Author's note: This Klaroline Sweet Swap Challenge story is written for the wonderful 3tinkgemini!
In this story set in the 16th century, Klaus is an Original vampire who finds himself at the newly established Roanoke Colony to seek out a local tribal legend. It turns out that even an Original can still be surprised...
Quick history lesson: Not much is known about the lost colony of Roanoke. Colonists arrived from England in the summer of 1587, led by Governor John White. They rebuilt an outpost on Roanoke Island (today part of the Outer Banks of North Carolina). White returned to England to gather supplies and additional colonists, but his return was delayed by the war with Spain. When he finally managed to return to Roanoke Island three years later, the settlement was deserted. No one knows what happened to the colonists; the only clue was the word "Croatoan" carved on a tree. Over the centuries, one of the weirdest theories about what happened involves a local tribal myth about an ancient, evil reptile demon, which inspired my story below.
Warning: This one has gore/violence. And later, some really, really great sex. Ye hath been warned.
"We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us..."
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods
If a reptile demon existed on this wretched crop of land, 'twas quite well-hidden. Klaus waded through a tall clump of sea oats, eyeing the dense forest on the horizon. The Original vampire had been traveling the world, amassing his power by seeking out the oldest covens and currying their favor to serve him. Over the centuries, he'd learned that many legends about mysterious creatures turned out to be merely powerful witches who guarded their privacy. He'd formed many an enviable alliance by seeking out these superstitions, and that had been his goal when he'd recently traveled to the New World.
Local tribal legends had reached his ears, an intriguing myth about an ancient reptile demon that supposedly inhabited Roanoke Island. 'Twas said to be able to possess humans and cause them to perform all manner of unspeakable evil. The legends were so terrifying that the local tribes had sworn off the island as a place of darkness and refused to settle anywhere near it. With an indulgent smile and a shake of his curly head, he noted that despite these well-known stories, that hadn't stopped Sir Walter Raleigh from sending approximately 100 men, women and children to establish a colony. The willful ignorance of humanity.
Unfortunately, Klaus hadn't discovered anything of interest on this island — no powerful covens and certainly not a preposterous reptile demon — and was frustrated that it seemed to be a wasted journey. With an aggravated sigh, he started to head toward the outskirts of the tiny village to turn a colonist into a quick meal when a flash of gold stepping out of the woods caught his eye. Blonde curls peeked out from underneath a modest linen cap, and he watched in amusement as the woman began twirling in a circle with her basket, her feet tapping merrily to a rhythm all her own.
He flashed to her, unsure if he wanted a quick meal or just to satisfy his curiosity about the peculiar little human who seemed to radiate joy with every movement. "Good morrow, fair maiden," he said softly, barely refraining from chuckling as she jumped in surprise, an adorably annoyed look upon her lovely face as she turned to him.
Her blue eyes narrowed suspiciously at his sudden appearance, but he was surprised at the steel he saw as she straightened her shoulders and addressed him with a stinging rebuke, "'Tis quite unseemly to sneak up on a lady like a shameless coward."
Intrigued by the vengeful fire found within such a small creature, he smiled, bowing low before her in a grand, sweeping gesture, as he said, "Please forgive my impertinence. 'Twas not my intention to startle thee. Klaus Mikaelson, at thy service."
Self-consciously tucking blonde tendrils back under her cap, she seemed to study him closely, her silent observation making him shift awkwardly. Nodding toward the elaborate gold buttons upon his embroidered waistcoat, she said, "Thy garments announce thou are far from home, Master Mikaelson." With an impish smile, she pointed toward the crashing waves in the distance and said in a voice full of mocking innocence, "Her Majesty's court is that way, I believe."
Dimples flashing, he grinned at the little human's cheeky demeanor. "Please, call me Klaus. What, pray tell, may I call thee, fair maiden?"
Scoffing, she swung her basket to and fro as she told him, "So forward! My mother would be most offended by such unseemly behavior." Her blue eyes twinkling wickedly, she added, "Caroline Forbes. I suppose thou may call me Caroline, then." She reached into her basket, pulling out a handful of ripe strawberries that she poured into his upturned hand. "Have a strawberry. I've traveled the forest thrice over and the ones from this patch seem to be the sweetest I've ever tasted."
Charmed by her enthusiasm, he tasted several, savoring the pleasant sweetness of the wild strawberries. "Delicious," he pronounced, "I thank thee, Caroline." He admired the sun's rays as they glinted off of her stray tendrils, barely resisting the urge to touch them and see if they were as soft as they appeared.
