Page 22 of Short, Lethal & Claimed

“No, they haven’t,” Logan said, wondering why such a simple touch could leave him wanting something that he couldn’t have. “You want to be in charge of the children?”

“Yes,” Jill said with absolutely no hesitation as he reluctantly forced himself to pull his hand away.

“Then, I’ll see you tonight,” Logan said, pushing his chair back before he stood up.

“What exactly will I be doing tonight?” Jill asked, watching him as he stepped away from the table.

“Spending the night with me,” Logan said with a bored sigh.

“And why would I do that?”

“Because that’s my price.”

CHAPTER 13

He was out of his mind if he really thought that she was going to spend the night with him, Jill decided, only to bite back a sigh as she stood there, taking in the children huddled in the corner as they pressed their hands against their stomachs all while glaring accusingly at her.

For a moment, Jill considered pointing out that she didn’t give them the junk food, only to decide against it and grabbed the comforter and a couple of pillows off the bed and brought them over to them only to have the older boy snatch everything out of her hands. Keeping his glare locked on her, he quickly tucked the smaller children in while she stood there, thinking about the last time that she’d been forced to make a deal to keep a child safe and-

That was another lifetime ago, Jill reminded herself as she slowly exhaled.

One that no longer mattered.

“If you need anything, just-”

“We don’t need anything from you,” came the immediate reply that had her biting back a sigh.

“Of course, you don’t,” Jill murmured as she turned around and headed back the way that she came, knowing that there was no point putting this off any longer.

She had no idea what he had planned, but whatever it was, she was ready, Jill reminded herself a few minutes later when she walked into his bedroom. She glanced from the closed bathroom door to his bed before shifting her attention to the comfortable leather chair against the wall and decided on the spot by the door. She was adjusting her dress over her legs when the bathroom door opened and Logan walked into the bedroom.

Her gaze flickered to the bed before she ran her eyes over him, watching the way that the muscles in his arms and chest flexed as he ran a towel over his damp hair, the way that the well-defined muscles in his torso shifted and turned with the move, the thin trail of black hair that disappeared behind the black pajama pants hanging low on his hips and-

“It’s never going to happen,” Jill said, making him chuckle as he tossed the towel aside.

“What’s that, Angel?” Logan drawled as he made his way to the bed.

“I’m not spending the night in that bed with you,” Jill said as she watched him lean over only to end up biting back a sigh when he reached beneath the mattress and grabbed the stake she hid earlier.

“I have no plans of touching you,” Logan murmured absently, tossing the stake in his hand as he made his way to the leather chair and sat down. “Not until you ask me to,” he said, making her lips twitch as he examined the stake she made from the dining room chair that she’d managed to steal earlier.

“You’re delusional,” Jill said, watching him absently nod as he turned the stake over and tossed it to her, taking her by surprise.

“You really think this is a good idea?” Jill asked with a pointed look at the stake in her hand.

“Probably not,” he said, not really sounding all that concerned that she was armed.

“Why am I here?” Jill asked as she placed the stake on the floor.

“You’re here to entertain me,” Logan drawled as he lazily gestured for her to get on with it.

“And why would I do that?” Jill asked, shifting to get more comfortable as she thought about the children in the other room and-

She had no idea how she was going to pull this off.

For months, she’d been trying to find a way to get this damn chain off her leg and make it through the front door without Logan’s men stopping her and now…

She was going to have to put her escape plans aside until she figured out how she was going to pull this off with three marked shifter children who didn’t trust her.

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