A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long! I didn't mean for it to but damn sinus infections kept me from writing for a bit and I had to update FC first. BUT I hope this was worth the wait :)
Klaus' words had started echoing in Caroline's head as soon as she headed away from him. He had been correct in his assessment. It wasn't Klaus that she was afraid of. It was her own desires that frightened her. She had been holding tightly to her old life, to the human existence that she couldn't really have any longer. She had mourned that already though, back on her birthday when she'd allowed the funeral to happen—even if it had become more about the drama happening between Elena and Bonnie than shedding her own life. But she had accepted Klaus' blood that night, wanted to live, and she had known even then that to truly live after that wouldn't be in the ways she had been doing before that night.
But she had clung to those old trappings, focused on her friends, on trying to help them with their tasks, worked at school, being a good daughter, continuing to play the part like she was expected to.
Those expectations hadn't followed her when she left with Klaus though.
He wanted her to see the world, to embrace her vampirism, to become something more, he saw her as more and it was so tempting to fall into that, to let all of that happen. But that would be a lie too, just like the life she had been trying to lead back in Mystic Falls.
Caroline had to find her own balance, create her own way, and somehow take the parts that she wanted from each without limiting herself because of how others saw her. She knew that was part of growing up, that she was becoming her own person—vampire—and it was overwhelming. Her carefully crafted control was being screwed with and she desperately wanted it back, but she had learned through the years that one really couldn't go back to the way things were. Life didn't work like that, but she could figure out new ways to feel in control. Just as she'd done after her parents divorced.
And she liked how Klaus seemed to see her, even if she thought his view of her was a bit warped, not quite true to who she thought she was. But he thought she deserved more, talked about more than just her beauty, acknowledged her mind, her loyalty, the compassion that she could have for others.
He had killed so many but then she couldn't discount that she had killed before, that Stefan and Damon had done so and her friends didn't look at the two of them any different. It was only different because they had loved the people Klaus had destroyed but Caroline knew that somewhere out there were werewolf families who no longer had a son or daughter because Stefan had ripped off their heads or torn out their hearts. Nothing was as black and white as it once had been for her, the grays had seeped inside of her world, but even those were being pushed out by breathtaking colors.
So showing up at his door instead of hiding in her room was a way of trying to take back control, of figuring out who Caroline Forbes was now. She couldn't be 'Caroline Forbes, the human' any longer and 'Caroline Forbes, the good baby vampire' wasn't working how she wanted it to either.
She hadn't intended to kiss him but he had been there and she could feel his anger, could practically taste it in the air, and that emotion tugged at the monster that lived just under her skin, dying to come out to play. It wanted to taste him, wanted to feel the beast in him against her skin.
So she had kissed him and it was everything she remembered from the other times.
Except she wasn't pulling away, wasn't high on bloodlust and was able to appreciate the way he froze for a moment when her lips pressed to his, as if he wasn't quite sure that this was really happening. It didn't take Klaus long to respond though, his body pressing hers against the door and her hands gripped tightly onto his shoulders, needing to steady herself. He was all hard lines and muscle and Caroline gasped as his hips pushed against hers, causing heat to flash through her veins.
She already knew he was an amazing kisser—after a century she figured that he damn well better be—but her initiating this one seemed to have given him a need to step up his game and she didn't think anyone would be able to make her pulse pound just by placing soft kisses against her jawline. Her grip tightened on him as she heard the doorknob being twisted, the door giving way behind her and she would have stumbled back if not for Klaus' hold on her arms.
Danger seemed to flash in her mind, warning her that this was a hole she wouldn't be able to climb out of. It had become rather obvious in the last few weeks that she was no longer the conquest she had been at the beginning of their journey. Talk of this only being a year caused anger in him, had his eyes narrowing and shoulders tensing. She had seen the changes in how he looked at her as well, no longer simply coveting her but something deeper, still darker than anything she'd ever experienced but there was an emotion there that she didn't want to give name too, frightened of what it could mean.
There would be no escaping Klaus if she took this step with him but Caroline was certain that there was no escaping him even if she didn't take the step anytime soon. He hadn't given up on breaking his curse for a thousand years, hadn't stopped with his vendetta against Katherine for five hundred, and apparently carted Finn around for nearly a thousand years as well. Those words he'd spoken at the decades dance about it taking a century for her to come to him hadn't simply been something pretty to say. They were laced with truth and she knew he'd wait that long if he needed but Caroline was a product of her generation. She was used to getting what she wanted practically when she decided she wanted it. She was used to a fast pace world where things could change overnight and one was expected to adapt to the new phone, new lingo, new trend that had suddenly erupted onto the scene.
