Hey guys! Sorry, this took me a while to get online for you guys. I've been starting up some new projects that took my concentration away from this a bit and it was taking me some time to get this to feel right. But I think this is ready to be read now. I do hope you like it.

Warning: Some sexual content ahead


Chapter Nineteen: Hotel Rooms and Ripper Bites

Kiara opened her eyes to the feeling of something brushing up her leg. She frowned at the white ceiling above her trying to remember where she was and, more importantly, how she got there. But all she could remember was leaning her head onto the cool window of Klaus's SUV and watching the city of Mystic Falls pass her by. Now she was inside, in what seemed to be an expensive hotel room. She turned her head to the right and saw a gorgeous skyline view out the window. Wherever she was, it was early morning. The sun was only just coming up to shine a multitude of colors across the sky.

A hand was trailing up her leg. The touch was light, almost teasingly so, and quickly moving up to her bikini line. Her breathing deepened as she realized another hand was pressing against her opposite leg, already intent on keeping her legs apart. She opened her mouth wanting to ask a question out loud, but only a moan managed to escape her as kisses were pressed against her inner thigh.

She felt a hot breath pass across her skin and she realized the person was laughing. "Just tell me what you want, love, and I'll be happy to oblige."

"Klaus?" Kiara frowned, recognizing the voice. She lifted the pure white blankets from her body only to find she was naked. In fact, they both were and he was lying between her legs. Her cheeks burned at the sight and she quickly diverted her eyes. "What the hell? What's going on? And where are my clothes? Or your, for that matter."

His hybrid eyes glowed in the shade of the blanket as he glanced up at her. He watched her as he trailed kisses up her leg. Only the subtle rise of his eyebrow challenged her to stop him. "What's it look like, love? I'm giving you what you need. It's been torture feeling how much you need this and not being able to do a thing about it, but I'm sure you know that… "

"You can't just—" She stopped short when she felt his tongue slide along her folds.

He groaned at the taste, eagerly seeking more of her, even as she tried to press her legs together.

"S, stop…" Her voice was only a whisper now as she tilted her hips up to meet him.

Goosebumps tingled to life all over her body. She gasped and tried to catch her breath. Klaus was right. She hadn't fed in days and it was really beginning to test her self control. And his apparently.

Kiara reminded herself that she was still pissed off at him. Klaus had hurt her. He daggered Elijah. But his wicked tongue was moving expertly along her skin. Somehow he knew exactly how to touch her and where and for how long. Perhaps that was because he was so experienced. Or maybe it was because of the link still chaining them together. Maybe it was both. Regardless it was nearly impossible to resist.

The more pleasure he brought her, the more he felt and vise versa. And it didn't seem he could stop now that he'd started. Not when he knew how good he was making her feel.

Kiara buried her fingers into his hair. "Klaus! Please!" she begged when he settled his lips around the area she wanted him most and began to suck, his tongue flicking up and down.

It was hard to tell if she wanted him to stop or to continue what he was doing. Maybe it was a little of both. But she never managed to voice her thoughts any further than that. Only needy sounds came from her mouth then. And Klaus couldn't get enough. Not of her. Each sound she made, made the wolf in him howl with pride. Every place his skin managed to meet hers sent chills through his body. The feeling of her fingers in his hair only encouraged him to slide his arms under her legs to hold her body close to him. He knew the more she cried out and pulled his hair, the closer she was.

He could have ended it there. But instead, he continued his torturous technique, slowly building her up until she was ready to burst. It was selfish of him, he knew that, but he was enjoying himself. He was enjoying her and he wanted this to be the most pleasurable experience she ever had. So he took his time with her. Together they teetered on the edge of ecstasy until her eyes finally rolled back and the tension building between her legs was released.

Klaus flipped the blankets back up over his head and grinned up at her looking more smug than satisfied. "You know, I think I just might miss being linked to you after all, love."


When Kiara opened her eyes, she realized it had only been a dream. There was light streaming in from the window and she was pressed against something warm, solid. There was a thudding in her ears. A racing heartbeat.

Instantly she jumped back, away from the person she could only assume was Klaus.

"Good morning, love. Did you sleep well?" Klaus asked, unable to stop the grin growing across his face. Even as he focused his eyes on the cell phone in his hand.

