Bo walked into the now familiar office building. The guards were on a first name basis with her now. She even felt comfortable enough to ask Marcus, the Latvian ogre, how his brood was doing. He was happy to show her videos on his phone of his youngest learning to crawl. This caused the succubus to experience that deep, primal urge to see Lauren again, even if they were fighting this morning after Bo mentioned she had a meeting with Evony this afternoon.
Lauren asked her about their coupling last night, particularly why Bo kept pulsing and taking energy, knowing that this was how a succubus impregnated someone. Bo had just shrugged, not really sure why herself. All she knew was, in those moments, she did exactly what she wanted without any real care about the consequence. They were bound together and had been together for two years now (give or take a handful of months in between), so it wasn't like a baby was out of the question for them now. There were couples who had babies that had been together for less time. Why did Lauren keep making a big deal out of it?
During that last scare, when they were positive Lauren was pregnant, they had talked seriously about children and their expectations within the relationship. Bo was angry at Lauren for taking those birth control injections now. She had since stopped taking her own injections, naively believing that both of them had to continue taking their medicine for the birth control to even work. All it did was make her hungrier on a more regular basis.
Bo shook her head to clear her thoughts. Why was she so baby crazy? That's what was off with her, she knew, but she didn't really care. If they had a baby soon, their own kid could grow up with Alexie. If they had a daughter or a gay son, they could even betroth them or dress them up together for Halloween. The image of a Tinkerbell and Peter Pan begging for candy door to door was appealing, though she would try her damndest to convince Kenzi to let Alexie be Tinkerbell.
If Bo could carry the babies, she wondered if Lauren would still fight her on this.
Evony called her into the office, and Bo threw down the magazine that she had picked up but never actually opened or looked at. Why did the Morrigan have Parenting magazines in her reception area? It seemed an odd choice for the record company, and Bo could only determine that the woman was mocking her.
Bo walked into the office, and Evony stood to greet her with a hug. Bo only tentatively hugged back, not sure where the sudden affection came from. This was a first in the three years they had known each other.
"I have another job for you." Evony released her from the hug, though Bo had never squeezed back.
"Of course." Bo wondered if doing so many jobs for one side of the fae meant fealty by default. She had never given it much consideration, but she had been doing a lot more jobs for the Dark despite being the champion for the Light. "What is it this time? Mongolian death worm? Afreet in a bottle? Chupacabra fur coat?"
"I need you to kill someone." Evony did not even blink when she said that. Bo was shocked and couldn't verbally say anything in response. The Morrigan just rolled her eyes. "I'm not asking you for your first born child. I'm just asking you to kill a very bad fae."
"That's not part of my services. I'm not a hit man…hit person…whatever. I don't murder people for money." Bo came to stand by the Morrigan, who had moved to her windowed walls.
"You've killed before." She just narrowed her eyes, pretentious smirk on her face. Bo had only ever killed any fae who got in her way, and even then, it was more out of necessity for survival than actual malice towards her victims. Then, she remembered her ten year killing spree; all of those humans she had drained. She chose to ignore this and focus on her time as fae.
"Just people who got in the way." Bo narrowed her eyes and tried not to show her discomfort. If she showed any anger, the Morrigan could very well have her killed. She already knew too much, even without knowing anything, about Evony's treasure collection. Bo had a feeling that several of the fae, Light and Dark, would be interested in what the woman had in her possession thanks to the succubus.
"Like your girlfriend's family?" Evony's smirk needed slapped off of her face. Bo steeled her jaw and felt her body stiffen more defensively.
"I didn't kill them." Bo watched as the Morrigan came to touch her arms, in what was an awkward sympathetic gesture. The evil smirk was at least gone; Bo found she much preferred it to the knowing frown that covered her face now.
"Might as well have." Evony acted like she was going to hug her again. Why was the Morrigan being so touchy feely today? "You're right; you didn't kill them. You robbed them of their very existence. You did much worse than kill them."
Bo didn't respond. She just watched as Evony moved to wrap her in another hug. This time, the woman's hands were not in a friendly place. Bo moved back from the embrace, previously too shocked to stop it until now.
