Complete Bliss (a Her Billionaires novella #3) by Julia Kent Page A

nearly three days.
    And they had to spend it talking with other people about their sex lives. Threesome sex lives. Josie had spelled it out clearly: he would “facilitate” the conversation between Mike, Dylan, Trevor, and Asshole.
    Er, Joe .
    A tray of these cakes would make it easier. Maybe if he sank into a sugar coma he could get through it. He didn’t relish being shoved into the role of group therapy leader for a bunch of guys who were about as interested in being there as Josie was in becoming a submissive wife some day. 
    But he would do it because she had asked him—pleaded and cajoled—and sweetly explained that she was so worried about Laura and Darla that this was the only option she could think of. It was a rare flash of emotional intimacy that he craved, and as she’d unfolded before him, pure and true, he couldn’t say no.
    The front door creaked open, and in walked the only man he knew who was as tall as himself, followed by a flash of blond hair at his armpit, then a darker man in between their heights. The first threesome was here, and he let out a huge sigh of relief, surprised by his own reaction. For whatever reason, it was easier to talk first to Mike, Dylan, and Laura than to the younger group.
    “Younger” made him cringe inside, because they were only seven years his junior, and yet Trevor, Darla and Ass—er, Joe—were a generation away, it seemed sometimes.
    “Hey,” Mike said in that casual, nearly stoic way he had, wearing the Zen of calmness so well.
    Alex stood up to shake hands and realized he was still holding the lobster cake. Josie plucked it from his fingers in the split second he was distracted, then shoved it down the front of her shirt.
    “Hah! Mine now.”
    He leaned down and murmured in her ear, “If we weren’t in public I’d retrieve that with my teeth.”
    “Oh, really?” She took the cake out of her shirt and pretended to slip it in the front of her pants, making him belly-laugh.  
    Laura looked at them with an expression of curiosity and pure happiness, so pleased, he knew, that her best friend had found what he hoped was enough. Sometimes the relationship seemed a little too easy. He liked all of her friends, got along well with Darla, and Josie didn’t mind living the life of a partner to a doctor who was gone most of the time.
    Other than her asking him to play Dr. Phil to a group of men who didn’t want to be there, his life with Josie was pretty damn perfect these days. The moving-in-together business had a few bumps—mostly Josie’s ego and her weird wall of fear that he would somehow smother her with love—but otherwise it was just fine. 
    Better than fine.
    He thought that was how Laura, Mike, and Dylan lived. Fine. Better than fine. If he and Josie had an annual income bigger than that of the starting lineup for the Boston Celtics, they’d be waaaay better than fine. Aside from a mountain of student loan debt, though, their financial future looked solid enough, and he wasn’t complaining.
    Dylan’s hand shot out, fast and strong, his grip like a vise made from titanium. Damn. Alex squared his shoulders during the handshake, drawing on core strength to match the ex-firefighter’s tight clasp. Both men smiled, and Dylan’s eyes flitted away, fast, as if he weren’t quite convinced this meeting was a good idea.
    Alex had to agree with him.
    Laura gave him a warm hug that reminded him of his own mother’s embraces, sweet and confident, caring and pure. You knew where you stood with them both, knew you were welcomed and appreciated exactly as you were. No pretense, no airs, no affect.
    That was refreshing.
    Josie was a skittish little dog by comparison when he watched her give out hugs and handshakes, her body trembling a bit, as if all the kinetic energy drained her muscles and bones to the point of the shakes, removing some essence that made her come unglued. Time would improve it, he hoped, but it pained him to watch her struggle with