Tänan väga, Eesti! :)

A big hug goes to Bekki, Anonymous, Marie, Justine, Venomfilledrage, Tricia and Anahita20 - guys, I can't thank you enough for being so kind! :)

Major smut warning for today's chapter... ;)

THANK YOU, everyone!

XX

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

KISS ME HARD BEFORE YOU GO

They did not sleep that night. When they had finally reached the privacy of their room in the wee hours of the morning, after everyone had returned, Caroline had just looked at Klaus with haunted eyes and whispered, "I'm still scared. Can you hold me for a while?" His gaze had darkened, and he had quickly lit the fireplace, pulled her onto the couch and gathered her so close they could both not actually breathe. Neither of them cared.

It had been a few hours by now, and they had not spoken a word. Caroline sighed into the curve of his shoulder where she had been hidden all this time. What if she was never going to experience this wonderful, serene peace again? This absolute harmony, the deep connection she shared with her man – oh, how she was afraid of losing all of that! She hadn't voiced a single doubt to Klaus, knowing that if he realized just how scared and insecure about her plan she really was, he would compel her and tie her up.

After everything she had learned about the Other Side so far, it was apparently not quite like what she had always imagined hell to be, but close enough. She would be able to move about the entire demi-world, which gave her considerably more freedom than most of the other inhabitants enjoyed, but there seemed to be no positive, pleasant, light spot to be found anywhere, and that was what she feared the most – not to have a place to put her mind to rest. She had experienced that during her first weeks in Patagonia. There had been no way whatsoever her mind could relax, being constantly focused on everything negative, dark and frightful. In this case, she assumed her own mind would have to be her sanctuary, and she sincerely hoped she would do a better job about that than she had done during her first separation from Klaus.

"What worries you the most?" his dark, low voice suddenly asked. Caroline knew he couldn't quite read her mind, but there were moments when she wondered if he was somehow able to feel what she felt. To read her emotions, in a way. Stretching in his arms, she closed her eyes.

"The Other Side seems to be a truly depressing place. What worries me is that I might not find any place to take a break from the doom and gloom. I mean, it's no big drama, I can take it, but I'm wondering if I'll be at all able to rest."

Klaus' lips were on her hair. God, I'm going to miss that like crazy! "Have you ever heard of the so-called Memory Palace?" he inquired.

Caroline shook her head, eyes still closed. "No. What is that?"

"It basically is a mnemonic technique dating back to Ancient Greek and Roman times, usually employed to confine great amounts of information to memory. But it can also be used as a method of escaping reality for a while when required. It takes years to build, but you can start with a few simple memories. Whatever shape or form works best for you and that you find most appealing, you use as the ground layout. It can be a building with many different rooms, a detailed landscape, a fantasy place… whatever you like to look at. Then you assign a specific memory to a certain room or a portion of your landscape. For instance, let us assume you take our mansion in Mystic Falls as the layout. Recall any given memory, like our wedding day, in as much detail as possible and store it in the study. Now every time you enter our house in your mind, you know that when you visit the study, you will find that specific memory. The actual technique is a little more complex than that, but due to lack of time to properly introduce you to the principle, it will need to suffice for now. With time, you can assign everything to a place of your Memory Palace, not just full reminiscences but things like sounds, songs, sights, smells. At some point, you will be able to take a figurative walk through your Memory Palace, choosing the rooms or places to visit – and those to avoid." He paused to press another tender kiss to the top of her head. "So why don't you think about a place you begin to build your palace around and then choose your two or three happiest memories and store them there? It will enable you to take a short walk and visit them each time you feel like the Other Side gets to you in too intense a way. Furthermore, you can immediately begin to store the memories and experiences you gain down there to their own rooms. For anything that really bothers, hurts or frightens you, you might want to choose a place way removed from the entrance to your palace and far away from your happy places. Make it a longer walk to reach them, maybe store them in a lock room or a cellar, whatever works best for you. Escape to your palace whenever you need to. Building it is an ongoing process, it never truly ends. And it will also help you to preserve the staggering amount of experiences you will have over the course of the centuries."

Opening her eyes, she lifted her head to look at him. "Do you have a memory palace?" she asked curiously.

