AN: Thank you all so much for all the amazing reviews! They always make my day, you have no idea :)

And in reply to review by ilovetvd (for His Lips p.2) - it was Caroline and Klaus' first time together but it wasn't their first time having sex in general. Hope I cleared this up :)

This one is based on prompt from the awesome Tay/candicemorgan:

kc+ "i'm on the verge of tears because of a rude customer and you step in and stand up for me" au

Nsfw-ish.

Title from "Stripper" by Soho Dolls.


The low sensual beat resounds across the room, leaving Caroline with only seconds to adjust her low-cut red lace bustier before it's time to saunter over to the stage, her hips swaying seductively to the music.

Most of the lights are dimmed, with her in the spotlight as she glazes assessingly over the crowd.

He's there, sitting in the corner, as he always is.

Electricity fills the air and humidity etches on her skin in droplets of sweat while she's moving her body in a sensuous rhythm, wrapping herself around the poll. Caroline can feel hundred eyes on her but there is only one gaze among the mass that holds the power to unravel her. So she focuses on the dance instead, her muscles flexing as she arches her back with a feline grace, her head tilted back to expose the luscious lines of her cleavage. In a few moments, she'll have even less on, as the bustier and the minuscule skirt will have to be dispersed, with the crowd cheering on.

Caroline doesn't mind, though. Along the way, she has learned to revel in the act on some level. There is no shame in enjoying nudity and this - her body, the nakedness, the slow uncovering of the mystery - she has come to treat them as instruments, means to an end. Use them to play men (and women!), to intrigue, to entice.

The more decadent the atmosphere, the more crowds the club attracts. The more erotic her act, the more people come to see her specifically. The more gazes she holds during her show, the bigger tips she might get.

Perhaps it's never been her dream job to become a stripper but it pays the bills just fine and if this is what gets her to finish college, so be it.

Easy math, really.

Losing herself in the music, Caroline can feel the murmur of the crowd humming against her skin, but it's the burn of his gaze that's scorching right through the surface. His penetrating eyes rake over her frame while his fingers dance on the sketchpad and she just knows it's her he's drawing. The thought stirs something in her, arousal pooling in her abdomen slowly, dangerously as the excitement prickles at her skin. She stifles a moan but the heat glimmers in her eyes, a rush of blood to the head adorning her cheek with a slight blush.

The crowd whistles and roars.


She met Klaus in this club months ago when he waltzed in to Mystique with a semi-inebriated rowdy group of men, apparently celebrating his brother's bachelor party. The future groom was sporting a stuffy suit paired with the most painful expression on his face, making Caroline wonder whether it was because of the entertainment or perhaps soon commitment he was to make.

Surprisingly, with all this serious aura he managed to catch attention of Katherine, one of the Mystique's most notorious dancers, who claimed someone needed to ruffle his perfect little feathers.

Caroline didn't inquire about what had transpired between the two that night but Katherine did leave him with ruffled hair and his impeccable tie loose and crooked.

As for her, it was the younger brother that attracted her gaze, his shapely raspberry lips and dirty blond curls enough to make any woman's mouth water.

He wasn't looking just at any woman, though. His eyes were focused on Caroline, shamelessly tracing her every move as she danced and slowly undressed. Usually, she had no problem distancing herself from the crowd but that night, all she could think of was the stranger devouring her with his gaze. He didn't make any lewd comments, he didn't push money in her thong, he didn't stare at her boobs.

He just watched. As if he wanted to memorize her inch by delicious inch.

And then, Caroline made the mistake of looking back, their eyes locked in the dance of their own as she moved to the beat of the music. The buzz of voices around them faded or so it seemed, and it was as if there had only been the two of them in the club. The moment lasted mere seconds, perhaps, but still, the raw attraction she had never felt before took Caroline by surprise. The man's lips curved in a slight smirk then, making his features even more attractive and she had to fight to keep her balance around the poll. Having decided not to let him win that silent duel of theirs, Caroline took special care with her following routine, adding extra sway to her hips and flexing her body to the extremes. Next time her eyes landed on his face, the smirk was gone and she was the one to smile triumphantly as the man admired her in a quiet abandon.

