A/N: Hello again! Herein lies my first (and probably only) attempt at Klaroline. It's written for the VDay Exchange, based on the prompt from LastDayOfMagic:

Okay, so my prompt - Caroline/Klaus. With what's already occurred on the show where he's saved her life, and he left her the bracelet, and Tyler is trying to break the sire bond to be with her. She's standoffish toward Klaus, trying to forget what's happened because... how awkward is it to be confused by your feelings for the Original hybrid who tried to murder your best friend and has planted himself in your town to wreak havoc on everyone you know and love?

After lying low for a bit after saving her life (himself caught between being smitten by this girl and also trying to keep his emotions out of everything to remain a cold calculated killer), Klaus plans her a most romantic Valentine's Day to show her the benefits of being a vampire and consequently sweeps her off her feet (despite her early-on skepticism). Can be T or M rated. Just want to see someone's take on the interesting sexual tension on what would be the most forbidden sort romance on the show! ;)

Shameless self-promotion: Twitter - SweetWillowTree

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries.

To be entirely honest, Klaus was surprised that no one had called the police yet.

Not that it would have deterred him at all, but he had spent the past hour pacing along the sidewalk in front of the Forbes home, which probably would have seemed like suspicious behaviour to anyone watching.

Hell, it is suspicious behaviour, and he knows it. He is the Original hybrid, after all, and someone that most of the defenders of fair Mystic Falls would consider to be 'the bad guy'. Little matter; after all, what does it matter what they think anyway?

His ears perk up when he hears the sound of the front door opening. There's a whooshing sound, and he finds himself pressed up against his car, held momentarily in place by a tiny blonde thing growling at him.

"Good morning, beautiful," he rasps before grabbing her wrist and pushing her back. "And how are you, this fine day?"

"What are you doing here?" Caroline snaps, pulling her robe tighter around her and eyeing their surroundings anxiously. With a lower voice, she continues, "It's, like, seven in the morning. You'll scare the neighbours."

"Oh, that's not true; I'm harmless." Her eyebrows twitch for a moment as she glares at him. "Alright, fine, both of us know that that isn't exactly true, but I come in peace today."

To emphasize, he throws both hands in the air and plasters on his most charming smile.

"What do you want?" Caroline sighs, shifting her weight, clearly eager to be done with him so she can go back to bed.

Still grinning, Klaus takes a step toward her, disconcerted when she inches back, and reaches for her hand.

"We, my lovely, are going to take a little trip today."

He brings her hand up to kiss her knuckles, but she suddenly pulls away, jumping away from him like he's a leper.

"Oh my God! What is wrong with you! We aren't friends, Klaus. Do you understand that?"

The blonde turns on her heel to retreat to the house, but the hybrid is in front of her in an instant. He's scowling now, grabbing her by the shoulders to hold her in place.

"I did save your life," he growls.

She shoves him away and brushes past him. "Yeah, after you ordered Tyler to kill me." He follows her up the path as she continues muttering. "And, I haven't forgotten that you tried to sacrifice me. Remember, when you murdered my best friend?"

Caroline suddenly froze, causing a momentarily disarmed Klaus to bump into her back, before she spun back to face him, poking his chest with an accusatory finger.

"And you broke Stefan! And you tried to kill Elena again! And you killed Tyler, and you won't let him go!"

Faster than the human eye can follow, Klaus has both of Caroline's wrists captured, and has pulled her to him. Her eyes widen at the subtle threat in his actions, but she remains otherwise motionless.

"Would you like me to apologize, because I won't, Caroline. There are reasons why I've done everything that I've done, and it is not for you to judge, little girl, what is right and what is wrong."

"It isn't for you to judge either," she retorts, her voice an octave higher, revealing the mixture of fear and indignation that she is doing so well at hiding. "You've gone so far, Klaus, in your mission to, I don't know, take over the world, or whatever, that you can't even see what it's like to be good anymore!"

And there they stood, locked together, neither making a move to escape and show weakness to the other. Klaus was impressed; he'd known that the cheerleader had a reserve of strength within her, but he had truly believed that it would take much more to bring it out. How intriguing...

"All right," he answers pleasantly, any trace of dissatisfaction wiped from his features as he releases her and steps away. He gives a little bow and smirks. "Give me a chance, then, to show you how good I can be. Give me one day to prove to you that I'm worthy of your friendship." He pauses, but when she remains unresponsive, he straightens up and winks at her. "Isn't that what the good guys do?"

