Hey y'all! So, yes I know that I have other fanfics that need to be updated, but since Christmas is in a little less than a month, I thought I'd write a story having to do with it :) Enjoy!

A Christmastide Reunion

Christmastide happens to be around the corner and when Lady Caroline arrives at her friend's estate, she finds herself snowed in with her arch nemesis- Niklaus Mikaelson- and nobody else…

Derbyshire Manor, 1816

Lady Caroline Forbes arrived at Derbyshire Manor just before the snow blizzard hit and as she was escorted out of the carriage by the footman, she looked at the manor with a large smile on her face.

After all, Christmastide was just around the corner and though her arch nemesis would be present as well, she did not allow it to deter her or dim her holiday spirit. After all, the Earl of Wolverton has been a thorn in her side ever since she has been in leading strings. Of course there was a time in her life where she thought herself in love with the rogue, but thankfully it was a false alarm and now she saw him for the man he truly was- a no-good liar and a man whore.

"My lady," the footman said. "Perhaps I should escort you to the door." He offered as he lifted the collar of his livery.

"Yes, of course." She nodded. "Thank you, Andrew." She added, giving him a warm smile.

The young man's face reddened and she smiled even wider before they began their way towards the door.

Once at the door, Caroline raised her fist to knock and she huffed in annoyance as the minutes ticked by. Wherever was the butler? Or perhaps the housekeeper? Surely, somebody would come to the door.

Finally, about five minutes later, the door opened and she came face to face with Niklaus Mikaelson who was also known as the Earl of Wolverton.

"Lady Caroline, what a pleasant surprise." He drawled as he stepped aside and bid her to enter.

Caroline thanked Andrew again and stepped inside. Niklaus shut the door behind him and motioned for her to move towards the drawing room.

Once there, they sat down across from each other and Caroline eyed him curiously, her bright blue eyes roaming from his head to his toes.

"Where is everyone?" She questioned as the silence grew deafening. The blonde began growing antsy as his gaze slowly made its way down her body.

"I wish I knew, but my guess is that they are stuck on the roads." He finally answered when he looked at her face and noticed a slight blush on her cheeks.

"I beg your pardon? Christmas Eve is tomorrow… They should all be here by now." Caroline said, looking away from him.

"That is true, my lady… But as you can see, the blizzard is only getting worse." He shrugged as he gestured towards the snowflakes that fell in a quick rhythm.

"But Rebekah invited us all. Shouldn't she and Lord Salvatore be here by now?"

"Yes, but they were held back in London last time I corresponded with them. But here is a better question, where in the bloody hell is your lady's maid?"

"My lady's maid? I gave her a holiday… After all, it is the holiday season and it didn't feel right bringing her along when she has a mother and siblings back home."

"So I take it you care not for your reputation? After all, you are in here alone with me and nobody else."

"Well, surely there is a butler or housekeeper about. They can chaperone if need be." She argued as her hands clenched into fists.

"Rebekah gave them a holiday as well. It seems that her husband has made her a better person after all."

"Your sister was always a good person, my lord. You simply believed that she was Satan's spawn because she made your life a living hell on a daily basis."

"Such language coming from a lady? I am shocked!" He cried out, the sarcasm evident in his voice as he rolled his stormy blue-gray eyes at her.

With a scoff, Caroline stood up and crossed her arms over her chest.

"As you well know, I am a spinster and I may act as I please." She deadpanned, the irritation evident in her clipped tone.

"You're hardly on the shelf just yet, love… You are only three and twenty after all."

"Which is just about on the shelf, my lord, but I refuse to speak to you further on this topic. Now I am off to my bedchamber." She told him as she turned on her back and thought back to the bedchamber that Rebekah gave her when she was here the last time.

"Do you wish for a bath, my lady? I'll happily bring you some warm water with the help of your footman." He offered with a dimpled smile even though that was the last thing he wanted to do. Still, he wished to get back on Caroline's good side. After all, for the past eight years she has treated him with an aloofness that confused him as well as irritated the hell out of him.

Lady Caroline Forbes was a woman he wanted with every fiber of his being and he would have her no matter what. Perhaps this blizzard business was just the way to get the girl that was so enamored with him back.

"That would be wonderful." She nodded. "Thank you, my lord." She told him, dismissing him with so much as a look backwards.

"My pleasure, my lady." He called after her as she ascended the staircase.

When he was alone, Klaus shook his head and reached for his glass of whiskey. Surely, by the time the holiday ended, Caroline Forbes would be his...

When Caroline arrived at her bedchamber, she entered and immediately went over to the four poster bed. She sat down on the edge and felt her heart hammering in her chest.

It was no fair that Niklaus Mikaelson had her heart racing because of the smile that he bestowed upon her. Though Caroline hated to admit it, Niklaus Mikaelson only got more attractive as he got older. She knew that he was now two and thirty and figured that he would soon start looking for a wife.

