Page 212 of Pure Recklessness

Yep. Blake was still CEO.

After the record number of subscriptions that were secured following the announcement party and the reaction to Blake’s speech, the board agreed to keep him on, which was a huge relief.

And rightly so.

We’d already had more than double the anticipated number of subscribers. Authors (including some from our competitors), narrators and celebrities alike were begging to get involved with SatisFya, and the feedback from advance listeners was beyond our wildest dreams.

Everything was amazing.

Just like my relationship with Blake.

Although we’d been living together for almost six months, every morning I still woke up convinced that this was all a fairytale.

Being with Blake was so joyful and easy. No drama (well, not since the announcement party stuff died down). No stress. Just lots of love, laughter, hugs and of course, amazing sex.

And I knew it was for keeps.

We’d already had the conversation about the future of our relationship and we’d agreed we wanted it all. Marriage, kids, the whole shebang.

There was no rush though. I still had a lot of living to catch up on. Plus, there was still loads that I wanted to achieve professionally. Blake was the same.

Most importantly, we wanted forever. Together.

‘Congrats on tonight!’ Seb came over to join Blake and me in a secluded corner by the bar.

All the guests were enjoying themselves, so we were taking a quick breather.

‘It’s going great, Ellie! Congrats, sis!’ Oscar joined us.

‘Thanks, bros!’ I replied.

‘I’m so proud of her.’ Blake wrapped his arm around me then planted a long, lingering kiss on my lips. It was so nice that everything was out in the open now and we didn’t have to hide our feelings any more.

‘I’m happy you guys are besotted and shit, but please, for the love of God, enough with the PDA!’ Oscar winced, before chuckling as Blake and I pulled away from the kiss.

Despite their aversion to our regular public displays of affection, Seb and Oscar had been so welcoming. Heath still had his guard up, but he was thawing a little. After what Pandora did, I knew he’d need more time.

I hadn’t met Blake’s sister yet or his parents, as they’d been travelling, but I’d said a quick hello during a video call. If I was honest, even though Blake assured me they’d be fine, I was terrified of meeting them in person. I wouldn’t be able to put it off much longer though as there was a big Devlin family event coming up soon, which meant I’d get to meet all of them. Yikes.

Speaking of parents, mine were officially head over heels in love with Blake.

After their initial meltdown, when they’d raced to London because they were worried I’d been corrupted by Mr Devil, they’d softened a lot.

They ended up staying with us for two days. Dad was cautious at first, but once Geoff had taken them to see the sights and he’d realised London wasn’t as terrible as he thought, he’d loosened up.

Then last month, they’d stayed for five whole days. As well as doing more sightseeing, I also took Mum and Dad to the Natural History Museum.

It was emotional at first. But instead of suppressing Dotty’s memory, I encouraged them to talk about her. And by the end of the trip, we were all smiling and reminiscing.

Another breakthrough came when my parents said they were proud of me for coming to London and making something of myself. They said they could see how happy I was and were glad that I’d found love with Blake.

After I’d picked my jaw off the floor from the shock, I’d cried happy tears. We’d hugged for ages and they’d promised to visit more often.

I’d considered inviting them tonight, but baby steps. Although they were more relaxed, I wasn’t sure if they were ready to be exposed to the dick-shaped cocktail glasses and cock cookies we had at this party just yet.

‘And thank fuck Pandora didn’t turn up this time,’ Seb added.

‘We had extra security and even installed face recognition cameras to make sure she didn’t get in,’ Blake replied.