AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey my lovelies, before you read the update below, I wanted to leave a note to let you know of some things.

I had a couple of people ask if my hiatus had anything to do with the Review Council's review and it did not. It was just a coincidence that they reviewed this right before I went on hiatus.

The day I left the message, I had been dealing with a lot of crap and then some more crap heaped on me from my oldest and him not thinking before posting something on Facebook. When it all came down, I was writing this part and putting it on hiatus was the only thing I could think of to get rid of at least a little bit of the stress I was feeling. I have since gotten put on anxiety medicine and it will be helping soon I hope.

That being said; while I'm writing I don't know how frequent or regular my updates will be. I hope not to go long periods of time between but this part took me just over a week to finish so I don't have a ton of confidence that it will be fast.

I want to thank each and every one of you for the comments, PMs, and for being so understanding. I really appreciate it. We hit over 1000 reviews on this story and I can hardly believe it.

Now I'll shut up and let you read.

Part 25

Klaus liked to think that since becoming a father he had learned to control his temper and mood swings. For most of his life, he had let his temper and impulsiveness get the better of him, but he knew after the first time he held the twins that he couldn't let it run him anymore. However, the last two days had greatly tested his resolve.

Ever since the night he had asked Caroline if she would be able to watch Henry and Lexi during his dinner meeting, he had been agitated and quick tempered. That night he had been unable to focus on the TV, so he had gone up to his room to bed yet found it difficult to fall asleep and once he did it was fitfully. The lack of sleep had done nothing but add to his agitation when he woke. He had gone downstairs ready for the day and was happy to see that his mood quickly lifted when he saw his children. Caroline had been there as well, but he had focused on the twins so as not to let his irritation get to him.

Within an hour of arriving at his office, his staff had become aware of their boss's horrid mood after he had lashed out at Nate for losing a highly prized acquisition and Aidan for incompetence. For the rest of the day Mindy ran interference between him and those who dared to try and disturb him. He was positive he had never seen his staff depart for the weekend as quickly as they did that Friday, as if they thought he would rip their hearts from their chests for speaking to him.

When he returned home that night, Caroline had just been returning with the twins from Lexi's practice. She seemed a bit uncertain around him, until she asked him if he had been able to secure an alternate caregiver for the following night, offering again to change her plans if he needed her. He had quickly informed her that Katherine and Elijah would be coming over to watch the twins and he did not require her assistance. She had departed shortly after to her room and he knew that his abrupt answer had clued her into his mood but he did not care. All day Saturday, his attention had been focused on Lexi and Henry and had tried not to think of Caroline but found it hard once the evening approached.

Klaus was tying his tie when the front door opened and Katherine strolled in. He looked behind her and saw that she was alone. "Where's Elijah and Daniel?"

"Hello to you, too," Katherine replied before answering. "At home, enjoying some much needed daddy/son time."

Klaus' eyebrow shot up in surprise. "And he let you come by yourself?"

"I'm a big girl, Nik."

"And getting bigger every day, which is why I'm shocked my brother didn't come with you."

"He tried, but I insisted that he stay home," Katherine stated, glaring at him for the comment on her expanding belly. "It's not as if the twins are babies or toddlers that require a lot of lifting and carrying. I thought we'd cue up a movie and have some dinner, nothing especially strenuous. Are you going to argue with the woman who is doing you a favor? Because you made it sound like you didn't have much of a choice of sitters?"

Klaus knew she was right, he didn't have much of an alternative and so he wasn't going to argue. However, before he could say anything in return, Katherine's attention turned away from him and she let out a loud whistle. "You look hot, Caroline."

Unable to help himself, Klaus looked over to where Caroline had appeared on the staircase and his breath caught. She wore a black dress that hugged her curves perfectly; her cleavage peaking out teasingly, the skirt long enough to be modest yet still displayed plenty of her creamy legs that ended in a pair of black strappy high heels. Her hair was down, spilling around her shoulders and back in large curls that bounced as she came down the stairs. She looked…beautiful.

Caroline found herself hesitating halfway down the stairs when she saw Klaus. He was dressed in a charcoal suit with a pale blue shirt. In addition to the jacket, the suit had a matching vest that fit him well. He had gone without a tie, instead leaving the collar open so that the necklaces he wore peaked out just a little. Her eyes rose from that little patch of skin and she saw that he seemed to be staring at her. The look in his eyes was penetrating but she forced herself to look away and continue down. When she reached the bottom she looked at Katherine. "Um, thanks I think."

