Caroline's POV
I can't think of anything to say—I'm taken completely off guard by Klaus's presence. I watch Damon finish reading the text and his smile is a mixture of things. He's happy, proud, but also kind of turned on. Now I wish I hadn't noticed that.
I'm glad I'm a little drunk if this is who I'll be spending the rest of the evening with. Alcohol and blood makes everything better and everyone easier to deal with. Normally I'd be flustered into annoyance just by seeing his face. Instead, there's a weird ripple through my stomach, but I stay mellow. I can feel my phone vibrating in my bra and I glance down. I can make out the beginning of Tyler's name and I ignore it, pushing my phone further down.
"Ignoring calls from your most beloved hybrid?" Klaus says, his voice teasing and knowing at the same time.
"What's it matter to you?" I ask in my best attempt at a biting tone. I'm too high to care either way.
"He's a foolish man, giving up what he had with you," Klaus says. His eyes are genuine and his accent turns every word into a soft caress. I feel myself softening to him, but I try to stop it from happening. I'm angry again, realizing what this means.
"You knew?" I ask, incredulous.
"Yes I did," he says. His voice isn't terribly apologetic and that just makes me angrier. He should at least feel guilty, shouldn't he?
"Unbelievable! You didn't say anything!" I say.
I feel anger boil in my blood and I start speeding up, catching up to where Damon and Elena are re-entering the bar. Just as I'm nearing the door a hand grabs my arm, jerking me over and then pushing my back into the wall. My muscles tense instantly, getting ready to run or push him away from me. Instead, as soon as his blue eyes have caught mine, I'm paralyzed.
"If I had told you, would you have believed me?" he asks, his eyes holding mine and pouring intensity. The hold he has on my arm is firm, but gentle. It doesn't feel terrible, just strong. There's a slight heat that radiates off his skin—it's a hybrid thing, I guess. I'm so distracted by his proximity that I can't remember what he's asking me.
"Huh?" I say, sounding stupid but unable to do anything about it.
"If I had come to you and told you about Tyler's indiscretions, would you have taken my word for it?" Klaus asks again, his voice even and calm. It almost makes me nervous, like its the calm before the storm. But there's nothing menacing about his expression, and nothing that makes me want to pull away. I can't believe that while staring into the eyes of someone who has ruined so many of the lives of people I love, I don't have the urge to flee. The only urge I have is deep and carnal, and I refuse to even admit to myself what it is.
Back to the point at hand, he's right. I wouldn't have believed him if he had come to me with the information. Maybe I only want to be mad at him because it will deflect some of the anger I'm feeling towards Tyler right now. I twist my mouth.
"Probably not, no," I say. My voice is unapologetic, and he looks slightly hurt for a moment. His expression is ironed back into a mask of calm before I can really respond. He smiles softly, inching just a tiny bit further into my personal space. I think he might kiss me in a moment. He braces a hand on the building behind me, bringing him dangerously close to me now. I can't run away though. Not even if I want to, which I don't.
"I should go inside. Find Elena," I say, swallowing in the middle. The heady feeling the blood is producing makes me want to reach across the small gap between us and touch him. I bet his body would be lean and strong under my hands. I force the excuse to leave out of my mouth though, knowing it's too dangerous to stand this close to him for much longer.
He gives a slightly disappointed glance before stepping back from me and extending his hand towards the door. He doesn't follow me in, and at first I worry that Elena will be busy with Damon and our girls night will be out the window. Instead, Elena is just inside the door and Damon's back is retreating further into the bar.
"Where's he going?" I ask.
"Hunting," she says. I'm not sure if she knows it or not, but the way she said the word sounded dirty. She's staring after Damon with a certain fire in her eyes—a fire I never see when she's around Stefan.
"Let's dance!" I say, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards the dance floor. The high is really starting to hit, taking my body to another plane practically. All of my senses seem both sharpened and dulled at the same time—like I'm experiencing them in a new way. It seems like I can feel the air molecules resting on my skin, and the way the music is pounding forces me to move with it.
Elena and I are lost in the music, dancing and enjoying the way our muscles feel new. Everything on my body feels new, actually, like there's a whole new side to me that is just waking up. I love the sensation. Elena has a huge grin plastered across her face, but her eyelids are heavy like she's somewhere else. I know the feeling.
I don't even hear someone coming up behind me until I feel a hand on my hip. I turn around lazily, not bothered by whoever is intruding in my personal space. My stare is met by a pair of glowing gold eyes and a familiar scent fills my nose. Klaus moves with the music effortlessly and at first he keeps his distance from me. Soon both of his hands are on my hips and we're moving in time together. I can't remember how we got this close to each other, but I don't care because it feels good. The heat from his body moves through his skin wherever we touch, making my nerves feel like they've been electrified. I crave more of his touch.
