Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 381 - Chapitre 390

Surprise gripped him at the earnestness and urgency in her tone. He leaned forward, his gaze narrowing at her.“You want out. What does that mean exactly, Brittany?”“I want away from them,” she said shakily. “All of them.”“What the hell did they do to you?” Ash demanded.She shook her head. “Nothing. I mean nothing more than usual. You know how they are, Ash. I’ve always envied you so much. You tell them to fuck off and you’ve made your own way. All I’ve done is marry a man my mother wanted me to, try to make the best of a bad situation and fail miserably. I got nothing in the divorce and I was okay with that. I just wanted out. But I have nothing without Mom and Dad’s help. And I don’t want it anymore. Because their help comes with strings. I’m thirty years old and what do I have to show for my life? No life, no money. Nothing.”The desolation in her voice hit Ash deep. He knew exactly what she meant. It could have easily been him in this same situation. His brothers certainly were

“Sounds like one big happy family,” she murmured.“Of sorts.”They arrived at the restaurant and the maître d’ immediately ushered them to the table always reserved for himself or Gabe or Jace when they chose to eat here.Josie sat across from Ash, but she didn’t fully relax. She was perched on the edge of her seat and her gaze kept darting left and right and beyond Ash. She looked ill at ease and like she’d rather be anywhere but here with him. His ego was taking one hell of a beating. Women didn’t normally have to be blackmailed in order to agree to a date with him.“Would you like wine?” he asked when a waiter immediately appeared.She shook her head. “No. Water will be fine. Thank you.”“Make that two,” Ash murmured to the waiter.“Don’t let me keep you from enjoying wine if that’s what you prefer,” she said. “I just don’t want to drink and then have to get back home. Alcohol makes me pretty fuzzy. Last thing I need to do is be stumbling around Manhattan after dark.”“So you can’t

“Now, tell me more about you. You’re an artist, obviously.”She nodded, not even tasting the food she put in her mouth. The steak smelled delicious and was so tender she could cut it with her fork. But the moment she put it on her tongue, the taste didn’t register. She was too preoccupied with Ash, and the proposition he’d put before her.“Are you able to make a living at it?” he asked.It was a personal question, but then Ash didn’t seem the sort of man who worried too much about propriety or boundaries.“More so now,” she said ruefully. “I’ve been able to make it. It’s not always easy. But I’ve tried regular nine-to-five jobs. I don’t have a passion for it. Not like I do for my art. I’ve sold a few pieces here and there and I design jewelry and sell it over the Internet. I make enough to pay my rent. Most times,” she added with a grimace. “This month was lean for me. Internet orders, which are usually steady, were down and I hadn’t sold any of the art I display in a gallery in the l

Jace’s face crinkled in sympathy. “So what are you going to do?”“Well, I have plans tonight with Brittany, and you and Bethany if you can make it, but tomorrow I’m employing a full-court press. I’m done sitting back and being patient. If she’s going to tell me no, I at least want to hear it from her lips instead of enduring this prolonged silence.”“Good luck man. I hope it works out for you. And at the risk of being a total hypocrite since I got in your face for checking up on Bethany, have you checked Josie out?”Ash nodded. “Yeah, I did. After our first meeting in the park. No skeletons in her closet that I uncovered anyway.”“Okay, well, if there’s anything I can do, you know you only have to ask. If you get her to agree, we’ll have to hook up, and when Gabe and Mia get back from their honeymoon, we can all get together. You can introduce Josie to Mia and Bethany. They have a good group of girlfriends, and I’ll tell you from experience, when they have their girls’ nights out?” He

Her smile broadened, her teeth flashing and an adorable dimple forming in her cheek. It fascinated him. Made him want to trace the indention and then follow it with his tongue.“I’m kind of getting that about you. I pity the person that ever tells you that you can’t do something.”“Yeah, that doesn’t go over too well,” he admitted.“I’ll try not to be the person who pisses you off by telling you no, then.”His smile faded and he stared intently into her eyes. “I hope to hell I never give you reason to tell me no. But if you do, Josie, understand. I won’t ignore that word. Unless it has something to do with your safety or well-being. Or if it means you walking away from me. No is a deal breaker. It means I stop whatever I’m doing. So use it wisely and only if you mean it. Because I take that word very seriously.”Her eyes went soft and she leaned further into him, her body molding so very temptingly to his. His balls ached, his dick was stiff as a board and his teeth were clenched tigh