Chapter 05
“She seems to be doing great,” Cami remarked as she and Klaus watched Rebekah instruct Bella to defend herself against Kol. More often than not, she had him on the floor within seconds. Of course, he wasn’t using his vampire abilities, but Cami was surprised that he didn’t mind getting his ass kicked by a tiny girl.
“She’s doing brilliantly,” Klaus agreed as he leaned against the balustrade and narrowed his eyes on his brother when he made Bella trip and fall on the mat. “When my brother isn’t trying to kill her.”
“Relax, she’s doing fine,” she gently pat Klaus on his arm. “Did you remove the compulsion yet?”
“Which one? The one where she knows we’re not going to hurt her or the one that’s stopped her from having sex with my leg?”
“She humped your leg?” Cami laughed. “Aren’t you supposed to hump hers?”
Klaus looked at her with a murderous one on his face.
“Hey, just saying. You kicked that door open, you should have expected that answer,” she said defensively, putting her hands up. “But yes, I meant that one.”
“I removed it about a week ago,” Klaus quickly replied.
“And?”
“And, nothing.”
“Give me something to work with, Klaus. Did she revert back to before?”
“No, she hasn’t changed since I removed it,” he replied, gripping the balustrade as Kol yet again had Bella on the floor. “Perhaps she’s taken the physical activity with my siblings a little bit further, but other than that, she seems to be doing alright.”
“Is she still keeping you up at night?”
He let out a soft growl. “Let’s just say that she’s exhibiting normal behavior for a human.”
“I agree,” Cami smiled at him. “Congratulations, she seems to be functioning as a normal human being.”
“Who’s afraid of the outside.”
She hummed as a response before actually responding. “Convenient for you? At least she won’t leave on her own volition.”
“She’s not ready, Cami. She said so herself. And even if she does end up liking what’s out there and decides to leave, I suppose that will be alright.”
“Will it?”
Klaus sighed and shook his head. “It’s a shame my temper got the best of me when I confronted the witch, Becky. She had supplied the Cullens with a potion to make her blood safe from other vampires and turning. I wish I had taken more time in getting more information. Such as, what else did she do to that potion? Why do I feel the need to protect her with all I have? Why do I feel so lost when I’m not near her?” He let go of the balustrade in case he’d rip it apart in his aggravation. “I’m not complaining. She’s delightful, but I have things to do, and when I’m out, I’m easily distracted and feel the need to go back.”
“Are you sure it’s not just love or lust?”
“I am fairly sure Camille because it started the moment Kol brought her in in her unconscious form,” he shot at her. “I should not have killed that witch and Marcel has asked Davina to look into it, but I haven’t heard anything back.”
“How is she with you?”
“She often seeks me out and then we sit on the sofa together for hours. Or she watches me paint,” he said with a soft smile. “On occasion, she follows me around while I go and talk to Marcel or watch him with his vampires.”
“You should do something different with her. Have a romantic dinner. Or a picnic on the roof. Something fun. Just you and her.”
“Are you suggesting I take her on a date? Are you mad?” He blinked at her. “What are we supposed to do on a date?”
“Talk?”
“Camille,” he shook his head laughing. “We talk every night, almost.”
“Make it something special, come on, she’ll like that.”
He looked over the balustrade and saw his siblings trying hard not to burst out in laughter. He let out a growl and looked back at her.
“Tell her she’s beautiful. How gorgeous she looks, even if it’s just her sweatpants and a shirt,” Cami shrugged. “I don’t know, give her compliments.” She then grinned widely. “Give her some alcohol.”
“No.”
“Oh come on, you know how to woo girls, don’t you?” Cami said teasingly. “Or did you forget in your old age? Give her the real deal, I mean, she’s probably never experienced it before!”
He was just about to say something in his fury when he picked up the scent of one of those toy wolves from Washington. This could only mean one thing; the wolf he had hired had found his home and Klaus was going to grill him for answers about Bella. How did the wolf find them anyway?
