Lauren's eyes blinked open to light streaming through her window. For a moment, she was disoriented while her mind was waking up, but then she became aware of Bo's breathing next to her. She laid still and listened as Bo drew and exhaled her breaths. She felt a flame in her stomach at the memory of Bo's lips, tongue, hands on her from the night before.

Bo shifted in her sleep, and her leg brushed against Lauren's bare leg. She took a moment to savor the contact, and she rubbed her leg up and down Bo's leg, and her stomach tightened.

Bo seemed to come alive at that. Slowly, she rolled on top of Lauren and settled in between Lauren's spread legs. Lauren forgot everything for a moment, and she craved Bo's touch all over her body.

Bo pushed Lauren's knees further apart and arched her body into her center, pressing herself into Lauren's body hard. At the same time, she slipped her hand under Lauren's shirt and pressed her palm to Lauren's breast. With her other hand, she traced the inner length of Lauren's thigh.

Lauren turned her face to the side as need clawed through her, and a rough breath escaped her parted lips. "God, I miss sex," She breathed out when Bo outlined her nipple slowly with her finger. She was too worked up, too many sensations were running through her to be embarrassed by her blunt declaration.

Bo placed wet kisses on her collarbone, her fingers still moving slowly over Lauren's breast. "I so want to help you with that." Bo's voice was muffled against her bare skin. Bo knew she could do this for hours, kiss Lauren, touch her, and coax sounds of pleasure from her.

Inwardly, Lauren wanted to beg Bo to take her right then and there, to do whatever she wanted to her. She bit her lip, and Bo's head moved under her shirt. When Bo's lips closed over her nipple, Lauren, to her surprise, gasped loudly.

For a second, Bo thought she wanted her to stop, but then Lauren's fingers combed through her hair, pushing her close. Bo sighed with pleasure and traced her tongue around her nipple, teasing her before closing her mouth over the peak again, sucking softly.

The painfully slow way Bo let her nipple slide from her mouth caused another jagged breath to escape Lauren's lips. Bo drew back, and Lauren looked down at her, her chest moved up and down quickly, her eyes half closed.

Bo stared back, her face flushed, her own breathing heavy. "Lauren, I know you have a lot on your mind, a lot's happening, but you have to find a way to release your stress." Bo pulled Lauren's shirt back down. She hovered over Lauren's skin before she kissed along her jawline.

Before Lauren could utter a response. Olive whispered through the cracked door. "Mommy, are you awake?"

Within a flash, Lauren pulled a blanket over Bo's head and composed herself. "I'll be right there, sweetie," She said, her voice unsteady.

"Ok, mommy. I need breakfast." Olive pushed the door open wide and rubbed her stomach. "My belly is empty and growling."

Lauren cleared her throat, her eyes wide. "Give me two minutes."

Olive bounced her head up and down in understanding. "Okay." She started to close the door. "Hi, Bo." She giggled before shutting the door.

Hearing the door click shut, Lauren scrubbed her hands down her face feeling mortified.

Bo peeked her head out from under the blanket, and her eyebrows drew together. "She didn't see anything, did she?"

"I don't think, so," Lauren whispered through her fingers that still covered her face.

Bo sat up, and Lauren immediately missed the warmth of her body. "I guess we'll have to work on our timing." She tilted her head to the door. "Or lock your door."

Lauren's hand slid off her face, and she watched as Bo moved off the bed. "Think about what I said. You can't work nonstop, you need to find ways to unwind." Bo said with a meaningful smirk.

Lauren gave a self-mocking laugh, and her heartbeat and breathing leveled off. "Are you offering me stress sex?"

Bo tied her hair back and shrugged. "Sometimes, you need to take a step away from a problem, for a short time. It helps to clear things out. Inspiration can spark when your mind's distracted by something else."

Lauren's eyes traveled down Bo's body slowly, her tight t-shirt clung the curves of her body, and she looked amazingly beautiful standing in the morning light from the curtains. "I'll keep that in mind," She said after a hard swallow.

XXXX

Bo entered the living room to find Tamsin perched stiffly on the sofa, avoiding eye contact with her. She opened her mouth to say hello but reconsidered and said nothing.

She wandered to the kitchen and started making coffee. Although, she couldn't see Tamsin she could feel her rolling her eyes.

Olive sat at the kitchen table and absently jabbed with her fork at her eggs. "I wanted cereal," She mumbled, grumpily. "I like cereal in the mornings." She glared at Tamsin. "I wanted cereal," She called out to her.

"Don't be ungrateful," Tamsin shouted back from her spot on the couch. "Eat you eggs."

