“Don’t apologize. I’ve been an idiot—”

“Stop,” she said, bringing her fingers to his lips. He frowned but then kissed them. “You’ve been through a lot, Felix, things most guys your age or even older will never go through—never experience. Overwhelming is still overwhelming and a lot to take in, even when it’s good. And you’ve had tremendous good and bad.”

Ella had been doing her homework for weeks now about everything Felix. She looked him square in the eyes because she wanted him to understand that she knew about everything he’d been through, including something she’d recently come across but had found so little about. The story read almost as if it’d been a rumor that never took off or something Felix had managed to keep under wraps, because she was only able to find bits and pieces of it.

The photo she’d seen downstairs near the one she’d picked up earlier and his reaction to her being in that room so close to it had her thinking there just might be some truth to the heartbreaking story after all. Something that big she thought he would’ve told her by now. If there was any credibility to the few accounts she’d read, it was way too heavy a subject to tackle tonight. Still, there was something she wanted to make sure to share with him.

“One of the things I asked my mother before she died, because I was so in awe of her strength, was how she did it. How had she been so strong through it all? The loss of my sister and then being diagnosed with breast cancer. Dealing with it all and getting her family through it and at the same time wanting to make a difference in the community. Her answer to my question will forever stay with me.” Ella could still see her mother saying it to her now. “Being strong and having hope that things will get better is the only real choice you have in times of struggle. It’s either that or be defeated.”

For a moment, neither said anything. Felix stared through her. Though his eyes were still on her, she could tell he wasn’t really looking at her. He was letting her mom’s words simmer.

Then there was a bittersweet smile. “So that’s where all that tenacity of yours comes from.”

Ella nodded. “But it’s not easy, Felix. Not everyone can dig that deep and come up with strength. Everybody deals with struggle differently like you did. Like my father. It’s been years since my mother’s death and longer since my sister’s, but he’s never gotten over either. He’s dealing with it, just differently than most people.”

She left it at that, afraid he might ask more on exactly how her dad dealt with it. She touched his face softly as he pulled her closer to him by the waist. “What you’ve done isn’t terrible, Felix. You’re a gorgeous, famous athlete, who has women throwing themselves at him. You have money to travel the world and enjoy the extravagant things, and you have, as you should. You earned it. You trained hard to get here. Anyone who says they wouldn’t do the same is lying.”

“Maybe it took meeting you to realize I don’t need all those things to be happy,” Felix said kissing her softly. “I think this is the longest I’ve been in one place in years, and I can’t think of a single place I’d rather be than here or anywhere where I can be with you.” He kissed her even deeper as her insides began going crazy. “I could stay here forever,” he whispered against her lips as they backed up onto one of the oversized chaises.

He sat down bringing her with him, and she fell over him willingly—breathlessly, her body beginning to tingle everywhere as she rubbed up against his hard body below hers. They’d gotten a bit heated in the privacy of that stairwell, but the anticipation of being able to do more now had her trembling so much it was almost embarrassing.

He stopped suddenly and pulled back to look at her. “This is not why I brought you here tonight. I want you to know—”

She kissed him hard, sucking his tongue, and smiled against his mouth when she heard him moan. Feeling his length against her thigh made her gulp, and she remembered Carmen’s comment about him being hung like a . . . Just the thought made her even more breathless.

Rubbing against it with her thigh, she willed him to do more. She wanted his big hands all over her. She’d been day dreaming about this for weeks now. Never had she felt this damn aroused in her life. The times they’d made out up until now had been sweet and at times had become frenzied, but she’d thought what she’d felt was a bit extreme because of who he was. She attributed the acute urgency she’d begun to feel lately to the fact that she was making out with the very famous boxer, who up until recently she’d considered completely unattainable—a fantasy.

Felix lifted one leg onto the chaise, leaving the other on the floor, and her body automatically shifted in between his open legs. The huge bulge was at waist level now, and she could no longer resist the urge to run her hand over his jeans, her fingers tracing down his breathtaking length.

He groaned at her touch, arching his back, his arms coming around her tighter. “Ella,” he said anxiously. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

Was he nuts? She moaned against his lips. Was she giving out any signal that she didn’t want to do this? She’d jumped his bones the moment he fell back on that chair, and now she was groping him shamelessly.

She really should slow down. Felix was probably used to this reaction from girls. Where the hell was her modesty? Just when she was going to try and show a little self-restraint, Felix lowered his hand down under her skirt and between her legs. There’d be no hiding how hot she was now.