written for angelikah. warnings: BDSM, torture, voyeurism.
The club in Berlin wasn't her scene, hadn't been in years. Her teenage self would have enjoyed it, would've worn clothing that camouflaged her calculating eyes with breasts and legs, and she'd have practiced her magic. Just hints, here and there. Nothing that would have given her way. But Caroline had walked away from that lifestyle when she was eighteen. Cheap cigarettes, cheaper booze and easy sex had lost its appeal.
Now, ten years later, she was walking away from something else entirely. No one here knew her face. She was an anonymous stranger with a clumsy grasp of German and an awkward smile.
Yet she couldn't shake the feeling of being hunted.
Caroline had learned to trust her instincts. It'd kept her alive for years. Still, her best chance to disappear was a level above her, and even if the staircase would leave her exposed, she should be safe. If not, her flat boots would make running easy, even if the microfractures in her ankle were still healing, and her bruised ribs would ache if she moved too fast.
She'd been lucky. The explosion had been clumsily set, and she'd only been caught in the shock wave. Her magic had absorbed the worst of it, which was why they'd tried to kill her in a physical blast instead of a magical one. Damon had never been as smart as he'd given himself credit for and even now, and that had worked in her favor.
Fingers trailing along the tattoo she'd had inked two days after her seventeenth birthday, she took a slow breath and pushed aside the hot rush of memories. It'd been five years since the stomach churning confrontation that had left her more alone than she'd felt even after her mother's death.
God, he'd never understood her reasoning. Possessive, dangerous and so angry, that last fight had torn her heart to shreds. But no matter the harshness of words between them, the burning ultimatum that still kept her awake at night, he'd see her now.
Probably, she admitted to herself, due to that ultimatum. Still, she'd never been a quitter. Caroline took one more bracing breath, and started up the steps. Below her the club pulsed, oblivious to the danger around them. The bright sparks of magic that glittered out of the corner of her eyes.
Once, there had been a door block this area off from below, but now there was just a bouncer and a velvet rope, another set of stairs that lead to opaque glass. The bouncer was stone faced as she approached, beefy arms crossed. He looked like a mountain, but Caroline didn't doubt he was more than he appeared.
"I'm here to see Klaus," Caroline told the bouncer as he continued to do his best impression of a statue. Those granit eyes didn't so much as flicker, and she tilted her head towards the ropes. "Please tell him Caroline is here."
He frowned then, something uneasy flickering behind his eyes and her instincts prickled. When he stood motionless, she bit the side of her tongue to hide her frustration. Klaus was here, and if she didn't contact him tonight, she wasn't sure when she'd manage it again. Her next best avenue was maybe Marcel, but her last point of known contact was Peru.
Peru was dangerous for her, even with her magic as protection.
"I'll wait," she said serenely, forcing herself to be polite. A moment later and those muscles nearly creaked as he reached for his phone, words too quick and harsh for her to follow. Satisfied that he was at least pretending to pass along her message, she turned back to face the crowd with the hope of calming her churning stomach.
Berlin wasn't the usual city for one of the magical cabals to reside, but Klaus had always worked best in other witches blind spots. His stepfather had never seen the danger until Klaus had stabbed him through the heart with a dagger that absorbed magic.
Caroline had made him the dagger.
It was how they'd met.
The minutes ticked on, and she ground her teeth. If Klaus wanted her to wait, she would. Still, a girl could only take so much. Huffing, she finally spun around, lips pressed tightly together. Just as she opened her mouth to inquire about her request, there were heels clacking down the stairs.
"Let her in, Claude," Rebekah's irritated voice broke through the ringing in her ears. Turning, Caroline stared at the pretty blonde walking down the stairs with a sneer twisting along her red slicked lips. Rebekah's dress matched her lipstick, but it was the large ruby that sat between her breasts that was the real warning.
Rebekah Mikaelson was a dangerous witch who specialized in fire. Caroline had once watched her cremate a man who disappointed her in bed. She'd been sipping a dry martini, eyes bored as he'd screamed and then turned to ash.
"Nik will want to see you."
"Rebekah," Caroline murmured, unease tracing down her spine. The Mikaelson siblings rarely traveled together, even as close as Rebekah and Klaus were once. She wondered if Esther's death had changed that.
"Only you would manage to find Nik at a time like this. I'm quite disappointed that you're not dead, although it does seem as if someone is trying to finish that. Pity I can't let them."
She bared her teeth. "I missed you too."
"Not if it took you five years," Rebekah said coolly. "Come."
The walk up the stairs was a long one, Rebekah's mouth set into a tight line.
"You returned your wedding present unopened."
Rebekah blinked once. "Of course I did."
Caroline sighed as they stepped into the room, refusing to admit to the nerves building in her stomach. The area was sparsely filled, and she recognized none of the faces. Not until she located the booth that Klaus was sitting at, his expression hard as he talked with Enzo.
"Nik," Rebekah called out, voice cutting through the room. "I found a ghost."
Klaus turned, eyes narrowed, and then his expression was wiped clean, gaze blazing. He stood, hand motioning, and everyone but Enzo and Rebekah headed towards the exit. She didn't bother to watch, drinking in the sight of his face. Five years had hardly dulled the impact, and her lungs felt tight as his magic filled the room, other, lower places, heating at the first taste of his power.
