He wiped his palms on his sweatpants and lowered himself to the mat. He crawled toward her until the feel of her thighs warmed his hips.

“Lean over like you like me,” Avery prompted.

He was blushing, he knew it.

He bent at the hips and rested on his elbows on the mat until their chests were touching.

Avery rested one hand on his waist. “Comfortable?”

He moaned. The last thing he wanted to do was pretend like he was going to hurt her. Not in this position.

“You’re okay with this?” he asked close to her ear.

Her fingers flexed and then caressed his side. “Uh-huh.”

Liam placed a hand on the side of her face, took a breath, and clamped on.

She bucked her hips, hard, nearly removing him. Then her hand came from nowhere, her leg wrapped around and tossed him to his side. She stopped short of kneeing him in the groin, and he hesitated.

Avery was halfway on the balls of her feet, and Liam rushed her. She pivoted on the floor and sent a kick. “Shin,” she yelled out without taking him to the floor.

“Missed,” Brenda yelled.

Liam moved forward, on his feet now.

Avery kept her angle to where her legs were always between the two of them. She kicked a second time. “Shin.”

When Brenda didn’t say she missed, Liam stopped and dropped to the mat. Something that would happen if her kick had landed its mark.

Like a cat, Avery was on the balls of her feet, and Liam sat.

“Perfect,” Brenda called out. “Now do it again.”

Avery smiled as if she’d just won the lottery, and pumped both fists in the air.

Two more mock going at it strangling assaults and they were being shuffled out of the gym before they could shower.

Avery teased Brenda without mercy. “Someone has a date tonight.”

Only Brenda had a pretty accurate comeback. “I’m not the only one.”

Outside the gym, Liam took Avery’s bag from her hand and swung it over his shoulder along with his. “Pug’s?” he asked. “We’re sweaty, but I don’t think anyone there will notice.”

Avery took his hand in hers and pulled him down the street. “I have a better idea.”

He followed.

“That was epic tonight. I didn’t freeze, not once.”

“Not once.”

“God, I feel good.” She was practically jumping up and down.

This side of Avery didn’t come out often. He loved it. Carefree, no filter. To be fair, she never seemed to have a filter except when clamping down on her emotions. Which was another habit of hers, he’d noticed.

She’d marched them straight to her complex and through the doors.

“Hello, James.”

“Good evening, Ms. Grant.”

In the elevator, Liam could see some of the adrenaline seep out of her pores.

“Drinks at my place don’t require a shower.”

He watched the numbers light up as they moved. “True.”

“I won’t jump you,” she told him.

That was unfortunate.

“Wait, I can’t promise that.”

He was smiling.

The door dinged, and Avery dug into her bag for her key. She led him into her place and switched on the lights.

“Wow.” The view of the city at night was nothing short of spectacular. “I see why you like it.” He dumped their bags by the door and moved deeper inside. The lofty space was a massive open room with a state-of-the-art kitchen that didn’t look like it had been cooked in.

Avery kicked off her shoes and jumped up to sit on her kitchen island.

She spread her knees apart, just a fraction, and leaned back on her hands.

Liam forgot about the view, or the grandeur of her home, and only saw her.

Without invitation, he wiggled between her legs and clamped his hands over hers.

Staring down her pert nose, she grinned.

“See. I’m not jumping you.”

That made one of them.

Holding her hands so she couldn’t get away, which he knew was an absolute joke, Liam lowered his mouth to hers.

The heat between them was instant. Or maybe it had never cooled off. From the moment she jumped on his back during his push-ups to the tiny slaps on his ass during their workout, he hadn’t had a single minute to let his brain catch up with his groin.

He opened his mouth to hers. The taste of her drove him high, but the feel of her . . . it wasn’t expected. There had been women he kissed before that he thought he cared for. Knew he did on some level. And then there was Avery. He’d been cautioning himself every step of the way with her. Letting her lead . . . or maybe he had cut her off.

