Here be the last chapter! There is smut, you have been warned.

A loud bang brought Caroline into a hazy sort of awareness. Blinking her eyes open from where she'd slumped over, she slowly straightened. Wincing at the stiffness in her shoulders, she looked around and she tried to puzzle out what had woken her. The room was still overly bright, the chalk patterns dizzying if stared at too long.

And while the circle still felt wrong, underneath the slab of the foundation was a layer of Caroline's magic that worked slowly to purify the death magic back into the earth. If Caroline closed her eyes she could almost see the plants pushing up through the porous material of the foundation. Satisfied that everything had held while she'd catnapped, she startled with a gasp as a loud explosion rocked the home above her. Dust and debris rained down, sparking and burning where it landed on the chalk. Squinting, Caroline waved her hand, trying to push the fine particles of floating plaster and ash away from her face.

Gia shot up at the second explosion, her hair sticking to her mouth and her shoulders rigid with strain. Her friend visibly flinched as she looked around, attempting to find the threat. There were circles beneath Gia's eyes, shadows that spoke of lack of food or water. Freya rose with the most grace, pushing off the cement floor with a curling smile that could cut flesh.

"So dramatic," Freya murmured as she tilted her head, clearly listening for any signs of an impending rescue. "He must have brought Kol."

"Kol? Your brother?" Gia asked as she swiveled to face them. She frowned at Caroline's appearance, shoving her hair away from her face impatiently. "You look like a ghost. What did you do?"

Caroline waved off her concern and slowly pushed to her feet, ignoring the way the chains kept her from fully straightening. "It's fine. Why Kol?"

Freya followed her lead, standing with a soft grunt that belied the ease of the motion. For a moment, she studied Caroline with narrowed eyes, her gaze lowering to the floor. Her expression shifted to contemplative, but she said nothing about what she sensed. "He has a fondness for explosions, and I don't smell smoke. Rebekah's prone to burning people alive."

Gia wrinkled her nose. "No offense, but your sister sounds crazy."

"She's family," Freya said with a shrug. "Elijah too, you'll find, will broker no disrespect. His methods are not as kind as Rebekah's. While brutal and visually horrifying, being burned alive is over relatively quick. Elijah is not so merciful. I hope you are aware of that, considering you've shared his bed."

"What a man accepts from a lover isn't necessarily what he tolerates from everyone else," Gia pointed out as she stood. "But what's between Elijah and I is our business, not yours."

"Regardless, I imagine we'll have company soon enough. We are the bait, after all," Freya said as she rolled her neck, eyeing the door. "Aurora also has a flair for the dramatic."

"She certainly has allusions of grandeur," Gia muttered.

Caroline chewed on her lip before she glanced curiously at Freya. "What time do you think it is?"

Gia snorted as the sharp clack of heels against the floor became apparent. "It's definitely past the witching hour, if that's what you're concerned with."

Freya nodded. "My brother would never give her that kind of psychological edge."

"He's being most inconsiderate," Aurora huffed as she stormed into the room. The long, green slip of her dress flared around her ankles dramatically as she turned the corner. Her hair was braided away from her face, poppy red lipstick perfect. "I expected him hours ago. How difficult is it for a minion to deliver such a simple message?"

Freya laughed. "Did you entrust that task to Lucien?"

Aurora narrowed her eyes, lips curling into sneer. "I don't see how that matters to you when you'll be dead soon enough. Regulated to being nothing more than a fancy battery."

"So you say," Freya dismissed. "Did you know, Aurora, before you tried to put your claws into him, that Lucien was mine?"

Aurora jerked back, eyes widening before they narrowed into slits. "Lies."

"Now, why would I lie?"

Teeth bared, Aurora glared at Freya. "You're power was built on lies, and like all kingdoms built on sand, your family will crumble. You should have taken my offer. You'll never get another one."

"I don't slum," Freya dismissed, tossing her ruined braid over her shoulder. Emaciated and filthy, she stared down her nose at Aurora. "Neither does my family. Which is why they'd never choose you."

Aurora's face turned red with temper, and her hands curled into fists. Caroline realized with a start that Freya was baiting her. Gia must have realized it too, because she watched Aurora with wary eyes, jaw clenched.

The small witch seethed as her gaze darted around the room, and her smile was brittle. "You think you're so much better than everyone. When the truth is that the only reason you have any real power is because your family sold their souls to demons."

"I don't have to think anything," Freya said cooly. "I know I'm stronger than you. You're a hack, and you made your bargains with your backers. They are using you, and one day, they'll toss you away like trash. If you survive that long."

Aurora stepped close to the first chalk line and spread her fingers wide, chatting underneath her breath. The lines of chalk started to glow, and Caroline swayed on her feet as Aurora's eyes took on the same glow. But it wasn't Caroline that Aurora was interested in stripping power from. She chanted until she drove Freya to her knees, blood bubbling on her lips. In the center of the room, faintly glowing lines arched above the circle, vibrating painfully against Caroline's skull.