“Ah! Found you!” Jacob’s voice sounded. “You’re a hard girl to find!”
Bella froze into place as she heard Jacob’s voice. She had her back turned to him, and wasn’t going to turn back. That part was over. She didn’t have to deal with this anymore, not again. Or did she? She had never told Kol or Klaus about Jacob because he was their friend. Or at least Klaus’ as he had put him in the position with the Cullens, probably well paid too. She couldn’t make herself look bad for Klaus.
“Who are you?” Rebekah asked as he looked at the young man. He appeared to be some type of hippie, his long hair tied casually with a hair tie and arms the size of a planet. “You’re Klaus’ wolf.”
“I am. Jacob Black, nice to meet you.”
She took a deep breath and looked up to see Klaus look down at them from the balcony, his eyes firmly set on Jacob. He looked like as if he was thinking to come downstairs or stay up there with Cami. No doubt they had been talking about her. They always did. And despite they all encouraged Bella to be herself, learn about herself and learn how to think for herself, they had let Jacob in their home. Only because they didn’t know. But if she told, she was afraid that they’d hurt him.
“Good to see you again, mate,” Kol greeted him. “Where have you been?”
“My dad – the tribe – wanted to make sure I was alright,” Jacob explained with half a shrug. “I’m a grown man; I can do whatever I want. I wanted to see how she was doing.”
What would Buffy do in a situation like this? Or Faith – Willow, even? They’d tell him to go away. That’s what. Bella was angry he had come by, no doubt with the best intentions, but he should have known better. She’d turn around and tell him to leave. Yes. Easy like that. But she was afraid that if she’d turn around, she’d be on her knees in an instant, and everyone would put one and one together and be on top of him within a blink. Even Klaus.
She kept looking up to Klaus, willing him to look at her, to see that it wasn’t quite alright with Jacob here, but she had to use her voice, and right now, she couldn’t. When she felt arms around her, she startled and looked behind her, relieved it being Rebekah.
“Come, let’s get you out of here. Breathe,” she crooned and started to push her towards the stairs. “Nik, something’s not right,” she muttered to her brother as she continued to maneuver Bella up the stairs.
Bella took a deep breath, unaware she had stopped breathing and allowed Rebekah to take her away. But it was a sign of weakness, wasn’t it? To allow herself to be taken away. At least she now knew it hadn’t been anyone’s idea to ask Jacob over. “I’m fine,” she managed to bring out, her voice soft.
“Poppycock,” Rebekah replied as she lead Bella into Klaus’ study. “Would you like to talk about it?”
Bella shook her head as she breathed in Klaus’ scent despite him not being in the room. She moved to her favorite spot on the sofa and pulled her feet on the couch, looking at Rebekah. “I’m sorry.”
“You just sit here, alright, love? I’m going to check and see what my brothers are up to. Would you like us to kill Jacob?”
“No!” Bella said shocked. “No!”
“I take that as a ‘maybe’. If you’re not talking, he will.”
Sighing, she nodded and watched Rebekah leave the room.
Rebekah was glad her brothers had their conniving asshat hats on and were pleasantly talking with Jacob over a cup of tea one of the servants quickly had set down on the table. Fortunately, they had moved Jacob into one of the rooms, out of earshot of everyone on the street. When Rebekah’s entrance was noticed by Klaus, he turned to Jacob with a smirk. “That’s my sister Rebekah.”
“Hi,” Jacob greeted her.
“Hello,” she replied politely, closing the French doors and stood there so whatever happened, he couldn’t escape.
“So, now that pleasantries are out of the way,” Klaus said, looking at the man as he took a sip of his tea. “My brother didn’t want to say much about life at the Cullens, could you enlighten us some more?”
“Sure, why not?” Jacob smiled, looking at Kol. “I can’t believe you didn’t want to tell them things.”
“Certain things should remain unsaid, but by all means, answer all my brother’s questions so I won’t have to.”
