~~~
“We should’ve gotten you a Sleepy T-shirt,” Felix said, walking in the room and carrying a bowl and a big bottle of water.
Ella sat up on his bed, holding the sheet over herself and feeling a little embarrassed that she’d knocked out again. “How long was I out for?”
“Not very long.” He smiled, handing her the bowl, and she saw now that it was a bowl of cherries. “About an hour. I ordered Chinese, but I thought you might want a snack in the meantime.”
“You remembered,” she said, reaching for a cherry.
She bit it, smiling, as he scooted in bed next to her. He nuzzled against her cheek then kissed it. “Will this hold you over until the food gets here?”
“Yes, I’m not starving or anything, so this is fine.” She hated to ask, but she knew it was inevitable. “How long will you be gone?”
He sighed, obviously not thrilled about this subject either. “Since I’ve been training already, it shouldn’t be as long as it normally is to jumpstart the hard-core stuff. Noah said about a week maybe week and a half.”
She pouted, and he immediately kissed her, making her smile. “Well, at least I’ll be gone those three days on the cruise this week, so it should make the week go by faster.”
“Cold Duck, huh?” He reached for a cherry and bit off the stem. “Jack was into them.”
“Jack?”
He started to explain about the late 5th Street founder, and Ella instantly felt bad. She knew this. She’d read about it and seen all the photos at the gym, including the huge memorial plaque near the entrance.
“Yes, yes,” she said. “Jack. He was like a father figure to all of you guys. The one who left you all in charge of the gym.”
“That would be him.”
They munched on the cherries for a while as Felix told her more about Jack and how Felix owed all his success to the man who took him under his wing and taught him everything he knew about boxing. “To this day, Noah and Gio train everyone using Jack’s tried and true methods of training.”
She hadn’t even noticed that he’d stopped talking and was staring at her now. “What?” she asked, snapping out of it and feeling her face warm that she’d zoned out like that.
“What are you thinking?”
As embarrassing as it was to admit, she had no choice but to just be honest. She glanced away.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
It was only then that Ella realized she was shaking her head. She turned back to see the concern on his face, the same expression he wore too often when addressing her. She reached for his face and caressed it. “How could you possibly think something is wrong?”
He continued to search in her eyes. “You seemed . . . I don’t know.”
She leaned in and kissed him. “I was just thinking about how unbelievable this still feels to me and that I must be the luckiest girl in the world. If it’s true that you’re in love with me—”
“Of course it’s true—”
Ella kissed him before he could continue. She didn’t want to upset him. “Then I truly am the luckiest girl in the world.”
“You feel lucky?” he asked, his eyes widening, and seeing the concern in them replaced with a sudden joy made her smile. “When I woke up this morning with you in my arms, I didn’t wanna move. I was afraid I might really still be asleep and I’d wake up and you’d be gone.”
Ella picked up the bowl and put it on the nightstand. “You know what else I was thinking?”
He eyed her as his smile grew slowly. “What?”
“That the more we make love the less sore I feel afterward, and I can hardly wait until we do again.”
Felix groaned, pulling her into his arms and falling back onto the bed. His big arms and hands were immediately all over her naked body. Ella loved the feel of his hard body against hers. She giggled as he sucked her neck then pulled back suddenly and looked at her. “Are you still a little sore now?”
“Just a little.”
No way was she admitting she was more than just a little sore and have him pull back now. She already knew the discomfort would only be momentary but the utter ecstasy that followed immediately after was absolutely worth it.
“Then I know what might fix that.”
To her dismay, he pulled away and got off the bed. Before she could ask where he was going, his hands were on her legs and his smoldering eyes stared into hers as he slid her to the edge of the bed. Ella’s body trembled in reaction because she suddenly knew where this was going.
In the next second, he dropped to his knees and spread her. He kissed the insides of her thighs softly, torturing her as he moved his way up. She gasped then moaned, arching her back as his tongue licked and his mouth sucked her.
Last night was the first time she’d ever been pleasured this way, and she’d cried out then as she’d never cried out during sex. Already her eyes watered and her body squirmed from the extreme sensation of it.
As her climax began to build and she began to moan unabashed, all she could think was how could this beautiful sculpture of a man who was about to make her cry out again not believe that she was the luckiest girl alive!
Chapter 18
Felix
It’d been two days, two days since he’d last seen Ella, and already Felix didn’t think he was going to last a whole week. Noah was nuts if he thought he’d be here longer than that. Unless he could convince Ella to come up and be with him a few days, he’d be here just until she got back from her cruise at the end of the week. But that’s as long as he’d hang.
During the days, he concentrated on the grueling workouts and long runs he’d take with the guys. For the most part, it did help, but Noah had still called him out a few times when he said he wasn’t focusing like he should.
The press conference announcing the rematch took place Saturday. In lieu of the meeting Adelina had been so flustered about not being able to get scheduled, she’d managed to get the press conference together at the last minute.