Born into a family known for breeding witches with an affinity to fire, Klaus was a rare exception to the laws of magic. His father had been a witch of water, and Klaus was a true hybrid, capable of wielding both fire and water. But it was his control that allowed him to create lightening, and to use it with ruthless perfection.
She was one of the few people in the room who didn't have to fear the magic of the man who watched her with eyes that burned across her skin like fire. Still, there was something about the set of his mouth, the angle of his jaw, that warned her to tread carefully.
"Caroline," he said. "This is a surprise. Not twelve hours ago I'd been informed of your untimely death."
"Damon is an idiot," she returned.
A tilt of his head, something wild behind his eyes. "Not so much of one, as Alaric has been spotted in my city."
Her chest felt heavy, and she swiped her tongue across her lips. Alaric was an abomination and the few times she stood too close, he'd lingered against her skin like oil for hours. "I didn't bring him here."
"I imagine you didn't have too," he said just as calmly, only the long fingers at his side, curled tightly into a fist, gave away his agitation. "My demands for your body have unsurprisingly gone unanswered."
Her palms itched, the desire to touch him a need inside her veins. She held it steady only through stubbornness. She kept her magic contained, as badly as she wanted to lick at the static between them, now was not the time.
"If he had managed to kill me, he'd never have willingly surrendered my body," Caroline said quietly. "I'm worth too much dead."
Something broke open behind his eyes, violent clashes of power, and the air turned turbulent. She could no more have stopped herself from checking that violent power, absorbing it through her bones, than she could stop the shiver that raced across her skin. No one tasted like Klaus and no one else had ever let her have her fill without fear.
"A void," Enzo murmured, breaking the staring match. "You do have such interesting bedmates, Klaus."
Caroline hid her flinch. Sometimes when two opposing magics met in a child, they created a perfect hybrid, like Klaus. It was a rare magical side effect, but one that was sought by many cabals. But sometimes, an even rarer occurrence happened, and the magic turned against itself.
When that happened, a void was created.
Caroline could absorb almost any magic, her body using it as fuel. Many considered her to be a walking black hole, a useless blight upon her family. Few knew that the coveted weapons made to slaughter witches came from her blood, that her hair could be used to create dampening spells to contain children who were overwhelmed by their power. Caroline was a walking weapon against the very family that had birthed her.
But Caroline had only ever wanted to protect those she loved. Becoming an assassin had never appealed to her and she'd made sure of it when she'd killed her father at fifteen. She'd taken to grifting, living a transient life that left no ties to be shattered, until Klaus.
But if Alaric was here, it meant the price on her head hadn't changed. Reaching into her pocket, she dug out the USB she'd been carrying for months and tossed it towards Klaus. He caught it, blue eyes blazing, and she took a steadying breath.
"As promised."
"Leave us," Klaus said to Rebekah.
"But…"
"Now," he ordered, gaze slashing towards her. Rebekah clearly bit back a few words, motioning Enzo to follow. Her body language made it clear that she was pissed, but Caroline ignored it as Klaus watched her with barely contained violence.
"What is this?"
She lifted her chin. "A promise kept."
He shoved it into his pocket and then stalked towards her, eyes hot with an emotion that lifted the small hairs on her arms. He glowered down at her when he was close enough to kiss, mouth nearly brushing hers. Awareness prickled across her skin like static, pulse skipping in her throat as his chest heated her breasts through their clothes.
"The only promise I'm interested in is the one that has you tied to my bed, begging. Five years, Caroline, and you believe I've the patience to let you walk away for a third time?"
Her nipples tightened at the merciless curl of his mouth, the rumble of want in his words. She swallowed, trying not to remember the last time he'd tied her to his headboard with silk scarves, the way he'd lingered between her thighs with his lips and tongue. And later, the slow, slow climb with his cock inside her, teeth against her breasts. Her breathing stuttered, as he drew a single fingertip down her chin, a shock of lightning running down her spine, as her magic grabbed at his power. She tightened her abdomen, forced herself to hold still, lest he guess at how wet she'd grown at his words.
His gaze held flecks of power that glowed golden around the black of his pupil. "No comment, love? You knew what coming here meant."
She shook her head minutely. "I'm not running, Klaus. Not from Damon and not to you."
"Oh?" He questioned, finger slipping to trail along her throat. "Then why are you here?"
"My mom's killer is dead. I'd have been here weeks ago," she said, voice softer than she'd intended, distracted by the patterns he was drawing, the little sparks of magic he let linger on her skin until she swallowed them with her magic. "But Damon tried to kill me."
He went utterly still, magic suddenly curled around her like a hurricane. She didn't look away, letting him find the truth of it in her eyes. His fingers curled around the nape of her neck and she nearly whimpered, lashes fluttering as heat skimmed across her skin hot enough that sweat beaded at the base of her spine. She gripped his shirt, swaying slightly as he skimmed knuckles down her sternum, and jerked as jolts of electricity brushed her tight nipples.
