Walking out into the night’s cool fresh air, Nellie prayed Abel wouldn’t follow her, but her heart yearned to hear the door behind her open. As she made her way down Noah and Roni’s driveway, she thought of the way Abel’s eyes had pierced through her all night and the gentle smiles he offered when their eyes would meet. Each time her heart had fluttered like a butterfly on crack. She was beyond over her head now.
After Roni had let her in on Abel’s reconfirmation that this was nothing more than what they’d agreed it would be from the very beginning, she sat there drowning her sorrows in cheesecake. She’d eaten nearly three full slices. Knowing that soon she’d be dealing with a pain she swore she’d never allow herself to get caught up in again, she wasn’t even worried about the astronomical amounts of calories she’d inhaled tonight. She was certain that, like every time she’d had to deal with a dark moment in her life, she’d lose weight without even trying.
This shouldn’t be so dark. Their relationship was very much physical. It should be easy to move past it soon, but her head reminded her she’d known Abel for a while now. Her attraction to him, not just his body and good looks but him,had been growing for some time: The noble and loyal friend he was to Noah and Gio. The overprotective brother he was to Hector and now even Charlee. The way he didn’t care that the guys busted his balls for being a momma’s boy. The man bowed down to the woman and had no qualms about admitting it. Even being the celebrity he was now, he’d still run over in a heartbeat to help fix your car. She’d seen and heard about him doing just that from Roni so many times. He said he loved working on engines and insisted that taking it to a mechanic was always a rip off.
Add to all that the intensity Charlee talked about in Hector’s eyes. Nellie knew exactly what Charlee was talking about because she’d seen the very thing in Abel—felt it in his kisses. It must be an Ayala thing. She was now beginning to understand that utterly mesmerized thing she so often saw on Charlee’s face. Charlee admitted it openly and as unabashedly as Hector did. She was madly in love with the guy. If Nellie didn’t put an end to this now, she too would be doomed to fall hopelessly in love with Abel, and that could ruin everything because this relationship was completely different than his brother and his girlfriend’s exclusive one.
Even now, she felt the boulder in her throat just thinking about the possibility of having to be around him with other women. It would kill her. The tightness she felt in her chest all night after Roni had informed her of what Abel had told Noah went even tighter now, and she could feel herself starting to wheeze again. What in the world was she thinking when she started this?
“Nellie?”
Startled, she turned to see Abel walking toward her. She’d been staring into the trunk of her SUV where she’d set her tray down. “You okay? I called your name out twice.”
Nodding, she tried blinking away the warm tears that she hadn’t even noticed had filled her eyes. “I’m good,” she said, leaning into the back of SUV, moving imaginary things around as she blinked wildly in the hopes that the tears would be gone by the time he reached her.
When they weren’t, she yawned a bit exaggeratedly in desperation and turned, smiling at him. “I’m sorry. I was lost in thought, I guess.”
His smiled waned with that comment. “Did your long night last night wear you out?”
Surprised by his question, she continued to smile even as her insides roiled. The way he was staring at her now only confused her already aching heart. “Yeah, the concert was over pretty late, and then we had some drinks after, so it was a longish night.”
While his eyes searched hers, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he took another step further and kissed her, softly, sweetly, the way that melted her heart every single time. As usual, she couldn’t summon even an ounce of resistance. Her previously roiling insides were now doing summersaults. With his big hands cradling her face, he pulled away but still sprinkled kisses around her lips. Closing her eyes, she sighed, giving into him once again. This is where she wanted to be forever. Even as her head screamed at her to jump ship and do it now, her heart clung to the unspoken emotion she feltfrom him.
She knew it was unwise and dangerous given how she was already feeling, but her instincts were screaming now too, drowning out her head that this wasn’t a kiss from a man who wanted nothing more than to relieve his needs. There was so much more to it. There had to be. Right?
He finally stopped long enough to stare at her for a moment. “Can I follow you home?” he whispered. “I wanna make love to you so badly.”
Without even a moment’s thought, she nodded. As pathetic as it was to clutch on to something so small, he’d never called it making love before. He’d told her he wanted to fuck her or taste her or needed to be inside her on more than one occasion, but he never said make love. “Yes,” she whispered back, staring into his eyes. “I want you to make love to me.”
He smiled one of the sweetest smiles she’d ever seen on him. “Let’s go.”
***
Determined not to become emotional like she had last night as Abel swayed in and out of her slowly and rhythmically while staring deeply into her eyes and making love to her again in the early morning, Nellie decided to just enjoy it. Arching her back, she closed her eyes as she felt the now familiar building of another mind-blowing climax, and she dug her fingers into his big, hard back.
Speeding up, Abel’s brows pinched, and he began to moan, driving in deeper and deeper. Grunting now as he rocked into her this time, he was a little rougher than he had been the night before. He pumped her harder than he had the entire night last night, but she loved it. She moaned in reaction and in anticipation of her already throbbing pre-climax.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” She cried out as she came more intensely each time he slammed into her, until he came to a final loud grunting drive deep into her, lifting her waist up against his body. He remained that way for a few moments until he collapsed atop of her.
