Violet had agreed to move in with Klaus and register for college classes, an offer he'd made with no apparent benefit to him that she could see except that he wanted to spend time with her, and he seemed more than satisfied with the bargain because he grasped her tightly around her thighs, kissed her so deeply that she had to hold on to his neck, and rolled them both around on the bed so that she lay under him. He kept them there at the edge of the bed, Klaus's feet firmly on the floor, and the only thing that kept Violet from sliding off of the mattress was the way his pelvis was seated against hers. Her thighs encircled his slim waist and her feet flopped uselessly in the air as he began to move within her.
Now that he'd gotten his concerns off his chest, Klaus was focused wholly on (well, she couldn't say fucking her anymore, could she?)…but that's what it felt like, what she'd been wanting. It was pure sensation, the way his torso pressed into hers, creating negative space between them, and the hard way he thrust his hips so that there was an audible smacking sound of his pelvis against her bottom and thighs. One hand pulled at the flesh of her thigh while he leaned on the other elbow, absently tangling his fingers in her hair. His eyes were closed and his mouth a little slack as exertion forced his breath out in harsh pants, and every now and then he would duck his head down to nuzzle her breast, to take her nipple between his lips to run the flat of his tongue across her areola. Never in her life had she had more than one orgasm during sex, but after several minutes of Klaus's steady drive, he incited her body to another climax.
Every breath his quick thrusts forced from her mouth was a moan. She couldn't help it. She was mindless in her pleasure, hanging on for dear life, biting into the muscle of his shoulder as the swell of electricity and heat coursed through her body, making her limbs shake so hard that she crossed her ankles behind Klaus's bottom, trying to hold him still.
He kept going, pushing harder through her orgasm, keeping her nerves just teetering on the edge. There would be no coming down from this until he was done, and Klaus had stamina; he was good at this. The memory of all those pretty girls at graduation crossed her mind, and she briefly wondered how many of them had enjoyed this particular attention from her brother…not that she really wanted to know. There was a poignant pain of regret that it hadn't always been just her and Klaus, as it could've been if she had just said yes all those years before. She let that thought dispel as Klaus pressed his lips into her cheek and uttered reverently, "I love you." He had loved her since he was sixteen years old and she was eighteen. He had loved her through all of their calamities, all her many mistakes and misunderstandings, and had promised to love her as they grew old together. This was not something her serious brother handed out to just anybody, and she made an internal vow to never let Klaus go again.
Finally, when Violet's body was so strung out on riding along the peak of pleasure, her chest arching into his, and when her taut muscles could bear no more, her womb contracting hard every few thrusts, Klaus reached his breaking point. It was a glorious thing to experience, to watch him lose control, to feel the muscles of his arms and back harden and his legs to shake in exhaustion, to hear the way his breath hitched in little gasps as hot ejaculate filled her then leaked out from around their coupling to cool on her skin.
When they parted, the muscles in Violet's legs were almost too wobbly to scoot further into bed, but after several tries and a concentrated effort, she managed to lay her head on a pillow and Klaus followed to lay his on the other. He turned onto his back, his legs straight out, and combed his hands through his curls. Taking this opportunity to look at his body, she admired his lean chest and the fine hair that grew there. His waist was slim, but his belly was soft, and this made Violet happy. She could recall a time when they'd not had enough to eat and Klaus had been too skinny, too malnourished. She'd hated her body as a teenager, had envied other girl's healthy curves, and had delighted in gaining weight when others tried to lose.
His face, as he stared up at the ceiling, was inscrutable, but when he turned to look at her, his smile was tender, making Violet's heart do a little flip and then sink straight into her stomach. She was unable to smile back, unable to reassure him with her expression. Now that the lust was sated and she was coming down from her high, the reality of the situation was sinking in. What had they done?
Klaus's smile slipped and he shook his head in disbelief, looking back at the ceiling. "I can practically hear your wheels turning. I can't believe you."
They had finally crossed that line she had drawn for herself the better part of a decade ago. In fact, they had crossed it so thoroughly that there would be no going back. All of those years of fighting her feelings for Klaus, lying to herself, trying to make a life without him, were all down the drain and she was left to figure out how to make this thing work with her brother without hurting him or herself or their little girls…or the other people they loved and who had a vested interest in the Baudelaires.
It wasn't fair. Her body longed to scoot into Klaus's embrace, to let him kiss her forehead and especially to run her fingertips through his chest hair and down that thick, dark line of hair that led past his belly button, but her mind and her gut were feeling guilty as hell. She especially felt bad for disappointing him. He had offered her a new life to share with him and here she was appearing doubtful and ungrateful. It wasn't that at all. She was actually terrified.
"Klaus," she began, turning on her side to face him. She reached for him, but he quickly pulled away, rising from the bed. "It isn't what…"
He scoffed, interrupting her and still shaking his head. "I honestly don't know what you want from me, Violet," he said abruptly, throwing his hands in the air in a frustrated gesture before searching the floor for his discarded robe. He was going to leave, she could see that, but after what they had just done, what they had just experienced together, there was no way she was going to let him out of that door, not while he was mad at her and not before talking it through. They'd come too far for that.
Legs still shaky, she practically bounced out of the bed, rushing to stand in front of the door, trying very hard not to be too conscious of her nakedness or the way her thighs were sticky with his seed. "Klaus!" She put a trembling hand on his chest as he tried to pass, anxious to get away from her. Here, she'd already hurt him. This is what she was scared of. "I didn't even say anything."
"You don't have to say anything. I can see it written all over your face. You regret this already." He looked at the floor instead of at her. "The funny thing is I knew you would all along. I let my guard down and I've got nobody to blame but myself."
"Klaus! I don't regret you...but, I'm scared." This confession didn't make her feel better. It made her heart beat wildly in her chest and her lungs didn't seem to work anymore as she struggled for breath. "Aren't you at all worried about how this will affect everything and everyone in our lives?" she asked, feeling panicky and gesturing between them rapidly. "What will Sunny think? How will we explain it to her? What about Isadora? Do you think she won't find out? It's impossible to keep a secret from her. That girl has an uncanny gift and...and how in the world are we going to keep this a secret when all I want is you? They'll know. Everyone will know, Klaus!" Her voice had risen in volume and at least an octave in pitch.
"Okay," he shushed, holding out both hands in a placating gesture. "Okay. It's okay. We'll figure it out."
"What if we can't?" she asked quickly. "I don't want you to ruin your life over me."
"You're being a little dramatic," he said calmly.
Violet didn't feel like Klaus was being dramatic enough. "Are you even taking this seriously?" she asked. "We could literally go to jail." Tears were threatening again and she was breathing hard, like she'd been running.
"We're not going to go to jail. Violet!" he said sternly, taking her by her upper arms. "Calm down. It's going to be fine. Do you hear me?" He took her face in his hands, made her look at him and he stared her down. "Are you listening?" It took a long moment for her erratic heartbeat to slow to something more normal. "Violet?" She nodded. She was listening. "It isn't like you to panic like this. You're tired. You probably need some real food. It's okay," he repeated, kissing her forehead. "You've had a lot of changes in a short period of time and what you're feeling is normal. Anyone would feel stressed if they were in your position, okay? If you need more time…"
"No," she said vehemently, shaking her head. "It isn't that, Klaus. I want you. I've waited too long for this already. Everything you said to me…everything you offered, well, I want it all more than I can say. I just don't want anyone to get hurt because of me. Especially you."
His gaze was impenetrable. "All we can do is try, right? I feel good about it. I think we can work it out." He leaned down to press his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. Pulling a hair's breadth away, he said, "And if it all goes to shit, I'll still think it was worth it." She smiled at that, making him smile, too. "Haven't you figured it out yet?"
"What?" she asked, distracted as his thumb found her nipple and his lips cascaded down her throat.
"I love you, Violet." Her breath hitched. A lifetime with Klaus flashed before her eyes. A life where things went right, where they lived together, shared a bed together, raised Sunny and Beatrice in a sweet house in a safe neighborhood. She pictured herself walking down the aisle at her own graduation, working with machines, greasy and calloused and free to invent. She pictured Klaus with gray hair, doing research at a renowned library, and eating suppers with him alone on quiet evenings because the girls were grown with their own families. It was wonderful to think about and she wanted it all.
His mouth was warm and calming, kissing across her shoulders and chest, down her sternum between her breasts. Klaus had her pressed up against the door, the wood paneling cold against her back, and he knelt in front of her. His robe had come undone again in his haste to put it on and it hung loose from his shoulders. His dark curls were lopsided and the stubble on his cheeks and chin burned her skin in the best way as he dragged his face down her body. "Klaus," she cried, almost plaintively, not knowing if she could survive another round with him, her legs already feeling like jelly. She tugged at his hair, but he paid her no mind as he palmed her hips and pulled at her thighs, dragging his thumbs through his own ejaculate that leaked out between her legs.
Klaus looked like sex incarnate as he spread her apart with his fingers to bury his nose in her thick thatch of hair. The first lick to her clit was short and hard with the point of his tongue, making every single muscle in her body jump. "I can't…" she began, but was easily persuaded that she could when he went deeper, sliding the flat of his tongue into her swollen soft tissue, his warm saliva like a balm, soothing her easily back into arousal. He groaned when he tasted himself on her, lapping up their mixture of fluids like it was the best thing he'd ever eaten.
Delirium crept up on her. She was teetering on the edge of exhaustion, tiptoeing across a tightrope of pleasure. What side would she fall on? Klaus wanted her to let go of her panic, to trust him. Would that be so bad? He'd never steered her wrong before. She was dizzy, gasping for air, moaning so loudly that anybody in the hall could've heard her. His mouth was a miracle. "Don't stop…" she pleaded. "Right there…Oh God!" The only reason she was still able to stand was because he had her tight against the door, his hands bracing her thighs, her fingers curled through his hair. Her body was going to shake apart, she was sure of it.
When her body surrendered that third time, she collapsed in a heap, and Klaus pulled her quickly onto his lap right there, on the hotel room floor, pressing small kisses across her face as she panted and shook. He smelled like sex, and she noticed that his hands were shaking, too, where they held her around the small of her back. "I love you," he murmured into her cheek. "Tell me you love me." All she could do was nod a response. He chuckled in her ear. "You okay?" She nodded again. "Was that good, Violet?" A nod. "Because I can keep going until I convince you that this is the right thing…that we're going to be great together." He paused a short moment, then pulled back to look her in the eyes. "Do I need to keep going?"
Violet's jaw dropped open in shock. This sexy, insatiable side of her brother was going to take some getting used to. "Klaus," she breathed. It was supposed to be an admonishment, but the words came out way weaker than she'd meant them.
He cocked his head, waiting for a better response. He wanted her and she wanted him. No use denying any of it. "I love you," she told him.
"And you're not going to give me any more trouble?" he asked with a teasing smile. "No more panic attacks? No more falling in rivers?"
She shoved his shoulder weakly, then tried to stand. "Very funny. I might just rather get eaten by a bear than to endure any more of your humor at my expense." He stood quickly, more agile than her, and helped her to the bed. Unwrapping two disposable plastic cups by the sink, he filled them each with cold water and came to sit on the side of the bed, handing one to her and drinking the other down in several large gulps. Violet found she was so thirsty she was able to follow suit.
"Aren't you coming to bed?" she asked curiously, noting how he'd tied his robe neatly back into place.
He'd been holding her hand on top of the covers, playing idly with her fingers. "I'm going to go get the laundry." Her eyes widened, realizing she'd forgotten all about their dry clothes. He stood, crossed the room to get her phone from the charger and brought it back to her. "Why don't you call Sunny? I think you'll feel much better after you've touched base with everyone." Accepting the phone, she nodded, dialing Isadora's number as Klaus walked out of the door.
By the time he returned with the laundry basket full of neatly folded clothes and Violet's freshly rolled sleeping bag, she'd talked first with Isadora, then, due to the children's loud insistence, was quickly handed off to Sunny, and then to Beatrice. They regaled her with stories of book-shopping, cupcake-baking, museum-visiting, pillow-fort building, late-night movie-watching, and street-fair attending. Isadora had thought of every activity a young Baudelaire girl might enjoy. She'd spoiled them rotten and they would never want to come home, except… "When are you coming home?" Beatrice whined. "You're missing all of the fun."
"It sounds like it," Violet replied wistfully. "I miss you girls. I'm so glad you're having fun with Auntie Isadora. Are you eating any vegetables at all?" Violet was mostly teasing, but you never know.
Beatrice just laughed. "I miss you. Are you still with Klaus?" and the little girl actually giggled shyly, just as enamored with him as all of the girls he came in contact with. "Does he want to talk to me?"
"Yes, ma'am." Klaus was just walking in the door with the basket on his hip, his too-small robe threatening to come undone. Violet felt a blush of heat on her cheeks, glimpsing a dark nipple and an angle of hip before he could set the basket down on a chair and tighten his sash. "Here he is." She held the phone out to Klaus and he grinned widely, his eyebrows high on his forehead.