"As if you don't know," She muttered, lifting the blankets to check that they were wearing clothes. They were. If boxer briefs count as clothes on a man. "You're not funny, you know. I don't care if we are linked, we should have some boundaries."

"Hm?" Klaus frowned, putting his phone back on the side table next to him. Then he raised both of his eyebrows as if he had just realized something. "Well to be fair sweetheart, I didn't have much of a choice. They only had a two-bedroom suite available when we arrived and since you were sleeping… I was forced to make the call. Would you have preferred to sleep next to the ripper all night?"

Kiara shook her head. She was annoyed but relieved to feel clothing on her skin. "I might have taken my chances," she grumbled.

"I seriously doubt it," he said. "Not with the way you were cuddling into me just now."

Kiara pulled her hand back, ready to slap him for the second time, only this time he caught her wrist and flipped them over so she was on her back. "That wasn't very nice, love," he growled.

She glared defiantly into his golden wolf eyes. "Neither is messing with another person's dreams for your own amusement. Even I don't do that and I'm a succubus!"

"You entered my dream, sweetheart," he said, watching her relax a little.

Kiara looked up at him, clearly embarrassed. "I, I did?"

"Don't worry," he nuzzled his nose into her neck and her lower muscles clenched in response. "I didn't mind it this time. Though I admit I may have gotten a bit carried away, but it's like I said… I've felt you. You need to feed."

"Yeah, well, I might have already if you hadn't threatened to kill whoever I feed on."

"I think my terms are more than fair," Klaus said. His hips pressing down onto hers as he leaned back to meet her eyes. "You can feed whenever you like, but you are to feed on me and only me. There's to be no one else, not while I'm linked to you."

Kiara nodded. "I remember Mr. Possessive Wolfman. Hence the hunger."

She wasn't happy about his stance on the subject, but it didn't surprise her. Klaus said something similar only days ago. Only then, she wasn't really concerned about it because she had expected that they would be unlinked within the next hour or so. Now they've been linked for days and she had a sneaking suspicion that Klaus was choosing to keep them that way. Everything Elijah told her about him made her believe that Klaus had a witch in the wings fully capable of an unlinking spell. What she couldn't understand was, why would he choose to stay linked to her for so long?

"Such a stubborn creature," Klaus said and stood from the bed. "You're only making things harder for yourself. You should feed whenever you want. Take whatever you want. No guilt necessary. After all, humans take indiscriminately and so should we."

Kiara rolled her eyes. "Okay. Lestat. Maybe some of us want to have some semblance of humanity still—"

"But that's just it, sweetheart. You aren't human. You're a succubus. A goddess. You're meant to have hordes of worshippers ready to lay their lives at your feet, not starving yourself."

"Maybe I don't want to be a Goddess," she looked down at her hands, trying to not look at his bare chest. Then she cleared her throat. "Do you think, can you promise me something?"

Klaus turned back to her with a curious expression on his face. She looked vulnerable suddenly and he wasn't sure what caused the shift in their banter.

"I've already promised to live by your terms while we're linked," she reasoned. "I just want you to promise me something in return."

"Well, that depends on what you want, love."

"I want you to promise not to feed on me."

He squinted his eyes and stepped forward to stand in front of her. He leaned down so their noses were almost touching and it was taking everything Kiara had not to move closer to him. To bring her mouth to meet his. "Now… why would you want me to make a promise like that?" he asked. "It seems a bit unfair. After all, you have complete access to me..."

Kiara sighed. "If you must know, my blood makes vampires… sick."

"Does it now?"

"It does."

"That's not what Damon said after he had a taste."

Kiara bit her lip. "He told you about that?"

"I believe his exact words were, 'her blood went straight to my happy place'."

"Gross," Kiara's face scrunched up in distaste. "I could have lived an eternity not knowing that. Look, my blood has adverse effects that I'd rather not deal with right now. Okay? Especially while I'm connected to you."

Klaus smirked. "I'd be hurt, love, if you weren't looking so flushed."

Annoyed, Kiara pushed off the bed and walked away from him. She ignored the damp feeling between her legs and he pretended he wasn't aware of it. "It has nothing to do with you. I just don't want any vampires to feed on me. Okay? Is that too much to ask?"