Aurora was using them to build a portal. Caroline swallowed around her painfully dry throat, shuddered at another sharp spike of pain behind her eyes as she tried to look at it. It appeared Freya had been correct in her assumptions, and Caroline smiled grimly.

"And look where all your precious power got you," Aurora hissed, fingers closing with a snap. "On your knees. All of you will beg me for death before I'm done with you. Only then will I put your brother back into hell. Perhaps I'll even send your precious corpse with him, a token of what he once had. What he lost."

Aurora spun away from them as the floor shuddered above them, a third explosion blasting violently above them. Her lips curled, fingers clasped tightly in front of her body. "They'll be here soon enough. Tristan knows only to play with them a little."

"Tristian is human," Caroline said, mouth bone dry. Her head was pounding, and her stomach rolling dangerously from the dissonance of the power Aurora was using and the strain of keeping her magic hidden as it rose to the surface in small starbursts. She was careful to keep her eyes on Aurora's back, and she avoided looking at the first tiny sprout that pushed up near Gia's foot. The little piece of greenery was imbedded in the chalk, but the magic didn't move against it. "Your brother won't stand a chance against witches and demons."

Aurora laughed and spread her arms, not bothering to turn to face them. "Humanity is far stronger than some fae-made creaturelike you could ever understand. But Tristan is willing to make the sacrifices necessary to cleanse our world."

Gia shook her head. "The only cleansing that needs to happen is fanatics like you."

A door was thrown open above them, and footsteps were heard clearly. Aurora smiled brightly, ignoring Gia. "Tristan?"

But the footsteps that came down the stairs didn't belong to Tristan. A familiar dark head twisted around the corner, and grinned. "Hello there Gorgeous, got yourself in a bit of a spot here, it seems? Your Bonnie Bennett asked me to check on you while they tidied things upstairs. Freya, I'm glad to see you, Bekah was be pleased you're still alive."

Aurora's face twisted into a mask of hate. "Vampire."

"Ah, you don't have to say it quite in that tone. You seemed eager enough to know me the other night," Enzo smiled at her, eyes crinkled at the corners. "My wife has a few things she'd like to chat with you about that, actually. Usually I'd dissuade someone from something as easy murder, but not my wife. She's got such a violently creativity mind. It's partly why I married her."

Aurora hissed. "I'll kill you both."

Enzo just looked amused, eyes scanning the floor with raised brows. "Got a few nasty things down here, don't you? Well, we'll just have to see how much they'll help you. Ladies, I'll return shortly."

He blurred away, and Aurora stomped one foot. Spinning, she stalked around Caroline, putting the circle between her and the staircase. "He thinks he can just mock me? A vampire?"

Caroline set her teeth as her knees slammed painfully into the concrete as Aurora began to chant in earnest, ripping at their magic with harsh words that left behind invisible gouges. Gia screamed, her hands pressed tightly to her head as she sank to her knees. The chalk started to glow, and the portal solidified. The vibrating inside Caroline's head grew worse, and nausea rolled through her. But beneath the terrible death magic that Aurora worked to blend the power she was stealing, was starbursts of green and gold.

Across from Caroline, unnoticed by the enraged Aurora, the daisy near Gia's knees bloomed, its perfect petals opening wide to drink in the death around it. Drawn by the power being violently expended, shoots slowly pushed free of the concrete. Shuddering at the next vicious pulse of of her magic, Caroline dug her nails into the floor and ducked her head at the growing brightness in the room. Aurora's voice rose, and she pulled for more and more magic, until even Freya was gasping painfully for air.

The portal settled with a silent howl.

Across from Caroline, Gia looked into the depths of its twisting power and dry heaved. Freya had slumped over, unconscious. Out of the corner of her eye, Caroline watched as her flower shoots continued to curl open into flowers up beneath the swirling opening, daisies and petunias in pretty colors opening wide. Each flower pushed against the balance of magic in the room, the tentative control that Aurora maintained, their happy voices drowning out the terrible dissonance until Caroline breathe safely again.

The very air seemed to shift, and the iron and blood left her mouth. Her magic was building with each piece of greenery, each happy bloom that filled the air. Even the light seemed to change, no longer painfully bright against her eyes, but something softer, more natural.

As her magic worked to clean away the last taint of the death magic, Caroline realized with a start that her headache, the worst of her fatigue, had faded. Carefully, she glanced at the darkness of the portal, and her breath caught. Behind the wild swirl of magic that called so forcefully to her, the glimpse of the world it opened to was beautiful. It was a treacherous landscape, stark in its loveliness, and it tugged at Caroline's chest.

