As always, thank you to honestgrins for beta work. I hope this isn't a spoiler for you guys, but I want to warn/reassure you (depending on what your stance is) that Klaus and Caroline do not have children in this story. I won't reveal anything more than that, but I tend to shy away from writing kids. Hope you enjoy this chapter!


Caroline wrinkled her nose when her feet hit solid concrete at the portkey terminal, catching Klaus's arm to keep herself from stumbling. She'd changed out of her dress into some more casual clothes before they'd left, but the heat was already making her cardigan stick to her skin, her sundress fluttering around her calves in the light breeze.

They'd decided to retreat to a magical resort in Honolulu for their honeymoon, the entrance hidden in the elevator for one of the nicer muggle ones. It had been a long time since Caroline had been on vacation, and even longer since she'd been able to spend time at a beach. The mansion had a swimming pool in the back, but the weather at her family's estate was hardly ever nice enough to sunbathe.

She was looking forward to a few weeks of rest and relaxation, ignoring her responsibilities and hopefully getting to know Klaus a little bit better.

She let Klaus tangle their fingers together as they walked through the magical section of the Honolulu airport toward the wall that would take them to wizarding customs and then the tram to the muggle baggage claim area, where apparition wards ended. She'd argued with him initially about having to look like they were together in public. No one knew them here, after all. Klaus, however, pointed out rather persuasively that many pureblood families went on holiday at the resort in the area, and it wouldn't do to blow their cover when they were trying to convince the general public that they were in love. She'd begrudgingy agreed.

They rode the muggle shuttle in silence, Klaus keeping one hand to steady the large suitcase, charmed to be weightless and therefore prone to tipping, and one arm securely around Caroline's waist. He smelled ridiculously good, and she found herself resisting the urge to bury her face in his shoulder more than once. When they finally made it to the elevator in the lobby, Caroline waited until the doors closed before reaching to press the 'doors close' button three times followed by the 'doors open' twice and then the lobby button. The elevator dinged and they sunk below lobby level to the wizarding section below ground, disembarking from the elevator to reveal a marble balcony that they stepped on to.

The marble pathway was bordered by a gilded railing, the view from it showing several floors of various restaurants, spas, shops, and a fitness center, gold and glass lifts floating from gaps in the railing through the air to take their passengers to different areas. A wizard appeared out of nowhere, dipping into a low bow and holding out his hand to take their luggage. "Welcome to Phoenix Falls Resort," he greeted with a warm smile. "Can I have your name?"

"Reservation's under Klaus and Caroline Mikaelson."

"Of course," the wizard nodded, gesturing for them to follow him. "Right this way."

They followed him to the nearest gap in the railing, pressing a small button to call a lift for them and letting them board first, making small talk with them as the glass doors shut to keep them inside. He led them to their rooms, giving them a key card to enter and wishing them a pleasant stay, inviting them to floo the front desk if they had any questions.

"I am exhausted," Caroline said, falling onto the king-sized bed.

"I'm not surprised," Klaus said, shedding his suit jacket and folding it over the back of a chair. "How early did you have to get up?"

"Anna woke me up at five," Caroline said grumpily, squeezing her eyes shut and running her fingers through her hair, scowling at the slight remaining sliminess from the hair potions the hairdresser had used. "The hour and a half of pampering was a lot less fun than I had hoped for, honestly."

"Well, you looked beautiful."

"Thank you," she said, stretching her arms and curling her toes, the dress clinging to her long legs. God, that felt good.

"Too tired to go out to dinner? Do you want me to call an elf?"

"Yeah, I think so. You can totally go out if you want, though."

"Without my wife? On our honeymoon?" he asked, giving her a chiding look that made her scrunch her nose.

Something about the word 'wife' made her feel something, though. It was one of those twists in your stomach that could be either nausea or excitement."Hey, I just wanted to throw out the option. I was being nice."

"Well, thank you for offering. D'you want to take a bath while I floo the kitchens?"

