A/N: The response to the last chapter was truly heart-warming. Thank you, guys! The next update will probably be sometime next week, as I'm pretty much busy right up until Friday night from now, which is why I wanted to get this chapter done before that.

There was definitely something morally askew about going from discussing her late mother, to straddling a biker's lap so she could make out with him. Tara blamed the unconventionality of Santa Carla. Maybe there was something in the water. In any case, knowing her mom, she'd have found the situation amusing. She'd always been a free spirit, after all.

After their 'heart to heart' (if it could be called that), their conversation had drifted towards lighter and more pleasant topic, until Tara had leaned across Dwayne to grab another beer, and he'd chosen that exact moment to give her yet another heated look, eyes skimming over the neckline of her dress. After that the beer had been all but forgotten. God, that man could kiss. The only thing he couldn't seem to do was keep his hands off of her, but Tara certainly didn't mind.

One hand squeezed her hip before sliding up her front. She half expected it to stop at her chest, but instead he only paused, grasping gently before continuing until he was holding her in place by the side of her neck, thumb rubbing her throat and sparking goosebumps all over her skin. His other hand trailed around her body to the small of her back, urging her hips tight against his. All it took was a few rocks of his hips along with a nip to her bottom lip, and Tara was putty in his hands. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, a small involuntary noise escaping from the back of her throat. Ordinarily she'd have been embarrassed, but the fire in his eyes suggested there was no need.

"The things I wanna do…" he breathed when they parted, voice little more than a growl.

If it were Julian feeding her a line like that she might've shot back some kind of quip or rolled her eyes, but Dwayne was a far cry from Julian, and she got the feeling it was more than just a line. The way he said it suggested it was a goddamn promise. A fresh wave of heat rushed through her, and her hips continued to seek friction against his even as she spoke.

"Wanna take this to your place?"

Much to her surprise, Dwayne gave a low chuckle "Not unless you wanna give the boys a show...Not that I'd be totally opposed"

"What?" Tara blinked, some of the haze lifting.

"Me, David n' Marko all share a...pretty inhospitable room. Paul and Cat have a room to themselves, but they're also the only ones who'll wanna go near that mattress or those sheets with a ten foot pole."

Tara couldn't help but laugh "Didn't think Cat had it in her to live such a debauched lifestyle."

"Paul's a bad influence," the Lost Boy smirked at her, hands on her back trailing down to her ass "Your place?"

"Can't," she sighed, leaning back a little, fingertips spread out on his chest "Carolina's home and the walls are paper thin."

"Fuck," Dwayne's hands fell away, his brow furrowed.

Tara shared his sentiments. How on earth were the Lost Boys so happy to share each other's space to such an extent? Sure, they had their unique, almost familial, bond but nobody could be that close.

"Wait," Dwayne dragged her from the beginnings of self-pity, a pleased expression on his features.

Following his line of vision, she realised he was looking at the nearby hotel.

"I haven't got much cash…" she murmured doubtfully, shifting from his lap.

"No need," he smirked, following her lead and standing up.

The Lost Boys and their damned smirking would drive her insane one day. Keeping her curiosity to herself, Tara followed him to one of the many sliding glass doors that lined the bottom floor of the hotel, opening out to the beach. The curtains were open, revealing that the room was void of people and any trace of them. It was difficult to hide her astonishment as Dwayne jimmied the handle of the door, at the same time as giving it a hard yank, causing the lock to give way with a rather painful noise. The door slid open.

"What...the fuck?!" She stared at him with wide eyes.

"There's a trick to it," he shrugged casually, but his face was more than a little smug.

Tara chose not to comment. Hell, her expression probably said it all considering the way his smirk widened when he noticed how her gaze lingered on his hands. Instead she followed him quietly into the room, closing the door behind them and then the curtains as Dwayne turned on one of the bedside lamps. The room was nothing glamorous, but not run-down enough to make the whole thing feel too sleazy for her liking. Two twin beds, a floor length mirror, a small dresser, and a door that led to what she assumed was the bathroom. There was only one thing that was a little odd.

"Classy place," she joked, gesturing to the oddly shaped hole in the wall to the right.

Dwayne glanced towards where she'd pointed, pausing in the removal of his jacket. When it seemed to register what he was looking at, he stopped dead, staring at it with that same unreadable expression flitting across his face.

"I was only kidding," she supplied a little awkwardly, wondering if he thought she was genuinely bothered by it.

"Huh?" He blinked, snapping from his thoughts before shaking his head "Nah, s'nothing."

