AN: Thank you guys for your patience. Hope you enjoy. :-)
Chapter Eleven
Lauren had never liked being the center of attention. Usually when she was growing up, wherever the spotlight was Lauren was furthest from it. So with all the attention, from everyone she considered to be her friends staring at her Lauren was a little nervous. Reaching into her pocket Lauren felt the folded piece of paper press against her skin and grasped it between her fingers. Knowing what it said Lauren handed it to Dyson without unfolding it.
The wolf looked down at the paper cautiously, not sure what he would find there. When he unfolded it he read the document quickly. It was a photocopy of a translated document but he knew immediately what it was.
" This is a death certificate." Dyson announced looking at Lauren.
" Who's?" Hale asked peering down at the paper.
" Mine." Lauren said. Knowing that what she had just said required further explanation she must have made eye contact with each of them before she looked back down at the paper. It still creeped her out to look at it, even knowing that it was just a formality. Something that would keep anyone that had ever known her from looking for her. " I was in the Congo five years ago. My camp was attacked by a very dangerous Fae. It killed twenty people that night before it was done."
" So, this is just a fake then?" Kenzie asked looking at it as the paper made its founds.
" I wish. I was the last one that it came for. That's probably why I was able to be saved."
" Saved by what?" Dyson questioned still weary.
" The Fae that attacked my camp had been on the radar of the Light and the Dark for a while. When it attacked, one of the Fae that had been in the area saved me."
" How?" Trick asked, he knew better than anyone that there were many types of Fae rituals, each one more dangerous than the one before.
" He gave me his heart." Lauren replied.
" An Aos Si?" Trick asked surprised. He didn't think that there were many of those left. Let alone one to be there at the right place at the right time.
" A say what?" Kenzie asked feeling that they should know by now to speak in English around her.
" Aos Si are an ancient race of Fae. Some even believe they were the beginning of the Fae. One of their abilities is that they are able to give their own lives to save another. It's a complex ritual, but I've never heard of it happening." Trick knew that he was staring at Lauren and that he probably shouldn't. But to have known Lauren for so long and not know. Lauren must be very special.
" Why would the Aos Si do that?" Dyson asked in the tone that he got whenever he was talking about humans. For all the redeemable qualities Dyson had he was awfully racist against humans.
" His name was Reinald. And unfortunately he wasn't around for me to ask." Lauren stated as harshly as Dyson had posed his question.
" Reinald? The Reinald?" Trick asked.
" That means something?" Bo asked seeing Trick's reaction as a possible bad sign. Trick didn't do surprised.
" Mentor to the Old Ash and brother of the current Ash. That Reinald?" Trick clarified.
" One and the same."
" Wow."
" What?" Lauren asked. Her hand subconsciously going to her chest where she could feel her heart beating strongly.
" Aos Si are unique in that the longer they live the more powerful they become. Fae legends say that after so many millennia Aos Si become the Gods of the Fae world. Reinald was one of the oldest." Lauren lowered her gaze, her guilt when she'd discovered the truth had been great but then to hear all the things people loved about him, hear how exceptional he was. Lauren's guilt only got worse.
" So…I know that I'm only human here but is there something that I'm missing. So this dude gave you a heart transplant. Nice of him sure, but doesn't seem exactly Fae like." Kenzie offered.
"It's a bit more complicated than a simple heart transplant Kenzie." Trick offered for Lauren, she was going to launch into a full explanation but both of them knew that she would lose Kenzie by the second sentence in.
" So the killing of the Fae. The way he was killed, could be related to what happened in the Congo?" Dyson asked drawing the attention back to the reason why he was there. He didn't care about the reason Lauren was tied to the Fae.
" Possibly." Lauren answered feeling Bo's grip on her hand tighten. " But unlikely, there are hundreds of other Fae that feed on the heart of others. The only reason I'm telling you this is because if it is related, you guys should know."
" Gross. Can't you Fae do anything normal?" Kenzie asked her face twisted up in disgust.
Thankfully conversation after that flowed rather harmoniously, questions naturally, but Lauren expected that. But Lauren also knew from the looks Trick kept giving her that there was more that he wanted to ask her when they weren't in a public arena. At the first opportunity Trick motioned for Lauren to follow him into his study. With Bo otherwise occupied with Kenzie she followed.
" Have you inherited any of his traits?" Trick asked once the door was closed.
" One." Lauren answered honestly, there was no point lying to Trick.
" Which one?"
" Amara said it was the ability to calm. That all Aos Si have it."
" She'd know. Lauren do you understand the consequences of what has happened? Through no choice of your own what you have been signed up for? Reinald didn't just give you his heart the ritual is much more in depth than that. He gave you his life force. His chi. And it was just been lying dormant in you until Bo killed you."
