A/N: Thank you to D, Sophie, & Wifey for beta work.
Enjoy!
-Angie
Caroline sighed as she turned back and forth, looking at herself in the mirror. It was seven in the morning, and she was just making sure that the dress fit before she put on her work clothes and left.
She and Klaus were going on their third month of officially being together, and she'd had to cancel their date the Friday before, but had told him that they could probably go out that night.
He'd offered to take her right after work, but she'd refused, wanting to change, and he had rolled his eyes and pointed out that he'd seen most of her clothes already due to three incidents of coffee spillage and one accidental sushi disaster (her blazer still smelled like wasabi and it had been months), and then added that he wanted to see "the blue dress" on her.
She had six different blue dresses, but she remembered that the first time he'd gotten a new outfit for her, there had been a blue dress on a hanger sticking out slightly as though he'd pulled it out to look at it.
Satisfied with the fit, she stripped and laid out the dress carefully on the bed before pulling on her work clothes and heading out, smiling at Davina when she walked into the office.
It was going to be a long day.
XXX
To: Caroline Forbes
From: Niklaus Mikaelson
Subject: Meeting tonight
Is six all right?
-Niklaus Mikaelson
—
Project Manager - Financial Acquisitions
Bold Inc.
575 5th Ave.
New York, NY
To: Niklaus Mikaelson
From: Caroline Forbes
Subject: Re: Meeting tonight
Of course.
In the future, if you're going to use my work email for personal reasons, you should contact my admin ;)
Sincerely,
Caroline Forbes
–
Chief Marketing Officer
Bold Inc.
575 5th Ave.
New York, NY
To: Caroline Forbes
From: Niklaus Mikaelson
Subject: Re: Re: Meeting tonight
She can see your personal email too. Or, at least, I could when I was your admin.
-Niklaus Mikaelson
—
Project Manager - Financial Acquisitions
Bold Inc.
575 5th Ave.
New York, NY
To: Niklaus Mikaelson
From: Caroline Forbes
Subject: Re[3]: Meeting tonight
SERIOUSLY?
Sincerely,
Caroline Forbes
–
Chief Marketing Officer
Bold Inc.
575 5th Ave.
New York, NY
To: Caroline Forbes
From: Niklaus Mikaelson
Subject: Re[4]: Meeting tonight.
Yes. Seriously.
-Niklaus Mikaelson
—
Project Manager - Financial Acquisitions
Bold Inc.
575 5th Ave.
New York, NY
Klaus sent the email and looked at the ceiling, counting to ten, and smirked when he heard the clicking of Caroline's heels on the floor outside, and his door burst open.
"Caroline," he greeted calmly.
"Did you seriously go through my personal email?"
"All I said was that it was possible to see it."
She narrowed her eyes.
"But yes. Sorry, love. It was only once, though."
"That's a huge invasion of privacy," she growled.
"I know. I'm sorry. It really was mostly an accident," he said, bringing out the sad apology eyes. "I saw my name and got curious."
"That's not an accident. That's you being curious," she said through gritted teeth.
"I'm sorry," he said again, standing and grabbing one of her hands, rubbing the back of it with his thumb.
She huffed. "I'll make it up to you tonight," he promised. "No vanilla allowed. I'm not Stefan."
She flushed bright red. "Oh my god, you read that?"
He smirked. "Out of curiosity, what kind of roleplaying do you like?"
She smacked him lightly in the chest, her face still rather resembling a tomato, and shook her head, refusing to answer.
He rested his hands on her hips, pulling her against him, and bent to whisper in her ear. "I'd be happy to apologize at length. Although there won't be much talking, I'm afraid. My tongue will most likely be busy in other places."
Her breath caught, and he smirked, tugging on her earlobe with his teeth, making her moan. "Or perhaps you'd rather that we didn't wait, and that I shoved my papers aside and laid you over my desk right here, right now. That I knelt with my face between your thighs, your legs spread wide for me as you bit your hand to keep from screaming my name."
She swore softly, her hands winding into his suit jacket. "Tonight," she gasped out, swallowing down another moan as he licked the shell of her ear. "We're not doing this here."
"I believe that we currently are."
She laughed quietly and pushed him away. He acquiesced, giving her a long-suffering sigh as he pulled back, and she pecked him on the lips before completely disentangling herself. "I'm changing the meeting time. Come to my office as soon as you're done for the day. Don't make me wait too long," she said, patting his chest lightly before leaving, her hips swaying exaggeratedly in her tight pencil skirt.