When Olive finally noticed Bo, she smiled wide. "Did you have a sleepover with mommy?"

Bo shifted her weight and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Umm." She didn't know what she should say. She watched the steam coil off the cup for a second while thinking. "Umm. Yes." She answered at last.

Olive swirled her fork around her plate avoiding her eggs. "Nadia…" She stuck out her tongue and wrinkled her nose. "Had sleepovers with mommy sometimes. I didn't like it cuz Nadia would put on baby cartoons for me to watch." She huffed. "And I would tell her I'm not a baby, and she wouldn't listen!" She used an outraged tone and folded her arms over her chest.

Tamsin pushed past Bo with a loud groan and plopped down next to Olive. She spread blueberry syrup over her eggs and quickly started eating.

Olive gaped at Tamsin, her face scrunched in disgust. "Yuck, Tammy. Yuck."

Tamsin winked at her. "Don't knock it 'til you try it." She took a large bite of her eggs. "Right, Bo?"

"Huh?" Bo added sugar and cream to her coffee, startled that Tamsin was talking to her. "What do you mean?" She asked turning around to face her.

Tamsin took another large bite of her food. "You like to try everything at least once, right?" She muttered with her mouth still full. "No matter who gets hurt, right?"

Olive pushed Tamsin's shoulder. "You're being weird. Don't be weird."

Bo held her hands around her cup, enjoying the warmth, and stalling. "Can we talk, Tamsin? I would like to clear the air between us." She finally asked.

Tamsin scoffed, didn't reply and continued to eat her breakfast.

Olive glanced back and forth between them. "More secrets, Bo?"

Bo shook her head and smiled. "No, Olive nothing like that."

"Nope, nothing important at all," Tamsin said with a long drawn out eye roll.

"Grown-up stuff?" Olive jumped off her chair. "I'm going to find mommy and tell her I wanted cereal." She left the kitchen. "Sugar helps me think," She added more to herself than Bo and Tamsin.

Bo took a few cautious steps toward Tamsin. "I'm sorry about what happened between us. I guess I misunderstood the situation. I didn't know you were looking for a relationship. I didn't know you had feelings for me when we started sleeping together. I thought you understood the arrangement."

"Save it, Bo." Tamsin pushed herself out of the chair. "You got what you wanted and moved on. It's what you do. You only think about yourself."

"That's not true." Bo protested, suddenly feeling angry.

Tamsin marched out of the kitchen but paused and glared at Bo over her shoulder. "Loving you is a curse."

Bo sat her cup down and watched as Tamsin disappeared into Olive's bedroom. In the moments that followed her attention turned to Lauren and Olive when they walked into the kitchen hand and hand. Her heart swelled, and she suddenly felt lighter and more at ease when they gave her matching smiles.

XXXX

Bo sat at the bar, at the Dal, sipping her drink slowly. It was three days since she'd asked Trick to keep Eva for her, in his basement cellar, and she still felt uneasy about it. She had carefully avoided revealing any information about the upcoming war. Lauren's fear was if the Fae discovered HANE's plan, they would strike first, and they wouldn't be able to stop it.

"For a sexy succubus, you don't look very happy," Kenzi threw a towel over her shoulder and sat next to Bo. "Want to talk about it?"

Bo shook her head and stared at the wall.

Kenzi glanced around, making sure no one could hear, then leaned into Bo. "What's going on? Lauren is so tight lipped. What's happening?"

Bo slowly turned her head to look at Kenzi, with soft eyes. "I don't think I can say anything about it. But it's bad."

The undeniable truth and understanding slammed into Kenzi's chest. Her palms began to sweat. "Olivia's in trouble, huh?"

Bo swallowed and shifted in her chair. And Bo's reaction was answer enough for Kenzi. The past few years and everything she saw with the children at HANE replayed in her mind, and she was scared for Olive.

Dyson and Hale finished up their game of pool and walked over to Bo and Kenzi.

Pulled from her thoughts Kenzi stared at them, with her hands on her hips. "Are you two always here?"

Hale threw an arm around her. "You'd be bored without us."

Kenzi scoffed and slapped him with her towel. "You are more of a distraction than anything else. The number of drinks you order is unreal."

Hale and Kenzi continued a friendly banter and Dyson settled behind Bo and began to massage her shoulders. "Where have you been?" He whispered into her ear. "I've been thinking about you."

Bo wiggled away from him and took a couple of steps back. "Can we talk in private?" She asked Dyson.

"Oh, no here we go again." Hale gave Dyson a few pats on the back. "It's always back and forth with these two," He added into Kenzi's ear.