She wanted him, maybe not quite in the way that he seemed to want her, but that was more because it was difficult to think in terms of forever or even a decade from now when she'd only just begun to live.
Her thoughts weren't easy to hold onto though with his lips on her neck and his hands sliding up her sides, pulling at the fabric of her dress. All she knew was that there were entirely too many clothes between the two of them. Especially on him with the damn jacket still in place. She'd discarded hers in her room before she'd headed over to his to wait him out.
Caroline pushed at his arms, needing his to move from her so she could rid him of the damn thing. It was difficult to do considering Klaus' apparent need to keep touching her. So she shoved him back, hoping that would get the point across better and smirked as the yellow flashed in his eyes. She reached behind and pulled the zipper of her dress down. "You need to get rid of your coat," she told him as she let her dress pool at the bottom of her feet.
Klaus didn't move to do so right away, his gaze moving over her body, appreciating all of the skin and bits of satin and lace finally being shown to him. His jacket was easily tossed to the side, landing on a chair as he watched Caroline look around his room. The matching baby blue set that she wore seemed to hug her body perfectly, though he was more interested in what lay beneath the material than the actual garments.
Caroline looked back at him, watching as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt, necklaces peeking out of the fabric. Usually this was where clothes were pulled quickly off bodies or simply pushed to the side, as she tumbled onto the bed with whichever boy she was with at the time. But Klaus didn't step after her when his shirt was tossed to lay near his coat, simply kept watching her walk around the room, fingers gliding along the different objects that she found before she stopped in front of him.
She was the one to close the distance between them again, and Caroline wondered if Klaus realized that she needed that bit of control for the moment, that she needed to be the one to set the pace. He seemed to know her better at times than she did herself, or at least he was able to see what she couldn't quite voice yet or didn't want to give voice to yet. Her hands slid up his chest. He was built different than the others had been, not the bulky muscles that she was used to, but the strength he possessed couldn't be denied.
He caught her hands with his own and stared down at her as if he was trying to figure her out. "You can't fault me for being curious as to what brought this on," Klaus began, his paranoia itching to be let out, ready to rip away any sliver of happiness that he might be able to possess.
She could see the doubt practically etched into his features even if his gaze was hard, not giving away any emotion as he looked her over. If they had been in Mystic Falls still she wouldn't be surprised if he would have thought that this was some kind of trap even after their talk outside—and back there it probably would have been. But she wasn't quite the same girl she had been at the beginning of their journey together and her position of being the 'little blonde distraction' was over.
"You were right," Caroline started with a sigh. "I'm not afraid of you." Everything would be a million times easier if that were the case. "I'm afraid of what I want, what I'll become if I let myself take what I want, what I need. But I am tired of trying to be someone I can't ever be again."
His grip loosened a bit on her hands but his eyes were nearly black with desire and Caroline had a feeling that her own were reflecting that same need back. "I want to kiss you and I don't want to force myself to feel ashamed because that's what would be expected of me. I just want to feel."
Klaus let her hands go at her answer, his own sliding down her arms before settling on her hips as he leaned in, lips brushing over the shell of her ear as he spoke. "Then feel, sweetheart." He reached behind her, undoing the clasp of her bra and slid the straps down her shoulders, smirking as the fabric fell away.
She rolled her eyes at him, not at all surprised with how his gaze immediately moved to her bare chest. Low cut tops had been part of her 'little blonde distraction' getup for a reason. The speed at which he got her onto the bed surprised her though, causing Caroline to let out a gasp of surprise. She was used to being the one to utilize her abilities and having Klaus use them on her heightened her anticipation for what was to come.
Caroline propped herself up on her elbows, watching as Klaus undid his pants and his erection bobbed free. She licked her lips as he discarded the rest of his clothes while she tugged off her panties and tossed them out of the way, waiting for him to join her on the bed. The shame she expected to feel never arrived this time, the only thing she felt was her own increasing desire to touch and taste to him as he joined her on the bed.
His mouth against her breast, followed by the scraping of teeth and tongue had her head falling back, eyes shutting tight and bringing out a moan as he continued to touch and taste her. After doling out the same attention to her other breast Klaus kissed his way downward, his hands and lips intent on memorizing every inch of her skin. He would learn which parts brought out the best reactions in her, where to caress, where to kiss to have her crying out in pleasure. This alone wouldn't be enough to bind her to him for eternity, but it was a step in the right direction.
