The house was silent as Azura pushed the front door open. No fire, no music, no life. It was clear Lucas had not been home in the time she had been gone as everything still sat in the exact same way as she had left it.

“Dammit...“ She softly hissed.

The house felt cold without his presence and her heart dropped when she knew this place might not be her home for much longer. She had flat out rejected him and even though she wasn’t in her right mind when she did, she could not take any of those words back. Azura let her hand glide along the back of the couch and they lingered on the blanket she had often curled herself into. Grabbing it, she brought it to her nose and inhaled deeply. Lucas’s scent clung to it strongly. Instead of her, he was the one who had used it last week judging by the strong musky scent.

She had been a fool and Azura groaned, almost feeling homesick. His scent, even though she only knew it for a few days, had ingrained itself on her and confirmed everything she dreaded. She had fallen for him and she had ruined things before they even really got started.

Leaping over the back of the couch, Azura landed on the sitting area, wincing as the sudden movement still had her ribs aching. She grabbed the blanket and cuddled it with one hand as the other grabbed her phone. No calls and no new messages. Disheartened, she tossed it to the side. Lucas had not responded to any of her calls or messages. Either ‘cause he did not have his phone with him, or he was blatantly ignoring her. The latter wouldn’t even surprise her but it still hurt.

Maybe he would come home for dinner. It was later than she had anticipated already. It had been morning when Oliver had picked her up but at what time exactly, she really had no clue. The whole thing with Ben had taken up more time than she’d thought and her whole sense of time was jumbled. Well, it had been for a while now, who was she kidding. Her memory had not returned with the Phoenix and it still bothered her.

Taking another deep breath of the blanket, Azura completely curled herself into the corner of the couch. Conflict raged through her. The Phoenix was back; it completed her and she felt stronger than ever but it would not fix her relationship issues. She glared at the door to the kitchen and for a moment, saw herself leaning against the post as Lucas moved in. Without touching her, he had backed her up against the countertop and as the scene played out in front of her, the feelings she felt then came back to her.

She needed to find him. To apologize and she couldn’t wait any longer. As she got up, one other thing popped into her head and as quickly as she could, Azura put on her shoes and coat and left the house.

She started walking slow but picked up the pace until she ran to the front door of Sheila and Jeff and bashed her fist against it. It wasn't long before Sheila opened the door and Azura practically lunged at her giving a major bear hug to her friend.

"Azu, calm down! What's gotten into you?!" Sheila laughed as she freed herself from Azura's hold. Jeff took a quick peek around the corner after hearing some ruckus and as he did Azura went straight to him to hug him as well.

"Thank you guys for everything! And I'm so happy for you two that you're going to be parents soon! I can't wait to meet the little one! I should have stopped by sooner. I'm so sorry! Not my proudest week for sure. I hope you can forgive me." She took a deep breath to fill her lungs again after throwing it all out.

"Forgive you? For what?" Sheila placed her hands on her hips. "You had to fight someone from this very same city for a right to stay here, which is an insane rule if you ask me, and you were badly injured. Now you want us to forgive you for not being your usual self this past week?! Come on! We completely understand and I'm just happy to see you this vibrant again. I guess Lucas is likewise happy to see you like this."

Azura shuffled with her feet as she frowned. "Yeah about that... I think he decided to flee the house today after I've been giving him the cold shoulder the past week and kind of yelled at him this morning. I wanted to make it up to him but I haven't seen him and he hasn't returned any of my messages or calls. So I was hoping if you guys had any idea of where he might be."

Jeff sighed and shook his head. "I have no idea. I don't think he'll be at the bar now. Maybe he just went out for a walk? Or the climbing hall perhaps. Rose is working tonight but she is almost closing. You could always go check there and if he's not there you can always catch up with Rose. She's been worried sick about you. In the meantime, if he shows up back home I'll give you a message."

She nodded and flashed them both a smile before going back out. She kind of wanted to stay longer, hear all about their holiday and the pregnancy, but she needed to sort things with Lucas first. How did she not think of the climbing hall before? She cussed at herself all the way there and once on location did not waste any time bursting in.

Rose looked up startled as the door was almost thrown open and Azura rushed in. The small woman bolted from behind the counter and hugged her tight.