“What do you want to know, Klaus?”
Klaus seemed to think for a moment, but Kol and Rebekah both knew he already had his questions ready. He was going to lull the wolf into a false sense of security and strike. “How many humans were there in the main building?”
“Apart from Bella? Ah.. uhm… a handful. They were part of the Royal Guard, spent most of their time in the basement or out front. Mostly big, burly criminals, though.”
“But none in Bella’s position?”
“Hell no,” Jacob huffed. “Who would want to be in her position anyway?”
Klaus cocked his head. “You make it sound as if she volunteered.”
“Well, I don’t know the specifics. She was already there when I came,” Jacob explained. “All I know is that she belonged to Edward. She doesn’t speak, you see. Besides, I was too busy to keep an eye on Carlisle, like you asked.”
“What was your position?”
“I was a part of the Royal Guard.”
All three Originals couldn’t hide their scowls when he said that. Rebekah realized that it was the reason Bella shut down. “Nik…”
“I’ve got this, sister,” he said gently before looking at Jacob again. “You were there for six years, and you saw a human girl being used and abused. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because that weren’t your instructions, besides, she was fine.”
“How many times was she brought to the Royal Guard by Edward?”
“A few times a week.”
“For how long?”
“A couple of hours, there were a lot of guys she had to entertain, why are you asking me all this?”
“Did you ever participate?”
“Hell yeah!” Jacob responded with a broad smile on his face. “As you know, she’s very talented, and I had to because you know, they’d have found out I wasn’t one of them.”
“As we know?” Klaus fumed – his self-restraint faltering.
Jacob snorted and looked at Kol. “She was your present; you’re saying you’re not even using her?”
“She wasn’t my present, mate,” Kol spat, taking a few steps towards his sister because he wanted to rip out Jacob’s heart, but wanted it to be Klaus to do so. “I’ve been nothing more but her friend for the last year.”
“It’s your loss,” he shrugged. “Anyway, I came to see her, can I?”
“No,” Klaus growled as he pulled Jacob off the sofa and dragged him off to the basement, locking him in one of the holding cells. He was going to kill him later. Slowly. Peel off his skin. Plenty of time to do so. There was more information to be learned from the idiot. Why had he sent Jacob in anyway? Couldn’t he have sent in a more competent asshole?
Klaus punched the wall and walked back into the cell. He threw Jacob against the nearest wall and without warning ripped out his heart. “You should have known better, pup.”
“I applaud your self-restraint, brother,” Kol quipped from behind him.
“Shut up,” Klaus muttered as he ripped off one of Jacob’s arm and pointed it at Kol. “You should have told me.”
“Why? What would that have fixed? Absolutely nothing! As I told you, some things aren’t my story to tell. This was his story to tell. And Bella’s, but she wisely shuts up about it, trying to ignore it from ever have happened.”
“You should have told me!” Klaus roared at his brother before chucking the arm at his head. “This wolf came here to see if he could have another round with her! If you had told me, I would have hunted him down and killed him before she ever had to see him again!”
“Fine, you want me to tell how the entire Royal Guard had their way with Bella? How their dicks filled up every hole of her body? How she often had three guys on her? How Edward threw her in the basement for them to enjoy her and that your friend Jacob was one of them and often the first to have his way with her?” Kol blurted at his brother. “How sometimes Edward even came down to watch? Carlisle, even? That your friend Jacob was a dimwitted asshole and you should have made a better choice? And if it wasn’t sex they were having, that they had to hurt her with whips because she spilled something or she had gained a pound? That a lot more happened in the six months that I was in?”
Kol grabbed the arm and threw it back at his brother. “Seriously, Klaus, does it make you feel better now that you know? Or does it make you feel sick as I’m feeling right now?”
Klaus was quiet for a moment as he let his brother’s words sink in. “You’re just saying that.”