" You say that like I asked for this to happen to me!" Lauren cried her eyes gleaming with inexpressible rage. She was taking it out on Trick and he was probably the last person that he should be taking it out on.
" I know, I'm sorry. I'm just afraid for you."
" Right now I don't think that you need to be." Lauren offered, with Bo in her life Lauren really doubted that she would need any more protection than that, but then there was Amara.
" Does Bo know all of this?"
" She told me." Bo said from her spot just inside the door. She hadn't been there for very long but she had gotten concerned when Lauren and Trick suddenly disappeared. Both Lauren and Trick looked at the dark haired succubus, appearing almost guilty looking like they had been caught doing something they shouldn't.
" I'm sorry to steal her away. I just wanted to talk to Lauren a little more." Trick offered apologetically. Knowing how Bo could be protective, bordering on possessive, the last thing that Trick wanted was to piss Bo off.
Bo approached Lauren slowly, wrapping her arms around Lauren's slender waist and pulling the blonde towards her ever so slightly. It was such an intimate gesture that Trick forced him to look away. There was a lot that they would have to face but Trick wasn't worried.
*~*~*~* Bo and Kenzie's House
" Bo this is not necessary." Lauren said exasperated, watching Bo set down her duffle bag filled with clothes that Bo had practically packed for Lauren. When they had gotten back to Lauren's after the Dal, Bo had posed the idea that until the mystery was solved Lauren come and stay with them. The discussion, bordering on argument, that followed had Lauren inquire how she would be safer outside the Ash's compound especially if Bo stayed with her. Bo's response was that if there really was someone that was out to get Lauren then she needed to be somewhere other than where she was expected to be. There was something so surprisingly logical about Bo's argument that Lauren ended up agreeing.
" So you've said. The entire drive over here." Bo replied with an appeasing smile to show Lauren that she wasn't actually angry.
" I think that everyone is just overreacting." Lauren offered following Bo up into her bedroom. It was a place that Lauren knew well but had spent such little time there. Watching Bo in her comfort zone was such a rewarding sight, Bo had grown comfortable in her quarters even so far as treating Lauren's quarters as her own. But there were very few places where Bo didn't feel the weight of the world crushing her shoulders.
" I want you here." Bo said sitting on her bed and reaching for Lauren. Lauren felt powerlessly to stop herself from crossing the small distance between them. Coming to stand against the edge of the bed, feeling Bo's thighs frame her legs. Bo's eyes flashed a faint blue while she looked up at Lauren, Lauren was so beautiful breath taking. " Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?"
Lowering her lips to Bo's, the moment their lips touched Lauren felt the spark that was always present but somehow always surprising whenever she kissed Bo. Bo had become addicted to Lauren's kisses after the first one they'd shared. There was something so intoxicating about them. Having never met someone that she could spend hours just kissing without it going anywhere Bo cherished it. She shivered when Lauren's fingertips trailed down her face before cupping it, taking advantage of her position to control the kiss.
Content to take their passionate lip lock onto the bed Lauren felt how tense Bo was, there was a hesitation in Bo's movement.
" What's wrong?" Lauren asked breathlessly dodging Bo's attempt to reclaim her lips, and stifling a moan when Lauren began to nuzzle her neck placing gentle kisses along her pulse point. Lauren's head was swimming with arousal and it was difficult to focus.
" Nothing."
" Nothing? Bo your entire body is tense. What's up? Whatever it is, it's okay." Lauren offered stepping away from Bo so she could look at the brunette more fully.
" I just…" Bo started, stopping when she couldn't quite find the words to explain what she was feeling. Realization slowly began to dawn on Lauren the more time she had to calm her libido.
" You won't hurt me Bo." Lauren promised, running her fingers through Bo's hair and feeling Bo lean into her hand. Bo avoided looking at Lauren, knowing that if she did look up she would find warm and understanding brown eyes that she could look into forever. Lauren was always so understanding about things that others would find infuriating, or even terrifying. There was no reason why Lauren should be so at ease about putting her life on the line just to make love to Bo. Even Dyson was wary of it and he was Fae.
" You can't know that." Bo said hating that Lauren could read her so easily, know what she was thinking and feeling. Bo might normally where her heart on her sleeve, her emotions and her thoughts so transparent to the people that knew her. But when it came to sex, when it came to something that usually was so natural to Bo she was self-conscious about her lack of control.
" I have faith in you. Why can't you have that faith in yourself?" Lauren asked sitting next to Bo trying desperately to get Bo to look at her.
" Because I did hurt you. Lauren do you know how badly I want you? How much restraint it takes not to take you right now. There would be nothing gentle about it. You have the most irresistible chi, I even crave it." Bo laughed humorlessly at what she had just said, making it sound like Chinese takeout or a donut instead of Lauren's life.
