Claiming Caroline (Claimed 3)

Chapter Nine

Caroline

"Hey," I say, sitting up when Jared walks into the bedroom, a towel wrapped around his waist and beads of water still dripping from his hair. His eyes immediately come to me, his expression softening when he sees me. He's been so gentle since he brought me home with him yesterday. He even went to the apartment and picked up Meeko to spend the night with us.

I haven't heard from Kennedy since she left yesterday. It's breaking my heart. We've never gone this long without talking to each other. Well, not since we were little anyway.

"You're awake," he says, prowling toward me.

Even though my heart hurts and I've spent most of the last twenty-four hours crying, desire still stirs when I look at him. He's so damn beautiful. He's been my rock, holding me together and loving me so sweetly. Without him, I'm pretty sure I'd be a broken mess in the floor. Instead, we've made love off and on, not emerging from our little bubble other than to take care of Meeko or to eat.

I guess word is out around campus that we're together. My phone has been blowing up. I've been ignoring all the messages from everyone. Except my brothers. How they found out about me and Jared from half a country away, I don't know.

I think Kennedy ratted me out.

Oddly, they seem…willing to entertain the concept of me and Jared. I think finding their own wives has mellowed them out. Or maybe they're just relieved I didn't decide to marry someone like our dad, who values the almighty dollar more than most people.

"I couldn't sleep," I admit when Jared draws to a stop in front of me, reaching out to touch my face. I nestle it into his hand, pressing my lips to his palm. "I probably need to get home. Kennedy should be back soon."

"The two of you are going to be okay, sweet baby," he says, the same thing he's told me every time I've brought her up. "She just needs a little time to think things through. We threw a lot at her all at once."

"Please don't blame yourself," I whisper when I hear the guilt in his voice. "If she's upset with me, it's because I wasn't honest with her. That's not your fault. I made that choice."

"For me."

I growl at him, which makes him smile.

"You feeling fierce again, princess?"

"Maybe," I huff, annoyed that he keeps blaming himself for all of this. I'm the one who made the decision not to tell her the truth from the very beginning. He didn't have anything to do with that. If she's mad at me, it's my own fault.

"Good," he grunts, leaning down to pick me up. His lips brush mine as he settles onto the bed with me wrapped around him. "I fucking love it when you're my little lioness. But seeing you so sad and not being able to fix it for you is killing me, sweet baby. Your sister is going to forgive you. It's obvious how much she loves you."

"She's still mad at me," I whisper, rubbing my nose against his. His erection stirs against my bottom. "We were little the last time she got this mad at me."

"What happened?"

"She broke her arm trying to climb down the bedsheet ladder I made," I admit, nipping at his bottom lip. "I got us grounded for something and we decided to run away to go save the whales. Well, I decided. I think Kennedy was just going to keep me out of trouble."

He chuckles against my lips, using his hands to ride me up and down against his erection. "Christ, you're fucking adorable."

"I was nine. It seemed like a good idea at the time. But I guess I didn't tie the sheets to the bedframe tightly enough. I got down fine, but once she was halfway down, they came loose. She fell and broke her arm. She didn't talk to me for a full day, not until my dad got home and threatened to spank me." Tears prickle at my eyes at the memory. "She came swooping to my rescue like she always did when my bad ideas caught up with me."

"Your father spanked you?" he growls, going rigid beneath me as if the very thought upsets him. God, I love him and how protective of me he can be. I don't think Meeko is going to have very much to do with Jared around.

"No. He threatened to spank me about a million times, but he never followed through with it. He wasn't very good at punishing us. I think he tried to make up for neglecting our brothers by letting me get away with so much. I drove him crazy, but he never really punished me."