"It's also... your leash." I smirk and kiss him.

Lucas sucks in a sharp breath, empowering me even more.

For just a second.

His lips attack mine with predatory force, making my heart jump with an uneven ripple that leaves my knees buckling.

A growl in the back of his throat makes me shiver and I grasp his shoulders at the same time his arms enclose around my waist, pinning me to him.

I push his chest away to stop this from escalating right now, but he pulls my hair, warning me to behave.

I fist his shirt instead and tense my entire body, fighting against making a sound that'll expose my defeat.

His lips drift mine apart with force, smooth and slow, controlling my head how he wants as he bites my lip and squeezes my ass. Opening his eyes just as I whimper.

Then he lets go. Leaves me standing there, heaving and staring at him wide-eyed.

His dark, hooded eyes glow with cocky amusement, swollen lips pulling up in one corner.

"Be good and I'll give you the rest later." He says, beckoning over my shoulder. "Let's go back to the party."

Oh. That's right. He doesn't like people knowing his business.

"I have one more thing." I tell him, struggling to cover my own amusement.

Lucas creases his forehead as if to ask what just as I lift my hand and slap him across the face.

My palm hits his left cheek, scraping against his stubble and shifting his head to the side.

My own eyes go wide though I know I didn't slap too hard. The fear of hurting him lowered the impact, but the pure expression of shock on Lucas's face is on another level.

"Make me regret that later." I calmly smirk, looking straight at him.

His eyebrows twitch briefly but besides that, he stands so still it scares me.

I take a slow step towards him and smack my hands on his chest, tilting my head up at him.

"I want you..." I murmur, digging my nails into his chest and dragging them down. "To destroy me tonight."

Then quickly, I peel away and open the door, smiling before I turn around to walk out.

I barely take one step before his arm wraps around my waist, his body towering behind me.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asks and squeezes my ass, making my heart flip that someone might see, but no one does. He brings his hand back on my waist and leads me out, winking at me as I look up nervously.

We mingle with Fiona, then move on to Elen and Valerie. Lucas thanks Grant for coming and hugs his sister, Nina. I find out she's been traveling a lot in the last two months, that's why she's been so absent.

It's interesting what a strong personality she is. Guess she needs to be in order to handle Grant. I make a comment about it to Lucas later and he snorts, agreeing with me.

My girls save me from the obligatory small talks and ask Kai to take our pictures. Just as we start to get something decent, Ashton pops a sorority squat with Lucas, making us groan.

"Let the couple take one together." Kai suggests, making everyone step away for Lucas and me. We barely even take one before Shushan grabs my hand and pulls me away.

"Why am I taking it alone?" Lucas laughs right before realizing Ashton is charging at him with a cake. "Oh, shit!"

He ducks down, causing Ashton to fall on him and the cake to fly in the air right at me.

I jerk back, leaving Shushan open as the cake lands on her face, then flops on the ground, leaving her covered in a thick layer of icing.

"You..." She growls, wiping her eyes and glaring. "Are dead, Ashton!"

She picks up whatever's left of the cake and Ashton dashes to Fiona who's lighting the candles on the second cake. He steals the cake and runs around the island with Shushan screaming at people to get out of the way.

"Oh, fuck!" Lucas laughs as Ashton comes at him and sprints in the opposite direction.

"Where the fuck are you running? Stay still!" Ashton jumps over the chairs that Lucas puts in front of him as they circle around the room.

"What's going on here?" Fiona whines across the bar, still holding the lighter.

"Tradition!" Lev cheers, watching Shushan ninja-kick the chairs. "Get Ashton, babe!"

"Holy shit..." Gia pulls out her phone to film.

Lucas runs behind me to use me as a shield, but is caught by Kai and Lev.

Shush halts behind Ashton as he swaggers towards Lucas who's thrashing to break free.

"Not here! Not here. Come on, man." Lucas laughs and tries to kick the cake, missing.

Two minutes later, Gia and I click our champagne glasses as Lucas stands shirtless with Ashton next to him on the street.

"Happy birthday, Lucas." He ceremoniously says before slapping the cake on his face.

"Eat shit, Ashton!" Shushan yells and gets picked up by Lev to launch the cake at Ashton.

~

"I'd like to make a toast..." Fiona raises her glass as everyone gathers around the bar.

She smiles at Lucas, who has Nina and Nora in each arm. One kisses his cheek and the other sticks her finger in his ear as he tries to bite it.

"Happy birthday, Lucas." She smiles with confidence that commands a room. "I love you more than life itself and am so grateful that you have such loyal friends around you."