" That doesn't sound too bad to me." Lauren felt her entire body tingle with anticipation for it.
" Lauren it's not funny." Bo didn't even care that there was a hint of a whine in her voice.
" It kind of is. You're apologizing for wanting me. For the fact that I turn you on. I know that scares you. But it's what you are. It's a part of you and makes you beautiful and wonderful." Lauren stated firmly forcing Bo to look at her to help cement her point. She wasn't scared of Bo. She had tried to tell Bo a dozen times during the course of their friendship and later their relationship. It was time that Bo started to believe her.
" Part?" Bo teased finally a smile forming at the corner of her mouth. But Lauren knew that Bo was deflecting the real issue in hopes that they could talk about anything other than what Bo was feeling.
" There is a whole list of why you take my breath away Bo. Being a succubus is only one of those reasons." Lauren offered. " What can I do, to help you feel more comfortable with this, with us? I want you to feel confident in your own ability to control your feeding."
" How are you so wonderful?" Bo asked rhetorically before claiming Lauren's lips. Pulling Bo closer and towards the head of the bed Lauren positioned them so that she was on top.
" We'll go as slow as you need." Lauren whispered. " Just tell me if you want to stop."
" Want? Never." Bo said pulling Lauren in for another deep kiss.
" Need then." Lauren insisted.
Deepening their kiss until they were engaged in a fervent duel, Lauren's tongue coaxing sweet sounds out of Bo before pulling away before Bo was ready for the kiss to end. Catching Bo's bottom lip between her teeth Lauren bit down hard enough to barely hurt, though the pain didn't even register in Bo's brain she was too far gone already. No one had ever taken control in bed before, Bo had always been the dominant one it was just in her nature. And there was something immensely more arousing about seeing Lauren take on that role.
Nudging the bottom of Bo's shirt up Lauren's hand slid underneath the thin cotton, her nails scratching gently across the toned flesh until she felt it tremble as Bo inhaled sharply.
" Still good?" Lauren asked her breath hot against Bo's ear. Bo knew if she opened her eyes they would be glowing bright blue so she kept them tightly closed and nodded. Making quick work of the button and zipper of Bo's jeans Bo kicked them off until they were a discarded pile at the base of the bed. Taking a moment to look down at Bo's flawless body, down over Bo's cotton covered breasts, lingering on toned abs and finally stopping when her eyes fell on Bo's underwear.
Nudging the brunette's legs apart with her hand Lauren explored Bo's covered flesh watching with a healthy dose of satisfaction as Bo's hips rose to meet her hand. Bo was no stranger to sex, physical pleasure was as familiar and necessary to Bo as breathing, but Lauren wanted it to be different. To show Bo that it could be so much more than just a simple need for gratification. If Bo wanted that she could walk into any bar in the country and find someone to satisfy her.
Lauren pulled at Bo's underwear, taking her time in removing them acutely aware of Bo staring at her. Smiling almost predatorily at Bo's naked lower half before her, when she leaned down to press teasing kisses along Bo's lower stomach her hair fell around her shielding her face from Bo. Not that she needed it, the moment Lauren put her mouth on Bo, the succubus' eyes closed tightly and a low moan tore from Bo's throat.
Grasping her sheets tightly in her fists Bo's knuckles turned white, afraid if she were actually to touch Lauren she would unwillingly use her seductive ability. Pleasure inched closer and closer to euphoria as Lauren's tongue continued to dance along the most sensitive part of her body, knowing just the right way to tease Bo to the edge but not letting Bo fall over it. Lauren's hands venturing upward across Bo's torso until her hand cupped Bo's breast, even clothed the contact was enough to shatter any sense of control she had as she went tumbling over the edge of climax.
Bo spent the next several minutes trying to regain control of her breathing, her eyes still closed she felt Lauren move up to lie next to her. Lauren watching amazed as Bo slowly recovered, determined to cling to that moment for as long as she could before opening her eyes. Incapable of keeping a straight face Bo saw the semi smug look on Lauren's face. For all her self-consciousness Bo had always known Lauren to be a confident lover.
" See, you didn't hurt me." Lauren offered not losing sight of Bo's insecurity.
" I still could. I…"
" Shush." Lauren interrupted putting her finger on Bo's lips to stop Bo from convincing herself that she was going to hurt Lauren. " Put your hands on me Bo." Lauren instructed, she hadn't failed to notice that Bo was still clutching the sheets as if they were her lifeline. Still Bo did as she was told and she put her hands on Lauren's sides. " Now, let's take these clothes off."
" I think I like you like this." Bo said removing Lauren's clothes, a hint of her familiar confidence coming back.