"Hey! Hands." Bo pushed back from the other woman, trying to get distance. "What the hell are you doing?"
"You're a succubus." She said it so casually, as though this were enough explanation. Bo just felt herself get angrier. "I have…needs, too, you know?"
"I'm married." Bo realized that she had never let this fact stop her before. Okay, so they weren't married officially, as Lauren and Trick had explained to her repeatedly over the last year, but she loved the idea that she was. They weren't legally married; that didn't mean they weren't emotionally or physically married.
"You forget that I had your girlfriend first." Evony moved forward again to invade her personal space. Bo was too pissed to move. Now, she was really angry. The thought of this woman touching Lauren was one thing, but to have it thrown in her face like this? She felt her familiar possessiveness surface; she hated these moments, when she realized she wasn't doing much to help Lauren feel like she could make her own choices.
"I don't know in what world that insane logic works." Bo closed her eyes to force herself to relax. The Morrigan was obviously toying with her; she couldn't really be serious. "Why hit on me now? What makes this moment so special? What, in your crazy brain, made you think this was okay?"
"A girl's gotta eat." Evony fed off of talent, but it was talent that was freely given in exchange for a brief shot of greatness before an early death. Bo had witnessed it enough times over the past few years. A leanan sidhe was a seductress, too. It was hard to resist the woman. She could understand why Lauren never really complained about her two days with the Morrigan. Yet, the thought that this other woman had caused her girlfriend pleasure made Bo feel strongly violent. She was losing control again, so she did the tiny meditations Lauren had taught her. "Look, I skipped lunch to meet with you, so the least you could do is be who you are and let me feed from your talent."
"Not a chance." Bo looked at the woman, who did look hungry. Bo knew the feeling, as she began to sense her succubus powers responding to the offer. Her human powers were what kept her control, though. "I'm more than my species."
"You're rejecting me? Really?" Evony looked shocked…and scared. Had nobody ever rejected her before? And here Bo thought she was the only one who reacted this strangely to rejection. "You don't know what you're doing."
"Actually, I know exactly what I'm doing." Bo turned to stare out at the city below them before moving to exit the office. She had fed from this city, taking random energy from those she touched and encountered. There were even several people, fae and human, running around that had seen her naked or that she had felt inside of her when she needed to heal. There was only one person that she wanted to sleep with, though; there was only one person that she wanted to feed from.
Lauren had since helped her come to terms with her reality. They had made an arrangement that she was allowed to feed and heal from others as long as she was honest and open about it, and as long as her girlfriend actually gave her permission. It felt odd needing to get permission to feed and have sex with others from the person you absolutely loved, but Lauren had never actually not granted her permission. Even then, Bo rarely took the advice.
Before, she would have had sex to heal just minor scrapes and bruises, but being with Lauren, a very skilled doctor, meant that she only ever needed to have sex to heal in life or death situations. That didn't actually happen as much as it used to, though. Bo was actually proud of herself for only needing to have sex four times with other people ever since she started to feed on Lauren regularly. Three of the four times had been while away from her girlfriend, so there was not much option.
Right now, though? Lauren had not given her permission to sleep with Evony. Actually, Bo suspected this would be the one time her girlfriend did refuse her a ticket to ride, since Dyson was a given. Not that she ever would; at least, she didn't think she ever would. The woman was attractive and was probably an extremely skilled lover. Again, Bo sobered at the thought that Lauren would actually know the answer to that.
Being around the Morrigan and looking out of the window, Bo was reminded that she had dozens of sexual partners running around just in this city alone. Her list of sexual partners had reached well over 100 long before she had met Lauren two years ago. For all Bo knew, Lauren only ever had five sexual partners, herself included. This was probably why, when she was faced with one of the more seductive of those partners, Bo felt defensive. Being around Evony forced Bo to know exactly what Lauren must feel all of the time being in a relationship with a succubus. If she were honest, this intense in-your-face cue was one reason Bo kept taking more of Evony's cases. It actually helped Bo to remember just how much her nature hurt her girlfriend. It was a great and frequent reminder that monogamy was not as hard as her biology told her.