A moment later, she realized the dissonance was gone.

"What did you do?"

Aurora's rage filled voice cut through Caroline's wonder, and she turned to meet furious eyes. Rage had twisted Aurora's pretty features into a grotesque mask, her teeth bared. She towered over Freya's slumped form, gaze wild, and Aurora took another step. "What did you do?"

"She claimed it for herself."

Caroline's head twisted around and her stomach flipped at the sight that Klaus made. His eyes were golden, lips curled to show the sharp points of fangs. He'd rolled his shirt away from his forearms, and those tattoos she'd first admired glowed with violent power. His shirt did little to hide that he was inked with similar symbols across his chest and abdomen, and she swallowed as he took everyone in with those burning eyes.

Near his foot, another flower pushed up.

"Impossible," Aurora bit out. She lifted her hand to chant, but Klaus smiled, and she faltered. But it wasn't Klaus that had given her pause, but the way bits of foundation scattered across the floor as more and more flowers started to push free. It was instinctive, to feed them what was churning in the middle of the room, to let her magic have its way as it was fed by the magic of the portal. Caroline bit her lip as her plants reached towards Klaus, pretty pinks and purples, blues and yellows scattering across the room.

Drawn by her.

Drawn by Klaus.

He met Caroline's gaze, and his smile shifted towards something utterly satisfied, before he pinned the frozen Aurora with his eyes. "Your brother is mine now."

"Impossible," she repeated fiercely. "He'd never serve you."

Klaus stepped further into the room, careful not to crush the growing garden around him. "Many have thought that over the years. I continue to find it fascinating how quickly that stance changes when they face death."

"No."

"You've failed," Klaus said with a laugh. "The portal, the trap you've fought to destroy me with is no longer under your control. Your brother is broken, and mine. You've lost utterly."

"I will not bargain with you," she declared, hands glowing with the power she'd stolen from the dead witches. "I'll kill them."

Klaus eyes started to glow brightly, power spilling down his face as he walked towards the circle, his tattoos blinding. "I think not."

Caroline had cleansed the circle, but it was clear that Aurora had stored some of the stolen magic in other places. Whatever Aurora threw at Klaus, the feel of it shattered the air. Ducking to cover her watering eyes, Caroline placed one hand on the floor, and stubbornly fed her magic into the circle. It would protect Gia and Freya, offer a buffer to Klaus.

She nearly lost her concentration, when the portal pulsed, unexpectedly flooding her system with power she had not asked for. Hunching over as the wild magic attempted to dig into the marrow of her bones, she let the portal feed power to her spell, her garden draining Aurora's power as fast as she could call it.

Near her, Klaus laughed wildly. Caroline thought she heard Bonnie scream and then suddenly, everything just… stopped. Carefully, she lifted her head and squinted through her watering eyes.

Aurora was gone.

Where she'd once stood, Freya fought to stay upright, swaying on her feet. Gia was pale, her lips bloodless, and she glanced at Caroline with wide eyes. "Freya pushed her in."

Freya smiled, her nose and eyes bloody. "Demon or Fae, whatever lives over there isn't going to like her very much. I hope they start to eat her while she's still alive and conscious."

"Caroline, Gia," Bonnie's frantic voice interrupted, and Caroline turned to find her. She was pushing past Kol, eyes worried. "Are you alright?"

Caroline smiled wearily. "We'll live."

"Yes," Gia said with a sigh. "But we'll need to break the circle to leave."

Bonnie stopped just in front of the chalk line, brows furrowed as Kol sauntered over. He was carrying a bat and blood spattered, where her friend was a little worn but clean. Caroline bit her lip as Bonnie smiled.

"That's easy enough to do."

Gia gave a tiny shriek when Bonnie turned and shoved Kol into the pentagram. He yelped, the hair on his arms visible standing on end before there was a crack of power and the circle was suddenly just chalk. Kol swore viciously, but to Caroline's surprise, Klaus just laughed.

Bonnie gave Kol a sugar-sweet smile. "You're the one bragging about being invincible. I'm just taking you at your word."

Kol bared his teeth, but Caroline ignored his response as the chains fell away. Rubbing her aching wrists for a moment, she reached out to stroke the daisy closest to her in a silent thank you. It pressed against her hand, radiating happiness. A moment later, footsteps tromped down the stairs, and the rest of the Mikaelson's flooded the room.

A blonde woman Caroline had never met went straight to Freya, Enzo hot on her heels. She nodded at the new witch and Enzo grinned brightly before helping his wife tend to Freya. A tall, severe man impeccably dressed walked straight for Gia and crouched, offering his hands.

She watched for a moment as they spoke quietly before Klaus stepped in front of her. "Alright, sweetheart?"

