When a small action completely changes your life, you have to learn how to make the best out of it.
Jeremy’s life is centered on his three-year-old son, Adam, and his work. He’s a single dad, and as such he doesn’t have time for friends or girlfriends. Then he meets two brothers, and with them, a tall, silent man who fascinates him. But Jeremy isn’t gay...right?
Denver thinks he’ll soon be gone from Whitedell. He doesn’t have a family or friends and is with the pride only to do his job, at least until he finds his mate. He doesn’t want to claim Jeremy, but that choice is taken away from him, and he has to learn to live with a mate and a small child.
The two work hard on creating a life for themselves and raising Adam together, but someone from Jeremy’s past works against them. They will have to fight to keep their new family together and to keep Adam safe.
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Jeremy
Copyright © 2014 Catherine Lievens
ISBN: 978-1-4874-ARC
Cover art by Latrisha Waters
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Published by eXtasy Books Inc or
Devine Destinies, an imprint of eXtasy Books Inc
Look for us online at:
www.eXtasybooks.com or www.devinedestinies.com
Jeremy
Whitedell Pride 5
By
Catherine Lievens
Dedication
To my own Adam. Love you.
Chapter One
“No, no, no! Adam, please, put it back!”
“It’s mine, daddy!”
Jeremy sighed. It was never a good idea to go grocery shopping with his nearly three years old son, but the babysitter had been unavailable today, and he had to fill the fridge somehow. He kneeled next to his son and extracted the bag of candy from Adam’s hands, putting it back on the shelf just to find out that his son was running away along the aisle toward the ice cream.
“Adam! Come back here!” Jeremy scrambled to his feet and tried to go after the toddler, but he slipped on the linoleum and ended up face down on the dirty floor.
He didn’t have the time to be embarrassed or to deal with the pain that stemmed from where he had hit his knee. It would take only a few seconds for his son to disappear who knew where and find him eating cookies or candies.
“Hi sweetheart, where’s your mom?”
Jeremy looked up from where he was trying to get himself up to find a man kneeling next to his son. “I don’t have a mommy. Only a daddy!”
“Oh, okay. So, where’s your daddy?”
Finally managing to get to his feet, Jeremy headed toward the man and his son. “Adam! You know you can’t run away like that, pumpkin.” Jeremy cooped up his son, his back protesting the move, and looked at the now standing man. “Thank you for stopping him. I don’t know where he would have ended up if you hadn’t.”
“I think he was aiming at the ice cream, but I could be wrong.” The man smiled and held up his hand. “I’m Jamie.”
Jeremy shook the offered hand. “I’m Jeremy, and this is Adam.”
“Hi, Adam.”
Adam was suddenly playing shy, hiding into Jeremy’s neck and peeking out every few seconds. Jeremy knew that it would take all of five minutes for the kid to get over it and start chattering with Jamie like they were old friends. He was like that with everyone and Jeremy secretly wished he could be a little more outgoing like his son. He had been lacking adult conversations since they had moved in Whitedell a few months ago, and the man in front of him seemed nice.
“Hey, do you want me to hold him while you finish shopping?”
Jeremy hesitated. It was a tempting offer. That way he wouldn’t have to run after his son and could finish way earlier than he normally would, but was he willing to trust this man he didn’t know? “I can put him in the cart if you keep an eye on him. That would be really helpful.” At least there would be someone stopping Adam from throwing the whole cart’s contents around.
“That’s fine with me.”
“I wouldn’t want to keep you doing your own shopping, though.”
Jamie waved him away. “Actually I’m here with friends, and I’m sure they can do without me. It’s not a problem, really. I like kids and I don’t often have a chance to be with them.”
Jeremy chuckled. “I have the opposite problem I guess.”
“Adam was telling me he doesn’t have a mom?” Jamie’s voice was hesitant, but Jeremy didn’t have a problem answering. He had been over that particular story for a while.
Jeremy grabbed Adam’s favorite cereals from the shelf before answering, keeping his voice low so that his son didn’t hear him. Adam might only be three, but he understood a lot more things than people gave him credit for. “Yeah, his mother wasn’t ready to be a mom, so after Adam was born she left him to me.” It had been quite a shock, finding out that Deborah was pregnant after only a few months of marriage, but Jeremy had been ecstatic. He had always wanted a family, but Deborah hadn’t been ready, and she had left him and their newborn son right after the birth. He hadn’t heard anything from her since them.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Jamie was cooing at Adam and tickling him. Jeremy smiled, wondering why on earth he was telling all this to a man he didn’t know. It looked like he really needed to find himself some friends, if anything else to avoid telling the story of his life to strangers. He just didn’t have the time to do it.
“So, umm, do you live in Whitedell?” That was a stupid question. Of course the man lived here since he was grocery shopping.
“Yes.” Jamie bit his lower lip in a worried gesture and Jeremy wondered why. “I, uh, I actually moved in with my boyfriend about five months ago, but I’ve lived here all my life.”