"Azu! I was so worried! How are you doing? You need to tell me everything! Are you still hurt? No burns or anything?" After trying to scan the hall, Azura looked back down at Rose and laughed at the petite woman's questions.

"I'm fine now, Rose. Just had a bit of a strange week and I’ll tell you everything later. And no I have no burns and I have healed and I really need to see Lucas because I need to make up with him. Is he here?" She was rambling so fast, she again forgot to breathe in between the sentences.

Her eyes were still jumping from between Rose to the hall, trying to find Lucas. There was only a small group of regulars sitting and having a drink. All the ropes had been bundled together and nobody was climbing anymore. Rose tugged her arm and dragged her behind the bar.

Her voice lowered as her face dropped the smile. "He's here. He's quite frustrated though. He's been giving everyone a hard time around here. Especially today. What happened? He simply wouldn't allow me to contact you in any way!"

The black-haired woman facepalmed. "Ugh. The past week I wasn't myself. I've been in my room mostly avoiding any type of social contact. I pushed him away. Even said some stupid things about us which I deeply regret. You remember the first two weeks I was here?"

"How could I forget?" Rose placed her hand on Azura's shoulder.

"I went back to that. Back to shit zero. Rock bottom, completely paranoid." Azura took a deep breath and felt the tears sting behind her eyes. "Damnit, Rose! I basically told Lucas sleeping with him was a mistake in front of Jeff and Sheila!"

"Ouch... But was it?" Rose's voice had gone even softer. Azura remained quiet for a while as she scanned the hall again. There was still no sign of Lucas anywhere.

"Because, Azu,” Rose continued, ”I love you... I really do, but the past week... I've never seen Lucas like this. If it's true what you're saying, you really put him through hell and he doesn't deserve it. I was almost scared of him when he came in this afternoon and he isn't even supposed to be here! He can't take much more. So... was it a mistake or not? Because if it-"

"No! It was anything but!" Azura interrupted her and had to force herself not to raise her voice.

"Then tell him already! I'm sure he'll understand. I'm all about chicks before dicks in normal circumstances but for now, I'll make an exception." Rose looked up to see Lucas coming around the corner. "Speak of the devil. Good luck, Azu!"

Rose nudged Azura to get up. Lucas was doing a last round, checking all the ropes and making sure things were in order and he had not yet noticed Azura. The confidence she had felt earlier about seeing him had faltered and instead, the knot in her stomach grew tighter. She took a few deep breaths and walked from behind the counter. Right at that moment, Rose rang a big brass bell that hung above it getting everyone's attention.

"Alright people! Last round has finished and we need to get out of here!" Some of the regulars groaned but they did not go into a discussion at the early closure after taking one look at Rose. She made sure her attitude discouraged them to do so and they knew better than to argue with her.

“NOW!” Rose yelled at the people and it seemed to work as they started to move faster.

Rose just smiled and gave Azura a wink as the latter threw her a death glare. Rose’s announcement had not gone unnoticed by Lucas and Azura quickly walked past the group of people to the faraway wall where he had turned around. He was waiting with his arms folded showing no emotion on his face as she stopped before him.

Azura avoided his gaze as she felt it burn down on her. She had so much to say yet the words would not come. Even a simple apology seemed to get stuck in her throat. Right as she finally opened her mouth to speak she dared to look him in the eye and closed her mouth straight away. Instead, she flung her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

The warmth radiating from her skin engulfed him, stunned him but he melted into her soon after. There was no denying the hot-blooded female in his arms as she demanded access to his mouth. Behind her, the group of people had all gathered their stuff and were being herded out by Rose. As some whistled at the couple, they were quickly shut up by a girl chasing them to the exit.

The ruckus made Lucas break loose from the kiss. When he noticed what was going on, he pushed Azura away from him and scraped his throat. It was easy getting lost in the lip action and there was nothing he wanted to do more than continue, but things needed to be said. She had hurt him and it was not something he wanted to happen again.

"You've been giving me some very mixed signals lately. Care to make up your mind?" Azura blushed at his remark, casting her eyes down again.

"I know! I've been such an idiot." Pain reflected in her soft voice. When Lucas kept silent, she mustered up the courage to face him again and continue. "It wasn't a mistake, none of it. I should not have said that and I shouldn't have been treating you the way I did last week."