“Our phones have been ringing off the hook ever since the day the contract was finalized and Grecco’s website posted they had a huge announcement coming soon,” Rene explained on Saturday when Felix had gotten the conference call from Rene and Adelina. Felix had never done a press conference on such short notice. Not since his first title bout had he been the opponent and not the defending champ at one of these things. He would’ve liked to have been better prepared.
Not surprisingly, Ella had calmed him easily. “Just show up, let them take all the photos they want, and promise your fans you’re getting your title back. You know you are.”
He would’ve liked for the press conference to have been at 5th Street so Ella could’ve been there with him, but Grecco’s people insisted they do it on neutral ground, so it’d been held downtown.
They called it a night and Felix was spent. He’d warned both Adelina and Rene he’d be in training all week and didn’t have time for anything. The only person he was making time for was Ella, of course. If he had to be away from her, he at least wanted her to be the last person he spoke to every night and first person he said good morning to every day. So seeing that he had another text from Adelina again was annoying to say the least.
It seemed after the announcement that Felix was going after the title again had been made the endorsement offers had picked up overnight. Mercedes-Benz now thought that the reason why Felix had held out meeting with them was because he knew once the announcement was made there’d be more offers, maybe even better ones from a competitor. They were even more anxious to meet with him, but he’d already told Adelina this week was out of the question.
He picked up his phone with a frown and read the text.
I told them you couldn’t meet with them this week and why. They said they’d come to you. They’re willing to meet with you in Big Bear somewhere and talk.
“What part of ‘I’m training’ does this chick not understand?” Felix muttered.
“Huh?”
Noah asked.
Felix shook his head as he plopped down across from Noah in the great room. “My publicist,” he said as he texted back. “She wants to set up business meetings this week.”
As expected Noah’s face went hard. “She’s nuts. I’m already having a hard enough time getting you to focus.”
Felix sent the text.
Can’t do it. I’m training all week. I can’t take a single day off.
“Yeah,” Gio, who sat in the oversized recliner agreed quickly. “How does she figure you’ll have time for that?”
Felix’s phone rang and he saw it was her. He let his head fall back onto the sofa in frustration. Letting out an exasperated laugh, he answered the call.
“Okay, just hear me out,” she said quickly. “I’ve read the offer. It’s already an excellent offer, and you know how this works. They’re expecting us to counter. I’d go over it with you when I get there. We could meet once you’re finished with your workout any night this week, the sooner the better. They know you’ll be tired, so I said it wouldn’t even be dinner we’d be having with you. Just coffee or a drink. It’s real cut and dry. They just wanna be sure you understand what you’re agreeing to before you sign. But they want this done ASAP. They’re getting antsy.”
“You have any idea how damn tired I am after my workouts?” Felix said, shaking his head. “At the end of the day, I don’t wanna get dressed to go meet—”
“We could meet with you at the complex. We’d be in and out. I promise. I’m telling you Felix this is huge.”
He let his head fall back again and closed his eyes. “When?”
“Thursday,” she said quickly and, before he could change his mind, added, “I’ll call them now and text you the details. K?”
“Bye,” he said with a smirk.
Well, Rene was right about one thing. Adelina did have her mother’s resolve. That instantly brought thoughts of the other determined girl in his life, the one who owned his heart now. He looked down at his phone to check the time. She’d be home soon and ready for their nightly call, so he stood up, already looking forward to hearing her voice.
“What happened?” Noah asked. “You gave in?”
“She’s bringing them here Thursday night, and I’ll just sign some papers.” He started to walk away. “But I’m not even getting dressed for these people. She can kiss my ass if she thinks I’ll be all businesslike when I’m training.”
“Ooh, guess you told her.” Gio chuckled.
“Yeah, we heard you,” Noah added with a smirk, “with your firm ‘When?’”
Felix laughed. “Shut up. I’m out,” he said, waving his hand behind him. “See you in the morning.”
“Bright and early,” Noah reminded him.
He’d told Ella he’d call at the usual time: nine-thirty. It was a few minutes ’til, so he figured what the hell. Plopping down on his bed, he hit speed dial. The second he heard her voice he was smiling like an idiot. “Hey, baby.”
“Hi, Felix.” He could practically hear the smile in her voice. “I was rushing to get in my sleep clothes and in bed so I could be ready for you.”
Ready for him. Why did that make him smile even bigger? This was ridiculous, but he’d since decided he wasn’t going to fight it anymore. He’d tell her exactly what he was thinking—feeling—because he loved when she did the same. “I miss you,” he said, letting his head fall back on his pillow. “God, I miss you.”
“I miss you too. How was your workout today?”
“Good, but according to Noah I’m not focusing like I should.”
“Why’s that?”
He smirked. “I thought I was focusing, but he caught me zoning out a few times.”
“Zoning out?”
“Yeah, today I zoned out, thinking about this past Saturday morning.”
She was quiet for a moment and then came the “Oh.”
Once again, he knew she was smiling as big as he was. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it and how much he was dying to be with her again. He chuckled when she didn’t say anything else and wondered if maybe she was zoning out too.
“I have to snap out of it though. We have some trainers flying in from Bosnia Friday afternoon.”
“Bosnia?”