Kenzi glanced back and forth between Dyson and Bo but held back her comment as Hale guided her away from the pair.

Bo forced a smile at Dyson and took him to a back table.

"Do you miss me at all, Bo? I love you. I need you. You're my mate." He flashed her his most charming smile and waited.

Bo swallowed her grimace. "Dyson, I'm sorry, but you have to find a way to release yourself from that mating for life thing. I can't return your feelings."

"Why?" He scratched at his beard. "There's no good reason for us not to be together."

Bo was silent mentally struggling with the best way to approach the conversation. In truth, this wasn't the first time they had this discussion but it never got easier. Part of her would always feel guilty that she couldn't return his feelings. "You've been a great friend…" She started.

He cut her off, and his neck grew red. "Friend, Bo? That's what you'd call us!" He growled out through a clenched jaw.

Across the room, Kenzi turned to Hale. "What's the story with those two?" She pretended to be busy by wiping down the table in front of her.

Hale laughed and shook his head. "Girl, how much time you got?"

Kenzi stole a glance at Bo then turned back to Hale. "Short version?"

Hale threw up his hands and shrugged. "A tale of boy loves girl, and the girl can't commit."

Kenzi stopped wiping the table and stared at him for a long moment. "That doesn't sound fair. I'm sure it's more than that."

"I don't want to hurt you; I don't want to hurt anyone but…" Bo averted her eyes from him and patted his hand.

Dyson scoffed and jerked his hand away from her. "It's a little too late for that, Bo."

Bo shifted her eyes to his face, trying to read all the emotions that flashed across it. "I want you to be happy, but I can't give you what you need or want."

Dyson leaned forward, his eyes sincere and earnest. "I can only be happy with you, you know that. Without my mate, I'm empty inside. Give us another try, in time, you'll learn to love me as I love you."

"It doesn't work like that." Bo kept her voice calm, trying to be as reasonable and direct as she could.

"Why? Why can't you try?" His tone had turned almost pleading and desperate.

Bo didn't answer right away. Instead, she studied his face with a sympathetic expression. "Because I know from experience you can't force love. My marriage to Rainer is proof of that. And…" She hesitated briefly. "I've fallen in love with someone else." Much to her relief the words came out confident and even.

Dyson's face paled as if Bo had punched him in the stomach. "Who?" He barked, loudly.

"No one you know." She muttered and played with her napkin. For some reason, she wanted to keep Lauren separate from this, and not drag her into this situation with Dyson.

"This is bullshit, Bo." He snarled, pushing back in his chair. "How dare you fall in love with someone else, when I need you so badly."

"Can't we be friends?" She asked quietly. "You're my oldest friend."

He laughed as if she was being outrageous. "I can't be friends with you, I'm in love with you."

He shoved himself out of the chair with such force it crashed behind him onto the floor. "I feel sorry for whoever you think you love. You'll only hurt them just like you hurt everyone else." He marched over to where she sat and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Loving you is a curse." He pulled down his vest, hard and walked away from her.

Bo slumped in her chair; that blow fell so hard that she was almost numb from the impact of the words. Maybe Tamsin and Dyson were right that loving her really was a curse.

XXXXX

"Trick, you old dog, my grandson wakes up, and you don't bother to tell me." Evony made a tsking sound and arched her eyebrows. "Shame on you."

"It's not my responsibility." Trick sighed and placed his book down. He could tell Evony was angling for an argument or fishing for information.

Evony threw back her head and laughed at him. "We're family. Of course it is. When our grandchildren were married, we became a family." She stared at him. "Like it or not."

"You should know Bo plans on dissolving their marriage and bond. She's on a mission." He said, with an expression of annoyance, but his tone remained cordial.

Her eyes darkened. "You have to stop her. We had a deal."

Trick leaned back in his chair and pressed his fingers to his temples. "It's been 55 years don't you think you should move on. And Rainer's been in a coma for fifty of those years. Let the past remain in the past."

She sauntered over next to him and bent down. "Oh, no I have a very long memory. Very convenient for the succubus that Rainer fell into that coma. I still have my suspicions about that situation." She rose back up and placed her hands on her hips while peering down at him condescendingly.

He stood and looked up at her, with stern eyes. "Don't you dare accuse Bo. She had nothing to do with that."

"Yeah…" Her voice cracked with doubt, and she tilted her head. "Then who did? You blood mage?"

"You can leave now, with your baseless accusations." He narrowed his eyes at her and assumed a hard look.