"I do indeed," he smiled. "It is rather vast by now, and I am adding to it on an almost daily basis."

"What does it look like?"

"If you do not mind, I will wait to tell you until you have begun building your own. You should not be influenced by how my palace is laid out. But once you have chosen a place and begun to furnish it with your own memories, I shall be more than happy to share it with you, my love," he answered softly.

Caroline liked the idea of a Memory Palace. Not only because she would probably need an escape from her surroundings on the Other Side at some point. Storing everything that mattered to her inside her head in such a way that she would never lose any of those memories was an amazing thought. Falling silent, she contemplated what her palace could look like.

All of a sudden, an image floated through her head, a picture of an ivy-clad wooden portal that led to a large hall with terracotta tiled floors, a roofed cloister framing a patio, and a small, very beautiful white marble fountain in the middle of the hall. Heavy wooden doors led from the foyer to a number of rooms and corridors that waited to be furnished. The place did not have an outside, at least not for the time being, and Caroline liked it. She liked it a lot. It was warm, flooded with light, and it was safe. It was her.

Klaus was quiet, simply holding her and letting the thoughts settle inside her head. She closed her eyes again and opened the first door to her right, next to the marble fountain. The room behind it was high-ceilinged with large, floor-length windows, a wooden floor not unlike the one that covered the study in the Mikaelson mansion in Mystic Falls, and big cream-coloured drapes that moved with a light breeze. Oh, she liked this room! And she knew perfectly well which memory would be stored here – her wedding day. The day she and Klaus had been so mind-numbingly happy deserved a light, beautiful and elegant room like this one. Caroline concentrated all of her senses on the details of that wonderful, perfect day. Everything that had happened, everything she had felt, all colours, sounds, sights and scents were being stored in this room for all eternity. Excitement grew inside her as she felt that, amazingly, this was actually working. Stepping back out into the hall where the fountain was gurgling, she turned to look at the door to the room she had just left. It had transformed from solid wood into something semi-transparent, with a fluid image of Klaus as she had seen him the moment she had walked up to him on the beach where they had been married. White pants, white shirt, barefoot… he had looked otherworldly handsome.

The next door was still wooden when she stepped through it. This room looked entirely different from the one before. It was also high-ceilinged with large windows, but it was of a velvety darkness, full of very tiny, twinkling stars. It resembled a night sky, and Caroline immediately associated one memory with it – the Northern Lights in Tromsø. Their first real kiss. Repeating what she had done with the memories of her wedding day, she confined every detail of that magic night in Norway to the beautiful, dark room. When she returned to the foyer, she smiled at the floating image of an Aurora Borealis on the door.

She repeated the process with the remembrances of their first night and the evening she had spent with her Mom before officially moving into the Mikaelson mansion. It took her very long, and during all of that time, Klaus held her silently without moving an inch. She had the strange sensation that their closeness strengthened her memories. The reminiscences were clearer, sharper – at least their joint ones. Caroline suspected it had to do with the Signum somehow enforcing their memories of the events and making them more graphic.

"I like it," she whispered, "thank you for telling me about it. It's a shame I don't have more time to put some additional memories in there, it would be great to spend hours just walking through the rooms and corridors." Klaus listened attentively when she described to him what she imagined her memory palace to look like.

"It sounds like you, my darling. Beautiful, open, light and solid. Not surprisingly, it is quite different from my own memory palace which I will illustrate to you once you have returned. I shall make a drawing of it in order to give you a better idea. Be that as it may, whenever the darkness of the Other Side threatens to consume you, go and visit your palace. It is not just to see your memories. Sit down at your fountain and relax, let the sounds of the water console you, absorb the serenity of the place. It truly is your safe haven, a place where nothing and no one can reach or threaten you."

Shaking her head, she gave him a loving smile. "I always knew you had the soul of an artist, but I wasn't aware that you were so… philosophical. It borders on esoteric, actually."

With a small chuckle, he murmured, "There is nothing romantic about this. It is much more practical than it sounds. I have had many centuries to discover how to best escape your dreary surroundings when they bother you. It does not necessarily have to be out of fear – it can be boredom, annoyance or whatever reason. Apart from recreating paintings in my mind, the Memory Palace is what works best for me. Fall back on it, my darling. Escape to it whenever you need to. Whatever it is that helps you staying sane and grounded and takes your fear you will put to use, will you?"

