When she’d decided today she’d tell him she was ready to move forward with the relationship, why hadn’t she anticipated that this might happen? She would’ve never worn such a short, playful, easy-access skirt. If anything, it might’ve helped her fake a little more self-control.

“Oh!” She gasped against his lips as his finger slid under her panties and over what she knew was hot and slick now.

“I’ll stop,” he whispered back.

“No,” she said too damn quickly, but it couldn’t be helped.

Every inch of his body was so hard and perfectly chiseled. Having his perfect body under hers as she slid against him was enough to make her quiver uncontrollably. His finger rubbing her now wasn’t helping. With his other hand, he began to pull her blouse up then stopped. “Will you be cold?”

Again, was he kidding? Her body was on fire! She shook her head, unable to speak with his fingers stroking her the way they were now. She bit her bottom lip, trying her best to control her panting, but she was so far gone. Already she felt herself drowning in the thick haze of lust. He slipped her blouse and bra off so effortlessly that, for the tiniest moment, she hesitated to go on. But who was she kidding? The hesitation on her part was so miniscule he didn’t even notice, and in the next second, she was already sucking on his tongue again.

Ella knew with his looks and this body, celebrity or not, he’d likely be highly experienced in this area. They’d had that talk already. When she’d casually brought it up, Felix wanted her to know that, though he admitted to having a wild lifestyle, he always used protection and he had himself checked regularly. She already knew professional boxers were required to test regularly for HIV, but he assured her he tested often for everything else as well.

His tongue sucked and stroked her nipple in the exact rhythm of his fingers below. The combination had Ella moaning in delight. Somehow she thought this would last longer. He hadn’t even removed a single piece of clothing yet. It didn’t seem fair, but there was no way she was stopping what was happening now to insist he remove his shirt. It was building fast, and he moved up to kiss her as her body began to tremble. She had to move away from his mouth so she could breathe—cry out.

“That’s it,” he whispered in her ear as the waves of pleasure shot through her again and again. She arched her back, fisting his shirt as if her life depended on it. “That a girl,” he whispered again as he mercifully pulled his fingers away.

He kissed the side of her face when she buried it in his neck, completely out of breath, her body still quivering with pleasure. Very slowly, as her body began to calm, the trembling did too. She made note of how he’d remained hard the entire time even now that he stroked her hair so gently. She lifted her face to look at him. “Make love to me.”

His eyes widened and he seemed to tense. “Ella, I . . .” He shook his head. “It’s not that I don’t want to,” he said, glancing down at his lower region at the bulging proof that he really did and smiled nervously. “I just thought when it happened we could do something special. I don’t want you to think—”

“What could be more special than doing it here in the room you said yourself you’d never thought you’d use to impress anyone until today?” She was almost afraid to ask, but she did anyway. “Have you ever done it in here?”

“No,” he said immediately then smiled big. “I haven’t. And just for the record—I know you’ll probably find this hard to believe because of my lifestyle and the way everything’s set up in this place—I really haven’t used this house for that a whole lot. I won’t lie. I have but not often as I’m sure you’re imagining.” He frowned. “Since this is the one place that feels more like home and not just a place to crash for tax purposes, I like for it to feel that way—like home. So after a while I decided my home would be only for friends and family.” He leaned in and kissed her. “And now my girlfriend.”

She began to undo his pants button with a wicked smile. Her pounding heart still didn’t know what to expect, but she knew one thing for sure. She was ready for this. God, was she ever.

Shifting on top of him, she gave him room to pull his jeans down and off. Then he pulled off his shirt to reveal what she already knew from watching his fights and some of his training, that his shoulders, arms, chest, and abs were mouthwatering perfection. It left her breathless as she stared in awe. For weeks now she’d been privy to just how hard his body felt over his shirt, but to see it up close was unreal. A near trembling hand reached out for it and touched him then leaned in and kissed his hard pec. His snug boxer briefs were the only thing on him now. He’d finished kicking off his pants and shoes while she’d been in a trance, admiring his naked upper body.

He reached down for a second, breaking her out of the spell-like daze and came up with a condom packet, showing her and lifting a brow. Knowing what was but minutes or maybe seconds away, Ella’s breath caught, but she didn’t think he’d noticed.

“You still okay with this?”

She nodded. No way was she stopping now. He leaned in and kissed her. As she fell into his kiss again, the arousal took over her nerves. She climbed further up on the chaise with one knee on either side of his hard thighs. Her hands cradled his face as the massive bulge pressed up against her between her legs. She was so ready for him, and he hadn’t even taken off his briefs.