Checking the closet and all the drawers in the bedroom for about the fiftieth time, I noted that nothing had miraculously appeared inside them since I last checked an hour ago.

Yeah, I’m a tiny bit neurotic. You almost have to be to earn a degree in Biochemistry with a 4.0 GPA at Texas A&M University. And to ace the MCAT exam for med school.

I checked the drawers and cabinets in the bathroom once more before setting a towel and washcloth on the edge of the spotless white bathtub. I made a mental note to wash them with my sheets in the morning.

Putting my phone on the floor beside the tub so I could call Axel while I was bathing, I turned to the mirror and scraped my thick auburn hair up into a high ponytail. I wanted to make sure he was coming over tonight so I could finally talk to him privately. I had put it off for two days because we had been surrounded by our families, who had arrived in College Station, Texas, for our college graduation ceremonies, but it was time.

Fuck, I’m nervous about the conversation we’re going to have, I thought as I walked back into my bedroom and bent to grab some clean underwear from the box labeled “Lingerie.”

Someone grabbed me from behind, and I screamed, but a large hand went over my mouth and stifled the sound. My heart rate kicked up a notch until I recognized the familiar scent, and it eased to a steady thump. Then I was being spun around and lifted with a set of big, strong arms around my butt until my chest was level with his face. My boyfriend, Axel, looked up at me with his most wicked grin. “Hey, sweet thang,” he said.

Though it was probably no more bothersome than a fly landing on him, I swatted at his broad, hard chest. “Dammit, Ax. You scared the hell out of me. You’re awfully stealthy for a big guy.”

“And you’re awfully beautiful for a genius.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere.”

“That’s what I was counting on,” he said, circling his nose around my left breast. A low hum of appreciation had his lips vibrating against my skin as he sucked my nipple into his mouth through my shirt. When he pulled his head back and looked up at me, his sapphire-blue eyes drew me into their glinting depths. “Do you have any idea how fucking proud I am of you?”

I rested my hands on his broad shoulders and leaned down to kiss his soft lips. “I’m proud of you, too, baby.”

Axel scoffed. “What the hell did I do? You’re the one who graduated summa cum laude with a degree in bio-fucking-chemistry, whereas I scraped by with a 2.9 in Kinesiology.”