Lucas's eyes soften and the muscle in his neck tenses as if he knows what's coming next.

"Your dad always loved celebrating." She says. "We bought meat on sale? Let's party. You or Nina got an A? Let's party. No traffic on the freeway? Let's party." She chuckles as the crowd does too. "He said, life is too short to waste it. He said being happy and loving people is the scariest, but most fulfilling way to live."

She tilts her chin with elegance. "As someone who lived with him for 20 years, I can tell you that he was right. Because no matter how heavy the clouds would get  — whether with heartbreak or loss, poverty or illness — he was the light to show me that we'd be okay."

She lifts her glass higher and nods at Lucas. "Today, you have that same light in your eyes. And I wish nothing but for you to hold on to it for the rest of your life. I love you baby."

Lucas gives the girls to Valerie and wraps his arms around Fiona. She wipes her tears as he kisses her forehead and tells her he loves her.

"I'd like to also drink to Layla!" She grins. "For coming into our lives and bringing us so much joy with her pure and childlike innocence."

Gia snorts and Shushan mutters 'yeah, right.'

"I'm going to ignore that." Fiona gives them a side-glance before focusing back on me. "Congratulations on starting your own business, honey. I know it's going to be amazing, because you won't settle for anything less. We will always love you, and always support you with anything that you need."

I smile with a lump in my throat and rush to hug her, mumbling 'I love you too' in her ear.

~

Thousands of pictures and dances later, the majority of the crowd leaves except Gia, Shush, Lev, Ashton and Kai. Thirty minutes later, a chaotic montage of events unravels.

1. Shush goes on a mission to eat everything, including Lev. We pretend not to notice.
2. I arm-wrestle Gia and lose ten times.
3. Ashton gives Lucas a lap dance.
4. At some point, we lie on the floor and sing 'What's Up' by 4 Non Blondes.
5. I slow dance with Gia and Shush as we confess our loves for each other.
6. I harass Lucas a million times by grinding on him and making him grip my hips to stop.

Around 3 AM, everyone helps to clean up. Lucas keeps telling them to leave it, but they insist, and despite the exhaustion dawning on us all, there's a quality of warm belonging.

As I push the chairs back in place and stare at the group, tiredly smiling in the comfortable silence, my heart blooms open. Leaving nothing between me and this moment, nothing between me and them. Everything is more peaceful, more colorful, more clear.

Safety grounds my feet, wraps around me. I feel home. I belong. I have a family. I love each one of them and I know that they love me.

And there's nothing, nothing that can beat this experience. This openness to place your heart in others' hands and be able to breathe, trusting that they won't hurt it.

"We got you a little gift..." Shushan hands me an envelope when Lucas and I get in his car. I open the envelope and pull out two tickets to New York for Christmas.

"We wanted to travel and spend some time together." Lev drapes his arm over Shush. "But because of you, we'll soon be living under the same roof and we wanted to thank you."

"And with you two running your own businesses, you'll need a vacation!" Shush points her look at me. "So you better travel."

"Thank you guys, this means a lot to us." Lucas smiles, leaning forward from the driver's seat.

~

"You know you're basically going to be attached to your restaurant, right?" I ask him as he drives us back to his apartment. "Like, it'll be impossible for you to travel?"

He glances at me, a small smile on his lips. "Have some faith in me. If I tell you we'll travel, then we'll travel."

"Oh, so you're going to be an unemployed restauranteur?" I break into a smirk as he glares. "Or are you being unreasonably confident again?"

He raises an unimpressed eyebrow at my attempt to rile him up.

"You know what's funny about you?" I look ahead, crossing my legs. "You aren't smart enough to banter so you use violence instead."

Lucas snorts. "Maybe I'm not bored like you. Or threatened like you to even bother."

"Me? Threatened by you?" I smile.

"Keep talking." He looks at me, lips twitched in one corner and eyes relaxed.

"Why? Don't have any interesting thoughts of your own?"

"No." He smirks, stopping the car in front of his apartment. Shit, we're already here?

He gets out of the car and I quickly do too before he comes around like last time. His eyebrows rise at my hasty movement. I scoff, walking past him to his apartment.

Again, not making one step forward, he grabs my hand and pulls me back, steadying me on his arm as I stumble.

"Who told you to walk ahead?" He murmurs in my ear and leads me with him.

"Are you that attached to me?" I look down between us. "Literally by the hip."

"Yeah." He sighs, shaking his head. "Just can't get enough of you."

He pulls out his keys with his free hand and opens the door, taking me inside.

Still doesn't let go as he shuts the door.

