Hi there, just dropping in to give you a little update. Again, sincerest apologies for the delay in update. Real life has been very chaotic the past couple months. Like I said, I'm trying to shorten the chapters so I can update faster!
Shout out to my beta, livingdeadblondequeen for sticking around and editing the chapter for me!
I hope you guys have stuck around too! Please let me know what you think of the chapter and where things are headed. Your thoughts are great motivation for me to keep writing! :)
When she opened her eyes again, sunlight was sneaking into the room.
Still slightly disoriented by her new surroundings, it took her a moment to reacquaint herself with where she was. Klaus's apartment in New York, she reminded her foggy mind as she rubbed her eyes.
Recalling Klaus's late return earlier that morning, she was surprised to find that he no longer occupied the space beside her.
Checking her phone for the time, the screen read 8:55 a.m.
It wasn't often that Grayson slept this late, she thought to herself. Though, yesterday had been an unusually busy day for him with lots of excitement.
Stretching and squinting her eyes a few times to adjust to the light, she rose on her knees and crawled to the end of the bed to Grayson's playpen. She was equally as surprised to find that he no longer occupied his makeshift bed.
Quickly tying her hair back, she emerged from Klaus's bedroom to find Bonnie propped up against the back of the sofa bed scrolling through her phone while Rebekah appeared to be doing her makeup in the bathroom.
Klaus and Grayson were nowhere to be found.
"Morning," Bonnie grumbled, seemingly annoyed about something.
"Morning…Where are Klaus and Grayson?" she wondered.
Before Bonnie or Rebekah could reply, Klaus walked through the apartment door, juggling a tray of fresh coffees in one hand and Grayson in the other.
"Thank god," Bonnie groaned, sliding off the sofa bed and snatching the tray of coffees from Klaus eagerly. "Rebekah is such a bed hog. I slept awful," she sighed as she inhaled the scent of the coffee with relief. "I need coffee."
"It only seemed like I hogged the bed because you pulled all the blankets to your side!" Rebekah protested bitterly as she emerged from the bathroom, following the coffee aroma to the kitchen island where Bonnie had set the beverages.
"Well, now I know it's a family trait," she snickered, looking at Klaus, as both he and Rebekah shot her the same unappreciative look.
"I brought you coffee and that's all the thanks I get?" Klaus asked, feigning offence.
She smirked with a nonchalant shrug as she approached him and took a bubbly Grayson off his hands.
Klaus rolled his eyes, knowing she was purposely trying to incite him.
"Did you go out with Klaus to get us coffee?" she asked Grayson as she kissed his forehead. "So thoughtful," she cooed.
"I think I deserve some of the credit," Klaus corrected, as he helped himself to one of the coffees – he likely needed it more than all of them.
"How did you even manage?" she wondered curiously, imagining it would be tough to carry Grayson and the coffee. "I didn't even hear you get up with Grayson," she noted, approaching the others with Grayson to take the remaining coffee for herself.
"I used the stroller Marcel brought over," he informed her
"Oh right," she said. "We'll definitely need to use that when we go out shopping today."
She, Bonnie, and Rebekah had planned to go out shopping today. They all wanted to buy new dresses for the art gala the following evening.
"For Grayson, or the shopping bags?" Rebekah joked, clearly enthusiastic about their shopping adventure.
Shaking her head at Rebekah, she turned back to Klaus.
"Grayson was awake when I got up, I figured I would take him along so he didn't disturb you," Klaus noted.
Bonnie raised her eyebrows in her direction, seemingly impressed by Klaus's behaviour.
"I think Grayson enjoyed the sights and sounds of the city," Klaus continued.
She smiled brightly at Grayson while he curled his fingers around her ponytail, excited by her expression.
"How was your night?" she asked Klaus curiously, recalling how late he arrived back at the apartment.
"It was good to have a few drinks and catch up with Marcel and Kol. Kol was sloshed though," he snorted.
"Of course he was," Rebekah chimed in.
"No wonder he's not responding to my texts," Bonnie sighed. "I guess it's a good thing I'm going out with you guys today," she laughed.
She nodded in agreement with Bonnie.
"I'm surprised you're even awake," she said to Klaus.
"I couldn't sleep. I have to get back down to the studio this morning to make sure everything is set to go for tomorrow," he explained as he picked up his coffee.
His anxiety about the event tomorrow explained his restlessness.
"Already?" she wondered, a little disappointed that he was headed out the door again so quickly. They had barely seen one another over the past 24 hours.
He shook his head regrettably as he stepped towards the door. She followed him with Grayson in tow.
"I still have a lot of loose ends to tie up," he informed her with a stressful sigh under his breath.
"Okay, well let me know if you need anything," she offered, feeling a little guilty that she couldn't be of more help to him in preparation for tomorrow.
"Stop by the studio later, after you're done shopping? I should be finished by then," he proposed.
She attempted to play dumb when she noticed Klaus exchange a short knowing glance with Bonnie and Rebekah.
"That sounds good," she agreed.
Without much thought, she pushed herself up on her toes slightly to meet Klaus's lips with her own.
He kissed back lightly.
"Ew," Rebekah scowled childishly as Bonnie 'Oooohed' suggestively.
She smirked against his lips as he pulled back quickly, clearly self conscious about their unusually large audience.
"See you later Gray," he said to Grayson, brushing his hand swiftly over Grayson's head. "See you guys later," he directed towards both Rebekah and Bonnie who both nodded.
He looked at her once more, his eyes communicating a number of unspoken intimacies to her discreetly.
"I'll see you tonight," he said under his breath.
Her stomach knotted with anticipation.
"See you tonight," she replied, before he turned to leave for the day.
She closed the door behind him and her cheeks went red, knowing she would have to face the two curious women behind her.
Turning around, Bonnie was fanning herself dramatically and Rebekah was eyeing her expectantly with a hand on her hip.
"Damn girl," Bonnie gasped. "You could cut the sexual tension between you two with a knife," she laughed.
"What have you done to my brother?" Rebekah demanded amusedly.
By the time they reached the address of Klaus's studio in the late afternoon, she was thankful she had packed and worn her braided black sandals with the soft sole to keep her feet comfortable. She felt like they had walked the entire city on their shopping adventure.
Grayson was the lucky one, having been pushed around in the stroller by her, Bonnie, or Rebekah for the day. He had only been fussy once or twice, and she attributed that mostly to the heat as they travelled outdoors from store to store. She was able to soothe him on the first occasion with some cold applesauce and yogurt for him to eat. The second time, Rebekah caved and bought him a brightly coloured rattle with various attachments when they were in a baby store to keep him occupied.
"He is passed out hard," Bonnie noted as she peered over the stroller.
"I guess it is about that time," she observed, noting that it was around the time he usually took his late afternoon nap that he was accustomed to taking.
Her comment was also reference to the fact that it was time for her to part ways with Grayson and the girls so she and Klaus could spend some alone time together.
While she was eager for the time with Klaus, she was reluctant to leave Grayson behind.
She was actually a little disappointed he was asleep as she wouldn't be able to hug and kiss him goodbye. The risk of waking him up was too high and she didn't want to have to leave him like that with Bonnie and Rebekah.
If she was being honest, she didn't want to leave him period. Sure, she had said goodbye to him plenty of times when she dropped him off at daycare or left the house for work in the morning, but she had never left him overnight with someone before.
It's not that she didn't trust Bonnie, Rebekah, and Kol. Grayson was one of their own and she knew they would take good care of him.
However, this would be the first time he would be without her or Klaus overnight. He hadn't been without one of them since…well since Elijah and Elena had died.
She winced internally, trying hard not to think about it. It made her paranoid. What if something happened to her and Klaus while they were out? Grayson's life would become even more unstable.
"Don't worry," Bonnie reassured her, seeming to sense her apprehension.
"Grayson is going to be spoiled with attention," Rebekah gushed.
She nodded appreciatively.
"Please do not hesitate to call or text me any time tonight if you need to," she told them adamantly. "And please, keep me updated," she added. "Klaus and I will be over in the morning to pick him up."