"One day?" she asks, finally. He nods. "I won't fall for it, you know," she assures him. "I'm not Elena; she's all about the 'forgive and forget', 'people can change', crap, but I'm not."

Klaus merely shrugs, the corner of his mouth twitching at her affirmations.

"Go pack your things," he orders quietly. "I'll pick you up in an hour."

"Fine!" she squeaks out, apparently still under the impression that she's won the argument. She storms off, back to her front door before skidding to halt and turning back around. "Wait; where are we going?"

"Isn't Paris a little overboard?" Caroline deadpans once the pair have reached their gate. "I mean, sure it's Paris, but we only have until tonight, and -"

She's silenced by Klaus' finger against her lips, and she tries terribly hard not to tremble.

"You said that I have one day. And my definition of one day is twenty four hours, which means that I have until 8 o'clock tomorrow morning."

With a slight nod to emphasize his point, he moves his hand to her lower back, pushing her forward. For a second, she relaxes into his touch, until she remembers who he is, what he's done, and why they're here.

I probably should have told someone where I was going, she chastises herself before realizing how ridiculous that would sound.

"Hey Elena! Just wanted to let you know that I'm flying out of the country with Klaus for the night. See ya!"

Yeah, that would go over like a lead balloon.

"What are you thinking about?" Klaus enquires gently, the softness of his voice shocking her.

She wonders whether she should be honest with him, or bluff. She chooses honesty; this is, after all, an experiment in 'being good'.

"I was just thinking that I probably should have told someone where I was going."

"Ah, but where's the fun in that?" he drawls, causing her to roll her eyes. "I'm serious, love -"

"- not your love -"

"- Caroline," he corrects himself. He glances around before leading her by the hand over to a window. "You're a vampire now; there are no limits, no expectations, beyond what you set for yourself." He presses her hand to the glass, covering it with his own. "The entire world is out there for you to explore... Why hold yourself to anyone else? Why hold yourself here?"

He's behind her now, pressing himself against her back. She takes a shuddering breath and turns her head, her lips less than an inch away from his.

"Because," she whispers, watching as his eyes lock on her mouth, "I don't want to be alone like you for the rest of my existence."

She pulls away from him and saunters off, leaving him by the window and trying to convince herself that she doesn't even care.

The flight is smooth. Caroline curls up in the wide, first-class seat, and tumbles into sleep within twenty minutes of take-off.

Klaus spends eight hours watching her.

They land at midnight, local time, and breeze out of the airport.

"I don't know what you expect to do to convince me that you're a decent person, Klaus. We practically have to turn and go back now if we want to get to Mystic Falls in time."

The hybrid freezes, turns to face her with a mischievous grin.

"And what if, my dear, we don't want to get back to Mystic Falls in time?"

A sudden flash of panic contorts the blonde's features, and she takes a step back onto the Paris sidewalk.

"This dance is getting a little old, love," Klaus grumbles, gently taking her by the elbow to lead her to the nearest taxi. He gives the driver an order in flawless french before sliding into the back seat with his companion. "I only meant that you may not want to leave quite so soon. We are in the City of Love on Valentine's Day, are we not?"

Caroline frowns, her eyes unfocused as she seems to be ticking the days off on her fingers. Then her hands slap up to cover her mouth.

"Ohmigod you're right! How could I have forgotten Valentine's Day! Tyler -"

She had reached down to pluck her phone out of her purse, but Klaus caught her hand before she could manage it.

"Tyler hasn't been to see you since he bit you. He hasn't called; hasn't texted. Are you sure he cares that much?"

He'd meant it as an innocent question, but the moment the words had spilled past his lips, he saw the hurt they did to her. And that bothers him more than he would like.

"He does care," she answers, her voice cold as ice. "He's trying to make sure that you never have that control over him again."

And with that, she slides away, pressing herself to the cab door and scowling out the window.

When they arrive at their destination, Caroline is confused. She can feel Klaus' eyes on her as she takes in the sight of the elaborate castle, beautifully lit up, behind the glass pyramid.

"Where are we?" she asks quietly, her anger from the car ride seemingly forgotten.