Blushing prettily under his gaze, she bit into a particularly large strawberry, the juices staining her lips. When her tongue peeked out to capture the wayward drops, he nearly groaned aloud at the image she presented. It had been a long time since a human had captured his interest, and the monster within him wanted to bathe in her innocence and light. Feeling his fangs threaten to drop, he coughed loudly, turning away briefly to hide any wayward signs of his monster at play. Gods, how long had it been since his control had been challenged? He impulsively decided to prologue his stay in the colony and better acquaint himself with the intriguing creature before him.
"Are thou well," Caroline's sweet voice asked, a small frown marring her face as she studied him closely. "Mayhap we should get thee to some shade?" Surprising him with her firm grasp, she pulled him toward an enormous red cedar whose wide branches afforded them a comfortable rest from the sun. Inhaling the sharp, clean scent of the dark green needles, he watched as she rummaged through her basket to procure a waterskin, quickly thrusting it into his hands. "Drink," she commanded sweetly, with just a hint of the fire he detected earlier. Klaus humored her, taking a long sip before handing it back and gesturing for her to do the same.
"What is thy business in the New World," she boldly asked, setting aside the waterskin. "We aren't expecting the merchant ship with more supplies until next spring."
Raising an eyebrow at her forwardness, he replied, "Sir Raleigh conscripted me to oversee his investment. It seems thy Governor White hath run afoul of creditors and his journey back to Roanoke Colony hath been delayed." He'd already compelled the village elders, not wanting to complicate his search for the truth behind the local legend with the inconvenience of suspicious colonists. He was surprised by the pang of guilt he felt as he watched her flicker of relief at his words, and he was somewhat wistful that he couldn't tell her the truth. She would run from a creature such as he and he didn't fancy to see terror upon her lovely face.
"Here, lest thou suffer from hunger pains," Caroline said, lightly tossing him a red apple. "In my wanderings in the woods, I found a few apple trees. They should make our upcoming harvest celebration even more jubilant."
He smiled, chewing thoughtfully as he mulled over her words. She seemed to spend a great deal of time wandering by herself in the woods. While he'd yet to find proof of a mystical influence or other supernatural danger on the island, it didn't mean that Caroline couldn't fall prey to other harm. "Perhaps I could accompany thee on thy adventures in the woods," he lightly suggested, surprising himself with his concern for her.
"Without a chaperone," she teased, "what an uproar we'd cause in the village, Klaus." She opened her mouth to take a large bite of her own large apple, a distinctive popping noise causing him to look at her curiously. Nodding in understanding at his unasked question, she lightly touched her jawline, explaining, "'Tis an old injury. Pray do not trouble thyself." Her blue eyes boldly assessed him, only lowering her lashes demurely when he returned her gaze. Blushing once more, she said hastily, "Living the life of a nobleman, I don't suppose thou hath cause for much injury."
Klaus heard the challenge in her voice, and he inexplicably felt the need to show her he was more than a titled nobleman. Pushing up his breeches past his leather boots, he pointed to a jagged white scar just underneath his knee. "A souvenir from my childhood, sweetheart. Chopping wood in an ice storm can be quite perilous." His bittersweet expression darkened when he recalled how his father had beaten him bloody for failing to properly cut down the tree once he'd injured himself.
Caroline surprised him as she lightly traced the messy lines of his scar with her fingertips. 'Twas the only scar he still possessed from his mortal life, and it felt as though she was touching his humanity, drawing it out of him in the sweetest way imaginable. "Then thou wasn't always what I now see before me," she asked quietly, quickly withdrawing her hand as though realizing the impropriety of her actions.
Klaus took his time answering her question, her unwitting perceptiveness intriguing him further. "Mayhap I merely wish to be something thee would look upon favorably, love."
Clearly taken aback by his brash words, she opened her mouth and closed it, whatever biting retort seemingly lost. Brushing the dust from her petticoat embroidered with tiny pink roses, she stood, companionably linking her arm with his as she said, "Well, thou can start by escorting me back into the woods to gather more fruit since we seemed to have eaten most of what I'd been tasked with gathering."
"It would be my pleasure, sweetheart," he replied, pleased that she seemed to be warming to him. Also, he reasoned, he could better see to her safety if she invited him along rather than having to skulk in the woods out of her line of sight. While he had yet to sense any large predators in the forest, he also noted that smaller prey seemed unusually sparse, and until he could find the cause of such an oddity, he would feel better keeping watch over her.
