Claimed: The Complete Short Romance Series

by Nichole Rose

  "Always, little owl."

  Her eyes drift closed, a smile on her lips.

  I stay right where I'm at for a long time…holding my son and staring at my wife. Just reveling in the moment. I'm perfectly at peace, perfectly happy. Pure bliss pumps through my veins in place of blood, happiness running bone deep. And it's all because a beautiful little owl crashed into me six years ago. She stole my heart and gave me Paradise in return.

  Now, it's my turn to give her the same. For the rest of her life.

  Bonus Scene

  Sebastian

  Ten Years Later

  "Doctor Thorne, you're needed in the principal's office. Doctor Thorne, you're needed in the principal's office."

  "Shit," I mutter, releasing the handle to Rowan's classroom door as Gertrude's voice sounds over the intercom. I was hoping to spend a few minutes staring at my wife before I had to get back to work. With Sawyer out because Lana just gave birth to their youngest, I've been filling in as principal. Normally, Lydia McCormick, who stepped up to fill the assistant principal role after we got rid of Johnson, would handle it. But she's filling in with Lana's music classes this week because we couldn't find a substitute. The flu is going around.

  I turn on my heel and head back to the office, ready to strike fear into the heart of whatever student is acting out today. It's surprising how much mischief a school full of kids can actually cause. They're great kids, don't get me wrong. But some of them spend an alarming amount of time in the principal's office for everything from playing pranks to fighting to theft.

  "Who am I terrif…" I trail off when I step into the outer office and see my nine-year-old, Dash, sitting on the bench across from Gertrude's desk. He's staring at the floor, his jaw clenched as if he's trying to keep himself from crying. His eyes are bright with moisture. His shirt is wrinkled, with a small tear in the arm of it.

  Another little boy—Daniel Clomsky—is seated at the bench right outside my office, holding an icepack to his lip.

  "What happened?"

  They both studiously avoid looking at me, so I quirk a brow at Gertrude.

  "Mr. Murphy says they got into a physical altercation at recess," she informs me, keeping her tone flat. "Daniel fell and busted his lip."

  I snap my head in Dash's direction, shocked. I can count on one hand the number of times he's ever been in trouble. Exactly zero of those times has included a fight. He's incredibly protective of his mama and his sisters, but he's a good kid who doesn't cause trouble or get into playground fights.

  Daniel looks equally as guilty as my son. Unlike Dash, Daniel is a familiar face in here. He can be a handful. According to my wife, who had him in class last year, he's a smart boy who tends to be disruptive and argumentative, especially when he's bored. But he's never been in a fight either as far as I know.

  "Do either of you care to explain?" I ask, crossing my arms and shooting them both a no bullshit look. Boys handle it better than girls. I made a few little girls cry before Rowan suggested I try being a little less stern with them. I should probably listen to her more often. She's basically a genius when it comes to kids. It's one of the reasons they all love her so fiercely.

  "Dash pushed me!" Daniel says, pulling the icepack away from his face. His bottom lip is split and swollen. It doesn't look to be bleeding though. "He made me fall."

  "You pushed me first," Dash exclaims, scowling at Daniel. "And you called my mom fat."

  What the fuck?

  "Did not," Daniel mutters, the tips of his ears turning red.

  "Yes, you did."

  "Did not."

  "Both of you, knock it off," I snap, my voice firm.

  Both boys immediately snap their mouths closed.

  "Dash, office, now." I point toward Sawyer's office.

  "Yes, sir," Dash says, sliding forward on the bench and then rising. He moves toward the office, only to pause in front of Daniel. "My mom isn't fat and it's rude for you to say that about girls."

  "Dash," I warn him even as pride swells in my chest. He's right on both counts. My little owl isn't fat. She's even more gorgeous now than she was the day she ran right into me outside of this office. And Daniel shouldn't be calling anyone fat, especially not a woman.

  Dash mumbles a begrudging apology under his breath and then heads into the office. I wait until the door closes behind him before turning to Daniel.

  "Did you push him first?" I ask.

  Daniel clenches his little jaw and then reluctantly nods. He may be a handful, but he always owns up to his behavior.

