Caroline keeps waking up in Klaus' bed.
Caroline woke with a scream.
Eyes snapping open, she reared up against the weight pressing her into the mattress, the arm digging into her neck. For a moment, she forgot she didn't need to breath, forgot that she was strong and thrashed wildly, heart beating a frantic staccato in her chest. A male curse, and the weight shifted enough that she wasn't suffocating under her personal nightmares as she found herself staring at Klaus.
Klaus, who she hadn't seen since she'd almost died from his bite. Klaus, who was shirtless and possibly naked if the way her legs pressed against him said anything. Her lungs froze for an entirely different reason.
Narrowed, glittering eyes stared down at her. "I must say, sweetheart, this is unexpected. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"What?" Caroline managed, eyes leaving the sleep rumpled face in front of her and darting around the room. She went still in disbelief beneath him as she realized, no, she most certainly wasn't in her room. Rearing up, she shoved at Klaus. "Off, get off me."
Eyebrow rising, he shifted the side and tilted his head when she scooted away from him. The only reason she didn't slide right off the bed was at the last minute she remembered what she was wearing. Or rather, how much she wasn't wearing. Instead, she yanked the sheet up and stared at him with narrowed eyes.
"What did you do?"
His lips curled just far enough to tease her with dimples, but his gaze didn't change. "I'm curious, love, as to why you think I'm responsible?"
She glared at him. "It's your blasted room."
"I'm aware."
"And why would I want to be here?"
"I can think of several reasons," Klaus responded mildly. "But most of them do not involve you waking with that particular smell of fear, Caroline."
Her spine locked up, hand curling tightly against his sheet. "I want a robe."
To her surprise and relief, he moved off the bed without further comment. She nearly swallowed her tongue when she realized she'd been right, he was completely naked. Lips parting, she gawked at the lines of his back and the muscles of his thighs before squeezing her eyes shut and cursing him in the back of her head. It did little good. The image was seared into the back of her eyelids. Caroline was very determinedly not thinking about that tattoo and what it meant when she felt him approach.
"Come now, Caroline, I'm hardly the first man you've seen in dishabille. You did ask for the robe."
Caroline cracked one eye open and let herself relax a little when it was clear he'd pulled on pants. No shirt, but pants. Cautiously, she accepted the man's robe he offered that smelled of him. Promising to shower as soon as she got home, she pulled it on and cinched the garment before sliding out from under his bedding, eyeing the expression on his face with a scowl.
"Seriously, why am I here?"
Klaus clasped his hands behind his back and her eyes darted to his shoulder, a second tattoo catching her attention before forcibly returning her gaze to his face. "Caroline, your guess is as good as mine. I'm certainly willing to take a gander, but my direct knowledge of the situation starts when you appeared next to me."
She twisted the robe's belt nervously, rocking on her heels. "The last thing I remember is going to bed. In my bed. Which is not here."
A flicker of an emotion she couldn't read behind his eyes, but he simply nodded. "Alright. Odds are, this is a bit of a prank by your friends or a message to me. Regardless, we aren't going to get answers tonight unless, of course, you're willing to rouse them from their sleep?"
"I can't imagine what kind of prank this would be," Caroline said flatly. She glanced away, determinedly not looking at his bed. "Not after everything… else."
"A question for tomorrow," Klaus said simply. "Shall I direct you to a guest room, sweetheart? A midnight snack to settle your nerves?"
"I'm going home," she said firmly, moving around the bed with squared shoulders.
"If you insist," he said, eyes tracking her. His gaze dragged slowly down her body, draped in his robe and lingering on her bare feet. His head canted to the side as he took in what she had to assume was her tattoo, and she glared at him. "Let me drive you."
"No."
Both brows arched. "You'd prefer to be seen flashing home barefoot and in my clothing?"
She squeezed her eyes shut and counted to ten. "Fine. But do not wake my mother up with your car. Understand?"
His lips curled just a little his when she looked at him, head angled. "Of course, Caroline. I'll retrieve my robe at a later time, shall I?"
When she found out who had thought this was funny, she was going to have words.
Caroline wiggled just little further into her bed. Fall had settled in the last few days, and her bed was perfect. It was one of those rare mornings when lingering in bed was a temptation. She didn't feel the weather the same way she had as a human, but curling her toes, she sighed in contentment and let herself drift.