“Oh, I wish!” Kol breezed as he let out his frustration on Jacob’s dead body by tearing off a leg and breaking it for emphasis. “Oh, I so wish, Niklaus. I’ve seen a lot of horrors in my days, most of the time of my own creation that I really don’t mind talking about. But this? When I said it wasn’t my story to tell, I meant it.”
“I’m going to hunt them all down,” he said with a low growl. “You’d better be comfortable with giving me names.”
“Right now you’re going to clean yourself up,” Rebekah said as she walked into the cell and blinked at the maimed body of Jacob. “That’s all you can do? You’re losing your touch,” she said, looking at Klaus. “However, as I said, you’re going to clean yourself up, calm down and take care of this frightened ball of tension sitting in your study.”
He rushed upstairs, not bothering to clean up and blinked as he saw Bella half undressed and on her knees on the floor. He swallowed hard; she was so beautiful. Shaking his urges out of his head – he was so worked up, he wanted to bury himself deep inside of her to make sure she’d stay with him, to be sure she’d stay. With him. He wanted to, but if he’d do it now, he would be no better than the people she was rescued from. It was her move. And she was frightened.
Klaus got out of his shirt and quickly cleaned up his hands and retrieved a robe he could wrap Bella in. “Come, love,” he placated her, helping her up from the floor and putting the robe around her before helping her sit down on the sofa. “Are you alright?”
“I’m all right,” she murmured as she hugged the robe tightly and looked at him with tears in her eyes. Actual tears. Klaus was surprised to see tears as she hadn’t cried before. Ever. The date of her last time cried Cami had found in the journal was engraved in his mind.
“Sure you are,” he smiled at her, gently drying her tears with a cloth he pulled out of his pocket. She was even beautiful when she was crying. “What’s all this then?”
“I’m fine,” she repeated as she looked at him, and he felt his heart shatter. “It’s okay.”
“What’s okay?”
“If you want to return me.”
“Now why would I wish to do that? Aren’t you happy here? Don’t you like us anymore?”
“I do!” She nearly crawled into his lap at that. “I do, I do! I don’t want you to return me! But Jacob…”
“You no longer have to worry about him, love,” he said kindly and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “If you don’t want to leave, you’re not going anywhere, and I will do my absolute best to ensure they’re not coming back to steal you away from me.”
“You want to keep me?” She asked hopeful, her big eyes looking up at him, filled with hope.
He smiled at her and nodded. “I would like very much to keep you and more, dear, but one thing at a time. I promise you, you’re not leaving until you decide you want to leave.”
“But I like you and Kol and Rebekah and even Elijah. I don’t want to leave.”
“Then don’t,” he put his arm around her and pulled her against him, in the same manner they’ve been sitting for hours on end together, he knew it made her feel safe. “You’re safe with me. You’ll always be safe with me, that’s a promise.”
It was a couple of days after Jacob’s surprise visit – which had a surprising ending for the young man – and Bella was back to her usual self. For days, Klaus and his siblings reminded Bella how her presence in the compound had changed things for the better, to make sure that she felt wanted. They had all mellowed out somewhat and enjoyed spending time with her.
Bella spent even more time with Klaus now, simply content watching him do whatever or look out the windows, observing people. She had given up on Rebekah’s self-defense lessons, mainly because it was of no use when Bella begun to freeze up in the face of adversity. To her, it was a let down that she hadn’t been able to respond correctly with Jacob there, even though she wanted to kick him in the shins. She was honest about wishing to shove a hot poker up his butt but admitted that she was not like that and didn’t want to see him that hurt.
However, Klaus was confident she’d continue with Rebekah sooner or later; it was just a small bump in the road. On top of that, Bella seemed to thoroughly enjoy herself whenever she and his sister sparred.
With reluctance, Klaus agreed to hold a party at the compound, mostly because Marcel insisted on it for morale. He was worried what Bella would do when there’d be loud music and a lot of drunk vampires. He certainly was not going to allow her to mingle by herself. Maybe not even mingling, who knew who would attend? Or maybe just a little, until she had enough of it.
