Page 39 of His Claim

“Jeanie is totally going to crown me the winner.” She looked up at me, her eyes dancing playfully.

“Jeanie?” I asked.

“I made friends while you were outside talking to whoever was on the phone,” she smirked. “Jeanie lives on the other side of town with her three cats and a parakeet. She invited us over for dinner, but I told her that once I won this bet, one of my demands would be where we eat dinner. Who were you talking to?” she rambled.

“Leo,” I replied. “I was talking to Leo.” He was still on the move, and I checked in to ensure he and Creed were fine. “And you have demands if Jeanie likes the clothes you picked out?”

Apollo was in Michigan with Greer and the kids, and Princeton had settled in Ohio. We were spread out while Leo was still moving. He was hoping to catch on to Brandt following him and get the jump on him. So far, they hadn’t seen any sign of Brandt, and Apollo couldn’t find a trace of him. None of his credit cards were being used, and his name wasn’t popping up on the web for reservations or whatnot.

He very well could have been using an alias, but none of the ones Leo knew of were being used either. Brandt had ghosted again, but we knew he could and would pop up at any time. Odds are it was going to be by Leo, but we were all still on alert.

“You said if Jeanie liked the outfit, I got whatever I wanted.” She stepped closer to me and circled her finger around one of the buttons on my chest. “I made a list while you were gone.”

“You’re pretty confident, baby girl,” I whispered. I hooked my finger under her chin and tipped her head back. “But you haven’t won yet.”

She rolled her eyes. “As if you had time to think of a list of demands while you were on the phone with Leo.”

“I would only have one demand, baby girl.”

“Just one?” she whispered.

I leaned close, and she raised up on her tiptoes. My lips were a breath away from hers, and I wrapped my arm around her waist. “One.”

Her eyes darted down to my lips and then back to mine. “I think that’s on my list, too.”

“Then we’ll both be winners.” All I wanted was Tatum. Anything she would give me, I would take gladly.

Right now, I wanted her mouth. Her lips on mine, and her body pressed against me.

“Kiss me,” she barely whispered.

I wasn’t dumb.

I wasn’t slow.

Anticipation hung in the air.

I closed the remaining distance between us and pressed my lips to hers. She melted into me, and a soft sigh escaped her mouth.

My hand cradled her face, and I relished the soft, delicate kiss.

Time seemed to slow, and for a brief moment, it was just Tatum and me. No one or nothing else mattered.

“Knock, knock.”

The words penetrated our connection, and Tatum pulled back. “Uh, just a minute, Jeanie,” Tatum called. Her voice cracked, and she breathed heavily.

“I don’t like Jeanie very much,” I whispered.

“Same,” she agreed. She pressed her lips to mine for a brief kiss and then stepped back. “I just added another thing to my list of demands if Jeanie likes your new outfit.” She winked and pushed open the dressing room door. “Here we go,” she called as the door swung open. She stepped out of the dressing room and shouted ta-da.

Jeanie’s scrutinizing eyes looked me up and down and motioned for me to spin.

“No touching the goods,” I grunted. I quickly turned and folded my arms over my chest. “Well?” I asked.

Jeanie glanced at Tatum and nodded. “That’ll do.”

Tatum clapped her hands together happily and jumped up and down. “I won!”

---