Page 136 of Betrayed

“Thanks, Ashley.” Her words meant a lot to me.

Thinking back to what Jack had said, I asked, “Was I ever mean or disrespectful to you?”

“AJ, you were always a perfect gentleman,” she answered. “Why do you ask? Did someone say otherwise?”

“No, I’m just worried about my temper.” There. I’d said it. Well, I hinted at it.But it’s more than I’d normally admit.

“Temper? I never worried about your temper.” She made air quotes around the word temper. “I’ve seen you in work mode and you can look pretty fucking mean and scary, but that’s part of your charm.” She laughed. “Seriously though, I never felt anything but safe with you.”

I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Maybe Jack was right; I’d learned how to control my anger along the way without even realizing it.

“Thanks.” I hugged her.

“You’re welcome. Now take your girl home. She’s been through hell and deserves a couple of orgasms to take her mind off things.”

I was on board with giving Blake as many orgasms as she wanted, but couldn’t, wouldn’t, talk about them with Ashley.

“Jesus.” I prayed Blake hadn’t heard her. “I can’t discuss this with you, or anyone.”

“What? I’ll always advocate for my friends getting lots of big Os.”

For the first time in my life, talking about sex made me uncomfortable. I didn’t want to share what I had with Blake with anyone, not even someone advocating for multiple orgasms.

“I’m glad you like her,” I said, desperate to change the subject.

Meg, Emily, and Ashley were the type of friends Blake needed in her life. They’d stand by her side through thick and thin, celebrate her wins, and cry for her losses.

Not that I knew many of Blake’s friends. I’d only met the two. The jury was still out on Paige, but she was growing on me now that I’d seen a different, Fuckface-free side of her. And Fuckface, he could fuck right the fuck off.

Ashley would be proud of the nickname I’d given him.

I looked at Blake.Hopefully, hanging out with Ashley won’t be weird for her. They’d see a lot of each other now that we were an item.

Just say it, Janerek. You’re dating.And living together. Because I had exactly zero intention of letting our living arrangement be temporary.

Chapter 62

Blake

After spending the week elbow deep in legal paperwork and school work, I was happy when Friday rolled around and I turned twenty-five with very little fan fair.

“Happy Birthday, Sweetheart.”

I woke up to those words, a dozen red roses, and a large coffee.

“Mmm, thank you.” I sat up and accepted the coffee before taking the roses and inhaling deeply. “They’re beautiful.”

“Want breakfast in bed? Or maybe I could fill you up in other ways,” he teased.

I let my eyes wonder over the tattoos on his chest. I now knew every line by heart and would never grow tired of tracing them with fingers or my tongue.

AJ flexed his pecs, making me laugh.

I lifted a hand to his six-pack abs and traced a line down the center. “Maybe a quickie before my meeting.”

AJ turned our breakfast into sandwiches so we could eat them on the way to my attorney’s office. Wanting his quiet support, I’d asked AJ to come with me. By noon, I had signed the paperwork transferring my late grandfather’s fortune to me.

I couldn’t hold back my laugh when AJ’s eyes almost bugged out of his head when he learned just how much I was worth.

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