Thank you to honestgrins for beta work. Sorry for the wait! Enjoy.
"Have you ever considered being more adventurous?" Klaus asked quietly, his tone silky. Tempting. Coaxing.
"What do you mean?" she asked suspiciously. "With sex?"
"Yes."
She thought back to all the fantasies she'd had, especially the dirtier ones that she used to tide her over when he was away for parties or before they'd been having casual sex on a regular basis. "Sometimes I think about things that are less...vanilla," she said slowly.
"Like what?"
"Promise you won't make fun of me?" she asked, turning to look at him on the bed.
"I give you my word," he said, his face serious. He tangled his fingers with hers, his thumb brushing over her knuckles, and she felt her cheeks warm. The strange intimacy they'd built over the past nine months after they'd made their agreement still sometimes made her uneasy. It didn't square with the Klaus she knew him to be. He was demanding and harsh, his patience wearing thin more quickly than anyone she'd met before. He was different with her. Softer. But she had never thought of him as affectionate.
That had changed after her father had died. She had spent the whole day alternating between spiraling in her grief and wondering how she'd keep her reaction from Klaus, or even if she should. She hadn't wanted Klaus to have some kind of sociopathic reaction that made her feel worse. He'd surprised her, and she remembered the sympathy in his face when he'd pulled her into a hug and led her to the sitting room that even Jenna couldn't enter to clean, his hand threading through her blonde curls as he pressed his lips to her forehead and let her sob into his chest for as long as she needed. She'd apologized reflexively when she realized that she'd basically covered the entire front of his robes with the remains of her tears, but he'd almost looked offended, whispering how sorry he was that she'd thought she had to cope alone.
She hadn't really known what to say to that. Because she was worried that he'd blow off her emotions? Because she was scared that he wouldn't care about her for anything but her power and her body? She'd never seen him be sensitive, and she figured that when she was in an emotionally fragile place was not the time to take a chance on seeing how good he was at responding to her feelings. She had been too grief-stricken to notice at the time how safe she felt once she'd let him in, how cared for he made her feel, but her mind wandered back to the moment often now.
Sure, she was fully aware that she was attracted to Klaus, and the moment hadn't changed her feelings, nor had it made her feel any sort of debt to him. It just showed her new facets of who he was, or perhaps a part of him that she had been determined to deny existed. She was too scared of letting him have access to her private thoughts for worry that he'd abuse them, that he'd use them to manipulate her.
He hadn't. So far.
Now she often snuggled up to him without asking first, let her cheek rest on his chest as he held her and stroked her hair. He'd never given any indication that her touch was unwelcome. He seemed to enjoy it, liked being able to pull her into his lap and press a kiss to her cheek and have them sit in comfortable silence while they listened to the wireless or watched quidditch on the magical television.
She was trying to grow more comfortable with him and his affections, with his interest in her, and it was hard to remember that their marriage was a sham, that she had to keep some boundaries in place.
Giving him access to her fantasies wasn't a boundary that she felt she had to keep. Not anymore.
"Sometimes I think about you tying me up," she said, starting with one he already knew about. She still flushed slightly, though she refused to avoid his eyes. She didn't like showing weakness.
"You know I'd like that," he said. "Anything else?"
"I like it when you get possessive in bed," she admitted. "Sometimes I think about you being a bit more aggressive. Remember that time that you left for two weeks for that manticore egg deal in Romania?"
He grimaced. "Unfortunately."
"And when you came home..." she trailed off, watching him carefully, blushing at the smug grin that spread across his face,.
"Ah, yes, when I found you in the sitting room and bent you over the coffee table. I couldn't wait to take you. You looked so lovely in that silk. All for me."
"It wasn't for you," she pointed out, huffing. She'd been a little exasperated at the time. Having a Parvati Patil sleeping robe ripped down the middle when he could have just undone the belt like a normal person had been annoying enough, but what was more annoying was that he was convinced that she'd done it to tempt him. To entice him.