"Are you saying I smell?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "Because that would be beyond rude."

"Not at all. You just seem to take baths to relax, from what I've seen."

"Oh," she said, a bit surprised that he'd noticed. "Um. Yeah, I do."

"I'll let you know when the food gets here," he promised, reaching for the floo powder.

She thanked him and fled to the bathroom, her heart pounding. They'd been sharing a bedroom for months, but Klaus paying enough attention to know her habits, her preferences, was somehow more intimate than she'd realized. He'd always noticed things about her, remembered bits of their conversations. It was one of the things that made him so good at manipulating people.

Was he genuinely trying to connect with her? It had been their wedding day after all, something she still had complicated feelings about. She found herself wanting to be closer to him, since they were spending the rest of their lives together. As manipulative as Klaus might be, he was her husband, and she might as well make the best of it. They were going to run the company together. Raise kids. Whether she wanted it to be true or not, they were a team now, and if Klaus, in all his sociopathic glory, was making an effort, maybe she should too.

Or maybe he could just be grooming her to be one of his next victims.

She wasn't sure.

XXX

Caroline groaned, shifting in bed and burying her face into Klaus's chest to fend off the morning light. He was breathing evenly, and she would have thought that he was still asleep if she hadn't felt his fingertip lazily drawing patterns up and down her spine. "Caroline?" he murmured quietly enough that it wouldn't have woken her if she was asleep but loud enough that now that she was awake she couldn't have not heard.

"Yeah?" she mumbled.

"I need to get breakfast, sweetheart. Do you want anything?"

She hummed, stretching as she considered her options, her toes curling. "Do they have pancakes?"

"I'm sure I can convince them even if they don't," he said.

"That would be great."

She turned over in bed lazily, watching him toss some floo powder into the fireplace and stick in his head, absently admiring the way that his boxer briefs clung to him. She turned around when he was backing out, closing her eyes and stretching, her toes curling against the mattress, back arching. "Comfortable?" Klaus asked with a dimpled grin, running his fingers through his hair before wandering over to their suitcases, bending down to grab some clothes and glancing at her over his shoulder. "What would you like to do today, love?"

She hummed in agreement, boosting herself to sit up and lean against the headboard, yawning. "Maybe we could do some touristy stuff today? Hike some volcanoes? Maybe spend some time on the beach?"

"If you like," he said agreeably, standing and making his way to the bathroom. "I'll only be a few minutes."

"'Kay," she mumbled, turning over to grab a pillow and burying her face in it, belatedly realizing that it was his. It smelled like him. She pulled it closer, letting her eyes drift shut. Maybe she could get just a bit more sleep...

XXX

"That smells amazing."

"D'you want some?" Klaus asked, already tugging her over to the food truck, which was tucked at the edge of the parking lot by the beach. It was crowded, tourists jostling with each other to speak to the man in the window on the side of the stand. "Get us a table, sweetheart?"

"Sure," she said, giving his hand one last squeeze without thinking about it before letting go hastily, turning away from him to hide her blush at her coupley behavior. She distracted herself by scanning the area for somewhere to sit. After discreetly cast a scouring charm on a table for two bolted to the concrete, she settled down, sending a fake smile at a teenage boy who had clearly just been about to claim it before she'd appeared. Finders keepers.

Klaus was speaking to the food cart owner, counting out the muggle money easily and exchanging it for two containers. She inhaled when he brought them back and set it in front of her, her mouth watering. Her eyebrows raised in surprise when she poked the white, squishy shell suspiciously with her fork, creating a crack in the lid immediately. Klaus laughed at the look on her face, and she flushed, glaring at him. "Don't laugh at me!"

"Sorry, sweetheart. It's styrofoam. Muggles use it to hold things or to put in boxes to keep packages from shifting around."

"Is that safe to put food in? Should I scourgify it?"

"Perfectly safe."

She made what could probably be mistaken for a moan when she bit into the barbeque chicken, her eyes closing as she chewed. "This is amazing," she said after she swallowed, her tongue darting over her lips to catch the sauce. "Merlin. So good."

