A/N: You guys amaze me. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. Here is part three! *Warning* there is smut in this chapter.
After this part, my head is a blank slate. I have nothing more written. In fact, I'm kind of struggling with a bit of writer's block in terms of how to approach the next chapter. I feel there needs to be a sort of chapter that bridges from Klaus's birthday to prom. I think leaping from one event to the next would be too much. I'm not just sure how to write the next chapter. Please feel free to send me your thoughts and ideas. Prom is going to be the climatic point of this story, so if there's anything you would like to see before then, please let me know.
I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. As usual, let me know what you think!
"Elena...Damon," she gasped, trying to form some sort of reaction as Klaus let go of her hand.
She could feel her cheeks flush.
It was silly, really. She and Klaus were no longer hiding the nature of their relationship, so why should she still feel embarrassed or ashamed in front of Elena for it?
She shouldn't, and with that decided, she straightened her back and flashed them a critical stare.
If Klaus wasn't already upset with Damon and Elena, she could tell that he was even angrier now that they had impeded their escape upstairs.
Damon held up his hands innocently.
"By all means, carry on," Damon said, waving a hand towards the stairs. "I wouldn't want to be a cock-block."
"I don't recall inviting you," Klaus said bitterly.
Damon snorted jovially.
"I don't recall you having this many friends," Damon mused as he glanced around the room.
Her eyes widened with Damon's bold words and she noticed Klaus's jaw immediately clench. She also noticed Elena give Damon a bit of a death stare.
"I would watch what you say to me," Klaus warned. "I could have you ripped apart in an instant," he threatened.
Damon sneered as Elena grabbed his arm.
"Damon, let's just go," she said. "We can do this another time," she said.
He shook his head and stepped out of Elena's grasp.
"Maybe we got off on the wrong foot. First, we didn't know you were throwing a party until we got here. Second, we just came to talk to you," Damon explained.
Klaus eyed Damon bemusedly.
"Oh really? What about?" he wondered.
Damon shrugged sarcastically.
"Oh you know, just casual topics; the cure, the sire bond," Damon revealed, glancing at Elena.
Klaus's eyes seemed to light up as she wondered confusingly about what Damon meant by the 'sire bond.' Why was that relevant?
"You have my interest. So, let's talk," Klaus said. "Follow me," he instructed, heading for the parlour.
While he never explicitly said she could or couldn't come along, she disregarded the thought and followed behind Damon and Elena. She had a right to know what was going on.
The parlour had been closed off to all the anonymous party guests so it was vacant when they arrived.
As the last person to enter, she took it upon herself to close the doors behind her.
"Care for a drink?" Klaus asked Damon and Elena, as he motioned towards the cabinet.
Both Damon and Elena shook their heads before Klaus glanced in her direction for her answer. She held up her glass for him to see.
She wandered around the perimeter of the room, behind Damon and Elena, to stand beside Klaus.
"What are you even doing here?" she asked them before Klaus could say anything. "You wanted nothing to do with me last night," she said, staring Elena down.
Her comments were filled with animosity and venom. She was annoyed. Not only did Elena have the nerve to show up here after their horrible confrontation last night, but in the middle of Klaus's birthday party. If the night was ruined because of this conversation, that would be the final straw. This night was supposed to be light-hearted fun.
Admittedly though, she felt better about this confrontation. Elena and Damon had come to them. It meant that her conversation had gotten to them; that the cure had gotten to them. And even though she was indifferent about the prospect of helping Elena now, it felt nice to have the upper hand for once.
Damon winced and shrugged.
"Elena was a little moody last night," Damon reasoned. "Right, Elena?" he urged, looking over to Elena. "She's thinking more clearly now."
She crossed her arms unsatisfied with Damon's explanation.
"So why are you here?" Klaus said, putting the discussion back on topic.
"Stefan told me about the sire bond hypothesis, and I think you're right," Damon said to Klaus.
"Sire bond?" she asked, looking between them and Klaus for an answer.
Klaus sighed amusedly.
"Stefan and I were theorizing yesterday evening about why Elena was suddenly so agreeable to Damon. I suggested that perhaps Elena is sired to Damon. It was his blood that she transitioned with after all," Klaus informed her. "I didn't mention it last night because you had enough drama to deal with. Besides, it was an off-hand comment anyways. I didn't think it could really happen. It's extremely rare," he explained.
"So Elena is sired to you?" she asked Damon.
"What proof do you have?" Klaus interjected.
Elena shifted on her feet uncomfortably, clearly dismayed by the prospect of the sire bond.
"I can drink from blood bags. Earlier Damon asked me to drink from a blood bag, so I did. It didn't make me sick," Elena revealed.
She thought back to last night when Elena had refused to speak with her and Damon convinced her to change her mind.
"Last night when I went to the boarding house to talk to Elena, she didn't want to see me at first. After Damon suggested it might be a good idea, Elena agreed to," she offered.
Both Damon and Elena winced while Klaus considered the evidence with an intrigued expression.
"Well isn't this quite the predicament," Klaus observed as he began to pace beside her. "You've finally got a chance with Elena, and now you don't know if her feelings are genuine or not."
