Peter and Stiles went and caught a plane back to Beacon Hills that next morning while Hope and Derek decided to stay. Just for a week or so, to grow Hope's strength again before traveling. By day three she already felt so much better - now that she was on a constant diet of high protein and blood.

She and Derek explored the city of New Orleans and the French Quarter. They ate gumbo, listened to street jazz, and binged on beignets. They even stayed up late most nights to spend time with her family. They all liked Derek well enough and were very curious about the differences between their own wolf-kind and his. The only one who had yet to warm up to the idea was her father, naturally. But Hope knew that would come with time, she didn't need to push it.

This evening, Hope decided to show Derek one of her favorite places in all of the bayou. She rowed out in a canoe with him, the paddle submerging into the murky water as they followed a lazy channel littered with life. Some might not think of the moss-covered cypress trees as beautiful, but Hope did. She loved drifting through the lily pads and pointing out the glittering eyes of alligators hiding under the surface.

Yes, Hope adored New Orleans, but she also loved Beacon Hills and how normal she felt there. No one to stop and stare at the tribrid, fearful of her family. Though the Quarter held such a special place in her soul that she knew in the future she'd be visiting often, with Derek by her side.

"Where are we going?" Derek asked, his voice hushed to not scare the wildlife nearby.

Hope pointed up ahead at a cabin in the distance. Cabin was a loose term, but the structure wasn't caving and it was clean and quaint. It held a bed, a very small bathroom, and the tiniest kitchen space known to man, but this was her happy place while growing up. A place she could be by herself and read by the fire next to the lake. Few people ventured this far and those who did usually looked past it as it was hidden behind groves of thick vegetation.

"I call it my cabin, but it isn't really owned by anyone. It's where I spent most of my childhood. My first way to really escape from the drama back at the compound," she smiled sheepishly, "It's not much, but I love it."

Smiling, Derek took her hand and brushed her knuckles with his lips.

"I love it too, then." He murmured.

A soft blush spread along the ridge of her nose and cheeks as she pulled the canoe to a stop and bumped against the wooden walkway to the cabin. She tied the rope off and stepped out, wrapping her arms around Derek's bicep, only for him to scoop her up into his arms and tossed her over his shoulder.

Hope let out a squeal of laughter and squirmed. "May I ask what you're doing, sir?"

Chuckling, Derek entered the cabin and swung her around. Her legs wrapped around his waist while her arms hung over his shoulders. "Was this trip just to get me alone, Ms. Mikaelson?"

Hope couldn't help but giggle "Hm, maybe..." she leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "Is that okay?"

"More than okay," Derek smirked and walked to the bed where he rested her down on her back. The bed itself was covered in a plastic film to protect it from the elements and dust. She watched as he swiped it away and let it fall to the floor in a heap.

Derek leaned down and captured her lips in another kiss, this time it was more than playful. There was a heat behind each other's intentions that seemed to crescendo into a scorching flame. It immediately set Hope on fire. She gazed up at him, her golden eyes matching his as they breathed together. Lost in a world of their own.

They both seemed to be on the same page as they took each other's clothes off together, savoring the way their hands ran against exposed skin - leaving gooseflesh in its wake. Hope sighed softly as Derek unclasped her bra and let it fall to the floor. He trailed hot kisses from her lips, down her throat, and to her chest where his mouth took the nipple of her left breast, rolling the pebbled tip around his tongue. Hope moaned against his throat, a chilled heat of arousal swirling between her legs. She rubbed her thighs together, a soft whimper escaping as her body desperately sought his touch.

Derek dragged his tongue to her other breast, giving it the same treatment as the other. Their eyes met as he sucked and her fingers stroked through his dark hair. "I love you..." she murmured.

"I love you." He pressed a soft kiss against her sternum and let the kisses drag down the center of her stomach and continued until he reached her panty line.

Lifting her hips, she watched him slowly take the fabric away, but he didn't touch where she was now revealed. No, he took his time, kissing back up to kiss every pulse point she had. Her inner elbows, her throat, and all the way back down again to kiss her ankle. All while not letting his eyes stray from hers. It was a long time coming, to go through to the end and not stop after the foreplay.

