Page 27 of Sacrifice (Corrupt Empire 2)

“And you’ve been staying with that… sex god all this time?” Gert asked, her voice low.

“Not you as well,” James muttered.

“What do you mean?”

James sniggered and my face burnt. I could hardly blame Gert for thinking Aiden was hot. He basically screamed sex, lust, power and danger. Not to mention how beautiful he was to look at. And the stunning artwork covering the skin beneath his shirt. I almost couldn’t believe he was real and mine.

“Aiden is my boyfriend,” I said.

“Excuse me? He’s your what?”

“The man she’s shacking up with and fucking, Gertie,” James said.

I put my head in my hands. Trust James to make a comment like that. He had no tact when we were alone. There was a cough from Gert. I looked up.

Oh for fuck’s sake.

Aiden stood there with two wine glasses in his hands and a raised eyebrow.

Can the ground swallow me up right now?

I got up and went over to him, taking the glasses from his hands.

“Sorry about that,” I whispered.

He reached up, cupping my face.

“He’s not wrong about the fucking part,” he replied, his voice too low for the other two to hear.

“I swear you and James are making it your mission to embarrass me.”

He leant down, kissing my forehead.

“So innocent, princess.”

Before I could retort, he walked away back towards the kitchen. I went over to James and Gert, handing them a glass of wine each.

“Oh, god, you two are so cute,” Gert said, sighing.

I wouldn’t exactly describe Aiden as cute. Dangerous, yes. Cute, definitely not.

She turned to me, eyes wide.

“Hold on, what about Peter?”

“You did see me publicly say it wasn’t going to happen between me and him, right?” I said.

“Well, I can hardly blame you. Shit babe, you did good.”

I gave her a warning look as Aiden came back. He handed me a glass before sitting on the arm of the sofa next to me, his hand curling around the back of my neck. His touch sent tingles down my spine.

“So… you’re the one who’s been hiding my best friend then?” Gert said.

“You could say that,” Aiden replied.

I eyed James who shook his head. We weren’t going to tell her the truth.

“I asked him to, so blame me,” I said.

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