Slides his hand down and stands behind me as his body heat radiates off of him, rising the hair on my back.

Fingers brush over my shoulder, closing my eyes, moving my hair to one side. Other hand joins and unzips my dress, pulls it down my spine until it reaches my lower back.

Hands slowly splay under the dress, across my middle-back, drape the clothing off my shoulders, peeling it off my waist.

He kneels down and pushes the dress over my hips, dropping it by my feet.

"Lift your leg." He murmurs, barely touching my left ankle to raise it. Slips the dress from under my feet, leaving me in heels and my undies. A shiver breaks through me from vulnerably standing, unable to see him.

His hands slide slowly — too slowly — up my legs, around my hips, grazing his thumbs over my ass.

I yelp when he bites it.

I don't have time to react before he cups me between my legs. My legs wobble forward as I lose balance.

"Stand still." He digs his fingers into the my hip, making me bite back a whimper. His other hand strokes over my red panties, with no other purpose besides to torment.

Lucas gets on his feet and snakes one hand across my stomach. The other grabs my throat, forearm against my breasts. Lips on the side of my neck, eyes on me.

"You've really misbehaved tonight..." He pushes his fingertips under my panties, adding pressure on my neck when my knees go weak. "And you've been really annoying."

"Sounds like a personal problem." I whisper, prepared to feel him down there. Except he jerks his hand out and lowers my bra cup, pinching my nipple between two fingers and making me whimper in surprise and pain.

Fire surges between my legs and I back my hips into him. He massages the damage only to bring it back over and over again.

I can't even moan with his hand around my throat and try to push it off, but he bites my neck, shocking me frozen.

I look at his arm and fold my arm on his shoulder, dig my nails into his skin and drag them down, scratching it red.

Lucas hisses and twists me around, crashes his lips on mine, taking the moan I owed.

I jump on him and wrap my legs around his waist, lose my hands in his hair, demand his mouth like it's the air I've been missing.

He squeezes my ass, smacks it and makes me flinch. Slaps the other one, burning both with pain. I bite his lip and grab his throat. My hand unbelievably pathetic around his neck, but I look at him and tighten my hold anyway.

Lucas stares back, expression unfazed as he walks us to his bedroom. I refuse to say anything just to be indifferent.

Until I drop that act and gasp when he rudely tosses me on the bed without a warning.

My head bounces on the mattress with a slight whiplash and I rush to get up on my elbows. But he grabs my ankles and slides me down, draping my legs over his shoulders as he kneels before the bed.

"Lu—" I don't even get a chance to speak before he presses his mouth over my panties and does I don't know what to it. I'm too lost in the pleasure his tongue is forcing on me.

He watches me, eyebrows arched, eyes serious while I whimper and breathe uncontrollably.

He cups his mouth around me and grazes his teeth. I cry out and clench my thighs, but he pushes his palm down on one, doesn't even bother with the other. Cups his other hand under my ass and holds me up to him.

I throw my head back, arch my neck. Gasp for air, chest falling up and down. He yanks my panties off like they piss him off.

"Oh God." I lift my head when he licks me slowly, tongue so wet and hot, getting me lightheaded. "Fuck!" I moan when he mercilessly sucks me between his lips.

I push my hands on his head, but it only gets me in trouble, only gets him more stubborn. He doesn't stop. He licks me, sucks me, licks me, sucks, me, circles his tongue while making me feel his teeth, mixing bliss with fear.

When my vision goes blind and I'm lost in my moans, he sits up and takes off his shirt. I pout as he stands to unbutton his pants and crawl to get in front of him.

His lips part with a slow exhale as I take him in my mouth, curving my spine on all fours.

"Fuck...." He turns to stare at me in his dresser's mirror next to the bed, pulling my hair away from my face. "Fuck, baby..."

I move my hand around him, going in sync with my mouth, and glance in the mirror, making eye contact. He bends to caress my spine. Bites his lip, stares right at me as he spanks me. Exhales ruggedly, hungrily, when I shut my eyes tight and mewl around him.

"Such a dirty girl..." He fits my hair in a ponytail, looking down at me as I look up. "Are you my dirty girl? Huh?"

I roll my eyes and deep throat him, smiling internally when he groans. Lucas grips the back of my neck and pushes his hips forward, choking me until my nails bury into his hips.

He jerks my head back and I gasp for air, spit falling down my chin as I glare at him.

He raises his eyebrow. "On your back."

I scowl at him to say 'that's it?" and his expression hardens. He cups my chin and brings me up on my knees, kisses my lips. I wrap my arms around his neck as he undoes my strapless bra and takes it off of me.