Later that night, when Caroline was informed by Alaric she had a client waiting for her in one of the private rooms, her skin prickled with reluctant anticipation. Walking in, she shot a quick glance towards the sofa and shuddered upon seeing the familiar lust-filled eyes that had been haunting her for hours.

Reigning in her emotions, Caroline told herself she was with just another client and that was all there was to it. She started to sway her body in a slow sensual rhythm, yet the movements were somewhat lacking, tinted with cold and professional grace.

It turned out the man was having none of it. "No. Dance for me," he interrupted with stern voice, laced with command and the tone made her toes curl.

And she did. Dance for him, that was. The music beating in her ears and reverberating against her skin, Caroline seduced him with her body, holding off the moment they were face to face with an excruciating control. Then, it was her breath on his cheek, her hips gyrating against his lap, the air almost crackling with sparks.

"What's your name?" he whispered in her ear as she braced her arms on either side of his head, pressing her chest against the hard planes of his body.

She looked at his face and realized it'd been yet another mistake as she drowned in the stormy blue depth of his eyes. "Caroline," she swallowed and then leaned back, putting a bit of a distance between them. To be honest, she had no idea why she had given him her real name. Maybe because, out of numerous men attending the club, he was looking at her as if he had really seen her and that, somehow, had earned him the right to at least know her actual name.

"Caroline," the way it rolled off his tongue was pure sin and it sent a shiver down her spine. She saw him licking his lower lip, as if he was savouring the way it tasted on his mouth. "I'm Klaus," he added and she was tempted to do the exact same thing.

She was sure he would taste delicious on her mouth.

Turning her back on him, Klaus, she swiveled her hips, thighs brushing against thighs, goosebumps rising on her whole body. Caroline could feel his erection pressing into her and bucked her hips in response. Grinning in self-satisfaction when she heard him groan, she repeated the move, revelling in the power she felt.

Her breath hitched in her throat as Klaus' fingers grazed the extra-sensitive skin of her abdomen, his touch delicate, reluctant, as if he was seeking permission. Caroline must have lost her mind but she grasped his hand, motioning it to spread just over the line of her thong.

"Turn around," Klaus let out, fingers digging into her hips and she did, her gaze roaming over his body, taut with tension, his eyes full of longing. Lifting her right leg, he placed her foot on the sofa next to his knee. He held her gaze while his fingers were busy stroking the delicate skin of her inner thighs, Caroline's breathing getting heavy. His hand gripping her other leg, Klaus pressed his mouth to the area just above her knee, placing soft butterfly kisses along the lean lines of her body, heading towards the apex of her thighs.

Caroline could feel her thong dampen, air filling with the scent of her arousal. Reaching out, her fingers sank into Klaus' curls just as he teasingly bit into the soft surface of her inner thigh, sucking hard enough to leave a mark. Hand wandering towards her core, he swiveled his tongue around the bite in a tender caress, her inner muscles throbbing at the touch. Tugging at his hair with her nails grazing his scalp, she revelled in the low sounds of purring that escaped his lips and vibrated against her skin.

She bucked her hips when he cupped her through the thin material of her panties, all reason lost in the heat of the moment, in the darkened gaze of this man. And then, she was stifling a throaty moan as his thumb rubbed against her clit, sending waves of pleasure through her body.

Unexpectedly, the rushing sensations broke her out of this daze they had both found themselves in. Tearing away from him, Caroline registered Klaus' lids heavy with lust and his disoriented expression at the sudden loss before she bolted to the door and fled the room with a croaked "I can't" on her lips.


Since that night, Klaus has become the regular customer of Mystique, attending strictly on nights that she's set to perform. The most common explanation among the girls that he has somehow convinced (slash coerced) Alaric, their boss, to give him her work schedule.

Like that's not creepy, at all.