"Aren't you glad we went to the muggle section?" he said, the volume low enough that she didn't feel like she had to scold him for the possibility of the people around them overhearing.

"Yeah. I mean, our food's good, but this is..."

"Better than it is with magic?" Klaus supplied. "Yes. Shortcuts tend to lower the quality, I've found."

"I didn't expect you to know so much about this stuff."

"Muggle culture, you mean?" he asked with a knowing smile. "My family often traveled over the summer holidays, and the neighbor they paid to mind me didn't much care what I did during the day as long as I texted to check in every now and again. I couldn't use my muggle cell phone in magical London, so I'd wander around the muggle parts. Summer before fifth year I convinced Bernard Rookwood to come to my parents' house when they were away to teach me to apparate, since he was seventeen by then. After that, I traveled as I pleased. I stole bits of pocket money from my parents and their friends so that they wouldn't miss it and wandered 'round to amuse myself."

Caroline had a million questions. She could buy him learning to apparate that early-Klaus was powerful and had mastered spells much faster than everyone else in their class-but it seemed crazy that he just traveled around by himself. Was he not supervised? She couldn't imagine her parents letting her do anything even half as exciting. Sure, she'd managed to get away with a lot without them noticing, but nothing like that.

As Klaus opened up to her more and more about his childhood, she found herself growing more confused. He'd always seen him as being arrogant and abrasive, but the way he talked about his siblings was almost sweet, even if he was bitter that they'd left him to fend for himself. This was the most she'd gotten out of him in one outing so far.

She was starting to see him in a new way, even as she tried to remind herself that he was dangerous. He was an ally, but that didn't mean he was her friend.

"Where have you been?"

"Outside of the U.K., you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Lots of places. Usually aided by a translation spell," he said, taking another bite of his lunch, leaving her impatiently waiting for him to finish his thought. "The summer before seventh year my parents took my siblings to Madrid for a month. Left me at home and paid a neighbor to pop in to make sure I was alive twice a week or so. I set up security charms to let me know when they came 'round and went to visit places for a few days each."

"You got away with using magic outside of school? How?"

"That's my secret, love," he said with a dimpled smile, his grin growing wider at her pout. "Perhaps I'll tell you another time."

"It's not nice to keep things from your wife, you know," she teased, taking another bite of chicken, hoping the heat on her cheeks at his satisfied smirk at the words wasn't distinguishable from a flush from the oppressive heat.

"Perhaps not," he said, his dimples cutting into his cheeks more deeply now. "The answer to your original question was that I ended up visiting five cities in all that summer."

Fine. She'd drop it for now. "Where?"

"Rome, Paris, Tokyo, Moscow, and New York. Have you been?"

"Not to any of those, no," Caroline said, trying not to show how jealous she was of his freedom, his ability to go wherever he wanted, when he wanted. It was an idea that was completely foreign to her, to not have her every move watched by bodyguards or monitoring spells. It sounded...nice. "I haven't really been anywhere, other than where I lived with my mom. I think I might have told you, but my mom went to Salem Witches Academy before she and my dad were arranged. My Uncle Kieran lives in New Orleans, so I've been there too. That's where Cami grew up. She went to Salem as well."

"You've not been to New York?"

Caroline shrugged. "No. This is the first time I've traveled, basically. Other than Hogwarts and my parents, I mean."

"I thought you grew up in America?"

She shrugged. "I mean, I did. I went to elementary school there. My mom made my dad promise, since she knew that I was basically going to stay in the U.K. after I started at Hogwarts. We lived in Connecticut so that I could go to Marchbanks Prep. It's an elementary school for wizard kids."

"And the summers after you started Hogwarts?"

"I mostly hung out at home with my dad. I was involved with the company from a really young age, even if I didn't know exactly what we did. I used to help out where I could, mostly at the stores we run in Knockturn Alley. I'd pack stuff up or help one of our antique shops stock the shelves. I don't know if you remember this, but I worked-"

"You worked at St. Claire's Antiques," Klaus finished her sentence, nodding. "Yes, I do remember popping in more than once that summer to survey their offerings. And you."

"And me?" she repeated, her eyebrows raising. "Seriously?"

"I fancied you," he said with a dimpled smile. "I'd come in to peruse, usually making myself scarce when you weren't busy, but if you were distracted I'd linger."

"You make it sound like you were stalking me."

Klaus shrugged. "A bit," he admitted. "But I tried my best to be subtle. And from what you've said, it worked."

She shrugged. "I mean, I didn't like you very much, but I guess my dad did."

There was a beat of silence, Klaus taking a bite of his pork and chewing thoughtfully before he spoke. "Why didn't you?"

"Like you?" Caroline asked, slightly surprised by the question. He nodded. "Well, I guess that I could feel that you were dangerous, you know?"

"No one else seemed to think so."

"You're good at making people like you," she said with a shrug. "I guess I just saw through it better than most people, or maybe I was too much of an idiot to be scared of you."

"You're anything but stupid, Caroline. And I never wanted to frighten you," Klaus said easily, his eyes soft. "Others, perhaps, but not you."

"It doesn't matter," she said, staring down at her food and poking it again with a fork. "We're married now, and you signed a vow not to hurt me. I don't really have anything to be scared of. Right?"

"I'd never hurt you," he said immediately. "Vow or not. You must know that. Not ever."

"Why?" she asked, not quite sure whether she wanted to know the answer. She stabbed her last bite with her fork, dragging it around to gather up the remaining sauce and shoving it in her mouth in a rather unladylike gesture that would have made her Aunt Margaret faint, hoping that chewing would prevent her from asking any more questions.

"I take care of what's mine."

"The whole 'mine' possession thing is not my favorite, just so you know," she grumbled. "I'm my own person."

"You are. That's part of what drew me to you, I suppose. Your fire. Your spine. How you bend only for the ones you're most loyal to...you never gave me an inch that I didn't earn."

He said it so matter-of-factly, as though it should be obvious. "But," he continued. "That doesn't mean that you can't decide to bend for me, now. To allow me the privilege of holding your trust. You're not in love with me, and you claim you never will be. I intend to change that. However, if you're so determined to deny yourself that indulgence, I endeavor to at least earn your loyalty and your partnership."

She wet her lips, her heart pounding a million times a minute in her chest. "I mean, we're married," she said, somewhat lamely. "You'll have a position in the company, and we'll work together. So there's that."

"There's that," he echoed, his lips curling in a small smile. "For now."

She let out a breathy laugh, turning away to look at the sign marking the beginning of the hiking trail of the volcano, where they'd been planning to spend the next hour or two. "You're so confident."

"I like to think I'm optimistic," he agreed. She heard the soft swoosh of him tossing the remains of their lunches into a nearby bin before she felt him move closer to her, and when she looked at him she saw that he was offering her his arm. "As I said, I intend to show you that you're mine. To earn your affections. I've wanted you for years. I'll wait longer."

She let out a shaky breath, looking away from him, unsure how to respond. "We should start walking so that we get back to the hotel before dinner," she said finally, slipping her hand into the crook of his elbow and giving him a small, strained smile.

"As you wish, love."

XXX

Caroline didn't know why she was putting in so much effort. She and Klaus were married, and sure, he'd told her that he wanted monogamy, that he'd wait as long as it took for her to come to him, but she didn't feel comfortable yet. Right?

For some reason, her hands didn't stop their exploration of her closet, her brain automatically thinking through each outfit. She pulled out a dress that was a bit revealing, one that she usually saved for fancy dinners with vendors who stared too long at her chest and could be swayed by a little leaning forward.

"The place is nice, right?" she called to the other room where Klaus was waiting.

"Yes. Cocktail attire, as the muggles say. They have a tasting menu. Don't think too hard about it, sweetheart. It's not as though you've anyone to impress."