"I'm being sincere here, you should know that I wouldn't say anything if I didn't think it," Katherine stated. She looked at her brother in law; it hadn't escaped her attention that Klaus was eyeing the blonde as if he hadn't seen a woman in a long time. "Tell her how hot she looks, Klaus. From a guy's perspective."

"Katherine…" Klaus growled in warning. He didn't know what she thought she was doing, but she was pushing his patience.

"What? You're a guy right?" Katherine asked innocently before looking back at Caroline. "Where is this date of yours taking you?"

Before Caroline could answer, the doorbell rang. Katherine looked at her expectedly, but she shook her head. "It's not me; I'm meeting him there."

"That would be, Marcel," Klaus answered as he went to the door. On the other side, was a chauffeur. "Mr. Mikaelson?"

Klaus nodded before motioning to the driver to hold for a minute. He relayed last minute instructions to Katherine before moving to leave. As he did, he glanced one more time to look at Caroline. His eyes roamed over her figure, taking in her stunning appearance before departing, ignoring the sudden urge to grab her and take her with him instead.

/

"Another drink, sir?" the waiter asked him.

Klaus shook his head to decline before he turned back to the conversation before him. Marcel was the same as always, very business driven but also enjoyed the finer things in life. Two women, Sophia and Davina had accompanied him who he claimed to be associates of his; though, Klaus doubted it was solely business oriented. However, that didn't seem to keep either women from giving him an appraising eye when he had joined them in the car earlier nor hinder Sophie from engaging him in flirtatious conversation as they ate. Something he encouraged by returning the attention. She was an attractive so it was not much of a hardship.

Regardless of the fact that he had the woman's undivided interest, his attention kept straying to Caroline and what she might be doing on her date. And those thoughts lead to an ache in his chest seemed to grow. It was confusing to him; it was almost as if he was feeling possessive over Caroline.

He didn't know why the thought of her dating was bothering him so much, after all she was not his girlfriend or a woman he was having a relationship with. She was his nanny, the woman who took care of his household, helped him as he raised his kids. Yes, they had developed a different type of relationship than he had had with Ayanna but that didn't change things. She could date whomever she wanted. It should only matter to him if she brought the man around his children or if the bloke was stupid enough to harm her. If he did, whoever he was, would regret it.

"Klaus?" He heard Marcel calling him, and he could tell by the way the man looked at him that he had missed something. "I'm sorry, my mind was elsewhere."

"Obviously," Marcel stated a smirk on his face. "My companions and I were just saying how we thought that now that our business has been concluded we might seek out some entertainment? Unless you need to leave to head home to les petits enfants."

Klaus rolled his eyes in amusement; Marcel had always been the type of man who enjoyed a good time. He looked at his watch to check the time. Katherine wouldn't be expecting him back for a couple of more hours and the time away would keep him from dwelling on other…matters. "That is not necessary, the night is young."

"Excellent," Marcel replied.

As soon as the details of the check had been dealt with, the party rose and headed outside to wait for Marcel's driver. The late January air was cold but Klaus did not pay much attention to it until he felt a soft warm body press up against him before hot breath whispered against his ear. "How about we leave Marcel and Davina to their own devices while we find our own entertainment at my hotel room?"

Klaus turned his head to look at attractive and obviously very willing woman who had wrapped herself around him, smirking seductively as he did. Perhaps taking her up on her offer was just what he needed. He opened his mouth to answer her when a very familiar laugh caught his attention. He turned his gaze away from Sophie and in the direction that the laughter had come from. It only took him a second before he caught sight of Caroline across the street. She wore a long coat over the dress he had seen her in earlier but her blonde head was uncovered. She had her head thrown back as she laughed at something her date, who was next to her with his arm wrapped around her and whispering something into her ear. She looked like she was enjoying herself, but all Klaus saw was red.

