A/N: My apologies for the amount of time it's taken to get a new chapter up. I had a family emergency I've been tending to since Saturday. Anyway… Thank you guys so much for the reviews again (especially to the people I can't message and thank)! I'm really glad you liked the last chapter—I wasn't so sure what you'd think! (Since I can't message you guys, I just have a few short responses) Britt: Sometimes I think you read my mind. Great ideas, and thank you! Boleyn: You completely understand the effect I wanted Klaus to have on AJ, but I think there is something to be said about the effect she has on him. Very nice! About Elijah… well I simply can't say. You'll have to find out. (-:

Sixteen

Waves broke on the sand outside, slowly reeling AJ from sleep. Klaus's arm was still wrapped around her, only now her head rested on his warm chest. Though she was awake, she kept her eyes closed and curled up closer to him, sighing quietly. His hand moved to brush her dark hair from her eyes and smoothed over the contours of her face; her eyebrows, her cheekbones, her nose, her lips, her chin. She smiled, and he traced that smile.

When she blinked up at him, she met blue eyes that were as weary as her own. But a good kind of weary, she thought. A very good kind of weary. Reflecting back to last night, she couldn't suppress another smile. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him.

"Good morning," she mumbled with that smile into his chest.

His hands ghosted down her bare back in a pattern. "Good morning, love."

They were a tangle of sheets and blankets. Her muscles felt sore, like she'd run ten miles without stopping. It was a blissful soreness. She felt as if she were drifting on a cloud without a care in the world; something completely new to her. Running her fingers over the hard muscles in his chest, she sighed again. Why hadn't she given in to her emotions sooner? He made her feel the best she'd ever felt—and it wasn't just the sex. No, it was him. Being here in his arms, close to him. All was peaceful

All was peaceful, except him. She could feel how tense he was. Glancing back up, she found his eyes on the ceiling, his lips pressed together until they were white. She turned on her stomach and propped up on her elbows. If he registered her movement, he didn't show it. He continued to stroke her back absently. Reaching out, she brushed the backs of her fingers against his cheek. He only blinked.

"Klaus," she said quietly. "What's wrong?" A swell of anxiety immediately formed in her stomach. "Last night… did you not… Well, did you not like it?"

He lightly caught the wrist belonging to the hand caressing his face and held it, not looking at her still. It made her feel worse. She bit her lip, growing unusually embarrassed. "Klaus, if you didn't—you should have just said so. I mean, it's not like—"

"Darling," he said finally, gently rubbing his thumb over her wrist where the blue-green vein was visible. "Do you really have to question that?"

She frowned at him. "You should have just said so, then."

His blue eyes finally found hers, rapt and surprised. "You misunderstand. I did like it." He sat up against the head frame and pulled her up close to him, breathing in the scent of her hair. He closed his eyes and focused on her warm body. "More than I could tell you, certainly."

AJ peered up at him with confusion. "Then what's wrong?"

"You could say," he began with a small, sad smile, so uncharacteristic of Klaus, "I'm wondering when you'll realize it was a mistake."

"A mistake?"

"Yes," he said matter-of-factly, but with a twinge of disappointment. "A mistake. Don't say you don't honestly think so."

Staring at him with parted lips, she shook her head. "Do you think so?"

"No," he laughed mirthlessly. She could feel it vibrate through his chest. "But I suppose that's why it is one."

"You're wrong."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Am I?"

"I don't think it was a mistake," she said earnestly. "I think… it was by far the best choice I've made in a very long time."

He paused. "Why would you say that?"

"Because it's the truth. That's how I feel about it. Really, Klaus, don't ruin the morning. I haven't felt this… right for years."

He stroked her hair. "Sometimes I don't understand you."

"Sometimes I think you understand me better than anyone else," she whispered. He didn't see her unease.

"That being said, there's something I'd like to tell you."

She looked back up at him, wary. "And that is?"

He smiled crookedly. "Your hair is a mess." He ruffled her bangs as she swatted at him with a laugh.

"I wouldn't say yours is much better," she countered with a smile. "And here I always thought vampires were the essence of flawlessness."

He ran his thumb over her lip pensively. "Nothing is without flaw."

She searched his eyes for meaning, but found none. "Something is still wrong," she noted quietly.

He sighed. "I only wonder that when you were with my brother—"

She stopped him. "I was never with Elijah. Not like that."