"Yes, I will, I promise," she acquiesced. "Will you do the same, Niklaus? Please? I need to be sure you will hold it together, my love."

She felt him nod and hug her tighter. "I have to, and I will. I am a man of my word, and I have promised to show you the world, to just be with you and leave everything else behind. And that is exactly what we will do." He paused and she felt his finger underneath her chin, gently nudging her head up until she was looking at him. "Caroline, I have not been very enthusiastic about this whole idea, but we will make it through. Both of us. This," he gestured between the two of them, "this is our reward for pain and fear, and I am willing to pay any price for it."

Their lips found each other, passionately and wildly this time, drinking each other in and attempting to seal the sensation into one another's skin. Pulling out of the sizzling kiss, Klaus took her face in his hands. "Feed from me, my love. Even though you might not need the physical strength, I want to know that my blood is in your system when it happens."

Caroline stared into his eyes, wishing she could have him feed on her at the same time, but she would never take the risk. If there was only the teensiest little trace of Pale Blood in her, he would die instantly. Still, she felt reluctant not to be able to offer him the same sort of pleasure that was awaiting her. He just nodded and ran his thumb over her lower lip.

"Show me that beautiful, dark face of yours," he whispered, and she needed no further convincing. Her fangs descended and she felt the black veins under her eyes protrude. Klaus tenderly ran a finger over the veins and smiled at her vampire face. She knew he liked to look at it, almost as much as he adored it when she drank from him. With a low moan, she sank her fangs into his neck. Oh holy hell, what is that? His blood touched her tongue and she had the feeling she was on a straight path to heaven. It had always been sweet, spicy and delicious, but now it was something so sublime it almost made her entire body shortcircuit. It was the single most enticing, arousing, soothing and addictive thing she had ever tasted.

With a start, she pulled back to shake her head. "I can't! Niklaus, your blood is unspeakably good! I mean, it always has been, but this is something else entirely. It… it must have something to do with the Signum turning golden. Once I start, I will never be able to stop, and I am not taking any risk of hurting you!"

He pulled her close until his lips brushed her ear. "Do not worry for one second, my darling girl. Just feed. I will stop you should it get to be too much for me, rest assured. I am sorry to state the obvious, but I am still stronger than you are. Physically. Come on now, have at it."

She tried to resist for another second but the pull was too potent. Straddling him, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her fangs in his neck once more. Before completely succumbing to the incredible taste of his Golden Blood, she heard him groan at feeling her lips, her tongue and her teeth on his skin. But then there was nothing left but pure and unadulterated ecstasy. Her mind went blank and she fell into a strange kind of trance, sucking and licking his blood, not aware of how she was moaning with every little drop that touched her lips, how she was crushing him to her… and how the unconscious motions of her hips on his lap were turning him into a twitchy mess. She drank and drank, filling herself with his strong, delectable, intoxicating blood. She had no idea how much time had gone by, and she didn't really care, when she felt him pull her back, very gently but determinedly. Trying to hold on to him, she made a sound of protest – it hadn't been enough! She needed more of his blood, she hadn't had anything yet!

"You will need to stop now, my heart," he purred at her ear, "or you might begin to truly weaken me. And I do not believe that is what you want, is it?"

But I want more! More!

Caroline, get a grip! You're hurting him! Stop it!

Very slowly, she backed away from his skin, desperately struggling to control the burning desire to fight against his hands and just latch onto his neck again. After a short while, however, the paralyzing urge subsided, and it felt like a cloud lifted from her senses.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Niklaus," she whispered, thunderstruck by her own loss of control. "I didn't mean to…"

"Everything is perfectly fine, Caroline. You did not hurt me, but you drank a significant amount of my blood, and even I can be weakened by blood loss to an extent. How do you feel?"

She pondered his question for a moment. "Really good. Energized. Powerful. Wow, if this is how you feel all the time, I want to be an Original Hybrid with Golden Blood, too," she teased. With a gleam in her eyes, she looked up at him while she moved on his lap. His sharp intake of breath ignited something in her. "I want you, Niklaus. No, correction. I want Big Bad Hybrid Klaus now. In his full, wicked, Sex God glory," she hissed. "No mercy. None whatsoever, even if I ask for it."