“That was amazing,” he said breathlessly against her ear. “But then it’s always amazing.” He kissed her forehead, slipping his hand into hers and squeezing it, keeping his body on hers, exactly where she wanted it.
They lay there, breathing heavily as she ran her fingers through his hair, pushing away the emotion that once again began to creep in. She would not do this. How could she? So what if he wasn’t hers entirely? As tempted as she was to put it out there—tell him what she was feeling because she was almost positive now he was feeling it too—she just couldn’t. What if she were wrong? What if what he’d told Noah was really true? He didn’t want drama. That’s exactly what this would be because she felt so overwhelmed with emotion that she was certain she’d break down if she opened up to him. It was too big of a risk. He’d run and she’d lose what little he was willing to give her.
She was only glad now that it was too dark last night for Abel to see the tears that spilled out just as she came so dramatically when he made love to her the first time. The entire night’s mixture of emotions had just mounted until that very moment, and it couldn’t be helped. This was now beyond her control. Her heart was in this now, and as much as she wanted to believe she could walk away from this unscathed, she knew better. And yet she still couldn’t bring herself to walk away from this man.
What scared her most was that, even as horrendous as her divorce with her ex had been, she feared this might be more painful. She remembered that the pain during her divorce had been more about her sister betraying her than Rick. She’d felt the disconnect between herself and Rick long before she’d even found out that he’d been having an affair with her own sister. The old-fashioned thinking instilled by her mother had told her that divorce was not an option, so she’d turned the other cheek when she suspected something was awry, but she knew the end was near. Even when her delusional heart chose to believe him when he promised he’d change after the first time she caught him cheating, she still knew deep inside what they’d had long ago was gone. She was no longer in love with him either; she was just afraid of having to start over and being alone.
Certainly she’d never felt the passion she felt with Abel from her ex. She wouldn’t dismiss the entire relationship because she’d admit that she had been in love with Rick once upon a time. She’d just never felt that magical thing both Roni and Bianca had described feeling with Noah and Gio. Then sweet little Charlee had spoken of this passion she felt even at her young age—something Nellie had no choice but to admit she’d never experienced . . . until now.
Abel rolled off her but still held her close, facing her. “What are your plans today?”
This was another unspoken rule that he was breaking. They didn’t ask each other what the other did on their own time, but she liked that he was breaking rules. Maybe it meant that she could too. “Nothing really. Work on the mixer a little and then figure out what I’ll be wearing tomorrow to 5th Street.”
His eyes looked at her curiously. “What do you mean what to wear? To work out?”
“No,” she laughed. “The representative from that vineyard that donated so much for the mixer will be in town tomorrow. I offered to give her a tour of the gym that started the foundation we’re doing the mixer for. I uh . . .” She glanced away for a moment as she’d always done when she wanted to be sure she didn’t sound like she was trying hint at anything. “I told Gio and Noah about it last week when you were . . . out of town.”
The curiosity in his eyes was replaced with what almost looked like remorse, but it switched quickly and he squeezed her. She felt him inhale deeply and very satisfied against her ear. “That’s right. Noah did mention that.” He lifted himself onto his elbow suddenly. “What time do you have to be there?”
“She’s been here all weekend and decided she’d stay an extra day.” His silly expression now made her smile curiously. “But she wants it out of the way early, so we’re meeting there around eight.” She tilted her head even more curious. “What’s that look about?”
“I have an early morning radio interview that I’m doing at the station.” His smile was even bigger now. “Come with me. We can ride together to 5th Street because I’ll head back to training right afterward. The interview should be done way before eight, so we might even have time to grab breakfast. And,” he leaned in and kissed her nose, “if you wanna save me some time and having to get up that much earlier to pick you up first, I can just spend the night here again.” He lifted a hopeful eyebrow. “I can meet you back here tonight with all the clothes and stuff that I’ll need for tomorrow.”
She’d begun to hide how excited the thought of him wanting to spend the night again and so soon made her, but he was staring at her, looking just as excited as she felt, so she nodded, smiling big. “That sounds good to me.”
He hugged her, groaning against her ear with what felt like the same utter bliss she was feeling. She couldn’t be imagining all this, could she?
After rolling around in bed a little longer to the point where it felt like they’d be going at it again, Abel shared a better idea. He needed to meet the guys at the gym soon, so he invited her to take a shower with him. Within minutes, they were lathering each other up. As her hand ran over every incredible muscle on his body, he lifted her chin and stared at her for a moment. “You really are beautiful.”
She smiled, gulping back the incredible emotion that he made her feel now. Only this time it wasn’t bad or the dread of falling too hard. This time it was a delightful emotion that danced inside her. “If you say so.” She smiled, kissing him.
“No, I know so,” he said, kissing her as sweetly as he had last night when he came out to find her outside of Noah’s. There was so much unspoken sentiment. “I can’t get enough of you,” he said, lifting her against the shower wall.
