Because He Takes Me (Because He Owns Me, Book Two) (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (4 page)

The whole back of the house was just a row of
wide sliding glass doors that opened to a cobblestone patio.
 
Through the glass I could see a gleaming
infinity pool, the cool aqua water merging with the ocean behind it to give the
illusion of one big body of water.

“Oh my God,” I breathed, walking to the sliding
glass door.
 

“Do you swim?” Callum asked, appearing at my
side.
 
He unlocked the slider and
pushed it open, following it all the way around until the door slid into a
pocket at the far side of the house.

The effect was stunning and instant, making it
seem as if you were outside by the ocean when you were really inside.
 
The pool area was under a screened dome,
allowing you to be outside without having to worry about bugs.

“Yes,” I said.
 
I loved the water, ever since I was
little.
 
“I mean, not competitively
or anything.
 
But I love the water.”

“We will swim later,” he declared, and I
blushed at the thought of doggie paddling around in front of him.

“You’re blushing again, Lemon,” he said,
walking back over and wrapping his arms around my waist.
 
He pulled me toward him until I was
resting my cheek against the hardness of his chest.
 
The gesture was somehow intimate, and I
closed my eyes, letting the warm breeze kiss my cheeks.
 
I could feel the beat of Callum’s heart
through his shirt, hard and steady, a stark contrast to my own heartbeat, which
beat a staccato rhythm from his closeness.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“Don’t apologize.”

“Right.”
 
I shook my head.
 
“I just…
it’s a bit overwhelming.”

He pulled back and looked into my eyes, tilting
his head and looking at me with a look I could only describe as fiercely
protective.
 
He pushed a lock of my
hair away from my forehead and tucked it behind my ear.
 
“Don’t be overwhelmed, Adriana,” he
said.
 
“Tonight is about pleasure,
your pleasure above everything else.
 
Nothing will happen that you’re not one hundred percent comfortable with
and excited by.
 
Do you understand
me?”

I nodded.

But I wasn’t sure how that was
possible,
since I wasn’t even one hundred percent sure I was
completely comfortable even being here in the first place.

“There is a car waiting take you back to the airport
whenever you choose,” Callum said.
 
“The number is on the counter in the kitchen.
 
There is nothing to be ashamed or
embarrassed about if you decide you don’t want to stay.”

I bit my lip.
 
The thought of staying here with Callum
for the night, of the things I was sure were to happen, made my stomach flutter
and sent a shiver of nervousness skittering up my spine.
 
But the thought of leaving, of not
spending this night with him, filled me with
a sadness
and longing the likes of which I’d never felt before.

I shook my head.
 
“No,” I said.
 
“No, I want to stay.”

He smiled then leaned down and kissed me again,
his hands cupping my face, his kiss gentle and reassuring.

When he pulled back, he glanced at his watch.
 
“I have to go to a meeting,” he said.
 
“You’ll be okay here?”

It was a question, but it was worded half as a
statement.
 

I nodded.

“There’s food in the fridge, and of course you
can use the pool,” he said.
 
“The
master bedroom is upstairs, at the end of the hall.
 
You can use the bathroom adjacent to
it.
 
I should be back around six.”

“Okay,” I said, my throat going dry.
 
I wanted to ask him what we would do
when he got back, if he was going to take me anywhere, what we’d be doing.
 
But I had a feeling that wouldn’t go
over too well.
 
And I was also
afraid that if I knew the answer to some of the questions swirling around in my
head, I would end up leaving while Callum was at his meeting.

“Text me if you need anything.”
 
He crossed the room back into the
kitchen, and I couldn’t help but admire the way he moved, the cut of his
shoulders, the tightness of his ass.
 
He opened a drawer and pulled out a piece of paper, which he carefully
folded in half.
 
He returned to the
patio and handed it to me.
 

“What is this?” I asked.

“The rules.”

“What?”

“The rules for tonight.”
 
He stared into my eyes.
 
“Don’t get too hung up on them,” he
said.
 
“They seem scarier on
paper.
 
In practice, they’re quite
understandable.”

He kissed me one more time, his lips salty
sweet.

And then he was gone.

***

As soon as the front door shut behind him, I
let out the breath I’d been holding.

Holy crap.

I collapsed onto one of the cushioned chaises
that dotted the lanai. The sun was high in the sky, and it was too hot out to
be wearing the jeans I had on.
 
I thought
about changing into something cooler, but the curiosity of what was on the
paper Callum had handed me was too much.

I curled my feet up under me and unfolded the
single sheet.

It was typed in Times New Roman, each paragraph
block spaced, with single spaces between the lines.

It looked very, very official.

Rules and
Expectations for _______, henceforth to be referred to as The Submissive, dated
this ____ day of ____, in the year ___.

My name and the date had been filled in, typed
neatly, and the sight of it, there, in black and white, was
panic-inducing.
 
The
Submissive!
 
That was how I was to
be referred to?
 