"Not at all, love, just let me know if you change your mind," he said. Much to Kiara's annoyance, he was chuckling to himself.

She could feel his eyes on her as she paced the room.

"Good," Kiara said, her hands on her hips. "And stop calling me love."

"Why would I do that? We both know you'd miss it," Klaus said and smirked when she glared at him.

Kiara stepped closer to the window and looked down at the people below. She had never been in such a tall building before. Seeing how high up they were almost made her feel dizzy. "Where the hell are we anyway?"

"Cincinnati," he told her, pulling on a clean shirt.

"And Stefan?"

"Next door. Brooding in a corner I'm sure."

Kiara pursed her lips and nodded to herself. It was a nice view, there was no denying that. "Do I want to know why we're here?"

"Actually, now that you mention it," he said, coming to stand behind her. "I was hoping you would help me with something today."

She didn't even look at him. She just said, "I won't hurt anyone."

"Of course not," Klaus said. His faint reflection in the window smirking at her. "Your talents lie elsewhere."

Kiara glared at him. Again. Thinking if she had different abilities, he would be on fire by now. But she didn't. As he said, her talents were elsewhere. A fat lot of good that has done her so far.

"Relax, love. All I need you to do is work your magic and get some answers from someone. That way I don't have to ruin a perfectly good outfit. Think you can do that?"

"Why can't you just compel him?" she asked.

"Because in my experience, people who are aware of the supernatural take precautions."

"Vervain…"

Klaus nodded. "Afraid so. So it's either you charm it out of him or I'll be forced to—"

"Fine. I'll do it. Let's just keep the killing to a minimum, please."

"No promises, love."

Then Klaus said something that completely surprised her. He had arranged to have her bags brought along with them. The same bags that had been packed in Holly's car the night Gerald attacked and it made her wonder how long Klaus had planned to have Kiara traveling with him. He pulled Kiara's red suitcase out from under the bed and left her to change before she could say anything.

As Kiara got dressed, she wondered where Holly was at that moment and what she was doing. She wanted to ask Klaus about her, but she was afraid to know what his answer would be. What if he wouldn't let her talk to Holly? What if he never told her where Holly was? He would have taken Elijah and Holly from her. And left her with nothing. Nowhere to go and no one to go with. She would be alone.

The more she thought about it, the more Kiara realized that Klaus was holding all the cards. Somehow she let him take Elijah, Holly, and even the dagger that could kill her. She had been stupid, too quick to trust him. And people she cared about paid the price. The last thing she needed to do right now was upset him. It seemed she was wrong before, there was more that Klaus could do to her if she pushed him, and guilt smacked her like a semi-truck for forgetting that for even a second.

Until the two of them were unlinked, there wasn't much Kiara could do. Even then there was still the matter of the dagger her father made to kill her. As far as she knew, Klaus had it stashed away somewhere. One wrong move and Kiara could lose everything.

Talk about walking on eggshells.


The three of them headed into the city together. Kiara walked down the crowded sidewalks with a vampire on either side of her. She was hyper-aware of people's eyes following them wherever they went. The hungrier she was, the more aware she was of those around her. She tried not to resent the feeling. She knew it wasn't the human's fault. Vampires and Succubi were practically designed to draw humans to them. Like moths to a flame. Lambs to the slaughter. They just couldn't help themselves. Still, it didn't mean she wanted to live like she was Kardashian or something. She certainly didn't want to live like a Goddess as Klaus suggested. She would rather blend into the crowd, but it seemed she drew attention no matter how many people were around her.

She silently wished she had sunglasses, or a hat, a hood, anything to hide under. The stares felt like bee stings. And she kept thinking about how easy it would be to pull any one of these passing strangers into an alleyway and have her way with them. But then she had to remind herself that even if she managed not to kill them, Klaus would. And the thought was enough to keep her from acting on her desires.

Suddenly Klaus's hand slipped into hers. He laced their fingers together and gently pulled her along with him. She tried to ignore the tingling feeling moving up her arm. It was strange knowing the effect she had on him, even stranger to feel it like it was happening to her. He easily maneuvered them through the people. And whenever they had to stop to wait for a traffic light to change, he would turn to face her and talk to her about the last time he had been in the city. It was as if he were purposely giving her something to focus on. Or perhaps he was just letting her know that he was available to her if she needed him. Either way, she was grateful for the distraction.