His cock twitched and he glanced at the clock, groaning when he realized he had another four hours before he was off.
He sat down on the desk, and opened his laptop again, trying very hard to concentrate.
XXX
"Davina, could you please stop by my place and grab the dress on the bed? And my beige heels? They should be on the floor," Caroline instructed as she walked past Davina's desk.
"Of course, Caroline."
"Thanks."
Caroline hummed to herself as she bent over her desk, finishing up some last minute work and deciding the rest could wait for tomorrow. She closed her laptop and grabbed her make-up bag, redrawing her eyeliner and fluffing her curls. She opened the door when Davina knocked, thanking her for the dress and telling her she could go home.
Davina seemed to know better that to ask questions, but she did give Caroline a slightly amused look over her shoulder as she left.
Caroline closed her office door and locked it, sliding off her pencil skirt and blouse, thankful that she'd thought to wear some of her nicer lingerie so that she wouldn't have to bother changing later, and pulled on the dress. Her phone chimed.
To: Caroline Forbes
From: Klaus Mikaelson
Subject: (no subject)
I'll be there in ten minutes.
— Klaus
To: Klaus Mikaelson
From: Caroline Forbes
Subject: Re: (no subject)
Good.
— C
She went to check her reflection in the restroom one last time before clearing off her desk and leaving her door slightly open, moving to stand by the window, looking at the streets below.
She waited until she heard the creak of the door to the hallway opening and closing before turning to see Klaus walking into her office, closing the door behind him.
"You look lovely," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking to her, something she took as a sign of nervousness.
"Thank you," she said primly, sitting on the edge of her desk and crossing her legs at the knee, letting the dress expose a good deal of her upper thigh.
"I really am sorry, love."
"I feel lied to."
"I know. You trusted me, and—"
"I was told that you would be apologizing with your tongue, not your vocal chords," she said, a teasing smirk playing around her lips.
His lips twitched. "I do recall saying something to that effect."
"It's not nice to lie, Klaus."
"I suppose it's not," he agreed, walking over to place his palms flat on the desk on either side of her, invading her space, his breath hot on her lips.
She looped her arms around his shoulders and pulled his lips to hers, nibbling on his bottom lip and swiping her tongue over it, making him groan. His hands found her hips, and she tugged softly at his curls before pulling his suit jacket away, tossing it to the side, and pulling back.
His lips were slightly swollen and his eyes were dark, and his gaze made a burning heat crawl up her body, and she bit her lip, uncrossing her legs and spreading them slightly. "I want you on your knees in front of me," she said, her voice quiet but firm.
He knelt, wrapping his hands around the backs of her calves, pulling her to the edge of the desk, before bunching the fabric up around her hips, kissing the inside of her knee lightly and looking up at her while he carefully pulled her lace thong down her legs and set it on the floor before placing hot, open-mouthed kisses up her inner thigh to her pussy.
Her fingers wound their way through her hair as she pressed his face encouragingly towards her center, and he swiped his tongue over her slit, making her moan, her hips jerking towards him. He smirked, pressing her legs further apart before letting his tongue run over her slick skin.
She moaned his name softly, pressing him more firmly towards her. "Yes," she hissed. "Just like that, Klaus. Your tongue feels so good against me…"
She let go of his hair to wrap her hands around the table, and his tongue slowed. "Now, don't get lazy on me. Your job right now is to lick my pussy until I come around your tongue, Klaus. Be a good boy," she panted, rocking her hips against his mouth.
He obligingly returned to his previous pace, moving his hand to her center and pushing two fingers inside her, pumping them in time with his tongue on her clit, and she moaned more loudly, though his strokes were still a bit too slow. She tangled her hand in his hair again. "Harder," she ordered, her voice sharp. "Don't make me tell you agai—fuck, yes, just like that."
She rolled her hips against his mouth, tugging his hair lightly, making him moan against her as he lapped up her juices, speeding up the strokes of his fingers until she was panting out his name as she came, holding him to her core until she'd ridden out her orgasm against his face before letting go, allowing him to pull back.
He licked his lips, his eyes dark as he looked at her, and she knew that her face was flushed from pleasure. "Get up," she ordered, slipping off the desk.
He got to his feet, and her hands moved to the buttons of his shirt, undoing them nimbly with her fingers before helping him shrug it off, her hands going to the button of his slacks, pausing to rub the prominent bulge with the palm of her hand, making him buck against her.