Lauren wrapped her face between her hands and squeezed to release her frustration. It was the third time in the past two weeks that somebody had called and hung up on her. The caller ID on her cell only said Unknown, and she was honestly too tired to make a formal request to have the security team at the compound hack the caller. If they called again, she probably would.
What was worse was the tension she felt around Bo. Every day and night they were together, Bo tried to initiate energy-swapping sex. Lauren did not mind the sex part; she needed and wanted that release and intimacy as much as Bo. She did mind the hyper awareness in her body and mind. She was too focused, if that were such a thing. Lauren loved puzzles, so when she was able to solve everything immediately, she lost one of the things she loved most about her job.
While she had still not found a cure for the blood fever, she had found a treatment that kept it manageable so that people could have long lives with it. It was not unlike her research on the AIDS and HIV viruses when she was in med schoo, except this only affected fael. She knew it would take a lot longer to find a cure, so she had felt satisfied with the treatment and no longer spent most of her time puzzling over it.
This was why she was so involved in her research on Bo. Even with all of her focus, the doctor could not decipher Bo's primal urges. All of the writings on succubus bonding only mentioned what she already knew: Bo was a sexual creature, so the bond only intensified the sex with her partner. Not a single source mentioned a primal urge to make babies.
Lauren looked up other sources on succubi, too, and had even made some contacts to interview a woman who had a succubus's baby. The doctor only panicked slightly until she had confirmation that the baby was not Bo's. The woman was from Dublin. Bo was not old enough to have her powers to be in Ireland when the baby was conceived. The kid was a teenager now; Lauren chose to pocket the information that two sets of XX chromosomes had managed to produce an XY product.
Malorie McCormick was an attractive older woman; her dark gray roots were showing where she needed to dye her hair back to its red hue. She had only had a brief fling with a succubus named Frankie, an English playgirl who definitely took her succubus nature to heart. Malorie was working for the Light Fae over in Ireland; well, she was a slave to the Light over in Ireland, working as a maid in their compound. Frankie was the county leader's daughter, who did not have any qualms about using the help to feed her hunger.
Their affair had been shortlived, but Malorie did not seem to be angry at her former succubus lover for moving on. Lauren didn't want to think about Bo ever moving on from her, but she knew that would always be a possibility, especially since they both had long lives ahead of them.
Malorie mentioned that Frankie had impregnated several of the humans and fae in the county, and her own father was forced to put her down for insubordination and "bastardizing" the fae by producing too many hybrids. If Lauren were to get pregnant, would Lachlan be forced to put her or Bo down? This is what honestly was bothering her more: the unknown. What made their situation even more difficult was that there were no documented cases of hybrid-fae matings; only horror stories that rivaled those of the human horror stories about redneck and imbred killers.
Malorie mentioned that she was moved here to avoid any backlash from her pregnancy. Lauren couldn't help but think this was actually nice of the Irish county Light leader, who could easily have had her put down, as well. Instead, she was granted the opportunity to serve the Light by acting as a maid for the Santiago family. Lauren had never been to visit Hale's family; her services were never required or requested there, so she would never have met Malorie. If she had crossed paths with her, Lauren knew that she would not have even talked to her.
Her son, Michael, was an interesting hybrid human. He was intelligent, athletic, naturally toned, and quick witted. His high school career was going great, he mentioned, and he freely admitted that he had no trouble in the sexual department. He seemed to possess a natural charm that came from the succubus strands in his DNA. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him; he was in great health and possessed no real powers. He was 17, so he had thought it was okay to flirt with her during the exam. Lauren only smirked at him, knowing that Bo's own succubus nature couldn't resist flirting even in the most exposed situations. The doctor could easily see this young man being the big man on campus at school, thanks in large part to his fae genetics.
The thought that her own children would possess Bo's natural athleticism, looks, and charm made her feel confident that their kids would not have as hard of a time in high school as she did. Private school kids were much more catty and cruel to those who were different or possessed something they wanted. Lauren came from a wealthy, powerful family but was extremely intelligent and awkward. Despite the cruelness she experienced, Lauren still enjoyed the reprieve from her home life while at school.