"What does this have to do with us?" she asked, perturbed that Damon and Elena's problems were still haunting her even though she had made a point of absolving herself of them.
"The cure, sweetheart," Klaus started. "That is the only known way to break the sire bond," he informed her.
She sucked in a breath as she connected the dots. Damon and Elena wanted the cure to destroy the sire bond, and they needed Klaus's help to do that.
While it had been her original intent to help Klaus with the cure so that she could return Elena to her and preferred human state, after her disagreement with Elena last night, she was simply keen on destroying the cure and being done with it, regardless if Klaus was still set upon his hybrids.
"Come on, do you even have to think twice about this?" Damon lamented to Klaus. "It's a win-win for us all. We break the sire bond and you have a human doppelganger," he said.
Klaus eyed them curiously.
"A willing human doppelganger?" he asked, looking at Elena.
Elena looked at him dismissively.
"Within reason," Elena stated, looking to her for support, knowing Klaus wouldn't cross her. "I will donate my blood, but you will let me live my life how I see fit."
Klaus mulled over the proposal before shrugging almost unsatisfied.
"I've grown accustomed to a life without anymore hybrids," Klaus admitted. "Tracking it down is almost an inconvenient danger," he said nonchalantly as she tried to decipher where he was going with this. "I would be doing you both a huge favour..." he trailed off as he made eye contact with her.
Damon scowled.
"Even if you don't want Elena's blood we all know you could never rest easy while there's a cure out there somewhere that could be used against you," Damon countered. "You'll be looking for it. So why not help us and get something you've been wanting for a while?"
"I surmise that destroying the cure on my own is a lot less complicated than dragging you unpredictable variables into the mix. I really have no reason to trust you," Klaus pushed.
Damon rolled his eyes and reached into his jacket.
"I thought you might be a little stubborn, so...maybe this will sweeten the deal," Damon said as he brought out the white oak stake.
She gasped and Klaus's face darkened.
"It turns out your body wasn't the only thing that didn't go up in flames when evil Alaric staked you," Damon mused as he juggled the stake in his hands.
Klaus's arm shielded her as he stepped towards Damon.
"Are you threatening me?" Klaus growled. "Have you forgotten that if you kill me, you'll kill yourself."
Damon shook his head as he stared over at her. Klaus noticed Damon's shift in gaze immediately.
"And if you lay a hand on her," Klaus started, "I'll end the sire bond by killing you both."
She stared anxiously between Damon and Klaus as Elena did the same.
"I'm not stupid," Damon scoffed. "Nevertheless, I know you'd rather have the stake in your possession than mine. So, agree to help us with the cure, and I'll hand over the stake," he said, clearing this throat suggestively as he nudged Elena.
"And, I'll try to be more understanding about your relationship with Klaus," Elena stammered, looking at her.
Klaus looked back at her to gauge her reaction.
"I don't want a bribed friendship," she said as she crossed her arms and stared at Elena.
"Which is why I said try," Elena retorted.
The part of her that was angry with Elena was dead set against the proposal. She had been alienated enough by Elena that she no longer felt like helping her. But the sad part of her, the one that was mourning the loss of Elena's friendship wanted this opportunity. The rational part of her said that they needed that white oak stake.
"What do you want, love?" Klaus asked.
She shrugged dismissively.
"What I want is for my former best friend to get off her high horse," she declared assertively. "I want her to stop being so hypocritical. I want her to stop expecting me to ignore my feelings for you to appease her," she stated, throwing Elena's words back in her face.
Klaus raised his eyebrows and shot Damon and Elena an amused glare, seemingly supportive of her words.
Elena looked ready to protest, but Damon intercepted.
"Do we have a deal, or not?" Damon asked.
Klaus arched and eyebrow and looked in her direction.
"Do we have a deal?" he asked her.
His question confused her for a moment, before she realized that he was ceding the final decision to her. Klaus seemed to be on board with the idea of helping Elena and Damon, but it was up to her to decide whether they moved forward.
Klaus would search for the cure to destroy it anyways now that he knew a hunter existed that was a part of the Five; why not kill two birds with one stone?
She swallowed anxiously and looked back and forth between Damon and Elena, and Klaus, before finally nodding.
Both Damon and Elena seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Fine," she said flatly. "But I'm not doing this for you, Elena," she said harshly.
Elena nodded meekly, almost astonished by her cold words. It was childish of her to say, she knew that, but she wanted Elena to feel how it felt to be treated as dismissively as she had treated her.
Klaus looked almost surprised as Elena and Damon.
With her approval, he shrugged.
"It looks like we have ourselves a deal," Klaus concluded.
Damon handed Klaus the white oak stake.
"We need the hunter to find the cure. We do it on my terms," Klaus stated plainly.
A knock at the parlour doors startled all of them.
"Klaus, if you're in there with Caroline, I really don't want to know what you're doing, but your siblings want to do the cake soon, so you better get out here," Stefan stammered a little drunkenly from the other side of the door.
Damon and Elena looked alarmed.
