“This is grossly unfair,” Ayumi insisted. Liam snorted.

“Do you really think I care about that?”

“I'll report you for sexual harassment,” she threatened him.

“Go ahead. Hi, I'm Liam Edenhoff, head of HR for The Garden. What can I help you with?”

“My boss is trying to have sex with me in a utility room at work.”

“Sounds awesome. You should send him a thank you card.”

Ayumi burst out laughing, then it turned into a groan as his hand found its way inside her panties.

A month after New Year's, and she still hadn't ruined things between them. Even better, neither had he.

Of course things weren't perfect. They were opposites, after all, and full of so many issues, they made a Maury Povich episode look normal. There'd been a couple nasty fights, one of which had ended with her running back to her own home. But when she'd woken up in the morning, it had been to find him camping in her tiny vestibule, and she couldn't be angry at him anymore.

Mostly, though, it was the most fun she'd ever had in her whole life. Every weekend, they drove down to see Liam's family. She learned how to make tamales, she watched him surf, he taught her how to swim, and he learned that just maybe, he'd misunderstood his family's feelings. That just because they were in awe of one son, didn't mean they loved the other any less.

He also spent a lot of time trying to stop his mother from planning their wedding.

“Or at least for now – check back in a month or two.”

Then they'd all laughed.

Months ago, Ayumi never would've considered Liam the perfect boyfriend, and she was sure he'd felt the same way about her. He was a slob who didn't know the meaning of the phrase “on time” and made friends as easily as he breathed. She was borderline OCD and a workaholic who literally didn't have any friends.

Yet they just worked. She taught him how to run his office efficiently and she helped him clean his apartment. He taught her how to love herself and trust other people. And together, they both helped each other realize that no matter what happened, no matter who they were dealing with, they were always good enough. For any situation.

“This is so bad,” she whispered. “What if someone hears us?”

“It's a sex club, Ayumi. It would be weirder if we weren't having sex in here,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, but you're the owner. I'm the accountant.”

“I'm also a member, and you're my girlfriend. Shut up now.”

“Don't tell me to -”

His tongue was thrusting in and out of her mouth, mimicking what his finger was doing to her body, and suddenly she didn't care where they were – he'd always been so good at driving reason from her mind.

“Okay,” she said, writhing against him when he finally pulled away. “Okay, but it has to be fast. They're coming here in like an hour.”

“No problem. A quick fuck. I'm on the job.”

“Your jokes are literally the worst,” she laughed as he pulled her across the room.

“Yeah, but you love them, anyway.”

“I really, really do.”

He shoved her up against a wall between a utility sink and a bunch of shelving. She wiggled out of her panties and kicked them out of the way before helping him with his pants.

“Remember your tights?” he asked, moving up to his shirt and undoing the buttons. “Now look at you, just dropping your panties at the slightest provocation.”

“You've turned me into a wanton slut, Mr. Edenhoff.”

“Damn, it feels good to be me.”

Then her hand was around his dick and his hands were on her ass, pulling her tight against him. He picked her up, forcing her to wrap her legs around his waist, then he leaned them both up against the wall.

“This feels like deja vu,” she whispered, stroking up and down his hard length.

“Yeah, it kinda does. You still have to pay for that broken sheet rock in my laundry room,” he managed to say.

“What? That's my ass print on your wall. It's practically a collector's item.”

“Let's not get carried away.”

Ayumi took her hand away and he groaned.

“No more jokes, please? We only have forty-five minutes now,” she whined.

“Okay, let's see if we can make another ass print.”

His pants fell to the ground, then both their hands were between their bodies, guiding her onto his shaft. She groaned and her head hit the wall behind her with a thunk.

“Deja vu ...” she panted. “Is the best ... thing ever.”

“Next to my dick, I hope.”

“Let's not get carried away.”

She shrieked when he started pounding into her, not giving her any warning at all. She kept one arm around his shoulders, trying to hold on, and she covered her mouth with her free hand. She didn't want everyone to hear her; she still wasn't quite as sexually open as Liam.

Though he did try to help with that as often as possible.

“Oh no,” he breathed, and he yanked her hand away from her face. “No, no, no, everyone should hear you like this. Needy. Breathy. Fucking hot.”

“God, it's so fucking hot,” she cried out, finally looking at him. “Is it always going to be like this?”

“Jesus christ, I hope so.”

“One of us might die.”

“I vote me, because no other pussy could ever be as good as yours,” he groaned, dropping his forehead to her chest.

“Oh my god.”

Things got chaotic after that – he pushed and shoved at her blouse, forcing the front up over her head. While she was still struggling to get the material behind her neck, he was yanking at her bra. Squeezing her bare breast before cutting his teeth across her nipple. She shrieked and raked her nails across his scalp.

“Liam,” she breathed his name, her legs starting to tremble and shake around him. He was thrusting against her so hard, things were beginning to rattle and shake in the room. A couple boxes of straws fell off a shelf. The sink shuddered and groaned next to them, pipes clanged in the wall behind them.

