A Beautiful Symmetry - Chapter 9 - Part 3: Sly of the Tiger
Author's note:I won the 2016 Klaroline Awards Best Comedy Author! Thank you so much for your votes and support of my work. This means so much to me!
And thanks for staying with me with this series! I appreciate all of the attention you've given my work; it inspires me to keep going! This chapter is a continuation of Caroline and Klaus battling each other with their shady business empires (see Chapters 2 and 6.)
Warning: Smutty fun!
"We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat; they do not exist."
— Queen Victoria
"You unbelievably shady, business-stealing, smug asshat!" Caroline's indignant screeches echoed down the hall, interrupting Klaus' board meeting before she reached the closed doors of the conference room. She threw open the double doors, the forcefulness of her entrance causing the heavy maple panels to bounce off of the adjoining walls, punching holes in the sheetrock.
Klaus quickly schooled his features into his signature smirk, trying not to react to the stunning vision before him. She was a whirling dervish of blonde curls and venom. Oh for fuck's sake, was that gray leather vest absolutely necessary? She had casually knotted it at the side,and he was absolutely not dwelling on the fact that one good tug would send her delicious breasts tumbling out to say hello. He shoved his hands in his pockets, hoping no one would notice how they had instinctively curved as though fondling invisible breasts. "Ah, Caroline, you seem vexed, love. How can I be of service?"
"As if you don't know damn well why I'm vexed, you dimpled weasel," she snarled, slamming her manicured palms onto the smoky glass of the conference table, the mirrored surface shuddering underneath her dark red nails.
Uncomfortable throat clearing reminded the pair that they had an audience. "Niklaus," began Elijah in a voice laced with disapproval, "we would find it amenable that whatever misdeeds you insist upon perpetrating be handled outside of regular business hours."
Kol gleefully elbowed the unimpressed Original in the side of his impeccably tailored Armani. "Nonsense, brother! You know how much Nik enjoys perpetrating with Miss Deeds here whenever she's amenable." He took in the scowl on Klaus' face and grinned, adding in a voice dripping with faux innocence, "What was it you called her again? The 'saucy kickboxing minx equipped with brains and brawn in equal measure to kick your ass in and out of the boardroom', was it?"
Face flushing in embarrassment, Klaus growled out, "Sod off," while he pretended not to notice how Caroline's temporary ire had cooled somewhat to surprised amusement when she registered Kol's words. Bollocks. The last thing he needed was his sworn enemy finding out he may have talked about her once. Or twice. But definitely no more than three or four times. A day. And dreamed about her almost constantly since their passionate interlude when she came storming into his home to offer to rescue his idiot baby brother. Which was completely wrong. Because they were enemies. And he had an empire to run. Well, an empire he could barely keep out of her very grabby hands.
"Is that right, Klaus," she asked with a cheeky smile, crossing her arms in front of her and gazing up at him through dark lashes.
"Oh yes, darling. Bit of hero worship if you ask me, ever since you helped me out of that spot of bad luck," Kol enthusiastically explained. He tipped a saucy wink at her and Klaus willed himself not to react with the absurd jealousy he felt. "You're more of a ghoul-whispering do-gooder willing to hypnotize dodgy loan sharks for a bloke down on his luck," he added with a tone of sincerity that was completely out of character for the jovial Original.
"And don't you forget it," Caroline responded with a steel edge to her voice. She leaned forward slightly, her blue eyes sparking with a hint of anger as she stared down at Kol, "I saved your ass that day, baby Original. My ghouls were moments away from slathering hot sauce on one of your drumsticks and chowing down. But I stepped in and vouched for you. Don't ever let me catch you stealing from me and mine again or next time I won't be so gracious."
Kol managed to keep the impish grin from sliding off of his face while Caroline threatened him. "Speaking of your ghouls, darling, why on earth do they smell like that?"
Confusion colored Klaus' voice as he answered in exasperation, "Ghouls are hideous creatures that stink like death probably because they eat dead flesh. Everyone knows that."
"Yeah, normal ghouls do, but Caroline's ghouls all smell like vanilla and cinnamon. Bloody hell, when they kidnapped me, at first I thought the Keebler Elves were on a meth bender."
All three men stared incredulously at Caroline who shrugged. "What? Ghouls are supernaturally gifted to make as much money as they want, so I had to figure out an alternative payment system they'd agree to. And Bonnie makes the best cinnamon-cardamom snickerdoodles this side of the Mississippi."
