He grimaced. “I hate when interviewers get personal. What did she ask?”

“She asked if I was seeing someone. I panicked and said there was no one special in my life.”

“Oh.” He shrugged. “Good answer.”

Just like that? “And you’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad about that? Did you think I’d want you to declare your undying love for me in a magazine interview?”

“Well, I guess not.”

“Come on, Mia. She was out of bounds and you gave a professional answer without coming right out and telling her your personal life was none of her damn business. Which it isn’t.”

Her entire body relaxed in relief. “Thank you. I was so worried you’d be angry.”

“Why? I don’t give the media any information about my personal life because it’s not for them to know. They can have all the information they want about what I do on the field. Off the field? Not their business. The same has to hold true for you. I mean, they’re always going to dig up something here and there because that’s the nature of the business these days. But you sure as hell don’t have to be the one to feed it to them, ya know?”

She nodded. “You’re right. She just caught me off guard because I didn’t expect the question.”

“Even the most reputable journalists will sometimes dig into your personal business. Now that you know that, you’ll be better equipped to handle it the next time.”

“You’re right. I will.” With a renewed sense of relief, she finished up her meal, then cuddled up with Nathan to watch the movie.

At least one issue had been resolved tonight. The other one she decided to table for the moment. She felt such ease right now she didn’t want to build up the tension again with a “Hey, how do we feel about love?” conversation.

That could definitely wait for another time. It was enough that he wasn’t mad at her about what she’d said during her interview. She didn’t even know why she’d worried about it. She knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t take it seriously.

Would he ever take anything seriously, including her? Including them?

As they watched the movie, she chewed on a hangnail that had been giving her grief all day. Which was probably some ridiculous metaphor for leaving things hanging.

She blew out a breath.

Nathan rubbed her arm. “You okay?”

“Fine. Still trying to blow off the remnants of the day.”

He brought his hand up to her neck, teasing her skin with the lightest touch of his fingers. “Hard to get rid of that tension sometimes, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” She straightened, then turned to face him, crossing her legs over each other. “And I just realized I never asked about your day, which makes me a terrible friend.”

“Girlfriend.”

“What?”

“We’re more than friends, Mia, aren’t we?”

Yet another thing she couldn’t get right. “Yes, of course we are. So anyway, that makes me a terrible girlfriend.”

He laughed. “Hey, it’s okay for you to be all about you sometimes.”

“No, it’s not.” She took his hand and entwined her fingers with his. His hands were so much larger than hers, his fingers rough and calloused. She could feel the amount of strength in his hands, and yet he was always so gentle with her.

“How did practice go?”

“It went well. We’re focused, offensive line and receivers look good. The cuts were tough this week, but it only makes the team stronger.”

“And you’ll get more playing time in the game this weekend.”

“Yeah. A shorter week since we play on Saturday, but that’s okay. I’m more than ready for it.”

“I’ll for sure be there.”

He moved his hand to her leg, snaking his fingers along her knee and up toward her thighs.

“To watch your brother play, right?”

Her next breath hitched as he slipped his fingers inside one leg of her shorts.

“Please do not mention my brother while your fingers are inching their way up toward my pussy.”

He pushed her back onto the sofa, then tucked his fingers inside her underwear.

“Slick, hot pussy, too,” he said, moving to lean over her, not once stopping his movements across her sex.

He painted her with her own moisture, teasing her clit with broad, circular strokes.

The tension she’d felt earlier dissolved, replaced with a new form of tension, this one taut with needy desire. She raised her arms above her head and arched her hips to search out more of that heady sensation.

Give up sex with Nathan? What was she thinking? She made a mental note to underline at least three or four times in her planner how awesome the sex was. With her favorite purple pen. Because damn he was good at this.

And when he slipped a finger inside of her and began to pump, she moaned her pleasure. He used his finger to slowly and steadily thrust in and out of her, his knuckles brushing against her clit in an agonizingly sweet way that made her climb ever higher toward orgasm.

He added another finger inside her, then swirled his thumb over the bud.

“Oh, yes,” she said. “Oh, I’m going to come.”

“That’s it,” he said. “Come on, babe. Feel me fucking you with my fingers. Come on my fingers, Mia.”

His voice was soft, coaxing the orgasm from her.

The double sensation was more than she could bear. She released with an incredible climax that left her breathless, yet still wanting more.

Nathan did, too, because with his fingers still moving within her, he leaned over and kissed her, a soft kiss that sparked her passions to a fevered pitch.

She smoothed her hand over his jaw. “Let’s get naked.”

His lips curved. “Thought you’d never ask. Want to go upstairs?”

She shook her head. “No. Right here.”

“I’ll go grab a condom. Get to taking off those clothes.”

She smiled at him, and he disappeared upstairs. She stood, pulled off her tank top and discarded her bra, then shimmied out of her shorts and underwear.

Nathan returned and shed his T-shirt, jeans and underwear, put on the condom and took a seat on the sofa.

“Come here, babe,” he said, holding his hands out for her. “I want you to wrap those beautiful legs around me.”

She settled in on his thighs, easing down over his rigid cock. The sensation was amazing as he filled her. When she was fully seated on him, she wrapped her legs around his back and her arms around his neck.

“This is good,” he said, cupping her butt in his hands. “You and me, close together like this. I can touch you everywhere.”

He demonstrated by using one hand to brush across her nipples.

“And I can kiss you.”

He put his lips on hers, and then he thrust into her. She felt a flash of heat and sensation unlike anything she’d ever felt before. Maybe it was being so connected to him, being filled by him, while he kissed her and touched her at the same time.

The way he looked at her, as if he was looking deep into her while he moved within her, made her feel that connection between them like never before. Maybe it was the rush of her emotions, her head and her heart adding to the feelings of her body. She had no idea, but this felt like a first.

She wrapped herself around the feeling and soaked it in, letting every wondrous sensation rain down over her as he moved within her.

She brushed her palm over his jaw, his beard sending tingles of pleasure straight to her sex.

She leaned back, bracing her palms on the sofa. He shifted, falling on top of her but balancing his weight.

She’d had her eyes closed, falling on that blissful cloud of sensation, reveling in every nuanced feeling.

Until Nathan said, “Mia, look at me.”

She opened her eyes and Nathan locked gazes with her. The intensity of it doubled her emotional reaction. She wasn’t sure if he felt what she felt, but it seemed as if there was something different about the way he looked at her.

Or maybe it was just her, projecting her own feelings.

He reached up and locked fingers with her, then put his lips on hers in a kiss that spoke more of love than of sex, that said more of emotion than of just fucking.