She couldn't help but eye him dubiously. If it was nothing, it wouldn't have changed the entire atmosphere of the room. It was a running theme with the Lost Boys - an innocuous comment or question garnering a bizarre reaction. Although she did remind herself that she really didn't know these people or their lives incredibly well, so she couldn't fairly judge what would be an odd reaction...but for such laidback people, some very weird shit bothered them.

However, she knew one sure fire-way to fix the mood. As Dwayne turned away to double-check under the beds for luggage or any signs of occupants - which she knew wouldn't be there, but appreciated his carefulness - she slid the straps of her dress from her shoulders and allowed it to fall to the ground, pooling around her legs. If there was one thing Tara had never been insecure about, it was her body. Judging by the way Dwayne's eyes widened when he turned back around, and the low, dark laugh that followed which just oozed promises, she had no reason to be either. After that, any thought of his brothers and their weird behaviour vanished from her mind.

It had been worth the wait, that was for damned sure. She couldn't help but wonder how much experience he had. Sure, she was hardly a virgin herself, but christ, the tricks he knew - and the confidence he oozed - suggested there was a rather long list. Practice makes perfect, and all that. What Tara loved almost even more was that he didn't try to hold her afterwards. There was no cuteness or sweet talking, and for that she was incredibly grateful. Of course, it wasn't part of their arrangement, but a spur of the moment bout of clinginess wasn't outside the realms of possibility. She'd doubted it, but she was still glad he'd proven her right. Instead he retrieved a pack of cigarettes from his jacket and lit one up before grabbing his jeans and hiking them up his hips. Then he sat on the edge of the unoccupied bed.

Tara watched this process, lazily admiring him as she waited for her heartbeat to calm and the flush to leave her cheeks "About the art project…"

He arched his eyebrows at her, somewhat jokingly "You even think about art during sex? Shit, doll."

"Well when I have such a masterpiece on top of me," she drawled, earning a short chuckle "But really, I didn't explain myself very well earlier...The whole question caught me off guard, I froze up."

"You don't gotta explain yourself to me," he shrugged, leaning back a little.

"It's not about you specifically," she shrugged, running a hand through her hair "It's about making sure I'm getting the message across. The last damn thing I want is people thinking I'm exploiting death for some self-involved, pseudo-deep art project, y'know?"

After eyeing her for a moment or two, Dwayne took a long drag from the cigarette before motioning for her to continue.

"When such a large amount of people die in one place, the death...it stops becoming about that specific person and their life. It becomes about the place and statistics. It's not 'oh, John Smith died and it's very tragic', it's 'now 12 people per whatever go missing in Santa Carla on average'. If I died or...or went missing, and it was only made out to be about the place it happened - or worse, only amounted to be a goddamn figure in an equation - I'd be devastated. These people deserve for their deaths to be made about them. Their lives. Their family. Not Santa Carla. Not statistics. Sure, I won't be able to look at all of them, but making a difference for a handful - even if I'm the only one who ever knows their stories - it'll be enough for me."

She finished her explanation feeling more than a little preachy. Dwayne's attention moved from her, to his cigarette, and then back to her again.

"Keep up with that attitude and this place will eat you alive, sweetheart."

If it were any of the other Lost Boys saying it to her, she was sure it would've been intended in a condescending manner...but there was genuinity in both Dwayne's voice and on his face that Tara couldn't bring herself to be offended.

"It really doesn't bother you? All of the death here?" She asked softly, shifting so that her legs hung from the edge of the bed.

"Been here a long time," he replied simply, eyes skimming over her body with a look of satisfaction.

"It's hard to think that any amount of time could take the edge off of murder," she frowned a little, standing up so she could begin retrieving her clothes.

"Santa Carla ain't perfect," he allowed and she snorted, tugging her dress over her head "But I have my brothers - and sister. We have eachother's backs. Me n' mine are fine...if I spend my time worrying about every other sorry bastard, I'm fighting a losing battle."

"And what makes you think it'll always be that way, though? What makes you think David couldn't be the one to be lost next?" She asked, and received a laugh in return "Or Cat?"

The latter, he found less funny. The smile left his face and he frowned at her for what felt like the first time.

"Don't say shit like that," he said a little gruffly, attention going back to the cigarette.

"...Sorry," she said unsurely, surprised at his reaction.

He shook his head with a sigh "Nah. Don't worry 'bout it."

"What I'm getting at…" she sighed reluctantly "Is that on a human level, we can't afford to have that mindset."

This time when Dwayne looked at her, his gaze practically pinned her to the wall, his mind working visibly as though she were a problem to solve. Then his posture relaxed a little.

"You're a good person, Tara."