Rebekah took the idea and ran with it; she had someone bring over a bunch of dresses in her, and Bella’s size and they were currently in Rebekah’s room, going over them. Klaus could feel Bella’s uneasiness all the way in his study, but he had promised his sister that he wouldn’t come and run the girl to safety. She wanted her in a dress. Period.
Klaus made her promise, though, that it wouldn’t be anything formal, just something that would fit the scene, despite knowing that Bella probably would be reluctant to attend. If his sister wanted Bella in a dress, who was he to complain? Of course, he took the chance to overhear the conversation between them.
“What do you think, Bella? Does this look good on me?” Rebekah said as she pointed at the girl who was wearing a beautiful dress. Simple, elegant and very red.
“I don’t know, why won’t you put it on and see if it does?”
“What’s the fun in that?” Rebekah let out a laugh. “No to the red?”
“I don’t know,” Bella sighed as she ran her hand through her hair. “It’s not as if I have a good taste in clothes.”
“You don’t know that,” she replied kindly. “The clothes you’re currently wearing were provided by us, but what if you had the choice, freely, what would you wear?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then we’re going to find that out next week,” Rebekah grinned. “I can’t wait to see what you’d pick out. Now, back to me. The red dress. Do you think it’ll fit?”
“Probably… are you trying to impress someone? Isn’t it a bit too revealing?”
“Oh, absolutely. In fact, all the dresses I got are a little bit too revealing, still classy but revealing. I want to hook up with someone.”
“Does that truly mean to have sex with someone?”
“Of course it does,” Rebekah grinned. “Haven’t you been paying attention to the shows we’ve been watching?”
“Yeah, but you also said not to believe it because it’s a fictional representation of the real world.”
“Exactly. Stories. A little bit exaggerated, but there’s a hint of truth in there. Kol and I told you this.”
“I know, but…”
“Okay, not the red dress. What about the black one?”
Bella let out a groan. “I don’t know, what do you normally wear to parties?”
“I want you to pick. What about the blue one?”
“Green. You haven’t picked out a green dress,” Bella pointed out. “I think the red dress but then in green would be great.”
Rebekah was quiet for a moment as she considered Bella’s words. “Sorry, no. The red dress will be what I’ll be wearing. I don’t like green. Besides, it makes me look like a ghost.”
“I wouldn’t know, I haven’t seen you wear green yet,” Bella smiled at her as she curled her legs underneath her on the sofa.
“Oh, don’t you get comfortable, young lady,” Rebekah said, pulling Bella off the couch after dismissing the girls and calling in the next lot. “Now we’re going to find you a dress.”
“What’s wrong with my own clothes?”
“Nothing, but not suitable for a party,” she smiled at her. “Especially one that’s being hosted by the Mikaelsons.”
“I thought Marcel was organising it.”
“He’s practically family, it doesn’t count, it’s still our party, and I love parties. Loads of boys to flirt with… dance with…” Rebekah practically swooned. “I know you’ve led a very different life, Bella, but have you ever fancied someone?”
“I like Klaus?”
“In what way?” She walked over to the bar and poured herself a drink. Seeing as more often than not Bella was everywhere, they had also put something non-alcoholic on the bar so she could drink with them, not quite liking the taste of alcohol as yet. “If you imagine a future with someone, would that be him?”
“Klaus is kind and fair, and he’s very patient,” Bella said as she dropped herself back on the sofa. “Whenever he paints, you can see how gentle his hands are, elegant hands. I’ve seen him shirtless a few times as I seem to have a habit of walking into his study at the wrong time and he’s simply beautiful.”
“You mean handsome.”
“It’s the same.”
“Have you ever been in love? The butterflies, the skipping of the heart… the taking away of breath?” When she saw Bella blush, she smiled widely. “Have you told Klaus how you feel?”