Oh, so maybe that was the problem. Maybe Jamie thought Jeremy would have a problem with him having a boyfriend rather than a girlfriend. “That’s nice. I live alone, well, with Adam, of course.”
The smile Jamie gave him told Jeremy his reaction had been the right one, especially when the man sighed in relieve. “Oh, I’m glad you didn’t react badly to that.”
“Who you date isn’t really my problem, right?” Adam grabbed Jamie’s finger and tried to bite it, and Jeremy chastised him. “Pumpkin, you can’t bite other people. You’d hurt them.”
“I can see why you call him pumpkin.”
Yeah, both Adam and Jeremy had red hair, although Jeremy’s was dark red while Adam’s was more ginger. “I know it’s not the most original, but it suits him, you know?”
Grocery shopping with Jamie had been way quicker than it would have been normally, and Jeremy was already done. He couldn’t really take much since he would have to hurry up bringing everything inside his home. He couldn’t leave Adam alone for long after all, because the little guy always managed to get into trouble, even at home. Last time it had happened he had emp
tied an entire package of toilet paper in the toilet, and that hadn’t been fun to clean up.
He headed toward the check-out with Jamie pushing the cart and chatting animatedly with his son. It was nice not to have to do three things at the same time, and Jamie even stayed with them while Jeremy transferred all the bags to his trunk and took the cart back where it belonged.
“Thank you so much for your help, Jamie.” Adam was on his hip again, whining because he was hungry. Jeremy handed him a piece of bread, fully knowing it meant that Adam would eat less at dinner, but at least he would stay put for a while.
“It was nothing. I told you, I like kids, and since it seems I won’t have any...” Jamie shrugged, but Jeremy could see the longing in his eyes.
“Well, if you ever want to be with a kid you can babysit Adam any time you want,” Jeremy teased. He had meant it to be a joke but Jamie actually seemed enthusiastic at the idea.
“I wouldn’t mind. I know you don’t know me, but maybe the first few times you could stay in the house with us, or we could go to the park.” Jamie snapped his mouth shut, aware that he had seemed a little too eager, but Jeremy actually liked the idea. The only babysitters he had been able to find were teenagers or women who had already children of their own, and it happened often to remain without one, just like today.
“That would be nice. I sure would like to have a friend who is more than three years old. I mean, I love my son, but...sometimes I wish I could really talk to someone. I haven’t been in Whitedell for long, though, so I don’t know anyone here.” Jeremy hitched Adam higher on his hip and his heart warmed when the toddler planted a big, sloppy kiss on his cheek before returning to his snack.
“You’re new here? Maybe we could exchange numbers, so that next time you need a babysitter you can call me. Or if you want to go out sometimes.” Jamie’s eyes widened. “As friends, of course!”
“Of course.” Jeremy smiled. Yeah, he liked Jamie, and he hoped things would go well. It took only a minute to take Jamie’s number and give his in return, so they soon were saying goodbye. A loud voice interrupted them.
“Jamie! Here you are! I looked for you all around the store but I couldn’t find you.” A young man stopped near them and smiled to Jeremy before turning his attention back to Jamie. “I wasn’t sure which brand of lube you wanted, so I took one of each.”
Jamie turned red, but Jeremy couldn’t stop the chuckle that escaped him. “Keenan, god, we’re in public! Could you at least lower your voice? Plus, there’s a kid here!”
Keenan turned and smiled to Adam. “Hey, honeybee. You’re a pretty little thing, aren’t you?”
Jamie smiled at Jeremy. “Sorry for that. My brother doesn’t always think before speaking.”
“No problems. I’m going to go, though. I have to cook dinner for the little guy, but it was nice meeting you, Jamie.”
A cart crashed into the lined ones, making the three of them jump. “I was supposed to come with you and keep an eye on you, not be your domestic,” a voice growled behind Jeremy, making his cock plump in his jeans. Jeremy’s eyes widened. The voice belonged to a man, so why was he reacting to it like that?
“Oh, Denver, so you don’t want to be our domestic? What about our cabana boy? I think you would look good in nothing but a thong, maybe red.” Keenan took a step back and planted his hands on his hips as he examined the man standing behind Jeremy with seemingly critical eyes. The smile on his lips betrayed him, though. “Yup, I’d bet red looks good on you, and it would matched the color of your face right now.”
Jeremy turned around and nearly swallowed his tongue. He didn’t know how Keenan could joke like that with the guy who was standing in front of him. The man was huge, muscles bulging under his shirt with his every move. Jeremy had never considered himself short since he was five foot eleven, but this guy...he had to be at least six foot seven. His dark hair was cropped short and his eyes were a stunning baby blue that contrasted with the hard appearance of the rest of his body. The five-o’clock shadow on his cheeks added to the rough but sexy appearance.
He moved like a cat as he neared them and Jeremy found his eyes fixated on the hard muscles of the man’s thighs. He could see them shift as he walked and his eyes slowly went up, taking in the tight shirt that hugged and revealed a hard stomach and defined pectorals before tracing the full lips and slightly crooked nose. The man was gorgeous, and Jeremy’s cock perked up at the thought of how he would look naked and tangled in the sheets of Jeremy’s bed. Uh?
