Page 72 of Owned

Finally, he texted back: You want to do it?

Yes, I texted. I’ve been waiting for you to organize it.

Been distracted, he replied. But I can set it up.

I took a breath. Where? You won’t let me leave the loft.

There was a pause and then his text came back. Arcadia then. Safe.

A small knot of tension coiled inside me. Was I really going to do this? It was one thing to think about it, quite another to do it.

Your body is his, you’ve never given it to someone else, which makes you his in every way. But he’s not yours, not when he’s given himself to lots of different people.

That was a strange thought, but it was true. I’d been a virgin, never even been kissed before, and he’d been my first in basically everything. But he hadn’t been a virgin with me. Everything he did to me, he’d done to someone else, and suddenly, almost savagely, I wanted something that was only mine. Something he’d done with no one else.

He said he’s done public sex before.

That was true, but as he’d told me, he’d never done it with a woman who was his. He’d never had that specific fantasy. I could give him that and that would mean… I could make him mine.

Yes. I texted back with shaking fingers. Arcadia is good.

I stared at the screen, waiting for the dots to appear that would show me he was composing a text, but they didn’t. Instead, my phone vibrated. He was calling me. I hit the answer button immediately. “What?” I said, my voice only a little husky.

“When?” Atlas’s voice was dark and deep. “Tomorrow night?

That was soon. Maybe too soon. Then again, perhaps it was better for this to happen sooner rather than later so I could hopefully get rid of the Charlotte thing hanging over us.

I swallowed. “Okay. Tomorrow night at Arcadia.”

There was a silence then he said, “You sure about this, beauty?”

My heart clenched. He had that ruthless streak and he’d told me that being owned by him meant what I wanted didn’t matter, but regardless of what he said, it did matter. I mattered. Because if I didn’t, this wouldn’t have been a big deal and I could hear in the rough quality of his voice that it was a big deal to him. This mattered to him.

“Yes.” I put as much conviction as I could in my voice. “I’m sure.”

The nerves that had collected inside me stayed there after I’d finished talking to him, mostly because now I’d committed myself. But also because now I was going to have to call Charlotte Hamilton and beg her to meet me to talk about the baby.

I had her number in my phone, but still I prevaricated before hitting the call button. It rang for a while and just when I thought she wouldn’t answer, a voice said, “Rowan. How are you feeling, dear?”

“I’m much better thanks.”

“Good. If you’re not calling with happy news, then I expect you’re calling to arrange another appointment, yes?”

My heart had started to race and my palms had gone damp. “Actually, I’m calling because I’d like to meet.”

“Oh?”

She sounded so cool and in control, and I was a little panicked at the thought that she might refuse the offer. So, grasping at straws, I said, “I need to talk about Atlas. He’s being quite controlling and I’m worried.”

“Hmmm. Just like his father isn’t he?” Charlotte said thoughtfully. “I did warn you. Blood will out as it tends to do.”

An instinctive surge defensiveness for Atlas rose inside me. I wanted to tell her that he was nothing like his father, but that wasn’t what I was aiming for. “Are you available tomorrow night?” I asked instead.

“No, but I can make myself available.”

I took a silent, shaky breath of relief. “He’s not allowing me out of the loft, but I’ve just got him to agree to take me to Arcadia tomorrow night. I can make some excuse and slip out to meet you perhaps?”

Charlotte gave a small laugh. “My dear, if he’s not allowing you out of the loft, then he’s not going to allow you to just ‘slip out’. Hmmm. Arcadia is tricky since it’s owned by Atlas’s friend Caleb. Then again, I can get inside without him knowing. I have done it before.”

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