"You should know me well enough to remember that I don't do mercy," he growled, and she could almost hear the raw arousal in his voice. "And even less when fucking you, my little devil."

A quick rush of anticipation thundered through her at the sound of the one word she knew he only ever used when he was ragingly angry. Or unspeakably turned on.

In a blur, he was gone and back, and before Caroline could say a word, he had blindfolded her with a black silk scarf. A heated wave of desire almost knocked her over when his velvety voice was at her ear. "You can beg, plead and cry – this time, it will not go your way. You will do as I say, you will feel what I want you to feel, you will come when I allow you to. You will crash and burn. With me."

Damn, yes! Take me, burn me, possess me!

She was being slammed into the balcony door, her hands trapped underneath his, pressed against the glass. His tongue was on the nape of her neck, brutally attacking her skin, aided by his teeth. His whole body was moving against hers while his mouth made its way to her throat, his weight pushing her further against the window. Now his hands released hers. "Don't move your hands. They stay where they are," he commanded in a growl. She could only nod as his hands found their way to her core, always remaining above the pants. He just cupped her sex and pushed her against him, making her moan with longing as she felt him iron-hard against her butt. The way he subtly rocked his hips against her while keeping his hand on her core, his fingers moving ever so slightly, was mind-blowing.

Suddenly, she felt her pants being slid down her legs, his hands on her naked skin, following the fabric down to her feet. She stepped out of her jeans, her knees wobbling, when she felt his mouth on her backside. My Goood! His tongue and teeth were mercilessly exploring every inch of her skin, and Caroline just sagged against the glass, holding on for dear life while the incredible sensations made her almost sob with want. Klaus became ever more ravenous with each passing minute, his hands now joining his mouth in the exquisite agony he was inflicting on her. His tongue slipped beneath the hem of her panties, tracing the outline of the fabric on her butt. At the very same instant, his hand discovered the path towards her sex, cupping her core from between her legs and gently running a finger along her length. Caroline cried out and hit the wall with her flat hand, not finding another way to bear the overwhelming hunger that flashed through her.

"What?" he hissed against her hot skin, "what is it you want, Caroline?"

"You, dammit, you!"

Snickering, he bit her butt with his blunt teeth. "And you'll have me. More of me than you can possibly bear."

Doubt…ful… ahh!

He pulled her down to the floor, and for a moment, she was not sure what he wanted her to do as he stopped her when she was on her knees. A split second later, she knew. She was leaning against the glass, her knees pushed apart – and then she felt his tongue beneath her, right after he had torn her panties. He pulled her further down until his tongue was so deeply buried inside her she almost fainted. Her hands slid across the glass and her head fell back as he began to truly devour her. His tongue, his lips, his entire face were making love to her. No. Fucking me. No. Both. Her clit was burning hot and throbbing, she was as wet as she had never been in her life, and her man was turning her into a sobbing mess with his demonic skills. She heard him moan loudly against her core, and in a brief coherent moment, she decided on revenge and began to gently move her hips back and forth against his greedy mouth. She had thought he would stop her, as this was his game, but he didn't. With a deep, dark groan, he grabbed her hips and aided her movements. Ohh… this is so gooood… dirtydirty… divine… Damn, yes, she felt dirty and she loved it like crazy.

Her climax was looming, but something told her he would not allow her to come just yet. When he felt her go rigid, he slid out from under her and ran his tongue up her butt and her spine, pulling up her shirt and tearing off her bra. A brief gust of wind told her he had rid himself of his clothes at full vampire speed, and a second later, she felt him kneel behind her, one hand between her legs. He slipped a finger inside her tight heat and moaned with sheer delight.

"You are so bloody erotic, my love, it drives me insane in a way nothing has in a millennium. If I could only tell you just how it turns me on to see you like this… legs spread, hot, wet, waiting for me to make you scream." He pulled her back a little, then he roughly pushed her onto all fours. "You shall not have to wait any longer." And she did scream when his massive, hard cock slammed into her until he was buried to the hilt. His hands were on her hips, and for a moment, he remained deeply sheathed inside her, making her contract around him. "Gods, Caroline, stop that!" he gasped, "My rules, remember?"