She had, but she'd never admit it. She didn't want to give him access to her private shame: that she was desperate for him, that she needed his touch.
That she'd missed him, possibly the way a wife would miss a husband that she actually loved.
"Even if it wasn't, I did enjoy taking it off of you," he said, deciding to indulge her lie. "Was there something specific you liked?"
"You were so possessive. I felt like you needed me. Like if you didn't fuck me right that second you'd combust, or something. I think about that all the time. I fantasize about you coming home and not wanting anything else but me as soon as possible, no matter what I'm doing."
"You like being wanted?" he asked.
"Yeah. I guess."
"I always want you," he said, reaching to tug a curl between his fingers. She felt her breath catch at the admission, how it sounded so genuine. It could have been a pretty, empty compliment. A comment on how much he liked to touch her. Somehow it felt like more than that.
"Okay. But like, I want you to show it."
"To be rough with you?" he asked, grinning, setting his hand on her hip to hold her in place. "Like this?"
She smirked. "Rougher."
He pushed her down on the bed, sliding on top of her, balancing his body on his elbows as he looked down at her with heat in his eyes. "Like this?" he asked as he ground against her, his cock already half-hard, pressing her thighs apart without the gentleness he usually showed.
"Rougher."
He grinned, bending to kiss her passionately, his teeth scraping against her lower lip. He groaned when she lifted her hips to roll against his covered cock, his jeans rough through the thin barrier of her cotton underwear. He pressed her against the mattress, his fingernails scraping lightly against the outside of her thighs, making her moan into his mouth. "Keep your legs open for me, then," he said between brief, fierce kisses, his teeth sinking into her lower lip as he grabbed her wrists to press them against the mattress. "And keep your wrists above your head."
"Okay," she breathed, watching as he pressed kisses down her chest and belly, nipping the skin above her belly button before continuing down to pepper kisses on the insides of her thighs.
"Tell me more."
"More what?"
"More of your fantasies. Tell me."
"Umm..." she started, not quite able to think straight now that he'd begun to press open-mouthed, sucking kisses closer and closer to her center. "I guess I've thought about you teasing me. Bringing me just to the edge before you-oh..."
Klaus smirked, flicking his tongue against her clit again before looking up at her. "Before I?"
"Before you slow down. You just keep building me up over and over," she said, her breathing quickening as he began to speed up the movements of his tongue when she spoke, though he stopped completely when she stopped talking, his hands moving to her thighs to press them back slightly, giving her a delicious ache between them. "Klaus!"
"What, sweetheart?"
"Why did you stop?"
"Keep talking and I'll start again, sweetheart. Tell me more."
She huffed, squirming when he bent to press kisses just shy of her center, nipping the skin lightly but not giving her anything more while she stayed silent. "Sometimes I think about you tying me up while you do it," she offered, smiling at his answering groan and the way his tongue swiped at her entrance. "I think about you keeping my hands tied to our headboard while you tease me, just like this. But sometimes I think about you binding my ankles apart too. I wonder what it would be like for you to watch me."
"Fuck, Caroline," he whispered, his tone rough, his head dipping for just a moment. "God."
"Would you like that, Klaus? For me to watch you touch yourself while you watch me roll my hips against nothing hoping for some friction?"
She hadn't thought that she'd ever be brave enough to talk like that, to say those words out loud. She knew what she liked, had experimented with a few people and enjoyed some of it, but she'd never been great at verbalizing her desires. She liked it when people talked to her, though, and she said as much.
"I love it when you talk, too. When you tell me all the things you're thinking about. The day when you caught me in our bedroom after you left, when you talked to me about the things you wanted..."
"You liked that, sweetheart?"
"Yes," she said, nodding, rolling her hips as Klaus thrust his tongue inside of her, curling it against her walls. "Merlin...fuck."
"Talk, love," he reminded her, nipping the insides of her thighs and dragging his tongue across her skin to soothe the bite.
"I...that's all I can think of right now," she gasped out, spreading her legs more, hoping he'd take the hint. "If I think of anything else, I'll tell you."