She freed his erection, stroking him a few times before turning around, bracing her hands on her desk. "Make me come again."
His lips were on her neck from behind as she felt his cock brush against her folds, and he pressed against her back gently to bend her over, both of them groaning quietly as he pushed inside her to the hilt. She clenched around him, swearing softly. "Move," she growled, pushing back against him, and he gripped her hips, pulling back and thrusting into her again.
Their coupling was frenzied and rough, his balls slapping against her skin as he fucked her, making her moan. He adjusted his angle slightly to hit her g-spot with every thrust, and she writhed against him, her moans growing louder with every movement.
She panted out his name as she came again, clenching around him, and he continued pounding into her through her orgasm before coming himself.
Both of them were breathing raggedly when he pulled away, and she straightened her dress, smoothing it around her hips, before turning back to him, placing a soft kiss to his lips and cupping his face in her hands.
He re-fastened his trousers and bent to pull his shirt off the floor while she unabashedly stared at the muscles of his chest and arms.
"Am I forgiven?" he asked, buttoning up his shirt.
"I suppose," she said teasingly, re-straightening his collar, making him grin, before kissing him again quickly and grabbing a small mirror out of her bottom drawer, putting her hair up in a bun to hide the mess.
"Are we going to dinner?"
She hummed an affirmative, smoothing her dress again and grabbing her purse.
XXX
"Caroline?" Davina asked, knocking on her door.
"Come in."
"I just picked this up from the locksmith for you."
"Thank you, Davina. Go ahead and set it over there."
Davina did so before leaving again, and Caroline heard the keyboard clicking away a moment later. She bit her lip, staring at the offending key, now sitting on the corner of her desk, and tried to quell the nervousness building in her gut.
It had been ten months, and she felt like she was ready for that next step. Klaus had settled into his job very quickly, and she was still as busy as ever. She'd rationalized that living together, or at least him having a spare key, would give them more time together, though she knew it was a bit of a stretch. She decided that she'd ask him that night during their date.
She worked through the next five hours, thankful when she'd finished her work for the day and could leave. She locked up behind her, checking her email one last time as she left, before heading to Klaus's office.
He was just leaving as well, and he gave her a dimpled smile and a kiss as he locked up, grabbing her hand. They walked to the front of the building together and down the street to a nearby restaurant. Caroline was hyper-aware of the key in her purse, and she felt like bolting. She loved Klaus, she knew she did, and she was sure that he loved her (though neither of them had ever said it). She wasn't worried about rejection. She just knew that moving in together, or even just giving him the spare key, was a huge step. So many couples broke up because of being unable to tolerate living in close quarters, and she had no interest in being on that end of the statistic.
"Are you all right, love? You seem nervous," he asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she said, squeezing his hand.
"If you're going to break up with me, I'd rather not spend sixty dollars on dinner first," he said teasingly, though there was a note of anxiety in his voice.
"What? No! No, I'm not breaking up with you," she said, biting her lip. "I just…"
He shot her a slightly amused look. "You just?"
"Move in with me," she blurted before she could stop herself, before wanting to facepalm.
Why was it that she could be perfectly calm and collected in business meetings and terrify incompetent interns with a simple look, but be completely unable to rein in her impulses around her boyfriend?
"All right," he said, not even pausing in his footsteps.
"All—all right?"
"Did you expect me to say no?" he asked, looking genuinely confused.
"No, I just...that was a very fast answer."
"You weren't the only one thinking about it," he said simply, squeezing her hand, still completely at ease.
She gave him a huge smile, and he returned it. "Would you like to get take-out instead?" he asked.
"Sure. Why?"
"I'm impatient."
Her lips twitched. "For?"
"Taking you against the wall of our apartment."
"Which one do you think is our apartment?" she asked, side-eyeing him, a small smile playing on her face.
"Considering that you got me a key to what used to be your apartment, I should think it would be obvious."
"How did you know?" she asked.
"I bumped into Davina when she was leaving. There are only so many reasons you could be sending her to the locksmith with your apartment key."
"It might not have been for you. Maybe I wanted an extra."
His lips twitched. "I'm fairly certain that you already have an extra, and that it is in the possession of Bonnie Bennett in case of emergencies."
She sighed. "You know me too well."
"On the contrary, love, I happen to be learning more interesting things about you every day."