Not now.

Not this time.

She inched closer to the end of the counter and stroked the back of his leg with her foot. A simple touch, and the slow burn that he’d kept on low flipped to high.

He let loose her hands, pressed his palms onto her hips, and pulled her flush.

Avery wrapped her arms around him and fanned her fingers through his hair while her legs clamped on and she pressed her core against his erection.

He saw stars. Serious specks of light as all the blood rushed below his belt.

Liam kissed her harder, cautioned himself to not leave a bruise.

For a woman with her strength and agility, she felt small in his arms. He traced the edge of her spandex pants and ran his hands up the back of her shirt. She was soft against his worn hands.

Avery broke from his kiss and moved her lips to his neck. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to stop,” she said.

He traced the sides of her breasts with his thumbs. “Not unless you tell me to.”

Avery shook her head. “Not a chance.”

He chuckled. “Shower first?” he asked. “Finish what we’ve started, then shower?”

Her hands ran over his ass.

Making it to the shower might not be an option.

Avery leaned back, pulled her shirt over her head, and tossed it to the floor.

A sports bra couldn’t diminish her beauty.

“This. Here. Now.” She smiled. “Shower later and then repeat.”

He tugged his shirt over his head to follow hers. She never unwrapped her legs from his hips. “What if I’m too tired for a second round?”

“Then I’ll do all the work.” She traced her hands over his shoulders and down his chest. “This looks even better than I imagined.”

He dropped his lips to the top of her breast and tasted the salt on her skin. “So good.” With a quick movement, he unclasped her bra and let it fall from her shoulders.

“You’ve had practice.”

He gathered the firm mounds of her breasts between his fingers and lifted them, one at a time, to his tongue. “I work with my hands,” he told her.

Her head fell back. “And your mouth.”

Yes to the left, and yes to the right. She was perfect. All of her.

The control he’d felt as he turned her into putty fell away when she traced the outside of his cock through his pants. Resting his forehead on her shoulder, he pushed into her touch.

“I want this inside of me, Liam.” Her husky voice drove through the fog in his head. “I want you inside of me.”

He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and tossed it on the counter.

Avery reached beneath the elastic of his pants and wrapped her delicate fingers around him.

“Good God, woman.”

She offered a deep laugh. “Feels like God was good to you.”

He dragged her off the counter long enough for her to peel her spandex off while he kicked his sweats and briefs to the side. The desire to stare and study and taste was overpowered by the need to feel.

“Here?” he questioned one more time.

With a grin, Avery wiggled back up onto the countertop. “Here, there . . . against the window where someone below might see us. I’ve pictured you everywhere, and now I want to make that happen.”

With hands on her thighs, he smiled into their kiss. “You have quite the imagination.”

“It isn’t as good as the real thing.”

From his wallet, he retrieved a condom and tore it free of the wrapper. “Next time we go slower,” he promised.

Avery opened for him and looked between them as he positioned himself.

Her breathing matched the quick staccato of his. “Please, Liam. I’ve waited long enough.”

With a sigh, he pressed into her warm folds and paused.

Avery’s long release of a breath tightened her body around his.

He shook his head, already fighting for control.

“Liam?” she questioned.

“Shhh.” He pulled away and slowly moved back in. “I got you.”

And he did. Standing as he made love to her made it a little easier to hold off while she warmed to the feeling. Her kiss was a barometer of where she was at and how close she was to the edge. Slow and easy at first, then a little faster, until she wasn’t kissing him at all. With her lips hovering over his, he felt her start to go. As she did, he lifted her from the counter and moved deeper until she called his name.

The feel of her insides squeezing took him over the cliff. He set her back down and rode the last waves of his release until his legs felt like blobs of Jell-O.

They breathed hard into each other’s necks while his heart rate returned to normal.

Avery pounded a fist to his back. “Don’t ever make me wait that long again.”