“Fuck, what?” he groaned, moving to her other breast.

“Please,” she whined, dragging both her hands down his chest.

“Please what?”

“I want ... I want ...”

“What do you want?” he breathed, grabbing one of her hands and forcing her fingers around his dick as it pumped in and out of her.

“I want you to make me come,” she whispered. “Please, please.”

“You are so fucking sexy when you beg,” he groaned, and his thrusts grew even harder, slamming her ass back against the wall.

“I'd only ever beg for you,” she gasped out. “Just for you.”

“Goddamn right it's only for me,” he growled, then he kissed her hard.

There was a milk crate under the sink and he put one foot on it, which allowed him to reach even deeper inside her. She started crying out in earnest, babbling curse words and his name, over and over. He let go of her entirely, she had to hold onto him to stay up, and he pressed his hands flat against the wall on either side of her head.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he grunted. “I'm going to come so fuck hard.”

“Me, too,” she managed to say. “Just please ... more. Faster. More.”

I always want more.

And of course, Liam always complied. His hips were reaching record breaking speeds and she was positive that when they were done, she wouldn't be able to stand up. She didn't even care, though, not one little bit.

No, she was too focused on the monster orgasm that was exploding between them. She screamed and trembled all over him, clawing at his back and his hair, begging him to stop. Begging him to never stop.

He was right behind her, flattening his entire body against her length and coming with a roar. He cut it of by biting down hard on the side of her neck, which just intensified her own pleasure. She sobbed and coiled around him, every muscle locking up in intense pleasure.

“Holy shit,” he panted into her ear. “You're too fucking much.”

“Me?” she managed to breathe. “You're the one who dragged me in here.”

“You're the one who showed up down here.”

“You called me down here.”

“You answered the phone. You know what your voice does to me.”

She laughed and pushed him away a little.

“Well, then. I guess I'm sorry for inconveniencing you and making you fuck me in the middle of the day,” she teased him.

“Uh, I can think of a way you can make up for it,” he said, glancing down between their bodies.

“No. We don't have fifteen minutes to wait for you to recharge.”

“If you'd get on your knees, I'm sure we could cut it down to ten minutes.”

“Liam.”

“Okay, eight minutes.”

“Liam.”

“Maybe five if you play with yourself at the same time.”

“Stop!” she burst out laughing, shoving harder at his chest so she could climb off him. “Maybe next time, okay? But Wulf and Katya are already headed down here.”

“Party pooper.”

They stepped away so they could get cleaned up. Ayumi put her shirt back on and pulled her skirt into place, but couldn't find her underwear. She was bent in half, trying to look under the sink, when she felt his fingertips between her legs.

“Liam,” she said, her voice full of warning.

“Did you see what you did?” he asked, but she didn't see anything. Her eyes had fallen shut when his fingers had traced over her scar before sliding inside her body.

“No,” she panted. “What ... what did I do?”

“You left your calling card.”

Her eye lids fluttered open and she looked straight ahead, then burst out laughing. She stood upright and his hand fell away.

“I can't believe we did it again,” she snickered. His arm snaked around her waist and he hugged her from behind.

“I can. Your ass has super powers, I swear.”

There wasn't a dent like the wall in his laundry room, but there was most definitely a tell tale crack going across the wall of his utility room. She was pretty sure if she stood in front of it, it would be the exact width of her hips.

“It's almost embarrassing,” she commented, tilting her head to the side so he could kiss her neck.

“But mostly hot,” he added, and she nodded.

“Definitely mostly hot.”

After she'd finger combed her hair and put her shoes back on, and Liam had buttoned up his shirt and put his belt back together, he yanked open the door. Katya and Wulfric were just walking past and the sudden movement startled them. They both stared at the doorway, and Ayumi just stared back. Finally, Liam stepped into the hallway.

“I told you, Ayumi,” he said in a booming voice. “You have to stop sexually harassing me at work! It's inappropriate!”

She turned beet red, but Katya just laughed. Wulf rolled his eyes and simply walked into the office at the end of the hall.

They filed into the room behind him. Katya produced tacos, like she always did, and they all tucked into lunch.

“You know I was just making it up, right,” Wulf was saying when Liam brought up his best man duties.

“Totally.”

“I was trying to guilt trip you into coming to the party,” he kept going.

“Yeah, I got it.”

“I don't need a best man.”

“I know.”

“So why the fuck are you still acting like you're going to be my best man?” Wulf demanded.

“Because no take-backs, dude. You said it, it's happening. Tell me, what do you think of kelly green tuxedos?”

Both women laughed as the men argued, then Ayumi leaned close to Katya.

“Have you picked a date yet?” she asked.

“Eh. I don't know. Part of me just wants to be crazy and go to Vegas or something. Another part says a year from now and plan the biggest wedding ever,” Katya replied.

“Are you going to make your own cake?”