It was pre-dawn mornings like these, when her mattress was so damn comfortable, that made her look forward to the weekends, when she could just veg. Weekends without practices or school events were so rare as she compiled things for her college resume, that her mom usually left her to laze. Knowing that she didn't have to be up made this even better. She fell back asleep and woke to sunshine on her face.
Caroline grumbled sleepily, pressed her face into her pillow and was suddenly, alarmingly aware of the warm body wrapped snugly around her. Eyes popping open, she went stiff. Her mind frantically catalogued all the ways she was pressed against warm skin, panic tightening her lungs. Drawing in a ragged breath, she inexplicably relaxed at the familiar scent that permeated everything.
"Good morning, sweetheart."
The low, rumble of his voice rasped against her nerves and she went hyperaware. That first rush of alarm threatened to turn to arousal as her body relaxed, and she mentally swore. She'd stupidly worn a tank top to bed and little else. Klaus cradled her tightly against his chest, their legs tangled together, and his scruff was an distracting sensation against her neck. The absolute last thing she could do was let him affect her even a little. Desperate, she gasped out the first thing that came to mind.
"I've been cursed."
A breath of a laugh against her throat and she shivered; covered it by trying to roll away from him. He let her, and she landed on her stomach, still within the safety of the bedding, and curled tightly around his pillow. Twisting her head, she stared at him and tried not to swallow at the sight he made.
A slow, flirtation of a smile curled along his lips as he looked at her, unbothered by the intimacy of her in his bed a second time. And having Klaus so close she could still feel the heat of him, sleep rumpled and heavy lidded, was intimate in ways she wasn't comfortable with.
"Don't worry, Caroline. I put on pants when I realized you'd be joining me for a second night."
She gave herself a moment to press her face into the softness of his pillow, groaning low in her throat at the predicament she found herself in. "How did I get here?"
"I'm assuming magic."
She lifted her head and glared at his smirking face. Part of her was relieved by his teasing, because if he'd been anything other than snarky she'd have fallen out of his bed by now to put space between them. Because that voice this early in the morning just wasn't fair.
"Seriously?"
Klaus sat up, the smooth lines of his chest beautifully visible in the soft morning light. It was a struggle, to keep from staring. He raked his fingers through his hair and Caroline glared at him, the smooth shift of his muscles.
"Sweetheart, loathe as I am to blanket a situation by calling it magic, one moment I was sketching, the next you were grumping into my pillows." His lashes lowered, shading his gaze, but it did nothing to hide the sudden impact of his eyes. "You settled easily enough once I touched you."
"What?" It came out strangled.
A slow, curling smile that made her stomach jump. "A bit fond of having your hair played with, love?"
Caroline sat up, dragging the pillow with her and glared at him. "Look, this isn't funny."
Something shifted behind his eyes, the heated amusement turning to iron. "I quite agree, Caroline. It takes quite a bit of power to perform a spell like this, and I'm very well acquainted with that cost. More importantly, I'm most interested in knowing the logic behind having you in my bed of all places, so soft and vulnerable with sleep. Especially considering your reaction to my presence three nights ago."
She went still, body automatically shifting away from him. She'd no intention of discussing her instinct driven need to be free, the nightmares that sometimes lingered at the corners of her mind. Being a vampire might've been good for her, but it also meant carrying scars for far longer.
"Caroline," his voice was calm but firm, and her eyes skittered back to him. "You didn't flinch from my touch; even when you were tucked against me, it was the sun that woke you, not any internal alarm."
"Don't read into it," Caroline growled, straightening a little. "I was probably just tired."
"Young vampires require rest," he agreed, head tilting as he dragged his eyes down her mostly hidden body. "They also need frequent blood. When was the last time you fed?"
"None of your business," she said flatly.
"No? You're too pale. Shall I wake you with an open vein, next time we have a rendezvous? A little breakfast in bed?" His eyes went dark, tongue snaking across his lips and her gut with tight.
The spike of arousal at Klaus' low suggestion was impossible to hide, even if he couldn't see the way her nipples tightened, body shivering. His pupils went wide, the very edges of his irises turning yellow and she took a shaky breath. The change in his scent, the arousal he wasn't bothering to hide left her monster clawing at her skin.
"We're not doing this again."
"It's been two nights since your first appearance in my bed," Klaus murmured, voice and eyes not giving an inch. "I imagine last night was the first time you've slept since your previous visit?"
Grudgingly, she nodded.