After talking to Malorie and Michael, Lauren did feel better about her situation, but she wasn't any closer to a solution. Bo was still trying to get her pregnant, even despite their heated argument last week that she needed to stop.
Her phone rang again and brought her out of her frustrated cogitation. She picked up the phone she had tossed beside her on the couch and noticed the Unknown again. Twice within the last hour? Whoever this was better answer this time.
"Stop calling if you're just going to keep hanging up! I don't have time for this." Lauren remembered that really awkward kid, with the pit-stained shirts and dandruffy eyebrows, who used to follow her around during her undergrad years. She was too nice to tell him to stop stalking her. When she started dating Nadia, it was one of the first things the other woman did. Honestly, when Nadia had told him to stop acting creepy, Lauren had fallen a little in love with the woman then. She was happy to lose that sensation of being watched and followed without permission. She didn't like that the feeling was returning.
"You will make time, young lady." The person on the other end was not who she was expecting. Lauren also immediately knew that if her mother was calling, she would not have hung up, so the mystery calls were still Unknown. When she felt herself tense at the cold and admonishing tone, Lauren wished it had been her potential new stalker.
"Yes, ma'am." Lauren sat up straight out of habit, waiting for her mother to complain about her posture.
"I won't waste your precious time and get to the point." Angela Lewis was a Hestian, but she never acted like her species. This knowledge and previous experience in her life actually made it easier for Lauren to believe that Bo was more than just a succubus. Lauren had not talked to her mother since that awkward family dinner at Gram's farm; even then, she had barely talked to her when they were in each other's physical presence. Her mother always sent out waves of familial warmth because of her biology, which made it extremely hard for Lauren that she was the only one forcibly rejected from this. "As I'm sure you're aware, your father was just appointed as Prime Minister."
"Yes, ma'am." Lauren had seen the news and even had an interesting conversation with Trick about this fact. He had been worried because Lachlan wasn't the Ash who appointed this deal and wasn't sure what this meant, since Lachlan was such a stickler for rules. He would definitely pay closest attention to the One Rule and having a fae family and hybrid daughter, who would outlive him by centuries, would possibly concern the Ash's office now that Mr. Lewis had reached that apex of power in the human world.
"I hear you are bound to a succubus. Roger and Hadley are not too keen on her. Maureen will not talk about her. Should I be concerned?" The way the woman said "should" made Lauren know that she wouldn't be, even if she should. "We wouldn't be very good parents if we did not at least meet your mate."
"Meet?" Lauren felt her palms start to sweat, as she moved the phone to her other ear. Bo had never officially met her parents; Lauren liked it that way. Bo chose that moment to walk in the door and smile at her as she moved into the kitchen to get a drink. Lauren just watched her girlfriend's movements, her own ear pressed to the phone and trying to concentrate on what her mother was saying. Bo opened a beer bottle and it spewed foam all over the counter. She tried wiping it up and sucking the side of the bottle at the same time. Yes, Bo meeting her parents was definitely a bad idea.
"Yes, I have arranged dinner reservations for the four of us at the club. 8pm on Friday. Your father is a busy man and cannot make it earlier. I trust you remember where to go?" Angela Lewis was not giving her daughter any choice in the matter. Lauren wouldn't even know how to protest this request. It seemed simple enough: dinner with her parents. She knew it was much more complicated than that. "Do not be late, and be sure to dress appropriately. I hope I can safely assume that you will keep a tight leash on your wildly unstable mate."
"Yes, ma'am." Lauren wondered what would happen if she walked into the overly fancy country club for a dinner with the Prime Minister dressed in a low cut leather vest and mini skirt. Bo had plenty of those in their closet, after all. She would show them unstable.
"Good. I will see you in a few days. Good bye." The woman hung up the phone before Lauren even had a chance to reply. She just stared at the disconnected phone before tossing it on the couch and screaming her frustration.
