Celebrating it All (Punishment Pit Book 8)

by Livia Grant

  Ignoring her comment, Lukus continued leading her along with the flow of the travelers down a windowless corridor and into the open baggage area. Only when he stopped to check the overhead monitor for their flight information did it dawn on Tiffany what was truly happening.

  “We aren’t going to Hawaii?” Her disappointment was palpable.

  After checking the overhead signs, her hubby turned them to the right part of the huge arrival hall, finally pulling them to a stop next to carousel number eight. Only after setting their carry-on bags on the floor next to them did Lukus pull her into his arms.

  Tiffany’s insides fluttered at the stern glare in his intense eyes. She felt his breath on her cheek as he moved in close for a small measure of privacy from the crushing crowd of fellow fliers waiting next to the silent luggage belt. Always the exhibitionist, Lukus moved one palm to the curve of her ass as his other hand snaked under her long, blonde hair to squeeze the back of her neck.

  “Do I have your attention, little girl?” he asked after her breath hitched from the authoritative strength glaring back at her.

  Her whispered “Yes, Sir,” fell easily from her lips.

  “That’s good. Now, let’s level set. I’m sure in the future we’ll take many trips together. Some of those getaways you’ll be in charge of and I’ll gladly let you plan every detail to your heart’s content. Some, we may both just wing as last-minute escapes. But some—like the next two weeks—I am going to have control over. There will be some opportunities where I’ll ask for your preferences… when and where to eat… would you rather swim or go to the spa…” He paused, grinning before adding, “Would you rather I bend you over the back of the couch or the edge of the bed before fucking you in the ass?”

  Tiffany’s body shivered, acknowledging the effect his naughty promise had as she literally felt her pussy twinge with anticipation. Humor danced in his eyes, telling her he’d felt her body’s predicable reaction to his words.

  When she didn’t answer his rhetorical question, he continued his rant. “But here… today… you don’t have any decisions to make. You need to learn to just let go—to trust me. All you need to know right now is that we’re staying in L.A. for a couple nights. It’s already six here… eight at home. I knew we’d get very little sleep last night between the late reception and the wedding night celebration fucking. We’re both tired enough without adding another five-hour flight to the mix that would get us to the hotel in Maui super late.”

  The conveyor belt next to them lurched into motion with a rumble as Tiffany acknowledged the genius of his plan. Of course, he was right. She’d been dreading the next long flight.

  Her husband’s stern gaze penetrated her as surely as the semi-hard cock pressing into her tummy would be when they got behind closed doors. Tiffany could feel the internal tug-of-war between her submissive and assertive halves wrangling for control. In the bedroom, submission easily won every time. In public, assertiveness put up a much harder fight.

  Lukus’s supportive embrace, his unending strength she had learned to count on, and his yummy I’m in charge here persona helped squelch the final drops of her travel anxiety.

  “No smart-ass comeback?” he prodded her finally.

  “No, Sir,” she replied, adding, “I think it’s a great idea. I’ve never been to L.A. and anyway, I’m starving.”

  “I’m starving too, but not for food. Now, be a good girl and stay here with the carry-on bag while I go fight the crowd to grab our luggage.”

  She hated the empty feeling he left behind when he released her, yet she enjoyed watching a couple of attractive women tracking him from across the luggage carousel.

  You can look all you want, ladies, but he’s all mine.

  Her heart swelled with love, feeling like she might need to pinch herself as she realized she was now Mrs. Lukus Mitchell.

  Within minutes, he had wrangled both of their large suitcases from the conveyor and rejoined her. They barely made it a few dozen feet towards the exit when Lukus pulled them to a stop near an older man in a black suit and tie holding a sign with a large MITCHELL. Tiffany assumed he had arranged the car in advance until Lukus asked the driver a question.

  “I’m Mitchell, but I wasn’t aware they were sending a car for us. Are you here for Lukus Mitchell?”

