Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
“Owen,” Dream whined.
I had her body trapped between me and the counter, unable to escape while I took longer than necessary to read over Mrs. Irving’s maintenance and repair history.
Kane, whose expertise I trusted explicitly, had been the one to replace the clutch and pressure plate in her Beamer, which meant he hadn’t gone anywhere near her trunk.
Seeing all I needed to know, I closed the file and whipped out my phone while Atlas squirmed pointlessly to get away.
“Owen, there are customers right there, not to mention I don’t like you anymore. Let me go.”
“Shhh.” I kissed the top of her pretty head to shut her up while scrolling through my contacts with one hand and rubbing her flat stomach under her shirt with the other. Once I found the name I was looking for, I typed out a quick text.
I know how you can repay that favor.
The bubbles appeared almost immediately, and then a response came shortly after.
Britain: How?
I texted him what I needed and where to find it before pocketing my phone and giving Atlas my full attention. She’d given up trying to dislodge me and was now clicking around on the computer. I squinted my gaze when I realized she was on fucking Facebook. I was about to rip into her for talking to her little bobblehead friends while on the clock when something more pressing caught my eye.
A new message had popped up at the bottom of the screen from someone named Sutton Hayes.
“Who the fuck is that?” I pointed at the screen right over the kissing emoji taunting me. It was all he’d sent, but it was enough to land him on my ever-growing hit list.
Atlas looked back at me over her shoulder with a frown. “My ex. Why?”
“Why is he messaging you?” Her ignorant ass shrugged while keeping her sexy mouth closed. “Oh, all right,” I said simply while seething. “Block him.”
“Did you block Savannah?”
I ignored that. “This shit is not up for discussion, Atlas.”
She sighed while typing “cute” on some girl’s picture. “On that, we can agree.”
“You still fucking him?” I didn’t wait for a response before I reached around her and clicked on his profile before she could stop me. Once his page loaded, I blew up his profile picture, committing his face to memory so that I could kill that lame if I ever ran into him.
“Absolutely not.” She scoffed. “I’d fuck you before I ever let him touch me again.” She shuddered in my arms.
“I’m going to ignore that.” Atlas could pretend otherwise, but she wanted this dick. Resting my chin on her shoulder, I found myself breaking yet another one of my rules. “What happened?”
The last thing I wanted was to talk about her fucking ex, but I was also obsessed with knowing everything about her. To know your enemy was to conquer your enemy, and right now, my dick and her pussy were at war.
“Oh, nothing,” she said easily. “I just found out he and my best friend were messing around at one of the worst times of my life.”
I grimaced but said nothing. There was nothing I could say to make her feel better since I was no better. I’d fucked my fair share of friends, sisters, and cousins before. I’d even dipped off with a mom or two. The difference between her ex and me though was that none of the women I’d screwed over had been mine.
And none of them had been Atlas.
My nature was one of the reasons I avoided commitment in the first place. Why get into a relationship if I know I’m going to cheat? At least single, I owed no loyalty and could do whatever I wanted.
“Why was it the worst time of your life?” I asked her instead. I had a pretty good guess, but she didn’t know I knew.
Atlas shook her head, telling me she didn’t want to talk about it. I decided to respect her wishes for once since I really didn’t want to get that deep in the middle of the shop’s lobby.
Instead, I turned her around and stared into her soul-stealing eyes until I heard myself say, “I would never do that to you.”
Even more shocking than my uttering such a promise was the bone-chilling knowledge that it was the truth. To conquer Atlas Beck was to conquer the universe. There’d be no need to search elsewhere.
Unable to hold back a moment longer, my head lowered.
I saw Atlas still, and just when I thought she’d reject me, she lifted her mouth for me to take. It was an offering that could only be described as tentative, the quick brush of her lips against mine ephemeral.
The connection was over as quickly as it had happened.
“Let me know if you have any more trouble,” I told her quietly. And then, not so subtly, I squeezed her ass, earning a glare from her. “It doesn’t matter how small; I want you to come and get me. It doesn’t even need to be work-related. Anything you need, and Daddy will make it happen. And Atlas?” I gripped her chin when her stubborn ass looked away. “Only me.”