To her surprise, he got off the bed and disappeared through a door. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, wrestled with the arousal still warm in her veins. She glanced up at footsteps, caught the shirt he'd tossed at her out of reflex. "That should cover you well enough, love. I'd let you borrow my robe, but I've loaned it out."
"Don't be an ass," she ground out even as she tugged the Henley into place. She scowled as she stood, his shirt falling off one shoulder, the hem hitting along the tops of her thighs. It was modest enough, but weirdly intimate and the way she could feel his gaze burning a line down her body; Caroline wanted pants.
"You do realize that the Bennett witch is the most likely involved in this spell." Klaus said, head tilting as he blatantly watched her. The calculation there was soften a little by appreciation and it made her nervous. "Curious, that of all the possible beds in Mystic Falls, you continuously find yourself in mine."
"Her name is Bonnie," Caroline informed him flatly. Running her fingers through her mess of hair with a wince, she glanced at him. "I'll talk to her."
"Then I'll leave it," Klaus said agreeably. Too agreeable, and she narrowed her eyes. "For now."
She frowned, brows bunching together.
"Yours isn't the only privacy being invaded, Caroline," he said before she could speak. Something dangerous crawled along his gaze for a moment, then he turned away from her.
"Come. Breakfast and then you may negotiate a ride home. Unless, of course, you'd prefer a bite from me?"
"Seriously?" she growled, glaring at his bare back as he walked away. She refused to acknowledge the way her toes curled at the thought of drinking from him in the glory of his mattress and bedding, barely pushed down the second surge of want.
"Then this way, sweetheart."
Caroline managed three days before exhaustion had her crawling back into bed. Between the drama surrounding the cure, Tyler disappearing once again with nothing but a voicemail and her fight with Bonnie, she was done with this week. Crawling into her newly washed sheets, she tossed and turned for nearly an hour. Her bed was too lumpy, her pillows too soft and nothing smelled right. Frustrated, she finally just rolled herself into a cocoon and counted until she finally dozed off.
She woke a little, to the bed shifting beneath her. Not bothering to open her eyes, she groped for a pillow and pulled it over her head. There was a rumble of noise, an amused sound and she mumbled into his mattress.
"Bonnie wasn't helpful. I'm sleeping, shhh."
"Sweetheart," Klaus' voice was soft, with the faintest edge of amusement. A fingertip stroked down the line of her spine and she swatted blindly. "What are you wearing?"
She ignored him, determined to actually sleep this forced visit. She made another complaining noise as he tried to tug her pillow free. Klaus laughed softly, and his palm flattened, stroking in slow motions and she fell back asleep that way.
She woke to the scent of blood.
Her monster raised its head, and she lifted up out of the bedding with black eyes and fangs. Starving, her gaze locked onto the bleeding wound on Klaus' throat with greedy eyes. His smile was inviting, and she closed the distance between them before she could catch herself. His blood was warm on her tongue as she licked at the thick drops before sinking her fangs in deep. She pressed as close as she could, breasts pressed nearly flat against his chest as she fed. His hand wandered down her back to cup her ass, fingers digging in as she rubbed against him. His other hand tangled in her hair, twisting into her ruined curls and tugging.
"That's enough, Caroline."
She unhooked her fangs, and licked at his neck until the wound closed over. Caroline didn't care an iota as he rolled them, pinning her beneath him. She shuddered, knees bracketing his hips as he pressed against her, body heavy with her blood high and subsequent arousal.
"Look how pretty you are," Klaus crooned, thumb dragging across her parted lips. He brought the blood smeared finger to his lips and licked slowly. She wrapped her thighs around his waist, curling close and he smiled, weight pinning her in place when she would have ground against him. "I can smell your arousal Caroline, it'll linger in my sheets for hours."
Caroline dug her nails into his shoulders, even as her head slowly started to clear. Klaus watched her, keeping her still as he traced patterns across her collarbones. As she finally blinked away the last of her monster, his expression shifted into something predatory.
"There you go, love, how did you enjoy breakfast? You're less pale, now."
She tried to be alarmed, at her reaction to him. How easily he'd cut through any defenses she might've had, how her body still humming with arousal. Licking her lips, she caught the faintest hint of him and she shuddered.
"That was a dirty play," she managed, eyes closing as she tried to get her bearings. Her eyes flew open as a soft, lingering kiss was pressed just below the tingling skin he'd been tracing.
"You were hungry or you'd have had more control," Klaus informed her, lips brushing her skin with each word. "You can't deny how much better you feel, with your monster sated on my blood."