“Yeah, they’ve coached several gold medalists and are supposed to be the best in the world, though Noah only wants to train with them on a few key things. But I can’t be zoning out when they get here.” He laughed. “Noah will kick my ass. These guys are coming a long way just to work with me. But anyway, how was your day?”
Ella began telling him about her day at work and the weird lady who yelled louder than anybody else even when she wasn’t told to yell. Ella’s giggles made him smile. Felix fixed his pillows behind him, getting comfortable because he could already tell he was in for another night of not wanting to say goodbye.
~~~
That Thursday, as promised, Adelina arrived before the Mercedes-Benz guys to go over the counter offer she’d put together. Then she had the two guys from Mercedes-Benz in and out of his complex in half an hour’s time. She’d been right; the offer was more than generous, the biggest one he’d had to date.
The second their car was down his snowy driveway and out of sight, Adelina turned to him and screeched. “Are you kidding me!” she said, bringing her hands to the side of her face. “They didn’t even blink at our counter! You’re gonna make almost as much on this as that damn rematch!” She stopped and looked at him. “I wonder if we should’ve asked for more.”
“The counter was already ridiculous,” Felix reminded her. “And for what? A few commercials and for me to drive around in the brand new top-of-the-line car they’ll provide me with, free, every six months. Before the new smell even wears out of the first one?”
“Yes, please!” she said, laughing.
“Good deal,” he said, looking down at his phone.
It was almost time for his call to Ella. He didn’t want to be rude, but he wasn’t cutting into his talk time with her, and the snow was starting to come down anyway. They needed to get out of the cold.
“So what now? You staying up here tonight?”
She gave him a sly look. “I wasn’t planning on it. Is that an invite?” She smiled, lowering her lashes halfway. “Do you feel like celebrating?”
“Nope,” he said quickly, “and maybe it’s best that I make this clear now since you’ll probably hear about this soon anyway. I’m in a relationship now, one I’m taking real seriously, so don’t expect any more of those kinds of invitations from me from here on.”
She stared at him for a moment, a bit stunned. “Wow,” she said then pressed her lips together, stretching her mouth down. “She must be pretty special to have you talking this way.”
“She is.”
“Fair enough,” she said with a smile. “No hard feelings here especially if we’re gonna keep closing deals like today. I’m good with keeping this strictly business.” She reached out and shook his hand. “Congrats on this deal, sir. And thanks for being such a trooper and letting me bring them up here so we could make this happen, but you have to admit it was worth it, right?”
Felix smiled, relieved. “Yes. Thank you for pushing. That was totally worth it.”
“You bet your ass it was.” She winked at him as she started down the stairs of his porch. “But I better get going. The drive down is gonna be scary enough in the dark. I’ll have to take it slowly, and I’d like to get home tonight.”
“What? Wait. You’re driving down?”
“Yeah,” she said, stopping at the bottom of the stairs and looking up at him. “It was only an hour drive or so. I’ve done way longer.”
“You do realize they don’t plow at night, right?”
Felix looked out at his own snow-covered driveway. Even driving out of here might be tricky. Fuck!
He glanced back at Adelina, who seemed to be mulling over her choices and chewing the corner of her lip. “I didn’t realize that. In fac
t, I didn’t realize it’d be snowing, period. I was so caught up getting this counter offer together I didn’t bother checking the weather, but I figured it’s spring now.” She looked up at the snowfall that was picking up momentum now. “What the hell?” She must’ve picked up on his suddenly stony mood because she waved a hand at him. “I’ll get a room in town for the night. I saw plenty as I drove through that quaint little town. It’s so cute,” she said, smiling as she turned to start walking to her car again. “I’ll have to come back for pleasure soon.”
“Be careful,” he said, feeling bad that he had plenty of room for her to stay there at his place for the night.
But he couldn’t risk it. The news vans were already camped out outside his complex. They were all just waiting for him to screw up so they could be the first to have the full scoop. He was certain they already knew his publicist, the one the tabloids had already raised eyebrows about because she was so young, glamorous, and sexy—just his type—had driven into his complex today. If she didn’t drive out tonight, tongues would be wagging by tomorrow morning for sure.
Adelina waved at him as she backed her car up and started down the drive. Relief began to set in as he watched her drive slowly around the circular area in front his of his cabin and then slide right into the side embankment with a loud clunk, coming to rest just under the big pine trees that lined the side of his property.
He rushed down the stairs and toward her just as Noah and Gio pushed the front door open and flew out. “Whoa shit!” Gio said with a slight chuckle. “Did she crash?”
Felix hurried his steps as he realized her car was teetering ever so slightly. It wouldn’t be going anywhere. The trees were aligned too tightly, but he knew it’d be enough that she was probably shitting a brick.
Noah and Gio followed closely behind. Felix opened her door as soon as he reached her car. “You okay?”
She clutched her chest, and she looked as white as the snow her car was now slowly getting buried in. If it weren’t because he already knew the only way they were getting her car out now was with a tow truck and there was no way that was happening until tomorrow, he might’ve laughed. Instead all he could think was fuck me!