"My sources tell me a wolf pack is in the area, but they are a cautious lot. Finding them is nearly impossible," he told her as they approached a restaurant that looked like a diner straight out of the movies. Black and white checkerboard tile floor. Red diner seats. A big counter with stools in front of it. "Luckily a man who works here, a Mr. Dickson Grey, is supposed to know how to find them. I want you to ask him how."

It seemed simple enough.

"Stay here," Kiara said as they stepped inside. She instantly took on a completely different persona. It was young and energetic and exciting. She skipped over to the waitress behind the counter and leaned her arms onto the cool surface between them. "Excuse me," she smiled, ignoring the overwhelming smell of french fries in the air. "do you know a Mr. Dickson Grey? I really need to talk to him."

"Dicky?" The woman tilted her head. "What's a girl like you need to talk to him for?"

"I'm sorry. I'm being so rude. It was just such a long drive to get here and I'm exhausted," Kiara stuck out her hand. "I'm Jennifer Montgomery. Dicky's an old friend of my dad's and, well, I've run into a bit of trouble lately. I was hoping he could help me out."

The woman relaxed a little. "I'm Susan, his girlfriend." Susan shook Kiara's hand and instantly Kiara's charm washed over her. "It's real nice to meet you."

"It's so nice to meet you! Would you mind taking me to him? I promise it won't take long."

Susan just nodded, a dazed look crossing her face, and led her to the back of the diner.

Klaus and Stefan watched the whole scene from the doorway of the diner. While Stefan looked bored, Klaus was clearly impressed. Almost proud.

"She's something else, isn't she?" Klaus smiled to himself. He wondered if that was how she hunted; playing the part of an innocent girl to lure her victims into more private spaces where she could take what she needed from them. It looked like a good method. Fitting of her.

"The succubus is a good liar." Stefan folded his arms in front of him. "I'm shocked."

"Oh come on, mate, why so glum?"

Stefan shrugged. "Gee, I don't know. Maybe because you dragged along on this wolf hunt only to force me to watch you pine over Kiara all day. What's the deal with you two anyway?"

"I don't pine," Klaus said. His smile suddenly gone. "She just intrigues me is all. She's different. New."

Stefan didn't look convinced. "Whatever. The point is, what do you need me for if you have her? It seems like she can get all the answers you need. She's like a walking truth serum."

Or love potion.

"There's no need to be jealous, Stefan. You both have your talents. I'll need yours soon enough I'm sure."

Stefan didn't even try to hide his dramatic eye roll.

Within a few minutes, Kiara came out of the kitchen and the two vampires followed her out of the restaurant. Mr. Dickson Grey had answered Kiara's questions, of course. He even scribbled down directions for her.

"Color me impressed," Klaus said, taking the piece of paper from her.

Stefan shoved his hands in his pockets. "Jennifer Montgomery?"

"I never give my real name," Kiara told him. "It's safer that way."

"Are you saying Kiara James, isn't your real name?" Stefan wondered.

Kiara didn't answer him. She didn't owe him anything. They weren't friends and the fewer people that knew her real name, the better.


It took them a four-hour drive and twenty-minute hike to find themselves standing in an empty field in the middle of nowhere. There was some evidence, little hints really, that people had been there not too long ago. Faint smoke still lifting into the air where a fire had been. Candy wrappers abandoned in the dirt. It was almost like someone had tipped them off and they had to leave in a hurry. Regardless of the reason, Klaus was furious.

"We must have just missed them…" Kiara said as he angrily paced the forest floor.

"Oh, you think?" Klaus raised his eyebrows at her. "Where are they, Kiara? You said they'd be here."

Kiara lifted her shoulders. "Dicky said they move around a lot. He only knows about this spot because this is where he meets his cousin. He didn't know of any other meeting places though. I already asked him."

"Well, perhaps he'll have a different answer for me, hm? Assuming you even asked him at all… "

"No need," Kiara put a hand on his chest and he stopped. "He told me there's someone else who might know where they are, but they're in Charleston."

"You have the name?"

"I have the address."