He takes her by the hand, and in her awe of the building, she doesn't pull away.

"I want to show you something, a particular interest of mine."

She feels off-balance, not knowing what's happening. At the very least, she would have appreciated the opportunity to change if she wanted. She glances over at Klaus to compare their outfits as they walk around the pyramid and down into the castle.

He's wearing a pair of light jeans with Italian shoes, of course. His grey Bench jacket is zipped all the way up, contrasting beautifully with his blue eyes.

"Crap," she mumbles.

"What's wrong?"

Oh nothing, she imagines replying, I just love your pretty blue eyes.

"I just remembered, um..." She stutters out a response, distracted by her sudden recognition of just how great Klaus looks. Like, all the time. "Just remembered that I left my straightener on at home."

He gives her a slow nod and knowing smirk before looking over her shoulder at a man coming toward them.

"Stay here a moment, please," he orders, though it comes out more as a suggestion as he squeezes her shoulder lightly and strides past her.

She turns, curious, to see him speaking with the newcomer. For a moment, she's terrified of what the hybrid will do to the man. But then they both laugh, and Klaus returns to her.

"What did you just do?" she asks with an accusatory tone.

He laughs and links her arm through his, leading her further in. "I didn't kill him, Caroline, I compelled him."

"Compelled him to what?" she squealed indignantly. "Tap a vein? Cut off his arm? Jump off a bridge?"

The more she spoke, the more he laughed at her. And the more he laughed at her, the more upset she became.

"This isn't funny, Klaus!"

"Yes," he chuckles, finally pointing at the man, who had unlocked the doors for them. "It is extremely funny, love." She growls at the pet name. "I only compelled the guard to open the museum for us."

A flash of recognition flares in Caroline's mind, and she turns slowly, reexamining their surroundings.

"Is this the Louvre?" she breathes.

He winks at her, pulling her through the doors, slipping an envelope into the security guard's jacket pocket. Once away from the man, Klaus blurs them across the museum, where they're surrounded by sculptures.

"There's a very firm 'no touching' policy at most museums, and that includes this one," he informs her. She pouts at him, disappointed with this development. "But we can make a special exception for this evening only."

He takes her hand and leads her over to the first marble statue, placing her fingers on the cool stone.

"We're vampires, Caroline. There are no rules for us, beyond those that we set ourselves. The only thing that we need to remain true to is ourselves."

"So you're just a heartless murderer?" she points out, turning her body to face him.

"When it suits me? Yes. I have these skills, and it would be an affront to fate not to use them. I won't apologize for it."

Caroline rolls her eyes, taking a step away from her companion. "Then I won't forgive it."

This seems to strike Klaus as being ridiculous, so again, he snickers at her expense. "I don't want your forgiveness."

With an exasperated sigh, the blonde throws her arms into the air. These mind games are all too much for a high school girl to handle, and for a second, she pities Elena.

"Well then what do you want?"

His expression changes, his eyes darken, but he doesn't give an answer, and Caroline walks away to explore the rest of sculptures.

"It's the texture of it," Klaus breathes over Caroline's shoulder.

She jumps, clearly unaware that he'd been so close to her. He loves surprising her, and loves that she has surprised him. He hadn't expected her to want to stay for so long, but they'd been exploring for hours already. At supernatural speed no less. They'd made it to the hall where the paintings of the human form were kept, and Caroline was standing between two particular images, looking from one to the other as though confused by them.

"The way the paint is layered and blended," he continues, reaching past her to gently thumb picture. "That's why it's so much more appealing than the other. But you never know it if you can't feel it."

Caroline turns, and again, they are less than an inch apart. Klaus knows that it would take no effort at all to brush his lips against hers, but if this is to work out the way he wants it to, he'll have to wait for her.

He can be patient, when it suits him.

Although it looks as though he won't have to be for much longer, as the girl doesn't pull away. They are locked together in a stare until an obnoxious blast of music interrupts their atmosphere, and ruins everything.

"That's um..." Caroline is visibly flustered, stumbling over her words, and Klaus is fairly certain that he'll kill something with his bare hands right about now. "That's a text from Tyler." She's got her phone in her hands now, and scrolls through it. "Wishing me a happy Valentine's Day."

"Right," Klaus growls, backing away a few steps.

