Random Snippet # 18: I'll be Your Downfall
Caroline froze, as she slipped the foyer of the mansion. Sometime during her argument with Klaus, her friends had all slipped away. Including Tyler. She was completely done with tonight and determined to leave.
The party was a noisy, vibrant clash of sound and color behind her. She blamed it for how easily Klaus caught her off guard, materializing as she headed for the door. Before she could say a word, he gripped her wrist and tugged her smoothly into an sitting room. He released her almost immediately, baring the edge of his teeth.
"Do you know how long it has been since I've allowed someone to talk to me in that way, Caroline?"
"Maybe that's your problem." She ground out once the door shut behind him. Her eyes jumped around the room, taking in the small sitting area. This was the third time she'd been cornered by Klaus that night and she didn't know how to read the blade in his smile, the glitter behind his eyes.
"I enjoy striking fear into my enemies," Klaus dismissed. "I enjoy watching hope drain from those who've crossed me, until they know that nothing but death can release them from the nightmare they've found themselves in."
"What do you want?" Caroline demanded, ignoring the way her mouth ran dry, fingers curled into her palms.
Klaus clasped his hand behind his back, studied her. "Tell me, Caroline, do you honestly believe that you are immune to being seduced? That you wish to be?"
She jolted, heart leaping into her throat at his tone. Swallowing hard, she moved to grip her skirts. "I'm not having this conversation with you."
His smile widened, eyes dark. "No? Come now, love. It occurred to me, as I watched you sweep away, my generosity thrown at my feet, that perhaps I've approached you from the wrong angle. I've attempted to be gentlemanly, but all that has gotten me is your scorn."
"You've tried to kill my friends," Caroline retorted, eyes narrowed. "And you think it's your manners that I don't like?"
"Ah, but I've been most generous where you're concerned, have I not?" Klaus clucked his tongue, head canted to the side. "The problem with being taught vampirism by someone as abstemious as Stefan Salvatore is it puts you at a severe disadvantage, love."
"Stefan is my friend."
Klaus moved suddenly, until he was close enough that his body warmed the silk of her dress. Eyes widening in alarm, she froze as his fingers draped along the base of her throat. His touch was delicate, and her stomach flipped in surprise and the first stirring of true alarm.
"Stefan is a fool. A secret, sweetheart. Stifling your base desires, caging your monster doesn't stop your body from wanting." Klaus bent his head, so close his breath ghosted hotly across her lips. "And I can smell every shift, every chemical reaction. The way your pulse jumps in your throat, the uneasy shift of muscle beneath your clothing, the decadent scent of your arousal."
Heat crawled up her throat, from beneath his palm and stained her cheeks. Temper had her fists tightly clenched. "That doesn't mean anything."
"Hmm, and yet, I could have you out of this dress and writhing on my tongue in minutes."
Caroline inhaled sharply, and his thumb stroked up the side of her throat. "No."
"I'd start slow," Klaus said, words lowering to a rumble, a hint of gravel roughening his tone. "Ease the straps, so the fabric would rasp against nerves gone suddenly hyper aware, until I could see your pretty breasts. Did you manage to find a bra to wear beneath? I've wondered all night what surprises my dress hides."
Her thighs clenched without her permission and Caroline shook her head. Her voice was low, held a huskiness she hadn't expected. "That's none of your business."
Klaus made a low noise of dissent. His tongue snaked across his lips, as his eyes dragged down the heightened color of her face. His grip didn't change, the only movement the slide of his thumb, but it felt like she was being branded.
"Perhaps, but tell me, have you ever fantasized about semi-public sex, Caroline?"
Her back hit the wall, and she didn't remember moving towards it. "What?"
Klaus' lips curled, until dimples creased his cheeks. He spoke in an intimate murmur, hand slowly sliding towards her jaw. "Come now, love. Surely you've a naughty thought or two, for when those foolish boys you allow into your bed fail you? I've thought of you often. Imagined you naked and begging, in all sorts of lovely positions. Tonight, I'd bend you over the settee, lick you to orgasm through the lace of your knickers. You'd of course wish to remain quiet, not want your precious friends to discover us. I'd like to test that dedication with my cock."
Caroline let the wall take more of her weight and tried not to shudder, as his fingers slid behind her ear. She didn't trust her voice, arousal a swell in her veins. She could feel how wet she was, her underwear sticky, and the deliberate way Klaus inhaled told her knew as well. Fingers toying with curls at her nape, he made a pleased, greedy sound.
"Once you were replete and boneless I'd take you to my bed." Yellow streaked through the blue of his eyes. "I'd strip you, lay you bare on my sheets, and devour you in the smallest of bites. Until you'd forget your fear, until you'd forget your precious rules and the only thought in your mind is more. Such a lovely feast you'd make."
Thighs pressed tightly together, Caroline shook her head. Her voice was shaky, but she held his gaze stubbornly. "I don't sleep with people who try to kill my friends. Who enjoys frightening those I love."
"I've no desire to terrorize you, but I don't mind a little bite of fear," Klaus murmured. "How frantically your heart beats, the pounding of your pulse, mingled with the scent of your arousal. The anticipation of not knowing how I'll touch you; knowing I can touch you however I wish, and that you'll love it."
"You don't get to touch me," Caroline rasped. "What I like isn't yours to know."
Klaus chuckled, leaned forward to press his lips to her cheek. His mouth brushed against her skin, until he reached her ear, where he lingered. "No? I can hear how wet you are, Caroline. I wouldn't have to really touch you, just a few brushes against your clit, and you'd come for me. Tell me, what do you really fear? That'd I'd do exactly as I promise and ruin you or that I'd fail?"
She swallowed hard. Closed her eyes tightly as she barely avoided blurting out a yes. "Has it occurred to you that I don't trust you? That I've no reason to want to sleep with you?"
Klaus pulled back, and she let him see her resolve, as shaky as it felt. Instead of rage, he smiled. Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out the bracelet she'd thrown at him.
"When you go home," Klaus murmured as he draped the diamonds around her wrist. "You'll think of me."
"No, I won't," she started, but her voice died as he glanced at her. He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her trembling fingers.
"Maybe you won't touch yourself tonight, but you will, Caroline. You'll slip these delicate fingers along the parts of you that are so slick with need, and you'll wonder at just how good I'd feel inside you. If my tongue can live up to my promises. Eventually, wondering won't be enough. You're a curious creature, love, and the answers you want are only found in my bed."
She let her hand fall to her side as he stepped back. "You're making assumptions."
"Am I? I suppose we'll see. Just know, Caroline, that my invitation stands. You'd be welcome in my bed, if you can manage to find the courage to be there. I can be patient. But tonight I'll be thinking of you, all your lovely skin. Imagining how you'd look, bound to my headboard with silken ties, all spread open for me. The color of your eyes when you come, the sound of your voice as you beg."
Caroline stood alone in the sitting room for several minutes, trying to calm her frantic heartbeat.
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