One good thing about the link was Klaus would know if Kiara was lying and vice versa. It was strangely comforting to him. He'd spent his whole life assuming the worst in people and, for once, he didn't have to worry if he could trust someone. He knew that she was telling the truth so they went back to the hotel, packed up their things, and headed to Charleston.


Over the next couple of weeks, they drove from one place to the other. It seemed they were always one step behind this mysterious wolf pack they were tracking. Klaus was beginning to lose his patience and he used Stefan to distract himself. Sometimes the two of them would stay out late in local bars getting drunk on human blood and liquor while Kiara stayed in the hotel room. She was never alone though. Most of the time she was being guarded by David, a compelled vampire "friend" of Klaus. Kiara was annoyed by her new shadow at first, but he was slowly growing on her. He had the appearance of a boxer and the heart of a poet and it turned out he was easy to talk to. Other nights Klaus would pass the time teasing Kiara. He loved their banter and, strangely, spending an evening arguing with her was almost fun for him.

Klaus always made it that the two of them had to share a room and there was no limit to the number of excuses he was willing to give her as to why they had to stay together, even when Kiara knew he was lying. But she never called him out on it. Maybe because Kiara felt guilty for feeding on Klaus in his dreams. Only a little bit at a time. Just enough to get her through the day and Klaus pretended he didn't know she was doing it. But it was driving him crazy and the more he struggled with that, the more he leaned on Stefan to distract him. And the more he leaned on Stefan, the more Stefan resented Kiara. It was a vicious cycle that was quickly building into a tense living situation and since the three of them were kept constantly in close proximity, things were bound to explode eventually.

"Are you, like, super-duper positive this is where the wolf pack was supposed to be?" Stefan asked, mocking the way she spoke to the guy they ran into at the rest stop earlier.

They had just arrived at the latest wolf camp location and it was, once again, empty. At first Klaus had begun to suspect that Kiara had somehow found a way to lie to him even with the link still in effect, but he had taken to watching her work and not only did he realize she was actually doing what he asked her to do. He also realized how incredibly seductive she could be. In the most subtle ways. The sway of her hips, the raspy hypnotic tone of her voice, the gentle way she grazed her fingertips along someone's skin. It was all temptation. Enticement. Magic. And he found himself drawn in just watching her.

Stefan, on the hand, had been slowly detaching from his usual personality. A sarcastic shell of the once "empathic" vampire he supposedly used to be. Kiara had only seen glimpses of that version of him back in Mystic Falls. At first, she thought she preferred the new him. He was raw, honest with no filter. But it turned out the new Stefan was just as annoying to her as the old was and he was growing more irritating by the day.

"Because I gotta tell ya…" Stefan continued, making a point to look around them. "I'm seeing a lot of nothing where a wolf pack is supposed to be. Again."

"Oh, are we looking for a wolf pack?" Kiara asked, her hand placed dramatically on her chest. "All this time I thought we were looking for a place to have a picnic. My bad!"

"I'm just saying maybe you aren't as charming as you think you are."

"Says Mr. RoboVamp."

RoboVamp was a nickname that Kiara had taken to calling Stefan as he spiraled into this emotionless void of a person. Especially since he managed to channel all his annoyance at her most days. It was a nod to the movie Robocop that Kiara thought was clever, even though she had never seen it, and the fact that Stefan hated it only made her use the nickname more.

"I told you to stop calling me that," Stefan said, slowly walking towards her.

"Did you? Because I'm super duper sure that's just who you are now. You turned off your emotions, right? Flipped the old switch inside that makes you give a shit. That's why you've been acting like a cyborg, right?"

Stefan ran towards her only to be pushed back by Klaus.

"Come on, kids, let's not fight," Klaus muttered. His voice was calm, but his wolf eyes were fixed on Stefan. Warningly. "It'll ruin the trip."

"Not my fault you turned Stefan into a total dickhead. I think I prefer the self-righteous hypocrite he was before," Kiara said, turning and walking back down the hill they had walked up to get to the empty campsite.

It's a shame. The scenery was beautiful. Open fields stretched out as far as the eye could see. It was all sunflowers and corn where they were. Anyone else would have been able to enjoy the moment. Take some pictures. Kiara had always wanted to travel the world, just not like this. Not with vampires. Not hunting werewolves. Not while she was linked to a hybrid with questionable motives. She felt trapped and lonely and scared. It seemed like there was no end to this new life she found herself in. She imagined Stefan was feeling much of the same. But they weren't exactly friends before all this and it seemed their shared suffering wasn't going to change that. Not any time soon anyway.