Back then, Hope hadn't been ready. Hadn't really wanted to give herself over, all of herself. She knew it would make her that much more vulnerable to him, but now...the way he looked at her and the growing love she felt for him. It was right and it was real. This wasn't just about sex, no...this was so much more.

Derek kissed her inner thigh, dragging blunt teeth along the subtle stretch marks as his hands found her knees and slowly spread her apart. His golden left hers to gaze down at her open vulnerability.

Hope sucked in a soft breath, but the moment of insecurity didn't last for more than a moment as Derek swooped down and dragged his tongue between her soaked folds. Her back arched while her fingers laced into his hair, pulling at the roots.

His tongue worked her, up and down the sides of her and delving inside, swirling into her wetness with the confidence of a deep-sea diver. Her eyes rolled back just in time for his attention to focus on her clit. His nose nudged the bundle of nerves that seemed to throb with anticipation, waiting for him.

Hope gasped and instinctively tried to close her legs, but his hold on her knees was too strong. She lay there, holding his hair in her fists as he took the nub between his teeth and sucked, rolling his tongue in slow, deliberate circles.

It seemed ages of Hope's hips writhing, feeling she might come undone right then that his lips glided back up her body and captured her lips in a heated kiss. His tongue slipped between her teeth, tasting herself as his tongue wrestled hers. His thumbs caressed the aching peaks of her breasts just as she felt his heavy length settle between her legs.

Hope immediately opened herself to him, letting her legs stretch as wide as she could to everything he had to offer her. Their gazes met once more as she felt his tip press against her entrance. She shivered and wrapped her arms around his neck, legs around his torso.

She couldn't stop her eyes from closing as his head began to inch its way into her hot channel.

"Hm..." she murmured, resting her head back as he filled her inch by splendid inch. Derek finally bottomed out and their hips were pressed flesh to flesh. Hope was already panting, heart racing with anticipation.

Derek leaned down and pressed his lips to her ear, a soft growl in his throat as he pulled his hips back only to plunge forward. Slamming into her with a slick sound of penetration. He didn't stop there. The slow pace he had to get her body ready no longer existed.

Now, Derek pulled halfway to thrust again. Over and over, gaining speed and force as the seconds turned to minutes. Sweat covered his back now as he pistoned into her, hard and fast. Hope dragged her nails down his back, earning another growl from him which made her grin through her moans of approval.

Without warning, Derek leaned back and lifted her hips up, and settled his fist underneath the small of her back. Setting her at an angle and pace that felt like entirely too much at first. The new position allowed him to grate that spot inside of her with such precision she felt she might fall apart right then. Her gasping breaths were louder than even the loud buzz of cicadas outside. Derek's thumb found her clit and rubbed deep, harsh circles against the sensitive nerves. That was what completely and epically undid her.

Hope came hard around his thick cock, her channel pulsating around his length. The rest of the world seemed to mute as stars scraped her vision and the feeling of Derek's cock jolting before releasing his hot seed inside her. The animal-like howling moan he let out as he dropped down to her sent every nerve of her body on a beautiful precipice that she was then pushed off of again into another blissful fall into ecstasy.

The first realization that Hope was coming down from her orgasm high was the cold that swept over her bare body. It was hot in the bayou, but she shivered as her sweat began to dry.

Derek pressed a kiss to her lips tenderly before moving off the bed to grab another blanket. He covered her, wrapping her with affectionate care before moving them both under the comforter. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, keeping his lips against her jaw. She could occasionally hear him breathe in her scent, making her body tingle everywhere except between her legs where a dull ache had formed. It had been a while since she'd partaken in sex and never within anyone so...solid.

"Hm..." She murmured. "Yeah, I could do that again."

Derek chuckled and kissed her temple. "Think we could stay the night?"

"You couldn't move me from this spot with a bulldozer." Hope smiled, nuzzling her head under his chin and resting against his body. Soaking in his warmth.

"You read my mind," Derek murmured in the darkness before Hope drifted off into the best sleep of her life.