"Hello?" he answered, catching the phone between his ear and his shoulder so he could divvy up the laundry while he talked. "Hi, Beatrice! Are you having a good time with your Auntie?" Violet could hear her excited chatter from across the room, and from his cheerful exclamations, Klaus was hearing all of the same stories that Violet had just heard. He was eventually passed to Sunny who wanted to know details of their camping trip. He told her the story of the wild animal outside their tent, making it seem way more entertaining than she'd thought the episode actually was. Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes at his exaggerations. When he started to tell the story of the river washing Violet away, he made it seem like she was never in any danger at all. "I mean, seriously, one minute she was right behind me and the next she was knee deep in the river..." and she could hear Sunny laughing at Klaus's rousing rendition of the story.
"I'll never live this down," Violet muttered and Klaus winked at her. As always, she enjoyed watching Klaus interact with Sunny and Beatrice. It was so sweet to know that he adored them as much they loved him.
When Sunny was finished talking, Klaus asked, "May I speak with Isadora before you hang up?" For some reason this made Violet's stomach clench. She'd only spoken with her for less than a minute— a quick hello and then the girls had commandeered the phone. There was a pause and then Klaus's smile widened once more. Isadora was just as close to Klaus as she was to Violet, only separately so. Klaus and Violet had been mostly estranged for several years, yet Isadora and Duncan had frequently spoken and visited with Klaus since Violet had moved in with Quigley, especially after Klaus had gone to college. His familiar way with Isadora was not exactly unfamiliar to Violet, just sometimes surprising. Violet had to remember that she did not have a monopoly on the Quagmires.
Klaus inquired about the girls, asked if they were any trouble, wondered when Duncan would be back from his interview. He turned his back to Violet and spoke in a lower voice, but she could easily hear everything in this small room. "Yeah, things are fine. Going pretty well, actually." He laughed at something she said, and he gave Violet a furtive look and another grin. "There have been a few hiccups. Violet is getting tired of me telling all her stories, so I'll let her tell you when we pick up the girls." Isadora would not be expecting that. If anything, she was probably thinking that Violet would just come stay with her for awhile after the camping trip until she found a place of her own. She supposed it was no secret that Violet would be moving in with Klaus, though her heart beat erratically at the implications of it…but it was silly to assume that Isadora would read anything into it. Didn't Isadora and Duncan live together? Violet had never thought they might be romantic— it just wasn't done, wasn't normal, but she and Klaus were anything but normal. Therein lied all their problems.
"I'm renting a huge house in Chapel Hill, keeping it up for an aunt of a friend…yeah. There's plenty of room for Violet and the girls to stay with me….Yes, I know,"—he looked at Violet hard again—"she can start school, too." Violet actually heard Isadora squeal on the other end of the line. After a pause, he answered some unknown question, "I don't know, just what's in her car, I guess. We'll get it figured out." Another pause. "We're at a hotel tonight…" and Klaus's cheeks flushed bright red at something Isadora said, and he rubbed his palm nervously over the back of his neck. "Anyway, " he continued with a laugh. "Three more days, maybe two, out here and then we'll start heading your way. It's a little longer than we originally planned. Is that okay? That's a long time with the girls." Violet could hear her reassuring tone, then, "Thank you so much. I know they're having a wonderful time…Yes, we'll call you again when we're on our way…okay…yes…love you, too. Bye."
Klaus switched off the phone and turned to look at her looking at him. Violet realized they had a lot more to figure out, to talk through. He set her phone on the bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed again, leaning over her. He didn't seem worried about any of it. He seemed…the only words for it were gloriously ecstatic. It was like you couldn't have wiped the smile off his face…as if saying the plan out loud to someone else had laid it in stone, set the wheels turning. He cradled her face in his palms and kissed her so sweetly, lingering lips pressed firmly against hers, until she parted her mouth over his and he reciprocated. Pressing his forehead to hers, he just stayed close for a long minute, eyes closed and she could practically feel the joy vibrating off of him. The feeling was contagious. This was going to work. They were going to pull it off. Klaus was finally hers.
"I'm starving," he said softly against her lips. Surprised, she'd expected words of endearment, so she couldn't help but laugh, feeling mostly giddy now, instead of guilty. She nodded in agreement.