She accepted his help to stand with a sigh, thankful she'd worn slacks yesterday. Swaying a little, she didn't argue as he gripped her elbow, holding her steady. She tilted her chin towards the twisting portal, the magic softer, a little less wild.

"What are we going to do about that?"

Klaus glanced at the portal and shrugged. "It's yours now."

Enzo walked over, carrying a clearly disgruntled Freya easily. He glanced at the portal, and then at Caroline, something like admiration in his gaze. "Well now, aren't you just full of surprises?"

Bonnie glanced at Gia with uneasy eyes, but she shifted to lean against Caroline in a half hug. "How do you manage to do these things?"

Caroline laughed and returned her hug as Klaus moved away. "At least it's not a prison world."

Bonnie sighed, and just hugged her tighter.

Gia walked to them carefully, looking at the flowers with amusement. "I'll never look at a hanging garden the same way again. I'm seeing this correctly? You purified her magic, and then claimed it?"

Caroline grimaced. "The claiming was an accident. Flowers just want everything to be pretty. They take away the bad, if given a chance."

Rebekah snorted as she stepped around Enzo. "This is a bit more than pretty. The portal is bleeding power. In a few hours, you'd have your own little Underhill."

"And then I'd have to defend it," Caroline said in exasperation. She shook her head. "This isn't my kind of power."

"Then we'll need to close it," Bonnie said firmly. "We don't want something just walking through. Doors go both ways."

Caroline scowled, and ignored the bickering that broke out around her as Kol and Rebekah tried to argue with Bonnie. The power coming from the portal was astonishing, and Klaus' sister was right. A few hours, and the space in the basement would change and warp, twisting the very fabric of space around her. But this kind of power was addicting and would only drive her paranoia.

She just didn't know how to close it. Eyes narrowed, she glanced at Klaus who looked amused by the scene around him. "You could close it."

His smile dimpled, head tipping to the side "You'd have to give me control."

She scowled and ignored the way Bonnie's fingers cut into her skin. Gaze narrowed, she scrapped her lip with her teeth and studied his expression. There was no avoiding the power that would give him, not when she knew her own power had been boosted by the portal. But there were ways to minimize the damage.

"Only if you agree to close immediately," she told him firmly. "And you have to promise that whatever power you draw from it, you can't use it against me or those I claim."

Klaus' smile slowly widened, stretching across his face. He stepped closer, ran a finger down her arm. "A bargain, sweetheart?"

Caroline snorted. "Hardly. You still owe me."

His teeth flashed, and he offered his palm. "So I do. On my word, Caroline Forbes, I will close the portal, and any lingering power will not be used by me or mine to cause harm to those you claim."

Bonnie caught her arm. "You don't honestly trust him, do you?"

The thing was, she did. But there were other things to take into consideration. Such as the fact that the last time Klaus had used magic around her, she'd gone home aching. Caroline took a deep breath and nudged Bonnie with her hip. "You should go upstairs. This will be easier without an audience."

Bonnie opened her mouth but closed it when Gia swayed. A moment later and Elijah had a hand on her arm, steadying her. Gia looked at Bonnie and grimaced. "I think she's right. She'll be fine, probably. It's feels a bit like her garden, doesn't it?

Bonnie hesitated and then sighed, shoulders slumping. "Fine. Be careful."

Freya gave her a considering glance. "I want to see what they've done with the house, Rebekah, and I believe Lucien will have insights to what's still here."

Rebekah wrinkled her nose. "I do not understand your concern for that peasant."

Freya arched a brow. "Lucien was mine first."

Kol laughed, smiling at Bonnie. "Let's go, witchling. You're friends aren't the only witches to have expended considerable power. You're not nearly as much fun if you're all burned out and weak."

Bonnie scowled, but allowed herself to be led away. It took only a moment, for the room to empty. Once they were alone, Caroline settled her palm against his. "You do understand that if you just lied to me, I'll hunt you."

Klaus laughed softly. "I'd look forward to such a thing, sweetheart. Would you hunt me straight to my bed?"

She snorted, gaze narrowed and he stilled her words by brushing his thumb across her lips. "I haven't lied to you yet, Caroline. No point in starting now, when you watch me with such wary trust."

She pursed her lips and eyed him, the last of her exhaustion slipping away at the feel of his skin against hers. Awareness and heat brushed down her spine. "What are the odds that I react the same way as the other night at Rousseau?"

His brow arched and he shook his head. "I've never known my magic to illicit such a response without my intentions driving it, Caroline. I usually inspire fear, not arousal. It's possible it was a onetime reaction."

"Possibly and likely?"

He laced their fingers together. Golden threads widen like ribbons through his iris, until the blue disappeared. Her mouth ran dry, and power flared against her palm and fingers as his tattoos came to life. "I suppose we'll know shortly."