She grabbed his hands and he could feel the heat radiating through them. It was no use trying to hide a small smile and before he knew it she placed her lips on his again. At first, he joined her pace, letting her hands roam around his back and pulling him in even closer but then he broke their connection quite abruptly and pushed her back once more.

"Stop, Azura. You need to stop right now." A little hurt she stepped away from him. Lucas looked over her shoulder to see a radiating Rose dangling the keys. Everybody else was gone and she tossed the keys on the counter before waving goodbye and taking her leave. He turned his attention back to Azura immediately after.

"You can't just barge in here, kiss me, say sorry, and expect me to just forget about what happened. What is it that you want, Azu? Because I, for one, don't want to get hurt by hearing you say it's a mistake again. Let me be clear to you that it never was a one-time fling to me. Normally I'm all up for games but not this time. I hate the attraction and pushing away part. It's either all the way or nothing at all. Make your choice." Lucas crossed his arms over his chest again as he waited for her to respond.

Everything he said cut right through her. All or nothing. She really had hurt him more than she thought. Azura bit her lip and felt her nails dig into her palms once more. She took a few deep breaths before she looked him straight in the eye.

"I'm sorry for everything. For saying sleeping with you was a mistake, for ignoring and avoiding you these past few days, for scolding you this morning while you were only looking out for me. I have to admit...and it's probably just a lame-ass excuse to you, but I have no idea what happened this morning. I have these gaps in my memory from last week. I know I had a nightmare, and I know I have said things I shouldn't have but... I really truly can't remember what happened. All I know is when I woke up there were considerably more blankets on my bed than normal and now that I think about it," Azura stopped, her lip started to tremble slightly. "There were more blankets on the floor.”

The gears in her head were turning at a max speed as she puzzled everything together. “You actually slept in my room last night? On the floor? Even after I snapped at you?"

"You really don't remember do you?" She shook her head and gently bit her lip. Lucas sat down on one of the bouldering mattresses that were next to the wall and waited for her to join him.

"I came in because you woke me up screaming. It was unlike any other scream you've ever done while experiencing a nightmare. It was... terrifying. But it was just a single scream and then it got quiet. Considering how you had been acting I was actually doubting whether to wake you up or just go back to sleep, but something felt off so I did go in to check on you."

Lucas paused as the same panicky feeling he had this morning came back to him. He took some deep breaths and licked his lips while he was fumbling with his own hands.

"You weren’t breathing, Azu. Your lips were blue, but your body was still twitching and turning. Your eyes were open and you looked mortified. I just did the first thing that came to my mind and that was to just slam my fist in between your shoulder blades. It worked, thank God, but I was ready to just throw you off the bed and start CPR on you."

He stopped talking for a moment and Azura took his hand, entwining her fingers with his. Hearing that she was actually not breathing had shocked her badly but she managed to keep it together after taking one look at Lucas. He wasn’t doing much better, in fact, he might have looked worse than she did. Despite it, he still managed to continue and Azura just swallowed her questions and feelings to let him talk.

"When you woke up, you were completely out of it. Didn't seem to even recognize me in the beginning. Eventually, you just started to shout at me to get out, that you would hurt me etcetera. You were shivering from the cold badly so at first, I did leave but I came back with some extra blankets. You were already sleeping again then but it was not a calm sleep. I decided it would be safer to just watch you sleep in case you stopped breathing again. You see, Azu, I care about you. More than I would like to admit."

He fell silent again and stared at the wall on the opposite side of the room. Azura leaned against him, her head resting on his shoulder as she slowly stroked his hand with her thumb. Seeing him this vulnerable did not happen often.

"Do you still want me to answer the question you asked me earlier?" They had sat in silence, leaning against each other for ten minutes, hands and fingers entwined together. Lucas turned slightly so he faced her and just nodded with a slight smile tugging at his mouth. She placed her hand on his face softly brushing through his short beard. For a moment she admired his face, the deep green eyes staring back at her. She had never noticed before really but now she had to admit, he was handsome.

"I want you. I want all of you."