Klaus disregarded them and opened the doors, clearly hoping for an awkward confrontation.
"Stefan, we were just finishing up an interesting conversation," Klaus mused as he glanced back at Damon and Elena.
Stefan searched their expressions for an explanation.
"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked them.
"Well brother, it turns out your hypothesis about the sire bond was right," Damon admitted.
Stefan shrugged as he stepped a little further into the room.
"And what does that have to do with Klaus?" Stefan wondered, first staring at Damon and Elena, and then back at Klaus.
"Long story short, I recently discovered that the hunter we've been after is a part of a group of vampire hunters skilled with magic – called the Five – I slaughtered the original group centuries ago. Anyways, this hunter is a part of a series of things that will lead us to a cure," Klaus explained, "for vampirism."
Stefan seemed overwhelmed by the news of a cure, much like she had when Klaus first told her.
"Restoring Elena to her human state is the only known way to break the sire bond. Hence, the lovely party crashers," Klaus said waving his hand in the direction of Damon and Elena.
"You want to know if your feelings for Damon are real," Stefan concluded, focusing squarely on Elena.
Elena nodded.
"So needless to say, we made a deal. I will obtain the cure for Elena, and in exchange Damon has offered up the white oak stake, while Elena has agreed to donate her blood to me and while trying to be a little more receptive to Caroline," Klaus informed Stefan. "Damon and Elena can explain any missed details, but I believe I have a cake to receive," he added, nodding his head towards the door at her, requesting her to come with him.
She followed Klaus out of the room to leave the Salvatores and Elena alone to discuss things further.
After discarding the white oak stake in Klaus's study, she stopped him just shy of the foyer of people.
"Thank you," she said to him, hoping nothing more needed to be said.
He nodded, understanding what she was referring to.
In the foyer they found a group of people waiting around anticipatorily as if they were expecting them.
She spotted Rebekah waving her hand for them by the far stairwell where Kol and Elijah were also standing.
"We were almost going to do the cake without you, mate," Kol complained as they approached.
Before Klaus could respond with some sort of sarcastic remark, the crowd of guests and Klaus's siblings began a rendition of 'Happy Birthday.'
Rebekah pulled Klaus to the foot of the stairs as they continued singing and she found a spot beside an intrigued Bonnie and Matt.
She rolled her eyes when she noticed Klaus's tiered birthday cake being wheeled out on a cart by two 'Vegas showgirls' who looked exactly like the women Kol had brought home the other night from his trip.
They were dressed in intricately designed silver and gold bra and underwear combinations with matching feathers atop their heads.
All the guys – even Elijah – took their time gawking. Not only were these scantily clad women, but they were scantily clad human women with fresh blood rushing through their veins. She scoffed at how pathetic they looked before refusing to waste her time on such a ridiculous emotion.
She trusted Klaus, but she couldn't resist shooting a sour glare in Kol's direction.
Kol looked quite pleased with himself as they finished singing and the girls urged Klaus to blow out his candles.
The cake itself was a sight to behold, consisting of red and black fondant with various Vegas themed objects decorating it; casino chips, dice, cards, slot images, etc. Atop the cake were ten sparking candles
"Ten candles, one for every century," Rebekah explained to Klaus.
"The girls are for good luck!" Kol joked.
Both she and Rebekah scowled, and Rebekah nudged the girls out of the way.
"Make a wish," she urged him as she stood on the opposite side of the cart.
He smirked at her with a nod before leaning in and extinguishing each flame with a blow of air from his lips.
Everyone clapped and she smiled genuinely, thrilled to see Klaus apparently happy and enjoying himself again. It comforted her to see him at ease like this. The night had not been ruined after all.
As Kol and Klaus fought over the knife to cut the cake with, she couldn't help but notice Damon and Elena making their exit. She exchanged a brief look with Elena. Elena managed an apparent apologetic smile before Damon opened a door for her and led her out. As expected, Stefan emerged by the edge of the foyer soon after them. She wondered passively what words were exchanged between the three, but decided it was probably better to leave it be unless Stefan wanted to talk about it.
After Klaus and Kol were done discreetly tormenting each other with the knife, Rebekah took it upon herself to compel Kol's lady friends to cut the cake.
She was pleased with that outcome.
With the cake cut, Klaus handed her a piece before she suggested that he go and talk to Stefan. He reluctantly agreed as Elijah offered to keep her company.
She sat on the stairwell with Elijah as they watched the awkward foursome that was Kol, Rebekah, Bonnie, and Matt interacting with one another.
"Well they seem to have taken a liking to one another," Elijah observed.
"Who?" she asked.
"I guess all of them," he chuckled as she savoured her first sweet bite of cake.
She laughed, shaking her head.
"They just better be careful with my friends – Kol especially," she warned nobody in particular.
Elijah nodded.
"Kol knows better than to mess with a witch, or with you for that matter at this point," Elijah assured her.
She smiled.
"So I think tonight was a success," she pointed out. "Klaus seems like he's enjoying himself."
"I think so too," Elijah agreed.
