Author's note: This was written for the Klarowinter Bingo Event. This is Part 3 to Chapter 97 (prompt: pink cocktail dress) and Chapter 92 (Hands-Off Policy). Caroline was on a mission to save Enzo and she brought along backup in the form of the most dangerous man they knew. Crash a party, get some intel, and then get out — it was the perfect plan. Until it wasn't.

Prompt: Peppermint schnapps

Warning: Klaroline sexytimes!


"Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable."
― Dwight D. Eisenhower


There was a waterfall on the dancefloor. What kind of useless one-percenter douchebag put a fucking waterfall on a dancefloor? It was rare that Caroline felt self-conscious, but with Klaus possessively lurking at her side all night, she'd gotten far too many curious looks from others. She didn't need that kind of attention. Enzo had sacrificed far too much for her over the years and it was time she did the same for him.

"The Salvatores always have been a bit garish for my tastes, as illustrated by this outlandish nonsense," Klaus commented with a huff, nodding toward the shimmering gold headpieces the servers wore that perfectly matched the trays of miniature cakes covered in gold leaf.

"Rumor has it Damon never shuts up; it should be easy to get information out of him about whoever took Enzo." Leaning close to hiss in his ear, she added venomously, "But with you up my ass all night, no one's coming near me."

Gray eyes darkened as his tone turned seductive, backing her into a small alcove piled high with velvet cushions. "Is that an invitation, love? Perhaps you'd care to abandon your fool's errand for the evening, hmm?"

Fool's errand. Cocky motherfucker. She owed Enzo her life and she wasn't about to abandon him when he needed her the most. "And here I thought you'd be useful given your ties to organized crime," she muttered, stepping away from him as though burned. "Do yourself a favor and stay out of my way — for your own good." She briefly considered delivering a forearm to his throat as a friendly warning, but decided she'd wasted enough time that could've been spent looking for her friend.

As she glanced back at him, she could've sworn Klaus' eyes flashed gold as he looked at her in amusement. Must've been a reflection from Damon's tacky gold decor. The band started a new set, something slow and seductive that sent the dancers dressed in gleaming metallic body paint grinding against the gold stripper poles on the raised platforms. Caroline paused in her search for the elusive, sleazy Salvatore to openly admire the dancer's artistry, cataloguing the powerful twists and turns to make note for her future performances at Lost Maggie's.

"Simply stunning," came an oily purr in her ear.

She warily turned, instantly recognizing Damon from Enzo's files. "Yes, your dancers are very talented." She kept her tone light, nails digging into her palms when she realized that his icy stare remained firmly on her cleavage.

He mocked, "I meant you, of course. Fun fact: it's easier to crash a party if you don't show up looking so...delicious."

She needed a shower. Something scalding hot so she could scrub off every skin cell Damon leered at. She sharply rebuked, "My date had an invitation. With a party this ostentatious, we assumed a plus one wouldn't be a problem."

Something dangerous glittered in his stare, and Caroline instinctively wanted to curl away from the monster she saw there. Damon was dangerous. She knew that going into this; none of Enzo's underground contacts were choir boys, but something was off about Damon —and this party. She'd had eyes on her all night from most of the guests, and it wasn't the casual eyefuck that this tiny cocktail dress was used to earning.

He downed his cocktail with floating gold flakes, and she caught the overpowering scent of cheap peppermint schnapps that he'd added to a specialty vodka that normally retailed for more than her rent. "Show me your date, Blondie, so I can kick his ass. A choice piece like you shouldn't be alone. Especially at this party."

As he leaned in too close, she spied several slimy gold flakes trapped along his teeth. Boldly trailing his hand along her bare arm, Damon purposely brushed against her breasts as he promised, "But don't worry — you've been upgraded to my plus one."

Caroline knew she shouldn't react. She needed to find out what Damon knew; Enzo's life could depend on it. But she'd never been very even-tempered, and when she saw Damon's fingers slyly unfurl to try to grab her breast, all common sense flew out the window and was replaced by the familiar red, bitter rage. The grabby asshat was lucky she didn't go for the butterfly knife tucked away in her bra. She slammed a spiked heel into the toe of his shoe, causing him to clumsily stumble right into her fist. Caroline begrudgingly admired his stamina, as she didn't draw blood until delivering a final elbow strike that put him on the floor.

Violence and a crime boss' party went together like peanut butter and jelly, so it didn't surprise her that the fight barely caused a ripple within the crowd. If anything, she spotted several guests eye her with even more interest as she nonchalantly shook out her hand, sending blood splatters flying.

Suddenly, Klaus was an oddly soothing presence at her back, watching Damon scramble to his feet, sending a furious glare at them both. "Hey Klaus, I was just introducing myself to your plus one. Keeping her warm for you since she looked so...cold." Leaving Klaus with an impish wink, he added, "Enjoy yourself, old buddy. Dinner will be a bit tougher than it looks."