Gritting his teeth, Klaus realized that he had nearly bent his fork in half in his irritation. He was dining in the village square, watching feeble-minded Tyler Lockwood being far too familiar with Caroline. "I say, Mistress Forbes, 'tis fortunate for thee I've finished plowing the remaining acreage and can now assist thee in fetching water." Patting a bicep comically, he boasted, "Thou shall surely need my strength."
Rolling her eyes, she forcefully cut into her roast pheasant, answering with mocking sweetness, "If I suddenly hath need of an insufferable braggart, I shall recall thy generous offer, Master Lockwood."
While her mother, Elizabeth, soundly admonished her, Klaus could barely contain his glee at Caroline's delightfully sharp tongue. Over the past few days, he'd settled into the colony quite nicely, his compulsion of the village elders solidifying his position of authority. He escorted Caroline into the woods during several of her gathering trips, giving him the opportunity to spend more time with her while also keeping an eye out for signs of any supernatural force that could have spawned the local folklore. Thus far, he'd yet to encounter any colonist possessed by an evil demon, and deemed it a fool's legend meant to frighten off greedy settlers. Despite finding no trace of anything unusual in the woods, he found himself unable to move on from the colony. To move on from Caroline.
He'd learned that she craved the sunlight, loving nothing more than to stretch out upon a large, flat rock in a clearing near her favorite strawberry patch and bask the rays. He would sit beside her, spinning carefully edited tales of his travels, and he could tell by her voracious questions that she longed to escape the small island and see the world. Perhaps he would show it to her.
That sharp-tongued little firebrand had him completely under her spell and he marveled at the power a single human could have over an Original. Watching the oafish manner in which Tyler hungrily watched Caroline had him gnashing his teeth, and he toyed with the idea of compelling the blithering idiot to practice his nonexistent charms upon the village sheep. Finally, the evening's meal concluded and he subtly maneuvered through the crowd until he was beside Caroline. Taking her hand, he spun her around until she squealed in delight, moving them behind the small cabin she shared with her mother.
He admired the way the lantern's soft glow brought out her rosy cheeks, and he couldn't stop his fingers from toying with the stray blonde curls that escaped from her linen cap.
"'Tis quite forward of thee, Klaus," she breathed, her hushed voice brimming with excitement.
A low growl escaped his lips as he leaned forward until their foreheads touched, telling her, "No more forward than that simpleton Tyler and his uncouth ways."
"I'm surprised thou noticed, what with Camille's constant prattle in thy ear," Caroline huffed, her jealous tone pleasing him to no end.
Smirking, he asked, "Do I detect a hint of envy, sweetheart?" At her endearing scowl, he reassured her, "I only have eyes for thee."
"Good," Caroline told him firmly, taking him by surprise as she surged forward and quickly pressed her lips to his.
Reveling in her sigh of contentment, Klaus pulled back to caress her soft cheek, staring into her eyes as he teased gently, "Stealing kisses, sweetheart? Whatever does thou take me for?"
"Kisses aren't stolen when freely given, Klaus," she replied with flushed cheeks, stubbornly adding, "And I take thee for mine, Klaus."
Her possessive tone struck a chord deep inside him, and he cupped her face with both hands as he deepened his kiss, feeling her hands slip between his waistcoat and linen shirt, her explorations tentative at first, but growing more confident as he moaned his approval.
"Caroline," called out Elizabeth Forbes from the front of the cabin, causing her to jump away from Klaus as though burned.
Pressing her hand to her mouth, she shook her head slightly, muttering in embarrassment, "Good gracious, what thou must think of me, Klaus."
"None of that, sweetheart. Thou must know of my high regard for thee," Klaus reassured her with a tender kiss upon her open palm. "In fact, I would be honored to escort thee to the harvest festival."
Blue eyes lighting up with excitement, Caroline gave a delighted squeal and said, "Yes, of course! I just know in my heart that our harvest festival shall be quite memorable." Her warm smile made his heart give a funny little tweak and he found himself ridiculously excited for this trivial event that clearly meant so much to her.
If only my enemies could see the mighty Original vampire now, Klaus thought scornfully. He was out in the woods, attempting to hunt a deer to bring to the harvest festival. All because of that insufferable braggart, Tyler. Just that morning, Tyler had paraded a freshly killed turkey in the village square, loudly boasting of his hunting prowess in front of Caroline. As though her head could be turned by such a simpleton. However, Klaus couldn't deny his competitive nature, which is why he planned to return with the largest deer the woods had to offer.