They ate quietly for a few moments as she watched Klaus and Stefan talk in the far corner of the room. She stopped herself from eavesdropping. She probably couldn't even hear what they were saying if she tried. There were too many interfering noises.
"So have you given any more thought to what we talked about this morning?" Elijah asked, clearly referring to her desire to leave Mystic Falls.
"We're not leaving until after prom, and even then it's only going to be a short trip to New York; I bought plane tickets for Klaus's birthday," she explained.
Elijah finished chewing a bite of his cake pensively as she waited for him to respond.
"Your return wouldn't have anything to do with Damon and Elena's visit tonight, would it?" he wondered.
She didn't know how much information Klaus wanted shared with his other siblings, but she trusted Elijah.
"If the hunter and the cure haven't been dealt with by prom, we'd have to return. Klaus wouldn't want to leave a huge string like that untied, and I don't entirely blame him. Damon and Elena are now a part of that," she said, taking some more of her cake.
"What do you mean?" Elijah asked.
"Elena is sired to Damon," she replied, knowing Elijah was intuitive enough to draw the right conclusions.
"They want the cure to break the sire bond," he stated.
She nodded.
"I let the possibility of a cure slip to Elena last night. That was before they or I knew about the sire bond," she explained.
"What did they offer in return?" Elijah asked, knowing Klaus would never go after the cure for someone else unless there was something in it for himself.
"Elena agreed to donate her blood to Klaus, she also agreed to try and be more understanding of my relationship with Klaus. Damon also gave up the white oak stake," she told him.
Elijah seemed surprised.
"The white oak stake that Alaric used on Niklaus?" he asked.
"That would be the one. Like Klaus's body, it wasn't destroyed. Damon took it," she said.
"How do you feel about it; the deal?" Elijah inquired.
She shrugged.
"I'm the one who made it. Klaus gave me the final say," she informed him.
Elijah's eyes went wide and she laughed.
"That surprises you?" she mused.
"Yes, it does, a little. No offense," he admitted.
She shook her head.
"None taken," she replied. "It surprised me too," she revealed.
"What about the hybrids?" Elijah mentioned, obviously curious about her opinion.
She sighed with a shrug of her shoulders.
"I know why Klaus wants them...for protection; for my protection – especially with more hunters out there. Klaus said he would compromise. I'm sure there's a consensual way to make hybrids," she reasoned.
Elijah nodded.
"I'm sure many wolves would give anything to be free from the full moon, but the sire bond is another matter entirely," Elijah reminded her.
"Klaus could release them," she pointed out.
"Maybe so," Elijah agreed.
"We'll figure it out," she concluded.
"Figure what out?" Klaus asked as he approached with Stefan.
She shrugged as she stood up from the stairwell with Elijah.
"I was talking to Elijah about the hunter, the cure, and your hybrids," she said honestly.
There was no point in lying. Besides, Elijah seemed to be the sibling Klaus confided in most. She was sure he wouldn't mind.
Proving her right, Klaus exchanged a knowing glance with both her and Elijah.
"Stefan's challenged me to another game. He thinks he can beat me again," Klaus said, patting Stefan on the shoulder. "Would you mind?" he asked her, clearly referring back to their earlier attempt to escape upstairs.
Elijah and Stefan seemed bewildered by Klaus's considerate gesture – what some might label as being whipped.
"No," she answered. "It's your birthday, go have fun," she urged him, knowing that it would be just as good for Stefan as Klaus.
"Would you like to join us, Elijah?" Klaus asked.
Following Klaus's polite behaviour, Elijah looked to her.
"It's fine. I'm gonna go grab another drink and check in on the fantastic four," she said laughingly.
Elijah smirked, being the only one to understand who she was referring to.
"I'll find you later," Klaus told her.
She nodded and they parted ways; her to the bar and him, along with Stefan and Elijah, to the card tables.
Sure enough, she found Matt, Kol, Bonnie, and Rebekah gathered around the bar with drinks in hand. All of them – particularly Bonnie and Matt – seemed pretty drunk. She herself had been losing her buzz since Damon and Elena's visit; she had some catching up to do.
"Caroline!" Rebekah shouted at her. "Have a drink with us," she urged.
She laughed with a nod as Rebekah demanded another drink from the bartender. If Rebekah kept up that behaviour she would have to compel the bartender not to cut her off.
Rebekah handed her some sort of blue mixed drink and she tried hard not to think about how strange this was; standing here with the four of them together.
"Where's Nik?" Rebekah asked.
"He's playing cards with Elijah and Stefan," she said.
Rebekah scoffed.
"Card games are so boring," Rebekah complained.
"That's only because you don't know how to play them, sister," Kol mused.
Rebekah rolled her eyes.
"Clearly neither do you, since you were put out of the first game the moment you started," Rebekah countered.
"I really don't like them either," Matt piped up, garnering a pleased smile from Rebekah and a glower from Kol.
"Are you having fun, Bonnie?" she asked, hoping Kol wasn't being too overbearing.
Bonnie nodded; a little smirk playing on her lips as she briefly looked over at Kol.
"She loves my dance moves," Kol interjected.