“You know, at first I thought 'no way', but then I actually started looking at other designers, and I kept thinking ... but I know exactly what I want.”

“And you do make the best.”

“Sometimes,” Katya laughed in agreement. “But who knows. If we do the Vegas plan, we won't need a cake. But what about you? Am I going to get to make a wedding cake for you two, someday?”

Ayumi choked on a piece of tomato.

“Uh ... it's been a month,” she finally said. “Let's see if we can make it to spring without killing each other or driving each other insane, and maybe you can bake a housewarming cake when we move in together.”

“Deal.”

“What was that about cake?” Liam asked, tuning into the pertinent part of their conversation.

“Katya, tell him he's not invited to the wedding anymore,” Wulf snapped.

“Boys!” she yelled, waving her hands at them. “If you can't play nice together, then you're both dis-invited, and Ayumi and I will get married, instead.”

There was silence for a second, then Liam cleared his throat.

“Can I be invited on the honeymoon, then?”

Everyone burst out laughing and they almost didn't notice the phone ringing.

“Shut up!” Liam shouted, picking up the receiver. “Hello? Yeah, yeah, this is him. What? Just a second.”

He put his hand out in the universal “tone it down” signal, and when they all saw how serious he suddenly looked, they complied.

“Yes, this is Liam Edenhoff. Yes, I'll accept the charges,” he said, then there was a long pause. “Hey! I had no idea you were all the way over there, what the hell have you been doing? You said you were ...” his voice died off. He glanced at Katya, then stood up and turned his back to the room. “Uh huh ... Uh huh ... Oh, jesus ... Jesus ... How did this happen? ... Okay ... No, no ... Please, don't cry ... Don't cry, we'll figure this out ... whatever you need ... I don't care about any of that – whatever you need, just say it, we'll do it. Want me to get on a plane? ... Okay, listen, do you still have the credit card for the bar's account? ... I don't give a shit, you're going to use it ... Go check into a hotel right fucking now, a nice one, and call me back ... Just do it ... If I don't hear from you in an hour, I'm getting on a plane ... stay calm, we're all here for you, we're going to fix whatever is wrong ... bye.”

Ayumi was pretty sure everyone in the room had stopped breathing during the odd conversation, and they all stared while he slowly hung up the phone. He didn't say anything for a long time, so she knew it meant something really bad had happened. Something awful.

“Was that Landon?” Katya was the first to speak. Liam took a deep breath and finally turned around.

“No,” he said, and he cleared his throat. “That was Tori. She's in Thailand.”

“Thailand!?” Katya yelled as she jumped to her feet. “But ... but ... she told me she was in Cabo!”

“I know, us, too,” Liam said, gesturing between him and Ayumi.

“Well, is she okay? That sounded bad, was it bad?” Katya was starting to breath fast. Wulf got out of his seat and moved to her side.

“It sounded ... bad,” Liam finally said. “She's in a lot of trouble. She was upset, I couldn't understand it all. I guess she's been there the whole time, with Landon.”

“Landon!” Katya gasped.

“Yeah. She went over there with him and they've been doing ... whatever, I don't fucking know, and now she's alone and she doesn't have any money and Landon's gone and I don't know, but it sounds like there were drugs involved.”

“Drugs,” Katya breathed, and she fell into her seat.

“Yeah. So you heard me, I told her to go to a hotel and to call me back. I'm sorry,” he said, turning to face Ayumi. “But if she needs me, I'm going over there to get her.”

“Me, too,” Katya said immediately. Ayumi snorted.

“Is that a fucking joke? We're all going. I'm going to book accommodations right now,” she said, pulling her laptop out of her attache case. “Wulfric, arrange for the jet, and call your friend at the embassy here.”

“I'll call her mother,” Katya said, pulling out her cell phone and moving to the other side of the room. Wulf had his own phone to his ear as he followed her.

“And I'm gonna call my bank, raise the limit on that card, make sure she can get whatever she needs,” Liam said, sitting back down and reaching for the phone again. Ayumi leaned forward and put her hand over his.

“It'll be okay,” she whispered. He smiled sadly at her.

“You know why I called you down here?” he suddenly asked.

“Huh?”

“This afternoon,” he said. “I told you I wanted you to tell help with this software.”

“Uh huh,” she remembered.

“I lied.”

“About the software?”

“I was sitting here thinking about this morning, and all these mornings, and I was just so fucking in love with you, I wanted to tell you,” he said simply.

Ayumi's breath caught in her throat. They hadn't said those words to each other, not yet. They came too easily for him, and not easily enough for her, so they'd been waiting till they were both one hundred percent positive. Apparently, that moment had happened this morning for Liam.

And apparently, that moment had happened that afternoon for Ayumi.

“That's good,” she breathed, licking her lips. “Because I love you even more.”

He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“Thank you for being the best thing that ever happened to me,” he whispered. She nodded, then slapped his hand.

“You're welcome. Now get to work, Edenhoff. There's a damsel in distress that needs saving, and no one does that better than you.”