Free Claimed: The Pregnant Heiress by Day Leclaire

somehow still looking graceful and elegant in the process. He couldn’t help but notice that her fingers trembled as she rehooked her bra and buttoned her blouse, tucking it into the waistband of her skirt. He also couldn’t help but notice the glint of frustrated desire that remained in her eyes.
    Before he could act on that desire, she glanced around. “What happened to your notebook and that little chart you drew for me?”
    He released a gusty sigh. Time to throttle back. Both of them were far too old to be screwing around in a car. What if someone had driven by and seen them? A town this small, the news would have spread faster than wildfire whipped by a Santa Ana wind. “I tossed it in the back with your purse. Hang on.”
    He leaned over the seat and shoved through the paraphernalia littering the floor from when he’d upended her purse. It took a minute before he unearthed the notepad. His BlackBerry was resting on top of it where it must have fallen out of his jacket and he grabbed that, as well, shoving it into his pocket. Emma leaned in and tapped the diagram he’d drawn.
    â€œOkay, explain this to me.”
    He pointed to the circle in the center of the page. “That’s my mother, Penny Larson.”
    â€œYour mom’s a circle?”
    â€œActually, she’s more of a free-form design, but circles and squares and the occasional triangle are the extent of my artistic ability.”
    â€œGot it. So, go on, who’s the big messy square?”
    â€œMy father.” His mouth tightened. “While working at Worth Industries, my mom met and had an affair with New York über -businessman Tiberius Barron—The Barron, as I tend to call him—who was in town working one of his mega-million-dollar deals with Ronald Worth. I was the result of their affair.”
    â€œI’ve heard of Tiberius Barron. But then, who hasn’t, right?” She waved her hand. “Go on.”
    He pointed to the far side of the page where Hannah and Bob Cameron were listed. “Hannah is Rafe’s mother. When she became pregnant with Rafe, your father fired Hannah and Bob for breaking his no-fraternization rule.”
    Emma paled. “That can’t be right,” she insisted in a stilted voice. “My father never had such a ridiculous rule. Since practically everyone living in Vista del Mar is employed by Worth Industries, the only way it would work is if everyone in town were celibate.”
    â€œI assure you, it was a rule at that time. Or perhaps the rule only applied to Hannah and Bob for some reason. At this point in the game it hardly matters. It’s ancient history.” Chase tapped his pen against their names. “The two left Worth Industries, married and had Rafe. Unfortunately, Hannah died from COPD—chronic obstructive pulmonary disease—the year Rafe turned fifteen. A few years later my mother, Penny, and Rafe’s father, Bob, married. I was in my first year of college, Rafe in his senior year of high school. After Rafe graduated, the Camerons, who by then included my mom, all relocated to Los Angeles. Bob and Mom still live there.”
    Emma’s brows tugged together. “That makes you and Rafe stepbrothers, not real brothers.”
    Chase’s mouth tightened. “When you introduced me to Ana Rodriguez, you said you were as close as sisters. Is she any less your sister because she isn’t related to you by blood?”
    â€œOkay, I get your point, but…” She nibbled at her lower lip. “I don’t remember you growing up around here, only Rafe.”
    Chase nodded. “That’s because I didn’t. When I turned ten I moved to New York to live with my father. I was known as Barron’s Bastard from that point on.”
    â€œWhy did you stay in New York and put up with it?” she asked, appalled. “Why didn’t you just move back home with your mother?”
    A wintry coldness