Smirking inwardly, she wondered if Bonnie had actually danced with him. She thought about stooping to Kol's level and asking him where his Vegas showgirls were, but she decided to let his moment with Bonnie play out. If anyone could handle Kol, it was Bonnie.
"Speaking of dancing, I want to dance again," Rebekah said excitedly.
Matt frowned.
"I'm sorry," he said, "but that's another thing I don't like," he confessed.
Rebekah scowled and looked to her.
"Dance with me again, Caroline?" Rebekah requested.
She agreed and then looked to Bonnie who also appeared interested.
"Do you think you two can play nicely?" Rebekah asked Matt and Kol, staring at Kol in particular.
Rebekah had taken the question right out of her mouth.
The last time Kol and Matt had been alone together, Matt didn't fair too well.
Kol smirked and put an arm around Matt for show.
"What? We're best mates now, aren't we Matt?" Kol laughed.
Matt shrugged with a drunken laugh.
She glared at Kol apprehensively before she felt herself being dragged off to the dance floor once more by Rebekah.
"Do you think they'll be okay?" she asked Rebekah as the three of them began to dance.
Rebekah nodded.
"Kol actually already apologized," Bonnie informed her.
Her eyebrows rose with suspicion and Rebekah confirmed Bonnie's statement.
"They'll be fine," Rebekah concluded. "Look, they're laughing together right now," she added.
She noted what Rebekah pointed out.
"Yeah well they're drunk. Who knows how they would be if they were sober," she thought aloud.
Bonnie agreed.
"So you and Kol, huh?" she teased Bonnie.
After Bonnie was finished playing coy about her obvious attraction to Kol, they danced for what felt like the rest of the night, stopping every now and then to take a break, grab another drink, and check in on Kol and Matt.
Before long, she, Rebekah, and Bonnie were practically the only ones left on the dance floor.
At this point, Rebekah and Bonnie were barely dancing, nearly too intoxicated to stand while she herself could feel her head starting to spin.
"It's four in the morning," Rebekah exclaimed as she finished her drink and let the empty glass shatter on the floor for amusement. "I need another drink," Rebekah announced and Bonnie seconded her desire.
She was about to suggest that the both of them stop drinking, but hesitated, realizing it probably wasn't a good idea to piss off a witch or an original vampire.
"I need some air," she told the girls.
"You're a party pooper," Rebekah goaded.
She shrugged and told them to have a good time before turning towards the hall of people who were preparing to make their exit through the foyer.
Heading in the opposite direction, she went for the back terrace.
The early morning mild spring air was refreshing and her spinning head began to slow as she leaned against the terrace rail.
She gazed out admiringly at the grassy hills and the darkened forest in the distance before starring up at the starry sky and waning gibbous moon.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Klaus said from behind her causing her to jump.
Turning around, she found Klaus standing there with an open bottle of champagne in one hand and a blanket in the other.
She arched eyebrow amusedly.
"I beat Stefan this time," he said as he approached her. "A victory celebration is in order," he declared, holding up the bottle.
"You're drunk," she laughed.
He shrugged.
"So are you," he pointed out.
"Not as much as you," she countered.
He scoffed and took a sip from the bottle before handing it to her.
"Why do you always insist on having the last word?" he mused as she took a drink.
"Becau..."
She stopped herself before she could prove his point. He smirked.
"What's the blanket for?" she asked.
He grabbed her wrist.
"The sun will be up in an hour or so. Come on," he urged, tugging her towards the stairs.
"Wait!" she stammered as they reached the stairs.
He stopped and she slipped off her heels, knowing she would never be able to make it down the stairs or through the grass with them on.
With her heels in one hand and the bottle of champagne in the other she followed him carefully and curiously down the stairs.
She sighed delightfully when they reached the edge of the patio and stepped into the grass. The cool blades felt relaxing on her feet after being in heels the entire night.
They drank and walked for a while, over and down a few hills, stumbling along the way, until they were just on the other side of the barn.
The flattened land here dropped off further in front of them and if it wasn't still so dark, you would be able to see trees and open space for miles.
He stopped began to fumble with the folded blanket. She dropped her shoes to the ground and helped him pull the blanket apart.
Covering a patch of grass with it, she helped herself to a spot, sitting down with the bottle of champagne she now claimed as hers.
Klaus stripped himself of his jacket, which he draped over her shoulders and she smirked inwardly.
"You know...this is almost romantic, right?" she teased as she slipped her arms inside the sleeves of his jacket, loving the way his scent consumed the air around her.
"Almost?" he retorted as he sat down beside her.
"Champagne flutes would have been nice," she joked before taking a swig from the bottle.
He rolled his eyes and grabbed the bottle from her when she was finished.
She sighed and outstretched her legs, propping her torso up by resting on her forearms.
"I couldn't find any. Besides, I wouldn't have been able to carry them anyways," he reasoned.
She laughed.
"You know, just because I kill ruthlessly on occasion doesn't mean I don't know romance," he added.
She shrugged with another laugh.
"I know. It just doesn't seem like your thing," she replied.
"You shouldn't stereotype," he smirked.
