A/N: here's something that popped into my head.

I don't know why I've been tasked to capture all these Underfae but I'm at my limit at dealing with all of it. If it were as easy as trapping one or sneaking up behind one and clobbering it over the head, I wouldn't complain . . . much.

Nothing is that easy with the Fae though. Everything that escaped from the dead Light Fae Elders have claws or wings or large teeth or a combination of all of them. Didn't any of them consider a cuddly puppy as a suitable pet? Maybe a docile cat? Apparently not because all I've been dealing with are creatures that not only don't want to caught but also want to take a bite out of me.

Hale has been helping but he still has his job and I'll only let Kenzi help occasionally because I don't want her to get hurt. Every time I want to take a night off Trick seems to magically appear to remind me that it for both the good of the Fae and humans to capture all of them before they hurt someone or expose the Fae.

This wouldn't be that bad if Dyson was around to help out but no one's seen or heard from him since my fight with my mom. I know I felt his presence there and for some reason I know he helped me but when I went to look for him after he was nowhere to be found. It doesn't seem to be like him to bail and I wanted to be worried but both Trick and Hale told me not to worry. I would ignore them and look for him myself but these Underfae have been keeping me busy . . . and sometimes injured.

Tonight, Trick sent me out to capture particularly nasty Underfae that was able to disguise itself as a harmless little poodle. Of course, once I found it the damn thing scratched the hell out of my arm before I could tranq it and get it in a cage. I managed to wrap it before after getting that caged little bastard into my trunk and now I have to decide on where I can feed.

The problem is I'm not really in the mood. That seems strange considering I'm a succubus but I don't want to pick up some random in a bar or on the street and Trick has been closing the Dal early while we try to repair the damage my mother did so I can't find a Fae to feed on there. I'm kind of low on options.

Maybe that's why I find myself in front of the door to Lauren's apartment. I stopped by the Light Fae lab to see if she could properly bandage my wound but the staff there said she had been convinced to go home and take a nap. They told me she's been logging insane hours since the explosion and she's been running on empty so she needed to sleep and maybe eat something.

Since both of us have been busy we haven't had the talk I promised her and I've been avoiding it. I know that I really need to see her side of things but it's hard because I really thought we might have something, that I might be able to have something with a human. It felt horrible to be used, no matter the intent. It felt even worse because it was Lauren.

Even with all of that, I still need help and I know she'll always be there to help however she can. That's part of the reason I know I have to hear her out. Lauren will always help me even at the cost of her own personal safety and I would be stupid to take that for granted.

It's only when I knock that I realize she could, and should, be sleeping. I instantly feel horrible for interrupting her much-needed rest for my stupid problems but after only a couple seconds I hear movement inside and then the front door opens. Lauren looks completely exhausted on the other side but she smiles when she sees me.

"Bo? What are you doing here?"

It takes me a couple seconds to say something because even when Lauren is exhausted she is still incredibly beautiful. "Uh, hi. I stopped by the lab and they said you had gone home." I pause as I hold up my arm. "I was in need of a little first aid."

Lauren's eyes look directly at my wound, analyzing it instantly, and moves aside to let me in. "Why didn't you let someone there look at your injuries? Why didn't you feed?"

I walk into her place and look around since I've never really been here before. I had to have one of Lauren's assistants give me directions. It's nice . . . for a cage. I wonder how much the Light pays to keep her here. "Your place is nice."

"And you're avoiding my question," Lauren says as she gets her medical kit. "Why didn't you feed?"

I shrug. "Didn't feel like it."

"Okay," she drawls out, probably not believing me, then motions for me to sit on a stool next to the kitchen countertop. "Take your jacket off and let me take a look. I don't think you'll need stitches but I should at least clean it out and wrap it."

I only nod and let her work on my arm as I continue to look around her apartment. It's about a hundred times nicer than the clubhouse and everything's so neat and orderly. Sometimes it's a struggle to find a clean plate or glass at my place.

When Lauren starts to wrap my arm I realize that this is the time to finally ask her the question I've been wanting to for so long. First, I was too hurt then too angry and recently too preoccupied to fully deal with what happened between me and Lauren but after everything I think I can really listen to anything she has to say.

"Can you tell me why?"

She looks up at me and the look in her eyes tells me she doesn't quite understand what I'm asking. Or maybe she doesn't want to know. "What do you mean?"

"Why did you sleep with me? Can you honestly tell me why?"

Lauren looks down and finishes wrapping my arm before putting her supplies away and sitting down next to me. "Are you going to believe me?"

"If you tell me the truth."

She lets out a breath and when she looks at me I can tell she's hurting. Lauren's pretty good at putting up walls but I guess you'd have to be in order to be an owned human in the Fae world. "I slept with you because I wanted to. Yes, the Ash told me to distract you and he implied that having sex with you would certainly do that but I wouldn't manipulate you like that."

"But we had sex, Lauren. You tried to distract me just like he wanted."

