Let It Shine by Alyssa Cole

it was her that he gazed at with affection? Sofie found she didn’t care as much as she should have. For the moment, they were alone and Ivan was waiting for her, hand outstretched.
    “Want to see what it’s like from the inside?”
    She’d thought she would be turned off by the smell and the boys’ club atmosphere of the place, but she had to admit it was exciting, not least because she was alone with Ivan. She stepped out of her shoes and took his hand, giving a yip as he pulled her up and into the ring without even mussing her clothing.
    “Wow,” she said as she walked across the taut canvas. She bounced a bit, testing its give, and threw a few playful jabs his way. “You must feel like a king when you’re in here with people cheering for you.”
    His eyes tracked her as she moved, like she was quarry that he didn’t plan on letting escape.
    “It has its perks,” he said, walking toward her. She moved backward in response, following the moves of some pre-scripted dance between them. She didn’t think Ivan walked toward his opponents like this as he backed them up against the ropes.
    “Tell me something, Sofie.” The tone of his voice made her breath catch. It was deeper, more sultry, and he knew exactly how to wield it. “Yesterday you told me that you were the one who convinced David and Henrietta to do that sit-in. You were the one who decided it was the right time to act. How long did it take you to come to that decision?”
    Sofie felt like an animal that sees the snare tightening right before its capture. That feeling should have frightened her, but that wasn’t why her heart was racing. “It just…happened. I just knew it was the right thing to do, and I trusted what I was feeling. For the first time in forever, I didn’t second-guess myself or think of the proper thing to do.”
    Ivan moved closer. Her gaze was locked with his, but she felt the rope along her back vibrate as he grabbed it on either side of her.
    “You’re telling me that you rushed into a situation that could have gotten you kicked out of school, left you with a permanent record, or killed you, all based on a feeling?” His words were liquid insinuation. When she nodded, he tugged at the rope, bouncing her closer to him.
    “I guess you could say rushing things isn’t always such a bad idea then, huh?” He leaned down and kissed her, and again she felt the touch of his mouth in every part of her body. Her hands flattened over the hard muscles of his chest, and she felt his pecs jump as her palms made contact, like she was electrifying him.
    His tongue eased a gentle entry, completely at odds with the coiled strength she felt in him, and she allowed it. When she opened for him, the gentleness faded. His tongue searched out hers with long, rough strokes. She knew his lips were soft, but they felt anything as they pressed against hers. One of his hands left the rope to cup her face as he kissed her into submission.
    “Sofie.” Her name was a plea. “I know we’ve just reconnected after all this time, and there’s so much to do in the world. But I feel like…I really feel like we have something here.”
    “That’s easy to say when your hand is in my shirt,” she said with a breathless laugh. She glanced down to where his fingers had slid through the sleeve holes of her silky shell, stroking the sides of her breasts through her bra.
    “That it is. Should I remove it?” he asked, stroking the back of his index finger over her taut nipple. Sofie arched her back, pushing into his touch. Her cheeks were aflame at the seediness of it all, but that didn’t stop the pulsing between her legs or the way her drawers were soaked through. “That’s not an answer,” he said, and she felt the quick slide of his hand away from her.
    “No,” she gasped. “Don’t.” She knew there was nothing ladylike at all about the pure, blatant need that made her ache for his touch, but none of that mattered now.
    He made a sound of