Kiara could have tried harder to get along with Stefan. Keeping the peace with at least one of her travel mates might have been a smart idea. But as the days with Klaus ticked by, Kiara grew closer and closer to her eighteen birthday. And she was dreading it as she always did. Maybe that was why she was crabbier than usual. It was entirely possible she was taking out her frustrations on Stefan just as much as he was taking out his on her. She just didn't want to admit that. Not even to herself.


That night it took them longer than usual to find a place to stay. They ended up having to settle for a run-down motel that smelled kind of funky, but they didn't have much of a choice in the matter. It was the only place around for miles. Even worse, there was only one room available. One room for two vampires and a succubus. The three of them crammed into one room was a terrible idea, anyone could see that, even if it was only for a couple of hours. So Kiara decided to try apologizing to Stefan while Klaus was taking a shower. No need for both of them to watch her swallow her pride.

"Hey Stefan?" she said. "About earlier…"

"What about it?"

"I just, I'm trying my best, you know?" she told him. "I'm just as frustrated about all of this as you are and I feel like maybe if we just tried to get along—"

"No offense, Kiara, but that's never going to happen."

Kiara closed her eyes and took a breath, trying to keep calm. "Why? Do you have some kind of problem with me or something? Or is this about Damon somehow? Because I never really got what his problem was with me either."

"No, Kiara. This has nothing to do with my brother. This is about you," Stefan said, suddenly in front of her. "And Klaus. And your annoying incredible scent."

"Wait, what?"

Stefan shoved her against the wall. He was fast. Faster than she expected. But the feeling of her back hitting the wall didn't hurt as much as it usually would have. She bounced back pretty easily and punched him. As hard as she could. It was just instinct. Pure survival mode. Clearly Stefan didn't expect her to fight back. He stumbled backward holding his face and when he looked back at her, his eyes were fierce.

"What the hell's wrong with you Stefan?" Kiara asked. She looked around for a weapon and settled on pulling the lamp from the wall.

Stefan rushed forward and smacked her head into the table. The lamp dropped to the ground, crashing at her feet. "I can't help it," he said. "You smell so good… but I'll only take a little. That's all I need. Just a taste. That's all. I swear. Klaus will never have to know."

"What?" Kiara muttered, dazed as Stefan grabbed her arms and leaned towards her. "Stefan. No! Stop!"

Kiara screamed as she felt his fangs sink into her neck. Her hands tried to push him away from her, but his grip was too tight.

Suddenly Stefan was across the room. The sudden movement caused him to tear her neck open before letting go of her. Kiara dropped to the ground. Her hand on her neck. Her blood seeping through her fingers. She looked up to find Klaus standing in front of her. He was angry and wet. Covered only by a towel.

She didn't even notice the two vampires entering the room until they grabbed Stefan. They held him back. He was completely lost in the effect of Kiara's blood now. Thrashing wildly against their hold. Desperate to get back to her.

"Get him out of here," Klaus growled. "Now! I'll deal with you two later."

Kiara didn't need to look at Klaus to know he was seconds away from wolving out, but she was too busy holding her neck to care. Her heartbeat was racing now that her blood had been tasted by one of the vampires she was stuck traveling with. The fact that it was not Klaus almost upset her more because his fury was seeping into her subconscious. "He bit me…" she said. "I can't believe he just bit me. What the hell was that? One second he was fine and the next he went total psycho on me."

Once Stefan was out of the room, Klaus turned to her. His eyes were still golden and furious. He couldn't seem to calm his breathing.

Kiara wanted to tell him that it wasn't Stefan's fault. Not really. Klaus made him lose control. He had slowly become insatiable for the past few weeks, it was bound to go bad for Kiara at some point. Her temptation was more than skin deep.

"You need to feed," Klaus told her.

"I'm okay…" Kiara said, pulling herself up onto unsteady feet. "Really. I'll be fine. I just need a second. And maybe a shower."

"What you need is to feed. Now."

