Page 89 of The Claiming

“Tell me about her.”

His expression is almost hungry and as my mind turns to my stepmother, I can’t help smiling. “She is the best. I love her unconditionally because she taught me that. She has always made me feel loved and wanted and when they had a son, Caspian, I couldn’t have been happier. I finally got the family I saw in the storybooks and on the television and I am so proud to call them mine.”

“Your brother?”

He won’t let this lie, and I roll my eyes.

“Caspian is five years younger than me and is the mirror image of our father. He’s cocky, self-assured and has no fear and yet he’s decent with it. I can’t fault any of them if I’m honest.”

I regard him thoughtfully.

“Tell me about your family, Frankie.”

He shrugs, dragging his finger through the steaming water, causing it to ripple against me.

“They are unconventional.”

He lifts his eyes to mine and grins.

“I kind of love unconventional, which is why we work so well together.”

“We do.” I grin, noting how he changed the subject. Siri’s brief potted history about his past causing me to let it lie. He will tell me if he wants to, and he obviously isn’t ready for that yet, so I sigh with contentment.

“Being your slave is more pleasurable than I ever imagined it would be. I’m impressed.”

“We still have one week to shatter your illusions.”

His lazy grins makes me smile, and he jerks his head to the other room.

“Sex makes me hungry. Let’s dress and grab some food at the cafeteria. We have less than a week before the next Claiming and there is a lot to do.”

He helps me from the tub and I push down my disappointment. I would be happy to spend the entire day in bed with this man, but he’s right. There is shit to shovel and something sparks my imagination as I follow him into the bedroom to retrieve our clothes.

“Frankie!”

He turns as I say with a gasp, “What if the passageway under the dungeon is part of a network?”

“It could be. Why do you ask?”

“Whoever dragged Abigail back to Willow Tree house may have remained undetected because nobody saw them.”

His eyes gleam as he smiles. “I see what you mean. There may be a network of tunnels that run under Rockwell Academy, linking the dungeon and all of the houses.”

I stare at him wide-eyed. “Fuck. This is bigger than I thought. What do we do now?”

“We eat.” He smirks before adding. “It may be time to call in the experts.”

I’m confused, and he laughs softly. “And I know the perfect man who can help us.”

FORTY-FIVE

FRANKIE

The days pass in a whirl of activity—behind the scenes.

Lessons are a mere distraction as we work on The Claiming in our spare time. There is a lot to organize and Ali steps up to arrange the security.

It’s been a pleasurable week in other ways and I savor the memory of having a slave for the duration.

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