"Oh come on!" the girl exclaims, suddenly angry. "You fly me out here, show me a couple of paintings, and expect me to forget about my life back home?" The hybrid glares, and she continues. "You aren't proving anything with this, Klaus. I know you like things; I have the diamond bracelet to prove it. What I need to see from you-" She steps closer to him, places a hand on his chest, and he is suddenly petrified. "- Is that you can see the beauty in people the way you can see the beauty in these portraits."

"There's a difference," he protests, but she cuts him off.

"Yeah, there is. Art is art; people are people. They have thoughts and feelings, and they can be hurt or happy. They give you so much more than objects can!"

"And they die!" he shouts. "The art never dies! It lives on forever, unlike people."

That terrified feeling that had overwhelmed Klaus when Caroline had been so close to him is back with a vengeance. He trembles like a small child at his admission, at the inadvertent revelation of his fear of being left behind, being left out.

His musings are interrupted by Caroline's soft voice.

"I won't die," she says softly. "Neither will Tyler, or Damon, or Stefan. Or your family, either, if you'll just let them out of their damned coffins." She pauses, then scrunches up her nose adorably. "Except Rebekah. You can leave her where she is."

Klaus laughs, somehow, at the ridiculousness of her final statement. She's always doing that, he realizes. Always going from serious to shallow in the blink of an eye. He thinks he could love that, if he wanted to.

"Do you really not see how beautiful people really are?" she asks him earnestly.

"Do you really not see how little they matter? All of this will fade from you, Caroline, and all that will be left is the vampire that you've become."

He's anxious saying that, scared that she'll take it to heart and hate him a little more. But she doesn't.

"That's why this is so important to me! In a hundred years, I probably won't care anymore. Why is it so wrong that I hold on to my humanity while I still can?"

For once, Klaus is speechless. Caroline continues as though she's forgotten where they are, or who she's talking to.

"Take Elena, for example. She's got all this craziness going on, mostly from you, and in spite of that... In spite of the fact that she still has feelings for Stefan, she still works to show Damon the beauty of the world. She wants him to be a better person, because she can see that he's miserable otherwise. And anytime she pushes too hard, he lashes out at her, but she still goes back. Isn't that amazing?"

"And... and Matt. You don't know this, but Matt had an older sister named Vicki, who was a stoner, and dated Jeremy and Tyler, except that Damon kept attacking because she was always in the wrong place at the wrong time. Anyways, he ended up turning her, and she went all 'rawr', and then Stefan staked her. Anyways -"

She was like a woman transformed, much like he had thought before, jumping from intense emotional discussion to what seemed to be gossip.

"- So Matt and Elena used to date, like, way back when, and when things were getting really bad at home for him, the Gilbert's invited him to move into their house. But he said no, because he had to stay behind for his sister, to make sure she was okay, because she just didn't know how to take care of herself at all. Isn't that just... Klaus?"

He'd taken her by the hand, and was leading her down the hall and to the right, into another massive room. When they are just feet away from his target, he stops, turning and pulling her hand between both of his, pressing it to his lips as he speaks.

"Would you like to see the most honest and baffling manifestation of the beauty of humankind?" he offers, though he knows it isn't even a question.

She nods, frowning in bemusement, and he tugs her forward, wrapping one arm scandalously low around her waist, moving her hand with the other to point at the surprisingly small portrait before them.

"It's... It's the Mona Lisa," Caroline whispers reverently.

"'La Giaconda' or 'La Joconde', but yes, you're right." He grips her fingers a little harder and places her hand over the painted woman's chest.

"This smile," he grazes the lips with Caroline's thumb, "Is what has captivated millions. Because it hints at a secret, at a mystery. It gives just a glimpse of a story, but not enough to satisfy. Everyone has that, don't you think?"

Satisfaction flows through him when she leans back, further into his embrace, and moves their hands together against the canvas.

"I think we finally agree on something," she admits quietly, still enthralled with the image before her. "About how important it is to feel that mystery, right?"

She presses into him harder, and he tightens his grip on her waist in response, suppressing a low groan.

Patience, he reminds himself. Then nearly swallows his tongue when Caroline's arm snakes over his to tighten his hold, and relaxes her head onto his shoulder.

"Klaus?"

"Caroline?"

"You're kinda really smooth, y'know that?"

