Page 17 of Claimed by Him

Nine

“Wow.”Clay stared up at the house, his eyes wide. “This is…impressive.”

I chuckled and tugged on his shirtsleeve. “Come on. You keep ogling their house, and they’re going to think you’re a freak.”

He grinned at me and reached for my hand. I let him take it because the front door was opening, and I didn’t want him getting embarrassed if I pulled away. Besides, it was just holding my hand. It didn’t have to mean anything.

Except the way he’d looked at me when he’d picked me up today told me that things were shifting between us, and I had a bad feeling that Jenna’s comments regarding this relationship were going to be an issue now.

I didn’t want to bring it up now though. We’d have a nice dinner, and I’d see where things went from there. If we had to have the talk, we’d have the talk then.

“Rona, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

Shit. Jenna’s husband was hot.

I shook his hand, trying not to stare at him as I tried to figure out exactly what shade of blue-violet his eyes were. Then I realized that I was gaping at my friend’s husband and flushed, turning to Jenna as Rylan introduced himself to Clay.

She grinned at me, her eyes laughing. Apparently, she knew the sort of effect he had on women. The moment he turned back to her, I knew why she didn’t care about my unintentional ogling. He looked at her like she was the only person in the world. Like she was his world.

“Dad!” A little, dark-haired girl with big, shining eyes barreled down the stairs as we passed.

Rylan bent and picked her up. “Hey, Dee.” He kissed her forehead. “Aren’t you supposed to be upstairs taking a bath?”

She stuck out her bottom lip. “But I want to be down here with you and Mom.”

“How about you go do what you’re supposed to do, and I’ll come up in a bit and read you a story?”

Her face lit up. “Okay.”

“Now, say goodnight to everyone.”

She looked at me, and then at Clay, tucking her face closer to Rylan’s chest, suddenly shy. “Goodnight.”

Clay and I smiled at her, and Rylan passed the little girl off to Jenna who gave her a hug and kiss. It wasn’t until Diana turned to race back upstairs that I caught a glimpse of several round scars on her neck. I didn’t have to be a doctor to know what those were.

Cigarette burns.

I felt sick. A glance toward Jenna had my eyes locking with hers. She gave me a short nod, her eyes burning with anger. Our interaction didn’t last long, and when I turned my attention back to the guys, neither of them seemed to have noticed the exchange.

“Is Jeremiah feeling better?” I asked.

“Miraculous recovery,” Rylan said wryly. “One day, he’s so sick that he can’t possibly go to school, but after spending an entire day in bed, eating nothing but crackers and soup, he’s up and ready to go the next morning.”

“Is Jeremiah your son?” Clay asked.

“He is,” Jenna said. “Ten going on thirty.”

“Thirty’s old,” Jeremiah said matter-of-factly as we entered the kitchen. “Can I be twenty-five instead?”

“Thirty’s old?” Rylan asked. “Come on, kid, cut me some slack.”

He shook his head and grinned. “Never.”

Jenna ruffled his hair. “Thanks for cleaning up after you and Diana finished dinner.”

Jeremiah ducked away from her hand, but he was still smiling. “You said I could play my new game if I did.”

“Did you finish your homework?” Rylan asked.

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