Sunlight

Chapter 6: St Petersburg Part 2

Klaus had clearly made a mistake giving Caroline some privacy to get ready. He had done everything right: bought her an evening dress, booked the tickets, not pressured her (at least not today) and she still tested his patience by being late.

Just as he was about to storm back up to the room, Caroline walked into the hotel foyer and left him speechless.

The black cocktail dress he had picked out was superb, draping and wrapping intimately around her every curve. Her hair was pinned back from her face, allowing her curls to tumble down her smooth back. She walked across the lobby to meet him, her heels making a perfect percussive beat for her to move to.

Klaus slowly let his eyes glide from the tips of her Louis Vuitton shoes, up her endless legs, appreciating every curve till he reached her face, and his mouth was dry.

"Ravishing as always, sweetheart."

Caroline beamed, radiant.

"But you're late."

Her smile faded, but she raised an eyebrow. Surely she had to know what she was doing to him?

She strutted past him, taking care to sway her hips seductively. "Then stop looking like you're the big bad wolf and lets go."

He watched her walk to the door and noted the red backs of those devil shoes. He certainly didn't mind being referred to as the Big Bad Wolf if she was going to be Little Red.

Klaus followed after her like he was on the hunt.

Caroline was not at all surprised to find he had booked a private stall when they reached the theatre. Neither was she surprised that it was somewhere as nice as the Mariinsky Theatre to see Swan Lake.

"Wouldn't have picked you as one to see a ballet in your spare time." She commented as they took their seats.

"I like all the arts, Caroline. Surely you know that by now."

The lights dimmed, and she was very aware of how close their seats were and how Klaus' body heat reached her even through his immaculate suit.

"Sure, you're just saying that, and then you'll fall asleep fifteen minutes in." Caroline scoffed, trying to break the sudden intimacy that had settled on them in the dim light.

"With something lovely to watch onstage while something so exquisite sits next to me? I'm certain I'll stay awake." His voice purred in the dark, and she had to turn her attention to the stage in the hopes that she could be distracted.

"I'm sure you're just imagining how the prima ballerina's blood would taste." She said bitterly.

"I had a ballerina once. Very flexible, but absolutely nothing special about their blood. Most half starve themselves to death for their art." Klaus glanced over to Caroline to see what she thought of his past, feeling pleased at the flash of jealously that passed across her face.

It was gone in an instant once she realized that he had obviously had other conquests over the years, and that he was trying to provoke her.

"Perhaps I should take up a ballerino, then." She mused, eyeing the male lead as he twirled the tutu-clad ballerina around in impossible circles. "Flexible, but strong, not starved, and attentive."

Klaus bit back his snarl at the thought of her with another man, turning it into a scoff. "You might have been correct up till attentive. Ballerino and ballerina alike, they're very egotistical."

"Oh, then you'd fit in perfectly." She swiped, not even bothering to tear her eyes away from the majestic display as the Prince lifted Odette.

"Well I don't mind that comparison. Does that also mean that I fit in with your ballerino rat pack?"