Page 73 of The Claiming

“Cassie?” He cocks his brow and I nod. “Of course.”

“You lucky bastard.” He groans, rubbing his crotch. “I may need medical attention.”

“Spare me the gory details.”

I open the fridge and sigh. “What happened to the groceries?”

I swear they dissolve on contact with the fridge shelves and Santi shrugs. “The fuck I know.”

I slam the door. “I guess we’ll be dining out for breakfast then.”

Ali enters and yawns loudly. “I’ll come. Just give me a minute to enter the real world.”

“Has anyone seen Jesse?”

I can already guess the answer to that and the guys shake their heads. “Missing as of ten last night.”

Ali side eyes me. “What do you know?”

“He’s getting his entertainment outside of Rockwell.”

“Man.” Santi groans. “Good idea. I may go with him next time.”

“Good luck with that.” I grip two mugs as Jack enters, looking totally fucked, and as his eyes rest on the two mugs in my hand, I don’t miss how crushed he looks. He says nothing and heads to the cupboard and pulls out one mug, and my heart settles. Thank fuck for that. I may have engineered his make-out session with Siri, but moving that on will raise another problem entirely.

I say nothing and leave the room, shouting over my shoulder, “Anyone for breakfast at the diner, meet us by the door in thirty minutes.”

I leave Jack to process my use of the word ‘us’ and head back upstairs with an unusual spring in my step. Soon the whole of Rockwell will know Cassie is mine and the only man who could have changed destiny is now coming to terms with his loss. I have won because I planned my strategy and, for once, I love my fucking devious mind.

* * *

Cassie has showeredand is dressed when I return, and I shake my head as I set the mug of coffee on the table by the bed.

“That’s disappointing.”

She rolls her eyes. “I’m starving and should really touch base with Siri.”

“She’s still asleep. Only the guys are up.”

“The guys?” I don’t miss her started expression as she grips the mug a little too tightly.

“Yeah, we’ve got nothing in, so are heading out for breakfast.”

“Out?”

I nod. “We have a couple of SUVs we use to head into town.”

“We?”

“The guys. We’ll head to the diner in town. They serve a mean pancake and we can decide on our next plan of action.”

“The Claiming?”

Her eyes light with interest and I nod, sitting beside her on the bed as we sip our drinks. “We need to plan it more carefully this time, because ten new participants are due to pass through the door on Friday night. This time, we will be ready.”

She nods, a soft smile lighting her face and once again it strikes me just how fucking beautiful Cassandra King is. She has curves in all the right places and obviously trains hard because her muscles are toned and her abs tight. Her dark hair is slightly wavy and thick and hangs to her shoulders and her green eyes flash with intelligence. I love her soft pale skin and naturally red lips, the pink flush to her cheeks adorable when she glances my way.

She is a natural beauty with a quick mind and after last night, I am ruined for any other woman. We are so compatible, sexually and mentally, and I can’t believe my luck that she rolled in through the academy doors.

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