She rolled her eyes, and then Klaus' power blanketed the room. For a single moment, it was nearly impossible to breath and then her lungs dragged in air thick with the heat of his magic, until him inside her chest. Klaus laced their fingers together he manipulated the energy in the room, tugging gently against magic to coax the portal's power into his grasp. Claimed it. The moment the balance of power in the room shifted, she felt it down to her bones. The air grew hot and lazy against her exposed skin, and her body started to burn.

Caroline inhaled sharply, and staggered forward against Klaus as the feel of him stroked her, hazing over her brain. Arousal coiled low in her belly, adrenaline igniting to lust. She bit her lip viciously to hold back her moan, and Klaus cursed quietly against her ear.

"Caroline," he rasped and her teeth cut into her lip at the sound of her name against his tongue, rough and touched with gravel. His free hand settled against her hip, fingers scalding against her waist. "You smell divine."

She gripped his shirt tightly, her breasts aching, forehead pressed tightly to his shoulder. "Spirits, you're potent."

His laugh was strained. "There is enough power left in this room that I can transport us to your home, but you'll have to invite me."

His fingers ran up the curve of her spine to grip the nape of neck, and she moaned. She felt him shiver, and he respected her name firmly. Taking a deep breath, her control fraying, she pulled back enough to look at his face.

"Come home with me."

He tugged her back against him, a bitten off order harsh in her ears. She shivered as they were surrounded in a bone deep cold, and then suddenly they were standing outside in a muggy, New Orleans night. The moonlight and humid air helped clear her head for a moment, and she blinked slowly as she realized they were standing next to the back gate of her yard. Turning to face him, her gaze froze greedily onto Klaus' lips.

All the tangled up wants and needs from the last week loosened in her chest, and she was flushed and a little giddy. Aurora was dead or would shortly wish she'd died. Freya and Gia were alive. Aching from more than just Klaus' magic, Caroline decided she didn't want to deal with the after effects and the battle alone. His magic was an aphrodisiac against her senses, and she wanted his hands on her skin.

Klaus dragged his gaze down her body, eyes heated, but then he briefly closed them. Visibly fought for control. "Let's get you…"

She rose up on her toes and slanted her mouth across his. He staggered into the fence as she tangled her fingers into his curls, tongue slick along his bottom lip. She curved one hand against his throat, the other fisting in his hair and Caroline pressed firmly against the hard line of his body, moaning as lingering magic sparked and heated against her breasts and stomach.

She wanted to lay the flat of her tongue against his skin, to taste the power that buzzed through her in heady waves of arousal. Klaus's hands curled around her hips, pressure pushing away instead of pulling her closer, and she bit down hard in retaliation before sucking the sting into her mouth. He groaned, nails biting pleasantly into her skin, but he still made no move to deepen the contact.

Pulling back, she scowled at him, glaring his wet mouth. "Kiss me."

Those golden eyes blazed, and his head dipped a hair. "Sweetheart, you're high on my magic."

"I'm aware."

His fingertips slid underneath the hem of her shirt, just high enough that he grazed skin. She swayed forward, tongue snaking across her lips as she watched his mouth shape words. "I'm not a saint, to help you get off until you can think clearly. I want you drunk on me, desperate and writhing on my cock. I want to spread my power against your skin until you're flushed and wet with it, mindless with greed. Be certain."

She ached to push his palms higher, to encourage him to cup her breasts. Her thighs clenched at the thought, and she took an unsteady breath, but it came out on a needy sigh as he shifted. She swallowed as she stared at his tattoos, trying to steady her thoughts. Somehow, Caroline managed to grip his wrists with shaking fingers, and she tugged him away from her skin.

She took an uneven step away, and watched in satisfaction as his jaw jumped. He wasn't as immune as he wished her to think. Deliberately she dragged her eyes down the perfect line of him, tongue swiping across her lips as she lingered on the visible line of his erection.

"So demanding," she said hoarsely. A flicker of power, and the wards shifted so she could open her gate. Stepping through, she toed off her shoes and socks, and sank her bare feet into the soft grass. Klaus was utterly still on the edge of her property, throat moving as he watched her with glittering eyes.

His gaze remained unblinking as she peeled off her shirt, and Caroline reached for her bra hook with challenging eyes. The molded cups fell to her feet, and his gaze dropped immediately to the hard points of her nipples. "You don't scare me. This is my territory, Klaus. I promise you, I'm already wet and I'm getting off very soon. It's up to you if that means I go inside and play with my vibrator or you come here and we have sex. Lots of sex."

His smile curled into something predatory, and Klaus stepped past her gate and tugged off his shirt. The myriad of tattoos glowed faintly in the moonlight, gleaming with the lingering power that felt so good against her skin. She waited until the gate closed behind him, until he reached for her, before she took him to the ground. Klaus made a noise of surprise that she muffled with her mouth as she straddled him. This time he opened beneath her searching tongue willingly and she ground her hips down as his tongue stroked hers, and his clever fingers tugged briefly on one nipple. His mouth was as demanding as hers, and she whined as he sucked on her tongue before gripping her waist and rolling.

