Well, it's finally happened – I've hit the point where I can no longer say in good conscience that I feel this story is appropriate reading for tweens or younger teens, so I've raised the rating to M. Guess you can only keep things tame for so long when your main character is a succubus…

None of the three Cullens dared to so much as glance at each other, but the tension in the air thickened until they almost felt it pressing on them like a physical weight, and Carlisle's voice was even more guarded as he asked, "Why would you think there are any succubi in these parts?"

"Because the one I'm looking for told a mutual friend she was coming here," Dyson replied evenly. "Maybe you've seen her around. Her name is Bo Dennis."

Edward moved closer to Carlisle and whispered in his ear, "Her face is as clear as day in his mind; he obviously knows her well. What's less clear is what he intends to do if he finds her. I don't think he means her harm, though."

"That is good," Carlisle whispered back, before addressing Dyson once more. "May I ask what business you have with Bo Dennis?"

"It's private."

This time the wolf's thoughts gave away nothing except a vague sense that there were things he needed to say to her, mistakes he needed to apologize for, perhaps, so Edward could only shrug in response to his father's inquisitive look.

"Do you think he's dangerous?" Esme asked in a low voice.

"Not to Bo, and probably not to us either; I'm fairly certain he isn't looking for a fight."

"Then why don't we invite him to our house and let Bo decide whether she wants to speak with him?"

Edward and Esme both looked to Carlisle, who considered his wife's suggestion for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Yes, that does seem like the best course of action." Then he turned back to Dyson, who was politely trying not to eavesdrop on their hushed conference, and said, "It just so happens that Bo is our guest; if you're willing to accompany us to our home, we can take you to her."

"I'd appreciate that."

"The rest of our family will be there as well; there are seven of us in total," Edward informed him while watching his face closely and listening to his thoughts to gauge his reaction. "Will that be a problem?"

Dyson's thoughts betrayed a hint of surprise at the idea of so many made vampires living together when everything he knew about them suggested that they were a fairly fractious bunch that generally kept to themselves or stuck to smaller groups, but none of the disgust Edward would have expected a wolf-shifter to feel at the prospect of being surrounded by them. He didn't even refer to them in what he thought was the privacy of his own head with any of the charming epithets their Quileute neighbors were so fond of as he returned Edward's challenging stare with an impassive look. "Not for me."

"Excellent," Carlisle said with a pleased smile. "If you'll follow us…"

Dyson revved up his motorcycle, and they set off with the three vampires running alongside him, matching their speed to the bike's. Edward found the pace frustratingly slow, but they hadn't gone far before Carlisle suggested that he run ahead and warn the rest of the family about the imminent arrival. He agreed and began running flat-out, exulting in the speed and the sense of freedom it brought, the feeling that nothing could catch him, that he could leave his problems behind as easily as the trees that flashed past and rapidly disappeared. Of course, that illusion couldn't last; all too soon, he was back at the mansion, where he had to figure out how to tell his siblings that they were about to be forced to welcome a strange wolf-shifter into their home.

As he approached, he was able to pick out each of their mental voices, including Kenzi's, which was a relief; since they were all here, at least he wouldn't have to break the news more than once. Their thoughts informed him that Bo and Bella were in the house too, though of course he got only dead silence when he reached for them with his telepathic senses. Striding into the foyer, he called out, "Can you all come here, please? I have something to tell you."

Their curiosity piqued by his serious tone, they trickled in from various places – Rosalie and Emmett from the garage, Jasper from the library, Alice and Bella from upstairs, and Bo from the training room, after making a short detour to grab Kenzi, who had not heard Edward's summons, out of the kitchen.

"What's going on?" Jasper demanded as soon as they were all assembled. "Whatever it is, I can feel that it's got you all tensed up."

"Yeah, c'mon and spill before the suspense kills our brother here," Emmett chuckled.

"Maybe he will if everyone else quits talking," Rosalie said dryly.

"Thank you, Rose. While Carlisle, Esme, and I were out running, we encountered a stranger on the brink of entering our territory-" He was cut off there as his announcement generated a renewed flurry of chatter.

"Why do I get the feeling you're not talking about a human stranger?" Kenzi asked no one in particular.

"Why didn't I see this?" Alice wondered anxiously, prompting Jasper to put a reassuring arm around her. "I usually get at least a day or two's notice of new arrivals…"

"It's not more nomadic vampires, is it?" Bella asked, her eyes wide with fear. "Not another tracker like James?"

