Calamity Jena (Invertary 4)

“Yes,” Claire whispered.

She felt every muscle in his huge body vibrate against her. “Not gonna regret that, babe.”

Claire bit her bottom lip as she eyed her sister. Her very furious sister. She smiled weakly. Megan wasn’t impressed.

“Listen up, King Kong,” Megan said. “I’m watching you. You hurt her—you die. You make her cry—you die. You pressure her into anything—you die. Why you couldn’t have asked her out on a date like a normal person, I don’t know. I do know that you’re walking a fine line with me. One where you die if you cross it.” She leaned over the table. “Don’t be fooled. We might look like members of Charlie’s Angels, but we’re capable of a whole lot more than roller-skating and flipping our hair. You hurt her and you hurt me too. You don’t want to hurt both of us. Am I clear?”

Grunt nodded solemnly. Although the only thing clear about Megan’s threats was that they were empty ones. If Grunt wanted to, he could snap the twins like a couple of twigs.

Megan picked up her menu. “Let’s eat. Consider this your first date. Impress me with your behaviour.”

Claire smothered a grin—Megan should have been the one to study kindergarten teaching. She wa

tched Megan stiffen as Joe trailed a finger over her shoulder.

“Just so you know. I don’t need to kidnap a woman to get a date.”

“Good for you.” Megan flicked his hand away. “Just so you know. Nothing will happen between you and me. Ever.”

“Gotcha.” Joe looked more amused than rejected.

Claire’s attention was torn away from the entertainment on the other side of the table when Grunt held her tight and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Samuel Dayton,” he said. “People call me Grunt. You don’t. You call me Samuel, or Sam.” He smiled against her cheek, sending shivers through her body. “Nice to meet you, Claire.”

“We are in so much trouble,” Megan muttered.

Claire blinked up at Grunt and felt her brain freeze. Oh yeah, they were in trouble all right.

With a slow smile, Grunt lifted the menu and opened it in front of both of them.

“Got to feed my baby,” he said.

“Does anybody else find his behaviour really creepy?” Megan asked loudly.

Grunt ignored her sister and smiled at Claire. “What do you fancy?” he said.

And yet again, Claire felt like the monster’s pet. Only in her head he’d morphed into one of those cute, cuddly monsters that you found on Sesame Street.

Yep, she was in serious trouble.

13

Jena was uncharacteristically silent during the short drive to her house. The light that normally shone from her had dimmed. It made Matt want to go back to Bob’s house and kick him some more.

She climbed out of the car before he could help her and picked her way up the broken and overgrown path to her door. The stiff set of her shoulders gave out the clear message that she didn’t want him near, so he stayed close behind in case there were any more accidents. But he didn’t touch. Even though his fingers were burning with the need to comfort her.

The door swung open and the light came on. A bare bulb casting the hallway in sharp, unforgiving light. Jena turned to him. Her eyes didn’t make it to his face; they focused somewhere in the middle of his chest.

“I’m off to bed.” If she was aiming for a light-hearted tone, she was nowhere near it. “See you in the morning.”

Before he could stop her, she turned to the bare wooden staircase and started the climb to her room. Hurt radiated from her. He hated it.

“It’s still early,” he said. “How about a warm drink in the kitchen? Or on the sofa? I make a mean hot chocolate.”

She turned and smiled. It was a shadow of her normal smiles. The ones that lit up a room. The ones that made people smile in return—whether they wanted to or not.

“Maybe tomorrow. It’s been a long day. I’m tired.”

Matt clenched his fists as she continued her slow ascent. This was wrong. She shouldn’t be alone. She’d had a shock. And she’d had to deal with Bob. He ran his fingers through his hair. His feet wanted to follow her. His arms wanted to hold her. Hell, even his lips wanted to whisper words of comfort.