"Then…" He froze, his eyes locked on hers. They were questioning. "Might I ask who you were with? Because I must say, I can tell a virgin apart from someone experienced…" He trailed off again, knowing to say no more.

AJ looked away, pinching her arm as hard as she could under the cover of the sheets and focused on the small amount of pain as a distraction from horror-filled thoughts. "It's not something I want to discuss."

He immediately clenched his hands, his eyes glinting with anger. "I swear, if Lucas wasn't already dead, I would kill him again. I would turn him into a vampire and torture him for an eternity. How did I miss that? How did I not come to know that part of your relationship with him? You never said he laid a hand on you like that. Not once. You should have and I would have dealt with it as it should have been dealt with."

"How do you do that?" she asked quietly, keeping her eyes averted from his seething features. "How do you understand things when no one else would get it? I didn't even have to hint at anything, and yet you know."

"When you think of him, sadness floods your eyes. Only a fool wouldn't notice."

"That's not true."

"It is," he said with a sharper tone than he meant. "All your friends are fools. They do not see you the way you are. They see the vizard, the mask."

She sat up a little and shifted to rest her forehead against his, breathing out slowly. "That's all they're meant to see. I'd be afraid if they saw anything else."

With his eyes on hers, he ran his hands down her body and watched her shiver. "What is it you'd be afraid of?"

She only smiled and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips before pulling back. "I'm going to take a shower."

Though his question went unanswered, he smiled wickedly. "You know, I was just thinking the same thing."

Exhilaratingly warm water poured from the shower head, making AJ close her eyes in elation as it eased her exhausted muscles. It was merely the tiniest fraction of the way she'd felt last night, but it was still her relaxation. She knew she only had a quick minute before Klaus would expectedly join her. He'd had to make a call to Rebekah first.

She kept her head under the flow of water, holding her breath as it enveloped her entirely. The bathroom was surprising large for the diminutive size of the house, but so was the master (and only) bedroom. Amused, she wondered if the previous occupants had been lovers. The house already proved to be a remarkable place for that.

She smoothed down her wet hair as she breathed in again. It was then that arms wrapped around her and kisses trailed over her shoulder blades. A small gasp escaped her lips as the entirety of the previous night refilled her senses.

Through her growing shallow breathing, which the steam in the shower only exuberated, she spoke. "How is Rebekah? Is she okay?"

Klaus faltered a moment before continuing his attack on her body. His hot skin felt even more sensuous wet. "She didn't answer. I think she's mad at me."

"We shouldn't have left her behind. Big brothers don't do that."

"We shouldn't be talking."

His hands made their way down her body, resting on her hips before grazing skin until reaching the apex of her thighs. AJ, facing away from him, rested her hands on the porcelain of the shower and moaned as she tried to remain standing. She shook her head.

"Klaus—after last night—I don't think…"

"Relax," he purred in her ear. "I'm going to let you think if it was a mistake or not. But in the meantime… I wanted to explore your imagination."

She couldn't stop her smile. "That really doesn't seem to give me much time to think, now does it?"

"No?" His tone was devious. "Well, I suppose I didn't think this through, then. How terribly inconsiderate of me. But it seems simply I can't help myself."

AJ turned herself around, facing him. His hair was dark and dripping. Drops of water streamed down from his forehead, his neck, his body. It made his eyes even bluer, more rapt.

In this moment, watching the way he looked at her with such intensity, what had really occurred between them dawned on her: Klaus had broken through her biggest fear about intimacy and she had allowed him to without giving it a second thought. There had been no fear last night—there had never been any true fear with Klaus. She didn't want to think about how it'd been the same with Elijah because this seemed different. This seemed… like it fit. Like she fit in Klaus's arms as if she were meant to be there. She was stunned by this; since when did she think like a romance movie?

But it was true.

Klaus caressed her face and tilted his head down to catch her eyes once more as they refocused on him. "What is it?"

She smiled. "Nothing. You should just know that I have a very big imagination." His lips tugged up sinfully. Before he could lean down and capture her lips, she stepped back, her back up against the cold wall of the shower. "And right now, I'm imagining some wonderful restaurant in town so that we can get some breakfast."

He pursed his lips. "I seem to have a different kind of hunger this morning."

"I know you do," she laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck again. "Which is why I'm hoping you'll still want more later."

He stepped forward and his teeth nibbled at her ear. "Oh, I don't know. Now seems like a better time than any. Why wait until later?"

"Because," she breathed as she tried to restrain herself from allowing him to talk her into it, "later will be much better. I promise."