That was weird. However, Caroline was too distracted by how quickly Damon seemed to recover from his beat down to dwell on it. Damn it. She fucked up — the beating was supposed to happen after she got him alone to properly question him about Enzo's kidnapping.

"That was quite the display, sweetheart," Klaus murmured in her ear, leading her back to the tucked-away alcove.

She waited patiently for the rest of the predictable speech she always received from guys. You're beautiful, but this isn't going to work out. At first blush, men were drawn to the package; it was the unexpected rage that sent them running. Violence wasn't a very good seduction technique. And while Klaus had seen her attack Tyler when they first met, it would be clear to him now that she had...baggage. Not that she cared. She didn't even like Klaus. That much. Plus, it would be stupid to get involved with him.

"I liked it."

Wait. What? She was certain she'd misheard, but there was no mistaking the way his gray eyes had darkened with lust. However, he kept a respectable distance, studying her carefully. Waiting.

The fact that Klaus didn't immediately lunge for her left her breathless. It had been ages since she'd met someone who wasn't turned off by her 'punch now, ask questions later' mentality. Klaus wasn't afraid of her power. Probably because he had his own. She'd seen how the crowds instantly parted before him, many ducking their heads in deference. Plenty of juice there. Enzo's files on Klaus were suspiciously sparse, but Caroline knew enough about the streets to recognize a fellow predator. She shouldn't get involved with someone so complicated.

Her kiss surprised them both with its forcefulness, pushing him into an open shelf along the rock facade. The tall terracotta pottery next to their writhing bodies clattered a warning, but Klaus managed to capture the wide lip with one hand, saving it from crashing to the travertine in a whip-fast movement. Wow. Impressive reflexes.

He carelessly kicked it off to the side with his boot, both of his hands full with her short skirt, aggressively pushing the flared hem up her thighs. She ground against the hard ridge of his cock, letting out a small gasp of satisfaction when he pumped his hips against her aching core. The rough scrape of his jeans against her thong was driving her wild, and she hooked one leg around his waist to pull him closer, fumbling with his zipper as he attacked her collarbone with eager kisses.

The noise from the party lingered just beyond the arched opening of the alcove, uproarious laughter mingling with the thudding beat of the band. Anyone could walk by and see them in the shadows, and that intriguing thought alone made Caroline moan into his mouth as he twitched beneath her.

Klaus impatiently pushed away her fingers, nearly snapping off his zipper as he freed his cock. She smugly felt the wet press of his head between her thighs, and she rubbed against him like a content cat. She did that. With an almost feral growl, Klaus shoved aside her thong, sliding into her with one powerful thrust.

With a low moan, Caroline slung both arms around his neck, riding him with wild abandon. The butterfly knife carefully hidden in her bra fell to the shelf next to them with a muted thud. Klaus blinked down at the knife, a seductive smirk curling his lips as he teased, "Oh my, it appears you've dropped your only weapon."

Lightly scratching the stubble along his jaw, she coyly whispered, "I know three different ways to kill a man with my pinkie nail."

Something primal flashed in his gaze, and with a possessive snarl, he kissed her long and deep, bucking into her body with a guttural roar. He broke their kiss with a wrenching gasp, murmuring hotly against her lips, "Just when I thought you couldn't possibly become more alluring..."

Hearing some of the ways she could kill a man apparently was a turn-on for him. What a sexy little weirdo. He began to trace his tongue along the girlish script of her 'loyalty' tattoo, her bicep tingling pleasurably with every loop and swirl. The crash of shattered glass in the main ballroom startled her, and she glanced beyond the archway of the alcove, alarmed to see two men being attacked. Bitten. It was a whirling dervish of dark curls that held one man aloft while sinking her teeth into the other's forearm, tearing out a chunk of flesh. The woman was tiny — how could she be so strong?

From the chorus of terrified screams that suddenly flooded the mansion, Caroline realized she should've trusted her instincts. Something was very wrong with this party. She tensed against Klaus, determining possible exit strategies and weighing the viability of kidnapping Damon for intel while battling whatever these...things were. Although, it appeared there wouldn't be much of a battle considering how the monsters actively avoided the alcove, fear briefly crossing their black-veined faces before flashing away in search of easier prey. What the hell was going on?

"Ah. That. I'd hoped the blood bacchanal would begin a bit later this evening, but temperance has never been Damon's strong suit," Klaus explained in a tone that Caroline felt was decidedly far too calm for the madness going on just beyond where they were standing.

At Caroline's confused expression, he wrapped a possessive arm around her waist, his tone reassuring as he said, "Don't worry, you're perfectly safe with me." That unnatural gold flared in his eyes once more, and Caroline no longer could pass it off as a mere reflection of Damon's tacky decor.

Caroline weighed her options, realizing that accidentally attending a party full of monsters while dangling off the arm of an even bigger monster could work in her favor. She was getting Enzo back, and if she needed to spend a bit more time with sexy monster Klaus to do it, well, that definitely was a sacrifice she was willing to make.