It was an entirely different sensation pressing their bodies close while they kissed. When they were clothed of course they could feel the heat of each other, but when they were naked every touch, every point of contact became the epicenter of pleasure. As their kisses grew more passionate and Lauren felt Bo begin to nip at her lips and even go so far as to bite down semi-painfully Lauren knew that Bo was ready for another go.
*~*~*~* Several Hours Later
Lauren looked up at the ceiling, at the wood boards just beyond the semi-transparent canopy over Bo's bed. She lay with her head comfortably pillowed on Bo's shoulder while they both basked in the afterglow of their love making. Chuckling softly to herself at how corny that sounded. When did she become such a romantic? Meeting Bo's gaze Lauren saw the question simply in the look that Bo was giving her, a raised eyebrow that was both seductive and inquiring.
" I was just thinking."
" You're always thinking." Bo commented teasingly.
" That's true." Lauren answered shifting so that she could better look at Bo without her neck aching. Intrigued now at what Lauren might be thinking about Bo waited patiently for Lauren to begin telling her. It always fascinated Bo the things that Lauren pondered, even when she didn't need to. Though she was intelligent in her own right Bo didn't often think about the particular details of a new serum or theoretical Astro physics or whatever it was that occupied Lauren's thoughts.
" And what are you thinking about? Some new cure for obscure Fae diseases?" It was true though, she did enjoy hearing Lauren talk about science. It was such a weird turn on.
" You actually." Lauren replied. Bo was speechless, and oddly flattered and she didn't exactly know why.
" Me? What about me?"
" Everything about you amazes me."
" The fact that you were willing to spend tonight making sure that I was comfortable in my own control over my abilities, it means the world to me Lauren."
" It wasn't exactly a hard ship. I want you to feel comfortable Bo. I don't want you to worry if you're going to hurt me whenever you touch me. You need to know that you can make love to me, and lose yourself without losing control."
" I'm willing to work on it."
*~*~*~*~ the Next Morning
Bo made her way slowly down stairs after her long, relaxing shower. With each descending step the smell of deliciousness grew. After waking up in cocoon of Lauren and sheets Lauren had told Bo of her plans to make breakfast while Bo took a shower. The sight that greeted Bo when she turned towards the kitchen was hilariously adorable. Kenzie sat on the very edge of her stool, watching as Lauren continued to cool. From the bafflement that played out on Kenzie's face it seemed like the short Goth had never seen anyone cook before.
" Bo can we keep her? She makes pancakes!" Kenzie squealed when she saw Bo walk towards them. Lauren laughed and placed the second plate of blueberry pancakes in front of Kenzie, wondering where the small girl put it all.
" I'm kind of fond of her." Bo replied walking up behind Lauren and wrapping her arms around Lauren's slim waist and pressing a gentle kiss on the back of the blonde's neck. " Good morning."
" Good morning." Lauren greeted turning around and kissing Bo properly. Kenzie made a barfing sound when the kiss lingered longer than it needed to. " Hungry? I made plenty." Lauren offered.
" Starved." Bo replied grabbing a plate.
" She should be after the workout you guys had last night. I mean Jesus! A little courtesy for the neighborhood. I'm sure kids are scared for life, not to mention the months of therapy this is going to cost me." Kenzie said around a mouthful of pancakes.
" Sorry Kenz." Bo said though it was no secret that she didn't mean it. Realizing that Lauren was dressed in actual clothes Bo turned her attention on the blonde.
" I have to go into work today. Amara has been more than generous Bo." Lauren said seeing the beginning of a pout.
"I know."
" And I'm late as it is. I'll call you later?" Lauren said kissing Bo again and walking towards the door. Hesitating just a second longer before turning towards the two women. " Bye Kenzie." She knew that she needed to make more of an effort to get along with Kenzie. Not that she had any sort of dislike for the Goth, but the two didn't have anything in common except for Bo.
" Bye Hot Pants." Kenzie called.
Bo waited until the door closed before she looked at Kenzie, a look of complete elation. She'd been dying to talk to Kenzie about the developments between her and Lauren but she had been too preoccupied with Lauren to actually find Kenzie. Kenzie could see the happiness radiating off of Bo, and she was genuinely happy for her friend, if not a little cautious.
" Kenzie…I'm so head over heels for her its bad." Bo finally confessed.
" It's not bad Bo. It's just sickeningly cute and obnoxious." Kenzie corrected.
" I don't know how to do this. How to be in an actual honest to God adult relationship." Bo stated.
" You seem to be doing good so far."
" It's been a few weeks."
" So? Must be doing something right. She made pancakes!" Seeing that her humor wasn't what Bo needed right at that particular moment Kenzie abandoned her pancakes and grabbed Bo's hand. " You are going to be fine. Trust me on this one. Hot Pants isn't going anywhere."
" Stop calling her that."
" Why?"
" Because it means you're looking at how hot my girlfriend looks in her pants."