"Everything okay? You seemed tense there." Bo sat on the couch next to her but leaned against the arm to face her, a napkin pressed against the beer bottle in her hand as she handed Lauren the clean one in her other hand. The familiar smell of hops and stout made Lauren realize how much she really needed a drink.
"Yes, I think." Lauren still felt her posture stiffen and tighten even more, as she took a very long pull from the bottle.
"You sure?" Bo eyed her suspiciously, handing her a napkin to wipe the little bit of foam that surfaced on the mouth of the bottle. "That's not the face of an okay Lauren. Who was that on the phone?"
"My mother." Lauren took another drink, this time slower and shorter. She abandoned the half beer on the coffee table before turning to face her girlfriend. "We have reservations with my parents for dinner Friday night."
"With your parents?" Bo choked slightly on the beer, some of the liquid falling onto her chest area. She merely just wiped it with her fingers, despite holding a tree of napkins in her other hand. "Friday night? I can't. I have work."
"Then get out of it. I never thought I'd be the one telling you to skip work. This isn't negotiable." Lauren felt her anger and frustration start to surface, so she bit it back and hid the reaction. It was easy to stay collected and blank after talking to one of the sources that taught her that skill.
"Bullshit it's not negotiable. Call her back and tell her we can't go." Bo put her own bottle down on the coffee table, not doing a good job of hiding her frustration or anger.
"I can't just call her back and tell her that. My mother is worse at handling rejection than you are. When she says be somewhere, you better be there." Lauren closed her eyes. She didn't want to see the anger in Bo's face and body language. It only fueled her own. "And what do you mean you have to work? Did you start taking the Morrigan's cases again? Are you not going to be in town? I need to know these things. You can't keep me in the dark about stuff. It's not part of the arrangement."
"Arrange this, doctor." Bo just flipped her off; Lauren couldn't control her anger anymore.
"Fuck you, Bo!" Lauren stood from the couch and was not surprised that she was letting her anger come out. She wasn't really mad at Bo; she knew that. She was just so frustrated and angry and tired of being frustrated and angry. Her girlfriend just came in at a bad time. She didn't have enough time to process and gain back her control.
"Did you just say 'fuck you?'" Bo stood and invaded her personal space. Lauren watched her girlfriend's eyes glaze over in a pure, primal passion, tinged with the blue sparks. "You know not to threaten me. You know you wouldn't like me when I'm angry."
"Yeah, I said 'fuck you,' so fuck you!" Lauren knew the words tasted foul in her mouth, but her body was on fire from the anger that she had allowed to finally surface.
"Well, fuck you, too!" Bo grabbed her waist, more roughly than usual, and buried her hands inside of Lauren's dress pants, ripping the button and zipper loose. She hadn't been home from the compound long enough to change out of her work clothes before the first unknown caller had hung up on her. Instead of kissing her, Bo buried her face in her neck and bit down roughly, causing Lauren to grab Bo's biceps and run her fingernails harshly down them in response.
It happened so fast that she could hardly keep track between her anger bursts and Bo's rough touch. Lauren was pushed down on the couch, all of her clothes ripped quickly and violently from her body. Bo kept biting and leaving bruised kisses along her body. Lauren hated when Bo gave her visible hickeys, so she kept pushing, biting, and scratching her girlfriend in retaliation.
The familiar feeling of Bo feeding from her was not as framed with pleasure; the pain was more noticeable this time, but this oddly fueled Lauren even more, as she aggressively moved with and returned the hard ministrations from her lover. Bo was pushing her into the couch, using all of her body's strength, and working her fingers inside and around her so fast that Lauren was having a hard time keeping from screaming out her anger and pain.
They didn't kiss on the mouth once. Lauren was glad their violent, angry coupling was not tainted with their usual emotional response. She liked to keep this separate. This was not meant to be pleasurable, but it did make her feel better to release those emotions.
Bo collapsed on top of her, their sweat-soaked bodies telling them that they had been going faster and longer than either of them thought. Lauren's final howl that indicated her release had triggered Bo's own not long after.