"Promise?" he murmured between kisses just shy of where she desperately needed them.
"Promise."
She felt his lips move as he smiled against her skin, his stubble brushing against her inner thigh as his lips made their way up to her center. He slipped his hands beneath her ass to bring her close, his mouth already moving, tongue stroking her slick skin just the way she liked it. He knew her tells by now, knew the things that made her melt, and he had her writhing against his mouth within minutes, moaning his name.
She sunk into the sheets, her eyes glassy, breathing shallow. Her fingers wound into Klaus's hair as he kissed her way up her abdomen, his tongue dipping into her belly button before continuing up to her breasts. "Klaus," she whined when he sucked her nipple into his mouth, her skin still oversensitive. "I can't..."
"Too much, love?" he asked, his smile infuriatingly smug.
"Just a little. Give me a minute," she said, nodding, snuggling into him when he moved his way up her body, pulling her flush against him on the bed, his hard cock pressed against her belly. "Sorry."
"Don't apologize, sweetheart," he said, quick to reassure her, his hands already threading through her curls. "I can wait."
"I mean, we never really talked about you anyway," Caroline pointed out, slightly breathlessly. Klaus chuckled softly as his fingertips drew patterns on the side of her waist.
"What about me?"
"What about your fantasies of me?" Caroline asked. "Will you tell me about them?"
"Fantasies of you? How long do we have?" he teased.
"Ha," she said dryly, poking him lightly in the stomach, grinning as his low growl when her fingers brushed his cock. "Seriously. Anything you want to share with the class?"
His smile made her bite her lip. It held the promise that whatever he was about to say was going to make her blush. "What do you know about dominance and submission?"
"Like, BDSM?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at his nod. "Umm...I know that it exists. Are you...Is that what you want? To like, dominate me?"
"It's one of the many things I'd like to do to you," he said quietly, reaching to tug on a blonde curl, her dimples showing. "Interested?"
"Not sure yet," she admitted. "What would it involve, exactly?"
"It could involve any number of things. Do you ever think about what it would be like to be spanked, love? My palm landing on your pretty arse, staining it red? Or how it would feel to kneel at my feet, knowing that if anyone saw the Forbes heir submitting to anyone, even her husband, it would be an absolute scandal? Or perhaps you've thought of how it would feel to watch me watch you, to touch yourself for me, put on a show for my pleasure. Perhaps I'd use that clever spell you tried to fool me with, to deny you your release until you'd pleased me..."
His voice was silky, and she found her thighs rubbing together when the ache began to pulse between them. She couldn't say she hadn't thought about some of those things, but she wasn't sure how she'd feel about them. Admitting that out loud? That she wanted to follow orders and kneel for him and let him have his way with her?
Perhaps not so different from the rough possessive sex she'd admitted to wanting earlier, but that didn't make it any less scandalous to ask for.
"Um...It sounds interesting," she hedged, her cheeks pinking.
"Does it?"
"Yeah," she admitted, her fingers finding his beneath the blanket to tangle with them.
"I do get ever so bored with the parties and the fundraisers," he murmured. "Having to control my temper and my tongue with the endless stream of socialites clamoring for my time simply for the power it brings because I need to for the good of the family and the business. Whenever I come home, I crave a bit of the control that I don't feel I have. I want to have some time to feel needed unconditionally, to take care of something more tangible. And you can't deny that it would be nice to repay me for my hard work..." he trailed off with a raised eyebrow.
She was still stuck on the first half of what he'd said. She'd never expected him to be truthful about why he wanted it. Admitting that he needed to feel that he was in control of something was very on-brand for him, obviously, but she hadn't often heard him talk about his feelings the way he was. She swallowed, finding herself tempted.
"And you," he whispered softly. "You seem so stressed all the time, in need of comfort and an escape from your responsibilities. You take care of everything. The business, the staff, the schedules...Wouldn't you like someone to take care of you for once, Caroline? To monitor your needs, to give you everything you desire without you having to keep track of the tasks?"