"Oh really?" she grated. "What happens if I break them?"

"This." He began to thrust into her hard, very hard, the sound of flesh against flesh echoing from the walls. Caroline could hardly hold herself up on her own hands when he took her. It had been far too long since he had been like this with her – hard, possessive, demanding. They had made somewhat rougher love a couple of times ever since they had found each other again, but not like this, not in that incredibly ferocious, stormy way that was so Klaus. And that she had never thought she would come to crave so badly. His fingers dug into the flesh of her hips, his breathing was ragged and Caroline wished she could see his face contorted in pleasure, eyes on her body, burning with his need for her. She began to push her hips back against his, meeting his brutal thrusts and closing her eyes in sheer crazed desire, her fingers clawing into the rug, trying to find some hold during her quick, hot, blind ride through heaven.

Without a warning, Klaus pulled out of her, ignoring her protest and wrapping his arm around her waist, lifting her from the ground and unceremoniously throwing her onto the bed. In the very same second, his mouth was buried between her legs again, his tongue relentlessly assaulting her clit and her entire sex until she saw stars behind the blindfold. She knew she was by turns stammering incoherent words, gasping, moaning and crying out. He brought her close, oh so close, and each time she was just about to come, he slowed his onslaught.

"Let me see you," she grated desperately, knowing that looking at him moving between her thighs would send her over the edge immediately. And ever since their first time, she had adored watching their bodies take each other.

"Not yet," he moaned, and Caroline couldn't help a smile at how shaky his voice sounded. He was enjoying her ecstasy more than his own, it had always been like that. When I'm back, I'll ask him to take me just the way he wants me, to just use me to chase his own pleasure without thinking about anything but himself. Oh, I want that! But then she had no more time to think, for she was almost there again. His tongue moved over her core with unnatural speed, and she felt her orgasm a second away when he was gone.

"Niklaus, I'll kill you!" she exclaimed, breathing heavily and grabbing the sheets, trying to force her body to climax on its own. Suddenly, she felt warm water flowing over her torso. Ohhh! Inhaling sharply, her back arched from the mattress, welcoming the divine feeling of moisture on her heated body when she sensed him enter her, filling her up, conquering her. His body covered hers, and they both groaned at how he slid over her, the thin film of water between them allowing him to glide over every inch of her skin. And he did. There was no part of him that was not moving while he made love to her… it was beyond compare. She spread her arms to her sides and sinuously moved underneath him, provoking a series of groans from Klaus. He adjusted his angle, and Caroline grabbed his backside. "Harder. Come on, Niklaus, is that all you've got?" she hissed, perfectly well aware that he would take her words as a provocation.

Klaus growled and delved deeper into her, running a hand down the side of her thigh, then grabbing the back of her knee and hitching up her leg, his hand resting on her thigh while he increased the force of his thrusts. "Oh, believe me, my love, I have not even started," he rasped, just before tearing the blindfold from her face. "But you will look at me from now on. I know my desire for you drives you crazy, and that is what I want. I want you insane with need."

"I am," she whispered, "and you know it."

His hand was around her throat, and in perfect rhythm with his pumping, he squeezed carefully. "Not yet. You are not yet there, Caroline."

She couldn't tear her eyes from his face, and she knew he could see how her eyes widened infinitesimally with every time his hand closed around her throat. It turned her on very heavily, it always had, but what even added to her desperate arousal was the fact that she trusted him so completely that there was nothing she would not let him do to her. There was no safer place in the world for her body, her heart and her soul than in the hands of the one man she loved so madly.

He crushed his lips to hers, invading her mouth with his tongue and closing his eyes in pleasure when she responded with a wild groan. His hand squeezed her throat again lightly while he kissed her with complete abandon, making them both quiver. His other hand slipped between their heated, wet bodies and began to recklessly play with her clit, sending deep, rich tremors all through her system. She moaned and sent her own hand down her side, joining his. He exhaled before he grabbed her fingers and pulled out of her a few inches, stopping his thrusts. Guiding her hand to the shaft of his pulsating cock, he returned his fingers to her sex and continued to stroke her clit. Caroline began to gently pump him, her eyes closing at the incredible sensation of his hard cock half-buried inside her while she had her hand around it and her fingers played with every inch of the velvety skin she could reach.

