Claiming Caroline (Claimed 3)

"Meeko, you can't just run everyone over," I huff as he barrels through the front door once we get back to the apartment well over two hours later. It's already close to nine. He dives straight for the couch, sprawling out like he just ran a marathon. He didn't. He walked up one flight of stairs. He's just dramatic. "You're so spoiled."

"I'm pretty sure you spoiled him, princess," Jared chuckles behind me, wrapping a hand around my hip to get me moving forward. "I saw you sneaking him pieces of your burrito last night."

"Did not," I mumble. It's a lie. I totally snuck him pieces of my burrito. He actually ate most of it himself, I think. I wasn't very hungry.

Meeko flops over onto his side, his tongue lolling out.

"He's a bum. He didn't even growl at you yesterday."

"That's because he knows I'm no threat to you," Jared says, following me into the apartment. "We're on the same team."

"He didn't know that when you…" I trail off when Kennedy appears in her bedroom doorway. She's not alone, either. There's a tattooed giant standing behind her. He wraps one big arm around her waist, holding her protectively against his body. Jared is big, but this guy is even bigger than he is. He's shirtless, with piercings in his nipples and bold, intricate tattoos all over him. He's beautiful in the way a storm is beautiful, somehow fearsome and stunningly gorgeous at the same time.

"Um, hi," Kennedy whispers, blushing bright red all the way to her hair, which is all mussed up. Her bridesmaid dress is wrinkled and hanging off one shoulder. Her lips are swollen too.

"Hi," I whisper back, gaping at her.

We stare at each other in awkward silence for a moment. And then I giggle because I can't help it. She looks like a little kid who just got caught stealing cookies. She also looks happier than I've ever seen her look before. Is this the guy she was talking about yesterday morning?

"We weren't having sex!" she blurts out, her eyes wide.

"Making love," the giant corrects in a deep growl.

"I had sex," I whisper to her.

"Made love," Jared growls, exactly like the giant did.

Kennedy and I stare at each other for a minute and then we both giggle. The hard knot in my stomach loosens. Things may not be perfect between us, but I think we're going to be all right.

"Can we talk?" I ask.

"Can we talk?" she says at the same time.

I glance over my shoulder at Jared. "Would you mind waiting?"

"Of course not," he says, his expression soft. "Go talk to your sister, sweet baby."

"Asher, you can wait with him," Kennedy says, wiggling out of his hold. She turns to look at him and then her chin comes up. For the first time in my life, I hear possessiveness in her tone. "After you put a shirt on."

"Yes, ma'am," he drawls, grinning at her. Despite his teasing tone, his eyes are soft as he looks at her, which makes me happy. He's not at all what I expected for her, but he seems enamored of her. She looks equally as caught up in him. They gravitate around each other like the moon and the Earth.

"Hi, Asher. I'm Caroline." I wave at him.

"Hey. I've heard a lot about you." He gives me a smile and then turns a hard look on Jared. "You must be King."

"I am," Jared says.

They do some weird alpha male stare thing that leaves me moderately concerned about leaving them alone together, but before I can say anything, they seem to come to some kind of silent agreement because they both nod and then relax.

"Go talk to your sister, princess," Jared says, pressing a kiss to my temple.

Asher disappears into Kennedy's room for a minute and the reappears a second later, a white dress shirt hanging open over his chest. "Go talk, baby," he says, buttoning it up. He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, staring at her like she's a goddess. "We'll be cool."

"You better be," she warns him before grabbing my arm and practically dragging me into my bedroom. Meeko hops down from the couch to tag after us. Once he's through the door, Kennedy practically slams it shut.

"So…Asher?" I say after a moment.

"We didn't have sex," she says again.

"Is he the one…?"

She nods, her eyes big.

"I guess he did notice you then," I say.

She nods again and then buries her face in her hands. "He is so hot," she whisper-groans. "I can't even think straight when he smiles at me! And he has tattoos. And he says the sweetest things to me."

"I didn't know you liked tattoos."

"Me either!"

I giggle because she sounds a little mad about it. I think my baby sister might be falling in love with him. He's definitely in love with her. It was written all over his face when he looked at her.

"You really like him."

"Yes." She swallows hard. "He says I'm his now."

"You should probably believe him," I suggest, thinking about how Jared always says that to me. Asher doesn't look like he would say something like that if he didn't mean it.

She groans and flops backward on my bed.

"Falling in love is scary, isn't it?" I cross to sit beside her.

She turns her head to look at me. "You're scared?"

"I'm scared that you'll hate me for choosing Jared," I whisper. "I swear I didn't mean to hurt you, Kennedy. I didn't know who he was until it was already too late. But I should have told you the truth as soon as I found out."

"Why didn't you?" she asks, sitting up. There's no judgement in her voice. Just…genuine curiosity. And maybe a little hurt.