"Wouldn't it be my job to do tasks for you? To take care of you?" she asked, frowning.
He grinned. "In a sense. You'd have to remember the rules, of course. You'd have to follow my directions. Answer to me. But you wouldn't have to take care of anyone else. You'd have no responsibilities other than pleasing me. You'd be needed, and I'd make sure to keep you happy. Safe. You want that, don't you?"
She nodded hesitantly. It sounded enticing, the possibility of Klaus taking care of her, fulfilling her needs, letting her escape from the world she lived in that required her to keep track of all the details. She swallowed audibly. "Yeah. That would be nice, I guess."
He gave her a dimpled smile that still stole her breath away, even after seeing it all these months.
"Perfect," he murmured, moving to kiss her deeply, his hand detangling from hers to cup her cheek.
"So, how would it work, exactly?" Caroline asked once Klaus pulled away, their foreheads still pressed together. "Have you done this before?"
"Several times," he said, pulling back to look at her, his lips twitching at the frown that marred her face. "Does that bother you?"
"A little," she admitted.
"I do like your territorialism, sweetheart. It's delightful and I so rarely get to see it."
"Because I'm not a possessive crazy person," she muttered, squeaking when he pinched her hip lightly. "Hey!"
"You're my wife. Of course I'm possessive."
She rolled her eyes, deciding not to argue the point. Every time she pointed out that their marriage was one of convenience, Klaus got snippy with her. It wasn't worth the argument, especially since she'd been thinking more about how nice it would be to not have to draw attention to it. She wasn't sure she wanted it to be a farce anymore.
"Back to my questions," she said impatiently. "Did you do it with a lot of people?"
"Some. With the exception of Aurora, most of them were no-strings-attached. I'd meet them through clubs or through friends."
Caroline felt a flash of jealousy that she tried to stamp down. He'd already teased her about being jealous and she didn't need to give him more ammunition. "I thought you and Aurora weren't like...serious."
"We weren't. She had feelings for me, of course-"
"Of course," Caroline drawled, rolling her eyes.
He gave her a dimpled grin. "Of course," he repeated smugly. "But no. Her family had a few artifacts that I was interested in, and she mistook my interest in her family for a deeper interest in her. She got a bit too attached. I suppose it couldn't be helped."
"You're such a jerk," Caroline said, knowing she should be more fierce about it (because, like, yikes), but not quite able to muster any sympathy for the other girl. Aurora sucked. She was racist and petty and rude. It was basically karma.
"I don't particularly want to talk about Aurora, if it's all the same to you, love," he said, his hand still tracing the line of her spine. "I want to talk about you. What you want."
She bit her lip. "How would it work? Like, this whole...thing?"
"We'd make rules. You'd follow them," he said, his palm resting against her bare hip like a brand before it slowly moved to cup one of the cheeks of her ass, his fingers drifting dangerously close to her back entrance. "I'd reward you for good behavior. Punish you for your deviance from them, if necessary."
"Punish like how?"
"It depends. We'd have to experiment," he said. She moaned when his finger pressed lightly against her back entrance, his lips curling in a smile. "Tell me, love, would spanking you while I take your arse with my cock be a punishment, or a reward?"
She flushed. "A punishment?" she half-asked. Spanking seemed like one, definitely.
He grinned. "Some people enjoy it," he said softly. "They find the pain pleasurable. You do like to be treated roughly, so perhaps you're one of them. Then it wouldn't be so much of a punishment, would it? Perhaps you'd even beg me for it."
Her eyes flashed. "You think I'd beg to be spanked?" she asked, scoffing. "Unlikely."
He smirked. "We'll see, I suppose. Whether you wanted it or not, you'd thank me for them. Either for the correction or the privilege."
She flushed. Thank him? She was overwhelmed suddenly with what it would feel like to know that he was smirking behind her as his hand landed on her ass as she choked out gratitudes for his generosity or his reminders. She felt a bit ashamed that she found it hot. A part of her didn't want to admit to herself that she wanted Klaus to take control, to banish all her worries and make her feel safe. She liked to think of herself as independent now, even if teenage Caroline hadn't been. She was supposed to be strong. Her employees respected her. Some even feared her. How could she reduce herself to kneeling at the feet of a sociopath?