"As fascinating as this detour has been, Miss Forbes, you have interrupted an important—" Elijah's pompous speech was cut off by Caroline's ferocious snarl. Later, he would deny that the tiniest little 'Eeep' noise had escaped his lips in the face of her demonic blonde fury.
"I came down here to tell your bastard brother that I know what he did and he's not going to get away with it!" She whirled around to scowl at Klaus, who was doing his best not to look as though his mind had wandered while she was speaking about paying her ghoul minions in snickerdoodles. He absolutely had not imagined whether she helped Bonnie in the bakery wearing a pink and white ruffled apron. And oh, look at that, there was the slightest dusting of sugar upon her nose with the three merry little freckles on the left side. Perhaps he could lean over and lick off that tiny bit right there…
Klaus realized the room had grown uncomfortably quiet and his gray eyes widened in alarm as he noticed he was leaning a bit too closely to the left side of Caroline's face while she was yelling at him. On the plus side, considering her wary and somewhat alarmed gaze, she didn't appear to realize that he had been daydreaming about licking phantom sugar off of her perfect nose. Perfect. Just bloody perfect. Adopting his most condescending tone, he said, "Well, sweetheart, I'm assuming the reason behind this impromptu visit isn't because of the new stringent health codes the city mysteriously began enforcing on all bakeries."
"No," she scoffed. "Although I'm meeting with the mayor next week to discuss my counterproposal to your transparent, bullshit codes. Or did you forget that he and I have a weekly martini power lunch?" She rolled her eyes and growled, "I'm talking about the fact that you had the old port inspector fired and installed someone new! One who is suspiciously loyal to the Mikaelsons to the point that all of your shipments seem to easily glide through customs while my clients' merchandise keeps getting shoved to the back of the line!"
Klaus favored her with his signature smirk, relishing in the smallest victory he could gain over his fiery blonde. "I'm amazed you heard the news, love. The official announcement won't be made for another few weeks."
"Please. The second you promoted Lucien, that pathetic vampire was tripping over his feet to race to my ringside and brag all about his new 'powerful' position to Aurora." She shook her head, sighing. "Dumbass thought his tiny bit of 'authority' was his ticket to getting my fighter all hot and bothered." She snorted derisively, "It was like watching a bunny flirt with a rattlesnake."
"I can assure you, Miss Forbes, that all of the proper legal channels were followed with regards to Lucien's appointment to port inspector," Elijah said dismissively, glaring at Kol when he snickered obnoxiously.
Caroline favored the oldest Original with a malicious grin. She answered sweetly, "In that case, I can assure you that your construction foreman followed all of the proper legal channels when he brought your architect's plans to the attention of city hall and revealed that you decided to cut corners on the new Vieux Carré townhouses by making the balconies eight feet and 11 inches above the sidewalks instead of the city code-enforced nine feet." She giggled at the rapid eye-twitch the Original was suddenly sporting. "Well, actually he's my construction foreman, but no need to thank me for generously letting you borrow him."
"Bloody hell," Elijah exclaimed, alarming them all with his outburst. He rose to his feet in a huff, frowning at Caroline. "Well met, Miss Forbes. If you'll excuse me, it seems I have business to attend to downtown." A smug smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he added, "You may have won this round, but don't be so sure of your victory just yet." He nodded in Kol's direction and said firmly, "You shall accompany me, brother. I find that I am in need of your shameless womanizing ways if we are to make headway with the permit clerk. As I recall, young April seemed quite smitten with you."
Elijah practically dragged a protesting Kol out of the boardroom, whose whining echoed down the hallway, "Come on, Elijah! I'll admit April is a tasty little thing, but I can't be expected to flirt with every dull bird that represents an obstacle to your business ventures!"
Caroline gave a soft chuckle as she closed the heavy doors. "Your brothers are in for a surprise."
"How so," Klaus asked curiously, trying to ignore how warm it suddenly was in his conference room now that they were alone.
"April is the mayor's goddaughter," she gleefully explained.
"Bollocks," he groaned rubbing the side of his face with his hand.
With a wry smile, she walked toward the large glass table and said, "At least when Kol gets kidnapped you'll have a good lead. You may not even need my help this time."
He shook his head in irritation. "I didn't need your help last time. Elijah and I had it under control." He couldn't seem to wrench his gaze away from the blonde temptress who surprised him by suddenly climbing onto the smoky glass top. "What are you doing?"
