“I know. And I'm very sorry, but a lease is a legally binding contract, Tocci. You owe me at least eleven more months of habitation. My hands are tied, my lawyers are very strict about this kind of stuff,” he informed her. She started laughing, but then choked on air when he bit down on her inner thigh.
“Well,” she swallowed thickly. “I guess it's the right thing to do. I mean, a contract is a contract.”
“Thank you. God, it's always an argument with you, and I'm always right,” he groaned, his tongue smoothing away the sting of the bite.
“That's what I'm talking about. This is going to be a lot of work, Wulf. It's not all going to be sexy under-the-sheets time,” she warned him.
“That's fine, because I have never been scared of a little hard work, Tocci.”
She pulled hard on his hair, dragging him back up the length of her body.
“Me, neither,” she whispered, kissing him deeply. He sighed when she pulled away, and she could feel him smiling against her lips. “Especially when that work creates something so beautiful.”
“Beautiful,” he agreed. “That's perfect.”
“It really is, isn't it? I'm sorry I almost screwed it all up.”
“Me, too. Now let's make it even more beautiful and see if I can make your eyes roll back again.”
“I don't think that's -” she started to argue, but then his head was back between her legs and he was accomplishing his goal.
Having a good neighbor is nice, but having one that loves you and takes care of you and makes every moment feel like it's catching on fire? Well, that's just the best neighbor ever ...
Epilogue
Katya narrowed her eyes and glanced around. Tori was standing at the bar, furiously wiping at a spot. She'd been doing that for ten minutes solid – a couple more minutes, and she was going to wear off the varnish.
Liam was standing in the hallway, a stern look on his face as he spoke rapidly, his finger pointing at the person standing across from him. Landon was on the receiving end of the finger, and he was wearing the exact same expression as his twin. They both spoke in hushed tones, ensuring no one could hear them.
Brighton was sitting at the bar, her arms folded across her chest and a huge pair of sunglasses covering her face. She looked like someone had shoved a pole up her ass and she was plotting their slow death.
“Is it always this cheery in here?” Genevieve murmured, shifting around nervously at Katya's side.
“It's kinda glacial today, isn't it?” Katya commented. “I wonder how much longer Wulf will be.”
“Can't be too long – Liam came out a while ago, so that must mean they're done, right?”
“You would think so.”
How long can it take to sell off half a sex club!?
Liam was finally buying out Wulf's half of the business. It was something that should have happened a long time ago, really. Wulf had no real interest in the bar-slash-sex club industry, helping Liam had just been a way to make easy money. It was best to give Liam the full control he always should've had and finally leave him alone. Because frankly, it seemed like he needed some space.
After Katya had come home from Carmel, Wulf had made good on moving her into his penthouse – her stuff was delivered a day later.
It wasn't easy. The first week alone had been hell. Wulf had never had a roommate before, let alone lived with a woman. He wasn't used to having someone in his space, all the time, every day, all day. He wasn't used to another human being touching all his things and messing up his perfect arranged cabinets and moving his perfectly placed throw pillows. More than once, she'd turned around mid-sentence to find him gone. He would run away to the roof and swim away the stress.
Not that it was any easier on Katya. She'd never lived with a man, and her roommate of the past four years had been extremely laid back. She was used to having control over the kitchen and setting the thermostat as high as she wanted and not having to pick up her dirty laundry behind her – what she wasn't used to was dealing with a cranky, taciturn, spoiled brat of a man.
But for every moment Katya got on Wulf's nerves, and for every moment she wanted to punch him in the throat, there were three more of pure joy. She'd never imagined life could be as good as it was with Wulf. That someone could love her as much as he did, adore her and spoil her.
He had strange ways, for sure, and he would never change his overbearing ways, that was obvious, but she was glad. She loved those things about him, loved that she got to see all sides of him. Hoped he would never change. Hoped he never stopped thinking of her as a present, because still to that day, even after three months of living together, he was the best gift she'd ever been given.
“Angel cake!”
She snapped out of her private thoughts and turned away from Vieve. Landon was storming towards the stairs and Liam was smiling and walking across the floor, holding his arms open. She smiled back and walked into his hug, squeezing him tightly.
Liam had been ecstatic when she'd told him she was moving home, but he hadn't been as thrilled over the news that her and Wulf were together. He also didn't appreciate the long conversation that was had about his relationship with Katya and how he had to respect the fact that Wulf and her were dating, and that to have a friendship with her, Liam couldn't play any tricks or start any shit or behave inappropriately. This wasn't a game – this was her life, and she was in love with somebody. If he was her friend, he would be respectful, and he would be happy for her.
He'd argued, at first. Tried to convince her that she was making a mistake. But when it became apparent that she'd meant what she'd said and she would walk away from the friendship if he didn't get his shit together, he'd calmed down. Promised to keep his hands to himself and his plotting to other peoples' relationships.
So far, it seemed like he was making good on his word. For the first couple weeks, he'd pulled back, which had made her sad. Despite everything that had happened, Katya really did care about Liam, a lot. She'd thought maybe he hadn't been able to handle her being with another man. Turned out, though, he'd gone on a little bit a crazy sex spree. Misbehaving on his club floor, making an arrangement with the skanky blonde from Floor Two in Katya's old building, and some sort of secret sexy affair that no one had been able to figure out.
Then, finally, he'd called her and invited her and Wulf to tacos. It had been awkward and stiff and weird as shit, but eventually, they'd laughed again. They made plans to go to the movies with Tori, and then to help Vieve go shopping when she decided to update her look, and even once secretly went apartment hunting for Landon.