She scoffed and reached over to reclaim the bottle of champagne, but he held it out of her reach on purpose, glaring down at her playfully.
"Hey!" she demanded, as she sat up, reaching for it further.
It was still beyond her grasp and she stood up on her knees with a huff to reach over him.
She knew what he was up to the second his hand wrapped itself around her hip and pulled her into his lap.
Now straddling him, he lowered the bottle and handed it to her.
She drank from it readily, feigning annoyance at his playful attempt to get her into his lap.
Truthfully, she enjoyed being this close to him.
"It really isn't my thing; romance," he conceded.
She glared at him, annoyed by how he had just made a big deal out of her stereotyping him.
"...but I make exceptions," Klaus added.
One of her eyebrows arched inquisitively.
"Exceptions for...?"
"You, basically," he shrugged innocently, "because you're my thing," he laughed as she took another drink.
Her cheeks reddened as she cringed at how cheesy he was being.
"Now I think you're just trying to get into my pants," she giggled while watching him take his turn with the bottle.
How is it possible that he could even make drinking straight from a champagne bottle sexy?
He tossed the now empty bottle into the grass and looked down in between them.
"Sweetheart, you're not wearing any pants," he grinned.
She looked down and smirked; her dress was bunched up around her thighs showing off the tops of her stockings and the garter straps attached.
He ran his warm hands over her thighs and then up her arms as he kissed her neck lightly.
"Can I finish opening my present now?" he asked against her skin.
Heat and pressure went straight to her core with his request.
He pulled back to gauge her reaction.
"We're completely out in the open," she protested anxiously as he started peppering kisses above her cleavage.
Her hands instinctively entangled themselves in his hair.
"Says the girl who begged me to touch her in the alley behind the Grill," he teased, returning his hands to her thighs.
"Fully...clothed," she pointed out, trying hard to think rationally, even though her hips were grinding down desperately against his.
He looked up at her.
"Come on, love," he cajoled, "It's just us...and even if someone did happen to stumble all the way out here, it's still too dark," he argued.
He kissed her lips and coaxed them open slowly with his tongue.
"We shouldn't," she hesitated in between his fiery kisses.
"Your body says otherwise," he breathed. "Please let me have you," he urged, kissing her with more intensity.
She mewled into the kiss and as soon as she took it upon herself to deepen it – giving into her desires and giving him tacit approval – in a flash he had her pinned beneath him.
They kissed more frantically than before as they pawed haphazardly at one another.
She savoured the taste of his champagne tongue.
Once her hands found their way to the buttons of his shirt, she tugged at them eagerly, in need of his skin against hers.
With his shirt open, she ran her hands over his chest, leaving one to linger while the other curled around his neck.
She gasped for air when he broke the kiss and descended his lips upon her jaw and neck while his hands outlined the curves of her body.
Indeed, her body was an open book to him, one that he had memorized and could read rather well when he needed to. He always knew what she wanted.
She didn't think it was possible to want someone physically so badly and constantly as she did him. She just needed to get as close to him as she possibly could.
He sat up on his knees and reached underneath her for the zipper to her dress. Pulling it down to the small of her back, she lifted her hips to enable him to side it off.
Instead, he grasped the material and ripped the skirt of her dress in two before tossing the now useless material to the side.
She was about to protest or scold him but he quelled her distress with a kiss.
He had bought the dress, she reasoned. She supposed he could do with it what he wanted.
With the dress gone, he rose once more to drink in the sight of his unwrapped gift.
His eyes traced over the black strapless bra before moving downward to the lacy garter belt and the red and black thong he had requested she wear for him sometime.
"Perhaps you should have wheeled out my birthday cake tonight," he admired as his hands tugged her stockings free from the clutches of her garter straps.
"While that sounds good in theory, I don't think you would have appreciated that in practice," she laughed.
He leaned into her and kissed hungrily up her stomach, snapping her bra from its clasp with one hand.
The night air swept across her breasts and her nipples hardened instantly in response.
Klaus took advantage, taking one into his hot mouth, while he palmed the other with his hand.
She groaned, his stimulation only intensifying the ache between her legs.
Admittedly, the fact that they were outside in the open didn't help matters either. Even though she had been reluctant at first, there was something wanton about it that made her even more receptive to his touch.
He spent his time lavishing attention upon each of her breasts while grinding his lower half shamelessly against her centre. Again, she was an open book to him. He knew that by the time he was done her panties would be drenched and she'd be begging for him to take her.
"You're gonna make me cum like this if you don't stop," she whimpered into the night as her head started to spin again for an entirely new reason.
Of course that only spurred him on further. His tongue swirled deliciously over both her nipples while his covered hard on teased her relentlessly.
Her eyes clenched shut, her breathing went shallow, and her legs clamped around his waist while her fingers dug into his upper arms.
"Klaus, I'm not ly...ing," she groaned loudly in surprise as the impact of her first orgasm hit her at full force.
She tried to stifle her cries as the successive waves of bliss echoed from between her legs. She held him against her tightly as unbearable aftershocks shook through her body.
Never had she had an orgasm like that before.