That was almost a dare to protest, wasn't it?

"I don't know. My husband will be there."

She heard him chuckle, and she didn't have to peek outside of the closet to know that he was putting his hands in his pockets and ducking his head with a dimpled grin. "And I'm sure he'll think you look ravishing in anything."

"Promise?" she teased, shrugging off her robe and stepping into the dress, wriggling to get it up her legs faster and tapping her wand to zip it up.

"You don't need to take my word for it. I've never seen you look less than lovely."

She snorted. "You've seen me with greasy hair and morning breath."

"You say that as though it refutes my point," he said, his tone so genuine that it coaxed a smile from her that he couldn't see.

"I like the attempts to be charming," she complimented, pulling some sky-high heels from the bottom shelf and slipping her feet into them. She'd probably be the same height as him, but they made her legs look amazing. "You're taking this seduction thing pretty seriously."

"I like to think that I accomplish things I set my mind to."

She smoothed the dress over her thighs and fluffed her hair before stepping out. The way Klaus looked at her made every second of getting ready worth it. His eyes were dark, his lips slightly parted, and she resisted the urge to strike a bit of a pose as he let his eyes wander her figure. The heat of his gaze made her shiver, her hands shaking slightly from the anticipation she suddenly found growing in the pit of her belly. "You do look ravishing, sweetheart."

He didn't look too bad himself. The jacket of his muggle-style suit was draped over the back of the desk chair, his dress shirt rolled up to his elbows showing his toned forearms. She felt her teeth sink into her lip without thinking about it, was pretty sure that if she hadn't done it she'd be drooling.

"Thank you. You look great, too."

He gave her a wicked dimpled grin that made her knees weak. "Thank you, love."

She watched as he pulled on his suit jacket and reached out without thinking about it to straighten his tie, freezing when her hands touched the fabric. He was looking at her in a way that made her blood heat, and she felt her cheeks pink as she determinedly looked away from his eyes, swallowing audibly. "Sorry, your...um...your tie was crooked."

She let her palm linger on his chest for a moment too long, but from the way she heard his breath catch, she doubted he had any complaints. "Shall we?" he asked, his voice low, practically a growl. She pressed her thighs together.

"We shall."

His palm burned her waist through the thin fabric of her dress as he led her to the magical lifts, and they stepped on as soon as the doors opened.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, his tongue dragging across his lips, and she felt heat rise in her cheeks. If he kept looking at her like that, she wasn't sure she'd be able to resist him.

But no, she had to. She couldn't let him get in her head, her heart, or her pants (until they were ready for heirs, that is). He was charming, and he'd made it clear he wanted her, but that didn't mean that he wasn't dangerous. Klaus always had a plan, had something up his sleeve, and before she let herself get attached to him, she needed to make sure that she was okay with whatever his ultimate goal was. Right?

Right.

XXX

"This is so nice," Caroline said happily, stretching before sinking down on the lawn chair beside him. "I didn't realize how much I needed a vacation."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

She hummed, stretching before closing her eyes and relaxing against the lawn chair pillow, her hair splayed around her face.

He couldn't resist the urge to watch her as she sunbathed, likely having put sun-resistant potion on her skin to allow it to tan without burning. She seemed to be peaceful, and he waved his hand when she wasn't looking to summon his sketchbook. His fingers were itching to capture the way her lashes laid against her cheek, the way her hair practically glowed in the sunlight. He sketched her on and off, occasionally stopping to sip a drink or message Marcel on his mobile floo, the sun making its way slowly across the sky.

"You're staring," she said softly after an hour or two, cracking an eye open to look at him.

"I'm sketching," he corrected. "You're a lovely muse."

She scoffed, putting her arms above her head to stretch and arching her back before laying back down on the lawn chair. "I didn't know you did art."

"One of my many talents."

She hummed, pushing her sunglasses up her nose and turning on her side to look at him, her cheek cushioned on her upper arm. "Can I see it?"

