Page 30 of Taken Online

He chuckled, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I didn’t like hands on me. I was about to tell him so, when we were interrupted.

“Derek.”

Blake’s voice dropped. Cold. Serious.

The temperature in the room plummeted, and evenDereklooked rattled.

“Aye, my favorite brother,” Derek said with a smirk. “Introduce me to the cute brunette you’ve been hiding.”

I turned toward Blake, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes. When I looked back, Derek had already taken a step away from me.

Gone.

“Ignore him,” Blake said. “He flirts with everyone.”

He was smiling again. Warmer, maybe. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.

I hid behind my now-empty glass.

“How was the drive? Are you hungry?” he asked.

“I—”

“Blake! Love, come try Kim’s lasagna!”

Her again.

Still glued to him.

She was smiling up at him like he belonged to her. And he smiled back.

“Would you like to try some, Ash?” he asked, gesturing toward the kitchen.

I followed behind them both. Reluctantly.

Why the fuck did I come? And where was this irritation coming from?

Chapter Eight

BLAKE

Ihadn’texpectedthistobe the way Asher would end up in my house for the first time. Not like this. Not in the middle of a party, under the pretense of "exposure therapy." But here he was, and I couldn’t pretend it didn’t make me feel something, something tight and tangled just beneath my skin.

He looked good. Not in his usual camera-ready way, either. He was quieter than usual, brows pinched with unease as he circled the dessert table like he was trying not to be noticed. There was a small pout on his lips when he skipped past the chocolate options. I watched him quietly.

He doesn’t like chocolate. I didn’t know that. And I hate that I didn’t know.

Still, he was here. In my house. Not with his so-called boyfriend. He gave that up so quickly when I told him to create distance, it was almost too easy. He didn’t argue. Didn’t resist. That small compliance sparked something deep in my chest, a sick satisfaction I didn’t care to examine too closely.

Wendy was clinging to my arm, her voice in my ear like static. She was smiling and talking and laughing at all the right cues, but I couldn’t concentrate. I kept watching Asher.

I needed to get him alone before he slipped away and ruined the entire evening.

“Asher,” I said, cutting through Wendy’s endless chatter. I turned to her with a polite smile. “I’m going to show him around a bit, alright?”

She smiled back, too easily. “Of course.”

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