Still in a daze she lied there looking up at the sky, panting for breath.
She dropped her legs from his hips and he stood up on his knees to pull away her underwear and undo his own pants.
"I told you," she said as he repositioned himself in between her, his cock teasing her dripping slit.
He smiled down at her, his ego evidently stroked by the fact that he could make her climax so easily.
"You're beautiful when you cum," he complimented. "Can I see it again?" he asked as he pushed himself inside of her.
She gasped at his words and delightful intrusion as she nodded eagerly.
While the physical mechanics of sex were simple, the gravity of what they were doing always seemed to hit her in an overwhelming wave of emotion when he would enter her for the first time.
There was nothing overrated about this.
He rested his hips against hers the moment he filled her entirely.
Both of them were breathing raggedly now as his eyes bore down into hers.
He began to move his hips slowly, their eye contact never faltering.
A shy part of her wanted to look away, but she couldn't. She was drawn to his stare.
She wrapped her legs securely around his waist while one of her hands caressed his chest and the other dug into the back of his neck.
He kissed her cravingly as he thrust harder while his free hand moved from her hair, to her breast, and down to the curve of her bottom.
She revelled in the feel of his hands on her body and the overwhelming sensation of him hitting the right spot inside of her over and over again.
He sucked on her lips and she mimicked the action before she moved her lips to his neck.
"I want you to fuck me," he growled breathlessly into her ear, his stubble scratching her cheek deliciously.
Her body burned with his licentious request. She couldn't recall him ever asking that of her before in those particular words.
She hesitated for a moment at the prospect of being on top, simply because she would be more exposed than she was now underneath him, but she quickly brushed those thoughts aside; they were already too far into this for it to matter much to her now.
Using her strength, she flipped them over so that he was now beneath her.
His jacket was the only bit of cover she retained, but even it hung open.
He gazed up at her lustfully, as though she was the only thing he needed.
Her stomach did a small flip in response as she griped his stiff member and positioned it at her entrance.
She enjoyed taking control of him like this.
Resting one hand on his hip and another on his thigh, she lowered herself on top of him and took him in entirely.
She watched intently as his jaw and lips tightened at the new feeling.
Having this raw power over his pleasure was exciting. He was supposed to be an original hybrid, and yet here he was writhing below her submissively, at her mercy for his release.
At first she moved her hips slowly in an effort to find the right angle.
Leaning forward a bit, she found the position she was looking for. Rocking her hips a little faster, she steadied herself with her hands against his chest.
She sighed contentedly as he groaned through closed lips.
"You feel so good," he stammered as he cupped her ass.
"Mmm...so do you," she purred, almost incoherently as she worked her hips into a pleasurable rhythm.
Each stroke of him inside of her sent her reeling and she bore down on him harder with reckless abandon, whining in response as her clit rubbed easily against his pubic bone.
The delectable feeling was so potent it was overpowering.
With one of his hands aiding her movements, the other traced the lapels of his jacket before dipping underneath and fondling her aching breasts.
She moaned gratefully, stifling her noises with a bite to her bottom lip.
The pressure between her legs was astounding. Her second orgasm was so close. It was becoming difficult to focus both on the pace of her movements and the rapidly impending high she needed.
She fell against his chest, connecting her lips with his.
He took over much of her effort, guiding her hips with his hands and thrusting his hips upwards hastily.
Both of them were fighting for air in between uncoordinated kisses.
Her thighs felt numb from how tightly she had them clenched as she concentrated on her release.
"Cum with me," she pleaded just above his lips. "I'm almost there," she cried.
His chest rumbled against hers with a low growl while his fingertips dug into her hips.
He grunted loudly and his body began to convulse as he throbbed inside of her, succumbing to his release.
With one final roll of her hips, the spark inside her ignited and she practically screamed as her climax erupted with wondrous spasms around his still pulsing cock.
She kissed him deeply and slowly as she rode both of their orgasms out.
When he appeared sated and her orgasm faded, she rested her head against his chest, chasing after lost breath and rational thought.
Judging by the erratic movement of his chest, he was trying to do the same.
"Happy birthday," she sighed, trailing her fingers up and down his arm.
He laughed lazily, draping an arm over her back while the other played in her hair.
"A very happy birthday," he mused.
She closed her eyes for a few moments relishing in the closeness of his body before one of them would inevitably decide to move.
Upon opening her eyes, it was only then that she realized how light outside it had become; it would be completely light out in a matter of an hour or so. The sun would start to rise soon. She would be out here in broad daylight in nothing but Klaus's jacket.
With her legs feeling like jelly, she climbed off him, falling onto her back beside him.
He let out an audible sigh as she did before pulling up his pants.
She looked up to the sky to find that most of the stars had disappeared now.
For some reason tonight felt different. They were different. It was a good different, but she couldn't explain it. She felt closer to him than she ever had. She almost felt excited for something, but she didn't know what.
She felt around the blanket beside her, locating both her bra and underwear.
Sitting up, she fixed her bra back in place and out-stretched her legs to put the skimpy pair of panties back on.