Without ever really giving myself permission to do so, I move my body closer to his, pleased when he gently turns me around. He pulls my hips back against his, matching the rhythm I've set easily. His hands stay firmly planted on my hips, and I lean my upper body against his, my back to his chest. His face is next to mine now, and I can smell a fresh feed on his breath—it makes my stomach clench with excitement.
I lean my head back over his shoulder, letting my hands wander from his wrists up to his forearms—his hold on my hip tightens. One of his hand leaves my hips, and I'm surprised when I feel it at my neck, pushing my hair away from my throat. It's such a light touch, but it punches me in the stomach and makes my knees wobble.
The warmth of his mouth closing over my throat has me unreasonably hot—like he's kissing every nerve in my body. I can't remember the last time I was this turned on with such simple actions. Maybe its the blood. Maybe it's because it's Klaus. I feel his dull, human teeth tug at the skin before he massages it with his tongue, and I push my hips harder against his.
My mouth is just the slightest bit open, my intoxicated body almost too sensitive to deal with all the sensation. His lips are kneading my skin, and now trailing down to the curve of my throat. Everywhere he kisses feels like it's on fire. I'm imagining the way his lips would feel on mine, letting my tongue trace my open mouth.
I turn around, letting my body draw closer to his, his arm wrapping around my waist in one fluid motion. It feels right, but then I realize what I'm doing. It dawns on me that I'm at a bar not a day after I find out that Tyler is cheating on me, dancing with Klaus who's ruined so many lives. I take a couple steps back, holding my hands out as though I'm off balance. He's giving me a questioning look, but I can't explain, I can't find my voice. Instead I shake my head and turn, stumbling away out the exit that Elena and I used earlier. One thing I can't figure out is what the hell am I doing?
Elena's POV
God, Damon is an amazing dancer. His body moves in time with mine effortlessly, like we're linked in some physical way. He knows just where to put his hands to get my body to respond. He's always sneaky about it though, never going for the obvious kill. Now, however, we're both drunk on alcohol and blood and my arms are draped over his shoulders, our faces just inches away. I can taste his breath and my lips feel like they're aching to close the distance between us.
There's a part of me that tells me to stop and think things through. The other part of me says to just follow what I'm feeling. This is the part I want to go with, but I'm becoming more sober by the moment. One downside to being a vampire, getting drunk requires way more alcohol.
"Drinks?" I ask, nodding towards the bar.
Damon nods and then grabs one of my wrists, twirling me to lead the way to the bar. I giggle and have a little more bounce in my step then usual. Now that I've made the decision that I should be with Damon, it's all I can think about. I want to feel his skin against me.
Damon taps someone on the shoulder and seems to compel himself a stool. He sits down and I could easily compel myself a seat as well, but I decide to play dumb. Instead, I step into the space between Damon's thighs and let my hip rest against his leg. I smile innocently and turn towards the bar to order two shots of tequila. I can feel how tense his muscles are. He'll question me less if he's drunk, though.
The bartender sets the two shots in front of us along with two slices of lime and salt. I turn in the restricted space to face him more and end up with one hand resting on his thigh. I love the way his body so easily reacts to mine and I can tell he does to. If I didn't know better I'd think he just bared his teeth at me. He gently but firmly grabs my wrist and puts salt on the web between my thumb and forefinger.
"What are you-"
Damon places the lime in my mouth, with the peel towards me and I wrinkle my nose in confusion. The pieces start falling into place. Damon raises his shot glass and smiles at me deviously.
"To your success in feeding!" he says, tipping it towards me before leaning forward. His mouth is coming towards mine, ready to take the lime and I let myself pretend that he's leaning into kiss me. He practically is though. He bites the lime, keeping eye contact with me the whole time, his eyebrows quirked in that sexy, suggestive way. He pulls away, takes the shot and then brings my hand up his mouth. He sucks all the salt from my skin and I'm watching him with pointed fixation.
I'm feeling every swirl of his tongue and imagining it elsewhere on my body. He gives me that cocky smile when he's all done. I feel up to playing tonight though, which I don't think he's expecting. He starts setting himself up in good spirits, putting the salt on his hand and the lime in his mouth.
"Remember, lime, shot, salt," he says, before bracing the lime in his mouth. He's placed it just so that I'll practically be kissing him when I retrieve it. I love this teasing dance we're doing, and I intend to play it out to the fullest extent.