A moment later the man pulled back from her, Klaus was able to clearly see his face and he saw who it was: Dean. He should have gone with his instincts before but had brushed them off. Now it seemed that he had been right to be weary. However right then, Caroline seemed to feel his gaze on her and turned towards him. He watched her blue eyes widen in surprise when their eyes met, as if she didn't believe what she was seeing. They stared at each other for a moment before her attention shifted to his side, and he knew that she had noticed the woman next to him. The distance between them was too great for him to precisely read her eyes, but he thought he saw a flare of anger and dare he say jealousy?

A large truck drove down the street between them, cutting her off from his sight for a few minutes. Once it had moved on, he saw her attention was back on Dean as she pulled him away and down the street. It was then that he realized that Sophie was still pressed against him, still waiting for an answer. He turned his gaze away from the blonde walking away from him and to the willing woman next to him. "Lead the way, love."

/

Klaus was barely in the door before Katherine appeared in front of him. "It's about time! I was wondering if either of you would come home."

"Caroline isn't back yet?"

"Nope," Katherine answered with a smirk. "Her date must be going really well."

Klaus saw the grin on her face and knew she was trying to bait him but couldn't help his growl. "Good for her."

"Someone is awfully cranky," Katherine retorted. "I was just making an observation. I think it'd be good for her to get out of this house and have some male company. A girl needs something more to twix her nethers than something that runs on batteries."

"Katherine, I'm not in the mood," Klaus retorted, his anger rising. He shrugged out of his suit jacket before he walked over to his liquor cabinet. "I thank you for the assistance tonight, but it's time you left. My brother is surely waiting for you."

Katherine heard his words but did not move. Instead, she looked him over. He looked a bit of a mess. With his jacket removed, she could see that the vest and shirt were still in buttoned up but looked rumpled slightly and the sleeves had been rolled up half haphazardly. His hair looked tousled as if fingers had been ran through it repeatedly. "What did you do tonight, Klaus?"

His hand paused midway as he lifted the tumbler to his lips to take a drink. "Drop it, Katherine. It's none of your business."

"Because it looks to me like your meeting wasn't just business, which causes me to assume Marcel brought along some companions with him?" Katherine asked as she ignored his warning. When he didn't disagree with her statement, she went on. "Well, I would think that getting laid might make you a little less grumpy than you seem to be. Unless of course it's because you had the wrong woman in your bed."

Klaus snapped his eyes over to hers and she knew she had hit the nail on the head. The expression on his face had hardened and his eyes were clouded in anger but she kept going. "You're getting pissed off because you know what I'm saying is the truth."

"You don't know what you are talking about."

"Like hell I don't," Katherine argued as she moved forward until she was standing in front of him and he had no choice but to look at her. "You were jealous that she went out with someone tonight that wasn't you, so you did something stupid and now you're doing the walk of shame."

"That's enough!" Klaus yelled at her, finally having enough of her taunting.

Katherine knew he would not hurt her but the force in his voice made her move back a step. "The fact that you are so angry should open your eyes to what's right in front of you."

"Go home, Katherine," Klaus said coldly, as he turned away from her and walked over to his mantel.

Katherine knew there was no speaking to him when he shut a person out like he was doing. She had seen him do it too many times though it had been awhile. That alone spoke volumes to her on how accurate her words to him had been.

He continued to stare into the fire as he listened to the sound of Katherine retreating and finally shutting the door. The fire burned brightly inside, and he stared at it, emptying the glass in his hand. He didn't think he could consume enough alcohol to burn the thoughts plaguing his mind.

He didn't want to think about how he had felt when he had seen her earlier that night in the arms of another man, how angry he had been at the sight. He didn't want to think about how he had practically thrown himself at Sophie in an attempt to push Caroline out of his thoughts. He didn't want to think about how he was wrong in thinking he was just physically attracted to Caroline while valuing her friendship. He didn't want to think that Katherine was right and that there was something more….that he felt something more for Caroline. He didn't want think about how he wanted to be more than her boss or her friend. He didn't want to think about how he wanted to take her out on a date, how he wanted to be the one with his arms wrapped around her whispering something into her ear, or taking her to bed with him. He didn't want to think about the two of them spending time with the twins just because.

As he went to refill his glass, Klaus spied something lying on one of the end tables. It was a familiar looking hair clip, one he'd seen Caroline wearing numerous times before. He thought about how she always had it up in some way when she was with him and the twins, and how it had looked down tonight framing her face. The sight of the simple clip sent anger and jealousy coursing through his veins again just as he heard the front door opening.