And why did she find the idea of it so hot?
Klaus seemed to read her thoughts. his hand continuing to card through her hair as he spoke softly. "What's worrying you, love?"
"I just...this feels wrong. Thinking about this. You owning me or whatever. Letting you order me around."
"Well that's just it, isn't it, sweetheart? You'd be letting me. Giving yourself to me. I only have as much control over you as you're willing to cede. It's up to you to follow my orders, Caroline. Allowing me to control you is a form of power, don't you think?"
"I guess," she said, considering his point. "But like, this isn't me saying that you can order me around in our normal life, right?"
He laughed quietly. "I wouldn't dream of it. I like your fire, love. I'd never try to quash your light."
"Even if I disagree with you? Are you going to make me worried that if I say no to something or fight with you, you'll spank me that night, or whatever?"
"Only if we were agreeing for you to abide by the rules while you'd done it."
"Maybe," she said, her breath catching when he raked his nails across the flesh of her ass before withdrawing, returning to resting his hand on her waist as though he hadn't just made her squirm with need in his arms. "What would the rules be?"
"Not to play into your claims that I'm a 'possessive crazy person'," he began, drawling the words out in an imitation of her accent. "But no entertaining others' affections. If someone flirts with you, you'll remain friendly at most. Do you understand?"
"What if it would be helpful to our cause strategically?"
He considered the question, clearly unhappy with the idea. However, she knew that Klaus, possessive though he may be, would never discount a potential path to get the upper hand in something they needed. "Ask me first," he said finally. "And only as a last resort."
"Okay. Agreed."
"Second, you'll address me by my title during scenes."
Caroline shook her head immediately. "No. I don't like that."
"Why?" he asked softly. His tone was without censure or annoyance. Merely curiosity.
"Our...employees call you that," she said, trying to look less like she had been sucking on a raw lemon. Submitting to Klaus on its own was fine. She trusted him to take care of her, to pleasure her, but calling him 'My Lord' while he did it? She was not a minion or an expendable servant speaking to an aristocrat. She was his wife, even if it had been through an arrangement.
He gave her a dimpled smile. "Not that. You'd call me 'Master'."
She flushed, pressing her thighs together. Why didn't that feel worse?
"That seems so wrong..." she said, trailing off when she saw his raised eyebrow.
"But you like the sound of it, don't you?" he asked softly, reaching down to trace patterns on the back of her thigh, making her shiver. "You did enjoy a form of it when I caught you touching yourself the first time, didn't you? When you offered up your mouth while I pinned your wrists above your head. Then, later, you let me bend you over our coffee table and take you from behind, pleading for me to let you come... In fact, I recall coaxing out some pretty words and promises multiple times. You do sound so lovely when you beg. Is this so different?"
"I mean, when you put it like that, no," she acknowledged, her cheeks still warm.
"We don't have to if you don't want to," Klaus said softly, hitching her thigh around his waist, his fingers tracing the skin where the top of it met the curve of her ass. She squirmed, her walls fluttering at the light touch, her nipples beginning to pebble again. "But I think you want to. Otherwise it would break the vow I made."
"What vow?" she asked, frowning.
"When I signed the contract. I agreed to never inflict unwanted harm," he said, cupping her ass with his calloused palm, squeezing gently and coaxing out a soft moan.
"So if I didn't want it..." she began, gasping when he pinched the flesh of her ass between his fingers. "Klaus..."
"If you didn't want it, the vow would stop me," he confirmed, reaching to fiddle with the ends of her curls with one hand while the other drifted closer to the slick skin at the apex of her thighs. "Perhaps that'll be your answer."
She bit her lip, spreading her legs to allow his fingers to stroke her folds again, already putty in his arms. She was pretty sure that her traitor body would be more than okay with whatever he wanted to do to her. But her mind had to be as well. She had to want it.