"Please try to see this through my eyes," she says as she closes her eyes. "Sure, the Ash was trying to prevent you from killing Vex for political reasons but I just wanted to keep you alive. I was terrified of losing you. We'd been getting so close and I thought maybe . . ." She opens her eyes and looks down. "No one treats me like you do, Bo."

That wasn't something I was expecting her to say. "What do you mean?"

When she looks at me again her eyes are glassy with unshed tears. "I am an owned human that's just barely tolerated because I'm a good doctor. Fae don't make friends with humans and I'm not exactly free to go wherever I want so it makes for a pretty isolated life. I work and I come home. Alone. No one's ever taken an interest like you. No one's ever wanted to be my friend."

Her comments make me think since I've never thought about Lauren's situation like that. It's makes me feel terrible but something else pops in my head that I really should've thought of earlier, especially after finding out that Lauren was owned. "Lauren, are you being hurt? Because I will end anyone who lays a hand on you."

That causes Lauren to chuckle and that makes me smile even though my question and statement are serious ones. Her smiles and laughs are always infectious. "Not physically but five years of being alone ends up hurting in other ways."

I reach out and take her hand. "I'm sorry, Lauren. You understand why I was hurt though, right? I thought we were getting close, too, and that there might be something there. That's why I was so afraid to take what was happening between us further. I didn't want to hurt you."

"But I trusted you," Lauren says softly. "Even though we haven't known each other that long I trust you to protect me. Can't you trust that I would do the same?"

Her words are something I need to think about. Once I learned about the Fae and that I was one, Lauren was the first person I went to in order to control my powers. I trusted that her offer to help was genuine and that she was doing it strictly for my benefit and not the benefit of her boss. Maybe the lines blurred once I felt the attraction to her and knew that she was definitely attracted to me.

I let out a sigh and Lauren must think it's bad because she pulls her hand away and she doesn't make eye contact with me. "Maybe we should start over."

She looks up then but I can't read the look on her face. Sure, her aura shows her attraction to me but it always has. At times it's even blinding. That doesn't tell me what she's thinking. "Really?"

I nod. "I want you in my life, Lauren. You've been helping me navigate this strange new world and I can't imagine not having you in it."

"I want you in my life, too."

Suddenly, this trip seems to be worth getting clawed by some gross Underfae. There's a smile on my face and part of me wants to talk a little more but when I look at Lauren again I notice how tired she is. "When's the last time you slept?"

"The Ash's condition is delicate and we've had a backlog of other patients. I think the last time I was here was a couple days ago. I thought I would sleep for a couple hours, eat something and go back."

"We can talk more later," I say as I stand. "You should sleep."

I start to walk toward the door but I feel Lauren's hand on my wrist. "Stay with me." Her voice is so soft but I can hear her like she's shouting it at high volume. "Please . . . stay with me."

I turn around and it feels like I'm seeing Lauren for the first time. Like, really seeing her. I've never seen someone so equal parts strong and broken down. The weight of being alone and having to care for the same person responsible for keeping her here must be too heavy at the moment. It seems like the lack of sleep is causing her walls to break away a little faster.

The first thing I do is wrap my arms around her. I take one hand and place it against the back of her head, moving it so that it's resting on my shoulder. With the other, I press her body against mine. I feel her arms wrap around me and we simply stand there for a minute. There's nothing left to say right now. I think I finally get Lauren's reasoning even if I wished she would have just told me the truth to begin with.

After a few minutes I move away just enough to look at her. Lauren looks like she could sleep for a week and I hate that she's been running herself ragged. "Where's your bedroom? You need to get some sleep."

"It's upstairs."

I smile at her and I walk her up the stairs toward her bedroom. I can't help but look around as I do, making sure I take everything in. There's no guarantee on when I'll be back here, if only for the fact that there's seemingly a never-ending number of Underfae that Trick needs me to chase after and Lauren has to stick to the lab.

Once we get to the bedroom I'm exactly sure what happens or who started what but the next thing I know we're kissing. I could never forget how great of a kisser Lauren is but this little reminder has me wanting to kiss her for a very long time. That's not something I do though because though my body is telling me all the things I want to do with Lauren, my brain is reminding me that the woman I care for is exhausted and doesn't need an active succubus wanting more than sleep.

"Lauren," I breathe out when we mutually break the kiss, "you need to sleep."

"Bo . . ."

"I want to," I admit. "And as tired as you are, I know you want to but you could hurt yourself if you don't start taking care of yourself. I don't want to see that happen." I let out a quiet sigh. "Even when I was hurt and wanted to hate you I still cared about you."

Lauren doesn't say anything in response but steps away from me and walks over to her dresser. She pulls out shorts and a tank top before taking off the shirt she's wearing. Her back's to me and my eyes go wide as I look over her perfect skin. It's taking all my willpower not to touch her, take her into my arms again, and I manage to stay strong until she takes her bra off. After that, my succubus nature takes over and I reach other to touch her shoulder. Her breath hitches slightly when I do and her aura is even brighter than before.