"Flattery will get you nowhere."
"And that was one of the first things I learned about you," he said dryly.
XXX
Caroline groaned, rolling over in bed. Klaus's absence was noticeable, his side of the bed completely cold, and it took a moment before she registered what had woken her up.
The night before had been a late one at the office, and she was glad it was Saturday, because she had less to do and could work from home. She was therefore not at all pleased to be woken up by Klaus's music at eight in the morning.
She swung herself out of bed, grumbling to herself about morning people (a group to which she most definitely did not belong), and pulled on her bathrobe. Yawning, she padded to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee, smiling slightly when she saw that Klaus had left a mug on the counter in the warming device.
Sipping contentedly, she walked to the other room, intending to tell him to turn his music down (though her anger had been suppressed somewhat by the thoughtful coffee-making, something she was half-certain he'd done on purpose).
As she'd expected, he was at his easel in the corner of the room they'd set off for his art, dressed only in a pair of pajama pants, his brow furrowed, the stereo on next to him.
"Good morning, love."
"Turn it down," she said, her voice still scratchy from sleep.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly, reaching for the dial. "How did you sleep?"
"Fine until I was woken up by whoever-that-was."
"Bruce Springsteen?"
"God, you're old," she joked, walking over and kissing him quickly.
"The Boss is timeless," he said, his lips twitching. "And I'm only a year older than you."
She hummed in agreement, sitting on the couch with her legs crossed, staring at the Christmas tree in the corner, which they'd spent the night before decorating.
Christmas, for many people, was the beacon of light symbolizing a goddamn break from work. For Caroline (and Klaus, to some extent), it was one of the busiest times of the year.
As Chief Marketing Officer, she was in charge of the special ads that ran around Christmas time. It would be incredibly busy until just after New Years, at which time it would return to her normal schedule of being her normal level of super busy.
This stress was not made easier by the topic they'd been avoiding for weeks: Would they be visiting Caroline's family, or Klaus's?
Both of them were clearly gunning for the other's family, and neither of them was willing to budge. Both of them knew that Caroline would probably win, just because she knew Rebekah and it would be more comfortable than a dinner with either of Caroline's parents, but Klaus seemed determined to hold on for as long as possible in case she changed her mind.
Caroline bit her lip, turning to Klaus, who was absorbed in his painting. "Be honest, why are you so opposed to me meeting your family?"
He looked up, eyebrows raised. "Er... Because my father hates me and is one of the most unpleasant people on the face of the earth?"
"Rebekah said something to that effect a year or so ago, actually."
"So then you're aware that Christmas is painful and I would rather poke out my own eyeballs than sit at a family dinner for more than forty-five seconds?"
"Is it really that bad?" Caroline asked.
"Worse," he said darkly.
"Well, I don't know if you saw the mail, but your mother—"
"Sent an incredibly pretentious-looking invitation to the annual Christmas party? Yes, I did see that. We don't have to go. It's not as though I normally do."
"I know. It's just...She hand-wrote on the invitation that she wanted to meet me. I just don't want her to hate me," Caroline said.
Klaus's expression softened. "Fine, then. But if it goes badly, we'll leave."
Caroline nodded. "Agreed. And we can even use it as a vacation if you'd like. I've never been to England before. You can show me around. I mean, I'll obviously have to work in the evenings, but April can probably handle everything for half a week for so."
He smiled, setting his brush down and cleaning his hands with a rag before sitting beside her. She snuggled against him, laying her head on his shoulder. "I love you," he said casually, playing absently with the belt of her robe.
"I love you too," she said, letting her eyes flutter closed.
It didn't occur to her until that night that it was the first time either of them had said it. Weirdly though, it didn't surprise her. It was just so natural, like it was a given.
The sky was blue, puppies were adorable, Klaus loved Caroline, ducks quacked, Caroline loved Klaus, and everyone looked terrible in their drivers license pictures.
They were just irrefutable facts.
A/N: Thanks for reading!
There was a huge decline in reviews from the last chapter (almost half), so I was wondering if there was something wrong with it. Was the storyline weird? Did something land badly? Let me know!
As for this chapter, did we think Caroline's reaction to Klaus's email thing was believable? Are we excited for the Christmas party? Do we like how they're settling into each other's lives?
If everything goes as planned, the next chapter will be the epilogue, which will partly take place at the Christmas party.
Let me know what you thought! :)
Hugs!
-Angie