Page 42 of Claimed By the Biker Brothers

Less than a minute later, Ellie comes out of her house. “I’ve been trying to call you,” she says, rushing across the street. “I kept getting your voicemail. Are you okay? Where’s your car?”

“It’s a long and unpleasant story,” I tell Ellie, then give her a hug. “Thank you so much for looking after Kyra, Ellie.”

“You’re welcome, babe. Always. Actually, I was just coming out to tell you she’s sound asleep. Long day at school, apparently,” she says with a smile. “Do you want to let her sleep at my place and pick her up in the morning? I know you had your popcorn and movie night planned, but she was out like a light as soon as we were done with dinner.”

I give Jagger a wry smile. “Decision made.”

“If the kid’s already asleep, it would be a shame to wake her,” he says, fingers tapping away on his phone. My guess is he’s texting Diesel and Knox to join us.

Ellie nods in agreement. “I love Kyra to bits. You don’t even have to pay me for tonight. I just enjoy her company.”

“Don’t be silly, of course I’ll pay. Let me just go in and give her a quick kiss.”

Two minutes later, I’m smooching my daughter’s warm cheek. She’s wrapped in her favorite blanket on the sofa, the TV still playing in the background. I listen to Kyra’s even breathing, her eyes moving slightly underneath her eyelids. She’s deep in the land of dreams. I kiss her temple softly and leave her in Ellie’s care, with a promise to be back for her in the morning.

“Wait, how’d the interview go?” I ask Ellie just as I’m about to head over to my house.

“Samson and Shay were so nice,” she says, smiling broadly. “They’re still interviewing, but they’re gonna let me know by the end of next week if I got the job or not.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear that. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”

“Robyn.”

“Hm?”

“What happened tonight?” she asks.

Tears prick my eyes, but I blink them back quickly. My emotions can get the better of me sometimes, and this is not the time nor the place to bare my soul, not even in front of one of my closest friends. “I’ll tell you about it tomorrow, I promise. But in short, Calvin finally showed up when I left work,” I say, prompting a gasp out of Ellie. “I’m okay. He knows to stay away from me and Kyra. Jagger made sure of it.”

“Okay, I’ll have a pot of hot coffee ready first thing in the morning. You clearly have a lot to dish!”

I can’t help but laugh. “I wish I didn’t, but yeah.”

“See you tomorrow. And be careful, okay?”

“You, too.”

We talked about this before. The worst-case scenario of Calvin coming back to haunt us. Ellie knows to call the police as soon as she sees him anywhere near our house or anywhere near Kyra. She’s got my back, through and through.

At home, I find Jagger waiting for me in the living room.

“I let myself in, hope you don’t mind,” he says, tentatively seated on the sofa’s edge.

“Of course I don’t mind. Mi casa es su casa. My keys were in my purse, right?”

“Yeah, I left them on that side table in the hallway next to your purse.”

I glance back and see them, then slip out of my jacket and boots and cuddle with him on the sofa for a while. He holds me close, planting sweet kisses on my forehead, on the tip of my nose, and on my lips.

As soon as his tongue slips past, however, a fire erupts in my loins.

I need more.

“Come here,” I wrap my arms around his strong neck and deepen the kiss, hungry and desperate for him, for everything he wants to give me.

I’ve felt his longing over the years like a sweet shadow draped over my shoulders. A comfort of sorts. For a while, I felt guilty because I enjoyed knowing he felt this way about me—yet Jagger has always been respectful, he and the guys keeping their distance until that fateful night a month ago.

“Robyn, hold on,” he pauses.

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