Page 19 of Owen (Storm Enterprises)

“Carlos, there’s a boutique across…” He pulls out a chair for her, and her footing wavers as our eyes lock. Her chest rises rapidly and mine follows suit. A flush travels up her face, and her breath hitches.

“Mi amor, please.” He motions to the chair, and she slides onto the seat, using his hand to help her while I scan her heavy bump. She must be due any day now.

She’s filled out, healthily so, and I’ve missed it all.

Carlos watches our exchange with no expression, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say he hadn’t realized we were connected, but I know better. I know enough of him to know he’s a calculating piece of shit who has orchestrated this whole meeting, even if it was me who reached out.

“You look beautiful, Laya,” I say without thinking, and I almost want to castrate myself. So much for acting blasé.

Her cheeks pinken even more, and she glances around the room, refusing to look at me, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt. I want her eyes on me, solely on me, like they once were.

Carlos sits beside Laya, and I flinch when he rests his arm across her shoulders. “My wife always looks beautiful, don’t you think, Mr. Stevens?”

I stare back at him. His eyes dance with jest as he strokes over her exposed shoulder. No doubt her olive skin is smooth to the touch. My mind wanders with the way she felt beneath me, my inked skin pressed against her flawless tone, a contrast so stunning it made it even more difficult for me to contain myself.

My gaze trails over the softness of her neck, the one I left my marks on, and now there’s not a blemish in sight. Just how she should remain, deserving better, just not him.

Then I stare at her necklace, the one I gifted her before I broke her heart. When I took what she gave me and then destroyed her, but she still has it hanging loosely around herneck like a trophy of my love. The emerald in it sparkles like a beacon of hope. She still loves me, I know it.

After way too long, I swallow thickly and respond, “She does.”

His calculating eyes drill into me, and if I wasn’t the man I am, my balls would have shriveled from the threat. Then, like a switch has been flipped, his lip twitches as if he realizes how difficult her presence is for me.

Laya clears her throat. “I thought you said this was a business meeting?” She turns her head to stare at Carlos, and I want to take hold of her delicate chin and force her attention on me. Jealousy unleashes into my bloodstream at the way he touches her so freely, the way her hand rests on his thigh when it should be on mine, the way his eyes slide over her body like she’s his when she’s fucking mine!

His lip curls into a smile. “Mr. Stevens asked for a meeting, and here we are.” He waves his hand in my direction, and I take a sip of water, trying to tamp the raging storm of fury inside me.

Carlos lifts his hand toward the server and orders drinks while Laya glares at me with annoyance in her bright-green eyes. “What do you want, Owen?” The anger in her snipe is obvious.

I take aim at her heart, knowing how compassionate my girl is. “Your family misses you.”

She rolls her eyes and, Jesus, if my cock didn’t twitch with a need to spank her for it.

“As soon as we settle in our new home, Laya’s family is welcome to come visit.”

I narrow my eyes at the pompous prick. The amusement in his gaze causes me to clench my fists beneath the table while every cell inside me screams at me to slam his good-looking face on the woodwork and crush it with my thick palm.

“You’re welcome too,” he tacks on, then takes a slow sip of the scotch I hadn’t realized had been delivered to the table.The curve of his lips as he does so sends fury through my bloodstream.

“You’ve been doing a lot of moving around. Why is that?” I raise an eyebrow toward Carlos, ignoring his digs, then his hand stops moving on her shoulder. His mouth clamps shut, and I swear I hear him grind his teeth.

Resolve settles over his face, and I will her to see what I see in him. The way he clearly changes to accommodate her. “I needed to find the perfect place for mi amor and my son.” His free hand now rests on her swollen stomach, and I swear to Christ I want to rip it off and force it down his filthy throat. He’s no place touching what’s mine, impregnating what’s mine, raising what’s mine, and yet here we are.A son.

Laya shifts in her seat, and I cannot decide if it’s my presence making her awkward or the prick’s touch, so I tell myself it’s the latter to make this exchange more bearable. “We’re settling soon. Carlos has somewhere picked out, ready for the baby coming.” The hope in her voice sends a pang of pain through my heart because my beautiful girl is so full of expectation for her and her baby, yet there is none with a man like him by her side.

Slowly, I lean forward and steeple my hands on the table, ignoring the prick and speaking directly to Laya, giving her no choice but to give me her attention. “And where exactly are you moving to?” She darts her eyes down toward the bracelet on my wrist, the one she wove with her fingers and, more importantly, with her heart. I wear it like a medal, a part of something crafted for me. Only me.

Just as quickly, she darts her eyes away, a flush coating her innocent cheeks.

“It’s a surprise.” His smug face lights up, and I keep from pummeling it. But one day, motherfucker.

One day real soon.

My eyes once again latch onto her necklace, a reminder of her love for me. Even after I broke her heart. My girl has simply lost her way, that’s all, but I’ll guide her home.

Laya clears her throat again, and guilt hits me. She’s uncomfortable, and rightly so. She’s sitting between the man who holds her heart and the one who holds her captive. I stare at her, trying to convey my thoughts through my gaze. I’m her future, I always was, yet she refuses to give me her attention, and I swallow harshly at the realization that she’s shut me out. My shadow is rejecting me, and while it’s painful, I refuse to acknowledge the ache.

She’s mine, she always has been.

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