A/N: So, this is my very first story about Klaroline so please be gentle with me. English is not my native language so I apologize for any grammatical errors & idiom/collocation inconsistencies beforehand (spelling should be fine, I try ;) ). Also, this is an AU/AH story so I feel like characters will always seem a little OOC but I tried to keep it as authentic as I could. This part could be rated T I think but there will be some smut in the next chapter, you have been warned :)

So, hope you enjoy the story :)

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters and there is no financial gain from this work.

It was a whirlwind affair.

Caroline wondered how many women across the globe hold the very same thought at one time or another. And if it turned out as well as it has for her.

Because she may have fancied herself one half of a pair of star-crossed lovers but the truth of it was much simpler and crude.

She was a dirty mistress.

And she was the dirtiest of them all as she knew that he was a married man, yet still continued to sleep with the jerk (she didn't really think of him as a jerk but man, was she pissed at him right now).

She met him a year ago, a few months after she had moved to New York from Chicago - she needed change desperately, needed to start fresh and forget the disaster that was her friendship-turned-relationship with Stefan Salvatore. They had known each other since high school, formed a strong bond while he's been dating one of her friends, Elena Gilbert and even when their relationship ended, with Elena recklessly cruising into the sunset in company of Stefan's older brother, Damon, Caroline's friendship with younger Salvatore was as strong as ever.

They got together during her second year of law school and for two years, everything was as great as it could be, moving to Chicago together, pursuing their careers, starting a new life. It was great…until it wasn't. Until Elena came with a visit, heart-broken over her break-up with Damon and Caroline learned the hard way – for Salvatores, there was no getting over Elena Gilbert. So she'd packed up her things, organized all her affairs (if there was one thing she excelled at, it was organization) and here she was.

Approximately a year ago…

And here she was.

Caroline Forbes, 27, newest associate at Saltzman, Fell & Lockwood, recent New Yorker.

Heading to the charity event that would probably end up costing more than it had raised and what a wacky cause it was for.

Ever heard of Astrological Science Institute?

Nope, neither had she.

But, it was held by Mikaelsons and Mikaelson Corp. was one of their top clients and if she wanted to be right on track for junior partner, she would have to suck it up and…well, suck up to her bosses and gladly attend whatever ridiculous event they threw at her.

So again, here she was, circulating the room, sipping champagne and making small talk, bored to her bones. She loved a good party but this one was a travesty and a free evening gone to waste that could have been spent with ice-cream and re-runs of Friends. The only good thing about this was a silent auction that had quite a few interesting items worth bidding on, so for a while now, Caroline had been amusing herself with selecting things she should consider to make a bid on and prioritizing them in her head. She was just contemplating whether it was better to take her chances with 3-day SPA retreat or tickets on a Mediterranean cruise when something else caught her attention.

It was a painting, a simple white snowflake embedded in overwhelming darkness. At first sight, it seemed as nothing special, yet Caroline couldn't will herself to stop looking, it was just so utterly…sad. She didn't know how much time she'd spent contemplating the image when someone broke her out of her thoughts.

"Wouldn't bid too much on it, love, I heard it's one of artist's lesser works." She heard a deep raspy voice and felt someone's breath on her cheek. Holding back a shriek of surprise, she turned around and met the most gorgeous pair of stormy blue eyes she had ever seen. And in package with these eyes was a man just as gorgeous.

"Really? I'm not one for art but it seems exquisite to me…What makes you say that?" Caroline asked.

"Exquisite? You are extremely generous…" The man paused, clearly waiting for her to introduce herself.

"Caroline. But won't you answer my question? Why do you consider it a lesser work?'

"Caroline…" Her name rolled off his tongue effortlessly, sounding somehow exotic in his British accent. "Well, I think it's pretty self-explanatory, sweetheart. It's a simple picture, some contrast, black vs. white, lines are barbaric, no finesse…should I go on?"

"Well, I like it. It may be simple but it's so overwhelming. There's something…lonely about it." Caroline replied, not missing the way he slightly flinched at her words. Just at that, something started to click in her mind, she looked at the painting one more time, focusing her attention on initials in bottom left corner and then she looked at him one more time.