"I should have ripped both of those," Klaus mused as he sat up.
She laughed as she eyed the torn dress.
"I guess I'll have to use the blanket as a makeshift dress," she decided as she prepared to stand up.
He stopped her though, pulling her back so that she was sitting in between his legs, her back against his chest and his arms over hers.
She wasn't used to this kind of persistent intimate affection from him, but she wasn't about to refuse it when he was clearly offering.
"Have you painted the sunrise before?" she wondered as she admired the sky as it began to turn pink and orange.
"Many times," he answered.
She nodded.
"You should paint it from here," she said simply.
"Why?" he asked.
She shrugged demurely.
"We'll leave eventually; it will be a memory...of this," she explained.
He said nothing in response, as though he silently understood what she was trying to say.
They sat there quietly for a few moments as she thought about leaving the only place she had ever known and the prospect of surviving the world for centuries with Klaus. She wondered what it would be like.
"What did you wish for tonight?" she asked. "When you blew out your candles?"
He chuckled superstitiously.
"I can't tell you that, love. Or it won't come true," he said.
She scoffed amusedly.
"Have any of your wishes ever come true? A thousand birthdays would be enough time to determine that," she wondered.
"They have," he nodded.
She was curious but she refrained from asking for details.
"What did you wish for on your last birthday?" he asked, taking her back to the night where this all began for them.
She thought back to the moment she blew out her candles in the eerie cemetery.
"Direction," she said simply.
"Direction?" he asked.
She nodded.
"It's hard enough trying to plan out your life when you're mortal. When I was mortal I knew I wanted to stay in Mystic Falls for the rest of my life. When I turned, I knew that would no longer be an option. I was unsure about next steps," she revealed. "Then you stepped into my room..."
His breathing hitched and silence overtook their conversation.
"Maybe your wish tonight will come true," she said hopefully. "After all, you had Kol's good luck charms presenting you with your cake," she laughed sarcastically.
He laughed behind her.
"I only saw you," he said, his hands trailing up her shoulders.
She rolled her eyes.
"You just rolled your eyes," he mused as his fingers curled around the collar of his jacket, pulling it just off of her shoulders.
She blushed, cursing his ability to pick up on her most subtle movements.
"You have nothing to worry about, love. They're not to my taste," he assured her as hand brushed her hair to one side and his lips pressed against the newly exposed skin of her shoulder.
Her eyebrow arched.
"Literally or figuratively?" she wondered.
"Both," he said bluntly as his fangs lightly scraped the curve of her neck.
She tried not to let it consume her that he had more than likely sampled the girls' blood at some point during the night. He was a vampire, he needed human blood to survive; they both did.
"Feeding from humans is just a way to survive, sweetheart," he assured her. "It means nothing," he added.
"I know," she whispered.
He was right; she knew that from firsthand experience. Any time she had fed off a human she felt no emotion towards them whatsoever – besides the competing urges to wanting to kill them and keep them alive. There was no feeling there. They were to her what a juicy cheeseburger was to a starving human.
"When I drink from you," he started, "it's...intimate," he said just before his fangs punctured her skin.
She gasped and winced at the initial sensation before the euphoric feelings he had summed up as intimacy began to overtake her.
He suckled languidly at her flesh, caressing her wound with his lips and tongue while his hand stroked her hair.
She picked up his wrist that laid in her lap desirously. Pulling back the sleeve of his shirt, she brought his arm closer to her face. She could see the veins and smell the blood coursing through them. Her eyes darkened and her fangs emerged, not from a physiological hunger, but an emotional one. She let her fingers trace the thin skin around his wrist before replacing the touch of her hands with the touch of her lips. She bit down slowly, feeling his body tense behind her as her fangs sunk deeper. He murmured against her shoulder as she began to drink and she basked in the warmth that engrossed her. She felt a million things at once as his blood entered her system; most prominently she could feel his affection, but she also felt safe and indestructible.
"I wished once for this," he spoke against her skin as she drank, "A year or so after I betrayed Elijah's love for Katerina."
Mention of Elijah and Katherine intrigued her, but she said nothing, hoping her silence would encourage him.
"I wanted to understand my brother's irrationality; I wanted to understand the love he had for her so that I could understand him," he admitted.
He felt completely tense against her as though he was on the verge of a revelation.
"I do, now," he said.
Her eyes widened and she retracted her fangs from his skin as her mind raced to decipher what he meant.
"I love you," he confessed quietly.
It was her turn for her body to go rigid as she let out a breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding.
She turned around in his lap to study his expression.
"You're drunk; it's bloodlust," she reasoned with a nervous laugh.
He shook his head and framed her face with his hands.
"I assure you," he swallowed, "it's not."
She looked into his eyes for any hint of insincerity.
"I could never lie to you," he told her.
Chewing on her lip anxiously she searched for words as her mind over thought and tried to process what he had just said to her.
He told her that he loved her.
She felt her eyes go glassy as a smile formed on her lips.
"I love you, too."
A/N: So there you have it folks. Some of you predicted Klaus would say it and I applaud you! What did you think? Review maybe? :)