"But—" she stopped when she met his eyes. Even from where he stood, his need and jealousy echoed through her. She gulped. "Klaus, this is a terrible idea."

He was just as insatiable as Stefan.

"Trust me, love. You won't like the alternative," he told her as he crossed the distance between them and pulled her into a rough kiss.

Kiara tried to resist her darker impulses, as usual. But it was harder with Klaus. He was warm and rough and unrestricted. Stubbornly unapologetic about what he was. Unwilling to hold anything back. Basically, everything she wasn't.

And the inner monster she kept at bay liked that about him.

The truth was, Kiara always felt empty inside. There was a compulsive voice in her head that whispered to her. It told her to consume. To take. A small part of her wanted to believe if she took enough from others she would finally feel complete. Satisfied. But she knew she would always be one kiss away from killing.

Slowly Kiara lifted her hand to touch Klaus's face, hoping to keep some semblance of control, but his body responded to her instantly. He gripped her harder. Pulled her closer. And her body relaxed into him, ready to wrap around him like a second skin. He backed her into the wall, easily lifting her up so her legs could circle his waist.

It was as Kiara had feared. Once she was actually touching him, it was impossible for her to stop. Their conflicting feelings about one another caused a chaotic collision. One second they were revealing each other's goosebumps, the next they were revealing blood. Her fingers scratched up and down his back, then tangled sweetly into his hair. His hands ripped the clothing she wore off of her, leaving the tattered pieces at their feet, only to glide his skin over her like he was touching a woman for the first time.

Pain or pleasure, it didn't matter. They loved whatever the other was willing to give them.

And then Kiara fed. She pulled the energy she needed from his body and more.

It turns out hybrids were highly sexual beings. With his werewolf side awakened, Klaus was even more delicious to her. She could never get enough of him, and still, he was more than she could take. His hips bucked into hers and she groaned.

He pulled back to look at her shining green eyes, a smug smile on his face. "There you are, love. Now, don't you feel better?"

"Yes, but I," she stared down at him, searching for something in his eyes as her hands traced his cheekbones with her fingertips. "I can't trust myself right now. Not with you."

"Is that why you've been feeding on me while I slept?"

"You remember that?" Kiara asked. "I told you to forget."

"I'm afraid I remember it all, love. Every naughty detail," he told her, his eyes flickering back to normal again.

"Why didn't you say something earlier?"

Klaus shrugged. His mouth hovering over hers. "You were feeding. I didn't much care how you did it."

"If you really mean that, then you wouldn't have jumped me just now."

"Hm," Klaus grinned. "You didn't give me much of a choice, love. You were bleeding out. It was either I focus on giving you what you need or I rip Stefan's head off."

Kiara frowned. "You wouldn't. I know you care about him… I don't understand it, but he's your friend. Isn't he? Even if you aren't his."

"Yes, well, friend or not, I won't allow anyone to harm what's mine."

"I," Kiara looked down, realizing she was still pressed between his towel-covered groin and the wall. "I'm not yours. I'm not anyone's."

Klaus didn't respond to that. Instead, he pressed his forehead against hers and took a few breaths to collect himself. Then after a few minutes he said, "I should go deal with Stefan. Go get yourself cleaned up. I'll have David posted outside the door if you need anything while I'm gone." Kiara tensed at the idea and he added, "Don't worry. He'll be compelled not to touch you. This will never happen again. Not if I have anything to say about it."

Strange, it almost sounded like an apology.

Klaus lowered her feet back to the ground and she slowly made her way towards the bathroom. She paused. "Klaus?"

"Yes, love?"

"Thank you," she said. "For not letting me bleed out and for not, well, you know." Then she disappeared into the bathroom before he could respond.

Not that Klaus had a response.

Because although he would never admit it, Klaus knew what happened to her was his fault. If not for pulling the ripper out of Stefan, then for simply failing to protect her from him.

Klaus should have seen the signs. He should have known that Stefan was losing control. He should have known he couldn't be trusted alone with Kiara. He should have known that David wouldn't be quick enough to stop Stefan when he finally did snap. But Klaus had been careless. Sloppy. And Kiara got hurt because of it. She should have been pissed at him, he would have preferred it if she were. But she thanked him instead.

And it only made him feel more rage than before. Towards Stefan. Towards David. Towards himself.


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