  "Did you call Mrs. Thorne fat?"

  His wide blue eyes meet mine, his cheeks heating. "Dash thinks I called her a fat butt, but I didn't. I said she had a fat butt."

  Gertrude makes a strangled noise.

  I open my mouth and then close it several times, not sure what to say to that. Rowan has a great ass. It's round and juicy and makes my dick hard as a rock. I can't very well tell that to a nine-year-old kid, though. Especially one who seems embarrassed to have noticed her butt enough to comment on it in the first place.

  "Commenting on a woman's body is rude," I tell him instead. "Women come in all shapes and sizes. They don't control the size of their body parts any more than you do. You treat them like treasure. You don't disrespect them by saying hurtful things about their bodies, understand?"

  "Yes, Dr. Thorne," he says.

  "You're sitting out recess for the rest of the week."

  "Dr. Thorne!" he complains.

  "Would you rather me send you home for the rest of the week?" I ask, cocking a brow at him. "You started a fight, Daniel. That's serious."

  "No, sir," he says and then lifts his worried gaze to mine again. "Are you going to tell my mom?"

  "What do you think?"

  "Oh, man," he says, his shoulders drooping. "I'm going to be grounded forever."

  I fight the urge to chuckle because he's probably right. But he was in a fight and has a busted lip. I couldn't keep that from his mom even if I wanted to do it. And I don't want to do it. It's not my job to keep things from parents, and it would piss me off to find out someone kept something this serious from me.

  "Get back to class," I tell him. "And I don't want to hear about you being disrespectful about women or fighting again, Daniel. If I do, you're going to be in serious trouble, are we clear?"

  "Yes, Dr. Thorne." He quickly hops to his feet and scurries out.

  "I'll send a note along to Rick about recess," Gertrude says.

  "Thanks. Dash will be sitting out for the rest of the week as well." I hate to do it, but he knows the rules. Even if Daniel started it, he still got busted fighting. He doesn't get a free pass for that even if his intentions were good.

  "Noted," Gertrude says. If she disagrees with my decision, she keeps it to herself.

  I head into the office to talk to Dash. He's seated across from the desk with his head in his hands. The sight tugs at my heart. He's such a good kid. But he can't be fighting. Rowan would have a fit if she knew.

  "You alright, buddy?" I ask, pulling the door closed.

  He lifts his head to look at me, his expression miserable. "Am I in bad trouble?"

  "That depends." I pull up a chair next to him. "What happened?"

  "He was saying mean things about the teachers," Dash says, clearly still mad about it. "I told him to stop, but then he started saying mean things about mom. I didn't want to fight with him. I just wanted him to stop talking about mom. I called him stupid and he got mad and pushed me twice. So I pushed him back and he fell down and hit his face on the jungle gym. And then Mr. Murphy made me take him to the nurse and then here." He shoots me a look that's half-dread, half-shame. "I'm sorry for disappointing you."

  "I'm not disappointed," I promise him. "I'm proud of you for standing up for your mom and what's right. What he said wasn't acceptable."

  Dash exhales a relieved breath and I hold up a hand.

  "But you calling him stupid wasn't acceptable either, Dash. Figh
ting isn't the answer. You can't go around getting into shoving matches or name-calling every time someone says something you don't like about someone you love," I explain. "You're too smart for that."

  "I'm sorry," he says, his shoulders slumping. "It won't happen again."

  "Good. Your mom is a beautiful woman, but no woman is defined by her size. I'm proud of you for trying to look out for her and the other teachers. But you gotta learn when to walk away. Your mom would rather hear that a kid said something dumb about her than to hear about you fighting."

  "You're going to tell her?" he asks, his brown eyes wide.

  "It wouldn't be very fair of me to tell his mom and not tell yours, would it?"

  "No," he sighs. "I guess not." He scrunches up his face the same way Rowan does. I swear, all of our kids look more and more like her every day. "Can you not tell her what he said about her though? It'll make her sad."

