A/N: I realize this is late again and I apologize, I keep giving excuses, but school + writer's block will do that to you. Mainly the second. I'm sorry for the long wait, I hope you're still up for some Klonnie goodness. :)
Guys, 120 reviews. ARE YOU FOR REAL? I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!
Seriously, never expected such a response, thank you to everyone who read and reviewed and spent time on this story, you're my heroes.
Shoutouts to all the lovely reviewers: diehardromantic (yup, awesome duo of destruction and sex for sure :)), Guest, Stacie, evicarstairs (OMG, I laughed so hard at the "she's getting superhuman D" because it's so damn accurate. Quality D is indeed a rarity :D. I'm happy you're loving it so far. As for a sexy playlist, I might upload a Klonnie writing playlist on my 8tracks account in the near future. stay tuned for that), Babaksmiles (funny you should mention loyalty, Klaus can be fiercely loyal to someone, so we'll see about that:)), Ice Moon 14, Guest, jules, Brittany (thank you:) Expression is pretty important and will play a part in it for sure), babyshan211, cdsnow, (yay, converted smb to Klonnie, mission accomplished :)), Dannya1980 (thank you!), toooldforfanfic (never too old for fanfic! and thanks!), leni18, Guest, Guest124, (if you mean Joseph, the actor, he was totally game for Klonnie and actually wanted Bonnie as his love interest from the start, so Julie is all to blame :( Bonnie would have given him that extra edge, I agree), Fallendarkangel693 (thank you, very happy you're enjoying it:)), KatieMarrie (yay, smb who read both fanfics, thanks!).
So this chapter is more character/dialogue oriented, but the next one will feature more lemons and mind games, cuz that's how Bonnie and Klaus roll, obviously lol. We've still got Silas to deal with, but he's coming a bit later. Bonnie and Klaus will start planning soon.
Until then, enjoy!
Well, one thing was certain. The Ty Warner Penthouse had a hell of a cleaning staff.
Because all the damage she'd inflicted on its lavish rooms was just…gone. Every bit of broken glass had been swept away, the furniture had been replaced and any trace of last night's chaos had been eradicated.
And all this in just a couple of hours.
Klaus must have had a hand in it; he must have compelled half the hotel staff, if not half of Manhattan, but it was still impressive.
She would have marveled more thoroughly, but her head was pounding and she really needed a shower. She was sticky and dirty and just a mess.
She had woken up at noon, in the master bedroom, with a foul taste in her mouth, a splitting headache, and a heap of muscle cramps. It hurt to move even a little. Her whole body, every joint, was in pain. Her thighs chafed and her hips ached whenever she bent down.
That's what you got for exerting yourself beyond all limits.
It wasn't just the magic. She had abused her physical boundaries, too.
Old Bonnie Bennett hadn't had such a sexually active life, to put it mildly.
On the bright side, Klaus was nowhere to be seen. And even if he'd probably be back soon, she could at least enjoy some time in solitude and peace.
She had a lot to think about.
Walking into the master bathroom was a whole new experience all over.
She stopped to ogle at the giant window that covered one of the walls, revealing a bright and clear Manhattan afternoon. The noise and bustle of the city was muted completely. No sound reached her ears. She could enjoy the sight of skyscrapers touching the sky and not worry that down below people continued living.
Next to the window there was a small screen, set into the wall. She didn't want to turn on the TV yet. Real world could wait.
A couple of steps away, there was a luxurious marble tub, looking out towards the blue sky, and next to it, the practical glass shower case.
Normally, Bonnie Bennett would have chosen the shower case without a blink. She hadn't had a proper bath in a bathtub in ten years. And it would be silly and frivolous to do so now.
But she wasn't Bonnie Bennett right now. At least, not Mystic Falls Bonnie Bennett.
She was – well, to be honest, she wasn't sure anymore who she was.
It would have been easy to say this was all Klaus, but ever since Expression, things had been gradually changing.
For the better or worse, she didn't know.
Things pointed to worse, but her powers were singing a different tune.
Bonnie yawned.
She was still half-asleep, still caught up in this nightmarish dream of being whisked away, of being fucked relentlessly, of fucking back with all she had, of giving and taking, of lying with a murderous Original and worst of all, of liking it –
It was all too much.
In Mystic Falls, Bonnie Bennett would have been scandalized. In Mystic Falls, Bonnie Bennett would have disapproved and told her she was acting insane. In Mystic Falls, Bonnie Bennett would have probably considered her the enemy.
Wasn't she the enemy, though?
She had dabbled in Dark Magic, had used her own mother, had tortured witches and had repeatedly slept with her friends' worst enemy.
When you put it like that, she was worse than Klaus himself.
Bonnie chuckled, turning on the bathtub's faucet. No. No one was worse than Klaus.
She slipped the dirty clothes from her body in a heap on the floor and, stepping on them, stood naked in front of the giant window, looking at the empty sky.
She frowned, feeling the guilt and anger wash away.