Caroline swallowed, didn't deny it. She was relaxed and satisfied, the thirsty hunger silenced. If she wasn't so viciously aroused, she might have gone back to sleep.
"Will you let me sate your other needs, Caroline?" The slightest hint of tongue against her skin, lips brushing in delicate kisses. "You smell so good, I want you on my tongue."
"I'm not having sex with you," she whispered, even as her hands carded through his hair, breasts heavy beneath the soft flannel of her pajamas.
"Not used to morning orgasms, love?" Klaus ran a hand down her side and slowly back up. "What if I promise to keep my cock to myself? I rather like the idea of you flushed and sleepy, listening to me come in my shower. Does it appeal to you, Caroline? Knowing that I'll be thinking of you while stroking myself, the taste of your pussy lingering on my tongue while you float all dazed in my bed? Would you touch yourself for me?"
Caroline bit her lip to stop from moaning at the picture he painted unfairly with soft words and careful touches. Shutting her eyes, she tipped her chin back as he kissed the base of her throat. "Klaus."
"Say yes, Caroline."
Her breath was heavy in her lungs, and her head spun. Klaus dropped a few more soft kisses against her skin, but went no further. His fingers traced along her jaw and her lashes parted to meet the list in his, the pit that was crawling behind his pupils.
"Say yes, sweetheart."
"Yes."
His lips curved against her skin, mouth sucking strongly for a moment. The he laved a path down to the top of her shirt. One hand lifted and he slowly worked a button free. "What are you wearing?"
"Pajamas," Caroline said, breathless as he slowly bared her breasts and stomach. The flannel was shapeless and comfortable, two factors that she'd needed.
"If you were attempting to hide yourself from me, sweetheart," Klaus murmured, "It's unnecessary. I don't have to see the curves of your body, an endless expanse of skin to want you. Although I'm happy to peel whatever you wish from your skin."
Her reply died as he licked one nipple, until it tightened into a bud on his tongue. Then he sucked strongly, pinching the other and rolling it between his fingers. Her nails dug into his skin, breath coming in heaving gasps as he began to move down the softness of her abdomen, licking and sucking just to feel her muscles tighten beneath his mouth.
Caroline wasn't quite sure how he got her pants and underwear off, didn't care once he flicked his tongue against her clit before moving lower for a deeper taste. The soft, hungry little noises he made vibrated against her and she rocked against his mouth, panting his name as he deftly wound her nerves into a taunt coil. She came with a cry, spine arching. Klaus kissed a wet path up her torso as she came down, the possessive look behind his gaze swallowing her.
"So pretty," he breathed, the look on his face hungry. Lifting her trembling fingers, he scraped her palm with his teeth. Gaze still holding hers, he curved it along her breast, smile a hot dare. With one last hot, sucking kiss between her breasts, he rolled of the bed and headed to the shower. Caroline laid still against the sheets, chest still heaving against her palm when she heard the first, rough noise from Klaus.
Somewhere, her mind was telling her to run, to find her pants while he was distracted. To pretend this morning had never happened, that Klaus hadn't fed her blood and licked her to orgasm. Instead, she allowed herself to cup her breasts, as she listened to Klaus. And as one hand dragged down her stomach and slowly circled her clit, Caroline wondered when she was supposed to feel the guilt.
Caroline rolled away from the now familiar heat against her side. She'd woken on her stomach, crowding into Klaus' pillow and pressing her face against the side of his bicep to hide from the early morning sunshine. If it hadn't been for the argument that was still ringing in her ears two days later, she'd have stayed there. God, for all that morning arousal and blood cravings were now part of her life, those first few drowsy moments were she just let herself be were wonderful. She'd yet to wake without some part of her tangled in Klaus, and the contentment she felt was alarming.
Instead, she sat up, still not looking at him. She'd started braiding her hair before bed, so that it wasn't quite so wild in the morning. Klaus rarely let her keep the braids through the night, and this morning was not an exception. Her curls tumbled around her face, hiding her and for a moment, she wondered if she could avoid this conversation.
"Caroline?"
But that would be a lie of omission. And while Klaus had played her vampire instincts, had searched out each boundary line, he hadn't crossed them. Instead, he let her sleep in his bed and didn't complain about the invasion, the way she shied away from his touch; even after she'd come against his tongue and cuddled close at night. Caroline found she couldn't lie. Even with her silence.
"You were right."