"Besides…" she continued, "isn't it enough to bid on it just for the sake of tonight's worthy cause?" She tried goading him a little, irony apparent in the tone of her voice. "I mean, what's a loss of a few thousand bucks if you can spent it helping to solve mysteries of astrology?"

"Not a fan? Are you always so outspoken, love?" He seemed somewhat amused.

"I may be. Are you always fishing for compliments from strangers?" Caroline retorted.

"Was I? Forgive me but I was under the impression that I was merely delivering a few words of constructive criticism, love."

"Don't 'love' me." She said without thinking and he chuckled in response.

"From what I can already tell, it's very hard not to, sweetheart." She blushed a little and decided that it was time to take the situation under control. He was not to make a fool of her, she was a grown woman and it took more than a seductive accented voice and magnetic gaze to throw her off her game.

The truth is, she should have recognized him instantly, as he and his family's company a) threw this whole shindig b) were one of most crucial clients in her law firm. Alaric spent many hours locked in a conference room with one Klaus Mikaelson, CFO of Mikaelson Corp. and his brother, Elijah. He even threatened that with her exceptional record so far, she was very likely to be appointed as an associate on all their Mikaelson-related cases. And now she was conversing with Klaus, mind-extraordinaire of finance world, 'dabbling' in art here and there, with extreme success no less, of course.

"Never mind, what I wanted to say was that you may have belittled your own work but it was solely in order to make me say something nice about it. Well, you succeeded, Mr. Mikaelson, your work is not that bad."

He smirked at that and replied "Why, thank you, sweetheart, it's always reassuring for an artist to receive such heartwarming critique. I think now, that you successfully trampled my ego into the ground, you have no choice but to bring me some comfort and dance with me." He said, this time not with a smirk but a genuine smile and this smile was the only (or so she told herself) reason for her response.

"Poor you…" Caroline quipped. "But…" She added slowly, biting her lip slightly and his sight immediately flew to her mouth. "But I guess it's only fair." She told Klaus, putting her subtly shaking hand in his big warm one.

He led her to the dancefloor, pulled her too close to call it appropriate and started to move slowly to soothing blues melody. She got lost in the music, feeling his hand of her bare back, drawing little circles, evoking subtle shivers down her spine.

Caroline didn't know how long they danced, it may have been a while, but she was too focused on his alluring musky scent and the way he seemed to devour her with only his eyes. She told herself not to fall for this, for his charming British ways, he was too cocky from the start and she was too smart to be seduced by him.

But…there was just something about him, inexplicably, she felt herself being drawn to him. Maybe it was about how he looked at her, as if she was the only thing worth looking at, or how their bodies appeared to have fit together as two pieces of one puzzle. Then, suddenly, she was broken out of her stupor, as another pair collided with them.

Klaus grabbed her arms to prevent her from falling, he looked angry but he hid it right away, his face a mask and only his eyes gleamed with hunger and something else, a faint hint of…regret. She took a step back, and then another, ignoring the hand he reached out for her and then she found herself in the foyer, gasping for air, fighting the turmoil of conflicting emotions. Because she recognized the pair that had run into them and it made her recall everything she knew of Klaus.

Klaus Mikaelson, 30 years old, CFO of Mikaelson Corp., mind-extraordinaire of finance world, dabbling in art here and there, with extreme success.

Married to one Hayley Lebonair.

After that evening, she would she him literally anywhere and everywhere.

Roughly one week after the function, she accidentally spilled coffee on him when he was leaving Alaric's office (it WAS an accident but damn him, he deserved it for flirting with her while married).

Sometime after that, she ran across him in a bar, while she was getting drinks with Katherine Pierce, her colleague from the firm (though they had made quite fast friends). Apparently, Katherine had a bit of a thing with Elijah, even if calling that particular relation as a 'thing' was an understatement of a century.

Anyhow, before Caroline had a chance to react, she disappeared with older suit-clad Mikaelson, leaving the blonde all to herself. And Klaus. Having decided to live in denial about sparks flying between them and the connection they felt at the ball, they spent the whole evening talking, about everything but that.

