Chapter 3

Klaus had been wandering the mansion quietly for about half an hour when he opened the doors and stepped into a room full of paintings. He had never seen such vivid colors. He knew however that none of the rest of his siblings was inclined to art unless they had developed the trait later so most likely this room was his. There was a beautiful painting of the wild horses on the wall. He smiled as he appreciated how beautiful it was. He had done a good job.

Then he noticed that there were quite a few canvases with a semi-familiar blond beauty on them. So he was painting the young woman – Caroline her name was? That could only mean that he was involved with her. She was an enchanting creature. He liked her fire and her body was along the line of a Grecian goddess. The paintings seemed to capture her essence very well.

He walked to the canvas he was currently working on and wondered what the intended subject was. Would it ever be finished? It was strange to feel like a stranger to your own life.

"There you are," Caroline smiled as she stepped in.

"I think this must be my room"

"Yes this is your studio," Caroline smiled as she looked around.

"I paint you a lot."

"Yes, you do," she agreed and he flashed to her. His arm stole around her waist and he wore a wolfish grin before his lips descended on hers. One thing he definitely hadn't forgotten was how to kiss. Caroline should resist – after all he had no idea of the history between them. Then she realized in that instant that with this man she didn't have any history. There weren't any hybrids, Tyler or ritual murders for him. There was just paintings and her.

She sighed as she began to kiss him back and his tongue slipped between her lips. He moaned as she sucked on his tongue before caressing it with her own. His hand slipped to the small of her back and he pulled her closer as his other hand tangled in her hair. She had closed her eyes to savor the sensations as the kiss went on and she felt the heat of his kiss and caresses pooling deep within her.

"Oh" the shocked sound caused Caroline to pull back and she turned to see Rebekah at the door clearly embarrassed.

"I'm sorry I was just exploring Nik," Rebekah said.

"It's okay Bekah," Klaus said gently. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah just a little lost…did you remember something?" Rebekah asked.

"Just that I like kissing," Klaus smiled, "and I rather fancy kissing Caroline here." Rebekah rolled her eyes and after a quick smile to Caroline she left the room. Caroline was doing her best approximation of a blush vampire-style.

"So you're a vampire," he began. "Are you my vampire?" Caroline looked anxious once again.

"What do you mean?" she could barely push the words out of her throat.

"I mean did I make you a vampire."

"No, but I'm pretty sure I am your bloodline," Caroline said. "You've sired quite a few vampires in a thousand years and they've sired more."

"Does everyone know about vampires?"

"Not at all; in fact we have all worked very hard to keep ourselves hidden from people that would want to try and extinguish us," Caroline replied.

"Wow they've come a long way with clothes and shoes," Rebekah remarked as she came out of her huge walk-in closet. Stefan was reclining on her bed and she sat on the other side.

"Can you tell me something about myself?" she asked.

"You're still very tender-hearted even a thousand years later though you try to hide it with a lot of bitterness these days and you shouldn't," Stefan said.

"Why were we all out in the woods? Were we playing together?"

"We were having a meeting," Stefan said.

"I like you," Rebekah admitted. Stefan smiled and that smile widened when she turned sideways and laid her head on his chest laying perpendicular to him.

"I like you too."

"Is that girl Elena courting my brother Elijah?" Rebekah asked. "She let him feed from her and she wasn't afraid at all."

"I think Elena likes your brother but I'm not sure beyond that," Stefan replied honestly. For a while Rebekah just laid there and stared at him. Stefan smiled at her before closing his eyes and leaving her alone with her thoughts.

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