"Dwayne?" Elizabeth murmured, trying without success to hold back her yawn. She didn't feel sleepy but she did feel tired, exhausted and satiated in the most wonderful way. Trying to claw back as much of her energy as she could, she blinked a few times before stretching, her body sliding comfortably a little on the silken floor as she did. As she arched her back, straight away missing the feeling of his chest pressed against it, she sighed. His fingers were still carefully making their way down the length of her bare skin, no hesitation or pause on his part.

He was making it very, very difficult to disentangle herself and she thought he knew exactly what he was doing.

She wanted nothing more than to stay beside him, curled up tightly against him, to fall into a deep and satisfied slumber right there, entwined with his body…but she knew that she would regret it the next morning. Reluctantly and with heavy limbs, she pushed herself up and away from him, "...Dwayne, you're going to put me to sleep at this rate…"

He shook his head a little, silently rejecting her words. As his lips widened into a confident smile, he patted the floor she had only just moved from in invitation. He was still lying down, seemingly making no move to alter his position, quite assured of her imminent return, "it's not a problem…come back in here…"

She looked at the crook of his arm, the firmness of his chest and shook her head, giving him a smile that was both loving, longing and tinged with regret, "don't tempt me..."

He grinned, watching her with stormy eyes. She was sat before him utterly naked and, under his intense gaze, she felt herself begin to blush, remembering everything they had done together, thinking of the things she still very much wanted to do.

"You're missing the point" he told her with a smile, "I want to tempt you...come on. What's it going to take to get you back in my arms?"

She shook her head again, biting her lip through a smile that, like the yawn, she just couldn't keep down.

"…but I don't want to fall asleep" she protested weakly, unable to take her eyes away from his body.

"You're in luck. I wasn't thinking about sleeping…" he replied, his stare so deep and serious she finally had to look away from him. He chuckled at her reaction and scooped up her hand, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles.

"…I can't believe we did that…" she told him, eyes travelling the length of his body once more, thoughts returning to their erotic display in the mirror maze before remembering their session of slow, languid love making on the very floor of the room they were currently in, "or this…"

He finally sat up, leaning forward as he did and Elizabeth didn't resist, didn't duck away as his hand snaked around her neck. As he smiled with a playful little smirk, he began to pull her forward. The silken floor offered absolutely zero resistance and neither did she. Her commitment to their separation began to waver as her knees gently connected with his thighs, as she met his body and his lips once more.

Shoulders slumping in delightful defeat, she sunk into his kiss. With his hand still curled tightly around the nape of her neck, she moaned weakly, protesting with no conviction as their kiss began to deepen, "…Dwayne, you really are corrupting me…." he smiled against her lips, "…I mean it. I was a…" she moaned, moving her hand up his neck, "…and now we're…"

How many times could they do it in an evening? She couldn't stop herself from blushing.

They separated for a moment, foreheads touching, "isn't there supposed to be...you know?" she thought of the few stories her friends had told her, "some fumbling, awkward sex before-"

"-before?" he inquired and she couldn't help the shy smile that exploded across her face. She laughed a little and shook her head lightly, "...before...?" he repeated, his sly smile getting wider at her silence.

"...before this..." she finally said in a mumble, planting a kiss on his lips as she did.

"What's this?"

She knew that he was playfully teasing her, that the correct answer to his confident, low murmur was in relation to how amazing, how powerful, how utterly toe-curling their union was but in that moment, she found that she couldn't play along.

She had to tell the honest truth.

"...before perfection"

At her sincere words, his hand gently loosened, trailing the length of her neck, shoulder and arm before coming to a soft stop over her own. She leaned back a little and gave him a small, shy smile. She had totally changed the tone of their conversation and it was the first time she had outwardly described their love in such a plainly powerful way.

Perfection.

She had confessed her love but this was the first time she had described what they had in such a way.

It was a loaded word but, despite everything, that's what she felt. As he watched her in silence, his face an unreadable mask, she gently twirled the fingers of her free hand into the loose, swathes of silk they were nestled upon.