Screw Mystic Falls Bonnie Bennett. Screw Bonnie Bennett in general.
For one morning, she didn't want to know who she was.
When Klaus returned later that evening, Bonnie was sprawled listlessly on one of the ottomans in the living area, flipping through a magazine on house auctions in Martha's Vineyard.
"Interested in buying?" he quipped, as he made his entrance.
Bonnie lifted her eyes at him with a reproach in her look and dumped the magazine on the coffee table.
"Every reading material here sucks. You'd think a Penthouse would have something more interesting, like the New York Times."
Klaus smirked. "I see you've grown bored in my absence."
"Restless would be a better word."
"You must have missed me."
Bonnie made a face. "You're lucky I'm tired. I still want to go back to Mystic Falls and if I had any money on me and a way to get out of Manhattan, I wouldn't be sitting on this stupid couch –"
Klaus raised a quizzical eyebrow. "You could have asked for money and transportation."
"To Mystic Falls?"
Klaus smiled innocently. "Ah, right. Well, that would pose a problem."
Bonnie rolled her eyes.
"Why do you want to return so badly to a place where there is very little for you anyway?" he asked conversationally, walking to the bar to pour himself a glass of scotch.
It felt a bit like a slap in the face.
"It's still home."
"And? It was my home too. Sometimes, home only keeps you from achieving your full potential."
"Why can't it be both?" she asked, pulling at the cordon of her satin dressing gown.
"Bonnie, we made a deal. I kept my end of the bargain. Now you must keep yours."
"You lied to me. You tricked me and you know it."
Klaus waved the glass in front of his face. "Yes, well, I wouldn't be me if I didn't occasionally pull the proverbial rug from underneath people's feet. How do you think I survived for so long?"
Bonnie folded her arms and looked out towards the darkening windows. She could, in theory, blast him through those glass doors once again. She could wreck this entire place a second time. Make him feel the pain until he passed out from the aneurysms.
But he was still an Original. He could do things to her too. Many harmful things.
And this constant fighting would get her nowhere.
"You must have known I wouldn't leave Mystic Falls just like that," he added, watching her carefully.
Bonnie scoffed.
Her expression was puzzling to him. She seemed to be at war with herself. It was as if she was angry with herself, not him.
"You knew," he surmised, "you just didn't know you would be the price."
"I made the mistake of coming to you that night," she said bitterly. "I – I guess I made my own bed."
Klaus set down the glass. It wasn't much, but it was progress, he thought. Days ago she still believed he had taken advantage of her vulnerability.
"You think it was a mistake, then."
"What else was it?" she said, scrunching her shoulders.
Klaus cocked his head to the side. "An opportunity."
Bonnie grimaced.
"I wouldn't see it like that."
Klaus sighed impatiently.
"I wish you'd stop playing the martyr."
Bonnie shot him a glare.
"You make it sound so tragic, this business of me and you. Look around you, Bonnie. Many would kill to be in your place. I know you take comfort in thinking you are doing this for your beloved town, but the truth is, you're also doing this for yourself. It will take some time for you to admit it, naturally, but I do hope you realize that, one day."
"Realize what? That I've always wanted to skip town, leave my friends and family behind, and play partner in crime to you, the person I repeatedly tried to kill? We've had this conversation before. No thanks."
Klaus shook his head.
"You lie to yourself so conveniently. Always in denial about what you want. When you know very well what lies deep down inside you."
"Spare me the poetry, Klaus."
He snickered. "You're a tough crowd, Bonnie Bennett. But, I know something you can't deny."
"And what is that?"
"You might pretend you didn't want to come with me, that you didn't want to abandon those you love, that it was all my doing. But you cannot pretend you don't want me."
Bonnie was slightly surprised by his candor. He was never one to talk in euphemisms.
"Your words may lie, you see, but your body betrays you," he added, with a strange glint in his eye.
Bonnie swallowed thickly and looked down at her bare feet and the way they sank into the soft rug.
"Silence is also an answer," he continued, drinking her in. "It tells me more than I need to know."
Bonnie looked up. She was not going to be rendered silent by him.
"I – I won't deny that I like –" she faltered, "I enjoy what we do together. Physically, speaking. You know that. I don't have to say it."
But she did, anyway.
Klaus enjoyed her awkward squirming more than anything. He smiled and dipped his head back as he took a swig of his scotch.
"I wouldn't have – I wouldn't have done half the things I did if I hadn't liked it," she spoke, fighting the blush from her cheeks. Klaus' smile widened.
As the words flew out of her mouth, she realized she was contradicting herself. If she wouldn't have done things she hadn't liked, why had she worked with him against Silas? Why had she let him take her? Why was she still here?
She shook her head.
"It's just sex," she blurted out. "You're good at it, I won't deny it. And I like it. But that's the only thing binding us together."
One moment Klaus was standing by the bar, the next he was behind her, leaning over her shoulder, whispering things in her hair.