  The handsome driver smiled his greeting. “The very same. Congratulations. I hear you two are newlyweds. Welcome to Los Angeles.”

  “This is unexpected. Who exactly sent you?” Lukus questioned.

  “Not sure. I just picked up the order and it had a note on it to take extra good care of you. Here, let me take one of those bags from you. I’m parked not far from here. Would you rather walk with me, or I can come back and pick you up at the door if you’d prefer?”

  “We can walk,” Lukus answered for them.

  They exited into the California evening air and within minutes, they were settled into the back of the slick black Lincoln Town Car. As they pulled out into the airport traffic, their driver apologized. “I’m sorry in advance, but traffic is a bit of a mess with the holiday. It may take a bit longer than the normal thirty minutes to make it to our destination.”

  Lukus reached out and took Tiffany’s hand as she laid her head on his shoulder. “No worries. This still beats the cab I was planning on hailing.”

  As excited as she was to explore a new city, Tiffany’s excitement quickly waned as they sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the infamous 405 freeway. She took the chance to close her eyes for most of the drive, enjoying snuggling with her husband quietly until she detected they had left the expressway.

  She was in for a treat when she opened her eyes to find they were on a grand street, lined with upscale shops and restaurants on both sides of the car. Because it was January first, most of the places were closed, but Lukus had said they’d be staying two nights.

  “Ooo, look at all of the fun shopping we can do tomorrow!” she said, sitting upright and leaning towards the window to get a better look.

  Her husband dashed her plans quickly. “We didn’t come all this way to shop. We can do that at home. And anyway, I’m not letting you out of bed long enough to get any shopping in.”

  Tiffany’s face flushed pink in the dark interior of the car as she glanced up at the smiling driver. The twinkle in his eyes as his gaze met hers in the rearview mirror confirmed he’d heard her husband’s naughty promise.

  “Lukus, I can’t believe you said that,” she whispered, leaning in closer.

  He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her even closer before saying in his normal voice, “And I can’t believe you forgot who you married. I take my honeymoon duties very seriously.”

  She didn’t get a chance to reply because outside her window she’d just caught sight of the street sign indicating they were turning onto Rodeo Drive. The Rodeo Drive, decorated beautifully for the Christmas season.

  “OMG! I can be like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman!”

  Lukus chuckled. “I don’t think so. My credit card doesn’t have the same kinda limits as Richard Gere.”

  “You’re no fun,” she teased, not truly upset since she wasn’t a huge shopper like her best friend Brianna was. “Is our hotel nearby? It would be fun just to window shop.”

  Just as she said it, they drove by the Four Seasons hotel off to the left and then not long after, past the Marriott in the distance. The driver seemed as if he knew where he was going, despite them getting to what looked more like residential streets.

  “Sorry I had to take us a bit of the long way around tonight due to them having some of the streets around Century City blocked off for the holidays. I figured you wouldn’t mind a bit of a detour through the heart of Beverly Hills on the way to the mansion.”

  The mansion? Tiffany didn’t have long to wait for clarification. Within two minutes they were driving down a upscale street with opulent mansions with their perfectly manicured lawns on either side of the car. It looked like the neighborhood might hav
e had a contest for the most impressive Christmas decorations.

  She was more confused than ever when the driver pulled into a drive with a huge gate blocking the entrance. Opening his window, he reached out to the security stand and punched in a bunch of numbers. Within seconds, the gates began opening to a wide treelined driveway, lit by old-fashioned streetlamps every dozen feet.

  They stopped briefly at a guard shack where a man stepped out of the small shed just long enough to motion their driver through with a friendly wave.

  “Where the heck are we?” she prodded her husband, curiosity getting the best of her.

  When he didn’t answer, she forced herself to stop looking outside the car for more clues and turned towards her husband instead. The shit-eating grin on his face had the dormant butterflies in her tummy fluttering to life.

  He is up to something.

