Page 35 of If You Claim Me

“Of course.”

“I’ll meet you in the living room,” I call as I stride out of the room, stopping in the hall so I can speak to Mildred through the intercom. I thought I would have time, and now she’s here, and I have to convince her to move in imminently. It puts me on edge, and makes my jagged edges sharper. “What are you doing here?”

She holds up her bag and points to it, frowning. “I have the books you asked me to bring.”

“But you’re early.”

“My afternoon reading program was canceled, thanks to alice outbreak. Everly wasn’t all that sad, but Victor was. Not that it matters.” She waves a hand in front of her face.

“Who are Everly and Victor?”

“My favorite twins. Are you going to let me in? Or do you need me to grab a coffee somewhere?”

“No, just come up. Or I can drive down to get you.” I open the gate.

“Don’t drive down. That’s ridiculous.” As soon as there’s enough room to pass, she squeezes through.

I call Cedrick and inform him that Mildred is already here, and that it isn’t his fault since I didn’t warn her he was coming to pick her up.

“What flavor of cake does Mildred prefer?” he asks.

“Something with strawberries, if they have it.”

“I’ll do my best, sir.”

“Thank you, Cedrick.”

I open the door as Mildred climbs the front steps. Her hair is stuck to her temples, her face is red, and she looks halfway to passing out. We’re having one of those fun September heat waves. “How far did you walk?”

“A couple of blocks. The bus’s AC was broken. I just need five minutes out of the heat and this will calm down.” She motions to her pink cheeks as she brushes by me. She drops the bag and shrugs out of her cardigan, leaving her in a pale purple tank top that does a wonderful job of highlighting her ample cleavage, which is typically covered. I can’t stop staring. She’s beautiful, curvy, and sensuous.

She waves the cardigan like a fan. “I hope my olfactory senses aren’t permanently damaged. A group of teenage boys who’d bathed in body spray were sitting next to me.”

“I thought you weren’t going to be here for at least another hour.”Why am I incapable of having a regular conversation that doesn’t include repeating myself?

“We’ve been over that.”

“Cedrick went to pick you up,” I explain.

“Oh shit. Did I miss a text?”

“No. I didn’t text you. I just thought… It doesn’t matter.” I want to bury my face in her neck and lick the salt off her skin. I wonder what kind of touch she likes. What sound would she make if I kissed a path to her tempting mouth? That will never happen because this relationship doesn’t involve sex. She’s mine, but she’ll never really bemine. To touch. To claim. “It would be better if you put the cardigan back on.” It comes out snappy, which is not what I intended.

“Are the girls offending you?” She arches a brow. “I don’t have much control over how loud and proud they are.”

I try not to let my gaze shift below her neck. “I didn’t mean?—”

“Stop while you’re ahead, Connor.” She slides her arms back through the sleeves and makes intentional eye contact as she fastens buttons and covers her cleavage. “Better?”

“Not really.” I preferred the previous view, but telling her that will probably just make her more uncomfortable. “Meems is excited to see you.” I motion for her to follow me.

“Hopefully more excited than you.”

“We’ve already established that my getting excited isn’t in the contract, and so far you seem opposed to amending it,” I quip.

“I can’t tell if you’re insulting or complimenting me.”

“Neither. I was ogling your assets.”