  "I can do that," I agree, proud as hell of him for even asking. Though I'm not really surprised. Dash thinks Rowan is magic. On that fact, we're in perfect agreement. My little owl is magic, the kind of sweet you can't help but love. I appreciate that Dash recognizes that and tries to do what he can to protect that innocence. He's going to make a hell of a man someday.

  "Thanks, Dad."

  "Don't thank me yet," I warn him. "You're not off the hook. You're sitting out at recess for the rest of the week, no videogames for a week, and I want you to apologize to Daniel."

  "But he started it!"

  "And he was wrong for that," I say, "but you were wrong too. Part of being a man means taking responsibility for our actions and being the bigger person. You don't have to agree with what he said or be his friend, but you teach people to do better by leading by example. Understood?"

  "I understand," he mumbles. "I'll apologize for pushing him."

  "Good deal." I hold my hand out for a fist bump. "Now, get back to class and no more fighting."

  "Okay, Dad." Like Daniel, he quickly scurries out, undoubtedly hoping to avoid any further punishment. Losing recess and videogame time is a tragedy for a nine-year-old. But I know he'll handle it like a champion. Besides, he has a room full of books and toys to keep him occupied for a week.

  Hell, between Rowan, my sisters, and Killian's wife, our kids have enough stuff to keep them occupied for a century. We clean out their rooms every few months and donate what they don't use, but I swear my sisters are on a mission to buy them one of every toy known to mankind.

  I'm just glad Orion is the only one who hasn't outgrown loud toys. A man can only handle so many instances of nearly pissing himself in the middle of the night because some fucking toy starts talking. I damn near broke my neck the last time that shit happened. And Rowan almost died by hyperventilating because she laughed so hard.

  I don't hold it against her. Mostly because she made it up to me by sucking me off. But also because it's impossible to be mad when she laughs. She's so fucking beautiful when she's happy. No one can withstand that loud, happy sound for long.

  I slowly climb to my feet and circle around the desk to find Mrs. Clomsky's number. She's mortified when I fill her in on what happened and apologizes profusely. I have a feeling Daniel really is going to be grounded for life for this one. It takes ten minutes to reassure her that everything is fine and that there are no hard feelings. Hell, if Rowan knew what he'd said, she'd probably just shrug it off.

  Nothing ever gets my wife down for long, and she has an endless well of empathy and patience for the kids—not just ours, but for all the students here. She takes everything in stride and rarely ever loses her temper…unless it's in defense of one of them. She still turns into a fierce mama bear when one of her kids is bullied.

  That's one of the things I love most about her. She's so fucking good for these kids. Even a decade later, I can't fathom how that dick, Johnson, didn't see it. This school is what it is because of the love teachers like Rowan, Lana, Cadence, and Rick Murphy pour into it.

  My life is what it is because of Rowan. The love she pours into our home has settled into every nook and cranny and showered down on me for a decade. Everything I have and everything I am is because of her. I'm a better man because of her, one who knows what is important in life and how to cherish every moment.

  I love that Dash is as protective of her as I am, that all of our kids love her like I do. Daniel may not know enough about her to appreciate her like she deserves, but our kids do. And I damn sure do. That woman, and her gorgeous ass, is my entire world.

  "Nalani, Elysia, Dash, no TV until you do your homework!" Rowan calls after the kids as they make a run for the front door as soon as I turn off the engine.

  "Okay, mama!" Dash yells over his shoulder.

  His twin sisters grumble under their breath before agreeing. Nalani and Elysia are as different as night and day, but like most kids, they hate doing homework. I was never a big fan of it myself. Luckily, most of the teachers at Commodore have taken a less-is-more approach to the situation. They hand out very little in the way of homework, ensuring the kids have plenty of time to be kids after the school day ends.

  "Orion, stop unbuckling yourself," I tell our youngest, who is eager to chase after his brother and sisters. "You're supposed to wait until mommy says it's okay, remember?"

  "Mommy, pwease?" he pleads, turning wide, hopeful eyes on Rowan. At three, he's mastered pouting like his sisters. And, like his sisters, he usually gets what he wants. It's so hard to tell him no when he looks just like my little owl and is as happy-go-lucky as she is. Nothing ever fazes him for long.

  "Go ahead, sweet boy," Rowan says, shaking her head and smiling.