She spread her legs without being asked and he kissed her hip before he lowered his head between her thighs. The bedspread tore under her grip as his tongue slid between her folds, his tongue curling inside of her pushing her closer and closer toward the edge. Her hands left the bed, fingers tangling in his hair as her hips tilted against him, his hands cupping her ass as he held her closer to him.
Klaus shifted slightly, fingers replacing his tongue as he remembered her dream. He sunk his fangs into her thigh and drank his fill as she came, body tensing as she cried out, juices coating his fingers. He pressed a kiss to her thigh, the wounds already looking too nasty for his liking as he moved up her body. Klaus sliced his nails into the skin of his throat and gently lifted her to the fresh blood, needing her to take it, for the venom circling through her veins to be cured.
The feeling of Caroline feeding from him shouldn't have been as erotic as it was, but he had felt a similar pull to this one back when she had done so on her birthday, and back at the hotel. This time was more intense though because of how he could smell and taste her arousal and blood all at once, because he could feel her body against his, nipples tight and his cock ached to be inside of her.
He wanted to wait though, for her to be at full strength, but it seemed Caroline had other plans as her hand wrapped around him, hips pressing into his, guiding him to her. Far be it from him to deny her anything in that moment, though he pressed inside slowly, hissing at how her teeth seemed to dig deeper into his neck.
She released him as he buried himself inside of her, staring up at him with his blood on her mouth and her pupils too dark to see. His eyes were almost golden, her blood coating his face and it shouldn't have been turning her on like it was. It should have been terrifying to see him like that, for her to be like that. But that was the old way of thinking, the human way and she wasn't human.
Her legs wrapped around his waist, shifting the angle a little as they started a rhythm between the two of them. Having his blood whirling through her veins, having hers swirling through his as Klaus continued to press into her was amplifying everything. She'd heard the rumors about blood sharing but she'd never done it before, not when Tyler's bite would kill her. The intimacy of the moment seemed to be heightened as well, as if she could almost feel what Klaus was feeling for a few moments.
She wanted more and from the way Klaus was gazing at her she had a feeling that he did too. She didn't expect him to tug her upward, the room shifting as she found herself on his lap, his cock still buried inside of her. Her teeth sank into his throat seconds before his sank into hers, their bodies still moving, striving toward release.
His blood filled her mouth and she lost track of it all, nothing mattered expect how much she wanted him and how he was flowing all throughout her. She didn't want it to end, didn't want to release, for the connection to stop. It was almost as if they were one for a few moments and the thought of going back to being two again was terrifying.
It had to eventually end though and she seemed to come back to herself with a cry. Klaus lowered them back down against the mattress but she kept herself pressed against him, needing to feel him there, his presence steadying her as his arm wrapped around her, holding her close. That had been the most intense feeling she had ever experienced and she didn't know if she would ever be able to correctly describe it to anyone else.
She didn't mean to fall asleep but the events of the day seemed to cause her to drift off before she even knew what was happening.
Klaus watched her breathing even out, not quite sure what to do when she had curled against him at first. He rarely allowed others to stay in his bed with him, not unless he was planning to keep them busy during the duration of their stay. Having someone in the room with him as he slept left him too vulnerable and it was something he simply wouldn't allow.
The thought of carrying Caroline back to her own bed, of being parted from her presence for even a few hours was numbing though and he found that he had no intention of doing so to her. He wanted her there, needed her pressed up against him, to feel her skin against his.
Klaus doubted that he would manage sleeping anyway, not with the fear of eventually doing so and finding her gone in the morning, her fears having gotten the better of her. If he stayed awake then he'd be able to quell any of those fears if he saw them rising, to erase them with pleasure, and keep her at his side.
It was a sickening realization for him to figure out that this act hadn't bound her to him so much as strengthened his need to have her beside him always, that thought of her leaving him alone was a far worse fate than the prospect of a white oak stake to his heart.
It'd be so easy to kill her right then and there. Just a simple little bite and she'd be dead in hours, if he let enough venom into her bloodstream perhaps it would take even less time. But then she'd never be able to walk away from him, to leave him to live knowing she was out there without him.
His fangs elongated, itching to pierce her skin as she curled even closer to him, but they were just as quickly pushed back into place.
No.
He could not kill her.
He would not let his paranoia take her from him.
"Mine," he breathed out, fingers sliding through her hair as he tightened his grip and held her closer.
Klaus just needed to figure out exactly what would keep her bound to him, ensure she never left him, no matter what might happen in the future. It had taken him a thousand years to unlock his hybrid side, surely finding out how to keep Caroline with him wouldn't take as long.