"No, this visitor is nothing like James," Edward said soothingly while pulling her close and tucking her against his side, which seemed to calm her a little. "In fact, he's not a vampire at all."

"Great, another fae," Rosalie grumbled. "It's getting to be a regular supernatural convention around here."

"I wonder what we're dealing with this time," Emmett mused, sounding more intrigued than put out. "I hope it's something interesting."

"Two succubi aren't interesting enough for you?" Jasper asked incredulously, while Bo and Bella narrowed their eyes at him.

"Don't forget me," Kenzi piped up indignantly. "I may not be fae, but I like to think I bring a certain pizzazz to the party."

"You're right – I think you're the most bizarre specimen of all," Rosalie replied, smirking as Kenzi gave an exaggerated gasp of outrage.

"I'm afraid the new arrival belongs to a species we're already very familiar with," Edward interrupted, raising his voice slightly as he tried to get them back on topic. His parents and their guest were already in his telepathic range, which meant he was running out of time. "This might be difficult, it might go against our most basic instincts, but we all need to bear in mind that Carlisle and Esme invited him here, and-"

Once again, he was interrupted, this time by the rumble of Dyson's motorcycle pulling up outside. Seconds later, Carlisle and Esme walked through the front door, with him right behind them. The appearance of a wolf in their home triggered an outburst of confusion, alarm, and general discontent from the Cullen siblings, but Bo barely heard their overlapping exclamations.

The instant she laid eyes on Dyson, it was like everyone else faded into the background, and she felt herself moving forward without having consciously willed her feet to move. When she was directly in front of him, she just stood there for a moment, drinking in the sight of him while he did the same to her before wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close, needing to touch him to confirm that he was really there, that he was really safe and unharmed… Then she stepped back and slammed her fist into his nose hard enough to make him stagger backward.

"Seriously?! I come back from fighting my mother, maybe even killing her – if there was one time I could've really used some emotional support, that was it, and you're just gone?! No calls, no texts – you drop off the face of the earth for weeks, until all of a sudden you come waltzing in here like nothing happened? I was worried about you, you jerk!"

"I'm sorry. Look, a lot's happened since the last time I saw you. Can we talk? Alone?"

Part of her – the stubborn, defiant part that was still smarting over being ghosted – wanted to tell him to take a flying leap off a cliff (especially since there were several cliffs not too far away that would suit the purpose perfectly), but she squashed that impulse. After all the time she'd spent fretting and fuming over the lack of communication from him, sending him away now that he was finally here and ready to talk, as satisfying as it might be in the short term, would ultimately accomplish nothing except prolonging her own unhappiness.

Instead, she said, "With all the hypersensitive ears around here, we'll probably have to take a hike if we want real privacy," and marched out the door without waiting to see if he would follow, which of course he did.

"Well, that was interesting," Jasper commented after the door closed behind them. "Her emotions were such a mess, I honestly can't tell if she'd rather kiss him or punch him again."

"Your guess is as good as mine," Alice told him with a shrug. "Even if shifters weren't a blind spot in my visions, I wouldn't see anything until Bo decides what she's going to do with him, and I don't think she has a clue yet."

"I can't see the future," Bella said quietly, "but I'd be willing to bet my truck that kissing will occur at some point. The attraction between them… The only times I've ever felt anything so strong is when I see the couples in your family together." Then she turned a curious look on Kenzi. "That wouldn't be the infamous Dyson I've heard so much about, would it?"

"Yeah, that's him. When he and Bo are good, they're really good together, but they're on-again, off-again like a light switch, and I was supremely pissed at him when we found out he knew who Bo's mom was all along and let Trickster talk him into sitting on the info even if he did eventually 'fess up, so I'm waiting to see whether Bobo settles on kissing or punching before I decide just how cool me and the wolfman are. You're probably right, though," she added in a rare moment of generosity toward the younger succubus. "No matter how many rough patches they hit, those two can't seem to stay away from each other for long."

###

Driven by her temper, Bo headed straight into the woods with no clear idea of where she was going; her only thought was that, in addition to getting away from the Cullens and their inconveniently sharp vampire senses, she needed to blow off some steam before attempting to have a rational conversation. The house was well out of sight (which, due to its size, was saying something) by the time she finally whirled around, crossed her arms over her chest, and said simply, "Okay, you wanted to talk, so talk."