  Orion quickly finishes unbuckling his seat and then shimmies out of it before climbing out of the SUV.

  "Wait por me!" he yells, toddling after Dash and the girls as quick as his little legs will carry him. I hate to break it to the kid, but I'm pretty sure he's going to be tiny like his mom and sisters. He's got the shortest little legs. That never stops him from trying to keep up with his brother and sisters. He follows them around like he's their little shadow.

  I hop out of the car and circle around to help Rowan out. As soon as she's on her feet, I swoop, caging her in against the car to kiss the shit out of her. I haven't kissed her all day and I'm dying for any little piece of her I can get.

  She presses her body close to mine, rising up on her toes to wrap her arms around my neck. Her dreamy sigh makes my dick throb.

  I was inside her this morning, but it feels like a lifetime ago.

  Being in the same school with her and not being able to see her is almost worse than being at my own office, an hour away. Tempting a desperate man with forbidden fruit is cruel and unusual punishment. And yet…I fucking love being in the same school with her. Even when, like today, I don't get to see her, having her close makes me happy.

  "What was that for?" she asks when I pull back before one of us gets carried away. It wouldn't be the first time. Making love to my little owl is my favorite thing to do. I want her incessantly. That hasn't changed at all in the last decade. I doubt it will in sixty more. She's the only woman I want, the only one I even notice.

  "Because you're beautiful and you're mine, pretty Paradise." I nip at her lip and then palm her ass through her skirt before I scoop her up to carry her inside.

  "Sebastian! Put me down!" she protests, wiggling in my arms. "I gotta get my stuff out of the car."

  "I'll get it later," I mutter, carrying her inside.

  "Can I have fruit snacks, Daddy?" Nalani asks as soon as we're over the threshold. She doesn't even bat her lashes at me carrying her mom. It happens a lot around here.

  "Me too! Me too!" Orion shouts from beside her.

  "I want juice," Elysia says, rooting around in her backpack for something.

  "You can all have fruit snacks and juice while you do your homework," I say, which earns cheers from the twins and Orion. They take off for the kitchen.

  "Are you okay, Mama?" Dash hangs bac
k to ask when I carry her into the living room.

  "I'm fine," she promises, laughing. Happiness dances in her pretty doe eyes. "Your father is just being a caveman again."

  "Oh, okay," he says, and then shoots a questioning look my way.

  "She's good, buddy."

  He nods, seemingly satisfied that she isn't sad or hurt, and then follows after his siblings.

  "Are you going to tell me what happened between him and Daniel today?" Rowan asks, pushing her glasses up her nose when I sit her in my chair. "Rick mentioned that they got into a shoving match. Daniel had a split lip when I saw him, and Dash has a tear in his shirt. Did they really get into a fight? That's not like Dash."

  "Daniel was saying some ugly things and pushed Dash when Dash asked him to stop. Dash got frustrated and pushed him back," I explain, tucking her hair behind her ear.

  "Oh." She frowns. "Did he say something about one of the girls?"

  "No."

  "He said something about me?" Her gaze drifts toward the kitchen, her brows furrowed. "Maybe I should talk to Dash about it. He doesn't need to be getting into fights because someone said something ugly about me."

  "It's taken care of, little owl," I promise her.

  "You talked to him about it?"

  I nod. "Rick sent them both to see me. Dash is sitting out of recess for the rest of the week. I also told him no videogames, and he has to apologize to Daniel for pushing him."

  "Poor Dash." A shadow crosses her face. She's so soft-hearted. Punishing the kids always breaks her heart. "What did Daniel say that upset him so badly?"

  "He was just being a jerk," I murmur. "He wanted to rile Dash up and succeeded."

  "Dash doesn't want you to tell me what was said," she guesses, her expression melting. I swear, she knows our kids better than they know themselves. She's such an incredible mom. It's a little humbling to be the lucky fucker who gets to help her raise them.

  "He doesn't want your feelings to be hurt."

  "He's just like you, you know that? Always worrying about me and the girls." A sweet smile plays at her lips, those dimples of hers flashing at me. "Always trying to look out for us."