It's why she'd avoided him for three days, after stomping into his house and taking up closet space. Just a few things - clothes to change into, for the trek home. Shoes. Klaus had looked amused, and his gaze had gone predatory when she'd stashed a few blood bags, but he's said nothing. Thankfully, he hadn't tried the breakfast in bed route again either.
"I'm right about a great many things. To which are you referring?" His tone had leveled into something carefully neutral, a response to the flatness of her voice.
"Bonnie cast the spell."
She felt surprisingly numb about it, the magical violation. It was the envy in Elena's eyes, the utter excitement in Bonnie's gaze that the spell worked that wrenched her chest painfully. As if she should be happy that they'd made this decision for her.
Klaus was sudden in front of her, crouching to study her face. "I'm hardly surprised. She's the only witch in the area, Caroline. To perform a spell of this magnitude she'd need something from both of us."
He sounded irritated, but the rage wasn't there. Not quite. Not yet.
"They think I've been waking up with Tyler."
Klaus' eyes narrowed, the first spark of real temper coloring his gaze. "Do they now? Why is that?"
She shifted, went to stand but he placed a hand on her thigh, directly above her knee and she froze. There was nothing sexual about his hold, but the sleep shorts she wore left leg on display and her nerves jumped at his touch.
"I'm happy to discuss this with her personally, Caroline, but I don't imagine you'd appreciate my tactics." His tone was tight with warning and she gripped his wrist in warning.
"I'm going to ask her to reverse it," she said firmly. Tried not to flinch from the way his posture changed, the hunting expression on his face.
Klaus tilted his head, and studied her with iron in his eyes. "What was the spell?"
"Klaus…"
"Sweetheart, I'll be getting answers, if not from you, then from the witch directly. I've been willing to let you handle this as there has been no direct threat to either of us. That time is now up."
"She altered a soulmate spell, to help Elena decide which Salvatore she should be with," her words sounded faint in her own ears, thick with disbelief. "They decided to add me, because I was getting too chummy with you."
Klaus' face went blank.
"I'll ask her to remove it," Caroline blurted, chest tightening at the blankness of his face. "It didn't work for Elena so clearly… where are you going?"
He didn't pause as he headed inside his closet. He appeared a moment later, fully dressed. "To find a witch."
"But I just…"
Klaus turned and the pit behind his eyes stilled her tongue. The rage there was glittering, cheekbones sharp above the scruff of his beard. Her fingers curled in the blanket, stomach jumping.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, Caroline, but you've just admitted that a baby witch has been playing with magic she doesn't understand. Magic that has been forbidden and lost for centuries, to solve a mere inconvenience for the doppelgänger; the eternal question of who she should fuck. And in doing so, pulled you unknowingly and unwillingly into the spell, so that you could sleep soundly, knowing that Tyler is your soulmate?"
Her mouth was bone dry; the softness of his tone, the blade of his words. Swallowing, she nodded once. He smiled, and Caroline's shoulders locked up.
"Well, you'll have to excuse me, sweetheart, if I don't trust them," Klaus continued, eyes feral with fury. "There are reasons that soulmate magic is forbidden, and the least of those reasons involve painful, screaming deaths."
"But soulmate aren't…" Her insides went hot and then cold, at the way he tilted his head. That curling, little smile cutting through her to bone.
"If I were you, I'd avoid sleeping until we get this straightened out. Who knows where you'll end up, or what condition you'll be in."
The front door slammed as he left.
Caroline sat in the silence of his home for a long time.
Her bed was cold.
Caroline curled into a ball and stared at sky as it slowly turned to dawn. She could hear her mom breathing down the hallway, could trace all the creaking noises of her childhood. And nothing she did left her sleepy, body feeling the a chill for the first time since she was turned.
Bonnie had removed the spell.
Her eyes burned, remembering the horror in her friend's eyes. That frantic babbling as she promised to fix it. Nothing could have prepared her for the way Stefan had looked at her, the suggestion that she stay at the boarding house until the situation was resolved.
Their refusal to allow her to leave when she'd argued with them. For two days, she'd been forcibly kept awake, given blood and asked invasive questions by Stefan with wisecracks from Damon. Then Bonnie had shown up, with some theory about the hybrid blood in her system being the reason she'd been tied to Klaus.
"I should have waited another day or so; I'm so sorry Caroline, I should have known his blood would have thrown the spell off. It's fine. I can fix this."