How many of these
contracts had Callum written up?
 
How many women had he brought here?
 
Do the math, Adriana.
 
If he really is only with each woman for
one night…

The thought sent a sick wave of jealousy
rolling through me.
 
I imagined
another woman here, sitting on this chaise, reading this same contract, her
name appearing in place of mine.
 
She’d be thinner than me, prettier, better prepared for something like
this.
 
I was in way over my head.

My mouth had gone dry, and I licked my lips and
kept reading.

1.
     
The
Submissive will make any limits she has clear to The Dominant
.,
both verbally and through her actions.
 
The Submissive agrees to safe word as soon as she feels uncomfortable.

2.
     
The
duration of this agreement will be for one night only, and The Submissive
acknowledges, by signing this document, that she has been made aware of this
fact.

3.
     
There
will be no personal questions asked of The Dominant, including, but not limited
to, his family or relationship history.
 
Personal questions of The Submissive will be answered if she deems fit.

4.
     
The
Submissive agrees, by signing this document, that after the one night has
expired, she will not contact The Dominant in any way, including, but not
limited to, by text message, email, phone call, or in person.
 
If The Dominant and Submissive are to
run into each other, either by circumstance or coincidence, the Submissive
agrees to act as if she does not know The Dominant.

5.
     
The
Submissive agrees not to have any drugs, alcohol, or other illegal substances
on her person or in her possession during the duration of this agreement.
 
If The Submissive is found to violate
this rule, she will be asked to leave the premises immediately.

6.
     
The
Submissive agrees not to disclose the details of this agreement, or any other
verbal or written agreement entered into with The Dominant, or the details of
their time together, to any party, either verbally or in writing.

Signed,

____________
(Adriana O’Connor) (The Submissive)

____________
(Callum Wilder) (The Dominant)

I blinked at the document.
 
What in the
fuck
had I
just read?

Did Callum really expect me to sign something
that said after I let him fuck me to high heaven, I would then agree never to
contact him again?
 
And that if I
somehow ran into him somewhere, I would pretend I’d never met him?
 

It was so beyond the possibility of anything
I’d imagined when I’d come here, that it was almost impossible to wrap my head around
it.

My first instinct was to take Callum up on his
promised offer of the waiting car that was there to drive me to the airport
whenever I wished.

It wouldn’t even be that difficult, wouldn’t
even leave any kind of lasting impression.
 
I’d hardly been here for any time at all.
 
My suitcase wasn’t even unpacked.
 
Hell, I hadn’t even taken my shoes
off.
  
I’d be back in the
airport in twenty minutes, back home in a couple of hours.

I could slip seamlessly back into my life, no
muss, no fuss, nothing to show for it except a cool story of something that
might have been.
 
A story I’d
actually be able to tell people since I hadn’t signed this ridiculous contract
forbidding me to do so.

My decision made, I was halfway back to the
living room when the doorbell rang.

I froze.

Callum hadn’t said anything about expecting
anyone.
 

Maybe it was the driver?
 
But the driver had left, and wouldn’t
have come back unless someone had called him.

I wasn’t sure what to do.
 
Technically, no one was supposed to know
I was here.

The doorbell rang again, and I walked slowly
and carefully into the house, making sure not to make any noise.
 
Through the long windowpanes that
flanked either side of the front door I could see what looked like a man’s
shadow.
 

That settled it.

I wasn’t going to be opening the door for some
strange man.

I turned and walked back to the patio, deciding
that I’d wait until he was gone, then return to the kitchen and call the car to
come and take me back to the airport.

But I’d only just sat down when a voice called
jauntily over the wrought-iron fence that surrounded Callum’s house.

“Hello!”

I jumped in surprise and turned to see a
friendly-looking man waving at me, his head poking over the fence.
 
He was about thirty, with dusty blonde
hair and a wide smile.

“Oh, sorry,” he said, putting his hands up and
chuckling.
 
“I didn’t mean to scare
you.
 
I’m Jason.”

“Oh,” I said.
 
“Um, hi.
 
I’m Adriana.”
 
The words were out of my mouth before I
realized it might not have been the best idea to tell some strange man my name.

“Hey,” he said easily, apparently unfazed.
 
“Is Callum home?”

“No,” I said.
 
“He’s at a meeting.”

Jason shook his head.
 
“Ha! Typical Callum, am I right?”

“I guess,” I said, flattered in spite of myself
that this man might think that Callum and I were close enough that I would know
what was typical for him.

“Anyway,” he said.
 
“I just stopped by to pick up my tools
that he borrowed.
 
I’m putting up a
tree house for my son, and I got stalled out without my tools.
 
Is there any way you could let me in the
garage?”

“I’m sorry,” I said, shaking my head.
 
“I don’t know how to get into the
garage.”

“It’s on an opener,” he said.
 
“Just go through the door at the front
of the house, then push the button and it’ll open.
 
It won’t take long.
 
I’ll meet you there.”