Taking in her rather belligerent, unapproachable stance, Dyson deemed it prudent to start with another apology. "I really am sorry, Bo. I didn't mean to ignore you; I was just dealing with some personal stuff-"

"What, we're not personal?"

"We are, it's just that I learned something that could change everything between us, and I'm not sure how you'll feel about it. I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first, so I needed some time to process before I told you."

"Great, more secrets," Bo sighed, her tightly crossed arms falling to her sides as a wave of weariness swept over her. "So what's the big revelation this time?"

Dyson hesitated for a long moment; he'd spent practically every minute of the long ride to Forks wrestling with how to break the news of his imprint to her, practiced it dozens of times in his head, but now that she was actually standing in front of him, his carefully rehearsed speech seemed to have deserted him. At last, a fragment of the opening line came back to him: "Do you remember how I told you that wolves mate for life?"

Bo's eyebrows shot up. The conversation he referred to, which had taken place at the country club they'd infiltrated after he got annoyed with her attempt to seduce information out of a guy in a hot tub, stood out with particular clarity in her memory since it was the first time they had really discussed their not-quite-relationship, the first time she felt that he had truly let his guard down and opened up to her about his feelings, but she was at a loss as to why he would bring it up now. "Yeah, and…?"

"I forgot to mention that most of us don't get to choose our mates. Shifters have this thing called imprinting, where we… It's not love at first sight, but the first time we see them, we just know they're the one – that no matter how improbable it seems, no matter how you feel about it, this is the only person you'll ever truly be able to love. It's not a choice, Bo, and it's not something that can be undone once it happens. I need you to understand that." It was vital that she did, because the last thing he wanted was for her to think he had somehow caused this or would try to use it to pressure her into a deeper commitment than she wanted.

Bo drew in a deep, slightly shaky breath, trying to ignore the ominous feeling that was slowly closing in on her. "Okay, I think I get the theory of it, but why are you just telling me this now?"

Dyson didn't answer, just looked steadily into her eyes, and as much as she tried to resist it, the pieces fell into place, forming a picture that was so obvious no amount of denial could shield her from seeing what was right in front of her – his sudden disappearance, the total absence of contact, the personal issue that had thrown him into such inner turmoil that he couldn't even bear to be around her, that he was afraid she'd take badly… Yes, it all made perfect sense now.

"You found your mate, didn't you?" she asked, her voice coming out in a barely audible whisper that nevertheless conveyed her pain as clearly as a scream. "Your…imprint?"

"Yes."

That simple word, delivered in such a bluntly matter-of-fact tone, shattered her tenuous hold on her emotions, and she found her voice rising again as she poured them out. "And you came all this way to tell me that? Why? Did you need to see the look on my face when you told me we're over, that everything we've been through together doesn't mean anything to you anymore? Well, congratulations – I'm really happy that you've met your perfect match and now you get to ride off into the sunset with her after taking care of the minor detail of breaking my heart. Who is she anyway? Anybody I know?"

Dyson opened and closed his mouth several times during her tirade, stunned at how thoroughly she had misread the situation. By the time she finished, it was all he could do to say, "You could say that. It's you, Bo. I imprinted on you."

This revelation hit Bo with an almost tangible impact, just like when Aife told her she had a sister, leaving her to reflect in the tiny corner of her mind that was still capable of forming thoughts on how amazing it was that all it took to turn her world upside down was a few simple words. "Me? …What? How?"

"I'm not telling you this because I expect anything from you," he quickly clarified. "I know I have a lot to make up for, and I understand if we can't go back to where we were, I just thought you deserved to know. Keeping secrets from you is what messed us up in the first place; I won't make that mistake again."

"I'm glad to hear that…but wait, you said imprinting happens the first time you see the person, right?" At his affirmative nod, Bo said, "So all this time you've known we were destined to be together or whatever, but when I tried to tell you I was falling for you, you said that you were just helping me out with my feeding – after I found you making out with that waitress at the Dal! If that's how you treat your soulmate, maybe I should call customer service and ask about the return policy."

"I'm sorry," Dyson said yet again. "I know I treated you badly, although I never would have done that if I'd realized you were my mate. The thing is, most shifters imprint earlier than I did – about a thousand years earlier, to be exact – so by the time I met you, I was so certain I wasn't meant to have a 'real' mate that I didn't see what was right under my nose; like I told you before, I can be mule-headed, and this time it bit me in the ass. I just thought I was falling in love with you the old-fashioned way."

