“How do you know?” I whispered back, glancing at Alex while he talked to Glenn on the front porch steps while Mom was loading him up with leftovers.

“Because that shit’s on the team roster and I notice shit like that.”

“Oh” was all I could think to say, and I told him I would think of something.

Except, Garrett ended up coming up with a great idea and suggested I fly to New York secretly to surprise Alex after the game. They were going to be in New York for two days as the Cold Fury had back-to-back games with the Vipers and then the New Jersey Wildcats.

So here I stand, my knuckles tingling from the sharp rap against the door, and I wait with my breath held for Alex to open up.

When he does, I could kick myself in the ass for not having a video to memorialize the look on his face when he sees me. He blinks a few times and then rubs his eyes, almost as if he doesn’t trust the vision that is standing before him. He looks at me in question, his throat muscles working but no sound coming out.

“Happy birthday,” I say coyly as my hands unbelt the loose knot that holds the trench coat I’m wearing closed. When the belt works free, I peel open the coat, revealing his present.

It’s nothing more than my body scantily clad in scraps of blood-red lace, complete with garters, black silk stockings and a pair of sinfully sexy black pumps—an outfit that I purchased just yesterday before flying out that, along with the plane ticket, put a huge dent in my meager savings account.

Alex slowly drags his gaze down my body, his tongue swiping over his lower lip when he looks at my br**sts, which are barely hanging into the bra I’m wearing. His eyes move over me leisurely, all the way down to my toes, then slowly back up again. When he meets my eyes, I’m rewarded with nuclear heat shining bright in his blue irises, and he reaches out to me.

Grabbing the ends of the belt hanging loosely by my sides, he pulls me into the room roughly, straight into his hard body, causing me to gasp in surprise. He kicks the door shut with his foot.

“What are you doing here?” he asks, his voice growling in what seems to be anger, but I know better. It’s full-blown lust, and this is verified by the very heavy erection that is pulsing against my belly right now.

“Surprise,” I say with a gentle laugh, my fingers starting to work at his belt. He must have just gotten into the room because he’s still in dress pants and shirt, only his shoes and socks having been discarded.

Alex swallows hard as I remove his belt and toss it to the floor. My fingers then go to the buttons on his shirt, and I work quickly to remove it along with the soft white T-shirt he has on underneath. When I look up at him, his jaw muscle is ticking and his gaze scorches me.

I lower my hand and palm his erection through his pants. “I want you in my mouth, Alex. I want to suck you off until you scream my name.”

Alex’s look darkens as he curses, “Fuck…when did you learn dirty talk like that?” He flexes his h*ps toward my hand, urging me to stroke him through the material.

“That’s not dirty talk,” I tell him as I give him a squeeze. “That’s what I’m telling you is going to happen.”

“Oh, f**k no it’s not,” he growls as his hands come up and jerk the coat from my shoulders. “You can’t show up at my room, wearing lingerie like that, and tell me you want to suck me off, not thinking that’s going to produce a certain reaction.”

His words are harsh, guttural, and slice deep into me with urgency and need. “Reaction?” I whisper.

Taking me by the shoulders, Alex turns me around and pushes me up against the door I had just walked through. The wood is cool against my skin, but Alex presses in tight against me from behind, providing blazing heat to counterbalance the sensation.

“Yeah…reaction. The reaction is I need to f**k you—right now, really hard and really fast.”

I start to argue, because I really wanted to give him a b**w j*b for his birthday, but my words drown in a moan as Alex reaches down and rips my underwear from my body. There’s a sharp bite as the lace digs into the skin on my hip, and then it’s gone.

Intense urgency must be his game because he no sooner rips my panties away than his hand is curling around the front of my body and he sinks two fingers into me…roughly.

And damn, it feels so good, I can’t do anything but spread my legs farther and hope to God he makes good on his promise to f**k me.

“You’re already wet, Sutton,” he murmurs in my ear while grinding his erection into my lower back. “Did thinking about having your lips wrapped around my c**k do that to you?”

“Y-e-s-s-s-s,” I stammer out, bracing my palms against the door and pushing my ass backward into him.

“Good, because that little proclamation of yours got me hard as a rock and I want to be inside of you so bad.”

He doesn’t need a response from me and I hear the sound of his zipper being lowered. I close my eyes and hold my breath, preparing myself for his delicious invasion.

Alex doesn’t make me wait. He pulls my h*ps back slightly and I assume he bends his knees to bring himself in alignment, but then he’s pushing his way into me.

I’m so wet right now…I can feel it, but I’m also tight and he’s not getting easy entrance from this standing position. He pulls back and pushes in with short bursts of energy, working a bit deeper each time.

“Are you okay?” he grunts in my ear.

“Yes,” I grit out.