Caroline let herself inside quickly, and removed her coat. Her mind replayed everything from the night. Dinner had been nice, good food and conversation. Dean had quite the sense of humor. There were a few times that they had lapsed into silence but that was expected in the beginning. When they were done; they had left to go to show that Dean had tickets to nearby. At one point as they walked, he had put his arm around her. She hadn't objected, it had felt comfortable. Not long after, he had leaned in to tease her that he felt safe knowing that she was next to him. She had laughed and told him that she had regretted telling him about what had happened when she went with Kol to the club in Barbados when she had felt as if she was being watched.

It had been a shock when she was met with a familiar face across the street. She had imagined for a second that their paths might cross that night. She had starred at him in disbelief before she noticed that he wasn't alone. There had been a brunette pressed up against him, her mouth up by his ear in a very friendly way. He didn't look to be fighting off the woman's advances either. She had no idea who the hell she was but Caroline felt the sudden desire to go across the street and rip her off of Klaus.

Caroline had been snapped out of her anger when a truck had gone by and she was brought back to reality. Klaus wasn't hers, and she was on a date with Dean to forget him. She had quickly grabbed onto her date and pulled him away before she could forget that fact again. She had thrown herself into the date after that doing whatever she could to keep him out of her thoughts and when Dean had leaned in to kiss her at the end of the date, she hadn't turned away. She had kissed him back though she felt like it was missing something.

"Did you enjoy your date?" she heard a low growl ask. Caroline looked over and saw Klaus hovering in the doorway, watching her. His eyes roamed over her, and she could swear he was studying her before his eyes raised back to hers. She knew he was waiting for an answer. "It was fine."

"Just fine?" Klaus repeated. "It didn't look like it was just fine earlier."

Caroline's eyebrows creased in confusion at the harshness in his voice. "It was nice. Good food, company."

"Were you going to tell me that you're dating one of my staff?" Klaus asked as he took a drink.

"I didn't know I needed to inform you when a guy asked me out," Caroline replied as she crossed her arms over her chest in defiance. Was he actually trying to dictate who she dated? "And I don't remember seeing anything in my contract about not dating anyone who is employed under you."

"I didn't realize it needed to be stated," Klaus retorted. "It's not very professional."

"Seriously?" Caroline demanded, her anger stirring. "How much of that business meeting was actually related to business?"

She saw him wince slightly at her words and she wanted to take them back. Things were spiraling out of control, and she was letting the jealousy she'd felt earlier influence her words. Not to mention he was being infuriating.

Klaus could see that his words had gotten to her by the way she was lashing back at him. She was mad but he wasn't going to stop. Because he could see that she wasn't just mad for what he was saying about her date, he was quite certain it was due the jealousy he could see on her face. What he was feeling wasn't quite as one-sided as he thought. "She had nothing to do with the business I dealt with tonight; she was just one of his traveling companions."

"Yeah, she seemed very…friendly," Caroline snapped before she could stop herself. She brought her hands together up in front of her face, and took a deep breath. "I don't know why I am arguing with you about this. Who I date isn't part of our agreement and has nothing to do with my job."

Her words were like a slap to the face; she was trying to distance herself from what was going on between them, and he didn't know if it was the liquor in his system or what but he wasn't stepping down. He moved forward so that he stood only less than an arm's length in front of her. "You shouldn't be dating him."

"Why not? He's good looking, sweet, easy to talk to….besides what does it matter? It's not like he and I work together so that if things went south there would be fallout," Caroline stated. "So you have to give me another reason why I shouldn't date Dean."

But he didn't say anything. He just stood there looking at her as if he couldn't come up with an answer so she asked again, "Why should I not date him?"

Before her mind could register what he was doing, Klaus stepped forward and brought his hands up to cup her face before bringing his lips down onto hers. A small gasp of surprise rose out of her throat as she felt his lips press to hers. They were soft, tender, not at all what she had expected them to be when he had grabbed her. He was tentative, exploratory, the velvety smooth touch of his lips ignited desire within her body.