As the words left her lips his gaze softened. A sparkle returned to his eyes as he leaned in closer to her. Her heart was pounding in her chest as he pressed his body against hers and kissed her hungrily. The same butterflies she had felt the first time erupted in her stomach as his lips found hers. For a moment, she believed she would be in control of this but with the way he kissed her, she knew he was running the show now. Their tongues found each other and she let herself melt into the kiss which then grew more and more passionate. His fingers grazed alongside her arms leaving goosebumps all over. She pulled back from him and couldn't help but chuckle as her fingers went through his hair.

"What? Enjoying this are you?" His hands had moved to her waist and trailed along the skin at the edge of her jeans. He could feel her muscles contract and relax and every time it happened, she gasped slightly. In between, she chuckled some more and answered him.

"No. Well, yes, but I was just counting how many grey hairs you have." His hands stopped.

For a moment he just stared at her in disbelief before bursting out in laughter and throwing her back on the mattress. He swiftly climbed on top of her and she could swear she actually let out a little purr as he crashed down on her lips again. Her hands moved over his back, pulling him closer to her. He moved his hips against her resulting in a soft moan. From her lips, he started kissing her cheek and slowly moved up until his lips were next to her ear.

"The grey hair is all because of you. Now, take off your clothes."

She was most definitely no longer in control. Replying was not an option as he claimed her mouth again with his lips and she was happy to oblige. She felt the familiar warm tug in her groin as Lucas ground into her hips once more, the tracksuit bottoms he was wearing didn’t hide much of his excitement and apparently, he wanted to make sure she felt it.

When he finally released her lips to catch some air, she managed to answer him. “You got me trapped! How am I-”

Lucas silenced her with a finger to the lips and a big grin on his face. He pulled her up in a sitting position and snaked his hands underneath her clothes. His fingers rested against her ribcage for a moment while she still tried to wrap her head around his sudden move.

“Arms up, now.” Dominance laced his voice and she felt her own body reacting to it.

Azura bit her lip as she did what he instructed. The multiple layers of clothing were discarded remarkably fast and she found herself topless in front of him. She frowned as she realized the lack of wearing a bra. Her wandering mind was brought back by Lucas as he cupped her face and placed his forehead against hers. His warm breath tickled her nose and she closed her eyes feeling more at ease than ever.

“Keep your head in the game, Azu. You started this.” A small gasp escaped her lips as his finger flicked her small stiff nipple.

At times he was gentle as he explored her upper body, at other moments, the build-up frustration from the past week seeped through even though he tried to hide it. Both tongue and hands caressed, nipped, and licked every spot on her body. He watched her reactions closely, found the spots that were most sensitive, and avoided others she didn’t react to. She didn’t mind, in fact, even though she was only bare from the waist up and he was still fully clothed, everything he did had made her quite wet in anticipation.

The scent of her arousal was obvious and when Lucas broke away from her, his pupils dilated in direct response. A growl-like rumble erupted from his chest before he hastily pulled his own shirt over his head and tossed it to the side. His hungry eyes scanned her body and when blue met green, he licked his lips at seeing her having the same reaction to him.

Lust ran through her body, even stronger than the first time she had slept with him. If it was because of her not wearing the ring, or something else, she couldn’t say, but every fiber in her body wanted him to possess and ravish her like the animals they were.

With speed she did not know he had, Lucas was on top of her again. His mouth captured hers with an aggression he hadn’t shown before. Tongues wrestled for dominance as she dug her short nails into his back and dragged them along his skin. It would leave some marks for sure, but it only fueled his desire as he unbuttoned her jeans blindly.

“Fuck…” She managed to croak out as he lifted her waist and dragged the jeans over her small ass, taking her panties with it in one go.

Lucas’s eyes twinkled and a grin spread on his face as he gazed at her heated state. “Fuck indeed. Remember, you started this.” He repeated, his voice slow and deeper than it usually was.

Azura bit her lip again and squeezed her thighs together trying to rid herself of the need that burned between them. As he took his time observing her squirming body she propped herself up and reached out to him. She wanted; needed to feel him against her skin, inside her, entwined with her but he grabbed her wrist with force and held her at an arm's distance.

“No, Azu. You’re not the one running this show.” Shivers ran down her spine with his authoritative tone. A new wave of heat rushed over her and she whimpered in response.

