Hi!
Thank you so much for your enthusiasm about the first part of the story. The reviews really mean a lot to me.
Here's the second and last part. I hope you will enjoy it.
Thanks to Matt-on-Matt who helped with the grammar.
The next couple of weeks were hell. Caroline couldn't help but incessantly think about the kiss that she had shared with Klaus. As much as she desperately tried to pretend that she did it only to help Elena, deep down she knew it was more than that. Sure, at first, she had agreed to his request in order to help her friend. But what happened next…. It was on her. The way she had responded to his kiss…The way she had clung to his shoulders…The way she had moaned at every stroke of his tongue…
Caroline growled. It was unbearable. The more she tried to push the memory away from her mind, the more it was coming back to her. It couldn't last, she decided. She had to move on. Okay, she had indulged on a little moment with the enemy, but it was for the greater good. Now she had to stop thinking about it. Unfortunately, the thought of the date she still owed Klaus didn't help her to forget. After all the fuss she had made about not being attracted to him, she knew perfectly well that Klaus wouldn't let her forget about the way she had reacted to his kiss. The idea of seeing him again made Caroline cringe with embarrassment.
She was surprised at having not heard from Klaus already, but she supposed it was part of his game. He was smart enough to know that the more time she had to anticipate the date, the more she was going to torture herself by over-thinking it. Caroline sighed, desperately trying to think about anything not related to Klaus. Regrettably, her mind seemed to have a will of its own as it replayed the kiss over and over again.
Caroline jumped out of her skin when her phone rung loudly. With a silent thanks to the person providing her with a distraction, she eagerly answered the call. A very distressed Elena was on the other side of the line, as she filled Caroline in on the last events happening on the island.
"So you mean that we need Klaus' sword to decipher Jeremy's tattoos?" Caroline asked weakly, as she was seeing perfectly where the conversation was going.
"Yes, Care. I am so sorry to ask you to go to him again but we do need the sword otherwise we are doomed. Do you think you can convince Klaus to help us?" Elena asked anxiously.
Caroline closed her eyes. Seriously? She needed to go ask him for help again? Was the universe against her or what?
"I'm going to try, Elena," she answered feebly. "I'll call you back."
Caroline took a moment to gather her thoughts after Elena's call. She could already see the smug look in Klaus' face as she was begging him for help again. With her luck, he was probably going to ask for another kiss in exchange and she wouldn't escape his comments about how much she had like it the previous time. Caroline felt her stomach clench at the thought but she wasn't one to back down. Her friend needed her once more and she was going to do what she could to help. Straightening her shoulders, Caroline decided that there was no need to wait. The sooner it was over, the better. After all, she had to face Klaus eventually, why not today?
By the time Caroline parked her car in front of the mansion and rang the bell of the door, all of her frail confidence had vanished. Even if she looked calm and composed, she was a mess on the inside. When Klaus opened the door, Caroline's heartbeat increased and her hands started to shake. Of course, Klaus being Klaus, he noticed her discomfort right away.
"Caroline, why so nervous? Are you here to ask for another kiss or you couldn't wait for our date?" he asked beamingly.
Caroline rolled her eyes and decided to go straight to the point.
"I need your help. Elena and the others are in trouble on the island and we need the sword to translate Jeremy's tattoos," she explained without stopping. Klaus opened his mouth to say something but Caroline cut him off. "And I know that you are going to ask something in exchange for your help so stop messing around and just tell me what you want so we can get it over with," she added a little shakily at a top speed.
Klaus chuckled. "Come on, love, come inside. I don't discuss business on the threshold."
Caroline reluctantly followed him in the living room, but she stubbornly refused to sit down.
"So, what do you want?" she asked again.
Klaus smiled. "Well, I have to say that I particularly enjoyed the last thing I asked from you in our former deal," he said teasingly.
Caroline swallowed hard. "So, you want another kiss?" she demanded in a low voice, avoiding his gaze.
"No. Today I want something else," Klaus stated calmly. "Today I want the truth."
Caroline frowned. "I don't understand," she whispered.
"I want you to tell me what the kiss made you feel. No lies. No games. No deflection. Only the raw truth."
Caroline tried to lower her head to avoid his burning gaze but Klaus lifted her chin with his hand.
"No," he said firmly. "I want you to look at me, Caroline."
Caroline shrugged. "You know I liked it," she murmured. She was certain that Klaus was going to smirk but she was wrong. He was deadly serious and Caroline understood what he meant when he said he wanted the truth. No more games.
"You are going to need to be a bit more precise, love."
Caroline shifted uncomfortably. She had her back to the wall and she hated it. Klaus was asking for things she was not ready to admit but he was not giving her a choice. He wouldn't let her go without having what he had asked for and he would know if she lied. Caroline understood that she had no other choice but to be honest. It wasn't even about her asking for his help anymore. It was about what was happening between them. It was about what the kiss had awakened in her. It was about Klaus being tired of her denial and about her having no other choice than to admit that the thought of him had haunted her since that kiss.
Caroline exhaled loudly.
"I liked it," she started slowly. "No, I loved it," she corrected immediately. She hesitated but continued. "If you hadn't stopped it, I would have kissed you for hours," she confessed.
Klaus kept looking at her, his eyes boring into hers, like he was trying to read her mind, to make sure that she was telling the truth. They stayed silent for a while, Caroline nervously twisting her fingers. She had thought he would be happy with her admission but Klaus looked disappointed.
He eventually let go of her face and gave her a forced smile. "All right, I'm glad you are willing to admit that you loved it."
He turned his back to Caroline and started walking away.
"So, the sword, then," he muttered.
He made two steps towards the door but Caroline suddenly flashed in front of him.
"No, wait," she asked urgently. "I am not finished. You asked for the whole truth and I have more to say."
Klaus stopped dead in his tracks. Seeing the seriousness of Caroline's expression, he frowned a little but took a step closer to her.
"Ok, I'm listening," he declared.
Caroline mentally braced herself before she dove right in.
"The truth is I can't stop thinking about it. I can't stop thinking about you. This kiss has haunted me since it happened and it's driving me crazy. I have tried to forget everything about it but I can't. As soon as I close my eyes, I can feel your arms around me and your lips against mine and I can't stand it anymore. The truth is I came here today because I need your help but I was hoping with all my might that you would ask for another kiss in exchange. Because I want to kiss you again, Klaus. I can't think about anything else."
Caroline kept quiet with a shaky sigh and she anxiously waited for Klaus' reaction at her admission. The way he smiled at her was heartbreaking.
"And you didn't think that you could come back here and simply ask for another kiss?" he asked softly. "You don't need an excuse to do that, Caroline. I don't know if you noticed, but I am more than willing to kiss you anytime you want."
But Caroline shook her head as her eyes were filling with tears.
"Of course I need an excuse to kiss you, Klaus. Because if I kiss you because I want to, it means that I feel something for you. But if I kiss you because you ask for it in exchange of something…" Caroline's voice trailed off and Klaus stepped back from her with a scoff.
"If you kiss me because I make you, the fault is mine and not yours," he finished her sentence.
The tears now freely rolling down her cheeks, Caroline nodded slowly.
"I see," Klaus said dryly. "You are not ready to admit that you feel something for me, are you? Well, I'm going to tell you something, Caroline. I won't be your dirty little secret. You're going to have to take responsibility for your actions and for your choices. If you want me to kiss you again, it won't be because I would have asked for it. It will be because you want it and because you won't be ashamed of wanting it. If there is another kiss between us, it will happen independently of any favor I can help you with and not because you are looking for an excuse to do it. It is far too easy to come here and to take what you want with the excuse that I have made you do it when you crave it as much as I do."
The hurt and the anger were so obvious in Klaus' voice that Caroline felt her heart clench. Klaus abruptly turned his back on her and left the room. He was back a minute later with the sword which he put on a table.
"Take it and go away," he ordered without sparing her a glance. He then left the room again, making it very clear that her presence was now unwanted.
Caroline couldn't have said for how long she stayed at the exact spot he had left her, unable to move an inch and tears rolling down her cheeks. The hurt she had seen on Klaus' face was haunting her. Why was his painful expression lingering in her mind? Why did she spend two weeks constantly thinking about him? Why did she just admit that she craved his kiss? Why did hurting him actually hurt her?
Without thinking about it, Caroline took the same path Klaus had taken before. Using her senses to focus on the little noises she could hear in the mansion, she followed the sound of his movements to his studio. Klaus was standing in front of a canvas, furiously moving his paintbrush against it and obviously trying to make his anger ebb away.
"I told you to go away," he growled as soon as he heard Caroline enter the room. But Caroline kept walking steadily and bypassed him in order to get in front of him. Klaus stiffened when she placed her hands against his chest and he stepped back.
"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed.
Caroline sighed and took a step forward to place her hands on his chest again.
"You are right, I'm a coward," she admitted. "I shouldn't make up excuses to get what I want. Not only is it unfair to you but it's also really lame."
Klaus relaxed a little but he still seemed dubious of her intentions. "What do you want, Caroline?" he asked quietly.
Caroline lifted her face to look at him straight in the eyes. "I want a kiss," she declared calmly. "And I don't want a kiss because of the sword or because I need help or anything like that. I just want a kiss because I want it, period."
Caroline paused and started playing with the buttons of Klaus' shirt. "I am not ready to talk to my friends about this, Klaus," she admitted softly. "They mean the world to me and I don't want to lose them. But I am ready to admit that I feel something for you and that I want to see where it leads us. Will that be enough for you right now?" she asked a little nervously.
Klaus closed his eyes. What Caroline was offering was far from ideal. He wanted so much more than this. But truth be told, he would have never thought that she would be ready to admit feeling something for him. It was a big step for her and he knew it. It was now up to him to make her change her mind and convince her to be with him openly. And honestly, he kind of liked the challenge.
Opening his eyes, Klaus smiled at Caroline who was anxiously waiting for an answer.
"Yes, love. It will be enough for now."
A sigh of relief escaped Caroline's lips and Klaus' smile widened.
"Now, you were talking about a kiss, weren't you?"
Thanks for reading. I know I skipped a few things from the canon (Klaus being trapped at the Gilbert's house, Kol's death…) but it didn't serve my plot so I hope it wasn't disturbing. And I hope you are not disappointed with Caroline. I felt it was too soon for her to give in completely so I settled for a half victory for Klaus! Please let me know what you think anyway :-)
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