She seductively crawled on all fours to the center of the table, rising to her knees to address him properly. "I came here to deliver my complaint; now I wish to conclude our business properly." Her voice grew husky as she slid her hands up her shapely thighs encased in tight leggings and paused when she reached the sash at the side of her vest, pulling on it experimentally with a devilish gleam in her eyes.
He swallowed harshly, his eyes darkening with lust as they followed her fingers toying with the knot that seemed to be the only barrier between him and her magnificent breasts. No. He was not doing this again. She was his nemesis and he would not pant after her like an inexperienced schoolboy. Her breasts could not possibly be as spectacular as he recalled.
One swift yank on the sash and the butter-soft leather parted, revealing ivory globes that carried just the barest hint of color, like a peach touched by an early frost. Damn it. He sped onto the table while simultaneously removing his suit jacket in his haste to get to her. She grabbed his navy pinstriped tie and pulled his head to hers for a fierce kiss that contained all of her glorious, passionate fury.
He clutched at her back, wadding the leather in a ball with his fists until he finally pulled her arms free of the vest. He shivered as he felt the hard points of her nipples poking through his dress shirt, and he enjoyed the satisfied little hum she made as she ground her nipples against his muscular chest.
She fumbled with his belt, impatiently ripping it from his belt loops and pulling a low growl from him in response. She eagerly opened his dark trousers, palming his ass with both hands as he flexed his cheeks against the sweet sting of her sharp red nails.
His stormy gray eyes bled yellow as his wolf rose to the surface. "I want your fire, love. Fill me with your fury as I take you with mine," he commanded. He pushed her back onto the cool glass, unzipping her stiletto boots and peeling off the houndstooth-patterned leggings.
She propped one slim calf onto his shoulder, panting as she demanded, "You know where to find it. Chase it with your tongue."
"My pleasure," he smirked, dipping down his curly head to feast upon her dripping center. He moaned against that first sugar-and-spice taste of her desire, flattening his tongue against her soaked flesh. He took long, languid licks as the muscles in her delectable thighs began to twitch. He wound her up by teasing her skin with his blunt teeth, delicately nibbling on her folds as he sucked them into his warm mouth.
Klaus was so caught up in his exploration that Caroline managed to catch him by surprise once more as she used her considerable vampire strength to flip them over so that his seductive blonde demon was suddenly straddling him. Her lovely face gazed down at him, a deliciously naughty smile pulling him under her spell. She reached down between them, grasping his slick tip with her index and thumbnails, pinching his sensitive flesh until it ached. He locked his strong jaw, stubbornly refusing to cry out in ecstasy and pain in equal measure.
Caroline's sexy pout nearly broke him, but he held on, needing her to crave him as he craved her. The flexing of his sculpted abdominals caught her attention, and she sighed as she released his tip to fondle his defined ridges, worshipping them with her hands.
She rose above him just enough to snap her hips into his, easily burying his iron length into her welcoming center. He went to work with a rumbling growl, forcefully thrusting up as she ground down with heavenly precision.
They set a hard, driving pace that had them gasping for breath they didn't need, drops of sweat sliding down their tense bodies. She spread her thighs wide, pressing down on her sweet little button just right to send her careening over the edge with a scream. Klaus couldn't help but follow as her muscles clamped down, drawing his orgasm out of him until he was completely spent.
The pair lay fused together as their glistening bodies slowly cooled off. In a surprisingly gentle gesture, Caroline placed a soft butterfly kiss on the corner of his mouth before she rolled off of him to begin dressing.
As she was zipping up her tall boots, he lazily stretched on his conference table, sitting up on his side to admire her nubile, slightly rumpled form. "So I take it you're no longer angry, love?"
She flashed him a wide smile, her sharp fangs dipping down to playfully bite on her plump lower lip. "Oh no, I'm still absolutely furious. But I'm a world-class multitasker." A noise came from the fuchsia clutch Caroline had thrown to the side when she first made her grand entrance in the boardroom. Flipping her blonde curls behind her, she bent down to retrieve her phone from inside, the familiar notes of Muddy Waters' "Mean Disposition" flooding the room. With one lacquered nail she swiped at the screen, a tiny hum of approval escaping her lips.
"Good news, sweetheart?"
She nodded while retying the front of her vest. "It looks like I found a workaround to my little problem at the port."
Smirking, Klaus replied, "Do tell."
Caroline grinned as she pushed open the conference doors. "I just bought the port."