Lost and Found (Masters & Mercenaries: The Forgotten #2)(67)

That brought about a genuine smile. “Never believe a man who wants to get under your skirt, love. He’ll tell you anything you want to hear. I never wanted to play it cool. I see something I want and I do what I need to make it mine.”

“That is very caveman like of you,” she said with a smile.

“I never said I was much of a modern man.” But he was. Or at least he had been. According to what he’d learned about himself, he’d been perfectly happy to fuck and send whoever he was fucking along their happy way so he could fuck someone else. He’d broken more than one heart, that man he’d been.

“I don’t want to see anyone else, Owen,” she said quietly. “I thought I should, but I couldn’t stand that man, and it was about more than the fact that he talked about his dog so much. It was because it felt wrong to be on a date with him when I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

Well, in this case he didn’t have to lie. “I spent every moment between the time I left and the minute you hopped on my bike thinking of ways to see you again. Robert gave me the most terrible time for it.”

It had really been Erin, but Robert had gotten his punches in, too. Sarcastic bastard. Maybe he should have gone easier on him about the whole Ariel situation.

“So we’re going to try this thing?” She asked the question so seriously it would likely have made the old Owen flee in terror.

All the new Owen could think of was how much he wanted to really try with her. “Yeah, I think we are. I’m not interested in other women. You’re all I can handle.”

“And I’m never letting anyone set me up again. Ever. I’m only dating men I meet in the elevator,” she said, a sparkle in her eyes.

Brat. He let his hand shift under the leather jacket, giving her nipple a nice twist that had her squirming.

“Owen!”

“No one was looking until you yelled, love,” he replied, knowing damn well there was a smirk on his lips.

Her face was flushed as she sat up and wrinkled her nose his way. “We’re in public.”

“Then don’t be a brat.” He reached over and pulled her onto his lap. It made it much easier to nuzzle her neck. And to whisper into her ear. “Don’t think I won’t take what’s mine wherever I want to. The minute you got on the back of my bike, you became mine.”

She leaned back into him. “I thought that was only during play.”

“We’ll always be playing.” He kissed her neck and wondered how much time Robert and Ezra needed. They were supposed to text him with the all clear. He wanted to get back to her place and get naked with her. They could spend the evening together. She would be back at work in the morning and he would be lonely without her.

Damn it. He would be lonely. He was a stupid arse, but he couldn’t seem to help himself.

“Are there new rules?” She didn’t seem truly fazed by his changing things up on her. She seemed perfectly content to sit on his lap and let him breathe her in.

“Absolutely.” He was a bastard but he was going to take every single minute he had with her. She was interested in D/s, and he was definitely interested in topping her. “Like I told you, I’m mostly interested in being in charge in the bedroom, but there are a few places I want control of as well. Not places, exactly. There are times and situations where you need to let me take the lead.”

Her body stiffened slightly. “What are those times?”

She was thinking of something specific. Something was working in her brain and he was fairly certain he wouldn’t like it. Was it Carter? What had happened after he’d stormed out and left her alone with that asshole? “If you ever think you might have a hint of danger, I expect you to tell me. I expect you to let me handle it. It’s my job. I take bullets for people I don’t even like. I damn well won’t allow my woman to be in danger on her own. If we’re going to be a couple, we play to our strengths.”

She twisted slightly and her hands came up, cupping his face. “So you’ll listen to me when it comes to the medical stuff and I let you handle the weird stuff where I don’t understand exactly what’s going on.”

Yes, he was right. Something was happening, something she hadn’t mentioned. “Yes, that is absolutely what I mean.”

She was quiet for a moment, her hands running along his jawline. He let her make the decision. He was silent as she figured out how to tell him what she needed to say.

“I think something is happening at the foundation, but I’m not sure how dangerous it is,” she said finally.

Not what he’d expected. “Tell me. I’ve done investigative work before. I can help you.”

And if she was in danger, he could get her out of it. This was something he could offer her. This was one thing he could give her in exchange for all the gifts she’d given him.

“From what I can tell there’s roughly a million dollars missing from the account my research is funded through,” she said with a sigh as she laid her head against his shoulder.

He wound his arms around her, needing her to know she was safe with him. The missing money. That’s why she’d had the accounting documents with her that night. He’d known she hadn’t had anything to do with it. Someone was fucking with her work, and now he could find out who without a bunch of restraints. “All right. Who has access to the funds?”