"That's sweet…while also taking male cluelessness to a whole new level. So what finally made the light bulb go off?"

"When you went to face Aife…" He paused, a guilty look flashing across his features. "I know you asked me not to interfere-"

"But you did do something, didn't you?" Bo butted in. "Aife was choking me out, and I really thought I might be done for that time, when all of a sudden I got this burst of strength that let me throw her off and get the upper hand, and I felt… I don't know how, but it was like you were there with me, helping me."

"I did," Dyson quietly confessed. "I went to the Norn – a powerful ancient fae who can grant your deepest desire – and asked her to give you my strength for your fight. Of course, her favors come with a price."

Bo swallowed hard as a feeling of foreboding crept over her like a cloud sliding in to blot out the sun. "What kind of price?"

"The thing you value most. I almost made a deal with her centuries ago but couldn't go through with it when she demanded my wolf, so I assumed she would still want it. I would've been willing to give it up for you, but…that wasn't what she wanted, because my wolf isn't what I value most anymore. You are."

"What does that mean? The Norn obviously didn't take me – I'm right here."

"She tried to take my love for you, but she couldn't because of the imprint. She said it was a bond not even she could break. I didn't believe her at first – I thought I would have realized I'd found my mate even if it wasn't as dramatic as it would've been when I was younger – but once I started to think about it, it all made sense, especially when she told me…" His voice trailed off as the guilty look reappeared, like he'd said too much.

"Told you what?" Bo demanded. When he didn't answer right away, her eyes narrowed. "You said you weren't going to keep secrets from me anymore, Dyson. What is it?"

"You're right, it probably is something I should tell you, but I'm afraid you'll be angry."

"You had to have known I'd be angry when you admitted you knew all along who my mother was, but you didn't let that stop you when you decided it was time to come clean. Whatever this is can't possibly be worse, can it?"

"It depends on how you feel about it. What if I told you someone didn't want us to be together – that they were afraid it would be bad for both of us – so they got somebody to cast a spell that masked my feelings for you just enough to stop me from recognizing what had happened, what you were to me?"

"And this person is someone you don't want me to be mad at? It's Trick, isn't it? He's the only one I can think of who'd be able to pull off a stunt like that and that you would care about protecting. Damn it!" She let out a loud, angry sigh and ran her hands through her hair, tugging at it in frustration. "You know, I love Trick – finding out he's my grandfather actually made me really happy – but sometimes he just- Ugh, he makes me so mad when he goes into overprotective secretive mode!"

"I understand how you feel," Dyson said sympathetically. "I wasn't happy with him either when he admitted what he did." In fact, just recalling it now made him wish he had a punching bag handy, but he tamped down those aggressive urges. "Still, he only did what he thought was best. He really does care for you, Bo."

"Yeah, I know," she acknowledged, albeit somewhat grudgingly. "I just wish he didn't think the best way of protecting me was with secrets and lies. It makes it hard for me to trust a person even when I know they have my best interests at heart, so I hope you meant it when you said you wouldn't do that anymore. I get that you've been Trick's right hand man for a lot longer than you've known me and that you're loyal to him – that loyalty's one of the things I love about you, actually – but I can't be with someone who'll lie to me for their boss, especially about things I have a right to know, like who my mother is. I'm sure Trick has some secrets that are genuinely none of my business, but when the secret he's asking you to keep is about me…"

"Don't worry, I've learned my lesson there," Dyson assured her. "If honesty is that important to you, then that's what you'll get from me from now on – even if it means telling you some things you might not want to hear."

"I can handle it, and I'm glad we had this talk. I feel like we're in a much better place now – interpersonally, I mean. Geographically…I'm afraid I may have gotten us lost." She hadn't paid attention to her surroundings or which direction she was going as she blundered out into the forest, and now, as she looked around, she realized she had no clue where they were or how to get back to the Cullens' house. "And it's getting dark. Great."

"I can find the way back; it'll be easy to follow our trail. There's nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure? There's no telling what could be lurking out here at night," Bo said as she peered anxiously into the trees that seemed to press in on them from all sides, enclosing them so completely that it was almost like they were in their own little Twilight Zone, like the rest of the world had ceased to exist. Satisfied that they were suitably isolated, she turned back to him, her voice dropping to a seductive purr. "For all we know, there might even be a big bad wolf on the prowl."

