Page 55 of Claimed

Achille stood in the doorway, hands in his pockets. I tried to focus on Lucille, but the awareness of him was like a physical touch. His presence made the air thicker.

“You’re good with Jack,” I murmured, hoping to kill the tension. “Better’n I’d dared hope.”

His mouth curved. “Thanks.”

My cheeks burned. “How you takin’ to life with a toddler?”

“I like it. A lot noisier, but that doesn’t bother me.”

I put the guitar down. “Really? Thought you’d rather have quiet.”

“Quiet’s fine, but it gets old. The liveliness of family is something else.”

“Jack’s taken to you like a duck to water.”

He brightened. “He’s a great kid. Got a mind of his own, doesn’t he?”

“That’s Jack through and through. My sister was the same.”

He raised a brow. “I was going to say, that’s not from me.”

“I’d think you were the rule-breaker.”

He shrugged. “Society’s rules, sure, but I never disobeyed my father. And God help me if I talked back to my mom.”

“So, you’re a mama’s boy with a wild streak. Ain’t that somethin’?”

His eyes sparkled. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

I smirked. “You just said you never stepped outta line with her. That’s devotion in my book.”

He chuckled, a deep sound that flipped my stomach. “I respect where I come from. But don’t think for a second that makes me soft.”

“Oh, nobody would dare call Achille Costa soft.”

His gaze lingered on my face, then traveled down the length of my body in a deliberate sweep that left a trail of heat. He looked like he wanted to kiss me again.

I turned around, flushing.

His body bumped into my back as he slid an arm around me, disregarding my cold shoulder. “The other night, I overheard you singing to Jack.”

His fingers brushed my skin, and I gasped.

I grabbed his wrist, intending to throw it off me, but then he slipped under the waistband of my jeans. Pressing his mouth to my ear, he played with the edge of my cotton panties. “I’ll make you sing to me soon.”

“In your dreams.”

He took out a fifty and tucked it in my bra. “What about now?”

“This ain’t a burlesque show. And thanks for the tip, but I have your credit card.”

“I’d give you more if you asked nicely.”

More what? The hand in my pants moved south, lighting a flame between my legs. I froze. His fingertips grazed too low, sending sparks up my body. His fingers hooked under my panties and moved them aside. A startled breath choked out of me.

“What do you want?”

“You to finish that song about me,” he purred.

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