“No,” Bella felt her cheeks redden even more. “I’m afraid he’ll think that I think that’s what I’m supposed to do… but I don’t. I was never allowed to feel, and I didn’t but now, I mean… he makes it so easy. I can crawl into his arms, and he makes me feel safe. I don’t have to worry about anything and…”
“And what about sex? Do you see yourself doing that with him too?”
“I don’t know… this is all new to me, and I know that I was bad before with trying to get him to have sex with me, and that was so wrong, but I didn’t know any better. Now that I do… I don’t know. What if he thinks that it shouldn’t happen because of what happened to me? Or that he thinks that I’m not… you know, feeling it? And I’m afraid that I won’t feel anything because it was so normal to me…”
“You should talk to Klaus about how you feel, I’m sure he’ll listen.”
“He’s been so patient with me, Rebekah. He’s so sweet and what if I ruin it by talking to him about my feelings? What if he goes off on his word and send me back?”
“I doubt it, Bella,” she sat down next to her with a smile on her face. “Nik rarely makes mistakes, and he recently discovered that he had made a mistake by paying Jacob to keep an eye on things in that godawful place. Nik thought he could trust him, but he learned that he had misplaced his trust in him and rectified it immediately after getting a little more information out of him. Safe to say, Nik was appalled with Jacob’s behaviour towards you.”
“What did he do?”
“Nik defended your honor, of course, and this is something quite astonishing, mostly because he considered Jacob to be a valuable ally. Even when people betray Nik, they usually get another chance to prove themselves, but he didn’t leave room for that this time. Trust me, Nik won’t let you go without a fight, but the thing is, the bloody idiot is too scared to go further than admitting his feelings for you towards us. Not even you! He doesn’t even dare to kiss you, afraid that he’ll hurt you himself!”
“Huh?”
“Talk to him, Bella, and snog him afterwards. He won’t make the first move, show him you’re no longer a puppet. It’s okay to be scared every once in awhile, but you’re not letting anyone control you anymore, and that’s truly something. Show him that. Don’t be afraid he’ll reject you because I wager he won’t.”
Bella nodded, feeling inspired by Rebekah’s speech. “What do I do?”
“First, you’re going to pick out a dress,” Rebekah grinned before calling in the girls who were close to Bella’s size, wearing a broad range of dresses.
Bella was glad that her clothes seemed to be more modest, and not as revealing as Rebekah’s. She liked the Bordeaux-red colored one, but when she saw the last dress, she immediately fell in love. It was white, but it was almost as if there were paint splashes all over it, and it looked as beautiful as one of Klaus’ paintings. “But I don’t have anything to pay for it!”
“Don’t worry about that, Bella. Anything you want, it’s yours.”
“That one then.”
“Are you sure? You don’t want to go for something in one color?”
“I’m sure, I love it!” Bella was nearly bouncing on the sofa as she kept looking at the girl wearing the dress. “Please, Rebekah? You told me to find something I like, and I really like that one.”
“It’s a bit unusual…”
“Rebekah!” Bella threw a pillow at her head.
“I’m just joshing you,” she smirked. “Of course you can have that one. I’m sure Nik will love it.”
She practically beamed when she looked at Rebekah. “Can I wear it now?”
“The party isn’t until tonight,” Rebekah was delighted with the girl’s apparent happiness with the dress. In all honesty, Rebekah had bought it as a joke, but then again, maybe Bella liked things a bit more coloured than one single colour. She was going to kill it in the dress and Klaus was going to drool. She knew it.
After choosing her dress, Bella retreated to her room to prepare. She no longer held herself to her cleaning regimen that she had been taught by her family, she found it was taking too long, it was painful and with a simple washing of the skin she’d be squeaky clean as well. However, since this party was seemingly a big deal to Rebekah and Klaus, maybe it was better to go through it all to make sure she was at her best. This was a choice. Not a rule.
