Page 49 of Owned

I hadn’t even thought of that angle. “Okay, but that’s not what I’m worried about.”

“Ah.” He turned from the bath and came over to where I was sitting, putting his hands on the vanity on either side of my thighs and leaning in. It put him in very close proximity, which naturally made all my senses go haywire. “Why are you worried?” he asked, golden eyes searching mine. “Isn’t a pregnancy what you signed up for?”

I found myself getting distracted by the shape of his beautiful mouth and had to wrench my brain firmly back on track. “I did,” I said, trying to articulate my discomfort. “But…it’s not happening the way I imagined it at all.”

“Right. You didn’t imagine doing it the old fashioned way, hmm?”

“No. There were going to be tests and check-ups and?—”

“And none of this is happening on your schedule,” he finished.

I reddened, because of course he was right. I’d expected it all to go a certain way, and now here I was, sitting on his vanity after he’d taken my virginity downstairs and told me that he owned me, none of which I’d planned on.

“Listen, beauty,” he went on, reading my expression with uncanny ease. “You want to control everything, which I get since I’m a control freak myself. But life doesn’t work that way. Things happen that you have no control of all the time, which means you have to adapt.”

“Don’t patronize me,” I said, irritated by his ton. “I know things happen and I?—”

He leaned forward and kissed me, stopping me in mid-tirade, and instantly all thought left my head. His mouth was hot and firm, his kiss sensual, and I leaned into him, wanting more. But he pulled away, leaving me breathing fast and almost reaching out to pull him back.

“If you’re going to wind yourself up again, I might have to punish you.” The heat in his eyes stole my breath. “But since you’re probably sore, I don’t think you’d like the kind of punishment I have in mind.”

I opened my mouth again, to say what I didn’t know, but he went on before I could get a word out. “No more arguing, understand? There’s a time and a place for that conversation, but it’s not now. What’s happening now is you getting into that that bath, lying back, and thinking of nothing but enjoying the water. I’m going to take care of everything else.”

I debated another protest then decided against it. “What do you mean everything else?”

Atlas raised one dark brow. “What did I just say?”

“I’m not arguing. It was only a question.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wished I hadn’t said them. They sounded sulky and juvenile, and really, maybe he was right. There seemed to be so many things to worry about, and they were cluttering up my head and making me tense. Lying back in a bath and thinking of nothing sounded…good.

He said nothing, but he didn’t need to. I read the warning in his expression loud and clear.

“Okay, okay,” I said, trying to sound a little less like a sullen teenager. “I’ll stop arguing. But I should really have my phone near me in case Mom needs me.”

“I’ll keep an eye on your phone.”

“But what if she needs me and you answer it, and she?—”

“Rowan,” Atlas interrupted mildly. “Shut up.” Then before I could respond to that indignity, he tugged me off the vanity and proceeded to unzip and untie the various fastenings of my wedding gown. He did so efficiently and without fuss, and his hands didn’t linger on my skin when he finally pulled it off me.

I only had my panties on underneath and standing there, almost naked, in his bathroom made me feel more than a little exposed. Which wasn’t helped by him crouching down in front of me and pulling my underwear slowly down my thighs.

Heat rose in my cheeks as I stepped, totally naked now, out of the fabric. I expected him to get to his feet then, but he didn’t. Instead he reached out, sliding his hands caressingly up my calves and the backs of my knees before gripping my thighs. His face was inches away from the black curls between my legs and I automatically tried to cover myself, only to have him bat my hands away.

“Keep still,” he murmured. “Let me see what’s mine.”

I took a breath at the rough heat in his voice, disturbed by how the words and the possessive note in them made me ache. Yet more instinctive protests rose to my lips, but then his hands slid upward again, cupping my butt and giving it a gentle squeeze and the words died unsaid in my throat.

He gripped me tighter and leaned in, burying his face between my thighs. A shocked sound escaped me as I felt the press of his tongue on my clit, and a lightning strike of pleasure coursed through me.

I shuddered as he lapped at me, dropping my hands to his head, my fingers winding through the thick, rough silk of his hair. I couldn’t stop myself from leaning into him, the need welling up inside me, wanting more, desperate for more.

He made a hungry, animal sound and I tightened my grip on his hair, because his tongue was making me feel so good, so very, very?—

All of a sudden, he let me go, wrenching his head from my grip as he rose to his full height in front of me.

“Atlas,” I gasped hoarsely, reaching for him.

“Sorry, beauty,” he said roughly, knocking my hands aside, his gaze burning as he looked down at me. “You argued with me and as much as I want to eat that pretty little pussy out until you scream, especially when I can taste myself in you, I’m not going to do it now. That’ll be your punishment.”

---