“Relax,” Joel says in a hushed tone. “You trust me?”

“Yes,” I say. And I do. God help me, I really do.

“Good.” He slaps my ass playfully. “We should have the condom talk.”

I laugh at his openness. Probably should have had it ten minutes ago, but better now than tomorrow. “I’m on the pill, but I think we should still use a condom just in case.”

“I’m clean. We get blood work drawn every couple months, and it just so happened to fall last month,” he says all this, my, well, my everything, still up in the air on display.

“Okay, but since then you could have come in contact with something.” I’m not sure if it’s more humiliating that we’re having this conversation or that he’s basically having it with my lady parts. I walk on all fours up the bed and to the nightstand to get my purse. I pull out the condoms Gabby gave me earlier, set them on the bed still refusing to look up as I sit back on my knees. Wow, adulting is hard. But then again, the other option is an STD or child and well I learned my lesson on safe sex the hard way.

“Haven’t come in contact with anything, but if you want me to wear one, of course I will.” He follows me onto the bed and pulls my dress up and over my head. I’m not wearing a bra and he cups my breasts in his big palms. “Damn, Kitty. Your tits are fantastic. Add motorboating to my new list of hobbies.”

“It’s not like you can tell by looking with every STD,” I tell him before I lose this moment and my last opportunity to voice all my concerns.

He removes his stare from my breasts and shakes his head slowly, side to side. A broad smile overtakes his handsome face and his eyes bore into mine. “No, you misunderstand. It’s not possible. I haven’t been with anyone since then. Been focused solely on you, babydoll.”

“Come on. You can’t expect me to believe that.” I roll my eyes and push playfully at his bare chest.

“It’s true.”

“Why?” The question is out before I can stop it. I don’t want him to lie or pretend we’re something we’re not, but I need to know.

“Same reason I had a standing reservation at Araceli’s. I knew eventually you were going to say yes.”

“Wow. You’re good.”

He takes me down onto the bed with him, rolls on top of me, cradling my head with his hands as he stares down at me. “Kitty, you have no idea.”

The attention and love he gives my body is so very Joel. Thorough, dedicated, and hot as fuck.

He’s rough but somehow still gentle. Not one single inch of my body is missed. He gives me everything except the one thing I’m dying for. I’m grinding beneath him, pleading with my hips, for him to put me out of my misery. “You ready, Katrina?”