Page 29 of Who Owns You?

“Is that right?” he asks with a chuckle as he leans forward, his fingers interlaced and his elbows resting on the desk.

Those fathomless eyes bore right into my damn soul.

Holy shit. When did the sleeves of his button-down shirt get rolled up to his elbows? It should be illegal for a man made of stone most of the time to have that many thick veins. I’m nearly salivating over them as I run my eyes over each one before finding his face again.

He grins at me, knowing exactly what I was doing. Eyeing him up like the sexy piece of man meat he undoubtedly is.

Man meat. I’ve never thought that in my life, but here I am, practically panting over this near stranger.

“Any more interesting questions, Charlotte?”

I’m tempted to either blurt out something stupid and nonsensical or just run, but instead, I take another step into his office and then another until I get to his desk. Then I perch one cheek of my bountiful ass on the edge.

“Can I watch you work for a while? I’m not in the headspace to paint, Marcus and I?—”

“What did he do?” Darius asks, shooting from his chair quicker than it takes me to blink.

“Nothing! Nothing. He’s been so sweet, and we kissed…OK, we kissed.” I sigh, trying not to let the truth slip into my expression.

We did more than share the most perfect kiss I’ve ever had, then he called me a witch, and now the world is flipped all over again.

Darius’ hands are blue again, nails turned to sharp claws that dig deep gouges into the surface of his desk. I suck in a sharp breath, and his eyes follow mine, locked onto his claws. He jerks his hands back and stuffs them into the pockets of his well-tailored slacks. His tail makes an appearance, giving an almost apologetic sway.

“I see. You wanted to kiss him?” he asks, tone taking on a deep, rich tone that makes something inside me sigh.

“Yes, very much so. He showed off a little by playing football, and then it started raining. He brought me inside, and it happened. It was amazing,” I say, like I need to calm Darius down.

They have some weird magical connection, so who knows, maybe Darius can smite Marcus from here.

“Very well,” he says, sliding back into his seat and adjusting his laptop on his desk so I can see the screen.

Well, mostly see it. I shimmy on his desk, propping the other ass cheek on it, and glance at all the numbers on spreadsheets, live maps sending out pings, and chat boxes rolling withnumbers and text that’s probably words but scroll by far too fast for me to read them.

“How do you not have the world’s biggest headache?”

“I live with Marcus and Atlas. I deal with them both constantly and have for hundreds of years. Spreadsheets are nothing in comparison.”

The next morning I feel too good for everything that happened yesterday to be a fever dream. I yawn big and stretch out in my bed, my tongue rolling around in my mouth to taste for any leftover traces of alcohol. Nothing. Everything that took place yesterday really happened, and it was…interesting.

“Witch stuff. Gotta do…witch research,” I groan.

Tipping my head toward the open window, I try to coax myself from the tangle of warm sheets but find that my eyelids are just too heavy. Whatever I was dreaming about was too comforting for me to leave just yet. A soft sigh slips from my lips as I pull the covers over my head.

The moment of peace is shattered into a million pieces when my phone rings.

I shove my hand under the edge of the blanket and grope around on my nightstand until I find my phone and reel it back in. Kennedy’s name flashes on the screen along with the picture of us. I do the math in my head, trying to count back the hours to see what time it is in New York before I pick up.

“Hello?”

“Bitch, you took forever to answer!” she squeals, her voice dripping with excitement.

“Sorry, I was asleep, like you should be. It’s just normal for someone on this side of the world to be awake. What’s your excuse?”

“I went to bone town!”

I groan, shoving my head back into my pillow. “Please tell me you didn’t go back and fuck Chad.”

“Hell, no, I didn’t. You really think I’d climb back into bed with him when there are monsters lurking?” She giggles at me like we’re sharing a secret.

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