Dyson looked her up and down, taking in the shift in her mood, and his tone changed as well, taking on the faintest hint of a menacing growl. "Hmm… In that case, you probably should be worried. Do you know what wolves do to succubi who wander into the woods after dark?"

"No…but if a wolf wanted to do anything to me, he'd have to catch me first!" With that, she spun around and darted off among the trees.

He watched her go through gold and black eyes, a rumble of anticipation rising in his throat as he hung back to give her a brief head start; she was wearing high heels, after all. Besides, the hunt was always better when it lasted longer, when the prey was allowed to run for a bit before the hunter moved in for the kill. He held his breath, counting silently – then took off after her, deliberately making some noise so she would know he was coming.

Bo heard the sounds of his pursuit, but the thick foliage and mist that had begun rising from the ground as the sun set hid him from her sight. Interestingly, this made her heart pound harder than it would have from the exertion alone; even though she knew beyond a shadow of doubt that Dyson would never hurt her, there was something about being chased by an unseen predator that evoked a primal sense of dread.

She ran a little farther, then ducked behind a huge pine tree with a trunk so thick that six big men could probably stand in a circle around it, hands stretched out to either side, without touching one another, and stopped to catch her breath and listen. She heard Dyson still running, getting closer…and then he suddenly went quiet. Bo froze with her back pressed to the enormous tree, hardly daring to breathe, straining her ears to hear over the thunder of her heart drumming against her ribs, but there was nothing, not a single whisper of sound – yet somehow, she knew he was still there, waiting… Or maybe he was sneaking up on her at that very moment, preparing to spring the second she let her guard down.

The tension became unbearable after a minute or two, and she decided she had to look – just a quick peek, to see if he really was on the other side of the pine. Keeping her back to the trunk, she edged around its circumference until she was able to poke her head out for a second's glimpse of what was out there, which turned out to be nothing. The forest on the other side appeared completely empty.

Bo pulled back, wondering for a moment if she had somehow managed to lose him…then turned her head to look the other way and found herself face to face with Dyson's wolfish grin.

"Gotcha." He grabbed her before she could move a muscle and pulled her into a heated kiss, which she enthusiastically returned as they went to work on each other's clothing, pushing jackets off of shoulders, unfastening belt buckles, unbuttoning shirts, and generally doing whatever could be done without detaching their mouths.

When he backed her up to the thick trunk that had recently served as her hiding place while reaching for the zipper of her leather pants, however, she finally pulled away just long enough to gasp out, "Really? Up against a tree?"

Dyson, who had moved on to kissing her neck when she removed her lips from his, raised his head to peer into her face. "What's the matter, too rough? Do you want me to slow down?"

Bo shook her head frantically; after weeks of getting by with humans, who could be very good lovers but were just so damn breakable, she'd almost forgotten how good it felt to be with someone she didn't have to hold back with, someone who could take whatever she dished out and give as good as they got. "Don't you dare," she panted, gripping his hair hard enough to hurt.

"Then what do you want, huh? Tell me."

"You – all of you. I want the wolf."

Judging by his pleased growl, that was the right answer. Quickly divesting her of her remaining apparel, he pushed her down onto the pile of their discarded clothes, then joined her after shucking off his jeans and boots and wrapped his arms around her kneeling form from behind, his clawed hands scratching lightly as they made their way up from her tightly toned abs to caress her chest while he kissed and nipped at her neck, leaving marks that would soon be healed.

Bo relished the unbridled passion in his touch, the utter lack of caution or restraint, but she needed more. "Enough foreplay." She reached up to take hold of his hands, freeing herself from his embrace so she could lean forward, positioned herself on her hands and knees, and braced herself for the initial thrust, which nevertheless caused her limbs to buckle before she caught herself.

Recovering quickly, she pushed back against him, easily matching his relentless pace and moaning loudly at the way his fingers dug into her skin where he gripped her waist and how his beard tickled her as he trailed kisses up her spine, the two of them driving each other wild until at last they pushed each other over the edge completely, into a mind-blowing, earth-shattering climax that left them gasping for breath as they collapsed on their makeshift bed.

