Page 56 of Owned

The pleasure was indescribable. I was aware of him in every possible way. The fabric of his trousers rubbing against my inner thighs, the firm press of his fingers on my hips, the sounds of male pleasure he was making, the blaze in his eyes as he looked down at me.

And something in me let go in that moment, something that had been tense and anxious and hurt. I could feel his strength in the way he moved inside me, the way he held me, calm and possessive and firm. And I could see the fierceness of his conviction in his eyes.

It would be okay. He’d do everything he promised and he wouldn’t leave me. Not this time. Yes, at some point this would be over but until then he had me.

Until then I was his.

I relaxed, crying out as he moved, letting him know how good he was making me feel. Letting him make a firework of me so that I caught fire and soared, exploding into the sky then floating back down again.

Nothing but ash.

20

Atlas

I woke up the next morning, Rowan sprawled beside me in bed. She was fast asleep, the sheet wrapped around her naked body. Briefly I toyed with waking her up to deal with my morning hard-on, but considering the workout I’d given her the night before, she needed the sleep.

Besides, I had shit to do this morning.

I felt surprisingly calm given the way I’d upended my life only the day before, making all those decisions that would have lasting consequences not just for me, but for Rowan also.

Still, I’d had to make them.

I’d never wanted to end being my father, with a very young wife who’d had a child way too early, and yet here I was with, with my own very young wife, who might be pregnant already, and a savage possessive beast deep in my heart.

I couldn’t fight it, I’d given that up yesterday, but one thing I was going to hold firm on: I’d never treat Rowan the way Dad had treated Mom. She was mine, but I’d never use her carelessly, never break her or ignore her. Never hurt her for my own amusement.

I’d seen the doubt in her eyes yesterday, as I’d held her in my arms, and she’d made it clear that when I’d walked away from her and Cait all those years ago, I’d broken a trust I didn’t know she’d even given me.

But she had and now it was my turn to fix it, to make her believe that I wouldn’t let her down this time, that I wouldn’t walk away. So I’d told her in no uncertain terms exactly what I wanted and exactly what I expected, laying out the facts so she could make a choice for herself, but letting her know too, that I meant what I said. I’d sworn I wouldn’t play games with her and I wouldn’t.

So what was the sex about then? If not a manipulation game?

No, fuck, that hadn’t been a game. That had been a promise. A sealing of the deal. Showing her that I was telling the truth, that I meant every word I said, and she’d believed me. She’d said yes, and the satisfaction I’d felt in that moment had been indescribable.

I slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb her as I pulled on some jeans. My dick was hard just thinking about her being pregnant with my child, which was odd considering I’d never gotten off on pregnant women before. Likely it was due to that possessive, insatiable monster inside me, the one that Rowan had set free. It liked the thought of her being pregnant very much. Fuck, too much.

And speaking of the baby…

Yesterday I’d told her that I wasn’t going to give Charlotte any child of mine and she’d been shocked, as she had every right to be given how cavalier I’d been about the whole baby thing. But I wasn’t now. I wasn’t cavalier about anything now and no, Charlotte wouldn’t be taking any kid of mine.

In addition to keeping Rowan, I was going to keep any baby we had too.

I wanted to turn and look at her, maybe pull the sheet away, trace all the parts of her that were mine, but I resisted. She needed sleep and I had things organize.

Downstairs, I called Cait to give her a heads up about what was going on with Rowan and I. Rowan would probably want to talk to Cait herself at some point, but we both had stakes in this situation, and I’d decided it would be better if Cait heard from me first.

“Hello?” Cait’s familiar voice answered.

“Cait,” I said. “It’s Atlas.”

There was a long and very shocked silence.

“How did you…I mean…why are you…It’s been…” She trailed off, sounding a lot more hesitant and anxious that she’d been when I’d known her.

“Years,” I finished for her. “Yeah, I know. But something’s happened and I thought I needed to tell you myself.”

“Tell me what?”

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