Chapter 21

His hands framed her face and smoothed her hair back. Her eyes were sparkling at him. He lifted her easily and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He placed his hands under her rear to hold her up. He stumbled and her back hit into the wall and she groaned. His mouth was at her neck licking and sucking and kissing her. Caroline stretched her neck and snaked her arms around him. Klaus moved his hands under her nightgown and caressed her soft skin of her stomach. He trailed his fingers around to her back and down around her legs. Caroline felt chills shock through her core.

"Wait. Wait. Stop." she said breathlessly. She pushed at his shoulders. Klaus' eyes burned at her. He pushed her harder against the wall grinding his pelvis into her. Her eyes rolled back and he smiled.

"Stop." she groaned as his hands inched up her body. His fingers gently brushed the side of her breasts. "STOP." she said louder this time. Klaus released his grip on her and let her down.

"Oh my god I can't do this." She walked away from him her hands in her hair. She turned around and looked at him and it felt like she was punched in the stomach. She sat down in the chair behind her. She rested her elbows on her knees and covered her face with her hands. Klaus walked over towards her and knelt on the floor in front of her. He reached up and pulled her hands gently away from her face.

"Caroline I'm sorry." he said.

"And that is supposed to make it all better. Make the last few weeks disappear."

"I was hoping." he grimaced.

"Then you were wrong." she said. "I can't forgive you that easily."

His face hardened and he stood up.

"What am I supposed to do Caroline? I am here. I am standing in front of you."

"Yeah you are here now. But what happens later?" She tried to hold back the tears. Klaus turned back and looked at her. She looked small sitting in the chair and he hurt for her. He moved quickly back to her and gathered her hands in his and pulled them to his chest.

"Caroline I love you."

"Stop saying that." she yelled.

Caroline pulled her hands from him and stood up. She felt nauseous.

"Baby." he said as she moved away from him. He called her baby. She felt butterflies in her stomach. She liked how it sounded coming out of his mouth.

"You don't know what love is Klaus. You can't make me feel this way, like I don't matter then come back here like it was all a joke. Like I am a joke."

Caroline turned and looked at Klaus.

"And then when the wolf comes back and ruins everything or when you decided that you don't really love me like you say then what?"

Klaus walked towards her and reached out for her. Caroline inched away from him.

"You are going to have to trust in me that I am not going anywhere. Don't you trust me?" His eyes were fixed on hers.

Caroline swallowed hard. "No Klaus. I don't trust you." Klaus dropped his eyes to the floor now. He had lost her.

He looked back up at her and held her gaze.

"I love you." he said. "I will not leave you again. I will stay here by your side forever Caroline. You can trust in that."

"Forever Klaus?" she questioned. "And when the wolf comes out again. You know since that spell didn't work." she glared at him.

"The spell was never going to work Caroline. I knew that but I tried. I want to be with you so badly that I needed to try. It was more inside of me than anything else. I am my worst enemy."

"Again you are telling me its not you its me."

Klaus paced the room. He stopped in front of some old pictures of Caroline hanging on the walls. He raised his hand and ran his finger along the frame. He smiled as he thought of her as a five year old girl playing in the yard.

"I pushed feelings like love out of my systems for centuries and when it made its way back in I had a lot of searching to do." Klaus made his way back to Caroline.

He reached up and touched her face.

"I didn't deserve you. I still don't. And I was fighting it, fighting myself inside. I lost control and that is why the wolf was taking over."

"So I am supposed to believe that you have this under control."

"Yes." he said. He moved his body closer to her. All Caroline wanted to do was touch him again. Run her hands over his muscles. Feel his skin against hers.

She laughed and moved from him. She was still too hurt.

"I can't trust you Klaus. In the beginning I didn't trust you at all." She now paced the room trying to stay far away from him. Klaus watched her as a smile spread across her face. "And then you changed. Against everything thing I knew about you and how I felt you made your way inside and changed my mind about you. And I trusted you. We shared things and had so many things in common. I felt close to you. Closer than I have ever felt to anyone." Her eyes met his and he saw the tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. He had seen her like this before and too many times after that. He didn't want to make her cry anymore.

"I wouldn't be able to survive if I let you back in and you left again." A tear rolled down her cheek and Klaus was at her side to wipe it away before it could hit the floor.

"I am not leaving. Ever." he said. His eyes searched her face. She pulled herself away from him .

"I can't Klaus." she said softly. He got angry and grabbed at her arm and turned her back to face him.

"I am not leaving. I will not leave you again. I will always be here until you can trust me again and forever after that. Believe in that Caroline."

Caroline swallowed the urge to take him in her arms and not let go. She didn't doubt that he loved her but she could not trust him just yet.

"Klaus. Please leave." she said. He looked at her his mouth agape. "Please." she said again.

"I am not leaving town. I am not leaving you. I will be here and I will wait until you are ready." he said and turned and walked out the door. Klaus stopped and turned back to look at Caroline.

"Forever Caroline." he said and then he turned and walked off of the porch.