Page 32 of Taking The Virgin

Chapter12

By the timeI wake up the next morning, it’s no surprise that Owen has already gone intowork.

After he sent me up to my room without sex, I didn’t dare follow through with my own desires. While I fought the urge to take the elevator up to his bedroom, I stayed in my own, waiting for him to come tome.

I waited.

Then waited somemore.

Dammit, I’d asked for him to consider my feelings, but then I regrettedit.

I finally wore myself out with all the fantasizing I was doing about the enigmatic smile I saw on him as that elevator door closed, and I fell into a restless sleep. Now I’m just as slow to get out of bed as I’ve always been during my stayhere.

I’m tired from tossing and turning.

I’m really horny for him to come back tome.

When I ultimately find Nat, she’s scuttling around the mansion, running her fingers over the surfaces of the furniture, seeing if they pass the Dr. Owen Gregory Dirt Test. I figure out for myself that she doesn’t have time to sit down for breakfast with me, so I eat alone on the patio with the heat lamps on. The soft sunshine feels good on myface.

I’ve brought the laptop out here, too, and as soon as a maid clears my plates, I dive right in to my work—attempting to round up my siblings again and get our family house in order. The hours slide by as I phone a local bank in Miami about a loan, then touch base with my brothers’ and sisters’ caseworker. On the computer, I begin to narrow down a search for a lawyer that I can now afford, and the only thing that stops me from making a final decision is an incoming phonecall.

Jumping in my patio chair, I recognize the ringtone right away: This morning I assigned Owen the theme song from Doctor Who, which I thought was kind of hilarious.

After I take a calming breath, I answer. “Hello?”

Oddly, after everything, I still sound a little shy. The flush of warmth I’m feeling on my skin only provesthat.

“Chef Thomas tells me you didn’t eat lunch. You also haven’t put in a request to the kitchen for dinneryet.”

I lean back in my chair. Owen’s not just a god of a man—he’s a very focused, consumed medical professional, and I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s keeping track of my nutritional needs. He’s also the boss of everyone, too, so why wouldn’t he lord it over my eating habits?

“I didn’t have lunch because the breakfasts I get here are huge,” I say. “They last me for hours! And, truthfully, I haven’t even thought of what I’d like to eat for dinner.”

“I’ll be dining with you tonight, and I’d like for you to arrange themeal.”

A smile takes me over. He wants to eat with me, almost as if we’rea…

Couple?

Don’t read too much into this, I think once again. He has to eat, so why not have me do it with him since I’mhere?

“Do you have any requests?” Iask.

“You just tell Nat what you’d like, and Chef Thomas will prepare it to my preferences.”

It almost sounds like he’s giving me space again, allowing me to have a choice, a voice…

Then he continues. “There’s something else I’d like you to do, Juliet.”

His return to a commanding tone gives me pause, and once again, I’m back to feeling like the hired help. But that’s exactly what I am, isn’tit?

“Yes?” I ask him softly.

“There’s a velvet dress in your closet. The color of dark red wine. Straps. A Valentino design.”

It’s as if he’s been thinking all day of me wearing it, what I’d look like in it, and my tummy knots up with a sensual tightness.

“You want me to put it on for you tonight?” Iask.

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