But still, Klaus has kept his hands to himself (mostly) and never harassed her in any way. And the truth is, Caroline felt safe around him and still does, actually. They might have gone a bit over the line a time or two, lost in the unresolved tension that's always heavy around them. Perhaps a touch lingering a bit too long, whispers in the ear, lips hovering just above the skin.

What keeps her from sleeping with him, Caroline doesn't know. The thrill of the chase, the sweet torture of almosts and slow burn of the chemistry crackling between them. Maybe, just maybe, she's afraid it's all there is to it, the game - and then it will all turn out to be one hell of a letdown.

No.

She knows it's a lie. Whatever would transpire between her and Klaus, Caroline just knows it would be incredible. This much tension doesn't burn up into nothing.

Perhaps she just enjoys torturing them both, Caroline thinks as she's gyrating her hips over another man's lap. She can see Klaus sitting across the room, glass of bourbon locked tightly in his hand while he observes her every move. The man is a bit older and has this sleazy vibe about him that stops her from being relaxed, the way his heavy breaths brush her back making her shiver, but so not in a good way.

Deciding to focus her attention on Klaus, she lowers herself even further onto the man's lap, her tongue sliding over her lips. Fingers whitening when he clenches them around the glass, Klaus' gaze darkens with lust and Caroline loses her breath. The world around them stops and so do her movements, she soon realizes when the man's angry voice tears her away from all her dirty thoughts of Klaus.

"Hey, I didn't pay your fat ass to just sit on my lap, sugar, get it moving!" he yells, painfully pinching her buttocks at the same time.

Tears well up in her eyes at the sharp pain but still, she slaps his hands away and calls for security, only to have her arms grabbed by him with enough force to bruise the skin. Caroline digs her heel into his foot and the man lets go, surprised with the sudden stab of pain, although it seems to only infuriate him more. He jolts towards her but then he's stopped by Klaus' fist, whose eyes glare with blazing fury.

"Lay your dirty hands on her again and you won't have hands," he snarls, shaking the man by the collar.

"Klaus, stop. He isn't worth the trouble," Caroline pleads quietly, looking around and taking in the commotion they've caused. "I don't need you to be my knight in shining armor," she adds more sternly when he still doesn't let go.

"As you wish," Klaus drawls as he pushes the other man away staggering, and before she has a chance to speak to him, both of them are being led out by the security.

Alaric makes her take the rest of the night off after that and she's actually grateful, the overflow of contradicting feelings making her head dizzy with confusion. When she steps out of the club, she sees Klaus leaning against the wall, clearly waiting for her. He's not seething in anger like he was half an hour ago and the look he shoots her way is that of…concern? And it just makes her warm and fuzzy inside a bit - which doesn't help at all.

"Are you alright, love," he asks, his worried eyes roaming over her body.

"Yes. Thank you for your help, even if I didn't really need it," Caroline replies snappily, trying to suppress the warmth that spreads in her belly.

"Really, you didn't? Well, then I apologize love, for my unwanted assistance as you clearly had it all under control when that arsehole was manhandling you," Klaus drawls, a flash of irritation crossing his face.

"Just like you're doing right now?"

"I'm just saying, a bit of gratitude would be appreciated."

"So what, I'm supposed to swoon because you've done one decent thing? Doesn't work like that, buddy," Caroline defies him, it seems she's always set to defy him.

"No. But how about…I cannot get you out of my head no matter what and I can't stand the thought of something happening to you?" She draws a sharp intake of breath at that, floored by his reply. Before she gets the chance to respond, he adds, this time teasingly, "Come on, Caroline. Clearly, there is something between us. Take a chance. I dare you."

She bites her lips, considering her next words, because really, he just had to make it a dare, didn't he?

"I really wish you didn't dare me. Now I feel compelled to agree," she teases. "Alright. Pick me up after my shift on Friday. You get one chance so use it well. Oh, and don't think you'll get free lap dances if we start dating," Caroline chides but her eyes are laughing.

"Wouldn't dream of it, love."


Reviews are always welcome! Please tell me what you think of it ;)