Because He Owns Me (Because He Owns Me, Book One) (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (7 page)

“Can I… can I have until the end of the meal to
think about it?”
 
I asked as the
waiter set our steaks down in front of us.

“Of course,” Callum said.

The food was exquisite, the meat tender and
perfectly seasoned,
the
flavor exploding in my mouth
with each bite.
 
We talked about
stupid, inconsequential things – TV shows, books, the weather, different
neighborhoods in New York.
 
Whenever
I asked him anything about his life, his business, his family, he immediately
changed the subject.
 
He didn’t ask
me any personal questions.

He was gorgeous, and I could tell from our
conversations that he was intelligent.
 
But I couldn’t pretend that I didn’t want more.
 
I had never been the kind of girl who
could just “hook up.”
  
My
heart had to be involved.
 
Which is
why I’d gotten so freaked out last night by what I done with him.
 
I’d never felt that kind of attraction
to anyone, ever.

The physical attraction still crackled between
us, just as strong as ever.

But the thing was, I wanted to fall in
love.
 
I wanted to be with someone who
wanted to be with me.
 
I wasn’t
saying there was anything wrong with random, consensual sex.
 
It was just that the more time I spent
talking to Callum, the more I realized he was the kind of man I could fall in
love with.

And one night with him would never be enough.

“So,” Callum said once the waiter had cleared
our plates.
 
“It’s the end of the
meal.”

“That it is.”

“Do you have a decision for me, Ms. O’Connor?”

“I’m sor – ” I started before I
remembered he’d told me never to apologize.
 
“I can’t go with you this weekend,
Callum.”
 
I shook my head.
 
“I just don’t think that kind of
arrangement would work for me.”

He opened his mouth, and for one quick,
wonderful second I was sure he was going to try to convince me.
 
But then he nodded.
 
“Very well, Ms. O’Connor.
 
It was wonderful to meet you.”

“It was wonderful to meet you, too.”
 
My heart constricted a tiny bit, and a
lump rose in my throat at the thought of never seeing him again.
 
And yet…if I went with him for the
weekend, the pain would just be that much worse.

The waiter had just set the bill down when it
happened.

A woman approached out table, so close that for
a moment, I thought she was part of the wait staff.

But when I looked at up at her, it was obvious
she didn’t work there.
 
Her long blonde hair hung in lank chunks around her face
,
her mascara was smeared
.
 
She was wearing boot cut jeans that hung
on her slim hips, and a red t-shirt that hugged her ample chest.

“Callum,” she said.
 
Her lips were cracked, and her voice
sounded scratchy, like she’d just woken up.

I looked over at Callum and watched as his eyes
widened and his face turned white.
 
“What are you doing here, Rose?” he demanded.
 
He was already rising from his chair,
putting his hand on her elbow.

“I tried calling you a million times,” she
said.
 
“But you won’t take my calls,
you won’t call me back.”

“You need to leave.”

She shook her head.
 
“No.
 
Not until you talk to me, Callum.
 
Not until you admit what you did.”
 
She turned to look at me.
 
“Don’t think he’s a good guy,” she
said.
 
“Because he’s not.
 
Whatever he’s telling
you
,
it’s a lie
.
 
It’s all a lie, he’s – ”

“Rose!” Callum said.
 
“Enough!”
 
The rest of what she was saying was cut
off as Callum steered her toward the front of the restaurant.

A couple of other diners had turned to see what
the commotion was about, but now that the girl was gone, they turned back to
their food, disinterested.

I turned back to the table, my heart racing.

What the hell had that been about?
 
Was she one of the women Callum had
spent one night with?
 
I took
another long sip of my wine.

If that was what happened to you after one
night with Callum Wilder, well, then I’d made the right decision.

Suddenly, I was anxious to get out of there,
anxious to get home.
 
I felt the
urge to run blooming in my chest and settling in my stomach.
 
My legs twitched under the table.

The waiter returned with Callum’s credit card
and set it down on the table.

“I’m sorry,” I said, “but can you… I have to
leave, can you bring the check back when my,
um,…
friend gets back to the table?”

“Of course, miss.
 
I will hold his card at the front.”

“Thank you so much.”

When I got to the front of the restaurant, I
could see Callum through the huge plate glass windows.
 
He was sitting on the
curb,
his head in his hands, looking more like a lost little boy than a demanding
billionaire.
 

My heart clenched.
 
Who had that woman been, Rose?
 
She seemed like she had upset him just
as much as he’d upset her.
 
Why else
would he be sitting on a curb in the middle of New York City?

He stood up and saw me looking at him.

I walked outside, and he crossed the sidewalk
to me.

“Where are you going?” he asked.
 

“Home.”
 

“No.”
 
He shook his head.

“No?”
 

“Come with me.
 
To Florida.”
 
He reached out and cupped my face with
his hand, his fingers skating over my cheekbone.
 

I felt my resolve weakening, but I gathered my
strength.
 
“No.”
 
I shook my head.
 
“Callum, I can’t.”

He nodded, accepting, but a second later he
pushed me up against the outside of the restaurant and kissed me.
 
Electricity zinged
up
my spine and my stomach back flipped as his tongue tangled with mine.

“Please, Adriana,” he whispered huskily.
 
“Please
..
I…” He
was looking me in the eye, and he shook his head softly.
 
The man from the restaurant, the bossy
man from last night was gone, replaced by someone who was looking at me like if
he didn’t have me, he might die.
 
“I
need to lose myself in you,” he breathed and then he kissed me again, really
kissed me, the kind of kiss that made the earth shake and your head dizzy.
 
The kind of kiss that could make you
lose
your mind.

When he pulled back, my legs felt like two
strands of spaghetti.
 
I was afraid
if he let me go I would fall to the ground.

But he didn’t let me go.
 
He moved his hands down to my lower
back, holding me tight.

“Please,” he said.
 
“I need to own you.”

His words sent shivers of fear and excitement
up my spine.
 
I knew it was a
mistake.
 
I knew I should have said
no.

But I was powerless.

“Okay,” I breathed, setting up a fortress
around my heart.
 
“Okay.”

It could only lead to heartbreak.
 
I knew that.
 
But I was helpless, so under his spell
that I couldn’t resist him.
 
I saw
pain reflected in his eyes, and I wanted to take it away.

And if that meant letting him own my body for
one night only, then that’s what I would let him do…

End of Because He Owns Me Book One –
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Here For Book Two, BECAUSE HE TAKES ME, available now!