She turns around to face me and my eyes scan her topless form, drinking her in as I take in her beauty. I put both hands on her body, moving over her arms and then her stomach in order to feel as much of her skin as possible. Her eyes close and I wonder what she's thinking.

I know what I want to do. I want to spend the night reconnecting with her, revisiting all the things we did on a night that should have been magical but turned painful instead. I want to feel her inside and out and then have her do the same to me. Then, at the end, when I actually have to leave I'll have a smile on my face instead of tears and give Lauren the promise of more nights to come.

Part of me wonders if that's what she wants or if she just wants this one night. Maybe she's just doing this because she thinks I need to heal. Maybe she thinks that I just want to use her the way that everyone else does now. That's not something I want her to think but she's so tired she might not be thinking clearly.

"Lauren, I never want to use you."

Her expression is one of confusion for a second before she understands what I'm saying. That's when she reaches out and places a hand against my cheek. "I think you're the only one that doesn't."

The comment breaks my heart and I lean in to kiss her as gently as I can. I wish I could take away that thought from her head but I know there's a small amount of truth in it. Instead of dwelling on that, I set about at least dulling the thought for a moment.

I slowly move us toward the bed as we kiss and once we make it there, I remove the rest of her clothes. She tries to do the same with me but I ignore her hands and guide her into bed once she's completely naked. It's only then that I take my clothes off, keeping eye contact with her as I do. Her eyes roam my body as I strip away my clothes and her aura continually spikes as I do. The smile on my face grows wider each time it does.

The last time we did this our clothes were removed in a rush and it wasn't until we got in bed that everything slowed down. That was mainly because I feared that it everything happened fast I wouldn't be able to control myself and I'd hurt Lauren. The fear of that happening is still very much in the back of my mind but I also know I won't allow myself to let her feel anything other than pleasure.

Once I'm naked, I slip into bed next to her and she moves into my arms. We kiss lightly at first, like we're trying to forget about what happened, about when we fought. It quickly moves into something more though until I'm exploring her body. I leave trails of kisses everywhere, nipping at her skin every once and a while. Her hands grip my back and shoulders as I do, letting me know that I should continue with what I'm doing, even though I have no intention of stopping. Especially once I reach her breasts and give them all the attention they can handle.

To me, Lauren's body is a work of art and it should be worshiped. She needs to know someone cares about her and I'm more than willing to be that person right now. Her quiet moans are telling me I'm doing all the right things, too, and I smile against her skin as kiss down her legs.

"Bo . . ."

I move back up her body and we press together as we kiss again. Her hands move down my back to rest on my ass and my hips involuntarily thrust down, causing Lauren to break away to moan. My lips move to her neck instead where I kiss and playfully nip there, too. I move one hand down her body to where I know she needs me and rub my fingers against her clit. She's so wet and ready for me that I don't tease her at all.

She cries out as I enter her and the feeling of it makes me moan. It feels even better than the last time and I want Lauren to know how much this means to be right now. Not only is she the first human I've ever slept with to survive but she's the only one I've ever felt this deeply for.

"Lauren, you feel amazing against me," I whisper into her ear as I start a rhythm. Her body instantly responds and moves with mine. "I think I've always wanted this with you."

Lauren doesn't say anything in response but I know I'm doing something right before she's gripping me like I'm all she wants right now. My succubus nature is very proud of itself because that's really the goal, to be irresistible and have anyone we want. When I look down at her I notice her eyes are closed and right now I want to see them.

"Open your eyes," I say quietly as I continue to move inside her. "Please, Lauren."

She does and I can see she needs this just as much as I do. She needs this connection between us and I hope she can see that I feel the same.

"Your eyes, Bo."

For a second, I don't know what she's referring to until I realize she probably notices that my eyes aren't blue. They weren't the first time we had sex and I didn't want to them to be now either. This isn't about healing, at least not about healing my arm, so I'm making the effort not to let any part of my succubus nature take over.

"This isn't about healing, Lauren," I say. "This is about us."

The only way Lauren responds to my comment is to put a hand on the back of my head and pull me down so our lips crash together. I can tell she's close so I speed up just enough so that it only takes a few more thrusts and she comes hard against my hand. I help her ride out her orgasm as I place light kisses on her face.

She grips me tightly even after she's come down and it takes me a few seconds to realize that there are some tears on her cheeks. "Lauren, what's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

Letting out a quiet chuckle, she shakes her head. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. I just can't believe I'm here and that you're here with me."

"You live here, honey," I say, trying to lighten the mood. "And I'm here because I realized that I need you, Lauren."

"Really?"

I nod and smile, seeing that she's already starting to fall asleep. "You should get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

She nods. "Can you just hold me?"

"Of course." She settles in my arms and it's not long before she's asleep. I watch her for a minute, knowing that there's more we need to talk about but I think we're moving in the right direction.

I think we can be together.

A/N: I'm working on my other stories, too, I promise. I just needed to get this one out. Please let me know what you thought on here or let me know on twitter: hayley128. :)