Klaus' lips moved against hers for a moment before he withdrew slightly away from her, opening his eyes to look to her for a reaction. Her eyes opened slowly, but meeting his full on and he could see a combination of shock and wonder. Her mouth opened before she spoke. "Oh…"

Not sure of what her response meant, he dropped his hands and took a step back. He had acted without thinking, using a physical display of his thoughts instead of voicing them. However, that did not mean that he regretted it for a second. He was not one to hold back once he was determined but he did not want to force himself on her either. She continued to stare at him and he could not read anything more than what he had initially seen in her eyes. "Caroline…"

Caroline saw him step back and look at her, and when she heard her name on his lips as if he was asking her a question she gave him an answer. But she didn't answer with words. Instead she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him back to her, and placed a firm kiss on his lips. She brought one of her hands down the front of his shirt intending to wrap around the collar of his shirt to keep him close but when her fingertips brushed his necklaces, she looped them around her fingers instead and gave it a tug.

This kiss was completely different than the first one, it had been gentle while this one was a complete one eighty. This kiss was full of desire and passion. All the sexual tension between the two of them that had built up over the time they had known each other fueled the moment.

His mouth molded over hers, hard and persuasive, parting her lips with the thrust of his tongue. He ravished her mouth as he brought his hands to her hips and tugged her closer to him deepening the kiss as he did. She felt good in his arms, natural, and for a moment, he could pretend that everything was not about to get complicated. He could lose himself in her touch in the way her body instinctively curled into his. Their bodies rubbed against each other trying to touch as much as possible.

Klaus guided Caroline backwards, still kissing and touching, until he had her pinned against the nearest wall. His hands slid down from her waist, over her ass. He squeezed it roughly before he moved them down farther to the back of her thighs. He caressed her legs until he reached the hem of her dress and felt her bare skin. His grip tightened on her thighs and lifted her up to bring her body closer to his.

When she felt her feet leave the ground, Caroline wrapped her legs around Klaus's waist, and her dress crept up her thighs slightly. The movement dislodged their lips from each other but he took the opening to explore lower. Moving away from her mouth, his silky lips left soft kisses against her temple, the outline of her ear, her jaw. He found a spot behind her right ear and lingered there until her breath grew ragged. He skimmed down the column of her throat, his breath warming where neck met shoulder.

She bit down on her lower lip to stifle a soft gasp as his stubble brushed against the delicate skin along her collarbone as his lips sought out and found the most sensitive spots on her neck, causing the nerve endings in her skin to tingle in anticipation. She let go of his necklaces to wrap her arms around him, running her hands over the muscles of his back and then threading her fingers through his curly hair. She circled her hips against his rock hard arousal causing him to break away from his task and returned to capture her mouth again while pressing hard against her.

Caroline's head spun as the desire for the man in front of her consumed her and only a small voice broke through the fog.

"Daddy?"

The sound of Lexi's voice had the same effect as a bucket of cold water thrown on them. They broke apart, and Caroline stared at him with wide eyes, like a deer caught in headlights. Klaus lowered her down quickly but gently. As soon her feet were securely on the floor, Klaus rushed past her towards his daughter's voice.

As he entered the foyer, Klaus searched out his daughter and found her close to the bottom of the stairs. She was so close, a few more stairs and feet and she would have been in the living room witnessing her father mauling her nanny against the wall. His eyes skimmed over her, looking for something wrong as he spoke, "What's wrong, sweetheart? What are you doing up?"

"I had to go the bathroom, but I heard you and Caroline fighting and noise….why are you guys fighting?" Lexi asked sleepily.

"We weren't fighting. We just didn't agree about something," Klaus tried to explain.

"Did you guys make up?" she asked.

"Um...not sure," Klaus replied before he tried to steer her upstairs. "Let's get you to bed."

"Can I have a drink of water? From the kitchen?" Lexi asked. "Please?"

Klaus tried not to show the frustration he was feeling as he nodded. She smiled back at him before reaching forward and wrapping her little arms around him for him to pick her up. After settling her back into bed, he hurried downstairs but only found an empty living room.

Well was it worth the wait? Please review and let me know what you think. (ADD ON: I deleted the note I had on here announcing my hiatus and replaced it with this part. It looks like I shouldn't have done that because now if you left me a note in response to my note, it won't let you leave a review. You can log out though and leave a review as a guest if you want)

BTW, Katherine's line that includes the batteries was a variation of a line from the movie Serenity and not mine.