Not long after that, she ran into him in some Italian restaurant, where he was coming out of the meeting and she had just ditched her date (he was hot but she started to talk about work and he thought that writ was some kind of STD). They strolled together through streets of New York and stepped into quaint little bar in Midtown for a drink and a talk.

Caroline knew she shouldn't but then again, they weren't really doing anything wrong, right? It would really only be for a drink and nothing else. And she was still familiarizing herself with New York, it couldn't hurt to make a new friend? Oh God, how good she got at her job, she was even able to lie to herself and be convinced.

That night, they truly spent it talking. She told him about her strained relationship with her mother, focused on work all the time after the divorce. Absentee father. How it made her push herself further and try to excel in everything she did so they would notice. About summer nights and sleepovers, festivals and pageants in her little hometown, she even mentioned Stefan and Elena, that she swore to herself never to be a second choice again.

Klaus talked about his siblings and how he had never quite fitted with the rest of the family, probably something to do with being a product of an affair. Caroline could tell he surprised himself with his honesty and he appeared withdrawn for some time, until she placed her hand on his and it seemed to soothe him.

Things got just plain awkward when she, not being able to ignore it anymore, addressed the fat ugly elephant in the room – his marriage. He smirked in his usual way and told her a tragic little story of all married man. He married Hayley three years ago and it was a business decision, nothing else. Sure, they'd known each other since first private pre-school and so he thought they would make it work somehow. But the truth was that it was one of those 'our-parents-thought-it-was-a-great-idea-and-we-would-eventually-had-to-marry-someone-anyway' relationships and as it had turned out, the fact that you had known each other for a shitload of years, didn't necessarily mean you wouldn't annoy each other to no ends.

It could have as well been just some cooked up story to cover his ass and get her sympathy but when she looked at Klaus, he seemed pretty miserable but also…genuine. So that was the time that Caroline managed to convince herself that maybe, just maybe, it was okay to like him. To…want him, just a little.

After that night, he would stop by her office and bring her lunch or take her out. If anyone at the office thought it was strange, they never said anything - she had been assigned Mikaelson account some time after the function, Alaric having made good on his promise – so maybe they assumed the meetings were work-related (and they were, from time to time).

Only Katherine seemed to know what was going on, grinning at her whenever she would see her and Klaus. Occasionally, they would go out for drinks or dinner and once, he took her to some of his favourite galleries, sharing his biggest passion with her.

After that one time, they never talked about Hayley or his marriage, sometimes he would mention something random but Caroline always tensed at that so he tried not to. Because as much as Caroline tried to convince herself that everything was ok, she knew she was in too deep. Maybe he wasn't cheating per se but Caroline knew from experience what it was like to be with someone who wanted someone else more and, for a lack of a better word, it sucked. And to realize that now she could be the one causing some other woman potential misery…

They were dancing on the thin line and it was, oh so wrong, nevertheless, Caroline wasn't able to put a stop to it. Maybe she felt that way because he was unattainable and the romance they might have had seemed so much more alluring in her head than it ever could have been in reality. But in rare moments of honesty, Caroline knew that it wasn't the case. The connection they shared was very much real, she could feel it in every touch, his heated gaze, in a way he stubbornly tucked her hair behind her ear when an unruly curl fell loose and how his breath hitched when she smiled at him or laughed at his jokes. She never shared so much of herself with anyone else before, even Stefan, and he had once been her best friend. She had never known so much about another person, what made them tick, what would cause a frown on their face or a sparkle in their eyes.

Like the moth to the flame, she felt drawn to him, she couldn't shake him, though she realized it would just end badly. It didn't help though, she was done for from the moment she'd met him.

So when he appeared one night at her doorstep, desperate look in his eyes, she did the only thing she knew was right – and kissed him with all she had.

And then she slept with him.

It was only right.

A/N 2: So, that's part 1 for you, what do you guys think? Did you catch little GA reference there? I hope you enjoyed it and please leave a comment if you can so I can improve my writing :)

I plan for this to be 3 parts at most and I've already written most of it so part 2 should be up soon :)

Thanks for reading :)

MrsAgentCooper