An abrupt shift in the wind caught his attention, and he gave an involuntary shudder as an inexplicable feeling of dread washed over him. Something was coming. A high-pitched whistle pierced the air, and he lifted his gaze to the clear sky suddenly grown dark and foreboding.
He didn't register the first few objects that fell, but when one landed near his boot with a muted thump, his eyes widened as he spied the dead owl. Nudging it off to the side with his heel, he let out a gasp of surprise when the tall grass suddenly became littered with them. Owls were falling from the sky. Local tribes believed owls were death omens, and Klaus had been around powerful sorcery long enough to recognize the effects it could have on nature. The foreign feeling of panic set in as he realized that Caroline could be in danger.
No longer concerned with keeping up the pretense of humanity, Klaus flashed to the large, flat rock in the clearing that was Caroline's favorite place to sun herself. Gnashing his teeth in frustration when he didn't find her there, he started to flash back to the village when a cacophony of screams mixed with the scent of blood filled the air. He paused at the outer perimeter of the village, eyeing the woven sapling fence warily as he noted the sun-bleached bark had been stained an ominous red. Blood. So much blood.
Hissing and growling noises distracted him, and he slid his gaze to the side of the large meetinghouse where a group of colonists were clawing and biting at each other despite the fact that all appeared to be mortally wounded. Their blood soaked the earth, and yet they grappled and warred even as their strength faded. What in all of creation...?
An ear-splitting shriek rang out, and his gaze slid over a pile of freshly slaughtered colonists to find Damon, the blacksmith's apprentice, gripping a woman's long brunette strands in one hand as he brought a pair of sharpened tongs to her hairline and slowly began to peel away her scalp, his dark eyes glittering with malice. Slick with blood, she blindly grabbed a heavy file from the top of the anvil and swung it in a large arc, hitting him squarely across his forehead with a resounding thud. Klaus recalled the woman's name was Elena, and the village gossips claimed she'd captured the affections of both Damon and his brother. He assumed the legs broken at odd angles on the ground nearby was the brother.
Clearly dark magic had swept through the village to have them turn on each other in this grisly manner. He could feel a vibration in his bones as a powerful force threaded through the air, and while it didn't affect him in the same manner, the prickling of his skin set his supernatural senses aflame.
Damon bellowed, stumbling back as he managed to rip away a large swath of Elena's scalp and most of her ear. She screamed in pain and rage as her blood flowed freely, sinking her blunt teeth into his forearm and viciously ripping into his flesh before her body flopped to the ground and finally lay still.
Klaus felt his fangs itching to drop at the sight of so much carnage, but he restrained his impulses, still searching frantically for Caroline. Two women paid him no mind as they suddenly ran past him, clearly eager to attack Damon, who continued to wander unsteadily after his struggle with Elena. He recognized one of the women as the dour-faced Camille, whose incessant prattle during meals made him want to wrench her neck like an unplucked hen. She placed several swift kicks to the groaning man's stomach and pelvis until he crumbled to the ground in agony. The other woman, Hayley, grabbed the heated tongs that had fallen from his grasp, plunging the hot iron through his eye. Wailing as his flesh burned and sizzled, he screamed until he was hoarse.
The ferocity of the humans attacking each other left Klaus gobsmacked; he'd never witnessed such a frenzied massacre without explanation. Once Damon was dead, the two women turned on each other, delivering blows along their bodies with painful grunts and shrieks. Suddenly, Hayley dug her fingers into the spongey flesh of Camille's neck, a shout of triumph falling from her lips as she harshly shredded the skin until the thick blood poured forth, staining them both as they tumbled to the ground.
Hearing the thud of racing footsteps, he turned in time to see Elizabeth run through the fields, wielding a long, curved scythe above her head. Before he could stop Caroline's mother, she swung the blade over the still-twitching bodies of Hayley and Camille, viciously stabbing them until they no longer moved. He flashed to her side, gripping her arm as he said, "What in the hell hath become of thy village?! Where is thy daughter?"
Her blind rage briefly shifted to bewilderment as she told him, "We must bleed. 'Tis time." As she tried to wrench her arm from his iron grasp, she muttered in confusion, "Daughter? No daughter."
"Caroline! Thy daughter is Caroline," Klaus shouted, gracefully stepping out of the way as Elizabeth attempted to swing her blade at his head.
A low growl erupted from her throat as she snarled, "No daughter! Caroline was found wandering in the woods when we first arrived on the island."