They had left the mirror maze in a wonderfully cliché manner, drowning in kisses and with hands roaming each other's body in desperation. When they had all but fallen into the next room, they were already removing each other's clothes. Dwayne had told her, through kisses and the shedding of his shirt, that the room was designed as a sort of wind tunnel. It was totally unfurnished, aside from thin and plentiful streamers of silk – probably a cheap imitation but smooth all the same – long and flowing and lining the walls, ceiling and the padded floor. The whole room felt very soft and she thought that if it had been finished, if there were fans that could send the swathes of material up and into the air it would have felt almost like trying to run through a cloud. There were thousands of sparkling LED lights built into the low, pale blue ceiling, though they were largely obscured by the hanging fabric. As soon as they had entered the room, they had all but collapsed into each other once more.

"...perfection?" he confirmed, finally, and she tore her eyes away from the fabric bunched in her hand and met his, instead.

She nodded.

"…after everything?"

"…after everything…" she nodded once again.

It really was a loaded word, and a powerful one at that but she wasn't over exaggerating. Despite everything that had happened, despite the uncertainty of the future, of him and his life...she loved him with all her heart and couldn't want for anything more. She just felt so complete with him.

Thanks to the efforts of the others, of the sincere care Marko had shown her, the honest if not casually goofy apology Paul had provided, even the respectful way in which David had spoken with her…it felt as if the terror, the painful confusion of the past few days had all but melted away from her memory. She would never forget it but she truly believed she could overcome the memory. She had seen a hint of the darkness David and Paul could produce but she had seen the promise of light, too and when she was with Dwayne...she was beyond content. She knew that when she was with him, everything was right, everything was how it should be.

She was meant to be with him.

She would always live with the memory of that horrible evening but she believed, for the first time, she truly believed that she could relegate it to the past. She could forgive and while she couldn't forget, she knew that she could move on.

She wanted the same for Dwayne, too.

"Hey?" gently prodding this thigh, Elizabeth felt a spark of fear at his silence. Had she gone overboard? "..was it too much again? Did I-"

Her worries were silenced by his kiss, hard and fast as it was.

"Perfect," he kissed her again, "Elizabeth, you have to stop doubting yourself…"

She remembered, very clearly, their fateful night in the cave. Before everything had fallen apart, she had professed her love for him, the cave, the boys, their romance with such passionate vigor and had immediately worried that she had gone too far, had been too enthusiastic. With a small, self-depreciating little laugh, Elizabeth shrugged, "...you were so quiet…"

He nodded and she poked his thigh once more, "Dwayne? I get that still waters run deep but…talk to me?"

"You're my mate, you're perfect and I love you"

She bit her lip, smiling at his words. It thrilled her to hear but she knew that there was something there, something underneath his playfulness and now his seriousness, "…then talk to me…"

He sighed lightly and she shifted before him, settling into the floor a little more.

"I was afraid"

She couldn't help the way her eyebrows furrowed at his words. Dwayne was everything. He was strong and powerful and sincere and wonderful and she could never imagine him being anything other than those things. She could never imagine him feeling fear. He seemed too strong to feel something as pedestrian as fear.

"David and Paul fucked up so bad, Elizabeth"

His voice was controlled, lacking emotion and despite the gravity of his words, the lack of emotion made it sound like he was just reciting the weather forecast.

"It upset you?"

"Of course"

She nodded at his words. It had been a stupid question.

"When I said I was afraid, what I meant was that I was petrified that their little…attempt at helping, whatever you want to call it...I thought they had made me lose you" he told her, "I thought that was it. You'd be scarred, scared. I thought you would hate me, hate what I am, what we are-"

"-never-"

"-and I was hurt" he confided, eyes never wavering or moving from hers, "they're my family. They're my world and I couldn't believe they would mess up that badly, I couldn't believe…" he sighed and shook his head, "Elizabeth, I thought I had lost you"

"You love really do love them, don't you?"

He nodded.

"Dwyane?" she bit her lip a little as he looked at her, "..you love them and you love me, right?…I don't mean to..I don't mean to be bold or…or presumptuous but…were you…were you worried about who you were going to lose?"

He said nothing but the hardness of his jaw, the way his eyebrows furrowed deeply, the way his dark eyes suddenly couldn't meet hers spoke volumes. He had said everything in his silence.