"Wow," was all Bo managed to get out as she hyperventilated. "That was…"

"Intense," Dyson supplied. "Good to know we haven't lost our touch."

"Us? Never," Bo scoffed, rolling onto her side so she could playfully swat at his shoulder. "I didn't even realize just how much I missed this until now."

"Just this?" he asked, putting on a hurt expression.

That earned him another playful swat. "Don't be silly – of course I like just spending time with you, but we can do that anywhere. We don't have to find a place where we can be completely alone, with no little sisters or vampires with annoyingly sharp senses running around…" Her fingers started moving as she spoke, briefly exploring the hard muscles of his chest before trailing lower to tease and stroke and rekindle the temporarily guttered flame that was nowhere near burned out yet.

Correctly picking up on the hint she was giving him – not that she was being the slightest bit unclear about her intentions – he said dryly, "But since that's where we are right now, we should make the most of it, right?"

Bo laughed and sat up, flinging her right leg over him in a single quick motion without releasing her grip on him. Once she was in position, she wasted no time guiding him to her entrance and starting to ride him, though she didn't go as fast this time. Now that they had taken the edge off, she was content to take it slow, giving them time to savor each sensation. "You know, Edward always says he can't read my mind, but I think you just did."

###

Light stabbed at Bo's closed eyelids, causing her to let out an irritated groan as she rolled over to escape the unwelcome intrusion. The problem was, the light didn't go away when she turned over, almost as if it was coming from everywhere at once. Reluctantly opening her eyes, she saw that that was exactly what was happening, because the sunlight wasn't coming through a window; it was filtering through the canopy of tree branches above her head. Wait… Trees?

All at once, the memory of last night came rushing back, and she sat bolt upright, Dyson's vest falling off her as she did. Sure enough, she'd been lying on their mingled clothing in the middle of the forest, using her own shirt as a pillow, there were her boots a short distance away…and there was Dyson on his back beside her, gazing up at her with an amused grin.

"I guess you're not used to waking up in the woods, are you?"

"As a non-wolf, no. This isn't really my natural habitat."

"You seemed pretty comfortable here last night."

Bo let out a long sigh and laid back down, one arm wrapping around his torso as she rested her head on his shoulder. "You know, we still have more talking to do. I forgive you for not telling me about Aife sooner – actually, I probably forgave you for that a while ago – and as long as we can agree on total honesty from here on out, I'm ready to put all that past drama behind us."

"No more secrets, Bo. I promise."

She looked into his eyes for a long moment, and saw nothing in them that made her doubt his sincerity. If anything, he looked even more serious than usual. Satisfied, she settled back against him. "We still need to decide what we're going to do about this whole imprint thing, though."

"I told you I don't expect anything. If there's any way we can go back to where we were, that's enough for me."

Her head popped up again, this time so she could stare at him in disbelief. "Are you for real right now? You've figured out I'm your wolfy soulmate, and you just want to go back to being friends with benefits? I know there's a lot about this I don't understand – again, non-wolf here – but I kinda thought you'd want more than that."

"I don't want to push for more than you want. You're still a succubus-"

"Ugh, are we really having this conversation again? Like I said the first time we went over this, I'm more than just my nature. Besides, it's not an issue as long as I'm getting enough chi, and that wouldn't be a problem for us. I know we said there was no commitment, but when things were good between us…I didn't really sleep with anyone else."

Embarrassed at admitting that she had basically acted like she was in a relationship with him even though that clearly wasn't the case, she lowered her head so that her hair, which had come undone at some point during the previous night's activities, fell around her face like a concealing curtain, but he reached up to brush it back. "Neither did I," he said gently. "I know it was allowed, but I didn't want anyone but you."

Then he frowned, and the thumb that was stroking her cheek stopped, much to her dismay. "You have been with other people, though. There was that Fury and her husband…and Lauren."

"You're seriously bringing that up?" Bo groaned, shaking his hand away with a slight toss of her head. "I can't believe I have to say this, but you know I only had that threesome with Olivia and Samir to try and make you jealous, don't you? The first time he propositioned me, I said no, but then you came in and I was all hurt and pissed over seeing you making out with that skanky redhead, so I went for revenge sex. Given how that turned out, it probably wasn't the best decision I've ever made."

"Hey, you ended up solving a string of murders going back years and stopping a serial killer, so I'd say it worked out all right."