A feeling of dread went through her, but she shook her head. She had no claim on the man and never would… After all, they were two different people and it would never work between them.

"I hate him." She reminded herself, speaking aloud in hopes that it would get through her head.

No you don't, the little voice in her head told her and she huffed in annoyance.

Perhaps, she was still attracted to the man- obviously. As a matter of fact, who wouldn't be with his good looks and charm? The man had the most beautiful eyes as well as the most gorgeous lips she has ever seen. Also, his dirty blonde hair curled at the nape and she found her fingers itching to tug at those curls as he kissed her deeply and passionately.

As a shiver ran down her spine, she realized that perhaps it was time to stop reading the scandalous short stories written by Lady Georgina, a very popular yet scandalous author that nobody has ever had the honor of meeting in the flesh.

With a sigh, she walked over to the window and pulled the curtain aside and it was indeed snowing hard. It was almost blinding and she knew then and now that she would spend the holiday with him.

A knock came at the door and she went over to it and turned the doorknob.

Klaus swept in with Andrew behind him and the two hoisted a copper tub into the bedchamber and left it in the center.

Then, they returned with four buckets of steaming water.

"Your bath awaits, my lady." Klaus said as he gave her a bow and a sensual smile before he turned on his heel and left followed by Andrew.

Caroline stood by the tub alone and felt the shiver run down her spine. She was finding it difficult to act nonchalant in front of the Earl and that was bothering her immensely.

A bath… That was what she needed in order to take her mind off the man that was also her best friend's brother and who happened to play a vital role in her late night sensual dreams.

"Damn the man!" She cried out as she undid the buttons on her dress angrily. When the silken material lay in a heap on the floor, she removed her chemise as well as her underthings.

Then, she stepped into the bath and lay down. Of course, she didn't have her oils because they were still in the carriage with the rest of her things, but that didn't bother her in the least.

Leaning back against the copper tub, she shut her eyes and allowed the warm water to smoothen her stiff bones.

At some point, she drifted off into sleep and came awake when she heard a sharp intake of breath that wasn't her own.

As her eyes shot open, she turned to the right and her mouth fell open because Klaus stood there with his gaze solely on her. Her eyes moved to his pants and she saw the evidence of his arousal for her there.

"What are you doing here!?" She cried out when her voice came back to her and she cursed the man because she couldn't look away from the tented material that beckoned to her like a beacon of light.

"You were taking too long." He answered through gritted teeth, his hands clenched into fists.

"And so you decided to barge into my private space and watch me bathe like some sort of cad?" She questioned as her bright blue eyes darkened in anger. "Get the bloody hell out!" She ordered as she banged one fist on the side of the copper tub.

Though at the time she thought it would be a good idea to bang her fist on the tub, she realized then that it wasn't because to her horror, her breasts bounced and she spotted Klaus licking his lips under her eyelashes as if she was some dessert that he couldn't wait to bite into.

"Stop… Stop looking at me like that." She said as her voice wavered and she wrapped her arms around her midsection, keeping her breasts from his view.

"Why would I do that? You're stunning, love." He told her and she felt her cheeks redden and her eyes widen.

"You have no right to be in my bedchamber, my lord. Where is your propriety?" She demanded, the disbelief evident in her voice.

"My propriety? I do beg your pardon, but weren't you the one that said that you were a spinster? Those words of yours told me that you didn't give a fig about propriety." He said, sounding a tad too comfortable.

"Well I do, so leave my sight at once!" She yelled as she narrowed her eyes at him in disgust.

"Leave your sight?" He questioned. "I'm afraid I can't do that." He told her matter-of-factly as he boldly looked his fill of her nude body through the bath water.

"And why is that, pray tell?" She asked as she felt her blood begin to simmer.

"Because now that I've seen your beautiful breasts, I find that I wish to see the rest of you in much that same way."

"No," she shook her head. "Obviously as you were bringing in the buckets of water for my bath, you slipped on ice and hit your head."

"Do you think so? Simply because I am enjoying the view of a beautiful woman who happens to be naked? I'm a man, love… And your little virgin body is calling to me- how am I to deny it? I am no saint, after all."

"I am a spinster, my lord! Not a whore!" She cried out as she stood up and slapped him across the face for speaking to her in such a manner.

The Earl held his hand to his cheek and looked over at her with a smirk on his full, plump lips and the words he spoke to her rung in her head and she realized that her body fancied the way he has spoken to her.

What in the world did that say about her?

"Beautiful," he simply said and she noticed him gazing at the apex of her thighs intimately.

"Stop," she said again even though for some odd reason she wanted him to touch her- there.

Before she could take a step back, he had his arms wrapped around her waist and their lips collided.

Oh my, Caroline thought as she closed the space between them and allowed him to kiss her like he had some sort of claim on her.

There you have it! I hope that this chapter was enjoyable and I am not yet sure if I will be writing more- it really depends on the response that I receive!

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~Hana :p