He debated saying no, but Caroline was the curious sort, and quite resourceful. He had no doubt that if she was sufficiently motivated she'd easily get ahold of his sketchbook. He could always put wards on it, but that would just make her even more curious. It would be best to build trust now.

He held out the book for her to take, their fingers brushing as she took it. He could see her look at him through her sunglasses before she looked down at the book. She kept her expression determinedly neutral, but she couldn't hide the slight widening of her eyes and the twitch of her lips. "This is good," she said simply, passing it back. "I like it."

"Thank you, love."

She stretched again, her back arching, and he took the opportunity to let his eyes rove her figure while she looked the other way.

"What do you want to do for dinner?"

She perked up, turning to look at him with an excited grin that was infectious enough to make him smile back. "I made reservations at the Phoenix Feather at seven. It's supposed to be amazing. They were completely full, so I had to name drop, but I think it'll be worth it."

"Name drop Caroline Mikaelson?" he teased, earning an exasperated look.

"They know who I am," she muttered, shaking her head and reaching under the chair to grab a bottle of her sun protection potion and uncorking it.

"Need help, love?"

She scoffed, clearly about to reject his offer but seeming to rethink it when she caught sight of one of the other guests unsubtly eyeing them with interest from a few chairs over. He'd recognized him as a lackey of the de Martel's, and Caroline apparently recognized him as well. "Fine," she muttered, handing it over. "But keep your hands in appropriate places, please."

"Wouldn't dream of doing anything else, sweetheart. Consider it payback for your kind assistance a few full moons ago."

She scoffed, though he was gratified to see that her cheeks pinked slightly before she turned over hurriedly, cushioning her cheek on her hands and humming in contentment as he began to massage the potion into her back, rubbing his thumb against the knots he found for good measure. He remembered how her hands had wandered when she'd spread the healing balm on him mere weeks before. That was the moment he'd known that she was closer to being tempted to him than she was pretending.

"Is he still watching?" Caroline whispered, low enough that Klaus barely caught it.

Klaus checked with a subtle glance. "Yes."

He finished rubbing the lotion on her back and shoulders, handing her back the bottle when she turned back over to do her front and her legs, surprised when she sat up straight to peck him on the lips. He chased them with his, catching her lips in a deeper kiss, his hands landing on her waist. It was soft, sweet, his tongue brushing across her lower lip and coaxing out a soft gasp that he took advantage of, dragging his tongue across the backs of her teeth and eliciting a moan.

She buried her fingers in his hair, pulling him down slightly to bend over her, still moving her lips against his. At the unsubtle cough of the little old lady in the chair beside Caroline's, he pulled back slowly, tugging her bottom lip with his teeth as he did so, smiling at her soft gasp.

"For show," she whispered as he lingered close, their foreheads pressed together.

"Of course, love," he said, giving her a dimpled grin and pecking her on the lips one last time before he pulled back.

XXX

"Being married to you might not be so bad," she admitted softly, her legs tangling with his in bed.

"Is that so?"

"Don't get smirky about it," she said, turning around in his arms to squint at him in the low light. "That's barely a compliment."

"I know. But it's an improvement."

"I guess it probably is, yeah," she said, wincing. "I know I haven't been the most welcoming person-"

"I understand why, love. You didn't ask for this. For me."

"No, but I knew I'd have to find a husband eventually. I guess you're not the worst one I could end up with."

He laughed softly. "I should hope not."

"Don't get complacent, though," she warned, tucking her head under his chin. "Just because you don't totally suck doesn't mean I like you."

He chuckled, his hand moving to trace up and down her spine, the other resting easily on her waist, just above her hipbone. "I wouldn't dream of it."


Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know if you had any favorite bits of dialogue or favorite scenes/snippets. Reviews inspire me and help me write more. I have added an extra chapter after this one, so hopefully I'll get it done by next Tuesday. I have a new (very busy) job and an unexpected family emergency/thing that I need to deal with, so this week will be busy. Your reviews always brighten my day, so thank you to those who leave them.