He laughs, even though it really isn't funny, at least, not in this atmosphere. He feels her shudder when his breath rolls over the bare skin of her throat, and he presses a soft kiss to her pulse point.

"One of my many talents," he responds, in a low, gravelly tone.

"Oh," she teases him, "So you're good at something other than killing people."

He slips his hand under her sweater and strokes her pale skin with his thumb.

"Well, if you would give me the chance, I could show you many other things I excel at."

His tongue darts out to taste her throat, and she moans softly.

"How much longer do we have here?" she breathes, slowly moving her hips to rub against his groin.

"My apartment," he gasps, grabbing her hip hard enough to bruise to keep her still. "I have an apartment nearby."

And without further discussion, they'd blurred out.

Caroline learned quickly that when Klaus says something like 'apartment', what he really means 'palace'.

Alright, not quite a palace, but a penthouse at least. She stands in the middle of the living, mouth hanging open, eyes scanning the high ceilings and the tasteful decor. And somehow, not a spec of dust to be found. Interesting, considering he'd been living in America for the past six months at least.

She moves to the windows, bare feet sinking into the luxurious carpets, since Klaus had made her take her shoes off at the door. She fingers the thick drapes for a second before pushing them open, momentarily stunned by the view.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

She jumps, not having heard his approach. The sun is just rising, not quite over the horizon, but the sky is painted with anticipatory colours. Boundaries ignored, the hybrid reaches around her to unlatch the windows and push, revealing that they are, in fact, doors to a balcony. The couple step out into the cool morning, Caroline breathing in deeply as they stand side by side.

"Why would you ever go back to Mystic Falls if you have this?" she asks, flashing back to their heated discussion at the airport hours before.

"Is that not exactly what I asked you earlier? Why you would tie yourself to one place when you could have the whole world?"

She looks at him with saddened eyes. "Mystic Falls is my home. I can't ever just leave it behind."

"It's my home too," he insists. "And I wasn't suggesting that you leave it behind; I was suggesting that you do not close yourself off from the rest of the world to focus on one tiny point within it."

With a sigh, she looks back out at the city, the silhouette of the Eiffel Tower against soft yellow and orange of the sky. She thinks about everything that Klaus has said to her that day, and resigns herself to the fact that he's won. No matter what, she's seen that different side of him, and now she can't ever forget it.

As though he can read her mind, and she isn't entirely convinced that he can't, he slides closer to her, slipping an arm around her waist again and kissing her shoulder.

"About those talents..." he reminds her suggestively. "Are you still interested?"

"What if I was?" she answers coyly, grinning and genuinely enjoying this side of him, this affectionate and somewhat silly side.

"Well then," he begins, taking both her hands and leading her back inside, toward the bedroom, "I would undress you slowly, examining your entire body for any kind of flaw, which I'm sure I wouldn't find."

Blushing, Caroline bites her lip at the casual description of his planned seduction.

"Then I would caress every inch of your skin, with my fingertips, my lips -" He kicks the door to the bedroom open softly, and then pulls her to his chest swiftly, sucking her earlobe between his teeth. "- My tongue."

"Oh God," she whimpers, every inch of her throbbing for him already.

He surprises her by pulling out of her reach entirely, instead circling her like a lion hunting its prey. He pulls the clip out of her hair, letting it fall down her back as he places both hands on her shoulders.

"Are you afraid?"

"Yes," she answers truthfully. "I'm terrified."

"Why?"

"Because this could change everything. Back home... My friends... I could lose so much."

He turns her gently, cupping her face, blue eyes meeting.

"I could give you the world."

She nods, smiling a little. "I know. I want -" She pauses, nods to herself. "I want to do this."

Neither of them say anything else. Klaus takes her acquiescence to heart and coaxes her arms up so he can pull her sweater over her head. He encircles each wrist and runs his hands slowly down her arms, watching, entranced, as goosebumps erupt under his touch.

"Wow," she mouths before moaning as he moves lower to place open-mouthed kisses along her chest.

"Did I earn a 'wow' already? I must be better than I thought."

"No, it's just -" She gasps, threading her fingers into his hair. "I didn't even think vampires could get goosebumps."

He chuckles, making her fidget with the vibrations as he drops to his knees entirely and pulls her jeans down her legs.

"Vampires can get goosebumps, sweetheart, it just takes better -" He sucks on her clit through her panties. "- Stimulation."

