He was, in a word, perfect. And she hadn’t thought perfect men existed except in fantasy land.
She settled into his arms, warm and content, waiting to hear what he’d say next.
“Michael took from you in your relationship but he didn’t give shit back. And I know this from what you’ve told me. He expected things from you. He punished you when you didn’t comply. But he didn’t give you anything back. You said he was cold and distant. He was never affectionate. He didn’t give you the things you needed. And he didn’t reward you when you did something that pleased him.”
She pursed her lips in distaste because Ash had nailed it right on the head. And the hell of it was she’d never seen it while she was in the relationship with Michael. She’d wrongly assumed that all relationships like the one she had with Michael were that way. Ash was fast proving her wrong.
“He didn’t show you affection. He didn’t do things for you because he knew you’d love them. And, baby, that’s wrong. Your relationship with him was all about him. Not about you. It was about what he could take from you without having to give back. And that’s ten sorts of fucked up. It’s no way for a man to treat a woman he’s supposed to cherish and protect.”
“You’re not like that,” she whispered.
His eyes flared. “Thank fuck you feel that way, baby. I wouldn’t be pleased at all if you thought I wasn’t giving you back what you needed from me. And if it ever comes to that, I want you to let me know. Because I’ll fix it. I won’t ever consciously do it. But if it does ever happen, I expect you to give me a loud wake-up call.”
She grinned. “No worries there, Ash. Now that you’ve shown me how it can be, I’m a greedy bitch and I’ll never go back to the way it was with Michael. You’ve spoiled me for any other man.”
His expression darkened. “It’s a good damn thing because I have no intention of you ever finding out what it’s like with another man. If I’m not giving you what you need, then you better be telling me what it is I’m not giving you because you going to another man for that . . . Not happening. You’re mine, Josie.”
“I’m yours,” she whispered, tracing her fingers down his firm jawline.
“Now, let’s talk about me letting you off the leash so to speak.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Leash? Ash, that sounds horrible! Is that what you think you’ve done? Put a leash on me?”
He laughed. “Was just joking with you, darling. Jace accused me of having a leash on you because I’ve been keeping you all to myself. And he’s right. I’ve kept a pretty tight rein on you this week. It’s me being selfish. I haven’t wanted to share you with anyone yet. And that’s not fair to you. You’ve only been out once this entire week.”
“I haven’t minded, Ash. I’ve loved this week with you. And I’ve been working. So it’s been fine.”
“Yeah, but it’ll get old after a while. I just wanted to make sure . . .”
He grimaced and broke off.
“Make sure of what?”
“Not important,” he said gruffly. “The point is that I want you to meet my friends. They’re the most important people in my life next to you. They’re my family. My real family. Gabe and Mia are going to get in late Saturday and if they’re up for it, I’d like to take you to meet everyone Sunday. I’d like you to meet my sister, Brittany, too. She’s having a hard time of it and she’s almost the same age as you. Mia and Bethany and Mia’s girls are a bit younger but I think you’ll like them too. Mia and Bethany have good heads on their shoulders and they both have hearts as big as Alaska.”