"That's nice of you. As for Lauren… Obviously, that wasn't about feeding. I just wanted to be with her."

The lightness that had crept into Dyson's expression vanished, leaving him completely solemn once more. "Do you still want to be with her?" When Bo hesitated, he added, "We said we were going to be honest with each other, remember?"

"Honestly…I don't know. I was ready to start over with her too, I even offered to bring her along when I skipped town, but she didn't want to be with me enough to take the risk. But you… It took you a while, but here you are. You left everything else in your life behind to come here, for me."

"I would've been here sooner, but I got detained by the Light Fae council. They interrogated me about what you were doing while Aife attacked them, trying to find some pretext to arrest you, but I didn't give them anything."

"Thanks for having my back."

"It wasn't hard, since you didn't do anything wrong."

"So you got locked up for a few weeks and still didn't throw me under the bus even though they probably would've let you out sooner if you had, then you dropped everything and came here to be with me," Bo amended her previous statement. "I guess I have my answer."

"Just like that?" Dyson asked, eyeing her with what she considered an unfair amount of skepticism. "After all the time we've spent dancing around each other, all I had to do was follow you to a different town?"

"And you offered to give up a part of who you are to save me, and you were the one who finally told me about my mother when Trick was still dragging his heels, and you stayed loyal to me even when it got you locked in a cage. How hard to impress do you think I am?" Bo huffed. "I mean, if there was a dragon around for you to slay, that'd be a nice touch, but I'm afraid Forks is fresh out of dragons."

"I just don't want you to rush into something you'll regret later."

His words gave her pause, because she did sort of have a habit of doing that. Not that she had many regrets, since most of her decisions had worked out for the best overall, but the rushing part… He might be on to something there. She didn't think she was rushing now – as he'd said, they had been dancing around each other for the better part of a year already – but considering that they had literally just taken the first step toward moving past a huge betrayal that had nearly destroyed their tumultuous romance for good, maybe some caution was warranted.

"Okay, how about this," she said slowly. "We try being together, officially and exclusively, on a trial basis. We see how it goes for, say, a month, and then we decide if it becomes permanent or…" Her voice trailed off there, because she really didn't know what other alternatives there were. If they couldn't make a real relationship work, could they go back to their former arrangement with no hard feelings? Would they even want to, or would a failed attempt at more mess them up so badly that they couldn't even be friends anymore, with or without benefits? Every fiber of her being quailed at that possibility, because whether they were lovers or not, the idea of not having Dyson in her life at all wasn't one she wanted to dwell on.

In another demonstration of his uncanny understanding of her thought processes, he rubbed her arm soothingly and said, "Sounds like a good idea; I can agree to that. Let's not think about the 'or' yet – there'll be plenty of time to figure that out later. Besides, if we're both on board with giving it a real shot, I think we can be really good together, Bo."

"I think so too." Grinning, she leaned down to kiss him, and the first brush of their lips soon deepened into a heartfelt, tender caress filled with all the longing and desire it seemed they had barely begun to express last night.

Dyson's hands came to rest on her waist, and he flipped them so that she was on her back, her head lolling back against the leaf-strewn garments under her as his lips moved from her jaw to the place just below her left ear that never failed to drive her crazy, then down to her neck and collarbone before reaching her breasts at last and closing around the sensitive flesh, drawing another moan from her as she twined her fingers in his hair to hold his head in place.

When he finally stopped teasing her and slid into position between her thighs, her last coherent thought was, Oh yeah…when we're on the same page, we are very good together.

###

Bo wasn't sure how long they stayed out there, having nothing to go by except the shifting angle of the sunlight, but at some point they started to talk about going back. This suggestion was made halfheartedly and swiftly discarded by both of them a few times before they (reluctantly) got serious about it and began making an actual effort to sort out their clothes.

"…I mean, I feel like I could go a week without eating human food right now, but some water would be nice," Bo said as she adjusted the straps of her bra, "and I bet you could go for a nice juicy steak."

"Or two," Dyson agreed. "And a shower."

Bo immediately perked up at that. "Want some company in that shower?"

"Hmm, I wouldn't say no, although that might defeat the purpose of washing off."

"In that case, we should definitely go back…" Just then, Bo's questing hand found her panties, and she grimaced as she held them up. "…Right after I get the pine needles out of my underwear."

Ah, the pitfalls of outdoor sexy times. Don't try this at home, guys.