began to pad toward the door. Wanting to avoid any conversation, Caroline shut her eyes and slid into the water to rinse the shampoo out of her hair.
After what seemed like ample time for Stefan to leave the room, she brought her head out of the water, eyes closed and hands running through her hair to remove the last of the soap. She gasped as she suddenly felt Stefan's hand snake around her throat from behind and push her chin up so he could crash his lips onto hers. He plunged his tongue into her mouth and sucked on hers when she reciprocated; she immediately reached both hands up to run them through his hair. Caroline whimpered as she felt him slide his other hand along her shoulder, between her breasts and down to her stomach before tracing the same path up again. He broke their kiss and pushed on her back slightly as he stood staring down at her from behind.
"Slide forward," he said firmly. Caroline quickly reached for the sides of the tub with both hands and complied. She saw Stefan's towel fly onto the chair next to the tub to join hers and then felt him step into the water and sit down behind her. The feel of his cock–still slightly hard–pressed against her behind and the feel of his chest and abs pressed flush against her back were enough to drive her wild. Yet that was nothing compared to the way she felt when Stefan wrapped his arms around her body and began to fondle her breasts with one hand while the other slid between her thighs to cup her. She wriggled to escape his touch as her mind insisted this was a bad idea, but he only pressed her to him harder.
"Don't try to deny how much you want me," Stefan whispered seductively into her ear. "I could smell how much watching me turned you on." He rolled his hips against her and Caroline let out a small moan and dropped her head back onto Stefan's shoulder, the will to resist completely obliterated.
"You were amazing today," he said while planting kisses along her jaw. "You're almost ready." Caroline bit her bottom lip as Stefan began to massage her. "If you prove yourself on the hunt tomorrow, we can move to the next step."
"What do I have to do?" Caroline panted. Stefan paused to kiss her neck before answering.
"You have to drink from your victim without snapping their neck first," he said. Caroline's body tensed. Though she had become more comfortable drinking from a fresh kill as the months had passed, she had always snapped their necks first to make it less painful for them and less traumatic for herself. She wasn't sure if she could take that step.
"Stefan, I..." she began, but was cut short by the moan that escaped her lips when Stefan ran a finger between her folds.
"You've made so much progress since you first got here," he interrupted. "You're almost ready, you just have to do this one thing." Caroline nearly cried out as she felt him simultaneously pinch her nipple and press his finger hard against her clit. "Say you'll do it," he commanded.
"Yes," she said desperately and ground her hips against him, "I want to know what's next." Caroline felt him smile against her neck and yelped when he pushed a finger into her.
"Mmm," he purred into her ear as he began to move his finger against her walls. "You're so tight," he said and pushed his hand into her as far as he could. Caroline whimpered and swiveled her hips in rhythm as he moved his finger in and out of her, round and round. Desire built quickly in the pit of her stomach. Feeling her increasing slickness, Stefan leaned down and pressed his lips more roughly to her neck, nibbling at the skin above her veins though not piercing it.
"I can't wait to feel you come," he said and slipped a second finger into her while his thumb began to circle her clit. Caroline's hands, which had tightened on the sides of the tub as Stefan played with her, clenched at this new stimulation and she felt the porcelain crack slightly under her fingers. She slid them down into the water and caressed his thighs with both hands. Stefan moaned and ground himself against her, fully hard again. He tightened the hand on her chest around her breast and pinched her nipple hard enough that it would bruise on anyone else and she gave a small scream in response.
Caroline was close to the edge now, her breathing hard and her hips bucking wildly against Stefan's hand as he moved with devastating skill. His breath was rapid and ragged too, the sound of her blood pumping through her exposed neck driving him mad. Unable to resist any longer, he bared his fangs and sunk his teeth into her neck. Caroline screamed Stefan's name in pleasure at the sensation and went crashing over the edge, her body undulating as wave after wave of her intense orgasm flowed through her body. She felt Stefan's cock twitch against her as he came, the taste of her blood hitting his throat and the feel of her grinding against him finally becoming too much.
His hand began to slow its movements as they both came down from their orgasms. He disengaged from her neck with a sigh and lay his head on the back lip of the tub. Caroline whimpered as Stefan pulled his fingers from her. Bringing those same fingers to his lips, he used them to wipe her blood from his mouth and closed his eyes before sucking on them, the taste of her mixing with her blood in a way that made him shudder with pleasure.
They lay together–his arms wrapped around her and hers rubbing his thighs–as their breathing slowed. Finally, he pushed her chin up and kissed her, achingly slow. Just as Caroline felt her desire begin to build again, he pulled back and moved to climb out of the tub. He padded to the chair and grabbed his towel, wrapping it around his waist. He smiled smugly as he stared down at her, clearly satisfied with himself and her.
"I want nothing more than to drag you into that bedroom right now and fuck you all night," he said and paused to lick his lips seductively, "but we'll need to save our strength for the hunt tomorrow." He leaned down and wrapped his hand around her throat and pressed a final heated kiss to her lips. "Goodnight, Caroline," he said and walked out of the room.
Caroline sat back against the tub, a little dazed. She doubted she would sleep a wink.
I hope you guys enjoyed that. I've never written anything lemony before, so feel free to let me know if it did or didn't work for you in a review.
The next chapter probably won't be up until the end of the week. I'm very excited about what's next, but I feel I should warn you that I'm starting to wrap up this tale. I've always envisioned a very specific endpoint and we're getting pretty close to it. I hope you like the final chapters.