She wrapped her legs around him like she had in the ice vending room on the cruise, kissing him a bit more frantically, and then gasped with pleasure when she felt him slip inside her. Okay, she’d be insane to walk away from this now.
~*~
Andy was at it again about the media. He’d called three times since last night when Abel had decided to turn off his phone and give Nellie his undivided attention. So when Abel turned on his phone as he got in his car, he saw the missed calls. He didn’t bother listening to voicemails just hit speed dial as he drove out of Nellie’s driveway.
He was going on about a photo shoot and interview that Fitness Magazine wanted to do with him. “Is this part of the fight contract?”
“No, but hear me out. There will probably never be a better time for you to do this kind of layout. Your body is in its prime, and since the fight is right around the corner, they want you on the cover. This would be huge. It would also be great publicity for 5th Street, and I think I might even have another way to add a positive spin to it that you might like for once.”
Abel rolled his eyes. There was always something Andy wanted to add to the circus that the media was already making of this. “What’s that?”
“We can get a few of the gym’s regulars and up-and-coming hopefuls to be featured, so it’s more about the gym than you. I figured you’d like that. Not only are you giving some of your people from your own gym the opportunity to get noticed but the spotlight and interview isn’t completely about you.”
He had to admit that it wasn’t a bad idea. “That might work, but I wanna see a list of the questions they’ll be asking. I want this interview to be strictly about my training for the fight and the gym. They get nothing personal.”
“Of course,” Andy assured him. “I’m already here at 5th Street, and Noah’s given me a rundown of who he thinks might be good to feature. But you’ll get the final say.”
“Whatever Noah says is fine with me. I trust his judgment.”
He got off the phone and called his mom to let her know she wouldn’t be seeing him again until later tonight and that was only while he blew in and out to grab his stuff for tomorrow. Between the media crap, training, and now making time for Nellie in between, he’d hardly been home at all lately. And as long as Nellie didn’t protest, he planned on spending a lot more nights at her place. Maybe without him having to actually put his feelings out there, his staying would deter Nellie from going out on any more damn dates.
Clenching his jaw as he drove into the 5th Street parking lot, he pushed aside the annoying thoughts of Nellie on any dates with someone else. Before he could even get out of his car, he saw Rachel hurrying toward the car. Well shit. He glanced around casually to see if he spotted any paparazzi. They’d long since posted signs all over warning of charges being pressed on any unauthorized photographers or paparazzi who were ever found trespassing anywhere near 5th Street’s private property. That included the parking lot, but he knew that that never stopped those vultures. During Gio’s mess and even when Felix had visited since then, they’d been known to pay people who lived in the nearby apartment buildings whose windows faced 5th Street to camp out by their window to try and get that perfect shot of something.
“Abel!” Rachel raced up to him her hands clasped in front of her face. “Oh my God, I just heard about the Fitness Magazine photo shoot thing.” She spoke a mile a minute. “This would be such an enormous opportunity for me. To get featured in a magazine of that caliber would do wonders for me. You know I’ve been trying to get into fitness modeling, and this could be just the break I need. Andy said you had the final say, and I just wanted to say that I’d be willing to do anything—”
He lifted his hand, stopping her right there with a smile. “You’re in.” Her eyes opened wide, and she brought her hands over her mouth, her eyes instantly swimming in tears. It only made him smile bigger and feel better about doing this. “You’re right. This is exactly why we’re featuring regulars from the gym. You’re a perfect candidate for this. It is an awesome opportunity, and I agree this could do wonders for you. They take one look at you and you’re golden.”
She shook her head, apparently too overwhelmed with emotion to speak, so he pulled her to him and hugged her, chuckling. “You’re gonna do great.”
Wrapping her arms around him tightly, she jumped up and kissed him, missing his lips by an inch. “Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“I do actually,” he said, pulling away from her and realizing that if the media did get any footage of this they’d have a field day. That’s the last thing he needed, especially now that he sensed he was making strides with Nellie. Maybe her damn date was just what he already knew—something she’d had planned long before their time in San Francisco. Luckily, it wasn’t even eight yet. It was probably too early for the vultures to be lurking. He squeezed her arm. “Let’s go tell Andy.”
Her eyes opened wide again; only this time she looked alarmed. Grabbing his hand, she tugged him along, laughing, but practically broke out into a sprint. “We gotta hurry. He mentioned that Noah had already made his choice. And even though he said you’d have the final say, I don’t want Noah telling any of his choices that they’re in and then say that it’s too late for me.”
Abel hurried along with her, assuring her she was in no matter what. Just as they got to the door, she brought her hands to her face again, her eyes doing the crying thing all over. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I cannot thank you enough.” She laughed against his neck. “As soon as we talk to Andy and Noah, I’m calling my dad. He’s gonna flip!”
Wrapping his arms around her waist, Abel couldn’t help smiling. Finally, Andy had an idea that wasn’t purely about getting publicity or sponsors. This might actually make the interview and photo shoot worth it.