She sat down and crossed her legs while staring at him. "Let me give you a little refresher: when your daughter, Aife, went insane and killed my only son, you..." She paused and pressed a finger into his chest. "promised me an heir from your bloodline. Blood for blood, it's the Fae way."

He shook his head and took steps away from her. "That's the old way. Modern times dictate a change in thinking and traditions." He turned his back on her and stared at the wall.

Evony sighed dramatically. "Don't you get soft on me, old boy. And don't you think about going back on our agreement. Now that Rainer's back, your granddaughter will give me an heir or I'll take her life as consumption instead."

He rotated around to face her. "Don't threaten my granddaughter, Evony," He shouted, heatedly.

Slowly, she stood and ran her hands down her dress. "Then get her on board. She's a succubus, she should be delighted to have sex with my Rainer and get herself pregnant." She loudly clapped her hands together. "Get on it." She spun around and left the room.

XXXXX

52 days…

Lauren was distracted at work by her frantically working brain and didn't notice Rainer in the hospital bed next to her office. An urgency had engulfed her over the past few days, her need to research dragons, plan her next move, watch Olive's health, plan her break in had all consumed her thoughts. Despite her overworked mind, she'd managed a few spare seconds for thoughts about Bo.

She loved the way Bo's body moved when she walked, with confidence and irrefutable charisma, her voice, her smell, her incredibly deep brown eyes. The way her dimples sunk deep into her cheeks when she was teasing her about something. The way she cared and interacted with Olive. The way she was selflessly helping her with this mission. She loved so many things about Bo and was discovering new ones every day. She was in full-on crush mode, or maybe more, but it was the worst time possible for that.

Thinking about Bo made her sigh at herself, and when she caught herself doing it, she pushed the thoughts away and focused on her research. She felt guilty allowing Bo to distract her mind, she was running out of time, and she couldn't afford to be sidetracked. Now that she put thoughts of Bo out of her mind she was refocused, and clear headed again. And she realized she wasn't even close to solving all these problems and mysteries in front of her.

Her body was tense, and her neck was tight, so she rubbed the back of her neck as she read through her research on dragons. So far the only information she had was from human stories, how much of that was based on actual facts, she didn't know. There were too many myths, too many legends in the human world to really trust any of it. She began to pace around the room. She needed to find a new source of information, a new person to ask, someone who know the truth about what she was dealing with. But who would have real answers, she didn't know.

Aside from her need to plan and get answers, she wasn't sure quite what was wrong with her. She felt uneasy. Impatient. Uncertain. Off balance. She wanted to act, to have a fully formed plan, but nothing was coming together yet. And that weighed heavily on her shoulders and mind.

Lauren checked the time and decided to head home. She didn't want Olive's childhood blighted by fear and anxiety; normalcy was very important. So, Lauren made it a point to be home for dinner every night and focus on Olive hundred percent when she was with her.

XXXXX

Rainer stared at the ceiling with distant eyes and absently rubbed his fingers over the fresh tattoo on his arm. His memories were hazy, but he knew his captors had put that tattoo on him. For what purpose, he couldn't guess. To mark him? To control him? To poison him?

His doctors were useless on that front. The only information they had was that he was mostly healthy, in spite, of his missing memories and the tattoo. But still they insisted on keeping him there to observe him, which angered him because he had spent fifty years in a hospital bed.

He lay still and strained to listen as the nurses puttered around his room. He could hear them working with the machines around his bed. While they worked his thoughts drifted to his wife, and he wondered if she would come and visit him. Perhaps, this attack would give him the opportunity he needed to reenter her life. Bo had a big heart, she cared for others, she would care for him during his recovery. He had no doubt about that.

His mind simply couldn't accept that Bo didn't want him in her life. It was too horrible to contemplate. She belonged to him; she was his wife after all. They were bonded eternity through their marriage.

The sound of the door closing made him glance around the room. It was empty again. Memories of his vision came back to him as he stared at the white ceiling. As soon as he could get close enough to the girl, he'd have to stop her. But he realized he might need a new plan, one that would get him close to Bo and the girl.

His eyes became heavy as the drugs from his IV began to take effect. Again his fingers returned to his tattoo, and he tried to remember what it could mean, why it was there.

XXXX

AN

Greetings all,

We will find out Aife's fate (at some point), whether she's dead or not. And to be clear, Bo doesn't know about Trick's deal with Evony. To clarify the timeline, 55 years ago Aife killed Evony's son, and Bo married Rainer and 50 years ago Rainer fell into a coma. Not sure if the timeline was getting confusing.

Thanks for reading and reviewing.