Lucas let her go and she stayed on the mattress as he stood up. Her instincts had accepted his dominance and forced her to submit to him. It was something she had never experienced before and the fact it only fueled her desire for him had her on the edge already.

She took everything in as Lucas took off his tracksuit bottoms and boxer briefs. He was lean but with broad shoulders and a smaller waist. His legs were strong and she got a quick peek of his firm ass as he turned sideways for a bit. Toned, but not overly muscled. A true climber’s build. She loved every bit of it. Her eyes raced over his body, followed the chest hair as it thinned into a line leading down to his navel and she stopped as her eyes landed on his erection.

“Like what you see?” He grinned and stepped closer. “Get up.”

Azura nodded meekly, her cheeks flushed from being caught ogling him. She managed to get herself to her feet and right as she stood, he pulled her flush against him and his lips claimed hers again. Feeling his hardness pressed against her flat stomach forced a small moan to escape her lips. Her need to get some release became larger and larger and she tried to grind her hips against his. Lucas chuckled at her desperate attempts for friction and after letting her try for a while decided it was enough.

His hand snaked between them and his fingers buried themselves in her wet folds. Her knees buckled as he buried two fingers inside her and started pumping them while his thumb coated her clit in her own slickness. Azura cried out in pleasure as he finally gave her what she needed. There was nothing left of the gentleness he had shown the first time though and that wasn’t what she craved for either. She tried to silence herself by biting down onto his upper arm while her arms clung around his body as waves of pleasure hit her over and over.

“Cum for me, Azu. Don’t hold back.” The words hung between a demand and coaxing her.

She had never come undone so fast, but as his thumb stimulated her clit and his fingers worked their magic inside her, she couldn’t hold back. Her knees buckled for real this time as her whole body spasmed. For a moment, she couldn’t breath as the heat inside soared to an all-time high. Lucas held her up with one arm as he eased off the pressure on her most sensitive bundle of nerves.

Without waiting for her orgasm to end, Lucas pushed her backward until she hit the wall and pinned her against it. He had managed to find a spot without any climbing stones so there was nothing pushing into her spine. With a small lift, he raised her up and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist before he sheathed himself deep inside her. She couldn’t keep quiet as he stretched her inner muscles. He buried his face in the crook of her neck as he grunted. Azura clenched them tight around him as Lucas started to move.

It was anything but the first time they had sex. Lucas was rough and forceful as he pushed himself in and out, but she loved it and her cries of pleasure only encouraged him to move faster. With every stroke, he made sure to rub up against her clit, and even though it was still sensitive from her first, fast orgasm, it was bringing her right to that edge again.

Azura bit at the base of his neck again as she tried to muffle her own sounds. She made sure not to break his skin, but couldn’t help but leave a few marks as Lucas managed to hit the exact right spots. When the second orgasm hit, she didn’t even try to stop it. Again, she stopped breathing while gasping for air silently. The spasms overtook her body and she couldn’t help but clench herself tighter around Lucas. When she did, he managed to thrust two more times before he spilled his seed deep inside her.

Their sweaty bodies stilled against each other as they both tried to gain their breath again. Azura laid her head on his shoulder while her hands gently caressed his back even as she kept her legs wrapped tightly around him.

“Holy fuck…” She breathed out softly.

Lucas just chuckled as he gently eased her down onto the floor again. He wrapped her thin body in a big hug and kept her there for a minute before letting her go.

“You started this. But holy fuck indeed…” He replied as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “I do love it when your eyes turn that deep fiery red though, I couldn't hold myself back after your first orgasm and they changed.”

Azura frowned and stared up at him. “They are red again?”

Lucas nodded while she caressed his chest, her fingers playing with the chest hair. She could stay there forever, locked in his embrace naked as the day she was born. There was no speck of doubt left, just a warm comforting feeling and a very content flaming bird inside her. When she shifted her weight, she noticed the sticky feeling between her thighs.

Azura cleared her throat as she pulled herself from his embrace. Lucas raised an eyebrow as she started to shift her weight uncomfortably from one leg to another.

“You need to pee?”

“No, but I do need a desperate shower.” Gathering her wits, she walked away from him before turning around and giving him a wink. “You coming?”