She was already so aroused that the rough slide of his pelvis sent little shocks through her blood, the softness of the grass beneath her bare spine a hundred individual caresses. The hot press of his chest against her breasts felt amazing, the heat of his tattoos a delicious sensation against the hard point of her nipples. She curled her legs around his waist and rolled firmly against the hard line of his cock, searching for that perfect angle. He groaned into her mouth, the cords of his throat stark against her searching fingers as she arched against him.

Klaus ripped his mouth away and licked at the line of her jaw, down her neck as her head fell back. He ground down on her next thrust and her nails dug into his skin. "Can you come for me just like this?"

Caroline fisted her hand into his hair as he continued down her chest, their hips moving roughly against each other. He tugged on one nipple and sucked on the other, and she squeezed his hips between her thighs. His hand tangled in her hair, and she frantically rocked against him.

"Caroline."

She panted, skin hot and tight as her wet panties clung to her skin. "I don't know."

Klaus slipped a hand beneath her back, gripping her ass tightly as he helped her move against him. His mouth returned to her breasts, teeth gracing the swell firmly before he rolled her nipple against his tongue. She shuddered, helped to stop the hitching cries at each rough thrust of his cock rubbing so perfectly against her clit. Heat built, tension coiling low and scorching, and she gasped out a demand for more.

More teeth. More tongue. More everything. Klaus obliged, magic pulsing between them, his mouth greedy and wet against her breasts. Another rough colliding of their hips and she came with a gasp, body jerking against his. Her nails broke skin as she shuddered through the orgasm, body slowly relaxing, muscles loose and sated. She stared hazily up at the slowly sinking moon, and her thighs slipped off his waist.

"Better?" Klaus murmured against her sternum, the words rough and filled with a devastating sort of greed.

"Yes," Caroline sighed as she stretched her back, but her words caught in her throat as he flicked open the button on her slacks. Gaze holding hers, he tugged them down her body. His thumb traced up the soaked lace of her underwear and she shuddered, biting her lip. But then his hands smoothed along her thighs, skimming softly over the bruises on her knees. His fingertips smoothed delicately across one bruise, and then the other, until only perfect skin remained.

"You didn't have to do that," she whispered roughly as her clit throbbed at the pulse of his magic. She shivered at the flare of dimples, the scrap of his thumb against her knee a distraction.

"Oh, I assure you, sweetheart, I did." Klaus swiped his tongue across his lips, and his gaze settled between her thighs with heated intent. ""You're so pretty like this. All wet and flushed, body slick from your orgasm. But I've thought of you in other ways, the curve of her thighs against my palms as you straddle me, the feel of your perfect arse against my stomach as I put you on your hands and knees."

She shuddered and watched with hazy eyes as he settled between her thighs with hunger clear on his face. Gaze unblinking, he hitched one of her legs over his shoulder and lifted her hips easily, breath brushing hot and unsteady against slick lace. Gaze flickering back to hers, he kissed her clit slowly through the fabric, tongue following with a slow, insubstantial caress. He murmured his words against her, mouth moving teasingly against her.

"I imagine you're unbearably lovely when you beg."

She dug her fingers into the grass, chest heaving at another flickering caress followed by the faintest touch of his magic, so that her blood throbbed. "You're such a tease."

He laughed against her, and she squirmed against his hold. "I've hardly claimed to be nice."

Caroline struggled not to plead, nails digging into the earth. "Do you want to know what encourages a woman to have sex with you a second time? Orgasms. Multiple."

His smile turned wicked, and Klaus hooked his fingers under the band of her underwear. Caroline glared and her hips jerked against his chin as he easily snapped her underwear, the scraps falling away with a wet sound from her body. The unexpected rasp of his beard against her clit had her moaning, and he blew across her aching center just to feel her thigh flex against his shoulder.

"Klaus."

"I didn't say I couldn't be indulgent," he chided before his tongue dipped inside her with a pleased hum, a wet caress that slipped slow and lingering. She whined his name, arching her hips, but he kept his pace, teasing her. Small flicks and longer tastes that left her thighs trembling as she clawed at the ground. Caroline could hear how wet she was with each stroke of his tongue, her arousal heightened by each little noise of pleasure he made at her taste.

When he finally circled her clit with his tongue, Caroline arched in a silent scream. Then, gaze seeking hers, Klaus sucked her clit between his lips with just enough pressure to send her spiraling. He allowed her to grind against his mouth, moaned as if he enjoyed it. Just as she started to come down, magic splashed against her thighs.

Caroline jerked, breathe heaving as she struggled to drag in air, fingers reaching to fist in his curls, voice hoarse. "You can't be serious."