Too stunned by her revelation, Klaus didn't bother trying to stop Elizabeth as she stumbled toward another group of colonists, wildly waving her bloody scythe. As he watched the mob bloodily grapple with each other, he narrowed his eyes as he considered her words. The implications.
The wind shifted, bringing with it her familiar, girlish giggle. Caroline. Following the sound, he flashed to the armory, unable to mask his surprise at what he saw when he wrenched the narrow door open and entered the small building. Despite her slight frame, Caroline held Tyler against a wall with one hand, his useless struggles causing several broadswords to clatter to the dirt floor with a loud clang.
Clearly hearing his arrival, Caroline kept her powerful hold on Tyler's neck, but glanced over her shoulder to regard him with a sly smile. "Klaus, I'd hoped thou would join us." She slowly blinked, her blue eyes bleeding to black as the pupils disturbingly narrowed to a slit. Like that of a venomous snake.
He'd come to Roanoke Island to seek out the truth behind the tribal myth of an ancient reptile demon. All of the signs had been there — he'd just been too foolish to see them. Caroline basked in the sun as though she craved the warmth — like a snake. The popping noise her jaw made likely indicated it could be unhinged — also as that of a snake.
"Thou journeyed to my island to find me. Am I still pleasing to thine eyes," she asked, displaying curved fangs that she seductively caressed with a forked tongue.
Klaus felt his own fangs drop, black veins darkening his pale skin as his vampire face emerged. "Even more than I could've imagined, love," he confessed hoarsely, flashing over to her as he felt the absurd need to show off his own supernatural prowess.
Lust flashed in her eyes, the snakelike pupils glowing as she seemed to admire his monster. "And you're considerably more sturdy than I realized," she told him, jerking her head at Tyler who continued to wordlessly struggle, adding "certainly more so than young Tyler. Would thee care to join me for supper?"
Intrigued, he took his place on the other side of Tyler, watching Caroline closely so he wouldn't miss the moment she started to feed. He rarely fed from the same human with another, finding it far too intimate. However, with Caroline, he found himself instantly aroused by the idea, and was curious to see how the experience would differ with a demon.
She bent her head to Tyler's neck, smoothly slicing her razor-sharp fangs into his skin and releasing a steady stream of warm, rich blood. The familiar copper scent made his monster snarl, but held himself back to watch her take several generous gulps. Tyler's face contorted in agony, his mouth open in a silent scream, obviously under Caroline's mind control. When she finally released Tyler's neck with a sigh of satisfaction, a small trickle of crimson fell from her lips.
Klaus groaned at the sight of her forked tongue seductively licking at the stray drops. Recognizing the challenge in her raised eyebrow, he dug his fangs into Tyler's neck with relish, hearing her tiny moan of pleasure as she savored their prey once more. He repositioned a weakening Tyler so that he could brush his fingers teasingly against the nape of Caroline's neck, pleased at the slight twitch she gave.
She returned his touch in kind, a slight scrape of her nails against his collarbone before ripping a jagged line through his waistcoat and undershirt, the sumptuous silk parting to reveal his chest to her insistent exploration. He groaned at her touch, allowing her to take the final vestiges of Tyler's life force before tossing his corpse into a dusty corner near several gunpowder barrels. With a lusty growl, he gripped Caroline tightly, tearing apart the bodice of her simple gown until she was bare before his greedy gaze.
She tilted her face to steadily meet his stare, a hint of her familiar blue seeping back into the narrow slits of her darkened pupils. "Thou thinks to devour me? Thy boldness is arousing, Klaus." She hooked her fingers into the waistband of his breeches, shredding the fabric until only narrow strips clung to his hips. She surged forward, attacking his lips with a feverish passion, their monstrous fangs playfully slashing lips and tongues in a symphony of pleasurable pain.
An explosion of flavors overwhelmed his senses as their blood mingled together on his tongue along with that of their prey, sending him reeling. In his many centuries, he'd never tasted anything as delectable as Caroline; her blood was a heady mix of spice and sweetness and he wanted to bathe in her essence until he drowned. "Thy taste is pure ambrosia of the gods, sweetheart," he growled against her lips, trailing urgent kisses along her throat and breasts.
Caroline rubbed sensually against him, her blood-smeared hands massaging his chest as she flashed him a wicked grin. Her explorations seared his flesh in the most delicious of ways and as her fingers trailed lower, his cock swelled against her hip. He couldn't stop the helpless grunt that escaped his lips as her hand gripped him tightly, coating his cock in Tyler's blood. Her agonizingly slow strokes left him panting, and he chased her erotic movements with his hips, wordlessly beseeching her to increase the tempo.
