He tried to push it aside, but Stella meant something to him, and he’d never made love to a woman that was part of his heart before.

He pulled out and drew her to the rug, then reentered her, this time making eye contact with her. She wrapped her legs tightly around him and as he cupped her butt and ground against her, her eyes widened. She reached up and skimmed her fingertips across his jaw.

“What are you doing to me?”

He wanted to say the words, but he was caught up in the emotion, didn’t want to spoil the moment by saying something she might not be ready for yet, so he lifted her arm above her head and caught her hand in his, then drove into her, giving her what she needed—what they both needed.

Her breathing quickened, her sex gripping his cock in a stranglehold of spasms.

“Trick, I’m coming.”

He bent and kissed her, absorbing her cries as she came. He let go, his orgasm like a lightning bolt of pure adrenaline as it burst from his body, pulse after pulse of pleasure that shattered him until he felt like he couldn’t take his next breath.

He finally rolled over onto his back, not sure whose breathing was more ragged—his or Stella’s.

“I think you might be trying to kill me,” she finally said.

He turned his head to see her staring up at the ceiling.

“You okay?”

She looked over at him and grinned. “Definitely okay. But thirsty.”

They cleaned up, then Trick fixed them tall glasses of ice water. Instead of getting dressed, Stella rummaged through his closet, found an old long-sleeved flannel shirt of his, and rolled up the sleeves.

He looked at her as she leaned against his kitchen counter. His shirt hung low on her thighs, showing off her long legs.

“I like you wearing my shirts. I was thinking about buying you some pajamas—the girl kind—to wear here, since we often end up naked, but I think I like this better.”

She took a sip of water, then set the glass on the counter and came over to him, lifting up to press a kiss to the column of his throat. “Me, too. Your clothes smell like you.”

A rush of possessiveness came over him, and he curled his arm around her waist and tugged her close for a long, deep kiss. When they came up for air, her cheeks were pink.

“Well, that was nice. Ready for round two, then?” she asked.

“Definitely, but first I think we need to talk.”

She gave him a wary look. “Uh-oh. Does this mean we’re breaking up? Though I suppose to break up we’d have to be a couple, and we’re not really that, are we?”

“Aren’t we? We’ve seen each other off and on for a year now, Stella. When I’m with you I don’t see anyone else. And frankly . . . I don’t want to see anyone else. So maybe it’s time we call this what it is—a relationship.”

Stella swallowed, hard. She’d meant to broach the subject with Trick tonight, but then she’d chickened out and they’d had sex instead.

Really great, phenomenal sex that had been emotional as well as physical. There had been something in Trick’s eyes when he’d had her on the floor, looking at her as he’d moved inside her, something that had tugged at her heart and hit all her hot buttons. She’d tried to dismiss it as just their awesome physical connection, but she’d known deep down it had been more than that.

And now . . .

“You want a relationship.”

“Yes. I’m in love with you.”

Oh, shit. This she hadn’t expected. “You are?”

His lips curved, and she lost herself in that sexy smile of his, the one that always mesmerized her and made her want to throw herself on top of him so he could have his way with her.

“Yeah. And I’ve never said that to any other woman before you, other than my mom and my sister. And that doesn’t really count, does it?”

She laughed. “I guess not. Except to your mother and sister, of course.”

Now was the time for her to confess her feelings. She opened her mouth to say the words, but hesitated.

“Trick, I . . .”

Come on, Stella. Man up and do this. You can trust him.

He rubbed her arm. “Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to say anything.”

“I love you.” She’d blurted it, and made it sound rushed and empty. She was an awful person.

He laughed. “I said you didn’t have to say it back.”

She stepped into him and wrapped her arms around him, tilting her head back so he could see the truth in her eyes. “I love you. I really do. I’m just new at this. And a little bit afraid.”