"Sex is never just sex, love. It's power. And power, you'll agree, is the only thing that matters."
The words made her shiver. Not unpleasantly.
She didn't turn her head to look at him. She knew he was staring down at her smugly.
But for once, Klaus looked serious.
He placed one hand on her shoulder and dipped back the dressing gown.
"Now how am I going to take you out to dinner with no clothes on?"
Bonnie slapped his hand away and got up.
"I'm not in the mood for your jokes–"
"You mean you're not hungry?"
Bonnie's stomach growled treacherously in response.
She glared. "I'll order room service."
"Pity. I thought you'd like to see the city. Take some fresh air. Maybe dine somewhere nice."
Bonnie bit her lip, thinking back to that late morning and how she had stood naked in front of the tall window. She had forgotten about Bonnie Bennett.
But could she forget now?
"There's a car waiting for us downstairs, if you like."
Bonnie was warring with herself again.
Klaus took a few elegant steps towards her and tipped her chin up.
"Come on, Bonnie. Live a little. You're in the city that never sleeps. You're on top of the world. You have the means to do whatever you like. As long as one of your hands is on my arm."
He pointed at the glowing lights on the terrace.
"Don't you want to feel alive, for once?"
Bonnie was standing in the same master bathroom again, but this time she wasn't naked and she didn't feel free.
She was staring at her own reflection in the mirror. And she loathed it. She loathed that lush hair, she loathed those green eyes, she loathed that full mouth.
Because in that reflection, she could see two people staring back at her; one, a girl, the other, a woman, both fighting for supremacy.
And she was neither.
She was at the mercy of either the girl or the woman and they made their entrance arbitrarily, not caring for her own desires. She could do nothing to stop them.
Who was she now? Who would she be tonight?
The girl, or the woman?
By the looks of her stately sleeveless black dress, she was the woman.
But the fear and nervousness that clenched her insides were the marks of the girl.
He had dumped the dress on the bed quite unceremoniously.
"I didn't have time to purchase anything else," he had explained. "I hope it will do."
Bonnie wrinkled her nose. She was wearing clothes Klaus had bought for her.
This was turning into an ugly Pretty Woman scenario. And she'd be damned if she let that happen.
But goddammit, she did need to wear something.
She was hungry and she wanted to get out of this godforsaken penthouse. She had to compromise.
But if he was trying to play this game, at least she'd demand she buy the clothes next time. She was not going to lose control of her wardrobe.
Next time. Oh, God. There will be a next time?
She had no idea what was going to happen from now on.
Silas was still coming for them. Mystic Falls was far away.
And she was getting ready to go out to dinner with Klaus.
By all means, she had nothing and everything.
She had been dispossessed and yet she might have been the richest woman in Manhattan.
She shook her head and smoothed the lines on her forehead.
Yes, she might not know who she was anymore.
But she knew what she could do.
And magic, that was something no one could take away from her.
Magic was her safe passage. Magic was the key to controlling the situation.
Magic was her leverage against Klaus.
No matter what happened, he needed her more than she needed him.
She only had to remember that.
Inside the presidential limousine – because of course it was the presidential limousine – Klaus poured her a glass of champagne and offered her an assortment of chocolates and fruit. Baroque music was playing in the background.
Bonnie felt she was acting in an elaborate charade.
She took the glass of champagne.
"You look quite lovely," he noted, sitting back to look her over. "But you haven't got the right attitude, love."
She arched an eyebrow, scowling.
"There it is," he smirked.
He was wearing an impeccable dress coat and he looked – she hated to admit – very dashing.
It was extremely annoying that the bad guy always looked good. Villains in general seemed to exude a kind of seduction that few could resist.
"You'll get used to it, once you've spent more time in my company. No witch ever complained."
Bonnie looked out the window as lights and cars and street names sped past her in a blur.
"In fact, they never wanted to leave," he added, trailing one finger playfully on the skin of her calves.
"I'm sure," she muttered, swatting his hand away.
But his fingers caught hers and brought them to his lips. He kissed them softly.
The gesture startled her.
Klaus set her hand back in her lap gently and turned away.
There was enough space in the limousine for an entire apartment. He walked to the other end of the long settee and started making some private calls.
Bonnie watched him with furrowed eyebrows.
She had admitted to wanting him, to being physically attracted to him. He had practically pried the words out of her. He had gotten that satisfaction.
But he had forgotten his part in it.
He wanted her, too. He was physically attracted to her, too. He had exhibited that in ways that could not be more obvious. He was always just as vocal as she was during their trysts.
But it bothered her, that she had had to acknowledge her desire so blatantly, but he had remained quiet.
Words may lie, but the body betrays you, she thought, suddenly smiling.
She knew how he looked at her and he had paid her many compliments in that regard, but she still wanted a declaration, she still wanted him to say it out loud, she wanted him to fumble and falter, she wanted him to be at a loss for words too, because if sex was about power, desire was the key to it.
And she wanted that power.