"Ah!" she yells out, knees shaking.

He stands again, his eyes scanning her from head to toe as he circles her. He drags his finger down her spine and back up, pausing only to unhook her bra and toss it to the side. Her eyes drift close and she falls back against him, head resting on his shoulder. His palms slide around to cup her breasts, drawing another sigh from her throat. Then his hands are moving again, down her flat stomach to her thighs, and back around to caress her heart-shaped ass.

"Mmm... Just as I suspected," he growls in her ear, giving her a tight squeeze. "You're perfect."

"Klaus," she whimpers, bringing one arm up and around his neck. "You need to... I need to... My legs are shaking."

"Hm... Are they now?" he mumbles against her spine, where he's busy kissing her neck and shoulders. "Perhaps we should rearrange...?"

He scoops her up, and she wraps her arms around him, not hesitation before cupping his face and drawing him into a needy kiss. She's surprised herself at the action; he was the one seducing her, after all. But she just couldn't resist when he was that close.

And she doesn't regret it either, as he moans into her mouth and slips his tongue past her lips. He deposits her on the bed, but she still won't release him from her enthusiastic embrace. She leans back, pulling him down with her, legs wrapped around his waist.

"Caroline," he groans. "Caroline. Caroline. Caroline." He pulls back and hovers just above her. "I'm not through with you yet."

And with that, he slips away from her, his breath ghosting over her skin as he drops to his knees at the end of the bed, at eye level with her throbbing core. He licks his lips and glances up at her, that predatory grin returning, and she can't help but shudder with a heady mixture of nerves and unadulterated lust.

"Now, I may do something that frightens you a little -"

"Klaus," she interrupts with a cocked eyebrow, "Guys have gone down on me before."

He chuckles and kisses her thigh. "Not the way I do it. But I promise you, it'll be worth it."

To Caroline's surprise, he waits for her to nod before continuing his ministrations, rubbing slow circles into her feet and calves while kissing and sucking on the milky skin of her thighs. Much as she wants to fall back and enjoy the ride, she can't seem to pry her eyes away of Klaus' face. His eyes are closed, but he looks so content to spoil her this way. And as his lips inch closer and closer, his thumbs move up to hook around her panties and slowly slide them down her legs.

Now, his eyes pop open. He pushes her legs further apart, licking his lips in anticipation. She knows she should be self-conscious at his examination of her most private area, but from the look on his face, she has nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, he looks almost humbled by her submission to him. And achingly slowly, he approaches her, finally allowing his tongue to dart out and slip between her swollen nether lips.

"Christ," he moans as she collapses back, feeling like she's on sensory overload. "You are so -" He pauses to dip his tongue inside of her entrance, drawing a sharp cry from her. "You really do want this, don't you?" he murmurs, not waiting for an answer before continuing his progress.

"Yes!" she exclaims in a high voice. He has her thighs in a tight grip, holding her down as his tongue thrusts in and out of her. "Oh my God, Klaus!" Her hands are tearing at the blankets, and she screams in earnest when she feels his tongue against her clit. "Yes – Don't stop! I just want you to make me -"

She bites down on her lip, trying to swallow her pleas when she feels him smiling.

"What is it that you want, love?"

Her lip splits between her teeth, drops of blood dripping into her mouth. Frustrated with her resistance, Klaus' grip tightens though he pulls his mouth away from her.

"What do you want, Caroline?"

His hot breath between her legs is enough to drive her insane, and she just can't contain it anymore.

"I need you to finish it, Klaus! Please, let me come! Just a little more, please!"

The words have barely escaped her before he's back, licking and sucking and probing with renewed vigour, so perfectly that she's reduced to whimpering in pleasure within moments. She can't feel her legs anymore, but she doesn't care; all she needs to feel is Klaus' mouth on her skin.

She can feel herself getting closer, can feel her insides fluttering against his tongue. She knows she's close; all she needs is a little -

Teeth pierce her thigh and send her barrelling headlong into bliss. Her entire body erupts with uncontrollable spasms, and nonsensical sounds pour from her vocal chords.

And it isn't until she feels Klaus' teeth leave her, that she realizes what he's done.

"Wait..." she gasps, reality solidifying around her. "Wait, Klaus, you just -"

His lips press against hers urgently. "I know; it'll be fine."