Klaus gave a deep, loud moan and quickened his caresses of her throbbing clit. "Yes, my angel… yes," he whispered hoarsely, sending a shiver through her spine at the raging desire she could hear in his voice. Very roughly, she shoved him off her, and her mouth was around his cock before he even hit the mattress. His hands knotted in her hair as she began to devour him, and his voice became ever more ragged when her lips and her tongue showered him with passion. "Faster, my love… ah… Gods, Caroline!" he exclaimed when she increased her speed and made her tongue lick him all the more forcefully while her hand gripped him firmly, aiding her mouth in its movements.

All of a sudden, he growled. "No. You will be the one to beg me today." And with that, he scooped her up and carried her to the bathroom, placing her on the stone ledge of the large, square bathtub, his hands on her butt, pulling her forward until she was sitting right on the edge. Her breath caught when he pushed her legs further apart and cast a searing look into her face. Then he leaned over her and turned on the water. Caroline had no idea what he was doing, but she no longer cared when he knelt before her and pulled her thighs over his shoulders again. He caressed her legs, inhaling her scent before his beautiful mouth was back on her sex and Caroline's head dropped backwards, her hands desperately holding on to the ledge. He almost brought her to climax, over and over again, and in a brief moment, she felt reminded of how she had blacked out the first time he had done that, back in Mystic Falls.

"Please, Niklaus… mercy!" she finally begged, feeling him shake his head and slipping three fingers inside her while he tenderly circled her clit with his tongue. He had been very gentle ever since they had entered the bathroom, building even more anticipation and desire inside her, making her crave relief so violently she almost failed to notice how the water was flowing over the edge of the tub, running along her thighs and her backside. "Niklaus," she panted, "the water!" He didn't respond, but his tongue increased its sinful rhythm on her core while his fingers curled inside her, and Caroline completely forgot that she was supposed to care about anything at all. Pushing her legs further apart, Klaus licked her for everything he was worth, and Caroline felt an earthquake coming up.

The moment everything inside her erupted, Klaus grabbed her wrists and shoved her arms to the sides, making her torso fall backwards without any chance for her to hold on to anything. Her head and her upper body splashed into the warm water, and Caroline almost had a seizure from the incredible pleasure that raced through her at the devastating orgasm that joined forces with the soft, mellow water engulfing her now. Unconsciously, she stretched her torso and her arms out beneath the water while her butt was still on the ledge of the tub, and she further spread her legs on his shoulder to somehow bear the ecstasy that had captivated her entire body, making her press her sex even closer to his mouth. Over her own subdued moans beneath the water, she heard Klaus' guttural groan of her name against her core. Divine. Perfect. My bloody, freaking Sex God.

When she had given him everything, even the last remainders of her all-consuming orgasm, when he was finally satisfied with how she had thrashed in the water in the throes of her climax, he swiftly dived into the tub and pulled her up to him. Her arms went around his neck, and her eyes closed for a moment when he lovingly kissed her temple. But they opened again immediately at feeling his cock against her thigh. He was hard to the point of bursting, and even though she was still slightly shivering with the aftermath of her orgasm, Caroline wanted him inside her now. And she wanted him as lost in his desire as she had just been in hers. Without a word, she pushed him against the tub and straddled him, slowly lowering herself onto his length, smiling when his moan told her just how desperate he was to have her.

Caroline grabbed the edge of the tub for support and let her hips take him, using the leverage the hold gave her to summon all the force she could. She knew she was being brutal, violent, but she could see in his eyes that Klaus adored it beyond words. He stared at her in fascination, never suppressing his sensual moans; with every move he gave her a little more of him and yet, she still wasn't satisfied. All of a sudden, she stopped her motions, panting and staring into his eyes. She needed a quick instant to absorb the passion, the blazing heat of this moment. There was something closely resembling pain in his face when he groaned.

"Please. Oh Gods, please, don't stop! I need you. Fuck me, my love, as wildly as you can. Please."

