Page 29 of Owned

“Fair enough,” Ten said. “So what’s the plan?”

“Short of kidnapping her, there’s no fucking plan.” I gripped the ends of the towel. “She’s adamant that she wants to do this.”

“Stubborn, hmmm?” Ten’s eyes glittered. “Are you sure you can’t make her see reason?”

The way he said it sent a kick of heat through me, the dark part of me relishing the thought of all the ways it could make Rowan James ‘see reason’.

But no. I’d already decided I wasn’t doing that with her.

“I tried,” I said. “She wasn’t having it.”

“Well, I suppose that leaves kidnap as your only option then,” Ten said. “Of course, you’ll run into a few legal problems if you do that.”

“Thanks for the tip,” I replied, my tone acid.

He adjusted the grip on his racquet and folded his arms. “In all seriousness, I can see your issue. But if she’s refused your help, then there isn’t much you can do about it. She’s a grown woman. She can make her own decisions.”

“Sure, but she has no idea how people like Charlotte work,” I growled with some frustration. “Like I said, she’s young and a total innocent.”

Again Ten was silent before observing coolly, “This is about your mother, isn’t it?”

A small shock arrowed down my spine. Both he and Cal knew Mom had been driven to take her own life by my father’s treatment of her. They knew, too, that I’d made taking down Blackwood Bank my life’s mission. They’d offered their help, of course, but I’d refused, also of course. It was my revenge to take, not theirs, though I’d appreciated the offer.

“Yes.” I didn’t bother to deny it. “I don’t want to see another young woman get ripped apart by assholes like my father. That’s not a fucking crime, Ten.”

He stared at me a moment longer, then let out a long breath. “This is all so uncannily familiar. I’d offer to talk to her myself, or Cal perhaps, since she won’t listen to you, but that’s never worked out well for me.”

It was a self deprecating comment and amusement flickered through me, albeit briefly. Ten had gotten Cal to talk to his daughter Isabel after she’d run into her own difficulties with the Hamiltons, mainly because she wouldn’t listen to him. That had ended with Cal and Isabel getting together, which was still a sore spot for Ten.

Anyway, while his offer was a good one, if Rowan wouldn’t listen to me, she certainly wouldn’t listen to either of them.

“Appreciate it,” I said. “But having two rich fucks try to convince her not to sign Charlotte’s contract will only make her sign it faster.”

“Like that is it?” Ten’s hard mouth relaxed which was his version of a smile. “I know all about that kind of stubbornness.”

“You mean Zara?” I snorted. “It’s not the same.”

Ten shrugged. “A stubborn young woman is a stubborn young woman.”

“Difference is, I’m not sleeping with Rowan and I don’t get my kicks with a gag.”

Ten was a hardline dominant and Zara was apparently the perfect little sub. Not that either of them told any tales, but I knew. He was such a control freak that it made sense that he’d like control in the bedroom too.

“Really?” Ten said smoothly. “I thought you did anything and anyone.”

It was a barely noticeable barb, but it slid in all the same.

“Fuck, Ten.” I didn’t bother to hide my anger this time, ignoring the fact that getting angry about this made me the biggest goddamn hypocrite on earth. “You really think I’d touch her?”

He raised a brow. “You have a reputation, Atlas.”

“Sure. But I stay clear of younger women. Always have, always will.”

For a second it stood between us, my unspoken judgement about his own choices when it came to Zara, his sub. And he might have had said something about it if he’d been the same Ten he’d been before he’d met her. But he wasn’t that Ten anymore and now, he only shook his head. “You can keep the higher ground. I’m not going to fight you for it. I made the choices I made and I don’t regret any of them.” His eyes glowed, a fierce electric blue. “Including the ones that led me to Zara.”

I’d always told myself that I’d never comment on either his or Cal’s relationships, and that was still true. I didn’t want to overstep the bounds of our friendship — we were all competitive, territorial bastards and quite frankly friendship between us three shouldn’t have worked, yet it did. And I didn’t want to jeopardize that.

I let go of the towel and held up my hands in a gesture of surrender. “I wasn’t talking about you or Cal. What you do in your private lives isn’t mine to judge. I’ve got my own bullshit to deal with and yeah, I’ll own that.” I let my hands fall. “I just don’t want Rowan doing anything that’s going to ruin her life.”

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