Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele

4 Chapter 119 [Cordelia]

I waited for the doctor to arrive. Thankfully he got there before my parents did. I had no interest in interacting with them after seemingly ruining my older sister's chance at her "happily ever after" with Atlas.

He was only with her for a few minutes. He told Atlas that she had another psychotic break and then began questioning him about what he had done THIS time to set her off. I could see the little vein popping along his neck, even though his face was outwardly calm. I wonder if Atlas was an angry little boy. As I place a hand on my belly I whisper. "Don't you be an angry boy too, Jasper."

I feel a little flutter of response as if he were upset at the assumption. Great. Another stubborn one.Exclusive © material by Nô(/v)elDrama.Org.

While I wasn't paying attention, Atlas must have said something to upset the doctor because he was now storming off toward the entrance. I was going to ask him for a ride back into town, but the look on his face makes me rethink my options.

"You'll be getting my bill, Mr. Steele. I hope you understand I'll need to add a large surcharge for the inconvenience of a house visit."

"Of course," Atlas' voice is smooth. "You will also receive an additional bonus for the inconvenience of

canceling our arrangement with you."

"That is a mistake, Mr. Steele. She needs constant care. The medication we have her on isn't working, I'd like to try a new mood stabilizer and maybe...."

"I'm sure her new psychiatrist will be grateful for your thorough notes," Atlas cuts him off mid-sentence. Thank you for all of your care, but your services will no longer be needed."

"Atlas," I try to catch him before he runs off again. I'm desperate to be home to rest in my own bed. I doubt I could get any sleep here after all the commotion of the morning and with the knowledge that Angelica would be on the other side of the wall. "I need to get home." "This is your home," Atlas insists. "If you need..."

"What I need," I explain, "Is quiet and calm far far away from Angelica." I'm almost crying with exhaustion. "Tilly and Clark aren't answering their phones."

When I tell him that I've already called a rideshare service, his face grows red. "Call them back and cancel," he insists. "I won't let my wife ride with a stranger.

"I'm not your wife, remember," I huff.

"A mistake I hope to correct soon," he insists, pulling me into his chest. "You are mine, Cordelia Steele. I have no intention of letting you get away again."

His words send a shiver of desire throughout my body. Hearing him take charge in this way should scare me, but it doesn't. I love how he wants to possess me and keep me all to himself. After years of cold neglect, the heat of his passion feels warm and soothing. The more I get to know him, the more I'm learning about myself. I want to be desired, I need to know that I'm wanted.

"That doesn't sound like much of a proposal," I pant, embarrassed at how strongly my body reacts to him, especially when he is upset. "You'll have to try harder if you want to keep me."

"Oh I intend to," he kisses me, drinking me in like a parched man in the desert finding himself in the oasis of my lips. "I'll keep trying over and over again for the rest of our lives."

As much as I hate to stop, I know that if I keep going he'll get exactly what he wants-me in one of the spare bedrooms calling out his name loud enough to wake the dead. I get the feeling that if he needs to trap me here by having unending sex with me, he will, if only to keep me from escaping.

I'm not opposed to that idea entirely, but we both have lives to live outside of the bedroom. I need to check on my friends, and he needs to run a multi-billion dollar fashion empire.

Oh, and take care of my sister who is too sick to not try to burn down the world around her in one of her jealous rages. Although by the look of the evidence Theo collected, she was not in a rage at all when she decided to ruin my line.

"If you insist on leaving," Atlas grabs his car keys off the table. "I insist on taking you. I don't trust anyone else, except maybe Clark, to keep you safe." I try to insist that I'll be fine, but he leaves no room for argument. "Either I take you home or you stay here. Your choice."

"But what if Angelica wakes up and needs you?" I look around him towards the stairs leading up to the bedroom. "She'll be confused if she wakes up in an empty house. Also, my parents are on their way and..."

"April can take of all of that," he pulls on a light jacket waiting by the door. "Let me take care of you. Besides, the doctor did do one thing right. He gave Angelica a strong sedative. She won't be waking up before lunchtime."

Our moods lighten the further down the hill we drive, away from the house and into the main city. It is still early enough that the streets are mostly empty, not yet clogged with the morning rush of traffic that can turn our freeways into parking lots. We have a fully functional train system in LA, but you'd never know it by the way our streets are always full.

"I want to see you tonight, " He kisses my ear. "The car will be here to pick you up at 7."

He leans forward and kisses me. The car is on the street in full view of everyone.

"Aren't you worried if someone sees us?" I look around as I pull away. "Officially, as far as the public knows, we are divorced and engaged to each other's siblings. What if this," I motion between us, "Gets leaked to the press?"

"I'm done hiding this relationship," he shakes his head. "I'll publish a statement tomorrow. I want everyone to know the truth."

"But won't that look bad for the company? Steele Industries can't take another big blow, not after losing the Bryant contract. ""We'll weather it together," he insists. "I won't give you up."