"I'm going to hold you to that." He still hadn't taken his hands off of her.

"I was hoping you would."

"You can't glare at every man who looks at me," AJ said reasonably as she and Klaus walked down a sidewalk in the midst of the chilly waterside town. He kept a firm arm around her to fend off her shivers since she'd insisted on not needing a jacket. She glanced up at him, now, amused to find that his eyes were boring into a young man's, whom AJ admitted to herself was extremely attractive. "It's my magnitude. People simple feel the need to stop and stare."

Klaus gave her a dark look. "Perhaps you don't actually see the way they're looking at you. Have you ever? It's as if you're their toy to make of as they like."

AJ couldn't stifle a laugh. "And this bothers you? Since when did anything bother you? Don't tell me your going soft, now."

He leaned down so that his mouth was at her ear, his warm breath sending longing shivers through her entire body. "Oh, I'd say just the opposite, love. You must realize that you are mine now. As I said, I will not let you go."

AJ stopped, and since his arm was wrapped around her, he stopped with her. She stared up at him, biting her bottom lip. A certain possessiveness was in his eyes, she realized, not just downright loathing for those who'd try to furtively watch her as they walked along the street. Klaus was possessive over her. Very possessive. Oddly, it made her feel the slightest bit giddy.

Leaning up on her toes, she placed a kiss on his cheek. "I don't want to go. I want you."

"I imagine you really haven't thought that through yet, then," he said almost teasingly. "Most would run away if given the chance. They wouldn't choose to stay."

"Most is a term rarely ever used when referring to me. I'm sure you know that by now."

There was a pause as he brushed his fingers over her cheek. Then his voice came out lower, almost gruffer. "Yes, I do know. But it'd be wise for you to take time to think. I'll… not hold you hostage."

She nearly grinned. "You say that now."

"Very true. I may yet change my mind."

AJ huffed, rolling her eyes. "I know you're trying to see if I've changed mine," she said as she took his hand in hers and began down the street once more. "Once I make up my mind, Klaus, I usually remain that way. What are you so worried about?"

An abstruse look crossed his features. It was quickly gone. "The mind is fickle thing," he said simply, with a resolute tone.

That conversation was ended, for now, AJ thought. She frowned down at a spider-web crack in the sidewalk she stepped over before squeezing his hand. How long had it been since she felt this… renewed? This alive and full of vitality? Years. She couldn't even remember a time when she'd truly been happy. Was it a little foolish of her, given that Klaus had probably once considered murdering her months ago, before the sacrifice?

She didn't care for those thoughts. Glancing down at his hand that engulfed hers, she found she didn't care. Klaus made her feel real again. He made her feel whole. No one had ever made her feel that way. Not even Elijah.

An outward cringe couldn't be precluded from etching her features.

"What is it?" Klaus was quick to notice.

She shrugged. "It's nothing."

"You act even more relaxed when you're lying than when you aren't," he pointed out. "I'm no fool."

Pressing her lips together, she looked towards a shop window. "I didn't say you were."

A moment later, she forced, however gently, into facing him. He backed her up slowly until she could feel the cold window of the shop behind her, and placed his hands on her hips, pinning her to the surface.

"You're not very forthcoming," he said in that gruff tone that made her insides melt. She remained as impassive as possible. "So I'd like to find a means to entice something out of you."

She gave him a small, impish smile. "Here? Of all places? It's the middle of the afternoon. There's still a lot of people out."

"Worried about having an audience? I never really thought you were shy."

There was a defiant glint in her eye. "More like I find it's too cold out."

"You're already relying on my body heat as it is…" he leaned down and pressed a kiss the place just below her jaw. She had to fight the urge to simply give in, an emotion he so often aroused in her. "Might as well make it more… accommodating."

"Accommodating for who?" She tried to breathe steadily. "You?"

"The both of us. I find I'm rather curious about your swift change in mood. Something's bothering you and you're not going to share. But what if I did this?" His mouth trailed from her jaw, down her neck, to her collarbone. It left an icy feeling in its wake, and she knew this was the bait. He dipped even lower, threatening to breach the hem of her low-cut shirt. Already he was sucking on the sensitive skin just above her breast.

AJ steeled herself. "Are you always used to winning?"

"I'm very used to fighting for what I want," he answered slowly, purposely drawing out the words. "I feel I must warn you, I fight plenty dirty though."

She couldn't help but smile, but quickly masked it. "And right now? What is it that you want?"