And Merlin, she wanted him.
XXX
When she came into the living room, Klaus was draped across her favorite couch, his nose buried in some sort of spellbook. "Klaus, can I sit down? I want to watch Quidditch," she asked, nudging his leg lightly with her knee. He hummed, not looking up from his spellbook and gesturing vaguely to his abdomen, finally looking up when she huffed impatiently.
"What, love?"
"Scooch," she said impatiently, squeaking in surprise when he pulled her down on top of him, his hand resting on the small of her back to keep her in place, his other setting the spellbook aside before he tangled his fingers in her hair.
"Hey!" she protested, though her cheek turning to rest on his chest didn't back up her supposed objections all that well, and she heard him chuckle. "What?"
"You can watch Quidditch from here."
"Mmm, as long as you don't distract me," she teased, bending down to brush her lips against his, smiling when his hands moved down to her hips. "And you're very distracting."
They were interrupted by a knock on the door, and Caroline sat up immediately, calling for whoever it was to come in. Enzo poked his head through the door. "Hey, gorgeous."
"Hey!" she greeted, standing up to give Enzo a hug. "How was your vacation?"
"Brilliant. Glad I got the break," he admitted, turning to nod at Klaus, who was looking a bit sulky. She sent him an exasperated glance before turning back to her friend. "Just wanted to pop 'round and remind you of our pub crawl plans. I know you can get lost in your work."
"Shit, I totally forgot!" Caroline said, huffing at Enzo's grin. "Sorry!"
"It's fine. Be ready by six, yeah?"
"Yeah! I'll come down after the game," she assured him, giving him a quick hug. "And you can use the time to catch up on reports, right?"
"Yes, my lady," he teased, tossing her a wink and nodding at Klaus. "My lord," he said, his tone a bit colder.
Klaus nodded back, and Enzo took his leave, shutting the door behind him. Caroline laid back down immediately, closing her eyes when Klaus shifted to mold the side of her body against his front. They were silent for a few seconds as the magical television began to play the intro to the Holyhead Harpies game against the Tutshill Tornadoes, and Klaus waited until the first commercial for the newest improvement on Sleakezy's Hair Potion to break the silence.
"How often do you have dinner with Lorenzo?" Klaus asked, the forced casualness in his tone tipping her off to this being not a normal conversation.
"Uh, every now and then. We've been friends since we were kids. Why?"
"You seem close."
"Yeah. We've been friends for years," Caroline repeated, blinking at him. "Is there something wrong?"
"Not wrong..."
"There's nothing going on between Enzo and me," Caroline said firmly, laying her palm on Klaus's thigh as she fought to not glare at him. "Nothing. End of story. Friends only."
"Is that what you wanted?"
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Did you want to be only friends with him?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I heard through the grapevine that he was quite close to being your arranged."
Caroline flinched from the magic rolling off of him as he said it, and he froze underneath her at her movement. Moments later, she felt the magic recede back to him. "Apologies," he said softly, his hand reaching to tangle his fingers with hers. "I didn't mean to frighten you."
She swallowed, feeling a spark of anger. "I want to make one thing clear, okay?"
"All right."
"Enzo is not a murder candidate," Caroline said firmly, her gaze level and fierce. "He is my friend, but there's nothing going on between us. There never has been, and there never will be. Even if there had been at one point, which again, there hasn't been, that's still not an excuse to kill him. Okay?"
"Understood, sweetheart."
She took a deep shaky breath, closing her eyes briefly before continuing. "I trust you, Klaus. I do. But if you break my trust, if you hurt him, I won't forgive you. It's not about me choosing him over you, because I'm not. It's about you choosing me over whatever alpha male bullshit you're tempted to pull."
"Caroline," Klaus began, reaching out to hold her hand and squeezing it gently in a gesture more tender than she'd ever thought he was capable of when they married. "You must understand by now that I'll always choose you."