She'd felt the spell dig into her skin. She'd seen how much power her friend had thrown at breaking what she'd done. When it was over, she'd walked home feeling numb. Sitting on her bed, she'd finally dialed the number she'd refused to admit she had. Had gotten his voice mail.
"Hey, it's me," Caroline swallowed. "Bonnie broke the spell."
And her words had dried up. She'd hung up, confused by the ball in her lungs, the sense of loss she couldn't shake. She'd collected her things from his house, hoping to avoid another confrontation.
But nothing she did allowed her to sleep.
"Now love, here I thought you'd broken the spell?"
The rough, biting words woke Caroline with a shot of adrenaline. She rocketed up into a sitting position, the world swimming around her as she tried to get her bearings. Her body wasn't cooperating and she tilted to the side, vision strangely hazy. Klaus cursed, his hands gripping her shoulders as he steadied her, and then his face was so close as she blinked rapidly to clear her gaze.
Hissing a word she didn't know, he ripped his wrist open and pressed it against her mouth. Caroline moaned, drinking heavily from the vein. Slowly, her head cleared, vision no longer so fuzzy and she released him with a gasp.
"Better?" Klaus asked, voice suddenly soft as he wiped her chin clean with his thumb. She stared at him in the darkness of the room, trembling slightly. The blood high was there, and she swayed a little against his hold, but she felt shaky in a way she wasn't used too after blood.
"What was that?" Caroline managed. Her eyes darted around the room. "Where are we?"
"New Orleans," he murmured. "And that, little love, was soulmate magic."
Her eyes clashed with his. "No."
His gripped softened, but his gaze never wavered. "That little spell your friend cast? It was part of a grimoire that was supposed to have been destroyed eight hundred years ago. The few times it was successfully used, it manifested itself very differently than in our case. What did the Bennett witch do, Caroline?"
She pushed at his hands, staggered off of the bed when he released her. Klaus followed her, and she barely noticed his nakedness as he prowled after her, her back hitting a wall. Panic was welling in her chest, leaving her cold.
"Soulmates aren't a real thing."
Klaus shrugged, bracing his forearms on either side of her body. "Caroline, it doesn't matter what you or I believe, love. Your witch bound us together, and that magic is not so easily untied. I've eaten a handful of witches today, who did little more than prattle. That Bonnie Bennett attempted to break the spell and clearly failed, unfortunately speaks to a bit of permanence."
She shook her head, hand coming up to rub the headache between her eyebrows and Klaus narrowed glittering eyes. "You're still shaky."
"I'm fine."
Klaus snorted and pushed off the wall. He walked to the phone and picked it up. She blinked at the fries he ordered, along with an assortment of other food. Then he disappeared, coming back with pants. His eyes scanned her, the messy braid, the tank top and sleep shorts before nodding.
"You need more blood."
"I'm not eating someone."
"I don't expect you to," he said mildly. "Our server will be my breakfast, and you will drink from me."
Caroline opened her mouth, closed it with a snap as she really looked at him. Then she looked away, fingers lifting to fiddle with the ends of her braid. "Why?"
"I've been wondering, how the witch managed to work around the power draw for her spell. It's clear she didn't," he said bluntly. "There are reasons this spell was meant to be tied to each individual, one physical representation."
Caroline swallowed. "What do you mean?"
Klaus studied her, arched a brow. "You were transported over a thousand miles, Caroline. Most witches cannot move a note a half mile without severe consequences. If I'd chosen a location further from Virginia, you'd have arrived dessicated."
She froze, at the sudden biting in his tone.
"All the old spells, the kind that create, require blood, Caroline. You don't think Qetsiyah formed the other side purely for vengeful purposes, do you? Power, love. Power that doesn't require blood and sacrifice, although it does comes with its own restrictions."
"Then why…"
"Old magic," Klaus said softly. "Requires blood. How lucky for you, sweetheart, that you had mine."
She felt herself go pale, pressed against the wall a little harder as he stalked forward, pressed close. His fingers were careful as he cupped her face, and somehow the heat of him steadied her. "Do you understand? Do you know, the price I would have carved from the world had you been dropped as a dessicated husk into my bed?"
There was a knock at the door, and he ran his thumb down her chin before releasing her. She walked with unsteady legs to sit at the small table, flicking on a light. She smelled blood, felt her monster shift beneath her skin and pressed her hands into her palms.
Bonnie. Why?
"Is that why you were so angry?" She asked without lifting her head; listening to footsteps after several moments of Klaus feeding. "Because you suspected that this was permanent?"