"An answer to my question."

"Which was?" Oh, he knew exactly where her sensitive spots were. So swiftly had he become an expert on her body. She clenched her fists as his warm hands moved under her shirt. The often passerby gave them unmasked looks of near-disturbance. Maybe Astoria, Oregon was really conservative.

"What's bothering you?" he asked hotly against her skin.

"At the moment," she sounded only a little out of breath and felt equally victorious for the fact, "you."

He gave a dark chuckle at this, which only served to tickle her skin with the stubble on his jaw. Biting back a small moan, she shook her head. "Maybe you've been right all along. Maybe last night was a mistake, if you're going to try to ravish me any where you like."

He paused for only a second, his warm breath tickling the skin below the neckline of her shirt. "Is that admittance?"

"It's a fact," she stated. "Isn't it?"

She could feel him smile. Pinching her eyes shut, she tried to ignore the throbbing between her thighs, the goosebumps that rose on her skin, the heat coming off of him. It made her head swirl with indiscernible emotions.

"I'll tell you a fact. You want this, right now. Don't you?"

AJ groaned. "At least I'm not trying to strip you every second I see the chance to. Do you have any self control?"

"In regards to you, it seems not."

She had a retort on her lips, but then Klaus was there instead. He kissed her madly, threading his fingers into her hair, pulling her body against his. It was this new feeling he couldn't let go, the feeling of being so connected to this girl. He could be content with just kissing her, with having her kiss him in return, because she wanted him too. He had not compelled her, and yet she wanted him. She had no obligations to him, and yet she wanted to stay. It was wrong, he knew, but there was something utterly right about it that forced any feeling of retreat to the back of his mind. She was his now. She would be his forever, and forever would no longer be so lonely.

Unable to fight him, AJ kissed him back. She could feel the stares of those sharing the sidewalk with them on her, but she didn't care. Maybe she could get used to this and the way it precluded her from worrying or thinking of anything else. She could get used to being so absorbed in Klaus, the way his nimble fingers moved over her body, the way he held her. Maybe. But it seemed now, as he went rigid against her, he was not absorbed in her.

She pulled back and looked up at him. He still held her pinned to his body, but his eyes were on the door of a pub just a few shops down. It was obvious he was listening to something by the way his glare went icy. "Klaus—"

"Hush," he said quickly. He released her without a glance. A small smile spread over his lips in the next minute; it was a smile that reminded her of death. Finally, his eyes returned to her. "It seems we may not be staying in Astoria for as long as I originally planned."

She wasn't sure if her hopes sank at this or not. What exactly had she hoped would happen? "Why not?"

"Because I've just found the head of another pack of wolves," he glanced once more at the pub door. "And I think I'd like to go make friends."

AJ pressed her lips together as images of Ray came back to her; ugly, bloody, smelling of death and decaying, begging and pleading for the end of it, his skin sickly white and his eyes dull and lifeless. Ray had been the pack leader for the wolves meeting in Tennessee. Now he was dead.

"I can't let you do that," she said in a whisper. "I can't let you slaughter more people."

"I won't. You see, my love," he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "I've figured out what I've done wrong. They shall live. They will be revitalized."

She knew he meant it was Elena's blood. Vaguely, she remembered him explaining it to her as they had made their way to this town. Why it hadn't bothered her then, she wasn't sure. Why it didn't bother her now, she didn't know. She only watched as Klaus pressed a kiss to her forehead before heading to the door of the pub and pushing inside.

Something compelled her to turn to the store front beside her. In its window lined front wall, she could see her reflection. She looked different than usual. Happier, maybe. Definitely happier. There was a light in her eyes that hadn't been there in months—no, years. But then she saw it. It was her eyes. Her eyes were the difference. She could see the darkness glint within them that she'd long ago thought she'd been rid of. But it was back. It was back, and it was thriving. This was what she had been afraid of.

Hurriedly, she pushed her way into the pub after Klaus. Then she stopped. Standing there in the doorway, she wondered how he'd come to accept this news. Would he be as worried as she was, as bent on making the darkness go away? Or would he embrace it as if he'd been waiting all along for her to give in to it?

Maybe she, too, had been waiting for such an opportunity.

Hrm, so what do you think right now? I cannot wait to write the next few chapters because I know you guys will be surprised about some things (I really hope so), but was this chapter utterly terrible? Or did you gather something from it? Would more people like it if there was more AJ/Klaus time…? Let me know! (: