Page 21 of Claim Me

“Redwood Steakhouse.”

“The place where I got stood up?”

I think back to Siobhan sitting alone and growing sadder every minute her date didn’t show up.

Studying me, she asks, “Did Pork Chop and Scarecrow know why they scared off that guy?”

“I told them I had a bad feeling about him.”

“Well, at least, you three soggy fries were nice enough to join me, so I didn’t eat alone.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Are you, really?”

“About you being sad? Yes. About keeping that finance guy from boring you? No.”

“He and I had stuff in common.”

“No you didn’t.”

Siobhan offers a little smile. “No, not like you and I have stuff in common.”

Frowning, I feel like she’s subtly insulting me, but I’m too dumb to understand how. I glance over at Tack talking to Caveman before my gaze returns to Siobhan.

“You brought them in case I was mean to you.”

“No, they’re here for your sake. I feared you’d hear about the baby and run screaming into the woods. Bear and Tack came along to chase you down.”

I smile at how she teases me in her usual way. I wasn’t sure how we could go back to normal after fucking in the clubhouse bedroom.

My body aches at the memory of our time together. I wish I could touch her now. I bet she’d let me kiss her. We could get a meal tonight. I’d drive her home afterward. Everything could be easy.

Except I’m me.I’ll forget to talk or overreact to something. Even if I hadn’t fallen for Siobhan, I never would have dated anyone. I can’t deal with the responsibilities. I let people down.

Stepping away from Siobhan, I see her differently now. She’s no longer the beautiful woman who makes me crazy. Siobhan is a potential victim of my bad choices. I’ve already messed up our first time together. I put a baby in her belly. What will people think? The club guys will razz me. I’ll take things too personally and mess up again.

“I’d like to go to a movie before we have dinner,” Siobhan says, taking my hand and flattening it out so my palm is upward. “I want popcorn and soda. You can hold my hand as I whisper complaints in your ear.”

“Complaints about what?”

“The movie. We’ll see a shitty action movie with dumb dialogue and terrible acting. Do Steven Seagal movies go to theaters or are those only on streaming? I feel like I could complain a lot about one of his movies.”

Siobhan’s gaze watches me in a new way. She’s seeing me as a man rather than one of her foster brothers.

My hands go to my hair and then my beard, wondering if I look sloppy. Siobhan smiles wider.

“Will you take me to the movies?”

“I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

“Because you want to and not because you think you have to behave a certain way, right? I’m not interested in having a pet.”

“What about my dogs?”

“I meant in my bed. So, no, Indigo, your dogs can’t stay in my bed.”

“I don’t just want to fuck,” I mutter, feeling overwhelmed by her talking about her bed.

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