Bloody hell, you're just giving me the chills when you beg me like that! She took a better hold of the tub and slammed down on him. The water was splashing all around them, and Caroline put everything she had, everything she was into their frenzied mating. His hands came around her, resting on her back while his mouth greedily devoured her breast, licking and biting her nipple until it was raw and throbbing. She closed her eyes. Her hips seemed to be moving on their own accord, and every muscle in her body was tense, focused on giving her Klaus all the pleasure in the world. Increasing her pace, she brushed his ear with her lips, and in the very second she gathered all her power to thrust onto him, her tongue invaded his ear. With a dark outcry, his head fell back and his fingers dug into her butt. Then he raised his head and stared into her face, challenge in his eyes.

"More of that," he demanded, his voice a scratchy rasp.

She gave herself completely, and she took everything from him. They moved as one, violently slamming into each other, their eyes wide, every nerve in their bodies raw and exposed to each other's greed. Caroline felt alive, beautiful and infinitely sexy in his arms, and she didn't want to lose any of it. Feeling his body go rigid, she gasped as she was suddenly slammed into the tub, making another tidal wave of water slosh into the room. Just as he had done in her dream back in Ushuaia, he took charge now, using all of his Original strength to make her eyes glaze over with pure ecstasy. When his thumb was on her clit, rubbing a very rough pattern, she couldn't bear it any longer. Grabbing his face, she slung her legs around him.

"Make us come. Right now."

Without a warning, he slowed down, and Caroline was about to cry out in frustration when she noticed that he was rolling his hips into hers, gradually hitting her spot from different angles while moving another finger to her clit. The change in rhythm was what finally made them both come undone.

Seeing his face contort in pure, unadulterated intoxication, she cried out his name, echoed by Klaus as he grated hers. They had cupped each other's face, their eyes on one another, trembling and shuddering through their explosive release until their desperate gasps for air gradually slowed down.

After pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, he lifted her out of the tub, grabbing a large towel. When he attempted to wrap her in it, she shook her head. "No. Your skin only." His eyes turned almost unbearably tender, and he ran a single finger along her cheek. Then he carried her to their bed and surrounded her as much as he could, covering her body with his. Looking down at her, he shook his head.

"Caroline," he whispered, "I love you. And right at this very moment, I feel the almost unbearable urge to kneel before you and beg you not to die, whatever the price. It has nothing to do with my not trusting your strength or believing that it might not work." He fell silent for a moment, and Caroline felt that whatever he was about to say was not easy for him. Biting his lip, he swallowed. "My darling girl, please, please return to me. You are all that matters to me. You are my humanity, you are everything that is redeemable about me. Don't take yourself away for good. I am begging you, Caroline. There is no meaning to my life without you."

A few single tears escaped her eyes, and she was dangerously close to a sob when he tenderly wiped the small drops from her face. "I'm not all that is redeemable about you, and you know that." She lowered her head and crushed herself to him. "Niklaus, when you make love to me like that, when you hold me like you do right now, when you tell me just how much you love me, it is all I can do not to break down and implore you to just take me away from here and hide me from the world and from all that is going to happen. But someday, I want to be able to just live my love for you without any looming dangers, at least for a while. And we will have to go through this now in order to get to that happy place. My God, there is nothing I could ever want less than to leave your side, but I promise you – I will come back to you. You know that even while I'm gone, I will still be with you… right here." She placed a hand over his heart. "You and I are indestructible."

Klaus covered her hand with his. "That we are. I do not doubt that. What worries me is how I cannot protect you on the Other Side. You will be on your own, and we cannot predict what will happen there. We cannot be one step ahead, we will have to react instead of running the game, and I do not like it. I hate the thought of you being a world away, surrounded by nothing but darkness."

She leaned in and placed loving, gentle kisses all over his face. "Believe in me. Please. I will cope, and I most definitely will return to you. Focus on what you need to do. I have to die to break the spell and to free you from further threats, and I am dying on my own terms. We took all precautions. I will be uncomfortable, yes, but that is a very small price to pay for the safety of our family and friends… and our happiness. Just promise me you will always remember one thing, Niklaus."

He kissed her very softly, caressing her cheek with his knuckles. "Anything, my darling girl."

With a smile, she closed her eyes for a second, then she looked at him, all her emotions clearly readable on her face.

"Don't ever forget that you are worthy. Worthy of love, trust and friendship. No man in the world is more deserving of my love than you are."