A laugh, and when his tongue licked broad and wet across her clit, magic caressed the taunt muscles of her abdomen, ratcheting the arousal that left her clenching down hard against the next swipe of his tongue. "You were very specific love, regarding your desire for multiple orgasms. Far me if for me to deny you, when you asked so sweetly."

She couldn't find the will for a snarky comeback when his magic skimmed her breasts and soaked her nipples. Her heels dug bruises against his spine but he merely encouraged her with careful, perfect strokes of his tongue and the pressure of his lips. Her third orgasm built slow and hot off her second, and she was loose limbed and utterly sated as she came down, eyes closed.

"So lovely," Klaus murmured as he moved up her body, and his wet lips dragged up her abdomen. He teased her belly button, the underside of one breast, and his jeans a rough caress against her skin. "I want you like this, but with my cock inside you."

Caroline found the strength to curl her arm around his shoulders and lick her arousal from his tongue. His smile was smug and aroused, and she shivered as he teased her breast with his hands. Grass grazed her skin as a hot breeze swept through the garden, and she roused enough to catch the happy chatter of her plants around her. As talented as his mouth and tongue, this was still her territory. He didn't get to have all the fun. Caroline surged up and kissed him hard, taking advantage of his distraction to flip them again. She dug her nails into his chest when he went to move and she lowered her head, hair falling to frame his face.

"You're pretty good at dishing it out, but can you take it?" Her voice was a taunt and he bared the edge of his teeth as she rubbed her ass against his erection.

"Caroline."

She smiled and gripped his hands, applying pressure until he let her press them over his head. He jerked beneath her when the roots broke ground and pinned them in place. She tapped his nose, head shaking as his eyes began to glow. "Do not burn my plants."

Those burning eyes darkened, and the tattoos against his skin lit up instead. "Three orgasms and you're going to leave me with blue balls?"

She bit the muscle beneath one tattoo in punishment, licked the bruise to taste his sparking power. Sliding down, she dragged his zipper down, careful to run her fingers across his cock as she licked along his glowing flesh. Her slick thighs grew wetter at each pass of her tongue, and she gripped his cock firmly when it sprang free. Caroline left his jeans bunched along his thighs, lifted her head to watch his face as she gripped fisted him tightly. His eyes dragged down to body and to watch as she stroked him, the lean lines of his body shuddering.

"Blue balls?" Caroline repeated as she rose above him, admiring pleasure on his face, the tightness of his abs as her breasts swayed. "Now that wouldn't be very considerate of me, would it?"

She lowered herself and pressed against the tip of his erection, letting the sensitive head of his cock slip between her dripping folds. The corded muscles in his neck stood out as she tightened around him, rocking slightly. She struggled to keep her voice even as her body tightened around him, desperate to feel him fully inside her. His knuckles were white, jaw ridges with strain and she planted her shaky hand against his abs to hold steady.

Lips curving, she dipped her chin and swayed. "Do you think you can come like this?"

Klaus snarled, lips peeling away from his teeth and she dropped down the length of him, thighs clamped against his hips and his spine arched. Keeping her hand on his stomach for balance, she brought the other up to toy with her nipple as she rocked against him. Klaus hips jerked up each time she moved, and she made no attempt to stifle her sighs or moans. Clenching around him hard, she shuddered at how good he felt, and gasped out her tease.

"Is that a no, love?"

Klaus' harsh groan was rewarding, and he trembled as his body strained for a release. His voice was little more than a growl when he spoke. "Caroline, touch your clit. I want to feel you come around me."

She moved to brace her hand on his chest so he could watch her breasts sway, leaning forward to bite his chin. "You first."

He bared his teeth, expression dark, but face his tightened with pleasure as she lifted her hips and slammed them back down. Her next downward slide was as slow as she could manage, and she delighted in the strain on his face, the way his eyes squeezed shut. "Aren't you pretty like this, with your wrists bound and your cock inside me?"

"I'll remember this," he gritted out and her laughter turned to a moan as she swiveled her hips.

"Good," she said before she rasped her tongue rasped over his nipple. He made a lovely noise, so she took the hard point between roughly between her teeth and he jolted under her, cursing. She lifted her head and bared her teeth, just to see his eyes flare. Two more rough rolls of her body, and he came with a guttural moan, her name on his lips. She watched the sharp lines of his face tighten with his release, and suddenly understood the greed he'd shown her, for she was just as needy. When his lashes fluttered open she slipped her hand between their bodies, making no move to release his softening cock, his release sticky on her thighs as she rubbed her slippery clit. She gasped, aroused and riding a near painful edge, and panted as Klaus Klaus watched her through slitted eyes. His lips were parted as he breathed deeply, eyes devouring each motion of her fingers. A few quick circles and a firm pinch, and she tipped over, not needing much with his gaze so focused on her pleasure. She sank against his chest with harsh cry, and they laid there in the moonlight for long moments, breathing heavy.