When she felt her breathing calm and her voice return, Lauren felt hot tears stream down her face. She was sore all over and could already see some of the harsh bruises and bite marks across her body. Looking down her girlfriend's back, she saw absolutely no marks or bruises despite her own brutal part in their angry sexual encounter, indicating that Bo had healed when she fed. Lauren didn't have that luxury and she felt every bite and bruise and every sore muscle, especially her insides where Bo had pushed too hard.
They both sat up on the couch, naked and vulnerable. Bo looked at Lauren and let her eyes roam across her body. Tears started to well in Bo's eyes as she reached to touch some of the marks on Lauren's body.
"Something's wrong with me." Bo's tears escaped, and she had never looked more vulnerable. Usually, Lauren would give into her girlfriend in this state, but she felt numb after the intense emotional release.
"I know. I'm working on it." Lauren stood from the couch, stumbling slightly from the cramp in her thigh. She used the couch to keep herself propped as she collected her discarded and torn clothing. There was no need for Kenzi and Alexie to see what had happened here, since they would be home soon, too. She tossed Bo her own sleeveless black shirt, which had not been ripped. "Get dressed and let's get this cleaned up before Kenzi gets home."
"Sure." Bo accepted the shirt, as she pulled up the rest of the clothes from around the couch; she wiped the remainder of her tears. She didn't bother to dress, even if she was the only one with an article of intact clothing. Instead, Bo took both piles of their clothing and went to throw them in the trashcan in the kitchen.
Lauren picked up the beer bottles that had been knocked over and leaked across the rug and table. Now, she was grateful for Bo's wastefulness with napkins. Bo came over and took the bottles and soaked napkins from Lauren, who was still on the floor. She jogged to toss them in the trashcan, on top of their clothing, before coming back just as quickly to help Lauren stand.
"I'm sorry." Bo only looked slightly dejected when Lauren didn't accept the offered hand.
"I know. I'm sorry, too." Lauren would not admit that it felt good at the time. Certain parts of her body were telling her that it still felt good now, but there were too many violent markings for her to enjoy this change in their sexual encounters. Lauren had only ever had violent sex like this once before in her life, with Emily after she laughed at her for saying she loved her. It was the last time she had any sexual activity with another person until she met Bo almost five years later. "I'm going to go stay at the farm for a few days."
"What about dinner with your parents?" Bo went to carefully embrace her and Lauren allowed it. She relaxed slightly, but it was more out of defeat than anything. She rested her head on her girlfriend's shoulder and wrapped her arms tightly around Bo's back, pulling their still naked, sweat-stained bodies together. Lauren could smell the sweat, saliva, beer, and honey-citrus body wash that surrounded Bo's skin.
"I'll be back Friday. You'll need to dress like you're going to meet the Prime Minister at the country club for a nice, intimate dinner." Lauren rolled her eyes and felt herself finally relax. "Well, not working girl intimate. Dress nicely. I'll be home to pick you up at 7. I'll drive since I know where we're going. I'll borrow Gram's Aston Martin."
"You never borrow Gram's fancy chick magnet cars to impress me." Bo's body finally relaxed, as well. Lauren kissed her girlfriend's neck before pulling back from the embrace slightly, sticky fingers still pressed against hips. "We're avoiding again. Should we talk about this?"
"We will, Bo. I just…I need time to process." Lauren felt the cool air hit her skin finally and involuntarily shivered in response. Out of habit, Bo rubbed her hands up and down her body to generate warmth. Lauren winced, as she felt every bruise and sore muscle react to the pressure.
"Sorry." Bo was obviously going to blame herself for this.
"If you didn't have sex-fueled healing powers, you would not be much better off right now." Lauren smirked slightly, though it was more drained than flirty. "I'm going to shower and pack. Don't leave without letting me say goodbye?"
"Are you sure you're okay?" Bo stayed in place as Lauren just nodded and kissed her girlfriend on the lips in a proper greeting. She left Bo with lips still puckered and eyes still closed, as she walked upstairs. As she was in the shower, the spray harshly violating her soreness and bruises, Lauren realized that this was the first time in a long time that Bo hadn't pulsed her.
