Chapter 22

"You like it Caroline." said Bonnie as she picked up her glass of iced tea and took a large gulp.

"Yeah Bonnie. Sure."

"No you do. If you didn't want him around then you would tell him to beat it."

"Its not that easy Bonnie." said Caroline as she looked across the street from the sidewalk cafe they were sitting at waiting for lunch to be served and saw Klaus sitting on a bench, watching her.

"Caroline. Its like you have a stalker."

Caroline shot a nasty look at Elena. "Walk over to him and tell him the leave. Its kind of creeping me out." Elena finished.

"Or invite him over. He looks kind of pathetic over there all alone too." said Bonnie. Caroline glared at Bonnie now.

"and he can hear every word we are saying so NO." she snapped.

"Sorry." Bonnie and Elena said in unison. Caroline felt guilty.

"Sorry guys. I'm just starving." she said as she noticed the cute waiter looking at her again. All she could do was focus on the veins throbbing in his neck. She was starving. Since Klaus has been around and always nearby she had not fed on fresh human blood. The waiter walked over with their tray of food and placed their plates in front of them.

She looked up at the waiter and smiled at him. She could see the blood pulsing through his veins. Caroline's mouth started to water at the thought of it running down her throat. She was shocked at how much this aroused her. She was more aroused by the fact that Klaus was watching. She tore her eyes from the neck of the waiter and looked across towards Klaus. He was smiling at her. Klaus always knew what she was thinking. That was the trouble with him being an original vampire. There were powers that he had that Caroline did not know about. He could read her mind, he must have because how did he always know where she was and what she was doing. When they were together he always knew actually what she wanted and he gave it to her over and over and over. Caroline got lost in thought again and shook the memories of them from her head. She looked up at Klaus again and he was grinning at her. Caroline scrunched her face and tried to look annoyed. She stifled the thoughts and sat and had a nice lunch with her friends after their shopping spree.

Klaus sat across the street and watched the three friends laugh and chat. It was hard for him not to go to her. She was so close but still so far from him even though everything inside of her screamed out for him. He knew how she felt but he could not act on it. He had to wait for Caroline.

The sun glistened in her blonde hair like he imagined that it would. She was incredibly beautiful to him. All the things he could ever imagine that he wanted in one woman was Caroline. She glanced over and caught his eyes. Klaus smiled at her and he could have sworn that he saw her fighting a smile as well. She turned her head back to her friends abruptly. He started to almost feel guilty. Elena's words rung in his head. It was like he was stalking Caroline. That's not how he wanted her to trust in him again. He wanted her to come back to him on her own time and she was taking her sweet time doing it.

The girls sat outside and talked well after their lunches had been eaten and the ice cream sundae that they all shared had been enjoyed. Caroline glance across the street once more and saw that Klaus had gone. She turned back to Bonnie and Elena , who were talking about the cute top that Bonnie bought and Elena already wanted to borrow. She smiled "Like old times" she thought, then looked down at her hands on the table. Bonnie was right. She had gotten used to Klaus always being around. She always felt his presence where ever she went and she liked it. She looked forward to seeing him there, watching and waiting for her. Was she being to cruel with him? Stringing him along like this when all she wanted to do was be with him too. She raised her hand absentmindedly and twirled her hair around her index finger lost in her thoughts.

"Earth to Caroline Forbes. Hello." said Elena. Caroline blinked her eyes and focused back on her friends.

"Are you ready to go?" said Elena again.

"Umm yeah." Caroline moved to get up from her chair.

"Hey it looks like you lost your stalker."

Caroline did not look at Elena but her eyes met Bonnie's. Elena still didn't quite understand why Caroline felt the way she did for Klaus. Bonnie didn't either but she faked it pretty well. Bonnie smiled and winked at Caroline. This made her smile and she needed that. They walked through the tables out to the front entrance of the cafe. Caroline noticed the waiter again and felt a grumble in her belly. She was still starving. Nothing she could deal with now. Maybe another time she thought as she lead the girls down the block to her car.

Caroline had not felt Klaus for the rest of the day and most of the next. She lay on her bed in a tank top and panties and stared at the ceiling. Her fingers played with the end of her top as she tried to think of anything else than what she wanted to do. But the hunger became too much to bear. Caroline jolted out of bed and grabbed the denim skirt she was wearing earlier that day and put it on. She found her bra and a sheer shirt to go over her tank top. Caroline dressed and washed up and put on makeup and sprayed herself with perfume and walked out the front door of her house. She drove back to the town where she and Bonnie and Elena had lunch 2 days earlier and passed the cafe. It was just about closing time. She parked her car around the corner so she could keep an eye on the door. Then she saw him walking out. He said his goodbyes to his co-workers and walked across the quiet street towards Caroline in her car. "Oh man… what was his name?" she thought out loud. She closed her eyes and tried to remember his name badge but the hunger was too much. As he got closer Caroline readied herself to get out of the car. He passed her without noticing her there. Caroline looked around to see if anyone was watching and got out of the car.

"Hey." she called to him. He turned around and smiled.

"Well Hi." he said. He walked towards her. "Nice to see you again." he said. He was still wearing his name badge and uniform from the cafe but Caroline could not focus on that. She was STARVING. He finally was in front of her. She looked up at him and saw the panic. Her eyes were red and her fangs were out. There was no playing the game this time. He moved to try and run but Caroline grabbed his wrist and pulled him back to her. She though she heard one of his bones snap but she could not be sure. She stared into his eyes and spoke.

"Shh shh shhh. I'm not going to hurt you." she said in an eerily calm tone, very much like Klaus had spoken to her many months before when he held her captive. The waiter stopped trying to escape her and stood motionless. Caroline looked past him down the street and back from where he had come from.

"Is anyone waiting for you?" she asked. He shook his head. "OK then." she said and looked around again. There was a alley down the road a bit. A nice quiet place for a midnight snack. She looked back up to his face.

"Don't be afraid." she said and smiled at him. "Come with me." she said softly and took him by the hand towards the alley.

Caroline lead him halfway down the alley, far enough away from the entrance that if anyone were passing by they would not see anything. She pulled him in front of her, his back against the brick wall. Caroline looked at his neck and licked her lips. It had been too long. She reached up and caressed her fingers down the side of his throat, feeling his pulse fast and strong. Her body started to tingle at the anticipation. This was not about him at all this was about the blood and how it made her feel. She had suppressed this for such a long time she forgot how great it felt. It made her feel beautiful and strong and sexual and incredible, just like he used too before he left her. Caroline leaned in and brushed her pink glossed lips over his neck. She stuck out her tongue and ran it over the throbbing veins. She felt the throbbing pulse through her body. She inhaled deeply then plunged her fangs into his soft flesh. He did not move or make a sound. His blood was sweet and salty and intoxicating as it washed over her tongue. Caroline's head was spinning. She pulled back and watched the deep red blood flow from his wounds and trickle down his neck. She dove in again and licked at the dripping blood. She moved quickly to open his shirt further as to not get any on it and waste it. She moved back again and watched the blood trail further down his chest. The light that only Caroline could see was glinting off of his moistened skin and sent her over the edge. She moved in once again but stopped. She caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye. A person at the end of the alley was watching her. She stepped back from him and held him to the wall with one hand. She looked down the alley and her eyes met Klaus.