Her eyes drift open hazily to meet his darkened gaze. "I'm dying again," she points out, but for some reason beyond her understanding, she's stroking his face.

"Vampires," he explains, straightening up and undressing, "Find infinite pleasure in the bite as a sexual act. You may not have experimented with this because your only experience as a vampire has been with Tyler, who you wouldn't have wanted to bite in any case."

She's still listening as she forces herself into a sitting position, examining the fresh bite mark on her leg. She jumps when cold fingers tip her chin up, and her eyes meet Klaus', and he presses a surprisingly tender kiss to her lips.

"You'll be fine when you take my blood again," he points out.

"And when will that be?" she asks, sliding back as she speaks.

She glances down, realizing with a jolt that he's completely naked. His skin is stretched taut over the muscles of his chest and stomach, a fine trail of hair leading down to his stiff erection. She takes her time inspecting him, anticipation causing her stomach to tighten once again.

"You can bite me whenever you think it's right," he rumbles, crawling up the bed and over her body when she reclines into the pillows. "You just need to feel it out, let it come to you."

Her hands clutch at his biceps as he presses himself against her. His muscles twitch under her touch, causing a smile to spread across her face.

"So are you finished with me yet?" she asks coyly, slowly slipping one hand between their bodies toward his hardness. "Am I allowed to touch you now?"

He responds by palming her breast and sucking on her neck, clearly intent on marking his territory.

"If you insist..." he deadpans, but the effect is negated when he bucks into her hand.

Her fingers wrap around him, hand slowly moving up and down. He lets out a soft gasp and presses his forehead into the pillow. Caroline's other hand travels up and down his back, leaving scratch marks along his spine.

"Caroline," he growls when her pumping speeds up. "I want to – No, I need to be inside of you. Please, let me in."

"But doesn't this feel good?" she teases him.

"Fuck... Yes!" he exclaims, forcing his head back up to meet her eyes. "But it would feel so much better inside your tight, hot, wet, perfect -"

As he spoke, she'd slowed her motions, guiding him to where he wanted to be and bending her knees to cradle him.

"Do it," she orders. "Take me."

His eyes widen momentarily before he kisses her roughly, breathing hard into her mouth. They're lips are still moving together when he thrusts into her, hard, stretching her out almost painfully.

Almost.

She screams at the sensation of him filling her, nails digging hard into every inch of skin she can touch. Her entire body bows as he sets a fast rhythm, grabbing her wrists and pinning them to the mattress. His head slips to the side to press into the pillow again, and Caroline takes the opportunity to kiss his neck, nipping at the skin there, spurred on by his frantic cries.

"Oh... Klaus! God, you feel so good!"

"... Perfect..." he mumbles, hitching on of her legs up and around his waist.

She lets out a keening cry at the new angle, biting down hard on his shoulder with her human teeth.

"Holy fuck, Caroline!" he shouts, speeding up his thrusting so the entire oak bed begins to creak. "Yes, harder... You need to -"

She bites down again, with more pressure this time, satisfied when he lets out a strangled yell. And every time her teeth clamp down on him, he speeds up a little, pounding into her harder and faster than before, driving deeper and dragging her back to the edge again.

"Klaus... Are you close?" she squeals, laving the bite marks with her tongue.

"Sweetheart, I've been ready to burst since we got on the plane."

"Okay," she whispers.

Her face shifts, her jaw realigns as her blood lust and carnal lust sublimate into one overwhelming desire. And this time, when she bites down, her teeth tear into Klaus' skin. His blood spills into her mouth, and she can barely hear him as she finds her release. She takes a few pulls from his vein before falling back, feeling like a puddle underneath him.

He collapses on her before she rolls them, tucks herself under his arm and wraps herself around him. With his free arm, he slips his hand between her legs, stroking the freshly healed skin where he'd bitten her.

"Good as new," he rasps into her ear.

"Sh," she chastises, nuzzling further into him. "I'm not here right now; leave a message."

He chuckles and squeezes her tighter to his body.

"So you don't regret it then?" She sighs into his skin. "Then I suppose you won't mind if I'm late getting you home?"

Her eyes snap open in a mock-glare.

"Don't sound so smug; you haven't convinced me yet." She slides up to straddle him, leaning in close to his ear. "From experience, the good guys don't fuck like that."