"I will erase his existence," Klaus crooned, palm pulling her closer, so that her aching breasts pressed against the wall of his chest. She scrambled to keep her thoughts from scattering, to claw at his shirt and to reach for skin. The possibility of cameras was less of a deterrent than they should've been.
"Don't you want to know which promise?" She rasped, breath coming in pants as his fingers worked the button of her jeans open.
"What I want is to feel you hot and wet, clamped around my fingers, Caroline. And later, I want you full of my magic and my cock, so that every part of you is utterly sated." His fingertips stopped just above her throbbing clit, stroking the petal soft skin with his fingertips. "Tell me what I want to hear and maybe I'll let you watch instead of blindfolding you so that every lick, every bite, each hot stroke of my hand against my cock is a surprise."
Her fingers curled so tightly in his shirt that seams popped. Her thighs pressed tightly together, and she tried not to imagine how good he'd look stroking himself, the way he indulged her voyeuristic streak against her. The way he liked to use silk and mirrors to drive her insane.
"And what is it that you want to hear?" She finally managed, throat bone dry.
"That you're mine," Klaus said ruthlessly. "There will be no more crusades for forgiveness or to erase what you imagine the debt between us to be. My mother is dead, your mother avenged, my father destroyed. I've no use for your guilt Caroline, when it steals your smiles and leaves your side of the bed cold. I want you in every way I can have you, but I want you to commit. Tell me you'll stay."
She wanted that too. His bed, his life, everything. It's why she'd come back. Her voice was a hoarse rasp when she spoke. "I'm staying. I'm yours. I…"
Her eyes rolled back as his fingers speared through her dripping folds, palm grazing her clit as he plunged two fingers inside her. He loosened his grip on his magic and everywhere they touched her body pulled greedily at his power. So wet she could hear each movement of his hand, she moaned as he teased her, fingers curling inside her.
"What's on the USB?"
"What?" She gasped, gaze hazy as he toyed with her. He laughed softly, nipping at her bottom lip but refusing to linger when her lips parted.
"Your promise?"
"Your…" she tried, stuttering as he ground his palm in slow circles. "Your…"
Her orgasm shot through her like electricity and she pitched forward, biting his shoulder as she shuddered through the waves of it. Klaus groaned, curling his fingers deeper inside her as she clenched around him. He lingered, drawing out each shockwave until her hips jolted on a gasp, too sensitive to take more. He held her steady as he freed his hand. She swayed back to watch him suck his fingers clean, his noise of enjoyment sending a fresh pulse of interest between her thighs.
"I'm going to take my time tasting you very shortly Caroline, until you beg so prettily for my cock. Maybe I'll even give it to you."
She lurched up and chased his tongue, licking at the flavor of her release, pressing hungrily against him. She pulled back only when she needed air, lips tingling and slick from his tongue. "I brought you the remains of your mother's empire."
Klaus froze, staring down at her.
"Every name, every contact, everyone who might know her secrets. And I found Ansel." Caroline bit his lip and licked the sting.
He gripped her ass hard, spinning her around to splay her across an empty table. Her stomach jolted as he yanked down her jeans, gaze lowering to stare at the drenched lace that covered her entrance. She shivered at the way the tip of his tongue traced his lower lip, blazing gaze returning to hers. Leaning forward, he licked a slow stripe across up her slit, the pressure exquisite, and she whimpered, nails scrambling across the table cloth.
"Maybe I'll let you have one more orgasm as a reward for all your hard work. Later, I'll paddle you for the risk, hmm?"
Caroline shuddered. "Only if I get to return the favor."
He sucked on her clit beneath the lace and her brain blanked, his soft laugh hot and damp against her a moment later. "I don't believe it's your turn to negotiate."
She tried to draw in enough air to argue, to protest, but the tip of his tongue was as clever of his fingers. His hands held her thigh apart, firmly enough she'd bruise, but it only heightened each delicate caress until she was gasping his name in broken curses. His lips curved against her, and every muscle in her body strained as he used the edge of his teeth to push her over the edge.
She became aware to soft, wet kisses against her thighs, and she opened her eyes to find him palming his jeans, smile hot and full of such delicious sin. "Let's move this to the booth love, and you can sit on those lovely hands while I'll take care of this erection, hmm?"
Caroline narrowed her eyes. "Or I can use my mouth."
Klaus shook his head. "No treats for you, when you've already had two. Behave, or you won't get to watch."
She let him pull her up. "Now you're being mean."
He nipped her chin, magic sparking against her skin in chastisement. "File your complaints in the morning."
She opened her mouth against his, kissed him slow and languid, keeping her hands on his shoulders as he groaned, hand sliding between them to free his cock and free it.
"In the morning, I'm tying you to the bed."
He chuckled as he fisted himself, the cords of his neck visible as she lowered her eyes to watch. Maybe they weren't moving to the booth after all. She pulled off her shirt in a silent invitation to come across her skin and she bit at her lips, watching each curl of his fingers hungrily.
"You're certainly welcome to try," he rumbled, voice little more than a growl. Her lips curved, and the tone of his voice. She'd learned a trick or two since the last time they'd exchanged favors, and she couldn't wait.