  She didn’t have time to worm answers out of him before the car turned left at the end of the long lane. Directly in front of them, the path opened up to an even wider circular drive around a twenty-foot-tall lit waterfall feature. That in itself was impressive enough, but it was the enormous mansion sitting on the hill behind it that drew all of her attention. The mammoth stone home was beautifully lit with large decorated Christmas trees peeking out of almost every tall window. It looked like a home out of a movie.

  Only when the car stopped directly in front of the huge staircase leading to the grand entrance did Tiffany turn again to her husband and ask the million-dollar question.

  “Who the hell lives here?”

  His eyes danced with mischief before answering. “For the next two nights… we do.”

  Chapter Three

  Lukus

  Holy shit, this is more impressive than I’d even dreamed.

  He had just finished the thought when the door beside him opened and their driver, George, offered to help them out of the backseat. Lukus waved him off, jumping out of the Lincoln and turning to help his wife out instead. He adored the look of awe on her face as she craned her neck to look up at the estate in front of them.

  Only after he and George had gotten the bags out of the back of the car did Lukus see a man in a black parka coming down the handicapped ramp off to the right. He was glad to see the luggage rack wheeling his way as he hadn’t looked forward to schlepping their heavy bags up the mammoth stone steps.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell? My name is Roger and I’m here to help you get settled tonight. Welcome to Runway.”

  Lukus took the extended hand and gave it a shake. “Thanks for the help with the luggage. I appreciate it.”

  “No problem. Technically, as you know, the clubs are closed tonight, but we do have several guests staying with us for the long holiday weekend. Come on in out of the cold and we’ll get you settled.”

  Lukus let Roger wrangle the bags up the ramp on the cart while he and Tiffany held hands as they scaled the over dozen steps to the front door. They waited for Roger there before all three of them entered the grand foyer together where perhaps the largest indoor Christmas tree ever stood in the center of the entrance. As they glanced up, he saw the angel on the top was almost brushing the top of the two-story vaulted ceiling.

  “Wow, now that’s a Christmas tree! How beautiful all of the ornaments are,” Tiffany admired, pulling Lukus to a stop to get a better look at the hundreds of coordinated decorations adorning the tree.

  Roger grinned. “I’ll let Madison know you like it. We had help with some of the decorations around the mansion this year, but this tree was her masterpiece. She’s the manager of Runway. You’ll miss meeting her, unfortunately. Her and her fiancé left for a vacation after last night’s big New Year’s Eve bash.”

  Since Lukus had no clue who Madison was, it didn’t upset him much that he wouldn’t get a chance to meet her. He knew the person he had come to meet would be there the next day and that was all that mattered to him.

  Roger led them to the right side of the circular staircase that led to a balcony above. “You folks take the stairs if you don’t mind. I’m going to take the cart in the elevator, and I’ll meet you on the second floor.”

  They had only made it up to the third step when Roger was out of sight and Tiffany predicably pulled him to a stop mid-step.

  “What the hell is this place and how the hell did you get us rooms here? Is it an expensive AirBNB?”

  Lukus pulled them back into motion, chuckling as he answered. “It’s no AirBNB.”

  “Well, it’s not like any hotel I’ve ever stayed in before, that’s for sure. Where’s the front desk? And the other employees… and guests…. The place is deserted. It’s kinda creepy.”

  They were at the top of the stairs when he answered her. “Trust me… will ya? You think I’m gonna take us any place you aren’t gonna love?”

  He was saved from Tiffany’s retort by Roger rejoining them from down the hall. He resumed his tour guide role. “You’ll be able to take the stairs when you need to get to Runway, but tomorrow night…” he paused and despite them being alone, he lowered his voice to add, “when you go to the other club, you’ll need to take the elevator. Your room key is programmed to work both your room door and the elevator.”

  That answered one of Lukus’s many questions. He’d thrown this two-night stop in kinda late in his planning. He’d been too worried about wedding plans to get a lot of details up front, but now that he was here, questions abounded.

  Roger led them to the end of the long hall to a door with a plaque on the wall labeling it as the Hong Kong Suite. He used an electronic keycard to gain access and pushed in ahead of them.

