Read Online Claiming Lori by Marteeka Karland & Shara Azod - Free Book Online

 
     
     
    Chapter One
     
    Lori Saunders squealed when she turned on the light to her living room to find three incredibly huge, incredibly hunky men sitting on her sectional. They’d scared the hell out of her. Especially since she’d shut the door and had broken out into a chorus of “Baby Got Back,” all while shaking her ass in a little shimmy.
    On one level, though, she wasn’t the least bit surprised to see all three of her usual tormentors waiting for her as she stumbled back into her house. They had keys, after all. It was just startling.
    “Now, guys.” It was really hard not to sway on her too-cute boots, especially when confronted by three very sexy, very pissed visions of male loveliness. They sat in her living room as if they had every right to be there, glowering something fierce. “I’m a big girl now. And legal, to boot. If I want to go have a little fun, damn it, I’m entitled.”
    She was an only child, but it had never stopped the three knuckleheads from next door from acting like she was their kid sister. Being the only child of a single father, it had been nice when she was a kid, but the three busybodies had taken it to a whole different level since she’d first sprouted breasts. When her dad had retired and moved to Florida, leaving her the house, she should’ve known these three would hinder her newfound independence.
    It was Alex who came over to steady her. Good old Alex, with his gorgeous auburn hair and bright blue eyes. Damn, he was tall. When had he gotten all large like that? All three brothers had always been hunkalicious, but this was a bit beyond the regular old hot and made a beeline toward sublime. Why hadn’t she noticed that before?
    “You know, you are one hot firefighter.” A bevy of giggles escaped before Lori could call them back. Shit, now they were going to know she was sloshed. Still, it was funny. Hot firefighter, what a cliché.
    “And you are headed toward having one hot little ass, sneaking out like that.” Alex’s reply was delivered with one of those lopsided grins designed to get a girl all wet and wanting. Man, did it ever work.
    At twenty-four, she hadn’t had an actual boyfriend in like… well, never, really. Guys she called herself interested in never lasted for long with the three Neanderthal McAlister brothers nosing around.
    Alex, who had just turned twenty-nine, was usually the first to ferret out any and all pertinent info on any prospective male friend. He would then turn over all he knew to Michael, who was now thirty-two. If the two of them couldn’t find anything bad enough to warn her off, they would turn to thirty-five-year-old Jack to intimidate the crap out of the guy, making sure he’d never return. She could see it when she was sixteen, but, damn it, she was legal! A girl deserved a little fun in her life. Which was why she’d snuck out tonight.
    “Do you know how dangerous it is, going out and getting drunk?” That came from Jack. Black Jack, as she referred to him somewhat ironically, had jet-black hair with faint reddish highlights. He had the same sapphire eyes as his brothers, though, making him devilishly handsome. Unlike his two younger brothers, Jack wasn’t a firefighter, but a cop. A detective now. “What if something had happened to you, Lori? What if someone attacked you or your friends? What would you have done then?”
    Jack didn’t come forward as Alex had. Instead he sat there taking up the corner of the sectional, where it turned into a big armchair, looking like he was the man of the house. Didn’t that thought just give her the shivers? Black Jack, all big, strong and fierce, walking around shirtless, pulling her down in his lap, maybe coming home and taking her right there against the front door as she greeted him…
    “Lori, are you listening to me?” The sound of Jack’s voice snapped her back to the present.
    Unfortunately, her wayward tongue forgot she was no longer daydreaming. “I would totally