"I'm angry," Klaus said. "Because all the ways I want you, all the the ways I crave to crawl beneath your skin and sink into your bones, I'm selfish and possessive enough to want you to choose me."
Caroline slowly lowered her hands and looked at him.
"The foundation is there. A little unsteady, but there. You've slept in my bed, come on my tongue, and feasted on my blood. You want me. Maybe not eternity, perhaps not even tomorrow, but my bed is not your horror." His eyes flared with fury and a biting, dangerous possession. "And with one spell Bonnie Bennett has tied you to me nearly irrevocably and cast you further from me than she can imagine."
Having her reactions to him, what the monster under her skin craved, stated so baldly shook her. But he'd laid himself just as bare and that had to mean something? Taking a careful breath, she licked her lips. "Will you sit? Please?"
His gaze narrowed, but he took the seat next to her. Fingers locking tightly together, she took a moment to gather her thoughts. She felt vulnerable and off center, but the knee he'd pressed against her thigh, it kept her from jumping out of her skin. "So the soulmate spell. Bonnie said she thought it'd tied us together because I had your blood in my system when she cast it."
"If only it was so simple," Klaus murmured, before reaching for her white knuckled hands. She let him ease her hands apart, flipping one up, so he could smooth her palm. "Soulmate magic is unpredictable when cast along specific lines; we don't know how the spell was framed, what the lingering consequences might be. Even then, it's possible we will spend the next thousand years without learning all the intricacies of what binds us."
She felt her pulse pick up, knew it was a combination of alarm and his touch; the promise of his words. A thousand years. He thought they'd be here in a thousand years. "I'm not even twenty years old, I don't know how to live a century. How do you know you'll want to be here in a thousand years?"
"And that, sweetheart is why that particular grimoire was supposed to be destroyed," Klaus said coolly. "Have you considered your position Caroline? I'm indestructible and as long as I live, nothing will touch you. But there can be no distance between us. Not when each teleportation demands a blood price from you."
"So this is a curse?" Caroline asked, looking away.
"That depends, sweetheart."
Her eyes jumped back to his, the heat in his eyes. Her stomach tumbled and she curled her fingers to catch his.
"Klaus…" Caroline hesitated, swallowed, and then stubbornly pressed forward. "Why did the spell lock onto us? Was it the blood exchange?"
He brought her palm to his mouth, scrapped blunt teeth across the underside of her wrist. She shivered, lips parting at the sucking kiss he used to soothe the sting. The soft drag of his tongue.
"That is an answer I do not have," Klaus murmured, lips brushing her skin with each word. He lowered her hand, just a little. "Are we fated? I've never been a particular believer of fate, Caroline. Choices and consequences, those are what drive the world. Soulmates, true love, destiny? Fairy tales for children. What do I believe? That for the first time in a thousand years, I stood over a dying baby vampire that I was unable to let die. What is this spell compared to that?"
Her lungs froze as she looked at the truth, the starkness of him watching her. The pit behind his eyes, glimmers of the duel monsters beneath his skin. Felt her monster watch in return.
"What are you saying?"
"Are you sure you're ready for that, sweetheart?"
Her silence was apparently answer enough.
"Tell me, what do you want, Caroline?" His head tilted, gaze dark. "Surely returning home, living the dawn of your vampirism in Mystic Falls isn't your dream."
She froze. Home. Where each night would be spent in his bed, where her mother was and all the people she'd loved had betrayed her. Looking at him, Caroline swallowed at the look on his face, knew the retribution for this would be bloody.
"My mom is in Mystic Falls," her free hand clenched and she looked away. Managed the words that had been building on her tongue since she'd sat down. "I don't want to go back."
"Then we'll give her the opportunity to relocate," he said simply.
"Why do you make it sound easy?" Caroline demanded, head twisting to look at him. "Just, uproot everything, abandon all I've known. Because my friends bound us together in ways I don't understand!"
Klaus made a derisive noise. "Easy? I don't know if you've realized this love, but I'm not fond of sharing and yet, for the past few weeks you've been thoroughly inserted into my space. Would you like to know when the last time I shared my bed? It has been centuries. Yet here I am, entangled with a baby vampire who has rooted out feelings I no longer thought myself capable of."
"I didn't want this!" She tried to tug her hand free, failed. "I would never take anyone's choices away like this!"