Jeremy had never, ever been attracted to a man! What the fuck was happening to him?
* * * *
Denver watched the human, fully knowing he was his mate. Damn it, Denver didn’t want a mate! He was in Whitedell to help Dominic protect the pride, but once his job was done he wouldn’t stay. He never stayed long in the same place, never put down roots, and he liked his life as it was.
Well, even if he had found his mate, it didn’t mean Denver had to claim him. The human wouldn’t know why he was attracted to Denver and he would dismiss it as a onetime thing, especially since he had to be married. The presence of the kid on his side kind of made that clear, and Denver refused to think there could be another explanation.
Denver’s tiger growled at that, though, and a wave of possessiveness rolled through him. The man was his, and he shouldn’t sleep with anyone else, not even the mother of his son, damn it! Denver let his eyes roam on the man’s body. He shouldn’t have done it, but even if he wasn’t planning on claiming him, he could still look, right?
Denver usually went for the twink type, and his mate clearly didn’t belong to that category, but he still couldn’t help but find him stunning. The man had dark red hair that curled slightly behind his ears and on his nape, making Denver want to play with the short strands. His hazel eyes were shinning as they watched each other, and Denver had seen how much love there was in there when his mate had looked at his son. He couldn’t help but want to be looked at in the same way, well, at least with as much love.
Denver’s mate was shorter than he was but still tall for a human, and even the small rounded belly he could see under the man’s shirt didn’t detract from his charm. Yeah, he might not be what Denver usually went for, but he was definitely hot, and didn’t Denver’s cock know that. He could feel it harden in his jeans as he checked his mate out, and he knew he had to stop if he didn’t want to be discovered. It wouldn’t do that Jamie, or god forbid, Keenan, found out what this man was to Denver.
“Do you think we should just go and leave them alone? We could take the kid with us, that way they could fuck each other on the hood. I’d stay for the show but I don’t think the kid should see that. It might be a little cold anyway, but if they want to try and freeze their balls off...” Keenan’s voice penetrated Denver’s lust fogged mind.
“Keenan, you can’t say something like that in front of Adam!”
“But it’s true! Look at them!”
Denver shook himself and watched as his mate’s face reddened in embarrassment. He hadn’t even been aware that they had been staring at each other, and that meant he wasn’t doing his job of protecting Keenan and Jamie.
Wrenching his eyes away, Denver grunted, “Are you two done? We need to get home.”
“Yeah, just one more thing.” Keenan extended his hand toward Denver’s mate, and Denver couldn’t help the small growl that escaped him. The three men looked at him, surprise in his mate’s eye and understanding in Keenan’s. Damn, that kid was way too smart for his own good! “I’m Keenan, and this big teddy bear here is Denver.”
“Uh, hi, I’m Jeremy, and this is my son, Adam.”
The kid was munching on a piece of bread and happily drooling on his father’s shoulder. Denver shuddered. He wasn’t good with kids, in fact, he had never even held one. He usually scared them to death because he was so big, and parents remained wary of him, thinking he might hurt them. Not that he wanted to hold one, but Adam seemed...sweet.
“Are you done?” he growled at Keenan, well aware of the naughty gleam in the man’s eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, let’s go. Jeremy, do you think you might like to hang out sometime, maybe have a beer?”
“Oh, well, I’d like to but I’m not sure about Adam—”
“We’ll find a way, don’t worry. I’ll call you.”
“Umm, sure. Jamie already has my phone number, so...”
“Great! I’ll call you, then. See ya!”
Finally, finally, Keenan headed toward their car. Denver quickly followed, unwilling to pass more time than necessary with his mate. The man smelled like ginger bread and Christmas, and Denver loved both, not that he would ever tell that to anyone. They made him think about the home and the family he never had.
Reaching their SUV, he helped Jamie unload their cart and quickly climbed into the driver’s seat, hoping that Keenan would be the one to take the cart back, but of course he had no such luck. The brat climbed next to him and looked at him from under his lashes.
“Sooo, want to tell me what you think of Jeremy?”
“No.”
“Oh, come on, don’t spoil my fun! I know exactly what you think of him, I just had to look down at your dick to find out!”
Denver groaned. Did Keenan think before opening his mouth or did he just say anything that came to his mind?
“He’s single,” Jamie said as he climbed in the back seat, and Denver had never been so happy to turn the car on and head for the mansion. He was going to dump those two at the front door and go for a run. His tiger wanted out, frustrated that Denver hadn’t acknowledged their mate and wanting to run after the man.
“The presence of the kid says otherwise,” Denver couldn’t help but say. Okay, so he wanted to know more about Jeremy. It didn’t mean he was going to mate the guy, though. In fact, it was likely that he would never see the man again, that is if Keenan stayed out of it.
Jeremy Page 1