As his pleasure climbed higher, he reached out to caress her breasts, alternating his touches from soft caresses to firmly grasping her flesh, reveling in her gasps of surprise as she thrust her hardened nipples into his eager hands. She squeezed his leaking tip, bringing him to that marvelous edge where pain met pleasure and her confident strokes finally sent him tumbling into bliss. He moaned, marking the soft flesh of her belly with his release as his softening cock fell from her fingers.
Dragging a sharp nail across his essence, she impishly placed it in her mouth, savoring his taste before telling him, "Thou hath fire in thy veins. It warms me."
"Then permit me to warm thee further, love," Klaus growled, attacking her crimson-smeared lips with a ferocious kiss before getting on his knees to gaze up at her with a playful smirk. Tyler's blood had painted macabre streaks down her enticing body, and Klaus lapped at the edges with the tip of his tongue. Caroline's impatient huff made him chuckle as he'd purposely licked her flesh around her center, but avoided the little pleasure button that she clearly needed him to touch.
She surprised him by gripping his dirty blonde curls with her sharp nails, exerting considerable strength as she playfully warned, "I've no qualms about leaving thee aching and unsatisfied while I venture out into the village to seek my pleasure. Perhaps there's yet a few I've left alive who would be eager to please me."
The images her taunts evoked stirred his monster, and the thought of another touching her made him snarl possessively. Harshly gripping her hips, his gaze burned into her as he swore, "I accept thy challenge." He eagerly suckled at her center, diffusing whatever witty retort she'd prepared as she gave a strangled cry and circled her hips to encourage his sensual explorations.
The scent of her arousal was overwhelming, and Klaus reveled in the way her beautiful body responded to his touches. Her soaked core trembled as he alternated between soft and rough strokes, and the moment he slid a finger into her channel seemed to be her undoing as she released a guttural groan. With a soft hiss at the back of her throat, she took command, rubbing her center along his tongue as she continued to chase the waves of pleasure.
His cock hardened once more, and he pulled Caroline to the dirt floor, draping her over him as she continued to writhe from his burning touches. Once she'd recovered, she straddled his torso, her slit pupils glittering as she flicked her forked tongue to appraise him. "I crave more of thee, Klaus," she purred, sliding down his body until her gore-smeared lips brushed his aching cock.
"Take thy fill, sweetheart," he replied, unable to help the involuntary jerk of his hips as she engulfed his cock and began a series of fluttering motions with her tongue that felt wonderfully wicked. Her mouth was sweet agony as she applied just the right pressure with the sharp points of her fangs to keep him on the edge of release.
With a savage growl, Caroline removed her lips, quickly reseating her body above him as she slid his cock inside her wet core. The sour stench of human fear and the coppery blood mingled with the smells of their combined arousal, a riotous feast for the senses that inflamed their bodies as they rutted together upon the cool soil. She raked her nails down his chest, bending forward to sensually lap as his blood welled to the surface.
Moaning at the feeling of her rough tongue as she teased his flesh, he gripped her arse and set a fierce pace with his strokes, causing her to gasp as she continued to ride him. She was a stunning, wild creature as she tossed back her blonde hair, tugging at her breasts as her core began to spasm around him, her ecstasy nearly complete. With a coarse shout, he found his release once more, curling his powerful arms around her as they watched the sunbeams lazily filter in from the gaps in the narrow door.
"Does thou still desire to find another for thy pleasure," Klaus asked, unable to keep the smugness from his voice.
Caroline responded with a throaty chuckle, using a nail to trace a pattern along his neck. "Thy boasts are well-founded and I can attest to thy prowess. Perhaps I may keep thee yet for my pleasure, Klaus," came her amused reply.
Later on, they stood together on the shore, the dark blue water of the Sound at their backs while they quietly studied the dense forest on the horizon. Their clothes had been torn apart during their passionate tryst, so they'd dressed in blood-stained clothes stolen from the dead colonists. It had been ages since Klaus had been excited as he pondered his future, but now that he'd found his intriguing Caroline, he found himself most ardent to set off on their next adventure together.
He turned, admiring her blonde waves in majestic disarray as he observed, "It shall be at least another planting season before Governor White settles his debts with creditors and can complete the return voyage to the colony. Perhaps we should leave him a message before setting out on our journey?"
"Carve my true name in the oak tree that marks the settlement," Caroline told him, her eyes returning to their human shape, only the faintest glow hinting at her supernatural origins.
At his questioning brow, she added with a wicked grin, "Croatoan."