"You make that sound like a bad thing."

"Here? It is."

By the time he returned to the cave, Cat was the only one left awake. Curled up and bundled in her purple tartan, only her eyes and nose were visible as she stared intently at the book in her hands. That was, until she spotted him and she let the fabric fall from her head to pool around her shoulders. Dwayne couldn't help but be reminded of his, probably unwise, reaction to Tara's earlier prodding. David hadn't been wrong when he'd said that they needed to doctor their reactions as much as possible, but he'd already lost one sister back in his old life, and the loss still hurt...the thought of losing the one he'd been given in his new life wasn't something he could be blasé about. Not even hypothetically.

"Have fun?" Cat smirked at him, voice soft with tiredness.

"A gentleman never kiss and tells," he mirrored her smirk, slumping down onto the sofa beside her.

"What about shags and tells?" She put her book down with a snicker.

"Thought you'd be asleep," he deflected, ruffling a hand through his hair "S'late."

"Wanted to make sure you were okay...Just in case Paul was right to be a little paranoid about her and her intentions," she admitted somewhat reluctantly, biting her lip "I'm guessing she didn't find anything important?"

"Didn't look. We got...sidetracked," he couldn't keep the smug tone from his voice.

Cat was visibly relieved at that. When she got worried like this she always looked a lot younger. Sometimes it was easy to forget that she wasn't as hardened to this life as them, wasn't as old - didn't feel quite as untouchable. It was probably a good thing. They needed somebody to keep them grounded.

"I don't think there's any ulterior motive...any kinda secret plan to bust us," he admitted, losing the bravado and patting her shoulder "Honestly? She just seems like a girl with intentions that are way too good for this place, and a hope that she can make some kinda difference for the better."

"She's in the wrong place then," Cat said bluntly, but without a lot of the malice or mocking that he'd expect from one of his brothers.

If anything, she sounded a little sad. Dwayne understood. They had to do what they had to do to stay alive, and it was pointless feeling any kind of guilt or self-loathing for that. It would be like a lion pitying a zebra. They also both adored Santa Carla, and the way it suited all of their needs. But they both also knew that the path this newcomer was on would only end in dissatisfaction for her, at absolute best. All because of good intentions. The chick would be better off if her borderline icy exterior extended right down to her core, but that didn't appear to be the case. It was a shame, as well as a sad reality, and Dwayne was pleased that he wasn't the only one amongst the Lost Boys to see it. His brothers would probably just scoff and sneer - not that he blamed them. It sure as hell took less of a toll than caring overmuch. He would've also been very surprised if the whole thing wasn't digging up some rather unpleasant memories for their newest family member.

"You doin' okay?" He asked.

"The, uh...the mum thing is still hard," she shrugged as if to play off her grief "I keep just having these random sobbing fits. It's no big deal - I'm fine five minutes after - but they're triggered by the smallest things...Puts a little bit of a downer on the night."

"Not what I meant, Cat," he knew she knew it, too.

Fixing him with an unamused look, Cat tilted her head back and exhaled slowly "Could do without her dragging it all up, I'll admit. It was a different life. I prefer not to think of it. I'll be a lot better when she gets this little project of hers over and done with."

"She won't find anything on you," he reassured "I'll make sure of it."

"Thank you," she sighed tiredly, but didn't look convinced.

Before he could question it, however, she rose, bent to give him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek before bidding him a "good morning", retreating to the alcove, and no doubt the comfort of Paul's presence. In potentially turbulent times like these, the love and caring the couple had for each other really shone through. Sometimes it was easy to forget it wasn't all just sex, enabling and light-hearted banter between the two - mostly because he was an outsider looking in. Their most intimate moments would hardly be staged for the rest of them to see. Sure they were all close, but some things had to be private. He was glad that they'd found one another - and managed to get past their disastrous beginnings. It was heartwarming to witness, when they weren't being completely sickening...although that was something he'd never admit aloud.

Dwayne looked around the empty cave tiredly. He had a hell of a job on his hands, that was for sure...but he couldn't afford to fail, so he knew he wouldn't. And if he'd continue to have the sex as a reward, he could happily live with that.

A/N: For anybody who hasn't read the Cat/Paul story, it's briefly mentioned there that Dwayne had a sister when he was human, and that she died young. That's going to be touched upon more in this, because I didn't forget about it! There's also another, pretty blatant, reference to that story in here, just because I couldn't resist. Sorry if you guys expected something a little more M-rated, but I'm pretty uncomfortable writing smut 99% of the time, and I don't currently possess enough alcohol in my flat to change that for now.