Stalking His Claim - Lucy Darling Page 0,3

while then give up. Then I get mad that he won’t budge and don’t talk to him for days. My anger usually subsides and I’ll be back at it again. If I’m anything, it’s persistent. Especially when it’s something I want. I may not be aggressive or in his face about it, but I’ll continue to chip away and be patient until he’s ready. He probably thinks I’m crazy. He might be right.

“Normal.” He takes a bite of his ice cream.

“Any plans tonight?” I take a bite of mine and keep on pushing. He gives me a look that says When do I ever have plans? “You could have a date or something.” I shrug, trying to pretend that wouldn't bother me. When really it might shatter me.

“I don’t date.” He says the same thing he always does. I’m not going to lie; him saying it always makes me feel better.

“Not true. You dated Shelly,” I remind him. I’d never met her.

“Who?” He puts his spoon down.

“Shelly,” I repeat. I hate saying her name. Sometimes I wish I could have met her to know what she looked like. If Reed has a type or something.

“The woman you dated when Tinsley first came to live here,” Rita supplies for him. She doesn't even look our way. She keeps on chopping vegetables for the salad, I’m guessing.

“Right.”

“How can you forget the name of someone you dated?” I shove a spoonful of ice cream into my mouth. Because right now I need all the sprinkles I can get. How can he care that little about who he dates?

“Yeah, Reed.” Rita turns to look at us. “How can you forget someone you dated? It’s almost like she didn't exist at all.” I nod in agreement. I wish that was true.

“I’m busy. I can’t remember everyone’s name.” He grabs the sprinkles. “You need more.” He shakes them into my bowl.

“You can never have too many,” I agree, taking a bite of my ice cream. He nods in agreement. We sit in silence as we both eat. I try to think of something to talk about but I’m suddenly nervous. I’m working myself up. I see him all the time. Why am I being weird now? Oh, because now I’m trying to seduce him. That’s right. As you can see, that’s not going too well for me. I can barely get him to talk, never mind anything else.

“You have something.” Reed reaches with his thumb, swiping below my bottom lip. “Ice cream.” He brings it to his mouth, sucking it clean. My heart races. That did not just happen.

“Ahh!” I scream when my phone rings. Both Rita and Reed look at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“Sorry.” I grab my phone. “Gotta go.” I rush out of the kitchen before I make a bigger fool of myself. I answer the phone. “I failed,” I grumble. God, I suck at this.

3

Reed

The scotch burns my throat as I swallow it down in one gulp. I close my eyes, trying to relax. My whole body is strung tight. Dinner was hell. I don’t know what is going on with Tinsley. After she practically ran from the kitchen, she’d gone quiet. She came back to dinner a few hours later and we both ate in silence.

Normally she goes on about her day, sometimes just chattering to fill the silence. She usually tells me everything she did that day, but tonight she’s different. I’m on edge because I’m used to her lively stories after a long day at the office. I look forward to hearing every single word that comes from her beautiful mouth.

I'm curious to know who called her. Her demeanor seemed to change after that. That had to be it. She was happy when I got home. She took my tie off and made me a bowl of ice cream. Then I touched her. Her lips are even softer than her skin. Again she smelled like vanilla. I always thought vanilla was plain. Boring even. Then Tinsley came along and now I have a small obsession with it. Or maybe it’s her I have the small obsession with.

I drop my glass down on the table next to me. It isn't doing shit to calm me down, so what’s the point of having another? “Sir, I’m heading out.” Rita stands in the doorway to my office. I glance at the clock. It’s a little after nine.

“Is she still in her room?” I ask. She went there straight after dinner. Her