I take the shot from him and ease closer to his body, my hips pressing into his, dangerously close to his heat. I give him a smile and then lean in, taking the lime slowly, letting my lips graze his before pulling away to take my shot. He's watching me with an intense stare that I reciprocate as I suck the salt from his hand. His skin has an intoxicating taste to it that I don't think I noticed when I was human.
I shouldn't be having these thoughts. I'm not with Stefan, but that doesn't give me license to hang all over Damon like I have no self-control. But it's so tempting to just let go and be bad. Ever since I've become a vampire, Damon has been the one who gets me. He's the one who makes me feel ok about what I am now. I can't imagine missing out on that.
Caroline's POV
I'm walking back towards the bar to where Elena and Damon are. I stop short of them though, not wanting to interrupt the heated flirting that's going on right now. Elena needs this and I don't want to take it from her.
"It looks like we've disrupted girl's night," Klaus says, his voice closer to me then I expected. I've had time to organize my thoughts and I realize that flirting with Klaus isn't a bad thing. I'm just having fun. It's not like it means anything to me. I just feel a little wrong letting him grope all over me like that. Looking back on it...it was really fun.
"Yeah, well, I'm not going to intervene if she's going to get her swerve on," I say sarcastically, feeling a little bitter about the whole affair.
"Well, since I am partially responsible for your plight at least let me buy you a drink. Consider it a peace offering," he says, the delightful lilt to his voice difficult to resist. I don't want to smile. I don't tell myself to smile, but it happens all the same.
"I suppose since I have to be here anyway I might as well be drunk," I say with a shrug. He smiles and its such a genuine look that I get lost in it for a moment. I hardly ever see him look so truly elated.
"Wonderful," he says, moving and making two people give up their seats. I roll my eyes at this, it seems a little dramatic, but I keep the complaint to myself. In a weird way I'm kind of flattered. He seems to hold me in such high esteem above everyone else, and it's not a feeling that I'm used to.
"The bottle," he says to the bartender, gesturing to a whiskey bottle behind the bar. Ever since I became a vampire I can drink any alcohol with no complaint. The taste seems dulled to me, the burn hardly anything compared to what it was. She obediently hands over the bottle and two shot glasses. He hands me one of the shots and smiles.
"To having a good night despite my interruptions," he says with an entertained smile. I can't help smiling and tapping his glass with mine. I shoot it easily, letting the warmth wash down my throat. I'm still riding a pretty solid high, but the awkward silence between us is threatening to take it away. I smile at him hesitantly and then kind of readjust in my seat, trying to think of something to talk about.
"I apologize if I crossed a line earlier. You seemed quite cross with me," he says, his voice verging on sounding amused. Normally the tone would annoy me, but instead my mouth stretches into a grin. My body seems to be reacting without the permission of my brain.
"It's fine," I say. He raises his eyebrows and smirks.
"Oh, is it?" he asks, leaning just a tiny bit further into my personal space. I don't lean away because I don't want to. Instead I stay just where I am and let the nerves in my body come alive.
"I don't see why not. I'm single, after all," I say, reminding both him and myself. I feel out of character flirting with him the way I am. I should be leaning away from him trying to get more personal space, but instead I'm relishing the heat that comes from his close proximitiy.
"Ah, sweet Caroline. Don't be bitter," he says with a shake of his head, his smile soft. Almost warm. He carefully pours us each another shot, scooting mine in front of me. "Sure, Tyler is a cheating bastard who wasted your love, but more importantly—you're free. Free to live this new life to the fullest. Free to do whatever you want, with no worries about the impact it may have on others."
The picture he's painting is one of pure hedonism and debauchery—at least, that's where my mind is taking it. All I can picture is dark alleys and hot night clubs and nights of doing whatever I want. With whoever I want. It doesn't take long for my intoxicated brain to take the next leap.
I could do any and all of that with Klaus. If I wanted to.
I smirk and pick up my shot glass, suddenly aware of him waiting for my cheers. I hold my shot glass up, trying to embrace the carefree attitude that Klaus is describing. It would be so easy. Fun, even.
"To freedom," I say, tapping his glass with mine. I can feel the faint burn of the whiskey in my throat, but it's nothing compard to the way Klaus's stare is scorching my skin. His mouth widens, the smile of a sinner.
Tonight, I want to be a sinner.
A/N: Hey! Sorry for the delay in posting. I messed around with this chapter a few times before I was sufficiently pleased with it. Please read and review! The reviews have been very helpful :)
Thanks guys 3