"I mean, I hope so," she said, lacing her fingers through his. "But like, I know that you can be kind of jealous and stuff. Which, again, not cute. But Enzo and I have been friends since we were basically kids. His dad worked for my dad, too. This is his family's business almost as much as it is mine."
"I understand, Caroline," he said again. "I promise that he'll remain unscathed. Is there anyone else I should keep in mind?"
"To put on the never-kill list, you mean?" she asked, an eyebrow raised. "Um, how about everyone who doesn't deserve it."
"Define 'deserve'."
Caroline rolled her eyes. "You're not as funny as you think you are. No killing unless necessary, and I mean my definition of necessary. Yours is apparently pretty loose."
"You knew that before we married, I think."
She snorted. "I knew that from when we were at Hogwarts. It took me like, three full hours of relentlessly laying out the facts to Bonnie to convince her that you tried to murder your roommate."
"But you convinced her?"
"At the time, I think she just wanted me to stop talking, but she came around later on."
"That does explain her hostility."
"She hasn't been hostile. She's just worried about me," Caroline said defensively.
"Well, I'm sure you've told her that there's no need to now, haven't you?" Klaus asked, his fingers still contentedly running up and down her spine, though he frowned when she winced. "Haven't you?"
"I mean, I know you'd never hurt me," Caroline began, licking her suddenly dry lips before continuing. "But you're still dangerous."
"Not to you."
"No, not to me," she agreed, speaking slowly. "But we just had to have a conversation about not killing my friends. In most marriages that would be a given."
"This isn't most marriages, but I should hope you know that I care for you enough to want to ensure your happiness. Hurting your friends would be counterproductive."
"See, and that's kind of the problem, isn't it? You're not keeping them alive because you think killing them would be wrong. You're not hurting them because I care about them."
"How is that a problem?" he asked, frowning. "The result is the same, regardless of my motives, and the result is the one you want."
Caroline pressed her lips together, trying to process his statement, to form a response. "It's a problem because I don't want to be married to a sociopath."
"Not a sociopath," Klaus said, his tone amused, which was not the result she was going for. "Just pragmatic. And I do care for others. You."
She huffed. "Stop saying that. We both know you only married me for the power, and-"
"How many times do I have to tell you that I married you because I wanted you?" he asked, his tone sharper than he'd likely intended. "Caroline, I care for you. I always have, even when we were at Hogwarts. Your money and power is useful to my plans, but you could have neither and I'd have been just as enchanted by you."
She was suspicious, honestly, but there was one thing in his confession that seemed more important. "Your plans? What plans?"
He stiffened beneath her, his hand pausing in its exploration of her lower back to splay across it, pressing down lightly as though worried she'd wriggle away.
"Klaus," she began, her tone a warning. "What plans?"
"You must know I want power," he said lightly, though that was far from as much information as she wanted.
"Yes. But what kind of power? Do you have some kind of end goal?"
He was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "Just political influence. I don't like how the wizarding world treated...me. People like me."
"People who grew up muggles?" she asked softly, his confession beginning to tug at her stupid, sensitive heartstrings.
"They tore me away from my family. Made me seem dangerous to them. I have to keep secrets. I understand why wizards had to hide back when we were being burned at the stake, but now the stigma is unnecessary. I want a community, I suppose. Of people like me."
"You want to rule a community of people like you," Caroline said softly, knowing as she said the words that they were true.
"Every group of people has a leader, love. It's not as though I'd let anyone else."
She was trying to process his words, her teeth sinking into her lower lip. "And that's it? Just create a community of people who need the same help you did? That seems a little altruistic for you."
He was silent for a moment, a small smirk slowly beginning to stretch his lips. "Why, Caroline, are you calling me selfish?"
She rolled her eyes, letting her cheek fall back to rest comfortably against his chest. "As long as you're not doing dark rituals and building armies, I guess I can't complain."
"And you'll help me? Rule with me?"
She turned the idea around in her head, hesitant to agree for some reason. She felt like there was something he wasn't telling her. "I'm your wife," she said finally. "We're in whatever you're doing together anyway."
"True enough, I suppose."
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