"Oh Dwayne" she whispered, scooting herself closer to him, hands reaching for his, "please, please don't think like that. I love you, I'll always love you and..and..really, I like the guys so much already-"

"-Elizabeth-"

"-I do. I really do, I'm not just trying to placate you" she smiled at him, her free hand reaching out to touch his face. She observed him, "I swear you'll never have to choose-"

"-Elizabeth…."

"I swear, Dwayne" she murmured, "I love you. With everything I have, everything I am. I love you. I know now. I know what…I know what you are, what they are…it's OK now" she shrugged, "I know that if I have you, I can take whatever those idiots throw at me…"

He exhaled a little laugh as she referred to David and Paul as idiots and Elizabeth smiled at the reaction.

"They made it right. I'm happy, Dwayne..I swear, I am. I have you and I know that I've always had you…that I always will have you" she smiled at him, "and honestly, I'm excited to be friends again. I like Paul, he's…God, he's totally wild but I like him. And Marko, too and…even David, I respect him…icy though he is…"

"They don't deserve your kindness, you know that?"

"Marko was wonderful.." Elizabeth assured him with a little shake of her head.

He easily corrected himself, "…Paul and David don't deserve your kindness"

"They're OK.." she defended with a small little shrug, "..and I forgive them both. I mean it..."

"Really?"

"Absolutely" Elizabeth murmured with a nod.

"Those two really don't deserve you"

Elizabeth laughed, a gentle little exhale before biting her lip and regarding him, "well, I'll be sure to remind them how lucky they are" she grinned, "..scratch that, just Paul..don't think I'll ever have the balls to be that bold with David.."

Dwayne didn't return her grin and she gently poked his bare thigh, "hey...are you OK? Are you really OK?"

"Me?"

"You"

"I'm OK"

"Dwayne?" she smiled at him and scooted a little closer still. As their thighs touched, his hand, large and warm moved to rest over her thigh, cupping it a little, "I think…I think you are the single most handsome man I've ever met…" he tilted his head a little, clearly surprised by her words but she continued, "..you are the absolute dictionary definition of tall, dark and handsome" he gave her bemused little look but still, she continued, "and I know it's shallow but I genuinely can't believe how lucky I am because…you….you're hot. You're strong and deep and pensive and you…" she couldn't help the little blush that crept over her cheeks, "..you…"

He kissed her, "do you want to go again?"

She laughed softly, "no, I just…I want to say that I love your seriousness. Your pensive storminess, you know? It's sexy, it is…but you can open up to me, Dwayne" she placed a little kiss on his lips, "you can tell me what you're thinking and how you're feeling…I love you, I love all of you, everything about you and you can..you can, you know?...You can be weak for a minute. You can talk to me and let me be the strong one…you can talk and let me listen, let me support you. There's no shame in it..."

"Jesus" he murmured, observing her with dark eyes and a small smile, "none of us deserve you"

"…Marko does" she reminded him with a small laugh.

He kissed her gently, hand once more curling around her thigh, fingers pressing into her flesh with a delightful firmness.

"I'm so sorry…" she began, hurrying when she saw the frown, "..about the situation, I mean. It's so….it's messed up…but I really don't think it came from a place of malice-"

"-Elizabeth, they should have known better. David should have known better" Dwayne protested, his voice hard.

"He was trying to help"

As Dwayne's jaw tensed, Elizabeth carried on, "it was wrong, I'm not defending him and I'm not denying it. Believe me. I was…I've never been so petrified in my life, it was…God, the terror was just…" she took a breath and shrugged, "…it was bad. And he should have known better, I agree with you…but at the same time, David seems like kind of a…a black and white kind of guy?"

Dwayne arched his eyebrow and Elizabeth shrugged, "just very…clear cut. A very...'this is how it should be, this is how it will be', kind of guy. I guess he just didn't have the patience for my reaction?"