"As delightful as that was," Klaus' chest finally rumbled against her ear. "I'd like my hands back."

She sighed and released him, lifting her head to grin at him. Her smile caught as she felt his cock swell inside her, her eyes going wide. Klaus' answering smile was all kinds of dangerous as he rolled them a third time. His fingers clasped hers, and he pinned her hands above her head. Caroline spluttered as his skin pulsed with power, and he drew back and thrust firmly back inside her. She shuddered out a cry, nails digging into the back of his hands at the feel of him inside her, the new angle of his cock. His power was bright against her eyes as it slid thickly across her skin, and her senses reeled. Arousal was a vice in her gut, and Klaus made a low noise of delight as he rocked inside rough snap of his hips, and her moan turned to a short scream as he found the perfect angle inside her.

His voice was a dark rasp against her ear when he spoke, hand firmly gripping her ass as her thigh hooked over his hip to pull him closer. "I believe it is my turn to make demands, hmm?"

When the sun rose, Caroline was draped over Klaus' chest, eyes fluttering. He'd tangled his fingers in her wild hair, his other hand slowly stroking down the knots in her spine. She wasn't quiet dozing, but she wasn't really all that awake.

"Do you really have bodies buried out here?"

Caroline sighed sleepily and shifted to look up at him when he tugged lightly at her hair. His eyes were closed, head tipped into the sun. "Why? Would having sex on top of corpses bother you?"

His chest shook with silent laughter, and when he glanced down at her, his eyes danced with it. "Not at all. I'm surprised it doesn't bother you,"

She snorted and reluctantly sat up, shaking out the mess of her hair. She was covered in bits of foliage and grass stains, sticky with sweat. But she found she didn't mind and stretched her back with a groan. "His name was Kai, and he tried to take Bonnie from me. I'll dig him up at some point, grind his bones with salt and grave dirt. How did you know about it?"

Klaus sat up with an interesting flex of muscle and nodded. "Davina mentioned it. She knows what you are."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "I'm not worried about Davina. Bonnie is a better witch, and I'm far more creative."

He reached over and ran a fingertip between her breasts. "Oh, I certainly agree."

She swatted at his hand, but was smiling. "So, is this going to be a thing? You use your power around me and boom, I need a cold shower?"

Klaus shook his head. "I imagine your magic will build an immunity to it, to a degree. Although it will possibly remain potent in certain… situations."

She snorted. "Props for not saying positions."

He grinned and looked around, lips still curved as he studied her wild garden. "Rebekah was wrong."

Caroline arched her brows. "About what?"

"You don't need a portal to bring you a piece of Underhill. Your family has carved out its own, here."

There was admiration in his voice, a bit of possessiveness that fluttered in her belly. But Underhill wasn't a discussion she was willing to have with him, not yet. She was also going to have to figure out what to do about the garden she'd left behind in the de Martel's home. Clearing her throat, she chewed on her lip. "Now what?"

Klaus watched her knowingly. "Well now, that depends on you."

"I'm listening."

His lips curved, eyes glittering with amusement. "I still want to draw along your skin, mark you as mine."

She arched a single brow. "No."

He didn't seem put out by her answer, just amused. "Then I suppose you'll have to decide if dinner is an appropriate next move."

Caroline rolled her neck. "You can pick me up at six-thirty on Saturday. Just as an FYI, I don't put out on first dates."

He blinked and she stood. Grinning, she started towards the house, walking backwards. She crooked her fingers, enjoying the way he watched her with dark eyes and parted lips. "I'd already decided to accept your invitation for dinner before Aurora decided to go all crazy."

His head tilted and he stood, an unconcerned in the sun as he'd been in moonlight. His eyes blazed, gaze intent. "Did you?"

"Yup, but right now? I'm hungry and need a shower. I probably need to call Bonnie and Gia, but first you can wash my back."

Klaus caught her in three steps, and wrapped his fingers in her hair to hold her still as he stared down at her. "Be certain, Caroline."

"Am I certain that this will work out? Not at all," she told him gently. "But I'm certain that I want to see where this is going. I've known it for a while, but you're kind of an ass."

He bit her lip, licked it and then inside her mouth as her lips eagerly parted. When he lifted his head, they were both breathing hard. "I'm a possessive man, Caroline. Even should I tattoo every inch of your skin with my power, claim part of your soul, I still would not be satisfied."

She ran her fingers down the scruff along his chin and shrugged. "Then you better make dealing with you worth it."

Klaus laughed softly, teeth sharp. "You said something about a shower?"

Shivering at the hint of gravel in his voice, she laced their fingers together and walked inside.

[The End]