She turned the faucet in her bathroom and noticed it wasn’t opening up to the hottest setting anymore. She hadn’t used it in a while, but it seemed like they had ‘Bella proofed’ the bathroom. Sighing, she was going to draw herself a bath and soak in the water for a good thirty minutes before she’d do anything else, like shaving or whatever.
Even her razor now had the word ‘sharp!’ written on the handle, almost as if she needed to be reminded that it was, indeed, sharp. She smiled at that. Tiny things like that made her life so much easier and happier as if she wasn’t a stupid, bungling girl trying to live a life that had been taken from her. Then again, she didn’t quite know what an ordinary human life was like. Was it that much different than being surrounded by vampires and werewolves?
She didn’t want to find out. She loved her new family. All of them, but mostly Klaus. She hadn’t told Rebekah, but she often fantasized what it would feel like if Klaus would use his hands on her body. If he’d touch her like she had seen people getting touched on television. Gentle. Loving. None of the shit she’d been through.
Was she angry with what she had been put through by the Cullens? Not really. It was still a sore experience to talk about – so she wouldn’t – but it had been all she had known. Now that she knew that there was a better way to live, she never wanted to go back. She was aware, now, that she mattered. She, as a person and not as a thing. A commodity.
Granted, she was still the biggest chicken ever and would probably not last the entire party even if she was at Klaus’ side, but the party mattered to him, to his family. So it mattered to her. And she was going to do her best to look and feel presentable.
As Kol had told her a couple of weeks ago; she was a majestic unicorn, she was a badass, and she could deal with everything coming her way.
Unless it were faces from her past.
Oh God, she thought. What if Edward would choose to show his face? Or Esme? Or Carlisle? They always liked parties. They hosted quite a few in their day, and if they were looking for her, certainly the party would be something they’d go to.
Bella blankly stared into her bathwater before realizing that she should go to Klaus and tell him about her worry. Now. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her as she left the bathroom and headed out her room, almost running towards his study. He needed to know. He needed to know so bad.
Not bothering to knock, she swung the door open and almost ran inside. She only stopped in her tracks as she saw that Klaus wasn’t alone. Marcel was there too.
“Woah!” Marcel cried out and tried to look anywhere but at the dripping wet girl wrapped in a towel. Barely wrapped in a towel. “Jeez, Klaus! I thought you said Elijah got her to stay dressed decently!”
“He did! I did!” Klaus said as he looked at her in shock. “What are you doing, Love?” He asked playfully, trying to push through his shock.
“I need…” she took a deep breath as she tried to hold herself together. Oh, she knew she was bad right now. She hadn’t put on any clothes, but he had to know. “You need… I…” she grew frustrated as the words didn’t want to leave her mouth.
Marcel raised an eyebrow as he listened to her heart racing and erratic breathing. “The girl is damn near a panic attack, Klaus… I’ll step out while you calm your girl down,” he said as he gave her a wide berth, not daring to upset the hybrid any more than necessary considering what they had already been discussing. Closing the study doors, he left the two alone.
The moment Marcel left, she ran up to Klaus and put her arms around him, causing her to drop the towel and held on to him tightly. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…” she said slightly panicked, she was going to be in so much trouble.
Klaus took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling as he rubbed his eyes, thinking about what he had to do over the course of the day. That didn’t quite work with the waning control over his dick. “Bella, you’re naked.”
“I know, and I’m sorry,” she shivered against him. “We need to talk. It’s… very important and… You need to know and…”
“Calm down,” he said as he dared himself to caress her bare back, gently pressing her closer, so he didn’t have to look
– but bloody hell, she felt good against him. “It’s alright,” he said as he manoeuvred them to the sofa, kicking up the towel as he did but was unable to catch it. Silently cursing, he realised that there was a blanket on the couch for Bella when she came over. He grabbed that instead and carefully wrapped her up, not trying to look at her and instead thought about seeing Kol tear apart one of his victims. Nope, that didn’t help either, Klaus wanted to join in on the fun.