Bonnie rolled her eyes with an amused smile.
"We know. You've told us this a dozen times today," Bonnie said.
To be honest, she hadn't even noticed the number of times she brought it up throughout the day, but apparently it had been a lot.
"We'll take care of Grayson, now you go take care of yourself and Klaus," Bonnie winked. "Enjoy the time alone."
Rebekah's face contorted with disgust before trying to smile at her encouragingly.
She laughed at Rebekah's reaction.
"Thanks guys," she said. "Give him a hug and a kiss for me when he wakes up," she told them, as she looked down at Grayson guiltily and observed his closed eyes partly shielded by a hat.
"We will," Bonnie and Rebekah said in unison as she turned towards Klaus's studio.
"Seriously," she said, turning on her heel back towards Rebekah and Bonnie. "Call me if anything happens," she stressed, pointing her finger at them for emphasis.
"We will," they both groaned with annoyance, waving their hands towards her encouragingly
She nodded with a sigh before turning back for good.
Klaus and Marcel's gallery and studio was housed on the first storey of a narrow red bricked 19th century row building. The second story appeared to be a dance or yoga studio. She could not make out what was housed on the third.
Peering in through the large black framed window, she could already see numerous pieces of artwork on display.
As she stepped inside, she was overwhelmed by the paintings, sculptures and various other items. The halogen track lighting illuminated the art, seemingly bringing them to life even more. Given Klaus's preference for paint, she assumed the other items to belong to Marcel.
The gallery space was small, but achieved its purposes.
She could hear what sounded to be classic rock music filtering into the gallery space from the back of the room under a closed door.
"Sorry, we're closed!" she heard Klaus's familiar voice yell rudely from behind it.
Clearly, Klaus hadn't quite perfected his customer service skills. At least he had apologized, she supposed.
She pushed open the door to find Klaus staring intently at the painting resting in front of him on the easel, the back of his faded black paint splattered shirt facing her.
Alerted to her entrance, he turned around, seemingly surprised to see her there.
"It's just me," she spoke up as she turned down the music from the stereo a notch.
"Sorry, love," he apologized. "I didn't realize it was already so late. I've been preoccupied."
"It's okay," she said as she set her shopping bags down on the old wood floor beside her.
"You've been preoccupied too, I take it?" Klaus smirked, motioning his head towards the bags.
She blushed, feeling a little guilty for how much money she spent earlier that day on a simple evening dress, shoes, and accessories for the gala event.
"I might have gone a little overboard shopping today. Your sister and Bonnie are bad influences," she admitted. "I think you will like the dress, though," she assured him hopefully.
"Why don't you show me?" Klaus proposed.
Shaking her head, she stepped away from the shopping bags and closer to him.
"It's a surprise for tomorrow night," she told him.
He rolled his eyes with a playful grin.
"If you insist. I think it will look better on the floor anyways," he mused seductively as he turned and approached the far counter.
She scoffed, attempting to hide her smile.
"Where's everyone else?" he asked knowingly, his smirk continuing to play on his lips as he washed his hands at the large sink.
It was her turn to smile.
"Well, Bonnie and Rebekah offered to take Grayson back to Bonnie's for the night. They suggested you might have had a hand in arranging that," she informed him.
He did his best to cover up a sly grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, occupying himself by drying off his hands.
"I thought an evening alone might be nice? Plus, you know how Rebekah and Bonnie have been begging incessantly about wanting to spend more time with Grayson," he explained as he approached her.
"It does sound nice," she agreed. "What do you have planned?" she wondered curiously.
He shook his head.
"It's a surprise for tonight," he said to her, playing the same game with her as she had with him.
She scoffed, though she secretly loved the element of surprise he had maintained with respect to their evening together.
"How was your day? Are you ready for tomorrow night?" she asked, concerned about the painting he had seemed so pensive about when she walked in.
His attention drifted towards the painting and he sighed.
"I keep debating about this one. I feel like there's something missing," he thought aloud.
She stepped closer to examine the painting for herself.
