Page 35 of Dearest Protector

I’d never blow smoke up Ariel’s ass, no matter how gorgeous that ass might be. Her skill was unique, priceless, and extraordinary.

She’d sell everything so fast that her head would swim.

The buzz for her work was real, constant, and continually growing on social media.

Her creations were stunning, riveting, and emotional. I’d been her biggest fan since I’d seen her portfolios for the first time a month ago.

“I accept that invitation. Where are you taking me for dinner?” I asked, teasing her to try to distract her from her anxiousness about her success.

In her case, worrying really wasn’t necessary. I was willing to bet my entire company that she’d sell beyond her wildest dreams.

“If, by some miracle, I sell all of these prints, I’ll take you anywhere you want,” she said sincerely and shot me a nervous smile. “You get to decide.”

Fuck!She absolutely meant that, which stunned me.

To her, it didn’t matter if I was one of the richest guys in the world.

She’d happily spend her hard-earned money on me because I was herfriend.

Would I let her do it?

No.There wasn’t a chance in hell that I’d take anything from her that would reduce the amount of money she could spend on herself or save. Because we talked, because I knew her, I realized what having some security meant to her after everything she’d been through.

But just the fact that I knew she was willing to do that for me was enough to turn my guts inside out.

The way her mind worked fascinated the hell out of me.

She was the sweetest, most thoughtful, and giving woman I’d ever met.

That didn’t mean she couldn’t be stubborn as hell when she wanted to be or when she thought it was necessary.

Unfortunately, all of those traits, including her tendency to be obstinate when she was adamant about something, just seemed to get my cock harder. Even her occasional hardheadedness was sexy as hell to me.

In fact, there wasn’t a damn thing about Ariel thatdidn’tmake my dick hard, which was unfortunate for me since I was currently securely entrenched in her friend zone.

My brows furrowed as I watched Ariel run a hand over her right foot for the third time since she’d sat down on the couch.

When it came to her, I was observant, and I’d never seen her do that before.

I nodded at her foot as I asked, “You okay? Is something wrong with your foot?”

Her head jerked up from her computer, and her expression changed to a deer-in-the-headlights look.

That was a sure sign that something was definitelynotright, and she didn’t want to tell me.

Okay, so maybe shedidn’ttell meeverything.

I found that strange since she’d shared some fairly personal stuff.

She quickly let go of her foot as she said a little too brightly, “I’m fine.”

Bullshit!Shewasn’tfine. I knew her well enough to spot a fabrication when I saw one. “Ariel,” I said in a warning voice.

Her overly bright expression dimmed. “Okay, okay,” she said grudgingly. “My injured foot is a little uncomfortable sometimes. I’m going to see a doctor tomorrow. It’s not a big deal, Ben. I still have hardware in my foot from my surgeries for the fractures. It was crushed and broken so badly that they literally had to piece the bones back together. I think some of that hardware is intruding a little into a tendon. The specialist in New York mentioned it might have to be removed at some point. Maybe a year or so after the initial surgeries so it had enough time to completely heal. I’m getting close to that date. I won’t know much until I see a doctor. I’m really sorry. I should have told you that I might need to take some time off to get that done, and I feel totally guilty about that because I haven’t worked for you for long.”

Christ!Why hadn’t I known that earlier?

Like I gave a flying fuck about her taking time off?

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