She crawled against him as he’d wrapped her in the blanket and took a few moments to collect herself. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright Love. Now tell me what has you so upset that cannot wait until after tonight’s party,” he asked of her as he made sure she was properly covered up before daring to look her in the eye.
“Jacob found me, with limited resources,” she said slowly. “And he also gave me to your brother. He knew where to find me. Here. With you.”
“He’s been dealt with, love,” he said, assuring her.
“You’re hosting a party, no doubt you’ve extended an invitation to the rest of the supernatural community?”
“Of course,” he answered slowly, his eyes narrowing as he attempted to see where she was leading with her questions. Somehow, he found he wasn’t going to like her thoughts.
“I watched the news, Klaus. I know they’ve escaped. What if they show up here? To get me? I don’t want to leave, and I don’t want you to get hurt either.”
Klaus gently smiled as he reached to cup her chin in his hand. “One thing you need to learn is that there is almost nothing that can genuinely harm me. That being said, if any of the Cullens were to decide to show up, just like Jacob, and attempt to take you from me – they would be in for the surprise of their miserable lives. I’ve plenty of vampires at my whim to assure that you won’t leave my side.”
Bella thought for a moment and nodded. Of course, he had a plan at hand. Of course. Why was she worried? Why was she freaking out about it? “Could you save Rosalie, though?” She asked with a small voice. “Mom… she wasn’t so bad.”
“Rosalie?” he questioned, confused as he leaned back slightly, his fingers drifting to her damp hair.
“My mom. She didn’t want Carlisle to do the things he did to me. Like… when I started to get my bleeds, she wanted to stop him from making me like them and like the other human women, but he didn’t listen. We secretly talked, while I wasn’t supposed to, when I was little.”
Klaus growled with displeasure but did not immediately refuse her request. “I would prefer all Cullens eradicated Bella… What they’ve done to you…”
“I don’t want her here, but she’s no threat. She just wanted me to have a normal life,” she smiled at him and caressed his cheek. “I know, it’s bad. But Rosalie was a prisoner. Just like Alice and Jasper and if you don’t believe me, you can read my mind. Or Rosalie’s, even, if she shows up.”
He looked into her eyes and after a moment released a reluctant sigh. “If her memories match what you tell me then I will grant her amnesty. I don’t need to delve into yours, Love. I know you honestly believe what you do,” he murmured as he turned his face into her hand a fraction, seeking her contact but realizing his actions blinked and pulled back. “You should be preparing for tonight. It will be an eventful evening.”
If there was one thing she was good at, it was observing. She always watched how people were responding to her, even when she was still at the Cullens, it made her life a safe one if she could anticipate what was coming. She felt stupid for not having realized it before, that what Rebekah had told her earlier was true. Klaus felt for her. Not just because she was brought to him, but because there was more and he wouldn’t make the first move.
Would she dare to do it instead?
Shifting a little so that she could get off the sofa with ease, she moved her face closer to his, seeing the fear grow in his eyes. She allowed her lips to briefly brush his before she kissed him and got off the sofa to return to her room. “Thank you,” she smiled at him before hugging the blanket around her and walking out.
Klaus swallowed hard as he watched her walk out, slightly confused as what had just happened. Bella had kissed him and such a glorious kiss it was! Why didn’t she stay for more, though? He was more than willing to give her more. Hell, even his dick was fully awake now and wanted more.
He almost thought she came back into the room, but his hope shattered when Marcel walked back in with the biggest smile on his face. “Well, who ever thought they’d see the day Klaus Mikaelson would be all flustered because of a girl?”
“Shut up, Marcellus,” Klaus snapped at him. “Thank you for ruining the moment.”
“You’re welcome,” Marcel grinned. “She is afraid of the same thing we suspected. I’ll have vampires on the lookout, but since we don’t know who’s who…”
“Bring them in regardless. Show them to our guest room and hold them there.”
“Awesome.”