He pushes me on the mattress and gets on top of me, kisses my neck as I softly moan. Too soon, but not soon enough, he grips himself against me, muscles flexing with tension.

I suck in a sharp breath, not expecting it to happen so quickly. I don't feel ready for that.

He smirks as I nervously look back, smug to see me afraid.

I can't even pretend not to be, because he's already pushing himself in, making my mouth drop and eyebrows knit, overwhelmed by how he fills every possible, flawless angle in me.

He quickens his pace with starved impatience, anger flashing in his hard features. Anger that keeps me pinned on him, needy for his care, weak under his command.

He comes down to kiss me, tender and affectionate, letting me whimper and moan.
Buries himself deep and slow, makes me lift my head to cry out. Wraps his lips around my nipple, swirls his tongue and sucks me in, striking another layer of building tension.

Bites on my fucking nipple and makes me throw a claw on the side of his neck, breaking the skin. He pauses and pulls back as I wince.

"That really hurt!" I sit up, holding my breast.

He moves my knees calmly to one side, confusing me with the gentleness, then lifts my hips and flips me on all fours.

Grabs my hips and slides me towards him, immediately thrusting in. Not slowing down even when my sounds tell him I'm struggling.

I push my palms on his abs to lessen the impact. He grips my wrists and face-plants me on the bed, hips still in the air. I turn my face to see, but my hair blocks everything.

"You're going to scratch me?" Lucas sneers over my moans, landing a sharp spank. "Huh? Going to leave marks on my neck? So I have to tell everyone it's from fucking my girlfriend?"

I'd tell him to shut the fuck up with his PDA phobia but his slaps don't stop, don't ease. My skin stings and burns and I'm trembling. Pleading, gasping, begging with incoherent sounds and tightening around him at the same time, coming undone over and over again.

I flop on my stomach, body unmoving, legs clenched together. He shifts his limbs above, criss crossing with mine. Hands on one side by my waist, head turned to stare at me. Pushes in, smirking at my helpless state beneath him.

"You want more?" He mocks while I try to twist away. He pushes his hips down to keep me still, chuckling at me as I scream. "No? I thought you wanted to get destroyed?"

He brings his hand to pinch the nipple he bit and I shove it away. He glares at me and whips his palm on my ass that's still sore, making me drown a scream into the bed. Doesn't even give me a break before pinching again.

Somehow unleashes another violent orgasm. Pulls out, lets me get on my side only to use it to his advantage. Only to slide his hand under my legs and bend them to my chest.

"No..." I whine, unable to open my eyes. He lies down behind me, props on his elbow and grabs my throat, pulling me back on him.

"Put my cock inside you." He bites my shoulder when I don't. "Now." He bites harder. I flinch away, whimpering as I put him back in. He kisses my neck and goes slower than before, using me like his personal property.

As he keeps my ankles down on the mattress and goes harder, I grip onto the nightstand for dear life. My ears ring as orgasms roll in waves, consuming me with head to toe vibrations.

When he's done with me, I get on all fours to get away but can't move. Can't even uncurl my toes. I'm staring down at the sheets, tingling inside and out, trying to come back.

Lucas sits up and kisses my shoulder, lightly, slowly lingering them down my spine. Each brush of his lips breaks me into goosebumps, overdosed on sensual manipulation.

"Get on your knees." He softly orders and I bite back a pout, sliding off the bed.

He fucks my mouth, releases himself down my throat, then catches me before I collapse.

Scoops me up in his arms and cuddles me to his chest as he lies on his side. Caresses my spasming body, pressing his lips on my forehead until my breathing slows down.

Kisses my lips gently, slowly, lovingly until I'm able to cup his chin and relax against him.

"You okay?" He cooes, pushing my hair away from my face, holding the back of my head as I press into his neck.

"Mm..." I moan, lifting my leg over his hip.

He palms my butt and pulls me close, then flips me on my back and gets on top. Leans on his elbows, a smile on his lips and eyes shining.

"Did you like that?"

I smirk, eyes barely open. "It was okay."

***

~ The End ~

***

And they bantered happily ever after.

Well, guys, that is it, but I'm not going anywhere. Not only because I have lingering POV's from Lucas in mind along with some scenes for the future, but because I'll be editing the current books while working on the next one. I haven't decided which I'll do first, so I won't be making any promises I can't keep!

But writing this story and having your support was so much fun, I can't even explain. I appreciate every one of you — your reads, votes, comments, and messages that have given me encouragement every step of the way.

Thank you and I hope to see you soon!