The colours were lighter than she was used to seeing from Klaus. Though somewhat abstract, the scene depicted what appeared to be a park decorated with trees, flowers and shrubbery and a small pond off to the side.
"It's the park we take Grayson to," Klaus informed her, revealing to her why the image had seemed so familiar to her.
She smiled as a warm feeling filled her from inside.
Approaching Klaus, she slid her hands in between his arms and torso, resting them over his chest. She stood on her tip toes to kiss the back of his neck and breathe in the masculine scent of his sweat and cologne.
"I think it looks perfect," she admired. "You're very talented and I think everyone at the gala tomorrow night will be very impressed. You've worked so hard," she commended him, thinking back to the last few weeks leading up to the event and how Klaus had spent many late nights preparing.
The sigh that escaped his lips sounded like one of relief, but she couldn't see his expression with his back turned towards her.
"I'm sorry I've been so busy with this lately," he apologized sincerely.
Truthfully, they had both been preoccupied. Klaus with the art gala and her with the numerous dresses she had been commissioned to make for the season.
She shrugged.
"I know you'll make it up to me," she snickered jokingly.
He turned around to face her with an amused look.
"Oh really?" he said.
She nodded assuredly, continuing to play her game.
"I had planned to start tonight," he admitted, as she trailed her hands up his arms.
"Why wait?" she smirked suggestively, hoping he would take the hint and kiss her already.
His eyes seemed to light up at her proposition. It had been a while since they had the opportunity to be intimate. She was aching for his touch and judging by his reaction, she could tell he was eager to touch her.
He kissed her hard, fast, and unexpectedly; his lips crashed against hers intensely and she clutched onto his shirt so she wouldn't lose her balance.
She kissed back with equal passion and enthusiasm as his hands framed her face, keeping her in place as his warm tongue traced her bottom lip.
Shivers rushed down her spine.
While they continued to kiss feverishly, Klaus guided her backwards until she felt a sturdy wooden table pressed against the backs of her legs.
His hands lowered, massaging her breasts over her tank top before descending onto her thighs, grazing over them lightly as they circled behind.
She let out an unexpected, but excited shriek when he grabbed her ass, lifting her up slightly to sit her on the table surface.
Her body was filled with an overwhelming heat. The pressure between her thighs was already throbbing.
"I want you," she whispered in between a broken kiss. "I've missed this," she breathed, referring to how preoccupied they had been preparing for the trip to New York and their lack of time for intimacy.
He consumed her lips in another kiss, signalling to her he felt the same. If that didn't confirm it for her, she could feel his hard on through his jeans pressed against her leg.
Breaking the kiss, he made his way over her jaw and onto her neck where he licked and sucked hungrily. She tipped her head back, catching her breath with excited gasps for air. As he kissed down her neck, she threaded her fingers through his hair, guiding him lower towards her chest.
Goosebumps rose on her skin at the feeling of him sliding the straps of her bra and tank top over her shoulder. She bit her lip as his hands undid the button of her shorts.
He lowered his head further, allowing his lips to caress her cleavage. Her breasts were aching for his attention.
As she pulled him closer, she slipped off the table to accommodate his hand that had made its way to the opening of her shorts.
She groaned with relief when she felt his hand slide into her shorts and rest firmly against her soaked panties.
She let out another sigh of appreciation when he tugged her bra down eagerly and glided his hot tongue over her sensitive nipple.
It sent shockwaves through her body and down between her legs.
"Mmm, Klaus, please," she stammered. "I need you," she begged as she thrusted her lower half towards the palm of his hand.
The swirl of his tongue around her nipple was driving her crazy.
"Please," she whined again, hoping he would see to her request sooner rather than later.
Her eyes shot open suddenly when she heard a throat clear from an unfamiliar voice and slow clapping at the doorway into the back room.
Klaus's head popped up instantly and he removed his hand from her shorts.
Looking towards the doorway, she could see who she presumed to be Marcel standing there, based upon photos Klaus had shown her, with an impressed grin on his face.
A/N: Well well well...Caroline and Marcel are finally going to meet!