"Elizabeth your reaction-"

"-was natural" she smiled softly up at Dwayne, "I think so...I wish I had been stronger but it is what it is...anyway, David had his opinion and it sucked but I kind of get it now. I spoke with him and I kind of…I get it, a little..I know I'm on the outside but I understand, at least...I think I do. Anyway, he's going to be more careful in the future and that's enough for me..." she glanced at the floor, "I'm rambling...the point is, I'm OK. I'm OK and I want you to be OK, too"

"Say OK again"

She laughed a little and shook her head, ignoring his joke. She knew she had rambled but she wasn't going to let go. She needed to know that he was going to be alright, "no, you say you're OK…that's what I was hoping for. That's what I want to hear"

"Did they really make it right?"

"Really really..." she ran her fingers over his, "…I had flowers. That was pretty special..a first. And then…I can't describe it but they showed me, I mean…it was just like magic. There was gold dust and these golden butterflies dancing over my head-"

"-golden butterflies?" he sounded bemused and insulted, like the image of them conjuring up butterflies was ridiculously funny but also like it wasn't enough.

She nodded, "it was...it was mind blowing, honestly it was so beautiful...I asked them to try it again but it didn't work" she shrugged, "David thinks it's because I'm expecting it…"

"That doesn't surprise me. It's easier to believe in dark things-" his voice was tight.

"-that's what Paul said! He said that he'd bet anything that I'd see roaches or something gross if they put that out there" Dwayne looked mutinous for a second and again, she hastened, "but he promised not to"

"You really are forgiving them, aren't you?"

"Fresh start" she confirmed with a small smile, "Dwayne, I want that for you, too..."

She wanted to ask if he could forgive them but she knew that there was no question, no doubt about it. He loved them, he wanted to forgive them. Those were the hard facts and she was happy for it. She didn't want him to ever think about choosing. She never wanted it to come down to them versus her.

She loved him, everything about him and that included his pack.

"…you've been together a long time, huh?"

He nodded.

"A long, long time?"

He nodded again.

"You don't have to choose" she whispered, "I've already chosen. I want you…you and the guys are a package deal and…" she thought of Paul and Marko and David and she couldn't help the small smile that fell upon her lips, "…honestly, a girl could do a lot worse..I mean, there's better, sure" her eyes sparkled a little as she tried to joke, "...but they're fine..."

"This makes me want to punch them even more" Dwayne said with a small shake of his head and Elizabeth couldn't help the little half laugh, half sigh that escaped her, "…I'm serious, they…they could have destroyed everything-"

"-but they didn't.."

"…because you're too nice" he pulled her in for a kiss, shaking his head a little as he did.

"It's easier to be nice" she shrugged with a little smile, accepting his kiss, "Paul said life's easier if you think a little less-" Dwayne scoffed a little, as if he expected nothing less from his brother, "-but I think it's easier if you're nice…I'm happier, at least.."

"You are?"

She nodded.

"Elizabeth this life…."

She shook her head, "…don't"

"…it's dark-"

"-it's not a fairy tale" Elizabeth finished, a little uncomfortable as she repeated David's cold words, "I know…"

"No, Elizabeth...you don't" he smiled sadly at her, "you've chosen me but you don't know what you've chosen…"

"…you'll teach me" she replied, meeting his lips again.

So far Paul and David had given her an insight into the world of vampires. Dwayne was right, she didn't know. She didn't know anything, not really, but she knew in her heart that it was him. He had to be the one to show her. She wanted him to show her.

"…I want you to teach me Dwayne. You've already shown me so much…" she trailed a finger down his chest in a gentle, thoughtful movement. "I'm not afraid of you Dwayne, I don't care about what you are…I love you, I love who you are..."

He kissed her, pulling her close to him, "…I don't know what to say" he admitted, his voice deep.

"Say you'll teach me?"

"I'll teach you"

"Say you'll always love me?"

"I'll always love you"

"Say that we can start again?"

"We can start again"

"A new beginning?"

He kissed her and she softly ran her hands up his neck and into his hair, moving her body backwards a little, "we'll do it right this time…" he promised her and she nodded, pulling him down with her.

She had so much to learn about his world and she knew that their new chapter had begun. Gone was the fear, the uncertainty. She was ready to learn, she was ready to know about him, his pack and his world. As his body settled on hers once more, she responded to his kiss with longing, losing herself yet again to the man she had given herself to.

A/N: Thank you, as always for the reviews! They genuinely do mean a lot.