Page 72 of Claimed By The Dragon Daddy

When my second class came to an end at noon, I stretched my arms above my head. Time for lunch and a much-needed break.

Venturing back down to the kitchen, hoping to find something quick and satisfying to eat, I was surprised to find Jax sitting on a stool at the island. His eyes were bloodshot, his light brown hair a disheveled mess. He’d looked bad when they’d made it back from Atlantic City, but I would’ve thought he’d have recovered by now. Still, I hadn’t seen him for the past few days. Maybe he was worse off than I’d thought.

“Jax, you look terrible,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

He laughed. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, love.”

I cringed. “Sorry, that’s not what I meant. I just mean… are you okay?”

“Physically, I’m getting there.” He gave me a wink. “You’ll be happy to learn nothing vital was damaged.”

I rolled my eyes. There was the flirty shifter I hadn’t seen since they’d returned. I guessed he was going to be just fine.

“I’ve been recreating my program on the laptop Sebastian gave me,” he said, glancing my way as I moved to the refrigerator. “But it's exhausting to build months’ worth of code and encryptions.”

“Wow, that sounds intense.” I grabbing some ingredients for a sandwich and placed them on the counter. “Want some lunch?”

“Sure, love. Thanks.” He propped his chin on his hand while I started preparing food for both of us.

“How did you get into all this tech stuff?”

Jax hesitated for a moment, then said, “You know, Tomas wasn’t the one who raised me. My dad—my stepfather—was a human.”

I lifted my eyes, pretty sure I hadn’t heard that bit before, but I didn’t want to push. I finished the sandwiches, put them on plates, and grabbed some chips as he continued talking, coming around to sit beside him at the island counter.

“My dad was deep into computers. He taught me everything he knew from a very young age. I can’t remember a time when he wasn’t teaching me something or other. I started coding when I was nine. People called me a genius, but I never saw it as a big deal. I just paid attention, practiced, and tried to do my best.”

“Are you kidding?” I stared at Jax now. “That's incredible. You should be proud of yourself. Don’t dismiss your talent.”

He shrugged, though I saw a hint of a smile on his lips. “Thank you, love. I guess it's just always been a part of who I am. My dad wanted me to make something of myself, and I didn't want to let him down.”

As Jax spoke, I watched him closely. Despite his evident exhaustion, there was a bright spark in his eyes when he talked about his work.

“Of course, I always knew I'd work with computers,” he said, running a hand through his messy hair. “But over time, my skills grew beyond what I ever thought possible. It’s true what they say about practice.”

He winked again, but his eyes tightened at the corners when I said, “So you decided to use those skills against Tomas?”

I wasn’t sure if I was poking a beast by asking, but my curiosity about how Jax got tangled up in Tomas’s web was nagging at me.

Jax sighed and looked away. “That’s not exactly the happiest of stories.”

“You don’t have to talk about it,” I said hurriedly, placing a hand on his arm. “Seriously, Jax. I get it.”

But he shook his head. “No, I don’t mind telling you, love. You might understand why I’m so set on helping you.” He clenched his teeth, his eyes settling on the hand still resting on his arm. “I’m as determined as Evan not to let him get his hands on you."

I blinked and pulled my hand back, a bit surprised by the fervor in his words, but then he was talking again.

“I got curious about my biological father and started digging. My mother would never tell me anything, and I know she didn’t want me learning about Tomas. Honestly, I wish I’d listened to her. I never expected what I’d find.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said, hardly able to comprehend what it’d be like to have such a monster as a father.

“Thanks.” He offered a small smile. “Anyway, during my search, I discovered I had a little sister. Rosalind. My parents couldn't have kids because my mother was a dragon and my stepfather was human, and I’d always wanted a sibling, so I was really curious about her.”

And she’d turned out to be a selfish brat. There was obviously no love lost between Jax and Rosalind, yet I wanted to know more. “So, what happened? You reached out to her?”

“Yeah, I managed to get in touch with Rosalind, and we started communicating secretly. She never told Tomas we were speaking.” Jax shook his head, a shadow crossing his face. “But of course, he found out. Tomas came to see me personally.”

“What about?”

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