  If Lukus was honest, he was truly blown away by the opulence of the grand suite that greeted them. The soft lighting was welcoming and the king-sized bed had been turned down already, several chocolate mints waiting on the pillows. The sheer drapes kept most of the city’s lights at bay, but gave them a veiled view of the almost full moon rising in the night sky.

  Roger had set their bags on the waiting wooden luggage racks and was standing near a dining table in the seating area of the suite. He swept his arm as if to display as he spoke. “Elijah ordered up a bottle of champagne to welcome you and to say congratulations on your wedding. He also asked Avery, our chef, to prepare a tray of food for you as he assumed you’d be hungry after your long flight. Unfortunately, the kitchen is closed tonight, but if you need anything else at all, just dial zero on the house phone and one of my co-workers or I will answer. We can easily order in food from any local restaurant pretty much around the clock since Beverly Hills never goes to sleep.

  “In the morning, you have a coffee maker here in the room. When you’re ready to order breakfast, just dial zero and we’ll have it delivered. The kitchen downstairs will open again tomorrow afternoon at four.” Roger then reached into his jacket pocket and came out with another envelope, this one with Lukus’s name scrolled in a messy handwriting on front. “Elijah asked me to give this to you. It has some additional information I think you were waiting on from him along with instructions for tomorrow night at Black Light.

  “Finally, I have a huge surprise for you.”

  Lukus chuckled, “Isn’t all of this surprise enough?” He motioned around the room, getting anxious to be alone with his wife again so they could start exploring the best places for him to fuck her next.

  Roger didn’t pick up on his impatience, barging ahead with his surprise instead. “While we were waiting for your arrival, the owners got back from their holiday vacation. Elijah had filled Mr. Cartwright-Davidson in about your club in Chicago and he’d like to invite you two to join him for happy hour tomorrow night at six in the kitchen downstairs.”

  As nice as the invite sounded, Lukus wasn’t too keen on making plans that would take them out of their suite, at least not until it was time to go to the Black Light club later. Still, he couldn’t very well say no.

  “That’s very generous. We’d love to meet him. Can you let him know we’ll be there?”

&
nbsp; “Sure thing. Now, I hope you have all you need tonight, but if you are missing anything at all, just dial zero. Have a nice night.” With a knowing grin, the bellman finally left them alone.

  It only took Tiffany two seconds after the heavy door closed to start her inquiry. “Okay, spill it. Where are we really? This is no ordinary hotel.”

  Instead of answering, Lukus walked to the ice bucket and pulled out the chilling bottle of champagne and gave the label a once over.

  Damn, it isn’t even the cheap kind. Who are these people?

  He sensed his new wife in his peripheral view as he started to uncork the bubbly. Tension rolled off her. His sassy Tiff didn’t like not being in control of their travel schedule.

  A loud pop filled the room before he reached to fill two glasses with the expensive wine. Finally, he turned to hand one full flute to her as he picked up his own drink, raising it up in a toast. “To my lovely wife as we officially begin our honeymoon.”

  Instead of stopping to clink glasses and drink, Lukus moved closer, wrapping his free arm around his wife’s waist, pulling her curvy body against his as he felt a few drops of cold champagne slosh out onto his hand. He looked deep into those ocean-blue eyes that had rocked his world since he’d first looked into them. That fateful April morning had changed their lives, as well as their best friends, forever.

  To her credit, she waited not-so-patiently for answers.

  “I see you aren’t going to drink to my toast until you have an explanation?” he asked, already knowing the answer based on the I’m waiting, buddy look in her eye.

  For weeks leading up to their wedding, he’d intentionally given Tiffany free reign to be as independent and assertive as she’d wanted to be. It had been an intentional decision, understanding that it would be too hard to try to maintain their D/s relationship between family holidays, wedding showers, dress fittings, and a plethora of other important wedding distractions consuming their life up until they had said their vows. But now?