"As I'm aware, Caroline. So if opening my many homes will ease your transition into my world, then I'm willing to do so," Klaus replied, voice gentling. "Do you have a preference? Spain? Germany? Brazil? The apartments in Paris might be a bit small should we include your mother, but I'm sure we could make do."
He ruined her defenses. Casually speaking of opening the world, making room for the one person she wanted with her. The fight drained out if her and she looked at him in disbelief. "Just like that?"
"Why not?" Klaus queried, smoothing his fingertips down her arm. "Would you not allow your previous lovers to share what they had to offer? I'm no teenager with limited resources."
She felt her pulse jump at that casual mention of lovers. Her awareness shifted, as his fingers caressed instead of comforted, Klaus' eyes darkening. She licked her lips. They both knew she wanted him, his casual touches and tempting words were nothing compared to the sparks between them. His lips curved, dimples just starting to show.
"Come here," he said, voice rough. She bit her lip and his eyes followed the motion, the air between them charged. "Sweetheart, you're hungry, I can smell it."
The double entendres had a flush crawling up her neck. "Seriously?"
"So pretty," he said lowly, tugging lightly on her hand; head tilting in invitation. "Come here, Caroline."
For a moment, she hesitated, denying herself this man so ingrained she almost pulled back. Nearly tugged her hand free and put space between them. There were no friends to warn her, to disapprove.
What did she want?
The monster in her veins pushed, wanted what he was offering and the girl wanted it too. When she stood, it was to settle across his lap, expression determined. His pupils were wide, the edges of his irises turning yellow.
"I'm a bed hog," Caroline told him. "I hate cold showers and I'm terrible at sharing."
"I know," Klaus returned, smile curving into something wicked. "You can make it up to me."
Her gaze narrowed, breath hitching as she shifted on his lap to glare at him and Klaus kissed her. Hot, wet strokes of his tongue, and this time she rolled her hips to feel him, hands sliding into his hair. He encouraged her, his hand going to her hip, the other cupping one soft breast. Their kisses stayed lazy, until Caroline pulled away, breathing deeply of air she didn't need. The hot scent of their combined arousal had her moaning even as Klaus tweaked a nipple.
"You're wearing too many clothes," Klaus said roughly, even as he tore her sleep shorts and underwear away from her body. "I want you on my skin, your scent on my flesh."
Caroline gasped as he gripped her ass, hauled her against him. She shuddered, rubbing against at the firmness of his body, the heat of him pressed deliciously against her aching clit. Tossing her head back, she moaned and rocked, panting heavily as she moved.
"I want you to come for me," Klaus said with a rumble in his voice. "Then you can have the blood you want so badly; can you feel my cock, Caroline? Do you know how badly I want you?"
Whimpering, she dug her nails into his nape and scalp; hips rocking more urgently. Klaus pinched her nipple, squeezing her ass and she came with a moan, shuddering as she sank down, face pressing into the juncture of his neck and shoulder. Klaus ran his fingers through her braid, destroying it as she panted, monster crawling out before she bit down with fangs.
She sank against him; drank in greedy gulps as he stood and took them back to the bed. She released him with a hitching moan as his cock pressed against her, the first half inch agonizingly slow. Klaus pressed a series of kisses against her chest and throat, didn't move even as her nails dug into his back, leaving gouges.
"Let me show you how good the next thousand years will be, little love."
Her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, the scent of blood prolonging her high and he gave her no mercy. His hips set a brutal, perfect pace, and his mouth was all hot, sucking pressure on her throat. A sudden, hot prick and Caroline came to the feel his teeth in her throat; Klaus ground out words she didn't understand, body trembling as he followed her.
She blinked slowly back into focus, stroked her fingers through his wild curls. Klaus lifted his head, and his expression was as close to content as she'd seen it. For a moment, she just looked at him and absorbed everything he was offering.
"My mom's always wanted to see Germany."
"One day," Klaus said lowly, eyes glittering. "You tell me what it is that you want."
Biting her lip nervously, Caroline let her fingers stroked down his face. Swallowing, because he'd been unfailingly honest with her, she watched him from beneath her lashes.
"I already did."
His head tilted, and she very carefully ran her fingertips along his beard.
"This scared me before magic interfered, so it's probably going to be rough, but I'll fight for this if you will."
His kiss was slow and consuming, and when he lifted his head, the iron and the softness touch of tenderness in his eyes shook her more than his touch.
"Oh, sweetheart. As if I'd let you go."